Twelve Angry Librarians is the 8th book in the Cat in the Stacks mystery. In this Charlie finds himself stressed out by the hosting of a Library convention, especially when he discovers an old nemesis is due to be speaking at the convention. This is an always wonderful series and this installment does not disappoint. Charlie and Diesel become embroiled in a murder as one of the convention attendees is killed in front of an audience. There are also subplots from Charlie’s personal life as he is about to be a grandfather, his romantic interest is making a change in her life, and he has to make a decision about his position at the library. Fun cozy mystery read.

Pietr the Latvian is a book that I was looking forward to for quite a while, ever since I watched both versions of the Maigret TV series. Twisting turning plot as Maigret tracks down a villain. Very atmospheric and full of tension, all the makings of book you can’t put down. Maigret is a great detective character and one that makes me want to read more in this series.

Say it with Poison, the first in the Mitchell and Markby series, is a book I’ve had on my TBR for a while. From the description, it sounds like everything I would be interested in reading. Unfortunately, it falls short and I can’t even say why. It just felt like a struggle for me to keep going with it. I didn’t really like the sleuth. The action felt almost non-existent. I won’t be reading any more of this.

The Last Resort was an impulse download, I believe it was a free Amazon First Reads. A weak attempt at a Christie-esque, And Then There Were None crossed with some high tech version of Survivor. Fairly obvious early on as to who the villain was and the reason why. Not the book for me, I’m sorry to say.

Trick or Treat or Die was a impulse download from Amazon, I was looking for a Halloween cozy. The saying don’t judge a book by its cover applies here. Definitely not cozy, it concerns a violent rampage at a Halloween festival. There is also the killing of animals referenced and on screen. For someone interested in reading books about mass killings, like school shootings or the like, this might be the book for you.

I received a free ebook copy of Privilege from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. Sorry to say this was a “did not finish” for me. I just couldn’t get into this book at all. After a few attempts, I gave up and moved on to others.

I received a free ebook copy of The Man in the Microwave Oven from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. Theo is a British expat who owns a soap store in San Francisco. She is trying to keep a low profile and avoid detection after events in her native England. Murder is not very low profile and so when her neighborhood becomes the scene of one, she is definitely concerned. The murder ends up leading to a world of international espionage, old spies, and more entanglements with her family. An okay mystery read.

I received a free ebook copy of When the Past Kills from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. This was a really good mystery in the DI Ridpath series. This series is different from many others as DI Ridpath is assigned to the Coroner’s Office mainly and the perspective towards investigating is different from the standard police force. The mystery itself here was twisted, full of tension and action. This will keep up late turning the pages to finish.

I received a free ebook version of In Bad Company from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. This is book 9 in the Sandhamm Murders series. In this installment, the action centers on Bosnian refugees, organized crime, and domestic abuse. The actions of some of the characters can perhaps be linked to their experiences although that does not excuse any of them. The main focus is a young Swedish mother, Mina, who married a man, who is more monster than man. Nora and Thomas find themselves in a difficult fight to nail down this elusive criminal figure who uses terror and the law to stay ahead of them and out of jail. Very good mystery read.

I received a free ebook version of Death by French Roast from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. This is book 8 in the series and I have not read all the others before it, but that did not hinder my enjoyment of this one. The death of Krissy’s neighbor, although not a murder itself, does draw Krissy into the investigation of unsolved cold case. As she learns of the mystery surrounding “Uncle Wade” and his connection to Rita, a friend of hers, Krissy decides to look into it. Uncovering old secrets and rivalries that have long been brewing. Fun, fast cozy read.