book series

Review: Goosebumps — Night of the Living Dummy (Goosebumps #7) by R.L. Stine

~ megs14malloy

Night of the Living Dummy (Goosebumps, #7)Night of the Living Dummy by R.L. Stine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Many know Slappy the dummy as one of the most iconic Goosebumps characters of all time. And while I have read other books with Slappy as an antagonist, I’ve no recollection of ever reading this, Night of the Living Dummy, Slappy’s first appearance.

Recently, I needed a quick, fun, not too mentally taxing, audiobook while doing things around the house and decided to pick this up. I’m glad I did, as it fit the bill nicely.

In this story we follow twins, Lindy and Kris, who find a discarded ventriloquist’s dummy. Lindy decides to save it, brings it home with them, and names it Slappy.

Kris, never wanting her sister to upstage her, needs to get a dummy of her own, which she names Mr. Wood. In classic Stine fashion, the sisters battle it out, performing with their dummies, but are the dummies battling too?

Something weird is going on. Disturbing things begin to happen when the dummies are around, and it soon becomes clear there’s an evil lurking in their house. Will the girls be able to band together and figure out what’s happening, or will the dummies force them apart forever?

In my humble opinion, this is definitely one of the stronger Goosebumps stories. At this point in the series, regardless of the direction his character goes in later stories and series spin-offs, Slappy does indeed feel menacing here.

While Stine always loves siblings fighting and having rivalries, I liked how the twins did eventually put their differences aside, and worked together.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this as one of the ‘must reads’ of the Goosebumps universe. I feel like it provides a solid foundation for Slappy’s character moving forward, and is also just a lot of fun!

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Review: Evil Under the Sun (Hercule Poirot #24) by Agatha Christie

~ megs14malloy

Evil Under the SunEvil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another fun Hercule Poirot story. Poirot may go on holiday, but he never takes a rest from solving murder.

This one was super fun to try to solve. There were so many suspects, in a gorgeous isolated-island setting. It was wildly-entertaining with red herrings galore.

I feel like Christie brought her true cleverness to these pages. I thought I had it solved, but she fooled me again, and again, and again. So many clues, so little time…

I’ve never heard much buzz about this one, and upon reading it, I’m actually surprised. Mostly, that it wasn’t made into a film when the other big ones were recently redone. I feel like this could translate so well to the screen.

I know it has been adapted before, but I think it’s time for a reboot. The setting alone, the isolated, tranquil resort island, would be worth the price of admission.

I thought Poirot’s personality showed quite a bit in this one as well, which was fun to see. He was witty and engaging with the other guests, all whilst taking it all in. As he does.

I would definitely recommend this to any Christie fan, if you’ve yet to read it. It’s also a perfect Summer read, as a lot of the scenes are set at the beach, giving it a warm summertime feel.

I’m glad I made time for this one, and am looking forward to my next Agatha Christie read!

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Review: Murder, She Wrote: A Body in Boston by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran

~ megs14malloy

Murder, She Wrote: A Body in BostonMurder, She Wrote: A Body in Boston by Jessica Fletcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was such a fun mystery, set in a city near-and-dear to my heart: BOSTON 🧡💚

Murder, She Wrote: A Body in Boston is the 61st-installment of my all-time favorite Cozy Mystery series. It’s hard to believe that I have read 50-books in this series I started as a kid. The longest commitment of my life — LOL.

Some of you have probably seen me rave about it. I never shut up about this series. To me, it’s the epitome of what a Cozy Mystery should be.

After the passing of the original series author, Donald Bain, the series has been taken on by a few other talented authors. Of all of these, Terrie Farley Moran, the author of this book, has been my favorite.

I feel like Farley Moran has successfully captured the original tone and characterizations, sticking with the classic format that works so well for long-time fans of the series. You know what you’re getting when you pick up a MSW book and I appreciate that TFM hasn’t tried to change that.

In this installment, Jessica gets invited to give a lecture at the Boston Public Library. Seeing she has time in her schedule, and already knowing she loves the city, Jessica accepts and begins to make travel arrangements.

As luck would have it, her dear friend, Seth Hazlitt, the local doctor of Cabot Cove, is also planning a trip to Boston at the same time to see a friend, a fellow doctor. The two decide to travel together and make a full friends vaca out of it.

