 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.Veronica Speedwell fans, listen up: I think we found a new series to enjoy. A Death On Corfu by Emily Sullivan has the slightest beginnings of a romance, a satisfying mystery that unravels throughout, & a single parent heroine I rooted for who lives in a stunning & intriguing setting. You might have read Emily Sullivan’s historical romance; that’s why my hopes are so high for this eventual romance payoff. Also, I’m totally digging the grumpy potential love interest and how he really gets our widowed heroine going . I’m not sure what you’re in the mood to read right now, but maybe this mystery with the slight tinge of romance possibility is it.* *Please note that this releases forever away but that ARC should be request-able!! 5⭐️. Out 04/29. CWs: murder, attempted murder, references to social ostracism.
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 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.That time Jess barely read a summary before requesting a book & realized later she missed some crucial details… I thought Eliza Jane Brazier’s It Had To Be You was gonna be like a Julie James’ book. I realized very quickly—maybe after one of the leads said how much they loved killing people—that I was wrong. The title of this book sounds so romantic. There’s no denying that Eva & Jonathan have a special kind of relationship, that they are attracted to each other & devoted to each other, & that they are each other’s person. They’re also contract killers who at different moments in the book lie to each other & even try to unalive the other. Potato, po-tah-to. This book is not for the faint of heart & there were a couple of times I got a bit squeamish. (I don’t usually like my characters to like killing ). But it’s also often funny & sarcastic & occasionally poignant, & the two leads do make a human & romantic connection that feels like a HEA at the end. This book was not at all what I was expecting. But I ended up having fun on the ride. 4.25⭐️. Out 07/16.[CWs: murder, violence, suicide ideation, reference to past abuse. When they first meet she knows he is high but she sexually propositions him & they have sex.] Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC and the publisher for the complimentary hardcopy. All opinions provided are my own.The Other Side of Disappearing is an intriguing change for a Kate Clayborn book: there’s still the warm, lovely feeling of watching two people call in love, plus a bit of mystery that comes with podcast transcripts, postcards, & some revelations along the leads’ journey. Let’s talk about the leads for a minute. Adam is a gentle, brawny, sensitive, protective giant who has immediate feelings for Jess. Jess is protective, comes across as an icy figure, has hair from a shampoo commercial, & slowly, wonderfully, very bravely, opens her heart to let Adam in after two big parental betrayals. One of my favorite things KC does is include the smallest of physical gestures that actually feels like a heart earthquake: in this one, it’s the leads putting their hands over each others’ under the table. TOSOD cements my belief that if KC writes it, not only will I read it, but I’ll think it’s wonderful too. Rounding up to 5⭐️. Out now!CWs: Mother left. Death of best friend. References to con artist & conning. Reference to death of person from cancer.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. I was totally taken off guard with how much I loved The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. But the book opens with intrigue & maintains a delicate & yet assertive sense of tension & suspense. Bennett weaves a powerful web of mystery & danger & in the background is more of that with the threat of leviathans attacking as apprentice investigator & his mentor Ana try to solve a case. The interplay between Din & Ana is fantastic. She is a brilliant, vaguely frightening, quirky force of nature & he’s the anchor & the facilitator & the man keeping a secret or two as he tries to unravel the ones surrounding them. The mystery is compelling, as is the worldbuilding—the safety & danger of Empire—the preciousness that can be enjoyed even when the leviathan stands at one’s back. The characters & the story mesmerize with complexity. I highly recommend this book for fans of thoughtful mystery. 5⭐️. Out 02/06.Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. On a whim I read The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong early & I did not regret it for a second. It was perfect for my mood: a ghostly, post-WWI setting, a murder mystery, an unconventional heroine who flies in the face of societal expectations. (She lives with an older man she isn’t related to! She was once in love with her female best friend! She was an ambulance driver in the war! She has had lovers, as in multiple!) Said heroine Ruby Vaughn is asked to deliver some books. On the journey she reconnects with her former best friend—whom she was once in love with & who broke her heart—& encounters a local witch—hopefully a future love interest!—rumors of a curse, & murder. With bisexual rep, a really great mystery, & a thrilling sense of atmosphere, this was really fun to read. I can’t wait to read the next book & I am hoping hoping HOPING there’s a future slow burn romance! 