Husbands

 

Husbands by Holly Gramazio (2024)  338 pages

In a "Groundhog Day" manner (as the movie goes), Lauren‒who is single‒experiences husbands coming out of her attic. If the husband returns to the attic, he is repaced by another one. Everything is reset (except time) by the husband's return to the attic and the appearance of the next one. Their personalities vary widely. Each time there's a new husband, the flat that she lives in is decorated somewhat differently, a testament to the fact that she and this husband have had a history together before she meets him.

This is an extremely weird novel! I will eventually love it or else I will continue to feel somewhat cringy about some of the things that occur. Or both. I think both!

The Blackbirds of St. Giles

The Blackbirds of St. Giles by Lila Cain, 496 pages

When Daniel and his younger sister, Pearl, escape slavery during a rebellion, they're able to save themselves, though they leave behind their mother and the love of Daniel's life. Eventually, after Daniel fights for the British in the war for American independence, he secures a future for the siblings as the heir of a British nobleman whose life Daniel saved. However, upon traveling to London, that future is swiftly stolen from them, and Daniel and Pearl find themselves scraping by in a community created in the tunnels under Covent Garden, a community run under the ruthless rule of gangster Elias. 

Focusing on an element of London life that I'd never read about in fiction, this book offers a wealth of information that has piqued my interest in further investigation. While a few elements felt a bit unrealistic (particularly a bit of bombastic action toward the end), overall the story was compelling and the characters were well-conceived. Well worth a read.

A Ghostwriter's Guide to Murder

 

A Ghostwriter's Guide to Murder by Melinda Mullet (2025) 311 pages

Maeve Gardner is a ghostwriter for writer Harlan Oak's mystery series, which features PI Simon Hill. She would love to be able to write her own books, but for now, this pays the bills. Her boyfriend of 4 years, Gav, had cheated on her four months ago, and when they split up, she got the small boat that she lives in on a London canal, along with The Captain, a large dog who adores her (and sausage rolls).

The Captain draws her attention to a tire that serves as a bumper along the canal wall where she parks. She finds 50,000 quid stashed in the tire. She ends up returning the cash to the hiding place and fetching the police. When they return, the cash is gone and Gav is dead in the water. Maeve is the prime suspect.

The story gets better from here: her friends are pulling out all the stops to investigate because they don't trust the over-worked police to do so: The computer guru who used to work for the police dept., the ex-navy pub owner, and a proprietor of a floating bookstore. The friends are close, but still have secrets from each other that they don't press each other about. There are also a couple of Wiccan boat neighbors for good cheer (and to clean up auras). Eventually Gav's dart team gets involved, too, but mostly to find out who killed their mate, not that they have any affection for Maeve. 

As the friends get stuck, from time to time, Maeve conjures up the fictional PI, Simon Hill, to help get them unstuck. I found this to be quite the page turner!

A Case of Mice and Murder

A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith, 336 pages

It's 1901 and Inner Temple barrister Gabriel Ward is bogged down with a case concerning the authorship of a popular children's book about a mouse. However, when the Lord Chief Justice of England is found dead (and scandalously barefoot!) on Gabriel's doorstep, he reluctantly divides his attention to attempt solving the murder. 

Full of detail about the hidden legal world of early 1900s London and plenty of suspects and intrigue, it moves a bit slowly at times, but that's to be expected for a series starter. An excellent historical mystery, and highly recommended.

Murder Takes a Vacation

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman (2025) 261 pages

Mrs. Blossom has been widowed 10 years. After she happens to find a winning lottery ticket on the ground, she decides to take a riverboat cruise that originates in Paris. Mrs. Blossom is a large woman who doesn't expect to find romance in her life again, but on her flight to London, she meets Allan, who helps her with logistics and sits near her on the plane. He helps her when she can't make her next flight to Paris, getting her situated on a train the next day, instead. She's starting to swoon over the man, surprising herself. When Allan is found dead, the police find Mrs. Blossom because he had taken a photo of her that he apparently shared with someone via text. Meanwhile, because her last employment was following people for a private detective, she notices that she is being followed. She confronts the guy whom she keeps seeing (Danny) and it's not really clear who he is and whether he can be trusted, especially when he ends up taking the same riverboat cruise that she's on. All she knows is that he tells a story of an antiquity that disappeared long ago that may have some connection to Allan. And that he has a good eye for clothing.

