Murder at the Highland Games is the fourth in the Ally McKinley Mystery series by Dee MacDonald. It starts out as such a fun day: dancing, bagpipes, competitions of all kinds, which, much to the annoyance of the locals, are being won by (shudder) Canadians! Yes, they do have ties to the area, but really, to come in and win everything? Then one of them dies, and there's no doubt it was murder. As Ally works on figuring things out she learns just how many locals had motive. Not to mention the wife. And her uncle. A complex case for sure, and a great read. :-)

A young woman has been found dead, in a boat, wrapped in a shawl that makes her look like a mermaid. Who is she? And why the staging? When Redmond and Haze dig into her past there are all kinds of unexpected findings, including a connection with the London underworld. And a mermaid tattoo. On more than one person. Murder of a Mermaid is the 11th in the Redmond and Haze Mystery series by Irina Shapiro, and it ended with such a dramatic cliff hangar that I read the next book immediately!

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The description on the back of Remainders of the Day: a Bookshop Diary, by Shaun Bythell calls it "a hilariously grumpy year behind the counter ..." which is absolutely true! Also witty and charming and a most enjoyable read, just like his earlier books. You will read about the books he'll buy for his shop (the largest used bookshop in Scotland) and those he won't (and why). You'll get to know his customers from the regulars to the tourists, those who buy, those who will argue over any price ... it's more engaging than I am making it sound, trust me!

A recent viewing of the movie The Sound of Music inspired a search for a book on Oscar Hammerstein II (there is already one on my shelf about Richard Rodgers). I found this: Oscar Hammerstein II and the Invention of the Musical, by Laurie Winer. It wasn't quite what I was looking for, that is, what inspired his wonderful lyrics, but still a most interesting read. Maybe more of a social history book? There are what influenced the books/stories picked for musicals of that era, what was happening around the world, issues in the news and so on. Turns out, Rodgers and Hammerstein were quite progressive for their time. :-) There are the failures, here, too, and some of the not so positive aspects of their characters. I felt it was well balanced, though. A somewhat dense and detailed read. :-)

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Here is a cozy, a true cozy, in the traditional sense ... and a fun, quick read as well: Cozy Mysteries with Humor for Senior Women: A Small Town Murder Mystery with Amateur Sleuths, Puzzles, and Snarky Seniors, (gotta love the subtitle!) by Tunia Sahil. There are several mysteries to solve here, from murder to missing gnomes and the Thursday Morning Detective Society tackles them all!

A stablehand found the Earl of Granville dead in the stable one morning. Skewered with a pitchfork, a very gruesome end. Redmond and Haze are soon on the case, which turns out to have lots of ... well, to paraphrase from the back of the book... "disturbing revelations". I don't want to give anything away here! Murder in the Mews was another great read by Irina Shapiro. It is the 10th in the Redmond and Haze series. (It looks like I might have skipped book nine, but that's actually where I started, it was in a box sent to me from Wandering Reader, it is in the January 12, 2026 post).

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 I am trying to make myself slow down in the reading of the Liturgical Mystery series, after all, there is a finite number of them as the author (Mark Schweizer) is dead, but it's hard ... they are so much fun! The Maestro Wore Mohair is number 12. (Number 11, remember, is in the post from December 29, 2025 as it had arrived in a box from Wandering Reader and got all this started). ;-) There do seem to be a lot of murders in this small town but this time, at least, it's a cold case, from some thirty years ago. A body has been found in the woods. It's near what was a camp, then a nudist village, and now is being transformed into a Renaissance Faire ground, which is when the body was unearthed. Who was at that camp all those years ago? And what happened? (Many of the records have been burned). Can the small police force of Hayden, Nancy and Dave figure it out? And not to worry, the 'bad' writing entries are just as bad!