5⭐️. Out 12/05. Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. A mystery, an obscuring fog, a gay private investigator trying to find a new path in 1950s San Francisco…Lev AC Rosen’s The Bell in the Fog is an engrossing story replete with a noir setting that really satisfies. Andy Mills is a former WWII Navy man & a cop who was fired from the force after being caught in a raid targeting queer people. Now he’s trying to start a new life for himself, a task that’s more difficult with the arrival of an old love who just disappeared one day. In addition to solving a mystery surrounding said old love, Andy also has to reckon with his past as a police officer who is also queer when the police force was and is aggressive about targeting the queer community. If you like flawed characters who are put into difficult situations this is a great book for you. The consideration of queer people just trying to find joy & live their lives as they are & as they please is moving & also ties compellingly to the mystery itself. Add to all of this a budding romance & it’s even better. 4.5⭐️. Out 10/10.CWs: Mention of "whites only" bar. Homophobia. Violence. Murder. Blackmail.
 I think I’m good about reading the books. Less good about reviewing the books. So here’s a quick thoughts round-up about some of the books I’ve been enjoying lately!
Have you read any of these? If not, have you read any other books for fun that you really enjoyed but didn’t review? When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole. A thriller about how insidiously evil gentrification can be, orchestrated by white people—wearing things like Lululemon pants, for example—who care nothing about Black communities and think Black lives & livelihood are disposable. This book is unsettling and tense, with an explosive ending. 4.5 stars, out now. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. A dark academia book that had me going “huh?,” “oh,” & “oh shit, that’s horrible,” this is a weighty, smart, & compelling read that I’m honestly still parsing. Technically I think this is a 5 ️star read—it’s so well written—but for some reason I never emotionally connect to the author’s books. Out now. The World Record Books of Racist Stories by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar. (thanks to @grandcentralpub for the free copy; all opinions my own.) This book is a series of anecdotes drawn from the authors’ lives & their loved ones’ detailing the racism they’ve experienced (of so many different types, in so many instances) & white privilege. The book is funny, incisive, & sharp & it gave me quite a lot to think about. 4 ️stars, out now. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig. Another dark fantasy that will really grip you with tension. It’s a story of a girl with a secret monster inside her. There are lots of secrets & some steam! 4.5 ️stars, out now, part of a series. The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty. Starting this on audio really helped me get into this fantasy. It’s an immersive story with lots of threads & lots of possibility for danger. I have very little idea about where the series is going next bc it is so unpredictable & I love that. 4.5 stars ️, out now. 
Thanks to @tlcbooktours & the author for my complimentary finished copy. All opinions provided are my own.
Summary.
A high-risk pregnancy. A dangerous secret. When her case turns deadly, can this investigator avoid racking up a fatal debt?
PI Kelly Pruett’s search to locate a former classmate’s missing father ends in what appears to be a tragic accident. But putting the pieces together that led to that fateful night will require Kelly to play a high risk game of chance with a killer willing to gamble everything to win. 
My Review.
Private investigator stories are always fun to me—even more so when the lead is getting her sea legs & proving her instincts & mettle not only to herself but to those who don’t think she can handle it.
Denied is the second in Mary Keliikoa’s Kelly Pruett series. It’s entertaining, it’s layered, and the mystery is compelling, opening when lead Kelly takes on a case to look for a former classmate’s dad. When she arrives at his home she doesn’t find him but she does see lots of evidence of gambling & a severed finger in his trashcan. Questions abound & the case is made more poignant to Kelly—& more interesting to the reader—by the parallels Kelly makes between this missing dad & her own complicated father who recently passed away & who owned their PI company. Whereas Kelly had a rookie learning curve in the first book, in this one she’s obviously grown as an investigator & she hasn’t lost her tenacity or her bravery. She’s all too willing to pursue wherever the case’s leads take her to find her answers & that makes for a fun ride. Romance readers: there is a romantic relationship in this series but it’s kissing only & not a real focus. The sweet spot of Denied for me is in offering a single mother heroine who isn’t afraid to take risks in order to give her clients the answers they’re seeking. A PI with integrity & a lot of guts. 4 ⭐️. Out now! Where to Get Your Copy.About the Author.