Once there, Jessica is quick to meet up with her other long-time friend, and roguish heartthrob, Harry McGraw. Harry is a PI, who has frequently used Jessica’s astute brain to his advantage on his cases.

Harry’s latest client is the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, but his good friend, Cookie, the bartender at his favorite watering hole, is also pressing him to look into his daughter’s boyfriend, Victor, who he can’t stand.

What’s a talented PI to do?

Before Harry and Jessica can get too involved in the Victor situation though, Cookie’s daughter, Aileen, arrives at her father’s bar, while Jessica is there waiting to speak to her, covered in blood. She claims to have just discovered Victor’s dead body at his apartment. She fled, not knowing what to do, but now she’s the BPDs number one suspect!

As friends of Cookie’s, Jessica, Harry and Seth are all seriously invested in seeing Aileen’s name cleared. They know the timid schoolteacher could never have killed someone in cold blood.

Digging in and getting adventurous, the dynamic trio will not rest until they figure out who actually killed Victor. It’s really too bad Jessica never gets a break, but with bodies dropping whenever she’s around, her high-powered deductive skills are always in demand.

A Body in Boston was a really enjoyable mystery. Of course I adored the setting being in Boston, but I also just loved the level of intrigue and very stellar amateur sleuthing that went on within these pages.

It was also so fun seeing Harry and Seth actually getting along for once instead of butting heads. They found a few things in common, and before you knew it, it was off to the races with an all new friendship.

Cookie and Aileen were equally well-developed characters, and I liked seeing a father-daughter relationship displayed in such a strong and positive way. I found the mystery itself, their relationship, and the lengths Cookie would go to for his daughter all quite believable.

There were a couple details, or areas, that slowed down the pace a little, but overall, I feel like this is a fabulous installment to this long-running series.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I hope with my whole heart that Terrie Farley Moran continues to contribute to this series, because no one does it like she does!

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Review: The Widows’ Guide to Backstabbing (The Widows’ Detective Club #2) by Amanda Ashby

~ megs14malloy

The Widows’ Guide to Backstabbing (The Widows’ Detective Club, #2)The Widows’ Guide to Backstabbing by Amanda Ashby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

The Widows’ Guide to Backstabbing is the 2nd-book in the Widows’ Detective Club Cozy Mystery series by Amanda Ashby.

This series follows Ginny Cole, a recent widow, who after the death of her beloved husband, moves to a new village, Little Shaw, for a fresh start.

It’s there that she secures a job at the local library, makes a great group of new friends, and ends up solving a brutal murder. That’s what I call a successful fresh start!

In this installment, which takes places, I believe a few months after the conclusion of the 1st-book, Ginny is even more settled into her life in Little Shaw.

She’s still working at the library, has become even more fond of her adopted cat companion, Edgar, and is talking to her dead husband less. One thing she is still doing though, is stumbling across dead bodies.

This time at the local haberdashery shop.

Timothy Harlow, the shop owner, has been stabbed in the back with a set of shears. The police quickly arrest a young upholsterer, Milos, for the crime, but Ginny and her friends don’t believe he’s the actual culprit.

With the police looking in the wrong direction, it’s time for the Widows to do what they do best; solve a murder.

This was another cute installment to what has quickly become one of my go-to Cozy Mystery series. I love Ginny as a protagonist, as well as the small town vibes, the incorporation of the library, and of course, the cat, Edgar.

While I wasn’t quite as swept up in this one as I was the 1st-book, I still think it was engaging and I’m glad I read it.

For me, there is a little less focus on Ginny’s character arc in this one, and that is something I really connected with in the first installment. There was also less time spent in and around the library, and I did miss that as well.

I already have a copy of the 3rd-book, The Widows’ Guide to Skulduggery ((thank you, Storm Publishing)), which is releasing at the end of the month, and I’m so excited to get to it. I’m sure I’ll be starting it very soon.

If you are looking for a new Cozy Mystery series to start, just in time for Summer, I definitely recommend checking this one out. Particularly if you are a Cozy Reader who enjoys more mature characters, and small town settings.

There’s also a lot of fun hi-jinks and banter amongst this group of widows, but also a lot of love, heart and support. They are, in short, friendship goals.

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Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl #1) by Matt Dinniman

~ megs14malloy ~ 2 Comments

Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1)Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

💛❤️🖤💛❤️🖤💛❤️🖤💛❤️🖤💛

Dungeon Crawler Carl is the 1st-installment to Matt Dinniman’s epic Lit RPG series of the same name, which is currently taking the world by storm.

I picked this up for a Book Club discussion earlier this month and I’m so glad that I did. I’m absolutely obsessed with this book, have bought the next four, and cannot wait to continue on this journey with Carl and Princess Donut!

In this story, we follow Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s spoiled cat, Donut, as the world is destroyed by an alien race, and all survivors are conscripted into an intergalactically-televised reality competition show, Dungeon Crawler World

There are 18-dangerous levels in this subterranean labyrinth that Carl and Donut are going to have to navigate if they want to have any hope of survival. Trust me when I say, it’s not going to be easy.

Within the first 20-pages of this book, Dinniman had me absolutely hooked. The writing and plot are both so unique and entertaining, I never knew what to expect next. It truly kept me on my toes from start to finish.

I have heard a lot of people saying how fabulous the audiobook is, and I wish I could have had that format, but nevertheless, I found my hard copy super engaging as well.

After they enter the dungeon, Carl’s ex-girlfriend’s cat, Donut, who he was bravely rescuing from a tree at the time the action kicks off, gains the ability to talk, and she was born to entertain. You’d be hard pressed to read this and not fall in love with Donut.

Carl, as well though, is such a compelling main character. I adore him. He’s such a good human, and his whole development, everything he does and says, felt so genuine and believable to me.

It’s hard to say how you would react if put into this bizarre circumstance, but I think based on what we come of know of Carl’s training and life experiences, his reactions and ability to adjust to the nature of the dungeon makes sense.

Overall, this is an incredible start to a series. As much fun as it is, there is a lot of deeper themes and plot lines that I am anxious to explore more in future installments.

If you haven’t picked this up yet, and think it sounds at all interesting, I highly encourage you to give it a try. For me, this is sure to be one of my most memorable reads of 2025!!

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Review: Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde #3) by Heather Fawcett

~ megs14malloy

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde, #3)Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales is the 3rd-installment in Heather Fawcett’s Adult Cozy Fantasy series titled after the main character, Emily Wilde.

This low stakes, light romance, enchantingly-atmospheric series, follows Emily Wilde, a Cambridge University Professor, who specializes in the study of faeries. Over the course of the three books, we’ve been traveling along with her to various locations as she does research for her work.

It’s not quite as simple as all of that, but that is the basic gist, and maybe it’s enough to get you intrigued if you haven’t started this series yet.

Truth be told, Cozy Fantasy isn’t a subgenre of Fantasy I tend gravitate toward, and when I do, I haven’t had a ton of success with it. However, there’s something about this world that Fawcett has created that keeps me coming back.

Yeah, most likely it’s Emily’s dog, Shadow…

In this installment, Emily and her fiance, Wendall, are diving deep into the realm of faerie in a powerful new way. Even though the realm is full of scholarly treasures for Emily, it’s also full of dangers for them both.

Soon they find themselves battling a terrible curse on the land, and the entire realm is at risk. It’s going to take all of Emily’s knowledge to save them, but is she up to the task?

I thought this was fun, though I didn’t find it quite as engaging as the earlier installments. I think for me, I preferred the travels and dramas in real world locations versus the faerie realm.

I also feel like I may have enjoyed Emily and Wendall’s relationship earlier on, when there was more of a ‘will they, won’t they’ vibe to it, but it does only make sense for that relationship to grow and evolve. I get it, I get it.

It’s just not quite as enticing to me, personally.

Nevertheless, this is still a great read. It’s entertaining, it’s well-developed and cute, cute, cute. I would definitely recommend fans of the earlier books continue on.

Further if there is another book, which I feel like there will be, I’ll definitely be picking it up. It did make me a little sad to see Shadow getting older, as I have my own elderly large breed dog at home, but I know Fawcett is going to continue to handle his aging with care.

I love Emily, Wendall and Shadow. This series has my heart.

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Review: The Devil’s Advocate (Eddie Flynn #6) by Steve Cavanagh

~ megs14malloy

The Devil's Advocate (Eddie Flynn, #6)The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up **

The Devil’s Advocate is the 6th-installment to Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie Flynn series, and it’s the 3rd-book that I’ve read in the series thus far. I’m having a lot of fun. They keep me so engaged and guessing like nothing else.

