Kati

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A low 4 stars! This is just a really fun, little coffee-book-style book!

If you are in the mood to get entertained by snarky and fun little lines of text for half an hour, definitely give this a go! Obviously, not every single one of the titular 109 Things will be funny to you, but most will make you laugh or at least smirk!

However, if you are looking for a self-help or advice book and don't recognise sarcasm when it hits you in the face, then this might not be the book for you!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

1 star. I really didn't like this book. Some aspects of it even made me angry!

Unfortunately, this reads like a really bad fanfiction. The characters were flat and didn't talk or behave like actual people. The plot and the world-building made no sense and were full of contradictions. And the writing style itself also wasn't great. It was mostly cringey and awkward.

This also didn't feel like the blurb-promised Dark Fantasy Romance. It was mostly a courtroom mystery, with the families involved reading more like wannabe Mafia, than powerful witches or a coven. Meanwhile, the romance element felt manipulative and there was no chemistry between the characters.

I also noticed that the book was full of questionable, casual comments about people's appearance, coming from the “good guys”. This shouldn't really be happening in a book published in 2023 and set in the present day, in my opinion. But they just kept happening! Non-magical filler characters were also sent off with love potions and told to have fun with their new girlfriends. So, clearly, the idea of consent doesn't exist in this perfect, idyllic world either. There were many other head scratching and absolutely infuriating moments like this littered throughout the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

5 stars! Even though the love triangle is still triangling... but it might be starting to die.

This is probably my favourite instalment in the Electra McDonnell series, so far. The action takes us away from London for the first time and the story focuses more on Ellie and less on her family, compared to the previous books.

I had an amazing time with this. The possible relationship development made me squee! Plus, we got introduced to a new character, who is on the side of our spy team and I would very much like to see more of them in future books!

If you enjoyed the other books in the series, I can't think of a reason why this one wouldn't also be a hit for you!

It does end on the meanest cliffhanger of them all, though. And I'm quite grumpy about the fact that I have to wait for the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A high 2 stars. (Mostly for Katy Purry, the fabulous cat!) Lots of potential and a promising start, but it went downhill from there and concluded with a terrible ending.

I enjoyed Suburban Hell by the same author. It wasn't perfect and I had some issues with it, but it was still really great and I was looking forward to this book. Sadly, it had all the same problems and in addition to that, it was also pretty boring after the 40% mark and had an ending that infuriated me because it made absolutely no sense!

Like Suburban Hell, this is a Contemporary novel, with a light sprinkling of undefined magic. Not a genre Fantasy or Thriller book, which was fine as I hadn't expected it to be! Some problems both books shared, in my opinion, were that they are too long, repetitive when it comes to the protagonist's worries and internal thoughts and very obvious and heavy-handed with the thematic content.

I also found the blurb misleading, as this is not a story about a coven and the friendships between a group of women. It's about Sarah. And only about her. The other two ladies are barely in this book and when they show up, they have no personality besides being incredibly selfish. They might as well be cardboard cutouts, standing in the background! Some of Sarah's random neighbours or her kids' friends have more depth and they aren't even relevant to the story!

I might have been able to still enjoy the story despite all those issues, but what pushed this book from fine to bad - and not very well plotted - was the ending. It made absolutely no sense and I hated it! It was also incredibly anticlimactic and this book has basically no plot, so the ending needed to be good! However, it only made me mad, thanks to all that wasted potential. Even the amazing cat Katy Purry couldn't make up for that!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

1 star. The premise sounded super interesting, but I sadly didn't enjoy the book at all.

I found the writing to be cringey and bad. The characters weren't convincing as people and the entire set-up at the house was just ridiculous. All the characters were very flat and the protagonist was incredibly annoying and infuriating. She didn't understand the meaning of boundaries or privacy.

Nothing about this was in any way suspenseful. It was trying very hard to be “gothic”, which didn't work in any way for me. It just came off as creepy and it wasn't put together very well. Everything about it reminded me of bad fanfiction.

Not a fun time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

2 stars. Muddled storytelling with a writing style I didn't enjoy. Expected a country house mystery and got a crime thriller instead.

