Wednesday, July 23, 2025

The Murders of Richard III by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Grace Conlin

 




The Murders of Richard III by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Grace Conlin

#2 Jacqueline Kirby

Historical Mystery

Publisher:  Blackstone Audio

Published:  10.1.95

Time: 6 hours 52 minutes

Rating: 3.5 stars

Format: Audio

Source:  Purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

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Goodreads Synopsis:

In a remote English country mansion, modern devotees of the infamous King Richard III, immortally villainized by Shakespeare, have gathered for a grand weekend of role-playing and Ricardian scholarship. Jacqueline Kirby, an attractive American librarian attending the festivities, anticipates only one mystery to be the five-hundred-year-old question of whether Richard truly killed the little princess in the Tower of London. Jacqueline is amused at the group's eccentricities--until history begins to repeat itself. A dangerous practical joker recreates famous fifteenth-century murder beheading, poisoning, smothering, and even drowning in a butt of malmsey. As the jokes become more and more macabre, one at last proves fatal. Racing to untangle the murderous puzzle, Jacqueline puts all her observations together for a dazzling solution that will surprise even the most attentive listener.

 

Monday, July 21, 2025

Devil May Care by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Grace Conlin

 




Devil May Care by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Grace Conlin

Historical Mystery

Publisher:  Blackstone Audio

Published:  1.11.07

Time:  7 hours 28 minutes

Rating: 3.5 stars

Format: audio

Source:  Purchased

Sellers: Amazon

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GoodReads Synopsis:

Ellie is young, rich, engaged, and in love. In the carefree days before marriage and new responsibility, she decides to house-sit at Aunt Kate's palatial estate in Burton, Virginia. With its nearly invisible housekeepers and plethora of pets, Ellie feels right at home. But when she opens an antique book about the town's aristocracy, she finds disturbing secrets that extend to her own family. Suddenly, Ellie's interest in the past is attracting a slew of unwelcome guests - some of them living and some perhaps not. Unwittingly, she has aroused a terrible vengeance that is now aimed at her.

 

Friday, July 18, 2025

Her First Mistake by Kendra Elliot

 



Her First Mistake by Kendra Elliot

#1 Noelle Marshall

Romantic Suspense

Publisher:  Montlake

Published: 6.10.25

Pages:  343

Rating: 4.5 stars

Format: eARC

Source:  NetGalley

Sellers: Amazon

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GoodReads Synopsis:

When a very personal cold case murder is reopened, a detective’s secrets come to light in a novel of shocking twists and suspense by a Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

Thirteen years ago, Assemblyman Derrick Bell was murdered in his home by an intruder. His wife, Noelle Marshall, was left for dead. The crime was unsolved, but it wasn’t forgotten.

Today the FBI is tackling a fresh perspective on the case and looking to Noelle, now a detective for the Deschutes County sheriff’s office, for new clues. It is reopening everything Noelle thought was behind her. Memories of her escape from a traumatic childhood. A marriage that wasn’t the perfect love story she’d been promised. And a husband whose charm and privilege hid a dark side. But Noelle has been hiding something a secret about the night Derrick died that she has never told anyone.

As past and present and leads and misleads collide, one thing is frighteningly clear. Derrick’s murder wasn’t just unsolved. It’s unfinished. And only the truth—no matter the risk—can save the next victim.

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

After encountering, cool-headed and fab dressing Detective Noelle Marshall in previous Columbia River series books, I was tingling with excitement to finally get the deets on her mysterious past.  Kendra Elliot created a layered and fascinating secondary character who is now getting the spotlight for the first time.

 

Her First Mistake has a split timeline-style format.  There are two past (one pre-murder and one post-murder) and one contemporary.  This choice makes perfect sense with this particular plot line. 

 

Opening with Noelle being called into the FBI office in Bend, OR, to meet with two Sacramento FBI agents, Max Rhodes and his partner, who are assigned the still-open case of her deceased husband, California Assemblyman, Derrick Bell, Noelle is blind-sided by the past she thought she had successfully put behind her.  This is routine and the agents have gone over the old reports, had any evidence that would benefit from updated forensic tech gone back over, and now they are conducting interviews with all the key players to see if anything new shakes loose. 

 

As it happens, they do rattle someone who has been keeping quiet about the bludgeoning death of Derrick Bell and attack on Noelle that left her with memory loss of the day of the crime with ongoing struggles of minor memory loss.  Noelle went through dark times back then and is now reliving them though still unable to recall the day of the murder.  That said, she’s been keeping a secret- the vivid dreams connected with that day.

 

I couldn’t say why, but one sentence during one of the past timelines opened the solution to the murder and surrounding mysteries wide-open for me.  I was gratified to see hints after that telling me that I had indeed nailed it.  How gratifying, LOL!  But, that said, Her First Mistake never lost the building tension or big climax scenes because Kendra Elliot knows how to toss in an exciting and unexpected surprise now and then to keep readers on their toes. 

 

I really enjoyed delving into Noelle’s past and getting to know an already likeable character better.  Her vulnerabilities as she saw them didn’t hold her back and I thought these added depth and hidden strength for her to go through what she did and her ongoing hidden disability that doesn’t get in the way of her doing her job as a detective.  The crackle of attraction between her and Max was well done and I liked the slow build in the background of the work on the case.  Max was an instant favorite and I look forward to getting to know him better in further books.

 

Sidenote:  There are crossover characters and mentions of previous situations even though this is a first in series.  If you want all those references to make sense, previous series including FBI Agent Mercy Kilpatrick and the more recent Columbia River books involving Detective Evan Bolton should be read first.

