Another new to me author is Julie Titterington, (lives here in the PNW), who is the author of The Dog Ladies. This book just seemed to get better and better and towards the end I was reading it while brushing my teeth! It starts with one of those murder game nights in the apartment complex where Priya, Gloria, and Ryan live (with their dogs). Things take a nasty turn when there is a real murder ... the custodian/handyman of said facility. The trio, two retired ladies and a young Gen Z gamer (with issues you will learn about as you read) band together to catch the killer. Lots of interesting twists and odd connections here!

It would have been fun to wait to read Murder in the Mistletoe Shoppe in December, but it's the 11th in Magda Alexander's Kitty Worthington Mystery series, and I have 12 already sitting on the shelf! It's London, 1924 and Kitty and Detective Sinclair will be celebrating their first Christmas together as a married couple. They planned to go to a family home in another town, but had to stay in London when a body was found and her hubby was assigned the case. The body was found in a Christmas shop, holding a marionette carved with the name of Kitty's best friend. Why? And what secrets did the victim take to the grave? Turns out 'other' things went on at the Mistletoe Shoppe during the war! Another great read in this series.

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A Village Theatre Murder is the seventh in the Julia Bird Mystery series by Katie Gayle (actually two women writing together). The murder happens on stage, in full few of an audience. First it's thought to be good acting, the play is a murder mystery after all, where someone gets shot. It's not, of course, and the prop gun turned out to be anything but ... It won't be easy to find the 'who', just about everyone in the small village had something to do with the play. Although the wife appears to be upset, Julia later sees her kissing another man, and learns that Graham (the victim) was about to serve divorce papers. Could it be that easy? Or was it the actor who was sure he deserved the lead role? When a member of the stage crew also ends up dead Julia determines there is more going on and sets out to figure out just what.

In the 1930's, in London, mystery books and stories were considered to be pulp fiction and not given much serious thought when it came to literary awards, or even notice. A group of authors set out to rectify that. Mostly men, but they did include a few women, who, quietly, brought that number up to five. Then they decided they should solve a real mystery to prove their worth. Queens of Crime, by Marie Benedict, is a blend of fact and fiction, be sure to read the notes at the back! I loved the process of them figuring things out, a case the police had dismissed, the victim being a young woman, on holiday, after all! A most interesting read.

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Here's a new author/series, one that was a great find! :-) Death on the Bookshelf, the first in The Pages and Paws Mystery series, by Poppy Bridgeman. Ginny has inherited a bookshop in Devon, one that has a lot of old files, records, and books, some that are valuable (and kept in a locked room). When a body (of someone not liked all that well) is found in her bookstore, she is the prime suspect. She needs to find out what really happened. She is 'helped' by her two Welsh Corgi dogs.

A Very Bookish Murder is the third Ally McKinley Mystery set in Scotland by Dee MacDonald. There is a writer's retreat being held nearby, featuring a well known novelist who will be talking about writing, plots, and so on. A novelist who has helped many of those attending with their books, referring them to publishers, and so on. Ally is happy to provide housing for attendees. The retreat has barely started though when that novelist is found dead in the ladies' restroom. She has been strangled. Everyone is shocked until secrets surface involving, among other things, plagiarism ... and then there are lots of suspects. This has been a great series.

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The Dickens & Christie Mystery series, by Kathy Manos Penn, book five, Castles, Catnip & Murder is just as good as the ones that came before. This time Leta is headed for a cat yoga retreat (!) for some relaxation. The dog comes along, too, as do the other women in the Little Old Ladies Detective Agency. When the corpse pose almost becomes permanent, and with the local police not all that interested, they jump in to solve the mystery. There's some fun Arthurian myths and legends, too.

The Homefront Sleuths Mystery series, by father/daughter team Anna Elliott and Charles Veley is called a "historical cozy mystery" right on the cover. This is an excellent description and I love all the history notes they include with their books. The third in the series, The Spitfire Murders, no surprise, explains how these planes were built during the war. Parts were manufactured 24 hours a day, mostly by women, with inspections and guards and so on to prevent sabotage, spies, etc. so when a night watchman ends up dead and then an inspector, it's worth checking out. Just what is in some of the boxes of parts being shipped out? What is that white powder? And why, in an abandoned house, is there evidence of boiling seaweed?

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