What Are You Reading This Summer?

What are you reading this summer? Here are some of the books I’ve read recently.

You can’t go wrong with anything by Diane Kelly, Maria DiRico (Ellen Byron), and Tara Lush. Read all their series. They are fabulous, and I always read their latest.

Korina Moss and Linda Reilly are my favorite cheese-themed cozy writers. What is not to love? You can never have enough cheese, and when it’s mixed with a mystery, it’s perfect. You need to check out all the books in both of their series.

Daphne Silver, Annie McEwen, T.C. Herren, and Jennie Marts were all new-to-me cozy authors. Their books are terrific, and you need to check them out.

Paula Charles’s Hammers and Homicide is a fun cozy and a great start to a new series. I also had the pleasure of reading an early version of her second in her goat yoga series as Janna Rollins. It’s a hoot.

I had the pleasure of reading an ARC for Janna Rollins for the second in her Zen Goat Mysteries. It’s a hoot. This is a must-read series.

Annie McEwen’s Resort to Murder is another great start to a new series. What a sweet, fun mystery. She has a new one out in this series, too.

I read the first two of The Turner and Mosely Files by LynDee Walker and Bruce Robert Coffin. What a fun series of mysteries full of adventure, missing treasures, and all kinds of cool technology. Escape on a book vacation with this series!

What books or authors should I add to my summer reading list?

Happy National Smile Day (And Ways to Make an Author Grin)

Happy National Smile Day. Here are some quick, free things you can do to help authors and make them smile.

• If you like a book, leave a review on one of the many sites (e.g. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BookBub, Goodreads, Audible…). It doesn’t have to be a book report. A couple of sentences will do.

• Tell your book club about the book and add it to the group’s reading list.

• Request that your library add the book to their collection.

• Post on social media that you like the book and tag the author.

Reviews and reader comments do make a difference.

Happy reading, y’all!

What Have You Been Reading Lately?

What are you reading and what’s up next for you? I’m reading Tara Lush’s A Bean to Die for, and I’m sad that this is the last in this series. I loved her new mystery, Gator Queen. Who knew alligator wrangling could be so much fun.

I also recently finished Diane Kelly’s Four-Alarm Homicide and Olivia Blacke’s Rhythm and Clues. Both cozy series are well worth the read.

There are so many books and so little time. I just love Ellen Byron/Maria DiRico and all of her series, Linda Reilly, Mindy Quigley, Tara Lush, Olivia Blacke, Diane Kelly, and Kallie E. Benjamin (V. M. Burns). You cannot go wrong with any of their books.

I really, really enjoyed Daphne Silver’s debut mystery, Crime and Parchment, and she recently won the Agatha Awar for Best First Novel at Malice Domestic. Congratulations! What a fun start to a new series set on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Lots of quirky characters and a twisty plot.

Lee Goldberg’s traditional mysteries are always a hit. If you like police procedurals and twisty mysteries, you need to read Goldberg's Eve Ronin series. Hollywood, heists, reality TV, murder, and mayhem...

T. G. Herren/Greg Herren and Jennie Marts are new-to-me authors. I enjoyed both of these cozies, and I look forward to reading more of their books.

What have you been reading lately?

Do I Have a Twin? Doppelganger?

A Millennial called me Mrs. Frizzle the other day. Okay, I didn’t get the reference, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Professor Valerie Felicity Frizzle, PhD, a former fourth grade teacher, is the central character in the Magic School Bus books and shows. And she loves creativity, learning, and field trips.

Originally created by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen from Scholastic, Dr. Frizzle appears in books, video games, The Magic School Bus (1994-1997), and The Magic School Bus Rides Again (2017-2021).

I checked out the program on YouTube, and I may have my Halloween costume for this fall. Check out Mrs. Frizzle and let me know what you think.

It's Read in the Bathtub Day!

Happy Read in the Bathtub Day! I have never actually done that. I’m way too concerned about getting my book or digital reader wet. But, it sounds like a fun, relaxing afternoon.

What has been on your reading list for 2024? I am working my way through all the great books that I received for Christmas. My year started out with book 3 in Mindy Quigley’s Deep Dish Mystery series. What a fun read. Who could ask for more…pizza, quirky characters, and a whole lot of mayhem and murder.

I also really enjoyed Tara Lush’s Live and Let Grind, part of her Coffee Lovers’ Mystery series. I love her zany characters, and the quaint Florida beach town where chaos seems to break out every time her amateur sleuth is around.

I’m catching up on Olivia Blacke’s the Record Shop Mysteries. What fun! Music, coffee, murder, mayhem, Texas bluebonnets, and a cow.

And I switched things up from my normal cozy reading with Nicolette Lemmon’s Write. Market. Succeed: An Author’s Marketing Playbook. This is a thorough workbook and plan for new and seasoned authors.

I highly recommend all of these, and up next for me is Lee Goldberg, Linda Reilly, Sarah Fox, and Kallie E. Benjamin.

What Have You Been Reading This Fall?

What have you been reading this fall? I’ve been in my editing cave a lot lately with the two books that are coming out early next year, so I haven’t been reading as much as I like to. And there are so many new books out there that look like a lot of fun. So far this fall, I’ve been reading Eve Calder, Catherine Bruns, Julie Anne Lindsey, Jenn McKinlay, Spencer Quinn, Vivien Chien, Lee Goldberg, Kristin Kisska, Libby Klein, Tina Kashian, Sarah Fox, and Paige Shelton. All are great reads. If you haven’t already, add them to your TBR list.

Recently I finished John Grisham’s THE EXCHANGE and Janet Evanovich’s DIRTY THIRTY. I recently found Eve Calder’s series on the Cookie House. What fun. I can’t wait to read more.

What has been your fall favorite?

What Have You Been Reading This Summer?

What were your favorite summer reads? I love all kinds of books, but I always gravitate to mysteries and thrillers. Lee Goldberg is one of my new favorites.

This summer, I went back and read all of the Michael Connelly books I had missed. I am such a fan of Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer. And I like how his Renee Ballard character is evolving. Now, I am all caught up and can’t wait for the next one.

I am such a fan girl of S. A. Cosby. I love his stories, and I get so excited every time a new one comes out. He is a must read if you like southern suspense.

Some of my favorite cozy mysteries this summer were by Maddie Day, Vicki Delany, Barbara Ross, Mindy Quigley, and Maria DiRico.

What’s your next read?

What's in your TBR Pile?

What have you been reading lately? I have finally caught up to present day with Louise Penny and Robert Crais’s novels. I love them all.

I’m still working my way through Michael Connelly’s series, but I’m getting closer. I love Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller, and Renee Ballard. All of his novels are well worth the read (and the TV/movie interpretations are good, too.)

I also found a Patricia Cornwell novel that I hadn’t read, BLACK NOTICE. It was good. She was living in Richmond when we moved here, and I remember driving around town looking for the local spots in her books.

Recently, I read Mia Manansala’s ARSENIC AND ADOBO. What a great mystery, and I can’t wait to read more of her work. I also forgot how funny Laura Levine is. Her mysteries are engaging, fast reads.

And on the thriller side, I absolutely loved Steve Berry’s THE OMEGA FACTOR. This heist story with religious and historic implications has so many twists and turns. It’s fast-paced and packed full of adventure.

What have you been reading lately?