The NetGalley description sadly didn't make it very clear that this was the 4th book in the series or that this was leaning way more towards a thriller than a whodunnit. I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I had known either of those things. While it stands on its own pretty well, I'm sure readers who have read the entire series and are familiar with and enjoy the characters will get more out of it.

This is also my first experience with Martin Edwards' fiction writing. I had only been familiar with his non-fiction, which I've enjoyed and will continue to read. Sadly, the same can't be said for this series.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

5 stars! No question! An amazing and actually true romcom, where that category isn't just used as a marketing tool! If you miss the energy of early aughts romcom movies, then this is the book for you!

Hilariously funny and ridiculous, to the point of making me snort while laughing. But also sincere and heartfelt, with very well-written characters. The tone of this is perfectly pitched.

Amazing family dynamics, silly antics and such a fun plot. Plus, a great, swoony romance that actually made me kick my feet at one point because I was so in love with this book!

This novel had it all! And did it all brilliantly while perfectly balancing the different elements! Definitely a favourite of the year!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Unfortunately, this was a 1 star book for me.

Not only were all the characters unlikeable—I would be fine with that—but they were insufferable and incredibly annoying. I did not have fun spending my time with these vile individuals, who don't even read like real people (or alternatively, like fun thriller archetypes). I wanted them all to die and to do it quickly! The character work just felt really poorly done.

The writing style is more than rough. It read very juvenile and amateurish to me. Also, it takes a long time to even get to the creepy murder house and for the story to actually start. Plus, the way the big reveal at the end was handled did not work for me at all.

I wish this could have been an entertaining popcorn thriller, but it sadly didn't even come close to that!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

5 stars! I need the next book! And I need it now! You can't end it like that! I'm so invested in this series. This book gave me everything I wanted since reading the first instalment and then took it all away again! Rude.

Ellie is back in London. We have the usual mix of spying, safe-cracking and personal story development. Just a brilliant, fun time! If you've enjoyed the previous books in the series, especially the characters, then this one won't disappoint! It just might leave you frustrated and desperately wanting more!

Although Ashley Weaver does a fantastic job recapping past events, readers should really start at the beginning of the series. Each of the books builds on events that happened previously.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

2 stars. This just didn't work for me. I found it to be mostly bland and boring.

I expected this to be a fun and funny romp. It's not really. It's very dry and the story drags quite a bit. Everyone is burdened by serious issues. It's just not the kind of book I expected to get after reading the blurb. Not my historical romance cup of tea.

The writing is trying way too hard to seem historical, but it just ends up feeling clumsy. The historical element didn't make the most sense. There's no mystery around the villain of the story. All that was missing was for him to start twirling his moustache! There's also very little romance. They just occasionally think the other person is hot, but that's it. They have no chemistry. The trope of best friend's little sister, which is a favourite of mine, doesn't really deliver much!

Sadly, a miss for me. I just didn't care and wasn't having fun.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
5 stars! Such a fun time! I loved reading it and devoured it in a day!

What happens when you throw character types that could have been taken from a Samantha Downing novel into a Kate Morton-esque story? This book! Subtle dark humour, in a slow and calm story all about dramatic family secrets and the good - or maybe bad - they leave in their wake!

This book is told through the two main POVs of Jules and Cam, in the present day. But the reader also gets to experience the events of the past through letters, with some emails and newspaper articles also sprinkled in.

I adored the writing style in all the different parts, but it stood out especially in the letters written by the book's titular heiress. Ruby McTavish might not be a “good” person, but she's an amazing and most definitely memorable character! I also immediately fell in love with Jules and Cam's relationship and was so intrigued (and worried!) to find out what secrets they might be keeping from each other. Shipping couples in thrillers is exhausting!

Overall, I had the absolute best time with this and was completely invested in the story from the first chapter! But, if you need your thrillers to be fast, full of action, with plenty of twists and turns throughout all of it and featuring protagonists that are actively searching for the truth, then this might not be the book for you! There are plenty of reveals, but this is a slower book, which is at times comparable to the type of dual timeline narrative often found in Historical Fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A low 3 stars. Just not as fun as the blurb made it seem, but not a bad time overall. A lot of potential!

I love a space opera with a bit of romance, but this one was very flat and felt lifeless. The concept is great and for a novella, it wasn't too bad, but I never really cared about the characters or the plot. I was expecting rompy fun in the vein of a Jessie Mihalik book, but sadly, this story never quite got there.

