Tag: Mystery

Kate’s Review: “Watch Us Fall”

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Book: “Watch Us Fall” by Christina Kovac

Publishing Info: Simon & Schuster, December 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publicist

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Lucy and her three best friends share a glamorous but decaying house in the heart of Georgetown. They call themselves “the Sweeties” and live an idyllic post-grad lifestyle complete with exciting jobs, dramatic love lives, and, most importantly, each other.

But when Addie, the group’s queen bee, discovers that her ex-boyfriend Josh has gone missing, the Sweeties’ worlds are turned upside down. In the days leading up to his disappearance, Josh, a star investigative journalist from a prominent political family, was behaving erratically—and Lucy is determined to find out why. All four friends upend their lives to search for him, but detectives begin to suspect that the Sweeties might know more than they’re letting on.

As the investigation unfolds, Lucy’s obsession with the case reaches a boiling point, and with it, her own troubling secrets begin bubbling to the surface of her carefully curated life. A thrilling account of the lies and delusions that lurk beneath cloistered groups of female friends and the sinister realities of celebrity, Watch Us Fall is a gripping mystery and an examination of the things we tell ourselves when we can’t face the truth.

Review: Thank you to Kaye Publicity for sending me an ARC of this novel!

After a couple years of slow starts to Minnesota winters, we FINALLY got a solid amount of snowfall just in time for Thanksgiving! And it looks like it’s going to be a cold and snowy winter for the foreseeable future. I, for one, am stoked, because I LOVE having snow on the ground for the holiday season. I also love having books to read that match the feel of the winter wonderland that we get for winters in Minnesota, and “Watch Us Fall” by Christina Kovac is a perfect pairing for the weather. Does it have a snowy setting? Yes. Does it have a strange mystery at its heart involving a missing person, a political dynasty, and close roommates who also have secrets? Yes. Does that make something I definitely want to read? Oh yes.

We have two narratives at hand with this mystery: the first is that of Lucy, our first person narrator who is connected to missing person Josh through her roommate/dear friend Addie, and who is trying to piece together what happened after the fact. The second is that of Josh himself, told in a third person narrative in the time leading up to his disappearance, generally starting around the time he began seeing Addie. Sometimes I am a bit hesitant when a story switches between POV styles, but I thought that it worked for the most part in this book, mostly because it helped peel back some layers of the mystery in ways that we couldn’t have if it was just one or the other. Along with that, it is an interesting way to throw in some misdirections and red herrings in ways that kept me on my toes, as I found myself thinking ‘ah, okay, I think I have this figured out’, only to then say ‘no, wait, that’s not it, maybe it’s THIS’. As we make our way to the point where both narratives converge, we have learned a fair amount about both Lucy and Josh that then made for the final push to be suspenseful and gripping.

I think that one criticism I had was that when I read the description it sounded like we were going to have a lot of focus on all of the Sweeties and their friendships as they connected to each other in different ways. But instead of having a number of interesting female friends with differing dynamics, we didn’t really get to see much of Estella and Penelope. Lucy as a character was fine, but at times I found her to be a bit grating, and if we had a bit more from Estella and Penelope to balance it out a bit I think that it would have worked better for me. On top of that, I’m not sure if I felt that some of the final twists and reveals were earned. I found myself a little underwhelmed by aspects of the solution to the mystery as a whole, but that is very possibly a very subjective thing and it may not apply to everyone.

BUT! The winter setting is basically perfect for this time of year. Like I stated above, I love it when winter settles in and the books I pick up match the vibe, and “Watch Us Fall” definitely has that winter mystery vibe! If you have the snow like we do and you like thrillers, consider picking it up!

Rating 7: A suspenseful mystery with generally successful dual narratives (though I wanted more from other characters), “Watch Us Fall” is a perfect winter read for thriller fans.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Watch Us Fall” is included on the Goodreads lists “I Support Women’s Wrongs”, and “Books With Unreliable Narrators”.

Kate’s Review: “The Telling”

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Book: “The Telling” by Alexandra Sirowy

Publishing Info: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, August 2016

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC of the re-release from the publicst

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Lana used to know what was real. That was before, when her life was small and quiet. Her golden stepbrother, Ben was alive. She could only dream about bonfiring with the populars. Their wooded island home was idyllic, she could tell truth from lies, and Ben’s childhood stories were firmly in her imagination.

Then came after.

After has Lana boldly kissing her crush, jumping into the water from too high up, living with nerve and mischief. But after also has horrors, deaths that only make sense in fairy tales, and terrors from a past Lana thought long forgotten: love, blood, and murder.

Review: Thank you to Wunderkind PR for sending me an ARC of this novel!