 

All in all, a satisfying, attention-grabbing book- as usual.  Can’t wait for the next installment and recommend specifically to romantic suspense fans.

 


Author’s Bio:

As a kid, I read and read and read. Laura Ingalls, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden were my close companions, and I was never without a book in hand. Today mysteries and suspense are my primary reading genres. I enjoy Lee Child, Karen Rose, Robert Crais, Lisa Gardner, Michael Connelly, and Tami Hoag. But I also love to escape with a historical romance or an engrossing fantasy set in another world. Authors are always huge readers.

In 2006 I’d recently finished one of Diana Gabaldon’s novels for the umpteenth time, and I loved how satisfied and content I felt at the end. A true sign of great storytelling. Could I provide that experience for a reader? I sat down and spent six months writing a contemporary romance. Strangely I kept tripping over dead bodies in each chapter. I got the hint and my stories evolved into suspense. I never felt the need to “tell the stories cluttering my head” or “share my work with the world” like some authors. My goal was to simply see if I could entertain a reader.

HIDDEN was the third manuscript I finished, but my first book purchased by a publisher. It came out in the summer of 2012 and since then has sold a million copies. I won the Daphne du Maurier award three times and have hit the Wall Street Journal’s best seller list more than a dozen times. I’ve been an International Thriller Writers’s finalist and a finalist for Romantic Times Magazine’s best Romantic Suspense. As I update this in 2024, I’ve sold thirteen million books, and I’m working on my twenty-fourth novel. I’ve also written eleven novellas and sold the TV rights for my Mercy Kilpatrick series.

I wouldn’t trade this career for anything, and I count my blessings every day, thankful that readers have embraced my books.

https://www.kendraelliot.com/home/



Sophia’s Bio:
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.


As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816

GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose




Monday, June 30, 2025

Sophia Rose Reviews: Swell My Song by Lyndsay Constable




 

Swell My Song by Lyndsay Constable

#1 Mayhap Myths

Historical Romance

Publisher:   Lyndsay Constable

Published: 4.28.25

Pages:  135

Rating: 4 stars

Format: Trade Paperback

Source: Author

Sellers:  Amazon

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GoodReads Synopsis:

“I can assure you that nothing from your pen, your lips, or the tips of your fingers, could ever dissuade me from what I feel for you.”

Elizabeth Bennet faces a tragedy. The one man she loathes above all others is hopelessly in love with her because he heard her unnaturally beguiling voice.

Fitzwilliam Darcy confronts an unexpected problem. After finally making an offer to a lady, she accuses him of being temporarily deluded by her siren blood.

In this Happily Ever After Pride and Prejudice variation novella inspired by Greek mythology, Elizabeth attempts to convince her ardent admirer that he is mistakenly enraptured whilst Darcy does all in his power to prove his love is sincere.

Swell My Song is Book One of The Mayhap Myths-Pride and Prejudice Variation Novellas inspired by Greek mythology.

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Sophia Rose Reviews: The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories by Charlaine Harris

 




The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories by Charlaine Harris

#4.1- #13.3 Sookie Stackhouse

Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Ace

Published: 11.21.17

Pages: 368

Rating: 4 stars

Format: Hardback

Source: Purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

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GoodReads Synopsis:

For the first time together in one volume, the complete short story collection starring Sookie Stackhouse--with a new introduction from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the series, Charlaine Harris.

For the first time together in one volume, here is the complete short story collection starring Louisiana's favorite telepathic waitress, Sookie Stackhouse--from #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. New fans can fill in the gaps in their Sookie lore while old friends can revisit some of their favorite moments and characters. From investigating the murder of a local fairy to learning that her cousin was a vampire, from remodeling her best friend's house to attending a wedding with her shapeshifting boss, Sam, Sookie navigates the perils and pitfalls of the paranormal world.

Belly up to the bar at Bon Temps's favorite watering hole and hear stories that will make you wish Sookie never left, including...

This definitive collection is the perfect binge read for people who like their stories with bite!

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Sophia Rose Reviews: The Seventh Sinner by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Grace Conlin

 




The Seventh Sinner by Elizabeth Peters, narrated by Grace Conlin

#1 Jacqueline Kirby

Historical Mystery

Publisher:  Blackstone Audio

Published:  7.1.98

Time: 5 hours 55 minutes

Rating: 4 stars

Format: Audio

Source:  Purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

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Goodreads Synopsis:

At first, Jean Suttman thought she had died and gone to Heaven when she was granted the opportunity to study in Rome. But the body that's lying in the ancient subterranean Temple of Mithra—the murdered corpse of a repulsive and disliked fellow student—isn't her idea of heavenly. Now she is truly frightened, not just because small "accidents" seem to be occurring around her with disturbing regularity. It's the ever-increasing certainty that someone, for some unknown reason, is ruthlessly determined to do her harm. Jean's innocent underground excursion into a sacred pagan place has trapped her in something dark and terrifying, and even the knowledge that practical, perceptive fellow American Jacqueline Kirby is on the case won't ease her fears. Because there's only so far Jean Suttman can run . . . and no escape for her except death.

Monday, June 9, 2025

Sophia Rose Reviews A Devoted Sister by Jann Rowland

 




A Devoted Sister by Jann Rowland

Historical Romance

Publisher:  One Good Sonnet Publishing

Published:  7.12.23

Pages:  337

Rating: 4 stars

Format: ebook

Source: purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

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