So who was Allan and why did he die? Who is Danny really? And why did her room get searched in Paris, and again on the riverboat? She can't find anything that Allan might have slipped into her luggage.

The novel is a fast read, with characters that resist being pigeon-holed. Mrs. Blossom is a character in Lipmann's Tess Monaghan series. I haven't read any of that series, but it didn't get in the way of enjoying this book.

The Seven O'Clock Club

The Seven O'Clock Club by Amelia Ireland (2025) 354 pages

Genevieve is a counselor who has taken on a group of four grieving people: Victoria, a middle-aged hotshot lawyer; Callum, a rock star with a drug problem; Mischa, a young working woman in her late teens; and Freya, a 31-year-old woman who used to work in interior design.

None of these people were looking for Genevieve, but they (or someone they knew) aimed them towards her advertisement indicating that she was looking for people to participate in a new process for navigating the grief process, a process that uses a group setting rather than a one-on-one setting to move the clients forward.

The point-of-view changes to a different character each chapter. Larger sections are titled with stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, etc. At first, most of the characters do not really want to attend these sessions, but they return anyway, and as they get to know each others' stories, they bond.

If this were the whole point of the book, it's already good. However, the story takes a few very unexpected turns that I don't want to spoil. I had to see what happened. 

Murder in the Dressing Room

Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars, 368 pages

When drag queen Misty Divine discovers her drag mother, Lady Lady, poisoned in her dressing room, Misty is determined to see Lady's murderer caught and punished. Unfortunately, the detective assigned to the homicide is more concerned with the stolen vintage dress Lady Lady was wearing, and he's not making things easier by referring to drag performers by their non-stage names and dismissing drag as an oddity instead of a celebrated lifestyle. So Misty takes it upon herself to investigate, and ends up learning way more than she anticipated about her fellow performers.

This was an excellent murder mystery, one that manages to combine a solid mystery with a compelling amateur sleuth who has a legitimate reason for not trusting the police (that's always a pet peeve of mine), as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the world of drag. Drag plays an integral role in the character development and the story as a whole, and manages to not overwhelm the story. I absolutely loved this one, and so far, it's one of my favorite mysteries of the year. I will definitely be reading more Misty Divine books, as soon as Holly Stars writes them!

A Great Marriage

A Great Marriage by Frances Mayes (2024) 298 pages

Dara and Austin are set to be married in a short time. Dara and all of her family loves Austin—the Londoner is so much better for her than most of the guys Dara dated in her younger years, and her family and friends note the sparks between the couple are strong. Austin cannot believe his good fortune in his relationship with Dara, as well. When Austin gets unexpected news, it upends their relationship, and Dara won't tell her family and friends why.

The novel explores romantic relationships while showing us families with strong ties. The action is slow, but fitting for a story where the main characters, as well as some of the secondary characters, need to figure out what the way forward could be.

The Twilight Garden

The Twilight Garden by Sara Nisha Adams, 391 pages

In a small London neighborhood, two of those neighbors are at odds, as neighbors sometimes are. But these two also have the quirky complication of a shared garden, one that once used to be a cheerful gathering spot for the community but in the intervening years has become overgrown and neglected. Bouncing back and forth between the early days of the garden and the modern struggle, the book illustrates how a bit of dirt and hard work can create a community. It's a heartwarming story, and one that will certainly resonate with many readers.

