The Running Bibliophile

Murder in the Mystery Suite (Book Retreat Mysteries, #1) by Ellery Adams is the first book in the Book Retreat Mysteries series and is set in western Virginia at a charming resort called Storyton Hall. This unique resort is designed specifically for book lovers who want to escape, unwind, and immerse themselves in their favorite stories. The resort’s manager, Jane Steward, decides to host a themed “Murder and Mayhem Week” inviting mystery enthusiasts to gather, role-play, and solve fictional crimes. However, the event takes a dark turn when one of the guests is found dead in his suite and a valuable prize goes missing. Jane must uncover which guest is responsible for the murder before the retreat is ruined . Before picking up this novel, I had only read one other book in the series. I decided to start from the beginning as part of my New Year’s resolution to finally read books I purchased years ago. I’m so glad I did. Starting with the first installment allowed me to fully appreciat...

A Crabby Killer (Mooseamuck Island, #2) by Leighann Dobbs is the second installment in the Mooseamuck Island cozy mystery series. The story begins when the body of an “outsider” is discovered stuffed inside a crab boil pot just before the island’s annual Crab Festival opens to the public. Determined not to let a murder derail their beloved celebration, the islanders press on...until it becomes clear that several locals had motives. As suspicion spreads, can retired police investigators Claire and Dom put aside their differences long enough to solve the case? I originally bought a copy of this ebook years ago purely because I loved the title. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to read more of the books I already own instead of constantly buying new ones, so I finally decided to give A Crabby Killer a try, knowing absolutely nothing about the story beforehand. I was pleasantly surprised. Leighann Dobbs does an excellent job of providing background on recurring characters for new rea...

Death of a Tom Turkey (Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery, #18)  by Lee Hollis  opens with Tom Farley and his neighbors in a snit because he's the last holdout to sell his house to a property developer who wants to build a resort. When Tom is shot at a pre-Thanksgiving community gathering and hospitalized, Hayley Powell puts her amateur sleuthing skills to good use. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishers for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this cozy mystery. I received a copy of this book for free in exchange of my honest opinion and review of the story. I loved the fact that this latest installment of the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery  series had a theme around the Thanksgiving holiday and included live turkeys in the plot. It was good to visit some familiar characters. Since this is the eighteenth installment in the series, Lee Hollis didn't go into much detail of the background of those reoccurring characters; however, she...

Mischief Nights Are Murder (A Poppy McAllister Mystery, #8) by Libby Klein was published on July 25, 2023.  The story opens with Poppy McAllister not being happy about being coerced into the Cape May Haunted Dinners Tour during the Halloween season.  Feeling a bit overwhelmed about breaking up an argument between some of her guests, Poppy is dismayed when one of them turns up dead. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the Advanced Readers Copy of Mischief Nights Are Murder (A Poppy McAllister Mystery, #8) by Libby Klein.  I love a great mystery, especially as it gets closer to Halloween, so when my request to read this book was approved, I was thrilled. This was the first book I've read by Libby Klein, and it was a well written story that kept my attention.  Although, it's the eighth book in a series, it could be read as a stand alone.  The author did a relatively good job of giving the reader some backstory of each of the characters, so I didn't re...

Witch Upon A Star (Witch Way Librarian Mysteries, #4) by Angela M. Sanders was published May 23, 2023 by Kensington Books.  Josie is excited to have her sister Jean come visit her in Wilfred, Oregon.  However, Josie isn't quite as happy for the reason ... Jean is attending a workshop to become a certified life coach.  When two people associated with the workshop are found murdered, and Jean is threatened, Josie sticks her nose into the investigation. A big thank you goes out to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Witch Upon A Star (Witch Way Librarian Mysteries, #4) by Angela M. Sanders.  I was happy to be approved to receive this book for free in exchange for my honest review.  After reading this book, I'm now a fan of the author and can't wait to read the first three books in the series or for the next installment to come out. I was pleasantly surprised that the story was so well written and engaging.  At times, it pla...

