Tag: mystery

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book club Book review humorous fiction mystery reading

Read and Review (R&R) – “My Friends” and “Can You Solve the Murder”

In October, I read two books. The first was for my book club, and it was titled “My Friends” by Fredrick Backman. The second was a recommendation I saw on social media called “Can You Solve the Murder,” by Antony Johnston.

“My Friends” is a New York Times Bestseller and is categorized as humorous fiction on Amazon. It was published in May 2025. While some parts gave me a chuckle, I found it heartbreaking but heartwarming. It is a story of the power of friendship and art. I really enjoy this author’s writing style and his character portrayal.

Four teenage friends, drawn together by rough times, create a bond of friendship and love that lasts a lifetime. When their friendship is captured in a famous work of art, a young aspiring artist, treasuring a postcard she has of the painting, sets out to view the painting in person. This transpires into her going to where the painting originated, and she herself is transformed by the love and friendship these four teenagers experienced 25 years ago.

Some of the other well-known books by this author are “A Man Called Ove,” “Anxious People,” and “Beartown which was made into an HBO series and now can be viewed on streaming platforms.

The second book I read was “Can You Solve the Murder,” which was published in July 2025. This is an interactive whodunit, where you are the detective and choose the direction of the story by deciding who to question. I haven’t read a book such as this since I was young and read the Choose Your Own Adventure books.

When a murder occurs at an English manor wellness retreat, it is up to you to solve the crime – a puzzle in a book. This isn’t a straight cover-to-cover read. Your sleuthing skills determine which page you will turn to next. If you aren’t the type to take notes and figure out clues, this book may not be for you.

I personally really enjoyed trying to find the villain. There are six possible suspects, and I will admit that I didn’t get it right on the first guess. I did, however, correctly find the perpetrator after reevaluating my clues. So, I put myself as a junior detective.

If you pick up either of the above two books, email me at carolelynnjones@gmail.com and share your thoughts. Happy reading/sleuthing!

Categories
Book review crime mystery suspense

Read and Review (R&R) – “The Boyfriend” by Freida McFadden

This month’s book club read was “The Boyfriend,” by Freida McFadden.

She’s looking for the perfect date. He is looking for the perfect victim.

Is he the man of your dreams or your worst nightmare?

Once I read these two taglines, I couldn’t wait to read this book. And once I started, I couldn’t put it down.

This is my favorite book thus far from #1 New York Times bestselling author, Freida McFadden.

I thoroughly enjoyed the dual timelines that collide at the end.

I thought I had figured the perpetrator out, but then, whoa, big plot twist.

Sydney Shaw has had her share of bad dates on a dating app. And then, she hits the jackpot and meets a man who is charming, handsome, and a doctor at a local hospital. Sydney thinks she has met the man of her dreams.

But then, there is a brutal murder, and Sydney starts to get suspicious of her perfect man.

If you’ve read or are reading any of the books I blog about or post on my social media, please reach out and let me know. I would love to hear from you.

Categories
book club Book review crime fiction reading suspense

Read and Review (R&R) – The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

July’s book club read was “The Woman in the Library” by Sulari Gentill. This author’s writing style is impressive. I loved this book.

It is a story within a story. I admit I was a bit confused at the beginning, as I had never read a book written this way. Once I understood the structure of writing, I was hooked. I did not figure the perpetrator out until it was revealed, so hats off to the writer. Lots of plot twists!

Book jacket synopsis:

In every person’s story, there is something to hide…

The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who’d happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.

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Book review crime fiction mystery reading Uncategorized

Read and Review (R&R) – “Night Shift” by Alex Finlay

This month’s book club read was Night Shift by Alex Finlay.

It’s New Year’s Eve 1999, and the teenagers who work at a Blockbuster in Linden, New Jersey, are excited to close up and welcome in Y2K. But before the night is over, all but one are dead, and the remaining survivor has never forgotten the horror of what happened. Fifteen years later, an eerily similar attack happens in an ice cream shop in town, again with only one survivor. Will the investigation this time finally lead to the truth of what happened all those years ago?

This book is written from different points of view in short chapters with lots of twists and secrets.

The survivors’ common memory of a whispered message is chilling.

I like how in-depth the author’s characterizations are~the detectives and the public defender characters are so well written, and I would guess Finlay either has a background in law enforcement or did a lot of research into those professions.

I figured out the culprit early on, but Alex Finlay’s writing style kept me turning pages and second guessing.

I would love to see this book made into a movie.

After reading Night Shift, I am going to pick up his debut, Every Last Fear.

Categories
book club Book review fiction mystery novel

Read and Review (R&R) – “Spirit Crossing” by William Kent Krueger

“Spirit Crossing” is book number 20 in the Cork O’Connor series. While I haven’t read the first 19, I was able to follow along with the characters.

Krueger writes this series set in the north woods of Minnesota. His protagonist is Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe. 

The novel centers around missing young Indian women who have disappeared with little attention from law enforcement. When the daughter of a rich white politician goes missing, all levels of law enforcement become involved. The mystery heats up when Cork’s grandson discovers a body in a shallow grave while blueberry picking. His visions put himself and his family in the crosshairs of the killer.

William Kent Krueger is well-known for his gripping, heartfelt stories, and this one is among them.

I, like many, am unaware of the cruelty that Native Americans (especially women) endure. This book opened my eyes to their struggles. Like the others I have read by Krueger, it is wonderfully written. I have also read his stand-alone novel, “Ordinary Grace,” and “This Tender Land.”

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Book review crime psychological thriller Uncategorized

Read and Review (R&R) – “The Return of Ellie Black”

This month’s book club read was “The Return of Ellie Black” by Emiko Jean

This is my first read by this author and her debut thriller. She is a New York Times bestselling author, and her books have been published in over 30 languages.