Here's a curious and fun mystery, especially if you like to do word search puzzles! Murder Among the Stacks, the first in A Cranberry Creek Word Search Mystery series, by Rosie A. Point and puzzles by Charles Timmerman. Each short chapter includes a word search puzzle with words from that chapter. Abby is starting a new life, in a new (small) town. She runs a book store and has a local, well known author for her first event. Things to not go well when said author dies at that event and Abby is considered a primary suspect. However, there is also the mother, a good friend (really?) and her assistant who all could have possible motives whereas Abby does not. A quick read (but I did not do the puzzles). ;-)

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Murder in Half Moon Street, book eight in the Redmond and Haze Mystery series by Irina Shapiro is a classic 'locked room' mystery. A young woman is found savagely murdered in her bed. There is a lot of blood ... but none on the floor or carpet, no foot prints you might expect to see, no blood on the door knob. And the room is locked (door and windows) from the inside. The house is too new for secret passages. There were lots of people around ... staff, guests ... Redmond and Haze are dealing with personal issues, too. An engaging read.

Although the disclaimer in the front says this is a work of fiction my feeling is that some of the stories are very true ... the author is a dog walker after all! :-) Still, there are some stories from the view point of the dog, so ... Lots of fun tales here (catching a loose dog) and pictures of the dog(s) who inspired a story. Nudges from a Wet Nose, by H A Byrd was a fun read for this dog owner.

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I decided to post these books together as they share a theme, both take place on the set of something being filmed. A movie and a reality show. Gwinny has a small part in the movie Draculania (a female twist to Bram Stoker's version). Location is a damp and eerie castle with a vampire history. The lead is a bit of a diva and filming often revolves around her moods. Things change when a cast member is found dead in the prima donna's trailer with a stake through his heart. The door was locked from the inside. That will now become a crime scene, but good luck with finding any useful clues, everyone (cast and crew alike) have been in and around the trailer, touched everything, walked everywhere ... and lots of them have motive ... this will be a tough case. Add to the chaos is the fact that Gwinny ended up with the care for Lily, the Jack Russell, when her aging owner was sent to the hospital. The Dog Sitter Detective Plays Dead is the third book in this series by Antony Johnston.

In Purrfect Revenge, by Nic Saint, Detective Chase has been instructed to include Odelia in his investigation of the death of reality star Shana Kenspeckle who was found dead in her own bed. Most of her, anyway. This was a violent end (but there's also the attitude that it was too bad it wasn't filmed, it would have been good for the ratings). Odelia, of course, includes her cats in the hunt for the killer, after all, they are free to wander anywhere and listen in, then report back to her what they've heard. (The women in Odelia's family have been able to talk to cats for generations). It's a hard case because what the rest of the family says about Shana differs depending on if the cameras are rolling or not. There is an obnoxious French Bulldog, too, just to complicate matters. This is the third in the Mysteries of Max series.

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One of the many nice things to come from the visit of some long time friends who now live east of the mountains, which finally happened after a few years 'off' was that I learned of a new author/series of mysteries! Purrfectly Deadly is the second in The Mysteries of Max series by Nic Saint. And unlike a lot of authors, he puts that number right there, on the front cover where it is easy to see ... :-) Odelia writes for the local paper and has helped with solving crimes before ... with the help of her cats, Max, Dooley and Harriet. Since they can, and do, wander every where, they hear things (often on purpose) and then report back to Odelia. Yes, they can talk to her. It's a talent that's been in her family for generations. There is a new detective in town (in a small town for his own reasons) with a rather bully of a cat. There's been a party, a wild party, which resulted in the death of a once famous, much loved 80's pop singer. Follow along as the cats gather the clues! This is a fun, quirky series. Not quite a traditional cozy, but delightful all the same.

Once again I turned to historical fiction when I couldn't find a non-fiction book on an interesting subject. The Librarian Spy: a Novel of World War II, by Madeline Martin is based on real people and true events. Ava is a librarian at the Library of Congress, recruited to help 'save' literary works from the Nazi forces by converting them to microfilm and sending them to the U.S. She also speaks several languages, which helps since she is also a spy gathering intelligence. Elaine is learning to run a printing press to print up materials for use by the Resistance. She also helps distributing them, and, when necessary, moving parts of the printing press to a new location. This is done by breaking the machine into small parts and hiding them in the false bottom of the basket folks carry to buy what meager rations are available. There adventures are mesmerizing. Intense, descriptive, sad and powerful. Never underestimate the printed word!

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