⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies

What a fun premise! A mystery author (Eleanor) wants to kill off her main character, who is based on a real person. But when someone tries to kill him for real, all sorts of funny things happen.

Some of the chapter names are call backs to other mystery books so I loved that too.

Plus it’s set in Italy and the descriptions of driving on the winding coastal roads was so accurate. It made me want to take another trip there ❤️

I thought the narrator did a great job too.

I hope there will be more books about Eleanor and her friends.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance audio book edition in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication date 4/30

• The Christmas Jigsaw Murders by Alexandra Benedict
• The Best Way to Bury Your Husband by Alexia Casale
• Olivetti by Allie Millington
• Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
• Driven to Murder by Debbie Young
• Extinction by Douglas Preston
• Borrower of the Night (Vicky Bliss, #1) by Elizabeth Peters
• Street of the Five Moons (Vicky Bliss, #2) by Elizabeth Peters
• The Search Party by Hannah Richell
• The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3) by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2) by J.R.R. Tolkien
• Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L Swanson
• The Muse by Jeffery Deaver
• The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor
• The Murder of Mr. Ma (Dee & Lao, #1) by John Shen Yen Nee
• How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
• Dangerous Women (Secret Lives, #2) by Mark de Castrique
• Secret Lives (Secret Lives, #1) by Mark de Castrique
• Murder in Postscript (Lady of Letters #1) by Mary Winters
• The Night Agent by Matthew Quirk
• Hour of the Assassin by Matthew Quirk
• The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets (Enola Holmes, #3) by Nancy Springer
• The Case of the Left-Handed Lady (Enola Holmes, #2) by Nancy Springer
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
• Murder Road by Simone St. James
• Bag of Bones by Stephen King
• Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh
• The Accomplice (Eddie Flynn #7) by Steve Cavanagh
• Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Olivetti is a smart little typewriter that remembers what people have typed on him. When his owner (Ernest’s mom) takes him to a pawn shop and then disappears, Ernest discovers Olivett’s magic and has to figure out where she is based on what Olivetti types up. Very well written and I loved all of the Narnia references. The book alternates between Ernest’s and Olivetti’s perspectives. Ernest has a form of anxiety that I recognize in myself, so I really enjoyed that also.

It took me a while to figure out where I had heard Olivetti’s voice before, but I realized he also narrates the version of Dracula that I’ve listened to. Or maybe I’m thinking of Interview with the Vampire. Or both. Very fun voice for a fun character.

Special thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for the chance to listen to this beautiful audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a fun mystery story set in London 1920s about two Chinese men who are trying to solve the murders of other Chinese men. I loved the interaction between the two main characters.

The book also gives light to the racism experienced by the Chinese people in England during this time. One of the funniest scenes involved a gray cat 🐈‍⬛

Great for fans of Sherlock Holmes.

Special thanks to @netgalley and RB Media for the advanced audiobook copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a very meta modern day retelling of Rebecca with Malibu in place of Manderley. Therefore I really enjoyed it 😊

Fifteen books for February, plus I re-listened to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes to prepare for Sunrise on the Reaping on 3/18. I finally got caught up on all the current Kay Scarpetta books, even though they got harder to read towards the end.

Favorite: Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave
Least favorite: Dust

• The Antique Hunter’s Death on the Red Sea (Antique Hunter’s, #2) C.L. Miller ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• The World’s Greatest Detective Caroline Carlson ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• Havoc Christopher Bollen ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave (Finlay Donovan, #5) Elle Cosimano ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• Loose Lips (Ghostwriter Mystery, #2) Kemper Donovan ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• Knife Skills for Beginners Orlando Murrin ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• Identity Unknown (Kay Scarpetta, #28) Patricia Cornwell ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• Unnatural Death (Kay Scarpetta, #27) Patricia Cornwell ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• Livid (Kay Scarpetta, #26) Patricia Cornwell ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• Autopsy (Kay Scarpetta, #25) Patricia Cornwell ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• Chaos (Kay Scarpetta, #24) Patricia Cornwell ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• Depraved Heart (Kay Scarpetta, #23) Patricia Cornwell ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• Flesh and Blood (Kay Scarpetta, #22) Patricia Cornwell ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
• Dust (Kay Scarpetta, #21) Patricia Cornwell ⭐️ ⭐️
• The Incident of the Book in the Nighttime (A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery, #10) Vicki Delany ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Think Jurassic Park but it’s not only dinosaurs that have been resurrected. 🦣🦖🦕🦥🧟‍♂️

The book begins with a (pregnant) newlywed couple being murdered inside a fancy resort. The resort has managed to clone wooly mammoths and other extinct species. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is brought in to investigate and things get weird…

I think the concept of the book is great, but I was underwhelmed by the writing. This was surprising because I normally love this author’s work. Perhaps it was doomed from the beginning when a word that gives me major icks was used.

I will definitely keep reading books by this author because this is the only time I haven’t really really liked their book, and this one was still ok.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

23 books for February – the picture is sorted from most liked at the top to least liked at the bottom

Ripley’s Game (Ripley, #3) by Patricia Highsmith
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
The Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes, #1) by Nancy Springer
The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel
Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1) by J.R.R. Tolkien
Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect (Ernest Cunningham, #2) by Benjamin Stevenson
End of Story by A.J. Finn
Anna O by Matthew Blake
Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates
Medea by Eilish Quin
A Trace of Hares (Nell Ward, #5) by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
The Framed Women of Ardemore House (Netherleigh Mystery, #1) by Brandy Schillace
The Coast-to-Coast Murders by James Patterson
Ripley Under Water (Ripley, #5) by Patricia Highsmith
The Boy Who Followed Ripley (Ripley, #4) by Patricia Highsmith
Some Shall Break (None Shall Sleep #2) by Ellie Marney
None Shall Sleep (None Shall Sleep, #1) by Ellie Marney
The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder: A Novel by C.L. Miller
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice (Finlay Donovan, #4) by Elle Cosimano
No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall
Murder by Candlelight (The Val & Arbie Mysteries #1) by Faith Martin

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dr Nell Ward, our favorite ecologist, is in Ireland for the wedding of her friend Conor when a body is discovered in the nearby bog. The chemistry of the bogs preserves bodies for an extremely long time. Some bodies discovered there are over 2000 years old 😱, and have been sort of mummified by the process.

The body in this story belongs to the wife of Conor’s brother, who disappeared along with her 3 month old daughter about 20 years ago. So of course Nell and Rav (and cousin Shannon and her detective boyfriend James) help figure out who did it and why, and are put in grave danger more than once along the way.

I’m so invested in these characters that I’m literally prepared to beg the author to let Rav have a happy safe time for the next book. 😬

Special thanks to Netgalley and Embla Books for an advance copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication date March 27, 2024

Stop what you’re doing and listen to this audiobook for a very funny story about sentient cats and dolphins and super villains.