Just how might an author incorporate a xylophone into a story line? Very nicely if that author is Diana Xarissa! Fenella's niece, Margaret, is back on the island. They go for a late night stroll when Fenella trips and breaks her arm. The ER doc, knowing Fenella has worked on other mysteries on the island, asks for help in finding her missing boyfriend. This relationship is new, maybe he's just avoiding the ER doc? The plot thickens, as they say, when they check his apartment and find a strange man dead on the floor. Xylophones and X-rays is another delightful entry into the Isle of Man Ghostly Series.

Here is a mystery unlike most of the ones I read. Not only are those doing the investigating younger than the usual sleuths in the stories I like, they are also pregnant! Alice and Joe have moved from London to a small town, where they can afford to rent a small house instead of a very tiny apartment. Alice is about eight months pregnant and has signed up for a pre-birthing class to meet the local midwife as well as others in the same condition she's in. A local business owner dies that night. Investigating proves to be a way to not only walk her dog (so she can go ask folks questions) but also to make friends in her new location. The Expectant Detectives, by Kat Ailes was different (for this reader anyway), for sure!

Reading Hermit With Dog