Mary Keliikoa is the author of the Lefty and Agatha award nominated PI Kelly Pruett mystery series and the upcoming Misty Pines mystery series featuring Sheriff Jax Turner slated for release in September 2022. Her short stories have appeared in Woman’s World and in the anthology Peace, Love and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Music of the ‘60s. A Pacific NW native, she spent a part of her life working around lawyers. Combining her love of legal and books, she creates a twisting mystery where justice prevails.
When not in Washington, you can find Mary on the beach in Hawaii where she and her husband recharge. But even under the palm trees and blazing sun, she’s plotting her next murder—novel that is. Find out more about Mary on her website, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. 
 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Whew. He Said/She Said is quite a ride. Before I really get started I want to make it clear that this book contains disturbing acts of violence toward women, including alleged rape (the latter of which is a major plot point in this thriller). This psychological thriller is told largely from the perspective of Laura and her husband Kit over a period of time starting in 1999 & ending in 2015. Laura and Kit are eclipse chasers & during one viewing when they’re just dating, Laura believes she’s seen a rape. She serves as a witness at the trial where the alleged perpetrator maintains his innocence. During the trial Laura lies in an effort to put the alleged rapist behind bars, an act that she’s desperate to keep from Kit. Also during the trial Laura makes contact with the alleged victim Beth, another thing she must hide. After the trial is over, Beth makes herself part of Laura and Kit's life, only things with Beth aren’t quite as they initially seem & that’s what the book explores in each tense chapter as Laura & Kip wrestle with the past & its shadow over the present. This book is intense, compelling, not entirely easy to read. There are scenes that left me with visceral dismay & distress & at the end I returned to certain details, piecing things together in ways I hadn’t been able to before. The poignancy of Laura & Kit’s relationship is moving & adds a lot to the thriller arc. I definitely think that this book is doing really interesting things & I also can see how there’s a lot of potential to upset many readers by how those interesting things are being done. As one character articulates, whether or not Beth gave consent is questioned throughout the trial—but it’s questioned after, as well—& men’s manipulation (& worse) is considered at length throughout the novel. Though there are some moments that feel a little too simplistic to me overall this is an engrossing read with a well-done twist that left me thinking “nooooo.” 4.5 ⭐️. He Said/She Said is available now.CW:
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.In Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia 1920s Harlem is the backdrop for a mystery starring an intrepid 26 year old named Louise Lloyd, also known as Harlem’s Hero. At 16, Louise rescued herself & other Black teen girls from a kidnapper. Now, ten years later, she works at a cafe, loves to go out dancing with her friend & lover Rosa Maria, & is alienated from her family after angering her strictly religious father. But things grow much more complicated for our heroine when young Black women are murdered & placed outside Louise’s work & she’s forced to help investigate their deaths. There are lots of things about Dead Dead Girls that captivate: the intriguing setting & how it’s captured w/ little details; how independent Louise is & her punchy one-liners; her striking observations about how Black women are treated & how white police officers discriminate against Black residents of Harlem. I love when she takes off on her own investigations, how ingenious she is in making use of her clothes for hiding things. The glitz of the flapper lifestyle & Louise’s personality draw me in but overall, the mystery itself doesn’t feel as tight as it could be, particularly at the end. Dead Dead Girls offers a compelling backdrop & a resourceful, glamorous heroine, but the mystery doesn’t hit quite as hard as I’d like. 3.5 ⭐️. Release date: 06/01CWs:
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