murder mystery

Review: Death on the Island by Eliza Reid

~ megs14malloy ~ Leave a comment

Death on the IslandDeath on the Island by Eliza Reid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In Death on the Island, we follow an eclectic group of characters who come together in a tiny island community off the coast of Iceland for a diplomatic event.

We have the mayor of the town, an Ambassador from Canada and his wife, a local high-profile chef, an artist with ties to the island, and others. They all come together for a special dinner to open up their talks and hopefully create good spirits amongst the group.

It’s supposed to be a joyous occasion, and it does seem to start out that way. That is until one of the guests ends up dead of unknown causes, but what everyone quickly assumes to be poison consumption.

Making matters worse, a brutal storm is bearing down on them. It’s clear no one is going to be leaving the island. All the better to catch a killer, but in the meantime, doesn’t that mean they’re trapped with one?

I had a blast reading Death on the Island. I went into it with zero expectations. I hadn’t heard of this author, or any buzz for the book, but the title screamed, READ ME!!!

I’m so glad I made the time for it. I was completely engaged from the start. It actually turns out this is the author’s debut novel, and I’m so excited for more.

I appreciated how quickly Reid gets us into the action. I was drawn into the story so fast. I liked that we were following political figures, such as ambassadors and mayors. I haven’t read one like that in a while, so it was a nice change of pace.

I enjoyed how the author formatted the story as well. You get the reveal of the death, and then you go back in time and track through the events leading up to that death. It was done in a countdown-style that I feel added a level of tension to it that might not have been there otherwise.

Learning about this cast of characters, as well as their relationships to one another and potential motivations for why someone would take out anyone at this dinner party, was very entertaining. There was certainly plenty of drama to oh-and-ah over.

With this being said, I’ll admit there’s a lot of moving parts and it was a little hard to track in the beginning. For a minute, I started to feel overwhelmed, but I tried to just relax into it, not worry too much about the details, and to just let Reid do her thing.

Ultimately, Reid pulled it off. This had me so invested, I had no longstanding issues tracking the various characters, or their interpersonal dramas.

Overall, I loved the atmospheric-island setting, which was done so well in my humble island-dweller opinion. I also really enjoyed the use of an inclement weather element to help build out that tense atmosphere, as well as the interesting cast of characters.

It was so gripping trying to solve this murder mystery, my head was all over the place. I did Buddy Read it with a friend, and definitely recommend that. It was so fun trying to guess the killer together, and their reasons behind it.

Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me a copy to read and review.

I loved how this kept me guessing, and I’m looking forward to more from Eliza Reid!!!

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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: The Other People by C.B. Everett

~ megs14malloy

The Other People: A NovelThe Other People: A Novel by C.B. Everett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From the Publisher’s Synopsis:

Ten strangers.
An old dark house.
A killer picking them off one by one.
And a missing girl who’s running out of time…

Trust me when I say, I need no more impetus to pick up a book than lines like this in a synopsis. This is the exact set-up I love for a Mystery-Thriller. No matter how times I read them, they never get old for me.

I have fun seeing how each author brings their own style and ideas to this classic set-up, and this one is definitely unique. No one can deny it that.

In The Other People, we have 10-strangers waking up and finding themselves in a locked country house. They have no recollection of how they got there, and yet they have personal items with them, and each of their rooms seems to have been designed with their individuality in mind.

They’re tasked with solving the disappearance of a young woman, who none of them know. They must rescue her before time runs out. And I mean that literally. There’s a timer ticking down every moment.

Adding stress to the already stressful circumstances is the fact that a killer is stalking the house as well, and no one is safe from their dark designs. As the bodies start dropping, pressures rise and everyone is driven to wits end.

While The Other People had a very promising start for me, my enjoyment level ended up being all over the place over the course of the story.

It had a great set-up and I loved the full cast of unlikable characters. They were all so different, what had brought them all together? I also thoroughly-enjoyed the meta-feel of it. It was delivering me a trope-filled Locked Room Murder Mystery, and it knew it.

It felt like we were celebrating that fact together.

Unfortunately, it did start to lose me toward the end. I still feel like it was a good book, it just wasn’t consistent enough for me to give it a higher rating. Frankly, I’m sad about it considering the strong start.

It did have one very unconventional perspective that I really appreciated though; the omniscient nature of it was refreshing and I thought it added to the overall intrigue.

I don’t know. I would still recommend this, for someone looking for a classic-feeling Locked Room Murder Mystery with a Psychological Thriller twist.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I liked the risks the author took with this, and I would definitely be interested in reading more from them.