The Return of Ellie Black, while well-written with a strong storyline, is darker and more intense than I prefer to read.

Ellie Black has been missing for two years, and she suddenly reappears in Washington State.

For Detective Chelsey Calhoun, any missing person case is personal. Her sister, Lydia, went missing when they were just teens.

Chelsey senses that something isn’t right with Ellie-her answers to where she has been and who she is protecting.

Told in multiple points of view, this psychological thriller is gripping and heartbreaking.

Warning: There are graphic, disturbing scenes, kidnapping, and sexual abuse.

Categories
Book review crime debut novel mystery psychological thriller reading suspense

Read and Review (R&R) – First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

“First Lie Wins” is a twist-filled, cat and mouse psychological thriller.

It is the first adult novel by Ashley Elston and is told in first person.

Although the main character, Evie is a con-artist, you can’t help but cheer her on.

Evie is given an identity, location and target for each new assignment by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith. She must learn everything she can about her target and then assume the identity and infiltrate into the target’s life. It is when she moves in with her boyfriend, Ryan, that Evie’s normally cool, calculated plans fall apart.

If you do not like a timeline that moves around and flashbacks, this book might not be for you.

I read that actress-producer, Octavia Spencer has secure the rights to adapt this book into a series for Hulu.

Categories
book club Book review crime mystery reading

Read and Review (R&R) – “A Book Club’s Guide to Murder and Mayhem

“A Book Club’s Guide to Murder and Mayhem,” a Suzie Tuft Mystery – Book 1, is set in the scenic woods of Pennsylvania and centers around Suzie Tuft, a technical writer, who while taking a walk with her dog very near her rural home discovers a dead body. To make matters worse, the deceased turns out to be an estate attorney sent to notify her that her ex‑boyfriend with whom the relationship did not end on a good note, has died, and left her a large inheritance. Suzie is sure the inheritance comes with strings attached. The only bright spot in Suzie’s day is a handsome police officer sent to the scene who shows a noticeable interest in her and stirs feelings in Suzie that she hasn’t felt in a long time.

Shocked over finding the body and confused as to why her ex would leave her anything, Suzie is determined to get justice for the man who died trying to notify her. When characters from her past with her ex and others start showing up at her door threatening her and demanding she sign over the inheritance to them, she enlists her best friend, Jess, and other friends from their book club to help her.

There are twists, an interesting cast of characters, and red herrings which make this book a fun, cozy read. Bethany Barker did a great job of setting the scene, bringing to life her characters, and creating a storyline with loads of potential for future stories. I am looking forward to reading more Suzie Tuft mysteries.

Categories
Book review crime fiction mystery reading suspense thriller

Read and Review (R&R) “Don’t Believe It” by Charlie Donlea

This month’s book club read was Don’t Believe It by Charlie Donlea. If you haven’t read anything by him, I would recommend adding one of his books to your TBR list.

This suspense novel centers around a woman, Grace Seabold, who has been imprisoned for ten years in St. Lucia for the murder of her boyfriend, Julian Crist.

Sidney Ryan is an up-and-coming film producer who in the past produced two documentaries shedding light on a person in jail who was believed to be wrongfully convicted. This puts her in the radar of every convict in the country who believes they are innocent. Grace Seabold is one of those convicts. She writes to Sidney asking for her help to dig into her story and show the world she is innocent. Sidney travels to St. Lucia, meets with Grace and heads back home to make a pitch to the suits at Events, the station for which she is working as a producer. Given the green light, Sidney starts investigating the murder and the cast of characters that will make up the documentary The Girl of Sugar Beach. With each episode, more and more people become hooked on the one episode a week documentary which has Sidney finding things out along with the viewers. As Sidney becomes increasingly entwined in the case and begins to uncover inconsistencies, she and her audience of twenty million viewers are starting to believe that Grace Seabold is innocent. But is she?

Although about three-quarters of the way through the book, I was pretty sure who might be behind the murder, I wasn’t 100% sure. With an ending I didn’t see coming, Charlie Donlea had me turning pages and reading this book in a week’s time. I will have to say I had hoped for a different ending, but it was cleverly done. This is the second book I have read by this author. The first was titled, Twenty Years Later. Charlie Donlea is a master storyteller. His books are full of plot twists, and I will definitely pick up another novel by this author.

Categories
Book review fiction mystery reading Uncategorized

Read and Review (R&R) – “Up Jumped the Devil” by Martha Reed

One of my latest reads was Up Jumped the Devil by Martha Reed. This is the second book in the Crescent City NOLA Mystery series.

Set in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, Up Jumped the Devil is chock full of a host of well-developed interesting characters, intrigue, the lore of New Orleans, and a little bit of voodoo.

Jane Byrne is the Chief Security Officer working the graveyard shift in New Orleans’ famous St. Louis Cemetery. The story starts with Jane trying to catch graffiti vandals. With a bad knee, and a boss who wants the culprits caught yesterday, Jane enlists the help of her transgender friend, Gigi. When Jane and Gigi corner a vandal, Gigi realizes she has seen the trespasser before. When the two sleuths track the perpetrator down, they find themselves entwined in a kidnapping ring. Solving the mystery is a matter of life and death – possibly their own.

Some of the other characters are Gigi’s father, Ken, who is a musician, his wife, Leslie, and Aunt Babette, a NOLA voodoo queen.

In Up Jumped the Devil, Martha Reed’s research of NOLA shines. I enjoy Reed’s storytelling and her ability to transport readers with vivid descriptions into the story and keep them there long after they finish the book.

When book three in this series comes out, it will be on my TBR list.