The Murder of Mr. Ma

The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee & S.J. Rozan, 300 pages

In this Sherlockian mystery, college professor Lao She assists Judge Dee Ren Jie in solving the titular crime, as well as a string of related murders of Chinese men in 1924 London. Judge Dee is a whip smart martial artist (as well as opium addict) whose experiences in the trenches of France give him insight into the lives of the murdered men, as well as plausible theories as to the motives behind their deaths.

The book offers a very traditional mystery setup mashed together with a stark depiction of the casual racism against Chinese people in London at that time. While I appreciated the social elements, the way in which the story was told — the brilliant detective makes discoveries and solves the crime as we watch, as opposed to hints appearing throughout to give the reader a chance to solve the mystery themself — felt a bit dated and uncomfortable for those who prefer more modern storytelling styles. Still, for those who like Sherlock stories, this one may hold some appeal.

A Dangerous Collaboration

A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn (2019) 323 pages

The year is 1888 and Veronica Speedwell, a 26-year old woman with a scientific bent, is trying to find time away from Stoker, her usual partner in solving crimes, because she's conflicted about their friendship perhaps turning into a romantic relationship. She's not sure what she wants, although she's quite vocal about never getting married. When Stoker's brother, Lord Tiberius Templeton-Vane, asks Veronica to join him on a journey to a small island where a longtime friend resides in order to bring some rare butterflies back to London, Veronica can't help herself. Veronica fends off advances from Tiberius in the train, and is annoyed when she finds out that their host, Malcolm Romilly, has been told that she and Tiberius are engaged.

Stoker appears after the train drops them off and they are about to take a boat to St. Maddern's Isle, where Malcolm resides in a castle. There's quite a bit of tension between the brothers, but as it turns out, Tiberius wanted Stoker to join them at the island, which is why he had forbidden him to come. The butterflies are forgotten for awhile as the visitors learn that Malcolm's bride, Rosamund, disappeared on their wedding day three years ago, and Malcolm really needs closure. He wants them to find out what happened to her. Is she dead or did she run away? The castle has secret passageways and priest's holes, which were hiding places for priests when Catholicism was taboo, but they were all checked at the time of Rosamund's disappearance.

The suspects include Malcolm's sister Mertensia (who cultivates plants, including poisonous herbs), Malcolm's sister-in-law Helen (a dabbler in seances) and her son Caspian. And perhaps even Tiberius, who wasn't present on the wedding day, but who was clearly in love with Rosamund.

Even though I had not read the first three books in the series, I didn't feel lost, although this book whetted my appetite for the earlier installments. I've been finding out that books like this one, written recently but set back long ago, are not the fuddy-duddy stories I expect them to be, especially when given a feisty heroine like Veronica!

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman (2023) 448 pages

It's 1812 and Lady Augusta and her twin sister Lady Julia, aged 42, are working behind the scenes to right some wrongs. Their parents are dead and their younger brother, who is now head of the family, tries to hold the reins over them since they are both unmarried. Augusta and Julia are different in temperament. Augusta is not afraid to speak up, while Julia is more the peacemaker. They work well together, along with their butler Weatherly, and eventually with a former Lord who is on the run because he was found guilty of killing another man in a duel and is supposed to be serving out a prison term in Australia. Over the course of the book, the women, along with their allies, work to save a number of women and children from mistreatment, as secretly as possible. 

The book's setting in the 1800s belies its modern feeling, and the strong wishes that the women have to help those in great need. There is some talk about whether God exists, women's rights (or rather, the lack of them), and more. The book ends after their third adventure, but before all the details can be worked out. However, I hear that a sequel is in the works.

The Flatshare

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary (2019) 325 pages

Tiffy needs an inexpensive place to live. It's apparent that her ex-boyfriend is not coming back after she hears he's engaged to someone else. She learns about a small flat where she and the owner would share the premises, just not at the same time. She would get it on evenings and weekends, and the owner (Leon) would get it 9-6 on weekdays, since he works the nightshift as a hospice nurse. Against the judgment of her friends, she goes for it. She never even meets Leon ahead of the agreement; his girlfriend Kay handles the deal.