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Review: Murder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery by Rachel Ekstrom Courage

~ megs14malloy

Murder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy MysteryMurder by Cheesecake: A Golden Girls Cozy Mystery by Rachel Ekstrom Courage
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

My initial thoughts upon first hearing the concept for this book were as follows:

I cannot even believe this is a thing. It’s like all my dreams have come true. No one is a bigger GG-fan than me!! To have the Girls all together to solve a Cozy Mystery?!

What the heck could be better!?

I put off reading it for as long as I could, wanting to read it just prior to the publication date, April 15, 2025. In my eyes, it couldn’t come soon enough.

And I’ll tell you what, I did really enjoy it. Was it perfect? No, but it didn’t need to be. I feel like a lot of Cozy Mystery series get better as they go, as they find their rhythm and as Readers become more attached to the characters.

While I don’t think it’s possible for me to be more attached to Sophia, Blanche, Dorothy and Rose than I already am, I do think if the series continues, I will grow to love the format and mystery of the novels more and more.

In this story, we have two things happening. Rose is preparing to host a wedding for her cousin, Nettie, and her beau, Jason, wherein an inheritance clause makes it necessary for the wedding to contain many St. Olafian traditions, so that is a focus of a lot of the action.

Additionally, we have a dead body found on the premises where the wedding is to take place, and due to circumstances I won’t get into, Dorothy is considered a lead suspect.

Because of all of this, the Girls are trying to clear Dorothy’s name, while also giving Nettie the wedding of her dreams. It’s a lot for a weekend!

By the end of the 1st-chapter, I was already impressed by the way the author captured each of the Girls’ personalities and mannerisms; minus Sophia using a cane, which I am still scratching my head about.

It was so easy for me to read, picturing all of their intonations and comedic deliveries. It was just incredibly enjoyable for me as a super fan.

Overall, I found it to be a super cute, very fun, and nostalgic read for me. I felt like all four women, Dorothy, Rose, Sophia and Blanche, were executed with grace, and in a way that would make any fan of the show happy.

At times I would have preferred the mystery to be a bit more front-and-center, in comparison to the drama circling Nettie’s wedding. Nevertheless, it was still a great read!

I’m actually not sure if this is slated to be a series, or not, but I’m really hoping for more. There’s so many more opportunities for mysteries. Miami is a busy place and these Girls are always getting into some sort of sticky situation.

I would recommend this to any Golden Girls fan. I don’t think it would hit the same for people who haven’t watched the show, but I could be wrong. As a Cozy Mystery, it was still solid, regardless of who the characters are.

Thank you so much for the ARC, Hyperion Avenue. This was a hugely-anticipated release for me, and I’m honored to have received a copy early.

Thank you, thank you!

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Review: Witness 8 (Eddie Flynn #8) by Steve Cavanagh

~ megs14malloy

Witness 8 (Eddie Flynn, #8)Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Witness 8 is the 8th-installment in Steve Cavanagh’s Eddie Flynn series, but the 1st-book I’ve read in the series. There’s nothing like starting at the end. LOL

I’m so excited that I already have 2-other books from the series on hand, because I’ll definitely want to be picking them up as soon as possible. This was captivating and a thoroughly-intriguing mystery!!

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.

In this novel, they’re representing John Jackson, a wealthy man from the Upper East Side, who has been accused of shooting one of his neighbors. Jackson’s DNA was on the gun, which was also found in his home.

It seems like a hopeless case, but Eddie is confident Jackson is innocent and he fully intends to clear his name.

Also involved in the case is the girl who actually witnessed the crime, Ruby, who works as a maid in the upper-class neighborhood. Unfortunately, she’s anxious to use her knowledge for her own benefit, not the benefit of the police, and certainly not to the benefit of the Jacksons.

There were some other side-plots that were a little less compelling for me, but nevertheless, they made the book stacked with content to keep the Reader entertained.

I have a feeling, one of the side-plots in this, which revolves around Eddie, would be more intriguing to Readers who have read the series from the start, as they would be more attached to him emotionally.

With this being said, I enjoyed the entire thing, though I was a little less invested when it was exploring topics outside of the main murder case.

I immediately vibed with Cavanagh’s writing and he wasted no time kicking off this story, which I appreciated. It pulled me in from the very first pages.

It’s not an uplifting story, to say the least, I felt bad for many of the characters and what was happening to them, but it is a gripping story nonetheless.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m really looking forward to reading the backlist books in this series!