I’m back with another re-release of an Alexandra Sirowy YA thriller/mystery! I reviewed “The Creeping” a couple weeks ago, and found it to be a gritty and interesting read (one that I had actually already read, but the re-read wasn’t hindered by that!). So I couldn’t wait to see what “The Telling” would be like. I knew that it wasn’t a sequel and took place somewhere else that wasn’t Minnesota (this time in Gant, a small island community in Washington State), and was interested to see where the story would take us this time.

As a mystery, it has a solid hook: Lana is still mourning the death of her stepbrother Ben, whose murder was very likely in part due to his ex-girlfriend Maggie. But one summer day while swimming, Lana and her friends discover Maggie’s body at the bottom of a pond, and suddenly everyone, especially Lana, are seen as suspects. This is the kind of thriller trope that I greatly enjoy, and it was fun seeing Lana try to figure out who was behind the murder not only to clear her own name, but also because it could lead her to more answers about Ben’s death, with twists, turns, red herrings, and some reveals that were pretty well done. I will say that one of the biggest reveals I kind of caught onto quickly, but I enjoyed Lana’s journey getting there enough that it wasn’t disappointing or frustrating. I will also say that sometimes this book felt like it could have been parsed down at least a little bit, as at times I did feel like it was dragging and meandering a little. It just could have been tightened a bit.

I mostly liked Lana as a narrator, as she had a pretty good amount of unreliability to her that I always enjoy in a thriller that is trying to keep some things close to the vest. Her despair of losing Ben was believable, though I will admit that sometimes I was wondering what exactly the nature of her despair was, but as more of her past, motivations, and attachments came through it made that much more sense. Slowly learning about her and Ben and the evolution of their connection was a bit of a slow burn, but it definitely kept me interested even when I felt like things could have been sped up a bit. It was actually this aspect of the book that had the most surprises for me, and kept me the most invested.

“The Telling” wasn’t as strong as “The Creeping”, but it’s another pretty solid YA thriller. I’m hoping that with these new editions of both these books we’ll be seeing more from Sirowy, as she tends to delve into darker themes that I have enjoyed.

Rating 7: It was an entertaining mystery and another well plotted thriller from Alexandra Sirowy, though this time I kind of figured out the bit twist prematurely.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Telling” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Teen Screams”.

Kate’s Review: “The Bone Thief”

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Book: “The Bone Thief” by Vanessa Lillie

Publishing Info: Berkley, October 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: When a Native teenager vanishes from her small town—a place with dark ties to an elite historical society—archaeologist Syd Walker is called to investigate…from bestselling author Vanessa Lillie.

In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family’s fears.

As Syd investigates both crimes, she’s drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents—most of them members of the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists and claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community. And it’s not the first time something—or someone—has gone missing from the camp.

The deeper Syd digs, the more she realizes these aren’t isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations, all leading to the Founders Society’s doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town’s most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried.

From the national bestselling author of Blood Sisters (a Washington Post Best Mystery of the Year and Target Book Club pick) comes a new Syd Walker novel that proves the sins of the past are destined to repeat until the truth is finally unearthed.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

I really enjoyed Vanessa Lillie’s first Syd Walker Mystery “Blood Sisters” when I read it awhile back, having stumbled upon it and taking a chance on it only to be really happy with it. Because of this it’s definitely not shocking that when I saw that Lillie had a new Syd Walker mystery coming out, “The Bone Thief”, I had to request it post haste. I am always hoping to find a new mystery series to follow, and sometimes one good read can be a fluke. I hoped it wasn’t the case for Lillie’s Syd, and boy was I happy to see that Syd is still going strong and bringing compelling and searingly relevant mysteries!

We have two mysteries at work here. The first is the case of some remains of an Indigenous woman and her baby that Syd is involved with as a BIA archaeologist, and how the local historical group The Founders Society wants to have them for clout while the local tribes want to bring them back to the community… only for the remains to disappear. Along with that, a Native teenager named Naomi has gone missing, harkening back to Syd’s previous mystery where she went searching for her missing sister, and also found her childhood friend Luna and Luna’s daughter Gracie on her search (Luna and Gracie have since moved in with Syd and her very pregnant wife Mal, which is causing some friction). I enjoyed both of the mysteries, as I felt that Lillie did a good job of keeping the focus even upon both while also slowly intertwining them, with connections between missing teen Naomi and the Founder’s Society, as well as other mysteries connected to the group over the years. Syd is still a very enjoyable detective, trying to remain true and honest to her own Indigenous heritage while also working for the BIA in a way that she feels can be positive. I felt like there were solid reveals, well done misdirections, and a well placed smattering of clues that all came together for some satisfying conclusions.

