The Running Bibliophile

Veronica Ruiz Breaks The Bank (Finlay Donovan, #3.5) by Elle Cosimano is a short story that gives the reader some background on Veronica "Vero" Ruiz.  Vero is on the run after being accused of stealing money from her sorority and lands at her cousin Ramon's apartment to start her life over.  Utilizing a fake name, Vero lands a job as a custodian at a local bank where money has gone missing.  Can she help solve this mystery without revealing her true identity? I had no idea that Elle Cosimano came out with a short story about one of the secondary characters in the Finlay Donovan series.  When Amazon.com suggested this book to me, I was over the moon with excitement.  Without hesitation, I purchased and downloaded the book. Learning about Vero's backstory was very interesting to me, and I love that readers were able to see that this character was always spunky and took no prisoners.  Even though Finlay Donovan doesn't make an appearance until the end of the...

Mrs. Claus and the Trouble with Turkeys (Mrs. Claus, #4) by Liz Ireland is the fourth book in the Mrs. Claus book series and is about a turkey that was ordered for Mrs. Claus by the elves that work for her and her husband Nick, also known as Santa Claus, for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday that Mrs. Claus has introduced to Santaland.  Chaos breaks out when the turkey has been kidnapped and Nick's cousin has been murdered. I'd like to thank NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Mrs. Claus and the Trouble with Turkeys (Mrs. Claus, #4) by Liz Ireland.  When my request to read this book was approved, I was happy to receive this novel for free in exchange for my honest review. My first foray into this series was a novella that was a part of collected works, and I thought the story was just okay, so I was happy to see that the series does get better.  It still is a cozy mystery and a bit young for my taste, but it was a lot more interesting.  This is a serie...

Christmas Presents by Lisa Unger is a novella expected to be published on October 24, 2023 by Penzler Publishers.  Madeline Martin is the owner of a thriving business, a bookstore.  When author and podcaster Harley Granger stops by her store, Madeline is starstruck.  However, bad memories are dredged up for Madeline by the author when he mentions that he is reopening a cold case that she survived. Thank you, NetGalley and Penzler Publishers, for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Lisa Unger's novella, Christmas Presents .  As a recent fan of the author, I knew I wanted to read her latest without even reading the synopsis, so I requested to read this novella and was ecstatic when I was approved to receive a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. This novella falls into the mystery, thriller, and suspense genre but has a little romance and intrigue to it.  Despite the genre, it even put me in the Christmas mood since it takes place during the holiday....

When The Grownup by Gillian Flynn came out in print, I was super excited about the book. Little did I know that it was actually a short story. Then, life got in the way, and I forgot about the book. I finally ordered the book (short story) from ThriftBooks.com and finished reading it in the wee hours of today. I wasn't entirely sure what the synopsis was when I first began reading it, but it was super intriguing. The Grownup is about a woman who works at a store with psychics. At least, that is what is promoted in the storefront. In the back of the store, there are sex workers who work their way to the front of the store to be an actual "psychic". When a customer named Susan Burke comes in for an aura reading because she thinks her renovated Victorian home is haunted and her stepson is becoming possessed by the house, the psychic comes up with a way to con the woman out of $2,000. This story was not very satisfying when it was all done. None of the loose e...