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Review: Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave (Finlay Donovan #5) by Elle Cosimano

~ megs14malloy

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave (Finlay Donovan, #5)Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave is the 5th-installation of the well-loved Finlay Donovan Mystery series.

I have listened to all of these books on audio, and this was no exception. Not only does Angela Dawe do an incredible job bringing these stories to life with her engaging narration, but her voice is Finlay to me at this point.

In this story, Finlay and Vero are back home after their wild adventures in Atlantic City, which were chronicled in the 4th-book. They’re looking forward to life returning to normal, or as normal as it can ever be for Finlay and Vero.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t take long before they are smack-dab in the middle of another mystery, after a body is discovered buried in the backyard of their busybody neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty.

Finlay and Vero have had a bit of a contentious relationship with the elderly-Mrs. Haggerty over the years. She’s always watching, making her the perfect head of the neighborhood watch, but not that fun of a neighbor.

As the police start investigating, Mrs. Haggerty immediately falls under suspicion. After she is cleared though, she still can’t return to her house as it’s an active crime scene. That’s when she shows up on Finlay’s doorstop.

Begrudgingly allowing the older neighbor to stay at her house, Finlay needs this case wrapped up soon rather than later. Worried the police are heading in the wrong direction, Finlay and Vero decide to look into the case on their own.

Yet again, I had so much fun reading this book. I love, love, love Finlay and Vero. Their friendship is perfect and I love investigating mysteries with them.

The mystery of the body in the backyard was quite intriguing. I had a great time trying to solve it. I wasn’t sure who to suspect, and I believe I started to figure it out just when Cosimano wanted me to, so that’s a plus.

Mrs. Haggerty plays a huge role in this one, and I liked getting to know her more. She’s grumpy and opinionated, and frankly, hilarious to have around. I loved her interactions with not just Finlay and Vero, but also with Finlay’s kids; so good.

We also got quite a bit more of Finlay’s agent, Sylvia, in this one, which was a hoot. She’s wild in such a fun way, pushing Finlay out of her comfort zone every chance she gets.

Overall, I was so happy with this story. The conclusion also gave me hope that we’ll definitely be getting another book, which I am so on board for. As far as I’m concerned, this series needs to continue for as long as humanly-possible. A go-to Mystery series for me.

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

I adore these mysteries with my whole heart. 10-out-of-10 recommend for all Mystery Readers!

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Review: Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder (Murder, She Wrote #60) by Jessica Fletcher and Barbara Early

~ megs14malloy

Murder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of MurderMurder, She Wrote: Snowy with a Chance of Murder by Jessica Fletcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Snowy with a Chance of Murder is the 60th-installment of the beloved Murder, She Wrote Cozy Mystery series. This series is essentially the Godmother of all other Cozies.

As some of you I’m sure are aware, this is my favorite Cozy Mystery series. I never shut up about it. I’ve read, I believe 47 of them now, but my count could be off. I’ve stopped really keep track after 40.

This book is the 1st to be penned by Barbara Early, author of the Vintage Toyshop Mystery series, amongst other things.

In this installment, Jessica, preparing to depart on a luxurious Winter cruise ends up slipping on the ice on the morning of her departure and severely injuring herself, making travel impossible.

Now housebound, forced to use a wheelchair, Jessica finds herself staring out her windows like never before.

As luck would have it, she has plenty to look at by way of a curious new neighbor, a man named Rymer. He has, for unknown reasons, ended up, in the non-tourist season, renting the house directly across the street from Jessica.

As it turns out, Rymer is an artist whose medium happens to be snow and his sculptures are of the scandalous variety. If you happened to watch Hot Frosty on Netflix this Winter, you’ll be pretty close to imagining what I mean.

With the town a titter over all this risque art on display, it’s no surprise that under the cover of darkness, someone starts destroying Rymer’s sculptures.

For his part, Rymer never seems too concerned. He just starts over, builds something new. It’s Cabot Cove, mid-Winter, there’s certainly plenty of snow to go around.

The morning after the most recent blizzard, however, it’s more than a sculpture that’s found out in the snowy landscape. It’s Rymer’s half-buried body.

Incidentally, there are two other mysteries occurring at the same time as Rymer’s death. Are these other mysteries related to Rymer, and if so how?

You better believe Jessica is going to do her best to help local law enforcement figure it out. With the help of friends, and a healthy dose of determination, she does just that.

3.5-stars, you ask, for my favorite Cozy series? It is rounded up, but still I feel we need to lay it out on the table. Here’s the thing. This is the 1st-effort from this author in this long-running series, and while I did enjoy the main overall mystery, I was left with questions.