But, like so many other books that have such themes, it was the social commentary about the way that Indigenous people in this country are being erased, ignored, oppressed, and victimized, whether it’s during this time period in a pre-Obama United States, or in the many years since the invasion of this country by European colonizers. In this book Syd has found herself not only investigating another missing Indigenous woman case, she is also dealing with the theft and exploitation of Indigenous remains, when the skeletons of an Indigenous woman and her baby are found and the local historical organization The Founders Society wants claim to the bones. Syd has to walk a tenuous line as a BIA archaeologist, as she believes in the education of the masses to the history of Indigenous peoples and how history should, indeed, be accessible to anyone… But she also is fully aware that a predominantly white historical society mainly made up of descendants of colonizers keeping not only artifacts but also remains of Indigenous people is deeply, DEEPLY problematic and unethical. Lillie raises a lot of good questions about not only the way that living Indigenous people are still being wronged in the modern world, but how the long dead continue to be victimized through their remains being disrespected and withheld from tribes in the name of white history. It’s important to keep talking about it, and I appreciated the way that Lillie blended it all together along with the mystery.

“The Bone Thief” is another enjoyable Syd Walker mystery from Vanessa Lillie! I really hope this series continues, it really clicks with me.

Rating 8: Another solid mystery with all too relevant social commentary about the Indigenous experience, “The Bone Thief” is a gripping thriller with a very likable protagonist.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Bone Thief” is included on the Goodreads list “Indigenous Books 2025”.

Kate’s Review: “Sisters in the Wind”

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Book: “Sisters in the Wind” by Angeline Boulley

Publishing Info: Henry Holt & Co., September 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: From the instant New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed comes a daring new mystery about a foster teen claiming her heritage on her own terms.

Ever since Lucy Smith’s father died five years ago, “home” has been more of an idea than a place. She knows being on the run is better than anything waiting for her as a “ward of the state.” But when the sharp-eyed and kind Mr. Jameson with an interest in her case comes looking for her, Lucy wonders if hiding from her past will ever truly keep her safe.

Five years in the foster system has taught her to be cautious and smart. But she wants to believe Mr. Jameson and his “friend-not-friend,” a tall and fierce-looking woman who say they want to look after her.

They also tell Lucy the truth her father hid from her: She is Ojibwe; she has – had – a sister, and more siblings; a grandmother who’d look after her and a home where she would be loved.

But Lucy is being followed. The past has destroyed any chance of normal she has had, and now the secrets she’s hiding will swallow her whole and take away the future she always dreamed of.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

I was so elated when I saw that Angeline Boulley had a new YA novel coming out this year! I saw a big poster for it at ALAAC25 and it made my day (sadly I wasn’t able to attend her talk this year, but if she comes back she will get priority). I finally sat down to read “Sisters in the Wind” a few months later, and I went in with very high hopes. I’ve so enjoyed her other YA thrillers, and I was hoping for another winner. And I got it.

Like Boulley’s other YA novels, “Sisters in the Wind” tackles some pretty heavy societal issues to go along with the thriller and mystery elements in this story. In this book, the mystery is less about her main character, Lucy, solving a whodunnit, and more about the reader starting to untangle Lucy’s secrets and her difficult and traumatic past as a foster child who has been dealing with the foster care system since her father’s death. To make matters for difficult, her identity as an Indigenous person (as her mother was Indigenous and her father left her mother and took Lucy with him when she was a baby) has been suppressed her entire life, which cuts her off not only from her culture but from a family that is shocked to find her once they finally do. Boulley is so good at presenting difficult topics about racism and oppression of Indigenous people in this country to her audience, dismantling dark histories and white supremacy and showing how it reverberates and harms people. The big topic in this book is the Indian Child Welfare Act and how Lucy’s situation was lost through the cracks, and also puts a focus on the foster system and how corrupt and traumatic it can be. We don’t know what exactly happened to Lucy when the story starts, just that she’s on the run and someone wants to kill her, but as we go through her history we find a girl failed by so many finding her way back to a community that was taken from her. I know that some people have said that they found this endless tragedy to be unrealistic, but I don’t agree because Lucy’s story isn’t exactly unique to real world experiences, whether it’s racism, sexual abuse, coercion and manipulation, or even human trafficking. It’s a hard read, but it’s, sadly, still relevant.

We also have a welcome return to Sugar Island and familiar faces, characters, and the return of one who was missing in “Warrior Girl Unearthed”. In the timeline “Sisters in the Wind” takes place after “Firekeeper’s Daughter”, but before “Warrior Girl Unearthed”, and we find Lucy meeting a Daunis who exists between the scrappy teen in the first book and the grounded and nurturing mentor in the second book. I really enjoyed how Boulley gave us some more insight into Daunis and her trajectory, including more insight into her relationship with Jamie from the first novel, and I thought that she worked it in better in this one than the previous one. But I also appreciated that the presence of Daunis and Jamie and their connection to Lucy didn’t overshadow Lucy’s story or characterization, and if anything it made her family connections and her journey to the home she never knew feel all the more poignant and powerful. It also filled in some gaps and questions that were in place once we got to “Warrior Girl Unearthed” regarding how some of these characters got to the point they were at in the time jump, some of it incredibly satisfying, some of it devastating (but still satisfying? Just trust me). I really hope we get more stories from Sugar Island and the characters who live in the pages of these books.

