The Ghostly Grounds: Murder and Breakfast

Finished January 11

The Ghostly Grounds: Murder and Breakfast by Sophie Love

This is the first book in a paranormal cosy mystery series called Canine Casper Cosy Mystery. Marie Fortune, a woman in her late thirties, has been working in an upscale dog grooming salon in Boston and as the book opens, she finally loses her cool at the attitude of the clients and her boss, and quits. She reflects on the life she is living and her long-harboured dream of running a bed and breakfast on the coast of Maine. This was a dream inspired and encouraged by her Great Aunt June, whom she spent summer childhoods with in Maine. She worries over what she will do next and when she invites her boyfriend Chris over to tell him, she finds evidence that he's been involved with someone other than her and finds herself ending that relationship as well. As soon as he leaves, she gets a call from a police officer telling her that her Great Aunt June has died.

Naturally she goes to the small Maine town June lived in for the funeral, and finds that June has left her the large house she lived in there and the property it was on, which includes beachfront. Marie can't help but see this as an opportunity to live her dream. She also finds another surprise waiting for her there, as was promised in the note June left for her. It turns out to be a dog, and Marie is happy to take it on as well. 

As she uses the last of her savings to do needed renovations to the house to make it work as a bed and breakfast she leaves in place the gothic touches that June decorated the house with as they seem to fit the place, and despite the fact that the house has a reputation for being haunted Marie doesn't really notice anything like that. But one of her first visitors seems to see something and before she knows it, she finds believers and nonbelievers making bookings hoping to either see something or disprove that there is anything haunting about the house. 

When one of those visitors dies soon after leaving the house, she finds herself under suspicion for the death, and questioning the activities that have been occurring at the house. 

A fun read, with touches of humour and romance. 

A December to Remember

Finished December 29

A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss

Augustus Balthazar North, owner of North's Novelties and Curios in the village of Rowan Thorp has set off on his last adventure, dying in his van on an European mountain. He never really settled down, although he had charm enough to attract ladies and he never pretended to be anything he wasn't. Through his many liaisons he had three daughters, and they all spent a month every summer with him together.  

Maggie, the oldest lived in Rowan Thorp, her mother moving there to see if there was any long term relationship possible, and she ran a greengrocer that Maggie has now taken over. Simone's mother is very business-oriented and Simone is now a physiotherapist married to a therapist and the two are going through a rough patch after having several unsuccessful IVF tries. Star is a free spirit, similar to her mother, never settling down, growing up in a series of communes and in other group settings. She's just been evicted due to the actions of an ex-boyfriend. 

Augustus has set some strange conditions in his will, asking that his daughters work together to bring back the Winter Festival that the town used to have on the solstice. The other is that they find the 32 altered monopoly houses that Augustus has hidden in the shop. The shop has been around since the 1740s, with North's passing it down to the next generation, collecting interesting objects from all over.

The women hire Sotheby's to catalogue the items in the shop and possibly sell some of them at auction, and Sotheby's has sent a lovely young man who is very interested in Augustus' reputation as a collector, eager to see what treasures the shop holds. 

As the women look for the houses, research the festival which was held until several decades earlier, and get to know each other again, they also find community in Rowan Thorp, and find other reasons that the town is the place they want to call home. 

I really enjoyed all three sisters, who all have interesting lives that differ widely from each other, but are also good women. Each finds skills that contribute to their situation and that affect their personal lives in other long-term ways. There is humour, good will, and lots of good food as well.

A seasonal read that brings the feeling of joy and friendship out in a big way.

A delightful novel. 

Enchanted Glass

Finished December 8

Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones

This middle grade fantasy has a great setting, interesting characters, and a plot with interesting elements. 

Andrew Hope's magician grandfather has recently died and left him everything from his house and land to his magical field of care. Andrew, a university professor, moves into the house, but plans to continue his research. The cook/housekeeper and the gardener are vying to see who can get the upper hand in terms of control and both bring in relatives as additional employees as part of this competitiveness. One of them is Stashe, an attractive and efficient secretary and research assistant who also plays a larger role in terms of magic. The other is Shaun, a simple and earnest young man who has mechanical know how and is willing to work hard at whatever job he is given.