Also, I felt like Jessica’s character wasn’t quite right. It didn’t feel like her in some ways. It was subtle things, but still things that took me out of the story as I thought to myself, Jessica would never say that, or think that.

One thing I want when I pick up this series is consistency. These are go-to comfort reads for me that I’ve been picking up for over 2-decades. If Jessica suddenly starts not feeling like Jessica, you better believe I’m gonna notice.

Nevertheless, this was still overall a pretty solid read, and of course, I will continue picking up the books in this series.

I enjoy the Cabot Cove-based mysteries, because when you become a frequent Reader, you learn all the townsfolk and it really feels like spending time with old friends. I do think this author succeeded in bringing about the basic vibes of this quaint seaside town.

There was a lot happening here though, some of it felt a little unnecessary. For example, Jessica had a live-in nurse, helping her while she was injured, and they would have little writing workshops together and it included excerpts from this girl’s random Fantasy story.

It just felt to me like the author needed to fill pages and that was one way to do it. There was ultimately a point to it, but it still felt silly and forced.

With this being said, you aren’t going to love every book you read in a series, and I still felt all my love and nostalgia of being back with Jessica in Cabot Cove.

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. There’s another book releasing this Summer, set in Boston, and I’m so excited for that one!

If you love Cozy Mysteries, and haven’t checked this series out yet, you really should. They can be read in any order and once you start, you probably are not going to want to stop!

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Review: The Widows’ Guide to Murder (The Widows’ Detective Club #1) by Amanda Ashby

~ megs14malloy

The Widows’ Guide to Murder (The Widows’ Detective Club, #1)The Widows’ Guide to Murder by Amanda Ashby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After the death of her beloved husband, Ginny Cole, is left with no choice but to start over. She’s heartbroken and misses him dearly, but it cannot be changed.

What is going to change is Ginny’s life. She decides to move to the village of Little Shaw for her fresh start, and she needs to get a job. She’s happy, though also nervous, when she ends up securing a position as a librarian’s assistant.

She’s never worked at a library before, but she loves to read and it seems like it could be a fun and fulfilling job. Her unlikable new boss, Louisa, is startlingly rude, but Ginny just supposes that’s something she will have to get used to.

At least the volunteers seem lovely, and she imagines she’ll fit in with time. Her hopes of an easy transition are nixed though, when on her second-day on the job she discovers a dead body in the library. Now Ginny finds herself thrust head-first into local scandals and secrets.

She ends up being approached and befriended by a small group of local widows, feisty and full of fun, the lot of them, who take Ginny under their wing and start to include her in their activities.

Of course, their current activity is getting to the bottom of this murder mystery. One of the widows, her daughter, Alyson, is currently the prime suspect. The women know she’s not guilty, meaning the killer is still out there, and they plan to find them.

This is such a strong start to a new Cozy Mystery series. This main character, Ginny, is definitely one I could picture myself enjoying for many books to come. Bonus points: in this book, she adopts an adorably-cheeky black cat that she names, Edgar. He’s so cute!

I loved the friend group that Ginny gets brought into as well. They all know what it’s like to be in her shoes, and I think she found strength in their friendship. It was incredibly healing for Ginny and she really needed that.

Ginny’s character arc was very well done. Watching her coming into her own, I’m definitely looking forward to more of that as the series continues.

There’s also a teenage volunteer, Connor, who I hope is a recurring character in the series. I feel like he and Ginny could end up having a sort of grandparent/child relationship and it’s so sweet to read about.

I enjoyed how Ginny is new to town, so you get to learn all about the townsfolk at the same time she does. It makes it feel really natural. I also appreciated how logical Ginny is in such a realistic way. She doesn’t have OTT-powers of deductive reasoning like some sleuths.

While I had a few issues at the conclusion, overall, I adored this. The library, the cat, the hilarious group of widows; well played, Amanda Ashby. I’m looking forward to more!!

I would definitely recommend this to Cozy Mystery fans who love small town settings and slightly older protagonists. Full of humor and heart, this one shouldn’t be missed.

Thank you so much, Storm Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the next book soon!

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Review: Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

~ megs14malloy

Descendant of the CraneDescendant of the Crane by Joan He
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Descendant of the Crane was Book #20 in my long-running TBR-Haul Project. I hauled this one in April 2019, and for some reason, just never got around to picking it up.

Since her initial haul, she’s survived many, many unhauls. Mainly, because of the beautiful cover, but also because I was still intrigued by the synopsis.