Tiffy and Leon write Post-It notes to each other on a regular basis, and learn about each other by the notes and by catching details in the apartment. (For example, did he have his coffee and wash his cup, or was he so rushed that he left it unfinished?) Eventually, they learn about each other's relationships: Tiffy's ex-boyfriend, Justin, starts showing up unexpectedly at events that he shouldn't know about. Now that she seems to be fine without him, he appears to want her back. As Tiffy puts distance between herself and Justin, she has feelings that he was gaslighting her, making her look like she had a bad memory and bad judgement. Leon's girlfriend, Kay, is fine, but she doesn't have faith in the innocence of Leon's younger brother, Richie, who was found guilty at a trial less than a year ago. Leon is tied in knots about Richie and doesn't know what to do, whether he can save up enough money to get him an appeal.

Eventually Tiffy and Leon actually meet in person, in a embarrassingly funny way, and then their relationship goes to a new level. This write-up doesn't begin to catch the flavor of the book, but suffice it to say, it's funny and deep and satisfying all the way through, with secondary characters that are fabulous.

The Happy Couple

The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan (2023) 258 pages

Books with multiple viewpoints always grab my interest. Here, Celine and Luke are engaged to be married. Celine is a pianist who loves nothing more than playing music. She's the kind who will just flit away with hardly a moment's notice to go play music, even if it means abandoning her boyfriend in Paris. Luke is quite nice in many ways, but he has cheated on Celine and lied to her. He also disappears during their engagement party. The author brings their relationship to life by giving each of them their own section of the book. Sections are also allotted to Celine's slightly wild sister Phoebe (the bridesmaid), who flunked out of university her first term; Luke's friend and former lover Archie, an attorney and a cokehead, who is to be the best man; and Vivian, one of the wedding guests (another former lover of Luke's who didn't put up with his baloney, which allows them to be close friends now). All of these viewpoints help the reader assess what's really going on with the engaged couple. Much of the book rests on wondering whether or not the wedding will actually take place. Also intriguing is getting a close look at nuances within so many of the relationships of these characters.

Dominoes

Dominoes by Phoebe McIntosh, 288 pages

Layla McKinnon has always thought it was just a funny quirk that she and her fiancé, Andy, have the same last name — she's biracial and grew up in North London, he's from an upper-middleclass family with deep Scottish roots. But when she sees a documentary just a few weeks before their wedding day, Layla discovers that Andy's ancestors may have enslaved her ancestors. The revelation sends Layla into a tailspin, causing her to re-evaluate everything from her lack of genealogical knowledge to her upcoming nuptials. 

The premise of this book set it up to potentially veer into sappy cheese or dark and gritty (or, if the author really mishandled it, way too light and quirky). Instead, McIntosh walked that very fine line, and created a book that's an enjoyable, engrossing read that also addresses colorism, the generational impact of slavery, and privilege head on in the context of Layla's life. I was impressed, and highly recommend this one.

Moon Over Soho

 

Moon Over Soho (Rivers of London series #2) by Ben Aaronovitch  375 pp.

Peter Grant returns as a London Police Constable / Sorcerer's Apprentice in this second magical installment of the series. This time his investigations turn to the deaths of jazz musicians dropping dead but carrying supernatural signs which show the deaths are magical instead of natural. In the mean time Peter has a new "girlfriend" who is also supernatural but doesn't realize it. While Peter's magical teacher recovers from injuries sustained at the end of the first book, he has to do most of the investigating alone with his limited magical skills. Constable Lesley May, Peter Grant's love interest in the previous book is recovering from the extreme disfiguring injuries she sustained in book one. Because she cannot actively investigate she instead is analyzing old records from Oxford to help with the investigation. To add to the mysterious, magical crimes, a creature Grant calls "The Pale Lady" is killing men she mutilates with her vagina dentata. With all the dangerous supernatural creatures there is quite a bit of grotesque goriness but it is all integral to the story. I have to read the next one to find out how the wizard Thomas Nightingale and Constable May are getting along.