When a boy, Aidan, arrives at the house, things begin to get even more interesting. Aidan's grandmother, who raised him, has recently died leaving him in foster care, but she'd given him instructions to seek out Andrew's grandfather should anything happen to her, so he has. Andrew takes Aidan's situation seriously, guarding him from the creatures who seem to be threatening him, and looking for a longer term solution. 

Since one of Andrew's first tasks is to walk the boundaries of the field of care, he asks Aidan to accompany him on this series of outings and they both begin to learn more about their own magical abilities. Andrew also learns of threats to his field of care and the village itself and is determined to keep control. As he learns more about the two stained glass windows on the property, and the way the magic works, he grows into proper adulthood. 

A captivating read. 

Second Chance at Sunshine Inn

Finished November 29

Second Chance at Sunshine Inn by Amy Clipston

This small town novel starts with a loss. Alana McFadden, Everleigh Hartnett's godmother has died, and she chose not to let Everleigh or her family know how ill she was. Everleigh discovers that Alana left her half of the assets, which include her bed and breakfast, the Sunshine Inn, and the accounts associated with it. The other half was left to Cade Witherspoon, the young man who worked for her. Cade is ex-military and has been through some tough times lately as well, as we gradually discover.

Everleigh hasn't been home for the last few years, going from one contract to another as a NICU nurse, so she hasn't even met Cade before, and Alana hadn't mentioned him when they talked. But Everleigh spent a lot of her growing up years at the inn, helping out or just spending time there. She also talked a lot with Alana about a nonprofit she wanted to start to help parents with the costs associated with having a baby in intensive care. 

Cade helped Alana for the last few years with everything to do with the inn, from bookings to maintenance to cooking. For him, running the inn and expanding it to include dinners as well was a dream that he and Alana had drawn up plans for.

With different dreams, the two new owners clash, Everleigh wanting to sell to start her nonprofit and Cade wanted to grow the inn as he and Alana discussed. Everleigh moves in to Alana's suite at the inn to help run it until they figure out what they will do and as the two interact, the begin to get to know each other. 

Both main characters are genuinely nice people. Cade has some issues from his past, and Everleigh has to decide whether she is interested in giving up her nomadic life. They both have some family situations that they have to find their way through as well.

I enjoyed this novel, even though some storylines seemed unnecessary. 

Whispering Pines

Finished July 27|

Whispering Pines by Kimberly Diede

The first of a series set in Minnesota, this one moves between Minneapolis and the lake country, with a small detour to Fiji. As the novel opens single mom Renee Clements is let go from her twenty-year career with a company. Stunned, she decides to take the time to spend it with family. When she lets her children know that evening, they decide to take the rest of December into the new year to spend with each other, doing things they enjoy. From Christmas with extended family, renewed contact with her late husband's family, to a trip to an exotic locale, they reconnect with each other and Renee reconnects with her parents and siblings. When her father takes the opportunity to give our envelopes to every family member from Renee's aunt Celia, who died earlier that year, each takes the time to plan when to open the envelopes, which contain personal letters from Celia and information on their individual inheritances. 

Celia has inherited the lake resort that she spent summers in as a child, which has sat unused for a few years, with minimal maintenance. As she determines what to do with this property that needs so much work, she also finds that her family is more than happy to chip in and do the work necessary. Renee's college freshman daughter, is dealing with a man she dated who's become too controlling for her, and doesn't seem to be taking no for an answer. Renee's teen son worries about his advanced team sports opportunity and whether he will be torn away from that and his friends. 

There is a lot going on, and we get glimpses of what other gifts aunt Celia has made that will be expanded upon in later books in the Celia's Gifts series. 

I really enjoyed the central idea of the book that had Renee rethinking her life and how she wants to spend it. The community that she finds herself part of, with both family and friends is also a great message about the importance of human connections. I would definitely be interested in reading more in this series. 