The protagonist gets dangerously close to being annoying, rather than quirky-cute, sometimes. And this story definitely isn't a “high octane sexy space heist!” It's not sexy or dangerously heisty in any way, really. There are many elements of this that are conceptually fun, but it came across as slightly half-baked and unfinished.

Also, the writing thought it was funnier than it actually was. I could tell when it was trying to go for a more comedic tone, but it rarely actually succeeded in doing so.

It's entertaining enough for a quick read. But not much more! I probably won't continue the series.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

5 sparkly stars! A favourite of the year! This is what I imagine the love child of “The Goes Wrong Show” and “Midsomer Murders” to look like. It's an utter delight!

The Fairway Players are back! And this time they are doing panto!

While The Appeal was slightly darkly humorous, this novella takes the funny up another notch. It is hilarious! In the most vicious, juicy and gossipy way imaginable!

Oh, and there's obviously going to be a murder that our two lawyers from the first book have to puzzle out!

All around amazing and I hope Janice Hallett writes more novellas to go in between her main books!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Solid 4 stars. This is great as a fantastical historical comedy that has a little romance in it! However, I don't think it works as a genre romance. So, depending on what you want this book to do, it might be a hit or a fail!

Tonally and story-wise, this felt more like a cross between The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels and Terry Pratchett's Witches books, with a tiny dash of genre Regency romance thrown in the mix, than like a true romance novel, to me. Which was great! Just not what I had expected going in!

I adored the narrative structure and writing style of this! By far the best part of the book for me. The story is told from the perspective of a snarky Fae. (Think Puck from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.) His narration is truly hilarious and brilliantly done!

And although, said snarky narrator calls out the reader for potentially not having read the first book in the series—Which was such a funny moment!—I think it works perfectly well on its own!

Overall, it felt a tad too long and the romance could have been a bit stronger, but I had an amazing time with this book until the ending. That sadly knocked it down from a low 5 stars to a middle-of-the-road 4 stars. I am kind of angry at it. I just felt that several of the things that happened were truly unnecessary and I could see parts of it being genuinely upsetting for other readers. SPOILER: On-page animal sacrifice.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A high 4 stars. A great time! I really want to spend more time with these characters and in this world!

If you enjoyed the first Emily Wilde, I see no reason why this new entry in the series wouldn't work for you!

Similarly structured, with some fun new character additions and relationship development among the old familiars! The story takes us to the German Alps, where new troubles await our diary-writing fairy scholar.

I liked this second book even more than the first one. It was funnier and the characters felt less distant! (Also, Wendell and Emily are adorable together!) The book still felt slightly too long, especially in the middle part, but that is really my only complaint.

I can't wait for the next adventure!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

5 sparkly stars, with a crown on top! A favourite of the year for sure. What a brilliant read for mystery lovers and fans of unusually structured books!

But while I loved reading this, I wouldn't recommend it to every reader of mystery fiction.

If you've enjoyed, occasionally tongue-in-cheek, mystery books with a very strong meta element, like Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson or Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi and you get a kick out of the puzzle element of Janice Hallett's novels, then you might want to check out West Heart Kill. I'm a fan of all those things and this was the perfect book for me!

On the other hand, if you want your mysteries to be straightforward and linear whodunits and you don't care about the genre and its history, then this might not be the book for you.

The story switches between the murder mystery part, set at a hunting club and an almost nonfiction-like, genre analysis part. On top of that, the text plays with different narrative perspectives. First-person, second-person, third-person - all there! I found it super interesting and had an extremely fun time reading. But if this is not what you want from your fiction, it has the potential to be incredibly irritating. Maybe even boring.

For me, everything in this just worked. The structure, the mystery itself, the thematic content!

I'll be thinking about this book for a while and I will most definitely be keeping my eye out for any future releases by Dann McDorman!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

2 stars. Sadly, not the book for me. I disliked it from the first chapter.

I hated following the protagonist's story. I have no problem with so-called unlikeable characters, but she was just so unpleasant and not in a fun way.