“Sisters in the Wind” is another impactful and emotional thriller from Angeline Boulley. It had me running a full gamut of feelings, with difficult subject matter but an ever present thread of hope and love moving throughout the narrative. Good golly I love these books.

Rating 9: Another emotional and important book about Indigenous life in America from Angeline Boulley, with a compelling mystery, familiar faces, and some moments of heartbreak, hope, and coming home.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Sisters in the Wind” is included on the Goodreads lists “Native American Lit”, and “ATY 2026: Indigenous Character or Author”.

Kate’s Review: “The Creeping”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “The Creeping” by Alexandra Sirowy

Publishing Info: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, August 2015

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC of the re-release from the publicist

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Eleven years ago, Stella and Jeanie disappeared. Only Stella came back.

Now all she wants is a summer full of cove days, friends, and her gorgeous crush – until a fresh corpse leads Stella down a path of ancient evil and secrets.

Stella believes remembering what happened to Jeanie will save her. It won’t.

She used to know better than to believe in what slinks through the shadows. Not anymore.

Review: Thank you to Wunderkind PR for sending me an ARC of this novel!

So I ran into an interesting situation when I started reading “The Creeping” by Alexandra Sirowy. As started reading, I started feeling like it was a bit familiar. Something in my mind was niggling at me. Savage, Minnesota? A girl who experienced something traumatizing and has no memory of that day? A mean best friend and a longing boy who used to be a friend?

Something feels familiar… (source)

I hadn’t gone to my Goodreads to update my reading status at this point, and so I went to my account and looked up “The Creeping”…. and realized that I read it when it originally came out ten years ago!! I had known it was a re-release, but clearly ten years meant that the title hadn’t rang any bells at first. I didn’t go back and read my thoughts as I wanted to go in without any influence on my thoughts. And I enjoyed it again, and found it to be fascinating to see how my views shifted in ten years.

As a small town with secrets and folklore perhaps treading towards a supernatural horror, “The Creeping” checks off a lot of boxes that I generally enjoy in the tropes that come with such tales. Savage, Minnesota (not too far from where we live, albeit a fictional version of this town!) has been haunted by the disappearance of a little girl named Jeanie, who disappeared in the woods with her best friend Stella when she was six and never came back, though Stella did, with no memory of what happened. Stella has tried to move on, leaning hard into her friend Zoey and becoming popular and generally revered in her school… Until a body of a little girl who looks a LOT like Jeanie is found in the woods around the anniversary, and stirs up memories and fears in Stella. I love a teenager trying to find out the dark secrets of her hometown, and in “The Creeping” it’s a bit unclear as to whether this is a human monster, or something a bit more supernatural. I found the clues to be well placed, the tension to be pretty well paced, and the folk lore and history of the town to be compelling and mysterious. There are also touches upon the way that a community can get thrown into a frenzy when unexplainable things happen, so desperate for answers they find targets to focus on. These feelings didn’t really change too much from my initial read to this one.

But this time around I had some shifting feelings about the teenage relationships in a way that kind of surprised me! When I initially read this ten years ago my review was especially scathing towards Zoey, Stella’s opinionated and sometimes manipulative best friend who tries to push Stella to be as carefree and popular as she strives to be. And reading it now ten years later was an interesting comparison, as I still found Zoey to be a pretty mean girl, but I was more willing to give her a little bite of grace this time around. I appreciated the way that Sirowy depicts a complicated friendship between two friends who genuinely adore each other, but one is incredibly insecure in herself and lashes out instead of unpacking that insecurity (and hey, as someone who was once a teenage girl I found this VERY realistic). It was also a well done examination of how trauma can still linger and haunt a person, and how people around them can say that they are supportive and understanding, but then get burned out on it and can say and do some cruel things out of not really getting the weight of it all. Heck, I enjoyed all of the teenage relationships at the forefront of this book, whether it’s the messy one between Stella and Zoey, or the renewed and intimate dynamic between Stella and Sam, the friend she left behind at Zoey’s behest. I really loved seeing Stella and Sam come back together and found their romance not overpowering to the narrative, while also being very sweet and tender.

It was a enjoyable time revisiting “The Creeping”! I liked seeing how my thoughts shifted while still staying pretty aligned, and in two weeks I will be following up with another of Sirowy’s re-releases, “The Tellilng”!