Sex, Lies and Sensibility

Finished July 17

Sex, Lies and Sensibility by Nikki Payne

I ordered this book because I loved her earlier book Pride and Protest so much. This one didn't flow as well as that did and there were some minor editing issues. Payne is a good writer, and I will definitely read more from her. 

Nora was an excellent track and field athlete, competing and winning at the college level, until she did a very stupid thing and allowed her boyfriend to make a sex tape of them. Her father was angry at her after that, and she'd got a job to support herself. She'd lost her track scholarship, and didn't finish college. She also took refuge in watching HGTV endlessly to avoid fixing her own life. 

Now her father has died and she has arrived at his funeral. As she is ushered to a private room, she discovers that her mother was her father's mistress, and that he had a wife and stepdaughter. She, Shenora, and her sister Mary-Anne (Yanne) and their mother Diane don't have ownership to their home or any of her father's other assets. What they have been left in the will is a unmaintained house and property in Maine called Barton Cove. The property is in foreclosure and the full outstanding loan is required to be repaid by Labor Day of the next year. If they can pay off the amount due in time, they get access to an Estate Improvement fund in the seven figure range. 

Yanne and Nora decide to take on the estate and find unexpected partners in a native run tour group who is headed up by Ennis Freeman (Bear). As Nora puts her HGTV learned skills to work with the help of Bear's local contacts and Yanne expands her baking repertoire, the two find themselves becoming part of the community, and learning about local environmental issues and other politics. 

I liked the bringing together of two racial groups here, the black women and the indigenous community. I also enjoyed that Bear knows of Nora for her athletic prowess, not the embarrassing video and values her in ways she hadn't expected. 

This is a loose retelling of Sense and Sensibility, but brings in modern day issues and realistic plotlines. A fun read. 

Dead with the Wind

Finished May 3

Dead with the Wind by Miranda James

This cozy mystery is set in small town Louisiana, where Mississippi sisters An'gel and Dickce Ducote have come to visit their cousin Mireille for her granddaughter Sondra's wedding. They've also brought their ward, Benjy Stevens, and his Abyssinian cat Endora and Labradoodle dog Peanut. They are staying in a cottage rooms, part of a bed-and-breakfast that Mireille runs along with her longtime housekeeper/cook Estelle. 

Mireille's daughter Jacqueline and her second husband Horace live with Mireille at her large home, as does Sondra. As the scene is set, we see all the main characters, including Mireille's long-term butler Jackson, Sondra's fiancé Lance, Mireille's lawyer Richard and Horace's son Trey. 

Estelle is outspoken and often rude, very critical of Sondra and her actions. Sondra is also outspoken and rude, particularly to her grandmother. She's very beautiful and very entitled and her parents spoiled her when she was younger. There is some question as her motives for getting married. Lance is as beautiful as Sondra is and they've known each other since they were in kindergarten. Lance is also extremely clueless and not very bright. Trey has a crush on Sondra and is jealous of Lance. Horace and Jacqueline's relationship seems tense and we gradually learn why. 

As An'gel and Dickce observe the people around them, and the reactions when Sondra is swept off her balcony to her death in a storm, they also look for who might have wanted to kill her and why. 

There is a lot of southern tradition in the main characters and their relations, as might be expected from wealthy white women who come from plantation backgrounds, but the sisters are more open to new ideas than they seem at first, and Benjy also explains some things to them when they don't understand something. This book grew on me as the plot developed, and while many of the characters are stereotypical, the plot is interesting. 

The Summer Book Club

Finished July 25

The Summer Book Club by Susan Mallery

I enjoyed this book better than the other Mallery book that I read recently. The novel is centered on three women, two of whom have been friends since childhood. The third woman, Cassie, is undergoing a major life change as the book opens. 