Assembly

 Assembly by Natasha Brown, 106 pages.

This novella follows an unnamed black British woman through the struggles of modern life in England. She works at a bank and constantly deals with racism, sexism, and the countless small and nameless ways the world tries to break her down. Her wealthy white boyfriend's parents invite her to an upscale garden party, where she spends more time thinking about her place in the world, and if she wants to remain there. 

This book is extremely non-linear, which makes it difficult to judge the order and scale that things are happening in. It also seems terrified of giving characters names, which makes it hard to tell many of the various men apart, making an already difficult to follow story even more difficult to follow. Overall this novella felt like it was more interested in being perceived as "literary" than anything else, and I'm afraid that that goal inhibited anything else it was trying to do.

Midnight Riot

 

Midnight Riot (Rivers of London Series #1) by Ben Aaronovitch 384 pp.

I just discovered this series which has been around for more than a decade. I will definitely be reading more of them. It all begins when a man trips over a headless body in front of a church in London's Covent Garden. Probationary police officer Peter Grant takes a witness statement from what turns out to be a ghost. Soon Grant has been assigned to work with Chief Inspector Nightingale, the last wizard in Britain. Grant becomes Nightingale's apprentice wizard and has to deal with more ghosts, vampires, the warring God and Goddess of the River Thames and an assortment of supernatural events and creatures which lead to a riot at the the opera house at Covent Garden. After Nightingale is injured and Grant's fellow officer/girlfriend is possessed it falls on the apprentice wizard to track down and eliminate the cause. The plot is great, the characters are interesting, and the action is fast moving. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, does a great job. During the heavy action he even reads it in a breathless way which adds much to the story. 

Red, White and Royal Blue

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (2019) 418 pages

Alex is twenty-one and plans to run for Congress someday. He's also the son of the first woman President in the U.S., who's running for her second term. Henry is the grandson of the British queen. Both of these high-profile young men have little privacy. Alex hasn't minded that up to this point; he revels in the spotlight, having helped campaign for his parents and others. Henry seems rather more reserved. Alex hasn't gotten along with him when they've been together, thinking Henry is too snooty. After an unfortunate incident at Henry's older brother's wedding, their handlers go into damage control. Alex and Henry are directed to behave as friends in front of the media, to help showcase the good relations between their countries. When they find out that they are actually attracted to each other, that's when reality hits them: a gay relationship is sure to turn off voters in the U.S. and to strain the reputation of the monarchy in Britain.

Real politicians are mentioned by name, which makes the book more fun. We see the White House staff working hard behind the scenes. The dialog is fun, especially when the young men interact with Alex's sister, June, the Vice President's granddaughter, Nora, and Henry's sister, Bea. Watching them attempt to have a real life while watched over by security feels realistic. A lot of their conversations are carried on via text and email, which are particularly well-done. There's also some election intrigue that keeps one wondering. But my overall concern was how Alex and Henry could hope to have a continuing relationship, while they were so scrutinized by the public and the media, and the unfairness of their situation. I loved this book. (Kara and Regan have posted about it, too.)

The Fixer Upper

The Fixer Upper by Lauren Forsythe (2022) 286 pages

Aly runs into a former boyfriend and was startled to learn that he was married and doing well and that he credited his success to her, for pushing him to make some life changes. Aly's work friends, Tola and Eric, note that she's really good at this kind of thing, and as a lark, they start helping women they know by injecting themselves into situations where they play-act near the woman's partner, which helps move that partner to make some changes in how they behave, improving the relationships.

Their Fixer Upper group becomes so successful that they are approached by Nicki, a well-known social media influencer, who would like for them to get her boyfriend to propose marriage to her. When the boyfriend turns out to be Aly's old best friend from high school, whom she has now avoided for fifteen years, she finds herself feeling conflicted. Added to that, she has been dealing with her divorced parents' issues and her quest for a promotion at work. 

This is a fast read with many memorable and/or likeable characters.