Rating 8: A surprise re-read that I enjoyed in another way ten years after my first read, “The Creeping” is small town secrets, folklore thrills, and complicated teenage relationships all rolled into a quick and interesting thriller.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Creeping” is included on the Goodreads lists “YA Books Set in Minnesota”, and “YA Murder Mysteries”.

Serena’s Review: “Murder Most Haunted”

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Book: “Murder Most Haunted” by Emma Mason

Publishing Info: William Morrow Paperbacks, October 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: A grand country estate.
On her last day as a Detective, Midge McGowan is given the retirement present from a ticket to take part in a haunted house tour. She’ll have to spend the weekend before Christmas ghost-hunting in an isolated mansion with a group of misfits, including a know-it-all paranormal investigator and a has-been pop star.

An impossible crime.
It isn’t long before the tour starts to spiral out of control. Midge and the guests see an unsettling figure walking the grounds late at night. Then the unthinkable happens – someone is murdered in a room that’s been locked from the inside.

A Christmas they might not survive.
Heavy snow cuts them off from help, the house’s own dark secrets begin to surface, and Midge can’t shake the creeping sense that they are walking into a nightmare. Could a ghost really be responsible, or is the culprit one of the guests?

Review: I’m always looking for another mystery book or series to pick up, and this one sounded like a great place to start, what with its Christmas vibes on top of the haunted house. In one fell swoop, I covered two holidays at once (and timed my review for the month that falls between them!)

Ultimately, this one was a bit hit-and-miss for me. But one thing I unquestionably enjoyed was the overall vibe of the story. Some of the haunted house portions were the best part of the book, and I enjoyed the juxtaposition of gothic creepiness with the inherent cozy factor found in the Christmas holiday. The setting itself was perfectly set up for a closed-door mystery, and I think the author did an excellent job setting the stage for this story.

I both did and did not enjoy the cast of characters. On one hand, there was a lot of variety to be found here, and I enjoyed the interactions between the many strong personalities making up this group. There were plenty of good red herrings and potential suspects for the murder as well, which will surely keep readers on their toes until the last minute. However, I also found almost everyone incredibly unlikable in some way or another, which made it tough for me to become too invested. I was perfectly fine with any of them being the murderer because I didn’t care about any of them enough to want them to be innocent!

I did enjoy Midge for the most part, though I think she may be hit-or-miss for some readers. Much of the story is seeing her slowly come out of her shell and push through her own insecurities. She’s familiar with murder, but her experience was working in the background, so finding herself in the middle of an active crime scene and needing to stand up for her own opinions is clearly a new experience. I thought she was a refreshing change from the typical detectives you find in this kind of book, though I will say that there were times I felt like her insecurities overwhelmed other portions of her characterization.

Overall, this was a quick, satisfying read. I didn’t come away from it blown away, but I also was able to get through it quickly and enjoyed it for what it was. Readers looking for a good holiday mystery should probably check this one out (though I will warn about the characters being a bit on the weaker side overall).

Rating 7: While the characters were all a bit too unlikable for my taste, the vibes were on point for the holiday season (Halloween or Christmas—take your pick!)

Reader’s Advisory:

“Murder Most Haunted” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Christmas Mysteries.

Serena’s Review: “Murder at Donwell Abbey”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Murder at Donwell Abbey” by Vanessa Kelly

Publishing Info: Kensington Books, November 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Emma’s spirits are elevated after she and husband George Knightley host a joyful holiday celebration at the Hartfield estate. But it’s instantly a bitter January when her father makes an unexpected announcement—he and Miss Hetty Bates have decided to marry. Not only must Emma relinquish her role as mistress of the household, but also accept the reality that the excitable Miss Bates will become her stepmother . . .

More unwanted news arrives during an extravagant betrothal ball at Donwell Abbey, the grand Knightley estate where Emma and George will soon permanently reside. Nearly every villager in Highbury revels in the dazzling affair—except Emma’s hardworking lady’s maid, Prudence Parr. To Emma’s horror, Prudence is found dead, sprawled across the stones of the library terrace . . .

The woman’s tragic fall is quickly ruled a terrible accident and whispers circulate around personal troubles leading up to her untimely demise. But Emma’s instincts tell her that something far more sinister is at play. Now, Highbury’s matchmaker-turned-sleuth vows to outwit a cunning criminal before an innocent man loses his freedom—or Donwell Abbey plunges into a darker mystery . . .

Previously Reviewed: “Murder in Highbury”

Review: It’s kind of funny that the two mystery series that I’m currently keeping up to date on are both based on reinterpretations of Jane Austen characters! They’re also very different, which is probably what makes the entire situation doable! Given how much I enjoyed the first book in this series, I was excited to see how the sequel would turn out.