Cassie's parents died when she was a child, and she was brought up by her two older siblings and her uncle. Cassie is a woman who loves to help those she cares about and her life up to know has been focused on her family rather than her own life and wants. When her uncle passed away, he left her some property in California, across the country from her home in Maine, and her siblings now force her to go out and see what's there and start living life for herself. It's a bit of tough love on their parts, but they want her to have a full life of her own.

Laurel runs a small business, mostly online, in small antiques and collectibles, and is divorced with two daughters. Her ex-husband wasn't an involved father, and left her in a bad place financially that she has worked her way out of. She's a bit wary of men, and she's worried that her fears have been passed on to her oldest daughter.

Paris is also divorced, and has been focused on her anger issues and her mental health for the more than decade since the divorce. She's built the farmland she inherited from her mother into a successful farmstand business. Because Paris is aware of her own emotional issues from the past, she's scared to try a new relationship. 

As Cassie is brought into the friendship through a casual meeting and an invitation to join the book club, the three spend the summer reading, learning about themselves and their capabilities, and taking a chance on new relationships. 

A satisfying and interesting read. 

The Printed Letter Bookshop

Finished June 3
The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay

This gem of a book has been sitting for a bit waiting for a read, and I really enjoyed it. Madeline Cullen is a young lawyer in a high-powered Chicago practice, and gunning for a partnership position. As the book opens she is attending her aunt's funeral. Her aunt, Maddie, was someone she was close to when she was young, until a rift opened between her aunt and her father, and she was forced to choose sides. After the hedge fund crash, she dealt with attitude from kids at school due to her father's role as a fund manager and she chose to go to school in Chicago to escape that and find her own life. This brought her near her aunt again, yet she seldom visited, still reluctant to break with her father's side. This means that she now regrets not talking the time to get to know her aunt better while it was still possible.
When, a couple of days after the funeral, her aunt's lawyer informs her that she is the heir, she struggles with what to do, and how to balance what is happening in her own life. As she takes the time to get to know the store and the two employees Janet and Claire, she learns about her aunt through them, and discovers new friends in the process. She also learns other things about herself as well.
This book follows Madeline, Claire, and Janet through their own voices in the same situations and we see how each woman regards the same events.
It is a sort of coming-of-age book for Madeline, but Claire and Janet also learn important things about themselves that moves each of them forward to a better future.
There is also a booklist that has a place in the story, and I always like a good booklist.
I really enjoyed this read.

Kingdom of the Blind

Finished January 15
Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny, read by Robert Bathurst

I've always enjoyed this mysteries, for the inclusion of the personal life of the characters, and for the complex story they tell. Here, Armand is under suspension from his role as head of the Surete of Quebec for his actions in the previous book. Jean-Guy was also under suspension, but his has been lifted and he is now acting in Armand's role. Isabel, injured in the last book, is still on leave.
As the book opens, Armand is off to a meeting he has been summoned to by a letter. But the letterhead has the name of a dead man, and the contents of the letter give no indication as to the purpose of the meeting. Armand is intrigued, but wary.
When he arrives at the house, about twenty minutes away from Three Pines, he finds one car. Before he can enter the building, another car arrives, that of Myrna. They find that they have received the same letter. A third person arrives, a young man with a unique style, that they don't know.
The three of them soon discover that they have been named liquidators (executors) in the will of a woman they've never met, Bertha Baumgartner. They have some time to think about it before accepting, and as a snowstorm is moving in quickly, they find themselves all in the village of Three Pines. As the story of the Baumgartners and their odd inheritance history is revealed, they also find that there are some in the village that have met Bertha, as her preferred title, the Baroness.
This is but one of the stories of this novel. Although Armand is on suspension, he is still trying to track down the missing drug shipment from the previous novel. His drive to recover the missing carfentanil is a noble one, but he crosses some ethical lines as he does so. One of them involves a young cadet that he previously was close to, who has now put her future on the line in a misguided action.
This novel has a lot of twists and turns, reveals and secrets. Some I guessed at, other I did not. The book ends with some interesting changes to the lives of ongoing characters, and I will be interested to see where these changes take them.