Category: Mystery

The Innkeeper’s Intrigue by Deb Marlowe

On By TracyIn Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Mystery, Mystery, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

The Innkeeper's Intrigue (Lockstone Hollow Mystery Series)The Innkeeper’s Intrigue by Deb Marlowe

Tracy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Lockstone Hollow Mystery, #2

Release Date: October 13, 2026

Lady Lisette Birtwhistle has finally come to terms with the events surrounding the murder of her former betrothed and has settled into village life. As the primary leaseholder of the village thanks to her late brother, the Duke of Winbury, Lisette has big plans for the town and hopes to help all the townspeople profit from the changes she has in mind. But when another body is found, it could mean disaster, so the sooner the murderer is found the better.

Though Lisette is leery to get involved, especially after the danger she found herself in last time, when the grumpy constable, Maxwell Sowerby, asks for her help, she can’t refuse. The victim was a good friend of the constable, so he has even more reason to find the assailant. They work together and follow the leads, but rather than bringing them closer together, despite the mutual attraction, Lisette realizes that Maxwell has no intention of making Lockstock Hollow his home and that as long as that is true, they can have no future. And when they almost come to blows after they have different ideas on how to proceed and once again Lisette finds herself in peril.

This was another well written and nicely plotted mystery by Deb Marlowe, and I enjoyed returning to Lockstone Hollow. Lisette is once again called upon to help solve murder, but this time her help has been requested, which makes readers believe that she might decide about her feelings for the constable. In the previous book, I had hoped that Lisette would end up with the constable, but after this book, I am hoping she saves her heart for Royce Logan, the mysterious carpenter. That aside, the story was filled with intrigue, lots of possible suspects, family secrets, blackmail, cute goats, and finally a very suspenseful ending with a bit of a romantic twist. Overall, this was a very intriguing read that I think will appeal to readers who enjoy cozy historical mysteries featuring a strong, intelligent heroine.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for a DRC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

 

What Happens at Nightfall by Lauren Willig

On By TracyIn Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Mystery, New To Me Author, Paranormal / Fantasy, Romantasy, Standalone Title, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

What Happens at Nightfall: A NovelWhat Happens at Nightfall: A Novel by Lauren Willig

Tracy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: October 6, 2026

When Jacinta “Jess” Waters agrees to meet her best friend Kimmy for a cemetery tour in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery, she couldn’t even begin to imagine how much her life was about to change. For the last year Jess’s life has been a mess, first she got what she believed to be her dream job, but soon the dream became a nightmare when she discovered her bosses were using the company to launder money, she turned them in, but they turned the tables on her and ruined her credibility and her had her blackballed in the financial community. So, the outing with Kimmy seemed like just the thing to take her mind off things but is regretting that decision when she gets knocked into by some boys and gets separated from the group. As she is picking up her things, she hears someone crying and investigates, she finds a young boy huddled under a bush and tries to help him when something strange happens, which has them running for their lives.

The cemetery’s resident arborist, Adam Chervinsky is a widower and the father of a teenage daughter and a tween son. When he hears a knock at his door, he thinks it is another lost tour participant who needs him to unlock the gate for them, so imagine his shock when he opens the door to find his son, who he thought was in his room with a lovely stranger. He is stunned to learn that his son was at his late wife’s family mausoleum, and somehow this pretty woman was caught in the middle. When Jess reveals that her phone is dead and she has lost her Metro card, he offers to escort her to the subway and pay her fare, but first they need to lock up the mausoleum. Simple right? What they find at the tomb will pull them both into things that neither of them even thought was real and hopefully, they will survive…

This was a well-written, nicely paced story with wonderful characters, which totally sucked me in and kept me flipping pages way past my bedtime (completely worth the lost sleep!). The book has ghosts, demons, slow burn romance, ride or die friends, mystery, great secondary characters, frogs, some witty dialogue, family drama, secrets, moving statues, and a very satisfying ending complete with an epilogue. As much as I enjoyed this book, I wasn’t really sold on the romance, I felt like Adam still had issues with his late wife to deal with and his mistrust for Jess made it hard to believe that he fell in love with her so quickly. Overall, this was a great read, it was spooky but not scary, and very unputdownable. If you are looking for a fun, spooky read with a bit of romance, you need to read this book!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for a DRC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *