REVIEW – Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

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“We’ve all been through a lot, Bryan, all of us. I know that some have been through more than others. but if we don’t expect more from each other, hope better for one another, and recover from the hurt we experience, we are surely doomed.”

Just Mercy is truly essential reading for all Americans. Our justice system is so broken – and Bryan Stevenson provides stories about real people who have suffered because of it. There’s not much I can say about this book that hasn’t already been said, but I can say that I have waffled back and forth on the death penalty for years. It really depended on the day, or the news I had most recently read, that swayed my opinion either for or against it. This book solidified my opinion – we need to abolish the death penalty. There are too many people who have been failed by our justice system, failed by a lack of education, or social programs, support, love, care, for those in power to fairly decide if someone should be put to death.

“We’ve given up on rehabilitation, education, and services for the imprisoned because providing assistance to the incarcerated is apparently too kind and compassionate.”

Just Mercy is one of those books that will move you to ACT. This isn’t just an educational read, it’s a motivational read. There are a lot of tough topics covered throughout this book, but I urge you not to look away.

“We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair, until we all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we victimize others.”

COZY MYSTERY REVIEW – Death at a Country Mansion by Louise R. Innes

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What a great start to a new series! Death at a Country Mansion is just delightful. Set in a small village in Surrey, England, we follow Daisy Thorne, salon owner by day and forensic psychology student during her downtime. When her best friend’s mother, Dame Serena Levante, is found dead in her palatial home, Daisy quickly gets involved in the murder investigation.

This book was so fun! The mystery was interesting and there are a lot of little twists and turns that will keep you guessing. Daisy and her best friend, Floria, are charming, likable characters, and Detective Inspector Paul McGuinness is a perfect potential love interest.

I’m already excited for book two!

Thank you Kensington Books for the ARC!

REVIEW – Murder in the Lincoln White House by CM Gleason

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I bought this book last fall because I was intrigued by the premise, but it took me a year (and some change…) before I actually picked it up. I regret not reading this sooner! I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I loved this.

We follow Adam Quinn, who is part of President Lincoln’s security team. At Lincoln’s inaugural ball, a dead body is found (just a few yards from the POTUS, might I add). President Lincoln tasks Adam with investigating the murder, which takes him on a journey across DC where he meets some eccentric, fun and suspicious characters.

When a second dead body turns up inside the White House, Adam has to race against time to find the culprit before they reach the president himself. He ends up putting himself in harm’s way because someone REALLY does not want these murders solved…

There are clever little clues throughout the book, and Gleason does a great job of placing the reader directly in 1860s Washington. There are some hilarious scenes in this book (and some pretty gruesome ones, too). Overall it features a great balance of humor and mystery and suspense, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series!

REVIEW – Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

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I like Riley Sager. I look forward to a new Riley Sager book each year. However, none have lived up to Final Girls in my opinion. Home Before Dark just continues that trend…

This book suffers a bit from too-much-ism. The reader wonders if the house is really haunted (and if the house isn’t haunted, who was doing the “haunting”)? Is Maggie’s dad telling the truth in his book? And if not, why lie? There are also two murder mysteries woven throughout…

I liked this enough to finish it, and I liked it enough to want to know how it ended. But the final few chapters threw so many twists, it was just…too much. The ending had me rolling my eyes and my final verdict? Meh.

It’s worth reading if you’re a Sager fan, but don’t expect anything more than a run-of-the-mill thriller that tries a little too hard to shock the reader. I think my expectations were a bit too high.

COZY MYSTERY REVIEW – Finished Off in Fondant by Rosemarie Ross

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Finished Off in Fondant is the second book in the Courtney Archer Mystery Series, which I am really enjoying!

Inspired by everyone’s favorite, cozy baking competition (you know the one!), this series follows Courtney Archer, known as The Farmer’s Daughter (except her parents were definitely not farmers…) We open book two as Courtney comes clean about her background to a live audience during a taping of her show.

She’s also getting ready to start filming season two of The American Baking Battle. The first season was overshadowed by the murder of one of the contestants, but the odds of a murder happening twice during the filming of the same show are low, right? ….right? Unfortunately, a body shows up in the suite of one of the show’s co-hosts, and Courtney can’t help but get involved with yet another murder investigation.

I’m excited to see where the series goes…the supporting characters are a lot of fun, and there’s a potential love triangle in the works (I have my favorite guy but we shall see what actually happens!)

Thank you Kensington Books for the NetGalley ARC!

REVIEW – Under A Gilded Moon by Joy Jordan-Lake

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When Kerry MacGregor has no choice but to leave NYC and head home to the Blue Ridge Mountains to care for her dying father, she gets wrapped up in the world of high society, the completion of the Biltmore Estate and a murder mystery.