I thought this would be about a house flipping influencer with secrets from the past who moved into a famous murder house. Instead, I got a “therapist” aka self-help guru, who is an incredibly messy person with an alcohol and drug problem. She casually steals from her clients, seems to hate them all, unless they are even more unhappy than she is and needs to look up advice in her own book during sessions! As the book continues, she becomes even more unstable and turns into an unreliable narrator because of all her mental health and alcohol problems. I rarely enjoy these types of characters and had I known about this part of the book, I probably would not have requested it for review.

She and her husband do move into the blurb-promised murder house, but their relationship is more than just on the rocks and the confused and messy storytelling that is present in a lot of the book is also very noticeable in their dynamic. The story of the house itself also felt very lacking to me. I expected it to be much more important.

While the writing is fun, if a little clunky and the story is twisty and creepy at times, I just didn't care. I just wanted to be done with it. I could see this working for readers who aren't bothered by the protagonist and her behaviour and who are looking for some twisty thrillery fun!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A solid 3 stars. A really good time, but there was potential for much more.

This thriller has a great set-up and features a cast of characters with great potential. And while I had a really fun time reading this, overall, the book ended up feeling a bit flat and slightly too long. It just didn't go as far as it could have or maybe should have gone! And the ending was a tad disappointing and fairly obvious.

It is also worth noting that the storm described in the blurb hits very late into the story and isn't actually that important!

Thanks to NetGalley for the Audiobook ARC!

2 stars. This one sadly wasn't the book for me, even though I had been looking forward to reading it. I was mostly bored. And struggled to make it to the end.

The writing isn't great. Very simplistic and clunky. It made the narration incredibly dull. And the word choices were very repetitive. There was so much clenching! Fists, jaws, teeth, stomachs. No body part was safe!

There was also a lot of info-dumping at the start, all very boring and messy. It didn't make the world feel rounded or interesting. The characters felt very flat, too. They were mostly moody and whiny and overall annoying to read about. Their internal thoughts and the dialogue between them started to be repetitive after only a few chapters. The seemingly interesting detail of the characters' bond with wolves was just that, a mostly unimportant detail.

The promised enemies to lovers part of this story was just them being snippy with each other, for no good reason. They had zero chemistry. And while this is an adult book, the characters' motivations felt very YA.

It was all just very flat and bland and didn't make much sense.

There also seem to be two different audiobook versions. The audio-ARC I listened to was narrated by Devon Sorvari and while it wasn't bad, it was slightly monotonous at times. After listening to a sample, I think I would have preferred the other one, narrated by Saffron Coomber, more.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A high 2 stars. Fun to read, but in the end, not worth the effort!

This is an incredibly slow and sometimes choppy book. The story starts and stops a lot. Nothing really happens and while there is an attempt made at building some kind of tension, it sadly doesn't succeed at all. At no point did the text convey the feeling of danger the protagonist was apparently experiencing.

This very messy family wasn't as fun as it could have been, as the characters were very flat. The relationship dynamics and the way everyone behaved made no sense. The protagonist and her actions were incredibly irritating, her thought processes were very repetitive and the central relationship, the one with her partner, wasn't believable at all.

The promised plot didn't really start until 80% into the book. Those last 20% could have made for a fun thriller if they had taken up and been spread out over the entire novel.

I found the blurb to be incredibly misleading. It implies that this book is focused on a deadly game, which it isn't at all, in my opinion. It's about a pregnant woman deciding if she wants to be a part of this wealthy family or not, while dealing with her own past. Also, most of the plot points mentioned in the descriptions don't come into play until almost halfway through the book, with some elements only being introduced almost at the end!

I had an enjoyable time reading it. And while it was very engaging and I wasn't bored, I was mostly waiting for something to happen. For there to be more to the story. For it all to actually make sense. There was clearly a lot of potential. But I was just very frustrated by the end.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

1 star. What a struggle to get through. Messy teen drama in a supposedly adult thriller package.

Every single character sounds and acts like a whiny teenager from a mediocre YA novel. Be that the attendees of the writing retreat, who are in their mid-twenties to early thirties or the famous author host, who is in her mid-fifties. Every one of them was annoying to no end. Also, the characters' ages make no sense, considering their backstories. Several of them can't be the age the book tells us they are, unless they are all secretly time travellers.

