I picked this up based on an audiobook narrator recommendation, and am I glad I did! IQ is a “detective” for those that are overlooked and underserved. Usually his payment is in kind, baked goods or services or something… But once in a while he needs a paying customer, so he takes on the case of a local rapper who someone is trying to kill.

This is more than a mystery, it is about living one‘s best life in difficult circumstances. ⬇️

The first Miss Marple book (although GR has it listed as book 2). I wouldn‘t call Miss Marple the main character of this book, but she does solve the mystery. Not much more to say that hasn‘t already been said about the book…

I love Miss Marple! She‘s eccentric, she‘s observant, she‘s just wonderful. I look forward to reading more Miss Marple books.

#SeriesLove2023

1. Apple picking, caramel apple eating, sitting by the fire pit with a hot toddy or hot apple cider and reading an ebook, soup making… everything fall
2. Calmer
3. The tagged and IQ by Joe Ide

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

I am waaay behind on my #StarWarsBuddyRead but am making progress. I listened to this on audio and loved it. The interplay between Luke and Lando was comforting, and seeing a more vulnerable side of Lando was revelatory.

The audio production was fantastic with a great narrator, music and sound effects that enhanced the experience rather than detracting from it.

My #bookspin and #doublespin for September

My September #bookspin

Thanks for the #WondrousWednesday tag @Eggs

1. I prefer to watch movies at home, where I can take breaks for my poor weak bladder when necessary 😜
2. I learned cross stitch when I was about 7 or 8 and still continue today. Also, I still do jigsaw puzzles (which will always remind me of my grandmother)
3. A combination of both to be honest.

Another great entry in this series #SeriesLove2023

In this one George us accused of murder and Ellie is limited in her sleuthing due to being eight months pregnant.

My #bookspin for August

Here is my list for August‘s #bookspin

1. Heaven Preserve Us by Cricket McCrae
2. It too me over 2 years to read Les Miserables
3. Helping my mom move closer to me, so we can spend more time together as she ages. We spent several decades 100s of miles apart and now she‘s about 15 minutes away.

#WondrousWednesday

This my third finish for #JubilantJuly and another #SeriesLove2023

There isn‘t much more to say than has already been said, but those last pages were gut wrenching. I want to pan this because of them, but I won‘t.

The final book in the Dido Kent series (#SeriesLove2023) and my second finish for #JubilantJuly. My first finish for #14Books14Weeks2023

Dido is sent to be a companion to her wealthy aunt who is staying at a country estate. There are strange whisperings going on among the other guests, and Dido eventually learns of the mystery at the house, a young woman has gone missing, allegedly off to Gretna Green, but her bridegroom remains in town.

It has been 6 wonderful years finding books and finding a great community of book lovers! 🥰

Thank you for the tag @Eggs #WondrousWednesday

1. Tagged
2. It is a story of female friendship and discovering one‘s own self worth. It is about holding others up and not tearing them down. It is just a wonderful tale.
3. I love stories set in a place I‘ve never been. I don‘t get to travel much anymore, so it‘s a way for me to travel.

My first finish for #JubilantJuly (it helps when you only have 20 pages left 🤣) and another #SeriesLove2023 finish (prequel to the series).

I enjoyed this more than The Mysterious Benedict Society. It was fun learning about Nicholas‘s background.

I‘m in for #JubilantJuly hosted by @Andrew65

My goals are:
🔹 Read 700 pages
🔹 Finish 2-3 books
🔹 Read for 20 minutes each day

I‘m excited to read both of these… for #bookspin

My July #bookspin list

This is the first book in the Sybil Ingram series (#SeriesLove2023). The plot was a bit convoluted and the characters weren‘t truly fleshed out, but this is the first book. I thought the author did a decent job with setting the mood and the place. I‘ll try the next one in the series.

Book 2 in the High Society Lady Detective Series (#SeriesLove2023) and my second finish for #JoysofJune

This is a fun cozy series. Olive is off to Blackburn Hall to try and find a missing author. A mystery ensues and Olive and her Watson, Jasper work to solve the mystery of two deaths. Were they connected or just a coincidence? Olive is tenacious and quite determined to get her man.

The narrator, Elizabeth Klerk, does a wonderful job.

Book 2 in the Max Tudor series (#SeriesLove2023) and my first finish for #JoysofJune

Max, the local vicar and former MI5 agent, agrees to assist Inspector Cotton at Chedrow Castle, where Lord Footrustle has been found murdered and his sister found dead of a heart attack.

These are slow burn, methodical mysteries. They take a slower pace, but I enjoy the inside look at the characters. One almost feels like they are snooping sometimes.

I am in for #JoysofJune hosted by @Andrew65

My goals are:

🔹 Read 500 pages
🔹 Finish 2 books
🔹 Start one of my #14Books14Weeks2023 selections

This is a first in a series and it shows. Some of the actions of the main characters were questionable to say the least, but overall I enjoyed it. I will read the second book to see if there is some character development.

#SeriesLove2023 #diversecozy

My #bookspin list for June

I was finally able to put my #14Books14Weeks2023 list together. Hoping to get through all of these!