Ultimately, I didn’t love this one quite as much as the first one, but it was also a solid read overall! For one thing, this book begins to firmly move the characters and story beyond the bounds of what we were given in the original Emma. There were hints that Miss Bates and Mr. Woodhouse were moving into new territory at the end of the first book, but here we get confirmation with the announcement of their engagement. With this upcoming change, Emma and Mr. Knightley are free to begin moving back to Knightley’s home of Donwell Abbey, and the location of much of the action of this book. It was great fun getting to see a new side of Emma and Knightley as they navigate a new phase of their marriage. Emma, in particular, was quick to rise to the challenge of becoming the mistress of a new household.

With this relocation, we also were introduced to a whole host of new characters, both side characters and the victim and potential suspects. There were both pros and cons to this influx of new characters. For the positives, I really liked all of the new additions. They all felt like characters who could have existed in Austen’s original story but simply hadn’t been mentioned. I particularly enjoyed the housekeeper of Donwell and her team-ups with Emma at various points. However, the downside of all of these new additions was the simple fact that by having so many new characters, the book had less time to focus on the beloved originals.

While I enjoyed the Emma/Knightley scenes we had, I do wish we had more. I also would have liked to see more of Harriet and Mrs. Weston as well. That said, Miss Bates played a surprisingly large role in the story. I do think that some of her actions/reactions were a bit out of character (indeed, Vanessa Kelly didn’t devote entire pages to blocks of rambling dialogue from her, but I guess I can excuse that), but I still enjoyed seeing her in this sidekick role.

I also think the mystery itself was a bit predictable. Pretty much right from the start, I had a finger on who was involved in this entire situation. There were a few twists and turns throughout, but many of the major beats were telegraphed fairly clearly. That said, I really liked the numerous action scenes, something I wasn’t really expecting to find in this sort of historical mystery book.

Overall, this was an excellent entry in the series! I enjoyed the fact that it began to move the story beyond the confines of what we have from the original, and I’m excited to see even more of that in future books!

Rating 8: The mystery was a bit predictable, but I was mostly here for all the great Emma action, and that I got in spades!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Murder at Donwell Abbey” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Jane Austen Mysteries.

Kate’s Review: “All of Us Murderers”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “All of Us Murderers” by K.J. Charles

Publishing Info: Poisoned Pen Press, October 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: The lush Gothic drama of Crimson Peak meets the murderous intrigue of Knives Out with an LGBTQIA+ love story to die for from award-winning author KJ Charles.

WHO WILL SURVIVE LACKADAY HOUSE?

When Zeb Wyckham is summoned to a wealthy relative’s remote Gothic manor, he is horrified to find all the people he least wants to see in the world: his estranged brother, his sneering cousin, and his bitter ex-lover Gideon Grey. Things couldn’t possibly get worse.

Then the master of the house announces the true purpose of the gathering: he intends to leave the vast family fortune to whoever marries his young ward, setting off a violent scramble for her hand. Zeb wants no part of his greedy family―but when he tries to leave, the way is barred. The walls of Lackaday House are high, and the gates firmly locked. As the Dartmoor mists roll in, there’s no way out. And something unnatural may be watching them from the house’s shadowy depths…

Fear and paranoia ramping ever-higher, Zeb has nowhere to turn but to the man who once held his heart. As the gaslight flickers and terror takes hold, can two warring lovers reunite, uncover the murderous mysteries of Lackaday House―and live to tell the tale?

Review: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an ARC of this novel!

It’s still pretty hot here in Minnesota (THIS SHOULD NOT BE HAPPENING IN LATE SEPTEMBER!), but I’m definitely settling in and eager for the cooler temps, the longer nights, and the overall coziness of Fall to finally set in. And while October is dedicated to all horror reads when it comes to my reviews (Horrorpalooza 2025 starts on Thursday!), I do have a great historical mystery to put on your Autumn reading lists to talk about! I had seen “All of Us Murderers” by K.J. Charles floating around, the retro cover really catching my eye, and I was definitely interested in it when Poisoned Pen Press reached out with a request for me to take a look at it. What’s not to love? It’s Gothic! It’s Queer! It’s a SUPER VINTAGE COVER DESIGN! I was excited to dive in, and man, it did not disappoint!

I really do enjoy a Gothic thriller (well, Gothic anything), and “All of Us Murders” pretty much had my attention from the start and didn’t let go until the end. The premise is pretty straight forward: The Wyckham Family has a powerful but notorious history, and when Zeb Wyckham is called to the family estate for a meeting with his immediate and extended family, as well as his ex-lover Gideon, who is now working for head of family Wynn Wyckham who called the meeting. Wynn tells them all that he’s shifting the inheritance around and that they only way to get the money is to marry his young ward Georgina, and then the bitterness and dysfunction of the family is put to the test when he won’t let them leave and a fog rolls in. Then people start dying. It’s locked door, it’s Gothic, it’s family dysfunction, and EVERYONE IS A SUSPECT! Charles really set the scene in a way that was gripping, and as Zeb and Gideon try to figure out what is going on (is it a family curse? is someone plotting against everyone else?), the mystery deepens and the twists keep coming. I’m usually someone who can parse through red herrings and misdirections when it comes to thrillers, at least a little bit, but in this book I had a really hard time guessing where it was all going, and I was absolutely delighted by that. I also love how an isolated house surrounded by fog and a family filled with vipers just makes for that much more of a heightened stake for Zeb and Gideon, who may be in serious danger.