All of the dialogue is weird, awkward and unnatural. Which is also true for the random sex dreams that are thrown into the mix and the odd descriptions of breasts and nipples. And every single item of clothing is described in tedious detail. The characters also seem to think that the name Poppy is the most exotic and uncommon name that they have ever encountered... another example of the strange writing choices. And let's not even talk about the historical fiction novel that one character is writing and the very many current-day expressions used in that book-within-a-book.

The blurb-promised snow storm doesn't occur until more than halfway through. There is almost no plot and what little there is, makes no sense, is incredibly obvious and just feels like messy teen drama most of the time. The first half of the book reads like a weird attempt at a gothic novel, only to turn into a strange attempt at horror in the second. Neither work.

I was so excited to read this book, but unfortunately, I only ended up being relieved that it was finally over by the end.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

1 star. I didn't enjoy this book at all and parts of it made me angry. Not the fun, popcorn thriller I was expecting to read. Very unpleasant.

I hated how the thematic content was incorporated into the story and repeated over and over again. Family, parents and children, pregnancies, rape and victim blaming. None of these were well handled and I was surprised that this was even what the book was about! The blurb gave the impression of a story about three couples and their friendships. This is not that book. A strange importance was put upon blood relations and children being a vital part of a complete and happy life. I didn't enjoy that at all. And everyone had either tragically lost their parents or couldn't connect with them. Everyone.

I also hated all of the characters and disliked spending time with them. They were all miserable. The gender dynamics weren't great either, with all the men obsessed with work and all the women only caring about family and children. And those are the only character traits they possess.

A large part of the book deals with the results of DNA testing kits. Which isn't even hinted at in the description. Not a word about ancestry research, even though it is a topic that's brought up in the very first chapter!

On top of all of that, it takes forever for anything to happen once they've reached the cabin. Some characters are off on their own for large sections of the book and because they don't have a POV, they disappear until they are needed again for the story to progress. While other characters, whose POVs we are reading from, are completely inconsequential to the story. It's incredibly clunky and the book overall is very boring for a thriller. And so repetitive!

This is the second book by the author that I have read (“Confessions on the 7:45” being the other and 4 stars) and both have a strange subtext of disliking social media and technology without reason. It's very odd.

I had been looking forward to reading this book a lot, but was sadly very disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

2 stars. Very frustrating with a lot of wasted potential.

An amazing historical romance book is hiding somewhere inside this novel... It just wasn't let out to play!

This book has a very slow start, which I didn't mind, as it was doing a great job at setting up the story. Similarly, the writing style could be seen as pretentious and trying too hard. But to me it read more like over-the-top, sarcastic, almost witty humour. And as such, it worked very well! It was very funny. . . . For the first 30%.

After that the book just stalled, it kept going around in circles - replaying the same moments over and over again - without ever moving forwards and just throwing in meaningless side stories along the way. I was incredibly bored. And the writing style started to become very tedious to read.

The romance was less slow burn, than no burn at all! Everything was very surface level. It had so much potential, it could have been so swoonworthy, all the pieces were there! But it just didn't work and I didn't really care in the end. The romantic plot was barely moving and neither cute nor sexy. Not even funny!

They are both very intelligent, which makes for great banter because they are so equally matched! The writing has this great bite to it when they interact. Sadly, all their moments are cut short and summarised in a few sentences! We don't get to spend any quality time with them!

I also think it's such an odd choice to make this a closed door romance. It feels off structurally and makes no sense, given how openly and non-judgemental the book discusses the female protagonist's mother's life as a courtesan! (Not a spoiler. The reader finds out about that right at the start.)

Every now and then the book tries to delve into a discussion about money and women's place in society. But it never goes anywhere meaningful.

Overall, it was just so bitty! There are too many little snippets and none get enough room to fully develop. We just moved on to the next bit. And the romance was practically non-existent. It just felt so directionless!

I wonder who the audience for this book is supposed to be? There isn't enough romance for the historical romance readers and not enough plot or social commentary for the historical fiction readers. I enjoy both genres and still felt very unsatisfied and let down by it. This book just doesn't know what it wants to be. There are too many different things happening and none of them are truly successful.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

2.5 to 3 stars. Rounding up to a 3 because I did really enjoy the characters.

I'm feeling very conflicted about this historical romance.

