The Seaside Homecoming by Julie Klassen

The Seaside Homecoming
by Julie Klassen

ISBN-13: 9780764241017
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Bethany House
Released: December 3, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Disgraced eldest sister Claire Summers has been living in exile as companion to a stern great-aunt in Scotland. Needing to find a new place to live and longing to be reconciled with her estranged family, Claire sees an advertisement from someone looking for a "respectable female partner" in a Sidmouth boarding house. She answers the ad, hoping she has not made another reckless mistake. When she meets the handsome, secretive proprietor, she wonders what he's hiding. Claire is drawn to him even though she fears he will reject her if he discovers her less-than-respectable past.

Meanwhile, the Summers family discovers that Claire is in town. Will their unexpected reunion heal old wounds and rekindle their bonds . . . or deepen the divide?


My Review:
The Seaside Homecoming is a Christian romance set in 1820 in Scotland and England. This is the third book in a series, but it can be understood without reading the previous novels. However, it does "spoil" how the previous two romances turned out.

Claire has no patience: if she wants something, she does it immediately. If she wanted to ask her business partner something or give him something, even though it could easily wait until he left his private rooms, she felt fully justified in barging into his private rooms to confront him. He repeatedly asked her not to enter his private rooms, and this was partly to protect her reputation. She also had a bad habit of eavesdropping. Her business partner was very patient with her. After Claire made her choice of whom to marry, they intensely kissed as often as they could, only prevented in doing more before marriage by their chaperones. It just felt like Claire hadn't really learned anything from the mistakes that nearly ruined her life.

The story was mostly about her reconciliation with her sisters and mother and her spying on her business partner because she's worried he's a spy. Unlike the previous novels, there wasn't much interaction with the people staying at the boarding house or those in town. Many historical details were woven into the story and brought it alive in my imagination, but they did slow the pacing. The characters were likable and acted in realistic ways. Claire's family learned about God's forgiveness and forgiving others. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.

Cornered by Lynette Eason; Lynn H. Blackburn; Natalie Walters

Cornered
by Lynette Eason; Lynn H. Blackburn; Natalie Walters

ISBN-13: 9780800746087
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: Nov. 19, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In the Dark by Lynette Eason, accountant Steph Cross is cleaning out a coworker's desk after her untimely death when she finds cryptic notes that lead her to believe her friend's car accident was no accident at all. Detective Tate Cooper is determined to help her crack the case before someone else gets hurt. But can he protect the woman who has so quickly laid claim to his heart?

In Downfall by Lynn H. Blackburn, chef Cassie Quinn gets an offer she can't refuse: to fill in as chef at an exclusive mountain resort. But when the kitchen is destroyed and it becomes clear Cassie is in danger, she's forced to accept the help of her ex-boyfriend, Detective Donovan Bledsoe, to find the culprit and keep her safe.

In Perilous Obsession by Natalie Walters, teacher Lahela Young becomes the target of someone with a twisted obsession of righting a wrong. The first person she turns to is her good friend Briggs Turner. Briggs may have left his career as a police officer, but he still has the instinct to protect--especially for Lahela.


My Review:
Cornered has three romantic suspense novellas. Though not needed to understand the stories, it helps if you've read the books by Blackburn and Walters that feature the characters and setting that these novellas are set in. The main characters were all likable and interesting. The romantic couples generally worked well together, and they drew close as they spent time together. The mysteries were interesting, and the suspense was high. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable suspense collection.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Herringbone Harbor Mystery by Sally Goldenbaum

The Herringbone Harbor Mystery
by Sally Goldenbaum

ISBN-13: 9781496747181
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Kensington
Released: November 26, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The Yarn Studio’s Seaside Knitters have their hands full creating a single blanket together. Birdie’s teenage granddaughter is also visiting for the season and has started a dog-walking business with her friend, Daisy. Meanwhile, the Lazy Lobster and Soup Café’s local fare is gaining newfound attention with the addition of a well-known chef.

Then Birdie spots a huge blaze from her balcony one evening, frighteningly close to knitter Cass’s lobster business. But the morning brings news that it was a house in Fishermen’s Village, and a popular businessman, and mayoral candidate, is found dead inside. As suspicion rocks usually placid Sea Harbor, knitters Izzy, Birdie, Cass, and Nell must pick apart tangled secrets.