And on top of the really well done Gothic mystery, we also have a pretty sweet romance at the center of the book! Zeb and Gideon are just so likable, their chemistry is off the charts and I love how they aren’t perfect in their love for each other, but they also aren’t melodramatic or constantly being torn away from each other for merely dramatic purposes. Gideon is a very steady and pragmatic (and oh so patient) character, and he is a great foil for the somewhat scattered and anxious Zeb (also, side note, I LOVE seeing ADHD representation in books and Charles did a good job with Zeb, keeping it within the time frame’s understanding while also completely nailing it), and I was SO rooting for them basically from the jump. I love a solid and sexy romance in a mystery like this, it’s just so moody in the best way and I loved Zeb and Gideon.

“All of Us Murderers” is a fun and atmospheric Gothic mystery that kept me guessing up until the end. I could just feel the fog and melancholy of the moors as I was reading it, and it’s a moody read just in time for Autumn.

Rating 9: A stellar mystery, a lush Gothic setting, and a steamy romance combine to make a delightful thriller with a nasty family that may be cursed at the center.

Reader’s Advisory:

“All of Us Murderers” is included on the Goodreads list “A History or Historical Fiction Book”.

Kate’s Review: “Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests”

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Book: “Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” by K.J.Whittle

Publishing Info: Sourcebooks Landmark, September 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publisher

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Three courses. Seven guests. One card. It’s a deadly evening they’ll never forget. 

Seven strangers meet for an anonymously hosted dinner party. As the evening winds down, seven cards appear, one in front of each of the guests. On each card is a number – the age at which the guest will die. Spooked but skeptical, the guests disperse into the rainy night with the hope of forgetting the morbid turn of events. 

Two weeks later, one guest is dead. At exactly the age the card predicted. 

More guests begin to die as the years go on, each one dead at the same age as their card. It soon becomes clear that something much more sinister is abound. Now, it’s up to the quickly dwindling group of dinner guests to figure out who (or what) was behind that fateful dinner party all those years ago, before their numbers catch up with them too. 

Told from the perspectives of each of the seven guests, which span from hilarious to hateful, Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is a spellbinding and mysterious exploration of mortality, begging the how would you live your life if you knew your number was up?

Review: Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for sending me an ARC of this novel!

Well I was all excited because last week it really felt like Fall had arrived, and then THIS week we were once again in the 80s with sun and humidity. Once we get to mid-September, my attitude turns to Autumn things in all their forms, and that includes looking for books that have a certain feel to them. That can be cozy, or spooky, or an undefinable third thing that has me like ‘yeah, this feels like a Fall book’ as I read. The book “Seen Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” by K.J. Whittle definitely had that feeling to me as I was reading, as an Agatha Christie-esque whodunnit just feels like Fall.

As a mystery, “Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” has a pretty standard set up: seven strangers are called to a mysterious dinner party with no obvious host, and at the end of the night they all receive envelopes that tell them at what age they are going to die. For many of them, it’s in the very near future, and when it starts happening they realize that someone, for whatever reason, wants them all dead. Throw in some Seven Deadly Sins themes, and you have a solid premise and a mystery that mostly kept me guessing, or at the very least invested and interested. I liked that we got different perspective points in the book so that we could get clues from different people that added to the whole, and I found myself surprised a few times. I also have always loved a Seven Deadly Sins theme, and liked seeing how various players lined up within that theme. Did I figure some stuff out? Sure. But there were some twists that had me guessing.

The characters run the gamut from complicated but relatable to genuinely frustrating and terrible. They all had their flaws, but some were a bit more well articulated than others. I liked Vivienne, the cold but intrepid and determined journalist who is our main perspective as she tries to figure out what is going on with all of her compatriots dropping dead after the ill fated and mysterious dinner party. She’s not very kind or nice, but I thought that she felt pretty realistic, and has her moments. I also liked how Whittle explores other unlikable characters and gives them SOME humanizing edges, whether it’s the outlandish and somewhat vapid Janet, who has experienced trauma and sadness around her inability to have a baby, or the closeted cop Melvin who pines for his partner in secret but feels guilt with a sick wife at home. There are also interesting plays on people who are full on hypocrites, like the famous Doctor Gordon who preaches stringent and health conscious lifestyles, but is hiding an eating disorder to maintain his own physique. Other characters were kind of bland or two dimensional, but it was the little quirks of these characters that stood out the most as I was reading.

“Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” is solid and serviceable as a mystery, and it just felt like the perfect Fall read as we head towards a changing of the seasons. Cozy up with some unlikable characters and just have fun with it!

Rating 7: A solid whodunnit with an enjoyable take on the Seven Deadly Sins, “Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” is an entertaining mystery that just feels like an Autumn read.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” isn’t on many relevant Goodreads lists as of now, but would probably fit in on the shelf “Culinary Mystery Books”.

Kate’s Review: “In Deadly Company”

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Book: “In Deadly Company” by L.S. Stratton

Publishing Info: Union Square & Co, September 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publicist

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A year after the blowout birthday celebration she organized accidentally ended in the death of her nightmare, one-percenter boss, Xander Chambers, Nicole Underwood thought she was setting the public record straight by agreeing to consult on a feature film based on her story. But on the set in LA, she watches in frustration as her experiences are persistently sidelined by inappropriate casting and frequent, bizarre script changes.
 
Nicole is haunted by the events of that fateful house party and visions of her now deceased boss. Xander had been unfit to lead the company his mother—famed entrepreneur Bridget Chambers—had founded and built to Fortune 500 status until her untimely death in a car accident several months prior. After being Bridget’s favorite assistant, Nicole had honored her mentor by staying on to keep Xander organized and on task despite his relentless partying. When he wanted her to plan his wild bash, Nicole saw a chance to probe the people closest to the Chambers family and learn if Bridget’s crash was truly a simple tragedy. But Nicole, who just wanted to be the best assistant possible, could not have foreseen the terrible consequences of her actions.

Review: Thank you to Sparkpoint Studio for sending me an ARC of this novel!

If a book comes at me and promises to have a “White Lotus” vibe to it I am probably going to be interested regardless, as that show is such a (not so) guilty pleasure for me. There’s something tantalizing for me about nasty wealthy people being shown as nasty with fun bits of dark humor AND the perspectives of the less wealthy having to deal with their bullshit. So it’s probably not shocking that when I was offered “In Deadly Company” by L. S. Stratton, which centers on an assistant of a notoriously awful billionaire reeling from a weekend that ends in multiple deaths, I was like ‘oh yes please’.

The plot is straightforward and very twisty, with two different perspective times and multiple perspective characters (though some are more prominent than others). Our main character is Nicole (or Nikki), the former assistant to famous billionaire Xander Chambers. She had been the assistant to his mother Bridget, but when Bridget died in a car accident she was kept on my Xander, who was far more crass and far less outwardly magnanimous. We have a first person POV in the present day, where she’s acting as a consultant on a film about a deadly weekend during Xander’s birthday celebration that happened a year prior. We also have third person POVs back to the weekend of the birthday bash, with Nicole and a couple other characters serving as the perspectives. I liked the way that Stratton used these two timelines, as it gives us a way to look at some very personal fallout for Nicole in the present day while also giving us hints beyond her scope during the birthday weekend. Nicole is a VERY enjoyably protagonist, as not only is she one of the few likable people in the book, she is also funny and sardonic and very easy to root for, whether that’s because of the crappy behavior of her employer and his terrible friends that she has to run damage control for, or the saccharine and very inauthentic movie production that she has been roped into in hopes of setting the record straight (while having to deal with colorism, misogynoir, and the general misrepresentation in the pursuit of a narrative that Hollywood is known for).

As a mystery, it had a lot of pretty well set up twists and turns. I could call a few of them here and there, but there were a couple that generally blew me away. Stratton has a dubious (in a good way) list of suspects, all of whom are believable to be killers or at least malevolent BECAUSE they are all such shifty and careless people, and if that doesn’t sum up the billionaire class I don’t know what does. Nicole’s interactions with them elicit both dark satire as well as ugly realities. I will say that I didn’t buy into the romance between Nicole and Jeremiah as much, but that’s not because of either of the characters. Like I said above I really liked Nicole, and Jeremiah was a solid ‘outsider’ perspective to give us more clues that Nicole wouldn’t necessarily be privy to when he did have his perspective points. But I thought that the romance between them could have had a bit more exploration and depth as opposed to the re-introduced whirlwind with so many other things happening in such a short period of time. But again, that’s a minor quibble in a story I generally enjoyed!

Ultimately I enjoyed “In Deadly Company” as it points out the greed and sociopathy of billionaires (both in the corporate and entertainment world) all wrapped up in a fast paced whodunnit. Definitely an enjoyable thriller!

Rating 8: A fun murder mystery with under-appreciated workers and conniving elites, “In Deadly Company” was a fast read that had me surprised consistently.

Reader’s Advisory:

“In Deadly Company” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Damn These Rich People!”.