I really enjoyed the couple's interactions. Carys and Tristan have known each other all their lives. They pretend to dislike each other to hide the fact that they are actually very much pining for the other person. Their banter is fun and they are concerned about the other's well-being. I enjoyed spending my time with them, even if I never found them to be quite squee-worthy. They are interesting characters! And there were some very fun moments involving the two!

That said, at no point did this read like an enemies to lovers romance! Their pretence was not convincing at all and their pining was almost annoyingly over-the-top in some sections.

But my main issues were with the structure and the very modern writing style. While I enjoyed the humorous tone of the writing a lot, the language and a lot of the characters' behaviour felt way too contemporary, for my liking. I found it jarring and it pulled me out of the story.

The structure was very bitty. Lots of little moments strung together. It never flowed very well and didn't allow for great immersion. It made the story very dull and meant that I was even somewhat bored of the relationship after the first half.

It took more than 30% for the story to pick up and for the promised affair plot - described in the blurb - to come into play. The rest of the description, involving the “treasonous plot”, took even longer to properly get going.

The plot was very thin and kept going round in circles. There was also a lot of repetition of facts. Carys was ruined... Tristan went on a Grand Tour...over and over. By the time the plot and the relationship started to move forward, I didn't really care a lot anymore.

Overall, a very mixed bag with characters that were enjoyable to read about.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A high 4 stars. Overall, a really amazing and fun time!

This is such a great collection! So many very typical Miss Marple stories! From an assortment of female mystery, crime and thriller writers who are taking a stab at writing a Miss Marple story.

The stories are all versions of very classic mystery tropes and plots. Most of the set-ups could easily be found in a Christie. It's brilliant.
Because many of the stories just seem so familiar, this anthology feels very cosy, even if the topics of the mysteries obviously aren't. Familiar and cosy in the best way!

Many of the stories use Raymond, Marple's nephew, as the reason for Miss Marple to show up in certain places! It's kind of hilarious.

I do wish more stories had been set between the wars and not so many in the 60s/70s. But that's just a personal preference.
Also, some authors, especially the American ones, didn't get the tone and language quite right. Their stories just felt off to me. They didn't fit into a Miss Marple anthology or feel like Miss Marple stories. But most of those were still fun, little mysteries nonetheless!

Most stories were just so much fun to read!

Individual ratings of the short stories:

Evil in Small Places by Lucy Foley - 4 stars
(Fun. And typically Miss Marple!)

The Second Murder at the Vicarage by Val McDermid - 4 stars
(Nicely written and a good time! Typical St Mary Mead!)

Miss Marple Takes Manhattan by Alyssa Cole - 2 stars
(This just felt wrong for a Marple story. The writing and setting were off and it was a bit boring.)

The Unravelling by Natalie Haynes - 4 stars
(Fun! Typical murder mystery! And I liked the writing.)

Miss Marple's Christmas by Ruth Ware - 5 stars
(Personal favourite! Felt the most like a GAD mystery!)

The Open Mind by Naomi Alderman - 3.5 stars
(Great, just slightly the wrong tone for a Marple story. Has too many, different things happening for a short story. Would make a great full-length novel. With a sleuth who isn't Miss Marple.)

The Jade Empress by Jean Kwok - 2 stars
(Just didn't work. Felt more like a possible Poirot setting than a Marple one. No idea when this was set, which didn't help the historical elements. I didn't enjoy the writing style. Miss Marple didn't read like Miss Marple.)

A Deadly Wedding Day by Dreda Say Mitchell - 3 stars
(Fun mystery. But not Marple-y enough. Too much internal dialogue and a second sleuth who isn't just “the plucky, but slightly clueless, helper”. Should have been its own book, without Miss Marple!)

Murder at the Villa Rosa by Elly Griffiths - 5 stars
(Third favourite. Really great version of a 1st person POV in a GAD-style mystery!)

The Murdering Sort by Karen M. McManus - 3 stars
(Really good mystery. But not a Marple story. Writing and setting felt slightly wrong. Was like expecting “Phryne Fisher” but ending up with a teenage version of “Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries”.)

The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse - 4 stars
(A lot of fun and a very typical Miss Marple story with nice writing!)

The Disappearance by Leigh Bardugo - 5 stars
(Second favourite. Writing was great and very funny. Felt like a classic mystery. Amazing version of a St Mary Mead story.)