My Review:
The Herringbone Harbor Mystery is a cozy mystery, though the mystery was never fully explained. It's the 18th novel in a series, but you can understand this story without reading the previous books.

So much of the story was the sleuths spotting clues but feeling too overwhelmed by the murder to think things through, so they ate or knitted instead. They also spent a lot of time sorrowfully saying how dealing with various bad events was just so 'heavy' and difficult to handle emotionally.

There were several mysteries to solve, and there were plenty of clues for those who like to solve the puzzle, though some critical clues were withheld from the reader at the very end. Still, I had most of it figured out long before the end. However, while the murderer confessed, the person didn't explain everything and frankly I didn't believe some of what whodunit did say. Worse, the guy who was killed was a wonderful person, but we're clearly supposed to feel sorry for whodunit, too!

I read an Advanced Reader Copy so this may be fixed in the final copy, but the grammar was bad. It was hard to keep track of who "her" referred to, for example, and sometimes the wrong name was used. This made the reading confusing and required stopping to figure out what the author was trying to say.

There was no sex. There were only a few uses of bad language. Fans of the characters might still like the book, but I no longer feel like this author writes what I look for in cozy mysteries.

Taken at Christmas by Jodie Bailey

Taken at Christmas
by Jodie Bailey

ISBN-13: 9781335980298
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Released: November 26, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
When ex-deputy Mia Galloway is assaulted while waiting to meet with her daughter's birth mother (who goes missing at that same time), she’s convinced her adopted daughter is also in danger. Mia is rescued just in time by investigator Hayden McGrath, her late husband’s best friend, who vows to protect Mia and Ruthie. And the stakes only get higher when Ruthie’s birth mother is found murdered. Someone desperately wants this child, and they’ll stop at nothing to get her. With time running out, uncovering the truth is Hayden and Mia’s only hope of saving an innocent child.


My Review:
Taken at Christmas is a Christian romantic suspense. Mia has crippling panic attacks after responding to the scene of her own husband's murder. Hayden was Mia's husband's best friend, and Hayden and Mia had also worked together as deputies. They've grown close as they mourn her husband's death and now wonder if it's okay to even think about a relationship. They both supported each other and worked well together. The main characters were engaging and reacted realistically to events. The main suspense came from someone trying to kill Mia and someone trying to take her young, adopted daughter.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable romantic suspense.

One Last Chance by Susan May Warren

One Last Chance
by Susan May Warren

ISBN-13: 9780800745486
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: June 1, 2024

Source: Read using Amazon's Kindle Unlimited.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Axel Mulligan was built to be a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. He swam fast and endured long, a miracle for those in peril--until a tragedy sent him home to Alaska. Now, three years later, he's not going to let the past repeat itself. As an Air One rescue swimmer, he'll do anything to save lives--including sacrifice his own.

He expects to do just that while trying to rescue a group of tourists from the icy waters of the Gulf of Alaska. But if not for the voice on the other end of the ham radio, he might have given up and let hypothermia win. That voice awakened something in his heart, and he sets out to find the woman it belongs to.

Flynn Turnquist is not who Axel thinks she is. A national wildlife researcher, she's deep in the bush, tracking wolf pack patterns. Or is she? In fact, she's a former cop, tracking down a serial killer in the Alaska bush. When Axel finds Flynn and discovers what she's really up to, it stirs up a terrible nightmare he's been dodging for years--the kidnapping and death of his own cousin. Now, it's a race through Alaska to stay alive.


My Review:
One Last Chance is a Christian romantic suspense. It's the 2th in the series, but you can understand this story without having read the previous one. Axel feels guilty that he wasn't able to rescue his cousin when they were teens and feels burdened by every failed rescue since then. Flynn's still looking for her twin sister, who may have been a victim of a serial killer, but her body was never found. They worked together to try to solve who the serial killer is, find Flynn's sister, and rescuing people along the way.

The main characters were engaging and came across as real people. I cared about what happened to them. Flynn and Axel supported each other and built each other up. There was plenty of suspense from the physical dangers of search and rescue, the environment, and the attacks of a killer.

Axel had to realize that he's not God and can't save everyone. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable suspense.