The first in the Merry Ghost Inn Series (#SeriesLove2023) and my first finish for #MagnificentMay

Melanie and her grandmother, Lizza are renovating a old home to create a B&B when they find a body behind a secret door in the wall. This was a decent beginning to this cozy mystery series.

I am in for #MagnificentMay hosted by @Andrew65

My goals are:
🔹 Read 500 pages
🔹 Finish 2 books
🔹 Update 3 reading challenges

My May books…

My #bookspin list for May

My final finish for #deweyapril and third finish for #20in4. Also a finish for #serieslove2023 (Book 8 of the Saga series).

What a wonderful book! Margery Benson has lived a hum-drum life since her father‘s death. But one crazy day, Margery decides to go hunt for the Golden Beetle of New Caledonia that her father told about. Thus it begins…

This is a story of life, of death, of discovery of oneself and discovering the importance of friendship. It is about a journey, physically, spiritually and mentally. It is about being okay with you, and it has stolen my heart.

My first finish for #deweyapril and #20in4. Also a finish for #serieslove2023 (Book 3 of the Dido Kent Series)

Dido is asked by the mistress of Madderstone Abbey to look into the death of her governess, after her bones were found in a pond being drained. The governess disappeared 15 years before…

Dido is her usual intrepid self and goes about trying to determine what happened. A nice addition to the series.

Settling in for #deweyapril and #20in4

Here‘s my TBR (some are audios…, I always get the print version to keep track).

Happy reading all!

I am in for #20in4 hosted by @Andrew65

As it has worked for me the past two months, I‘m sticking with reading 20 chapters!

Happy Reading!

This was so much fun! If you are a fan of The Princess Bride thus is a definite read. It was great to hear the stories from the set and beyond.

First finish (and probably only finish) for #AwesomeApril

Here are my goals for #AwesomeApril

🔹 Read 525 pages
🔹 Finish 1-2 books
🔹 Spend 20 min each with reading challenges (reading or updating)

Another quick read in the NYPD Red series (Book 6, #SeriesLove2023). It was an decent book, but my biggest gripe is they changed narrators on the audiobook 😡. It kept throwing me off the tale. Still a pick and hopefully it won‘t be so distracting in the next book.

Book 5 in the Home Repair is Homicide Series (#SeriesLove2023). This time the husband of a domestic abuse victim is found chopped up in his butcher shop, and his wife is covered in blood. But there are more nefarious actions going on in this small Maine town. Although a cozy mystery series, these books hit on some serious topics.

Great as an audiobook.

It‘s Saga, so what can I say…. This poor family. Will they ever find peace and stability?!?

Final finish for #20in4 and another #SeriesLove2023

The second book in the Three Pines series. CC de Poitiers has purchased the old Hadley house, and is a thoroughly unlikable individual. Gamache is called in to determine who killed CC.

I love how Penny describes things, from the snow to the cold to a singing voice, her writing is mesmerizing. It was nice to visit with the inhabitants of Three Pines again.

My third finish for #20in4 and another #SeriesLove2023

It took over two years, but I finally finished. Boy do I have lots of thoughts…. I both loved and detested this novel/history lesson/philosophy book. This was my #chunksterchallenge for 2021.

In the end, I am going with a low pick, but there were times that it was a so-so.

Also, my second finish for #20in4

Book 19 in the In Death series (#SeriesLove2023 and one of my series to focus on) finds Eve looking for a murderer that takes his victims‘ eyes. As usual, it was fast paced and well plotted. I liked the evolution of Eve and Peabody‘s relationship in this one.

First finish for #20in4

Susan Ericksen‘s narration was spot on as always.

I‘m in for the #20in4 readathon hosted by @Andrew65

Since it worked so well last month, my goal again will be 20 chapters, and I hope to finish at least one book (maybe two).

Read this back in February and forgot to post. Book 2 of the 39 Clues series (#SeriesLove2023). This time we travel to Austria and Italy. I love the au pair, Nellie. She is great comic relief.

This is book 5 in the Literary Pub Series (#SeriesLove2023). This time someone from Grayson‘s past shows up dead and Sadie must figure out who killed her to clear Grayson‘s name. I enjoyed the mystery and finding out more of Grayson‘s past. Of course every time I read this series, I wish that there was an Inkwell Pub near me.

Another fun romp with the folks from St. Mary‘s! This time we travel to Whitechapel, look for Do-Dos and visit the court of Mary, Queen of Scotland. As usual there is drama, intrigue, tension and comedy.

My third and final finish for #MarvellousMarch

#SeriesLoves2023, St. Mary‘s Chronicles, Book 2 (one of my focus series!!!)

A quick MG novel. Amy and Dan continue their adventures in Japan and Korea.

Second finish for #marvellousmarch

#SeriesLove2023 - 39 clues series, book 3

A low pick for me. There were times where times where the flow of the story seemed disrupted by flashbacks or internal monologues, yet sometimes those same moments worked.

The narrator, Tavia Gilbert, was excellent.

First finish for #marvellousmarch

I am in for #marvellousmarch hosted by @Andrew65

Work has been extremely busy lately, so I‘m keeping my goals low:

🔹 read 400 pages
🔹 finish 1 book
🔹 work on updating 2 challenges