This series does indeed follow Eddie Flynn, a criminal defense attorney, as well as his team, as they investigate, work and defend various cases in and around New York City. Or at least, that’s what I thought, until this case…

In this book, Eddie actually gets called away from the city in order to work a death penalty case in a small town in rural Alabama. As you can imagine, this is quite a culture shift for our city boy, Eddie.

Andy Dubois is facing death, accused of killing a young lady that he worked with at a diner. Eddie believes Andy is innocent and that he’s being railroaded by the local DA, Randal Korn, a man known for counting his death penalty convictions like notches in his belt.

From the moment they arrive in town, Eddie and his teammate, Harry, are met with cold shoulders, and various obstacles making them aware that their presence in town is not welcomed. Nevertheless, they push on.

A man’s life is on the line and it’s gonna take a lot more than what these locals are dishing out to scare Eddie away. In just a week, Eddie and his team need to overcome this corrupt system and find the real killer before time runs out for Andy.

The Devil’s Advocate is another really fun case with Eddie and his dynamic team. I enjoyed how this one gets Eddie out of his comfort zone in NYC and into the deep South.

This one didn’t feel as psychological as the other 2-books I’ve read in the series. It focuses more on small town corruption and flaws within the criminal justice system in general, but I thought it was a nice change of pace.

There was also a lot more involvement with officials from the Federal system, which was interesting. I feel like I’ve seen a whole new side of Bloch, one of Eddie’s valuable teammates. She’s one of my favorites, so it was nice to see her built out a little more.

This is the kind of case that will absolutely get your blood boiling. It actually had me on the edge of my seat too, because it felt very dangerous for Eddie and his team. You never want to be an outsider in a situation like this.

I feel like Cavanagh did a great job of building that intensity and making it feel believable. Sadly, corruption isn’t just in fiction, and numerous lives have been affected by it in cases much like this.

I particularly enjoy the courtroom elements, but honestly, they’re all just so compelling. They’re fast-paced, easy to read and wicked entertaining. As you can tell, I’m really looking forward to picking up the rest of the books.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Atria, for introducing me to the Eddie Flynn series and providing me with copies to read and review. I highly recommend these books for people who love intense Legal Thrillers!

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Review: Fifty Fifty (Eddie Flynn #5) by Steve Cavanagh

~ megs14malloy

Fifty Fifty (Eddie Flynn, #5)Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Fifty Fifty is the 5th-installment to Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie Flynn series, but it’s only the 2nd-book that I’ve read in the series thus far.

Take it from me, I say this with confidence, it doesn’t matter where you start with this series, as long as you start it.

If you aren’t familiar with the series, as I wasn’t, it does indeed follow Eddie Flynn, a criminal defense attorney, as well as his team, as they investigate, work and defend various cases in and around New York City.

This starts off with such a bang, and it never let go of me. A complete mindf#*k, if you will. The opening scene features a 9-1-1 call that introduces us to the gruesome crime that is going to pull Eddie into a case for the record books.

Two sisters, Alexandra and Sofia, one of them brutally murdered their father, but which one?

Eddie thinks he knows who the guilty party is, and he only chooses to defend innocent people. Thus, he chooses to defend the girl he thinks deserves to be free, but is he right?

Fifty Fifty was such an incredibly fun ride. This case is hella dark and twisted, the two sisters pitted against one another, it was so intense. I couldn’t put it down.

My head was spinning the whole way through. I flipped back and forth between the two sister suspects so many times, trying to figure out who the killer was. It was completely engaging and wickedly compelling.

I love the way Cavanagh provided clues along the way that could’ve arguably fit either girl. It was a mental workout trying to figure it out, and I love a good workout.

I’m so happy to have discovered this series in 2025. These gorgeous new covers being released by Atria are the perfect reason to snatch them all up for my bookshelves. I’m looking forward to reading the rest.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria, for providing me with a copy to read and review. If you enjoy fast-paced, high-stakes, twisty Legal Thrillers, I highly recommend the Eddie Flynn series!!!