Happily, I was drawn into this story very quickly. We meet Princess Hesina of Yan. At the start of the story, we discover that her beloved father has passed away suddenly.

His death leaves their kingdom without a ruler, although it is assumed that Hesina will be next to lead. She’s always been happy to shirk responsibilities related to the crown, but now it looks like she has no choice. She’s gotta step up.

The situation is more complicated than it would initially seem though, as Hesina believes that her father was actually murdered. The official story is that he died of natural causes, but she’s not buying it.

Thus, she secretly vows to expose her father’s killer and bring them to justice. The kingdom deserves the truth.

Together with a few trusted confidants, she sets out to do just that. In order to kick off her investigation, she seeks out the aid of a soothsayer, an illicit act, as magic has been banned in their kingdom for centuries.

Using the sooth’s information, Hesina locates a brillant prisoner, Akira, who may be the key to helping her score the outcome she craves.

With the future of the kingdom at stake, will Hesina be able to achieve the justice she seeks for her dead father, or will the risks out-weigh the rewards?

As mentioned above, I found this story very easy to get into. I loved meeting Hesina and finding out about her kingdom and what was happening there through her perspective.

The prisoner, Akira, she ends up connecting with due to the soothsayer’s input, was my other favorite character. He was shrouded in mystery and I had fun trying to figure him out.

This story revolves around a lot of politics and court intrigue. That type of story generally works for me and I did enjoy it here as well.

Hesina has siblings, a Mom, and some half-siblings that play big roles in the narrative. I constantly felt like Hesina had to be watching over her shoulders. It was very hard to tell who was friend and who was foe.

I always had this sinking feeling that someone was going to betray her. I felt like that aspect helped to keep me fully-engaged with everything that was going on.

Hesina goes on a real roller coaster ride in this. She ends up exposing some secrets that once let out, can never be undone. It changes everything and I felt for her that she had to even go on this journey in the first place.

It would have been easy for her to just accept her father’s death and take over, but she didn’t take the easy road. I respect her for that.

Overall, I felt like this was a well-told story, however, when I reached the end, I still had questions.

Honestly, I’m not even sure I understood the Epilogue. I wanted more. I wish there was a sequel. I feel like there’s still so much left to explore.

I think maybe Joan He had intended for there to be more, but it was never written. Maybe someday it will happen. If it does, I would definitely be interested in reading it.

Nevertheless, this was a strong read, with great characters and a beautifully-intriguing world. Another great example of why you should never neglect your backlist!

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Review: Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man (Vera Wong #2) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

~ megs14malloy

Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man (Vera Wong, #2)Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man by Jesse Q. Sutanto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man is the 2nd-book in the Vera Wong series. I absolutely adored the 1st-book when I read it in 2023.

At that time, I was expecting it to be a standalone novel, so was giddy when I discovered we would be getting more with the indomitable-Vera Wong and friends.

This novel involves a new mystery for Vera to investigate, as well as a whole new set of side characters. We still get appearances from all her old friends, but she does make some great new ones here.

The mystery involves the death of an up-and-coming influencer. Online, Xander, was the type social influencer people love to follow. His feed generally featured things like enviable travels on private jets, stays at luxury resorts, and all the newest fashion trends, but who was he really?

Xander’s story is at the heart of this investigation, and what Vera uncovers is sure to tug at your heartstrings. I know it did mine. My emotions were an absolute roller coaster over the course of this novel.

The moment I was reunited with Vera, I had a smile on my face. She is a sharp-witted 61-year old, who loves to act like she’s ancient. It’s hilarious. She is so far from that.

Vera Wong has been one of my absolute favorite characters written within the last few years, and she’s def one of my favorite amateur sleuths ever.

While I wouldn’t say I connected with the cast of side characters in this one as much as I did in the 1st-book, I still loved all of their interactions with Vera, as well as the value brought by their personal stories.

Again it was easy to see how Vera was touching their lives in different ways and it filled my heart to read. We all need a Vera in our life. Better yet, be a Vera in someone else’s life. It could make all the difference in the world!

In addition to the character work, I also appreciated so much the topics Sutanto explored in this one, and her note at the end describing her real life inspiration was touching and brought more insight into this story.

I highly recommend reading that Author’s Note at the end.

Thank you to Berkley for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m such a fan and certainly hope we get more installments to the Vera Wong series.

I think these books hold an emotional depth that would be surprising for a lot of Readers. If you haven’t checked this series out, I definitely recommend that you do.

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