You can tell that Jordan-Lake has a great love for the Blue Ridge Mountains – some of my favorite parts of the book were the descriptions of the setting and scenery. I did feel that some of the characters and potential storylines weren’t explored enough, but that did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. The story is interesting, the setting is lovely and there are a lot of memorable characters (some delightful and others absolutely despicable).

There is a murder mystery in the background of this book, but this is very much historical fiction that covers a few months in the life of our main character – I would not classify the book as a “mystery” even though that is one major element.

Under A Gilded Moon was a nice little escape for a few days – I felt transported to the Blue Ridge Mountains and i’m definitely going to make it a point to visit the Biltmore someday.

Content warnings: racism, brief mentions of domestic violence, alcoholism, death of a parent, attempted assault, suicide

Thank you Get Red PR for the finished copy!

COZY MYSTERY REVIEW – The Malt in Our Stars by Sarah Fox

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“Ever since moving to Shady Creek, I’d developed a habit of getting wrapped up in murder investigations.”

Oh, how I love this series! We meet back up with Sadie, owner of The Inkwell, who is getting ready to host one of her favorite authors for a book event. Shockingly (or not…) the author’s assistant ends up dead at Shady Creek Manor (a local inn with a storied past), and Sadie can’t help but get involved in trying to solve the murder.

Shady Creek is also welcoming a TV crew to town, who will be doing a feature on the local brewery (and including The Inkwell briefly as well!) AND they’re trying to get ready for their annual May Day festivities, which culminate in an elegant masquerade ball that’s set to take place at, you guessed it, the scene of the murder.

This book has it all – a hidden treasure that may or may not exist, precocious townspeople who can’t help but stick their nose in other people’s business, a dreamy love interest (swoon!) and, of course, drinks and food items that have bookish pun names.

Thank you Sarah Fox for sending me an ARC of this book!

COZY MYSTERY REVIEW – Meet Isabel Puddles by M.V. Byrne

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Meet Isabel Puddles was a little bit of a bumpy ride, but I did end up enjoying it. Isabel is a very interesting and well-developed character – it’s hard not to love her. Isabel is a widow “of a certain age” who has her hand in pretty much every aspect of her small town in northern-ish Michigan.

This is definitely a cozy mystery, but it does read a bit more like a contemporary mystery – it’s a bit more in-depth and lacks that “cutesy” factor that’s so common in cozies (not a bad thing, just not a sugary sweet kind of novel).

There’s a lot of extra fluff in this book and Isabel will often go off on tangents talking about stories from decades past, or giving more background into the lives of minor characters. These tangents definitely give you a feel of small-town Michigan (if you aren’t already familiar with it) but they can be long-winded and tedious at times.

That all being said, I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series, and I can’t wait to see what sort of trouble Isabel gets herself into!

Thank you Kensington Books for the ARC.

REVIEW – Barely Functional Adult by Meichi Ng

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“It’s important for you to hold on to your good days; they keep you sane in the face of bad ones.”

Are you a human being who has even just a little bit of life experience? Then this book is for you! Somehow this little blue blob is hilarious and profound and insightful – and Meichi Ng created one of the most relatable books i’ve ever read. I mean, at some points I had to stop and think, “Wait, did I write this book…?”

So now, naturally, i’m convinced that the author and I could be friends:
Hi Meichi! I’m deathly afraid of wasps and would also love to be cheeseburger rich. I’m pretty sure we could be friends. I’m sorry I laughed at the story about your dead fish (RIP Bobo). Thank you for writing such a wonderful book.

If you’re a fan of Hyperbole and a Half, you’ll definitely love this one too.

Thank you Harper Perennial for the finished copy!

REVIEW – The Residence by Andrew Pyper

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“It was the dead who did it. The house was full of them.”

Something terrifying is happening in the White House (I mean, the jokes just write themselves at this point…) But seriously. Not long after Franklin Pierce is elected president, his son dies in a horrific train accident. When Franklin and his wife, Jane, move into the White House, that’s when the real terror begins.

PHEW. This book is a doozy. It’s definitely creepy but, more importantly, it’s incredibly sad. It’s hard enough reading about grieving parents, but when you add some really terrifying, demonic elements to that, it’s gut-wrenching. The opening especially is just chilling and heartbreakingly sad.

You see, Jane accidentally summoned some sort of malevolent presence when she was a young girl, and this presence has been tormenting and influencing her ever since. Is it responsible for the tragedy in her life? Probably. This presence seems to feed off of terror and grief and sadness. The book does seem a little repetitive at times (especially the scenes in the boy’s staged bedroom) but there are some parts that will stick with readers long after they’ve left the White House.

Also I would HIGHLY recommend reading the Author’s Note at the end! It’s absolutely terrifying and makes the book that much better. I mean, is it really hard to imagine that the White House is actually haunted?

Content warning: death of a child, suicidal thoughts

Thank you Gallery Books / Skybound Books for the finished copy!