An Honorable Deception by Roseanna M. White

An Honorable Deception
by Roseanna M. White

ISBN-13: 9780764240942
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Bethany House
Released: November 19, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
As the leader of the Imposters, an elite private investigative firm, Lord Yates Fairfax has made an art of concealing his identity. But when his newest client, the beautiful Lady Alethia Barremore, is shot while leaving their meeting, he throws caution to the wind and rushes to her aid. Though Lady Alethia thought she was only looking for her missing former nanny, she has clearly stumbled upon something much more dangerous.

Lady Lavinia Hemming suspects her longtime friends hold more secrets than they're willing to admit, and when she stumbles upon the truth that they're the esteemed Imposters, she recruits herself into the firm. While she is happy for the distraction of an investigation, Lavinia's own family secrets continue to haunt her. And the one thing bringing laughter back into her life--her friendship with Yates--lands her squarely on the disagreeable side of her best friend: his sister.

Tormented by a past she doesn't dare voice aloud, Lady Alethia does what she can to help her handsome host, her new friends, and the investigators. But as clues lead them deeper into the dark side of society, Alethia, Yates, and Lavinia learn anew that the gentry isn't always noble.


My Review:
An Honorable Deception is a Christian romance with a mystery, set in 1910 in England. This book is the 3rd in the series, but you can understand it without reading the previous books. However, you'll probably enjoy it more if you've read the first in the series as they refer back to events in that story.

The main characters were likable and reacted realistically. Lavinia turned down Yates when they were younger because her mother disapproved, but Yates thought that she didn't love him and tried to move on. Alethia caught his attentions, but Lavinia realized how much she wanted his affection now that her mother has died. But she's friends with Alethia, too. Yates and Lavinia worked well together and cared for and supported each other.

The mystery was about finding missing foreign women, specifically Alethia's Indian nanny. Once they found her, they needed to free her and others from cruel gentlemen, ones the police were unlikely to arrest. So how to get them free and make sure the men don't harm others? It was fun watching Lavinia get to direct the investigation and take the stage (literally) in pursuit of justice.

The Indian nanny's Christian faith was what helped her through the evil she experienced. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this fun story.

Murder in the Ranks by Kristi Jones

Murder in the Ranks
by Kristi Jones

ISBN-13: 9781639109715
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Released: November 19, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Algiers, North Africa, 1943. After her abusive German husband left her for dead and took their daughter with him behind enemy lines, Dottie Lincoln learned that it’s better to be a trained soldier rather than a victim. As a newly minted squad leader in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, she spends her days filing orders moving men and materials to the front and her nights attending mandatory dances to boost the morale of the men. Despite the grueling nature of her job, she has found a sanctuary amongst the women in the Army. When Ruth, a member of her squad, is murdered, she’s devastated and determined to get to the bottom of the murder.

Dottie’s company is the first group of American women assigned to a combat theater and with Ruth’s death the entire operation is being questioned. Determined to do everything she can to help win the war, bring justice to her friend, and hopefully reunite with her daughter, Dottie must rise to the occasion before the killer strikes again.

But when her past comes back to haunt her, Dottie must prove she’s not a German spy and put a stop to a threat to the entire American war effort.


My Review:
Murder in the Ranks is a mystery set in 1943 in Algiers. Dottie's smart and very determined. She spotted that Ruth's apparent suicide was murder and insisted the MP detective look at the evidence and investigate. He took her along to take notes (and help investigate). They asked good questions and followed up on leads, but they were given a limited time to find the murderer. Then one of her suspects ended up in the hospital, also an apparent suicide attempt.

The main characters were interesting, likable, and reacted realistically to events. Vivid historical details were woven into the story, bringing the place and time alive in my imagination. While this was a clue-based mystery, I caught a critical clue early on and correctly suspected whodunit. I began doubting my choice as I couldn't figure out how whodunit was doing the murders, and this was never explained. There were hints about Ruth's murder, but not for the second attempt.

Also, otherwise smart Dottie brought a letter she knew could be used against her to war and then left it in an unsecure area where anyone could take it. The author tried to explain it, but I still felt it made no sense. The potential threat from this letter's really built up and could ruin all trust with her coworkers at best or get her fired or worse. This threat was simply dropped at the end, with no consequences. I liked the story but felt like the author was sloppy with wrapping it up convincingly.

There was no sex. There was a fair amount of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this as an interesting historical novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.