Trick or Treat Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery, #3) by Leslie Meier is set in Tinker's Cove, Maine, and the entire town is preparing a party in a dilapidated mansion to celebrate Halloween. However, everyone is on edge because there has been a rash of fires thought to be the work of an arsonist. The latest one killing a summer resident. Who will be the latest victim? Is anyone else a fan of Halloween like I am? This was the perfect book to put me in the mood for the holiday, and this is a must read if you do like Halloween. It brought back so many memories of my childhood of trick or treating and the Halloween parties that my parents and the rest of the parents in the neighborhood put on for us kids that were similar to the one in Trick or Treat Murder . Having an arsonist setting fires in the book only made it creepier, but not scary. There were quite a few red herrings in the book. With that being said, there were clues to who it really was, and I dismissed those clues much to my c...

The Surprise Party (Fear Street, #2)  by R.L. Stine.   After Evan died in the Fear Street woods, everyone changed, and Ellen moved away. When Meg Dalton heard Ellen was coming for a visit, she thought it would be a great idea to throw Ellen a surprise party. With party plans under way, Meg begins receiving threats to cancel the party. Who would go to such drastic extremes? As a part of rereading my way through my childhood, the Fear Street  books by R.L. Stine were a must read for me, and The Surprise Party (Fear Street, #2)  brought back some great memories for me. Mentions of trapper keepers, Molly Ringwald, Daryl Hannah, and Esprit clothing gave me all the feels. I wonder if kids today even know what a trapper keeper is and have ever heard of the Esprit clothing line? I only vaguely remembered the storyline of The Surprise Party  and thought I had the "bad guy" figured out from the get go only to find out I was wrong. How can I be so wrong about ...

Smokin' Seventeen (Stephanie Plum, #17) written by Janet Evanovich has the usual cast of characters. With the bail bonds office in the process of being rebuilt, it has become a dumping ground for a murderer who has Stephanie Plum on his list. On top of that, Stephanie's mom is back to fixing her up with different men due to Stephanie not making a commitment with either of the men in her life . . . Joseph Morelli and Ricardo Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger. Enter Dave Brewer, former football star and classmate from Stephanie and Joe's high school. Let me first begin by saying that I really enjoyed this book . . . well enough that I gave it five out five stars because it was a little different from some of the other books in the series, even though it did follow the same exact formula that all the rest of the books did. However, Evanovich did freshen it up a little with a skip that thought he was a vampire, more curses from Grandma Bella (Joe Morelli's grandmother), a...

Peril in High Heels (High Heels, #11) by Gemma Halliday and Kelly Rey brings back the beloved character of Maddie Springer who is in heaven watching her best friend Dana star in a film that is an adaption of her favorite book. Things go downhill when the director is found in his trailer . . . stabbed to death with one of the prop swords. The High Heels Mysteries book series is one of my favorite cozy mysteries. Not only does it have mystery, there is a little romance and a bit of comedy. I have to say that other than Maddie, her husband Jack Ramirez is my absolute favorite character. What I loved about Peril in High Heels is that there were several red herrings, but I tried to figure out who the killer was early on . . . I was glad to find out that I was correct in my guess, but I couldn't quite figure out the motive. Of course, Maddie gets herself in a pickle and becomes a target herself when she starts asking the right questions around the movie set. I wasn't ...

Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens is about Lindsey young mother who is in an abusive marriage, both verbally and physically, and decides to sneak out one night with her daughter Sophie and leave her husband Andrew. Fast forward eleven years, her now ex-husband is released from prison. Constantly looking over her shoulder, Lindsey is convinced that she is being watched. Her boyfriend is attacked, and her house is broken into. Is her ex-husband doing all of this or is there someone else out there seeking revenge? I randomly picked up this book at the library and checked it out last weekend knowing that I really didn't have time to read it. However, it kept calling to me so I ignored all the other book related commitments I'd made and began reading Never Let You Go this past Wednesday. At first, the book was engrossing ... I just couldn't put it down and really wanted to take time off of work so I could read it but that just isn't an option for me. Approximately halfway...