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Review: Another Fine Mess (Bless Your Heart #2) by Lindy Ryan

~ megs14malloy

Another Fine Mess (Bless Your Heart, #2)Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another Fine Mess is the 2nd-book in Lindy Ryan’s Cozy Horror-Mystery series, Bless Your Heart. This adorable, yet slightly graphic series, is set in small town-Texas in the 90s.

It’s a series my Horror-loving, Cozy Mystery-obsessed heart didn’t know it needed, but now adores with wild abandon.

I can’t say too much about the plot without potentially giving away important aspects of the 1st-book, Bless Your Heart, so I’m going to keep this short and simple.

Basically, these books follow the women in the Evans family, who own and operate a Funeral Home. This is a very important job, because in their small town, the dead sometimes rise and they’re not happy. It’s the Evans job to make sure they stay dead and buried.

While the 1st-book was more of a vampire-esque story, this one has the town believing that some sort of hybrid-wolf is on a rampage, killing townsfolk and possibly stealing pieces of their bodies. It’s a bloody mess.

We follow the Evans women, and a few of their allies, as they try to determine what’s actually going on, and stop it before more innocent lives are lost.

The deeper they dig however, the more it seems this killer may be somehow connected to them, but how?

I thought this was so entertaining. I listened to the audiobook again and love Stephanie Nemeth-Parker’s narration. It’s such a great fit for this series. I highly recommend the audio format.

To me these books have the perfect mix of Horror, heart and Mystery. The Horror aspects are mainly contained within the kill scenes and the supernatural elements. Other than that, it is all Cozy Mystery.

I think Ryan does a great job of blending those two worlds together, and I know a lot of Readers, myself included, absolutely adore both genres. Having them together like this is just such a delight.

Even though I don’t find the mysteries to be particularly memorable, I still love reading them. It’s not something that’s going to stick with me until the end of time, but I don’t really need it to.

I read for entertainment and to escape from real life for a while, and Ryan definitely provides me that escape with these stories. I walk away a happy girl!

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I’m really hoping this series continues.

I would love to spend more time with the Evans women. I feel closer to them now than ever!

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Review: How to Seal Your Own Fate (Castle Knoll Files #2) by Kristen Perrin

~ megs14malloy

How to Seal Your Own Fate (Castle Knoll Files #2)How to Seal Your Own Fate by Kristen Perrin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

How to Seal Your Own Fate is the 2nd-installment in Kristen Perrin’s Castle Knoll Files. These books follow Annie Adams, who has recently moved to the tiny village of Castle Knoll after inheriting her Great-Aunt Frances’s property upon her untimely death.

In the 1st-book, Annie needs to solve the mystery of who murdered her Great-Aunt. In this one, she needs to solve the murder of the person who foretold that death, the fortune teller, Peony Lane.

These Cozy Mysteries are told through both present and past storylines. Annie is in our present, and our past perspective is told via Frances. The past we examine here is 1967, when Frances is being pulled between two men: the wealthy, Ford Gravesdown, and the earnest, Archie Foyle.

There is a mystery in the past as well, which involves a car accident that claimed the lives of some members of Ford’s family. We shift back and forth between past and present, find out the connections, and ultimately gets answers to both mysteries.

I’ve really enjoyed both books in this series so far. I feel like Perrin has developed a nice little formula, and it’s working.

Upon picking this one up, I was immediately happy to be back with Annie in Castle Knoll. I do love her as a main character. Admittedly, it does take a minute, at least it did for me, to settle into the flow of the story, the back-and-forth can be a little jarring at first.

Once you are able to get your bearings though, it does flow nicely. I feel like the chapters are short and punchy, and always left me wanting to know more.

This one is twisted. The mystery of the car accident, there are a lot of puzzle pieces involved, and it did get a little hard to track at times. Especially because a lot of my focus was also on Peony’s death in the present.

I did feel it got a little convoluted towards the end, but nevertheless, it was a fun time and I did enjoy how it concluded. It looks like we’ll be getting a 3rd-book and I’m definitely on board for that.

I appreciated how Annie has come to understand and relate to her Great-Aunt Frances so much more over the course of these two books. I also love her settling into her new life, and look forward to seeing more of that in future.

Thank you to the publisher, Dutton, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

I would recommend this to all Cozy Mystery fans, particularly those who enjoy a historical element in their Cozies, or those who enjoy small village vibes.

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