Carol J's 2025 Reading Challenge

[Carol]

225. Death at a Highland Wedding by Kelley Armstrong - Mallory is still trapped in Catroina's body in Victorian Scotland after a a botched murder attempt on her. In her former life, Mallory was a police detective. Now, she is acting as Catroina as a housemaid, but still has her detective sensibilities. In this book, she accompanies Dr. Gray to a wedding up in the Scottish highlands. Then someone gets killed, but there is a lot more going on. ***** 7/21/25

[Carol]

226. The Secret History of Sharks: The Rise of the Ocean's Most Fearsome Predators by John Long - Everything you wanted to know about sharks but was afraid to ask. *** 7/21/25

[Carol]

227. The Case of the Elusive Bombay Duck by Tarquin Hall - Private Detective Vish Puri has won the International Detective of the Year award. He is being sent to London to accept it. First his mother invites herself along and then a government official sends him to London "on assignment" to catch the famous Bombay Duck. **** 7/22/25

[Karol]

Carol wrote: "227. The Case of the Elusive Bombay Duck by Tarquin Hall - Private Detective Vish Puri has won the International Detective of the Year awa..."

I think this must be at least the third series involving a detective in India that I've seen in the last few months. I guess it's a popular thing. I tried one and didn't like it enough to read past the first few chapters. You've given this one 4 stars, so maybe I will give it a try.

[Carol]

228. A Spoonful of Poison by M.C. Beaton - Agatha gets talked into publicizing a church fete in a neighboring village. Then some weird stuff is going on with the jam and people start to die. *** 7/23/25

[Carol]

Karol wrote: "Carol wrote: "227. The Case of the Elusive Bombay Duck by Tarquin Hall - Private Detective Vish Puri has won the International Detective of..."

I think I like this series because it is my first mystery book series from India. I listened to most of the books on audiobooks and really enjoyed Vish Puri's voice

[Carol]

229. Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold - I love this series. Bujold really gives her characters personality. Miles is clever without being a genius. He and Ivan travel to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission. While there, the Empress dies and they may be in hot water. **** 7/23/25

[Carol]

230. Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue by Spencer Quinn - Mrs. Plansky and her tennis partner, Kev Dinardo, have just won a mixed doubles tournament. They are going to go celebrate on his yacht, but it ends up blowing up. Kev goes missing and she finds out that her 98 year old father introduced Kev to her son who also ended up disappearing. Looks like Mrs. Plansky is going to have to take charge. *** 7/24/25

[Carol]

231. The Ghost and the Doppelganger by Bobbi Holmes - Walt Marlow's distant cousin, Clint Marlow is coming to town to stay at Marlow House. But things are not as they seem and the Universe has it's own plans... **** 7/25/25

[Carol]

232. The Clue of the Broken Locket by Carolyn Keene - Nancy Drew is on vacation when Cecily Curtis asks her to help solve 2 mysteries. 1. Is someone "pirating" her boyfriends music? 2. Can Nancy help find some hidden treasure? *** 7/26/25

[Carol]

233. Surely You Can't Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! by David Zucker - The hilarious story on how the movie Airplane! got made. I have to rewatch that movie. ***** 7/27/25

[Carol]

234. Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez - Inez Olivera married Whitford Hayes. She finally feels like she found someone she can trust until he betrays her. Just another person that has let her down. Meanwhile she is traveling in Egypt, trying to find answers about her late father and mother and nearly looses her life, again. **** 7/28/25

[Carol]

235. Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor - An object crashes into the ocean off the coast of Lagos (Nigeria). Three of it's citizens witness it and try to save the region. *** 7/28/25

[Carol]

236. Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures by Katherine Rundell - Essays on some unusual and endangered species. *** 7/29/25

[Carol]

237. Relics by Mary Anna Evans - Faye is back at university, studying to be an archeologist, when she is asked to uncover the origins of a mysterious ethnic group, the Sujosa. While excavating, many tragic things happen. *** 7/31/2025

[Carol]

238. Mansfield Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment by Joan Aiken - In this sequel to Jane Austen's complex and fascinating novel, Fanny Price marries Edmund Bertram. They leave for the Caribbean. Fanny's younger sister Susan moves to Mansfield Park as Lady Bertram's new companion. This never really grabbed me. ** 8/1/25

[Carol]

239. Tamam Shud: The Somerton Man Mystery by Kerry Greenwood - 1948, Austrailia: After the Second World War, Phryne Fisher still lives in Australia. She is... more mature than she was when she was actively detecting in the late 1920s. Phryne discovers a dead man on Somerton Beach. The police cannot find his identity and cause of death. He is also holding a scrap of paper with the words TAMAM SHUD. *** 8/1/25

[Carol]

240. Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi - 15th century West Africa - A young African female blacksmith is kidnapped. It turns out the beggar who had visited her stall was really a young warrior king. *** 8/2/25

[Carol]

241. In the Lonely Hours by Shannon Morgan - In northwest Scotland lies Maundrell castle and Edwina has just found out someone has left it to her in their will! *** 8/3/25

[Carol]

242. The Vanilla Killer by Peter Boland - Partial Sue’s daughter is newly divorced and plans to make a living by selling ice creams from an ice cream truck. But it just so happens that the truck she bought was the same truck a local ice cream seller was killed and stuffed into the freezer. *** 8/4/25

[Carol]

243. The Ghost of Second Chances by Bobbi Holmes - Clint Marlow's (Walt's Ancestor/Cousin) partner in crime's body is found dead in the basement of Marlow House. Unfortunately we are not dealing with Clint anymore. **** 8/5/25

[Carol]

244. You Bet Your Life by Jessica Fletcher - Jessica's friend from Cabot Cove, Martha is getting married in Las Vegas! Jessica flies out to attend the wedding. 2 years later, Martha's husband is killed and she is arrested for murdering her husband. Jess comes back out to see how she can help, because she knows her friend is not guilty. **** 8/6/2025

[Carol]

245. The Coffee Trader by David Liss - This work of financial historic fiction takes place during the 1600s. It deals with coffee. ** 8/7/25

[Carol]

246. Strangers at Collins House by Marilyn Ross - Orphan Victoria Winters is still trying to figure out who her parents were. She meets elderly Henry Collins and befriends him. Victoria strongly resembles his loft love of many years back so Henry gives her some emeralds. *** 8/8/2025

[Carol]

247. Forests Gump by Winston Groom - This is the first book of Forest Gump adaptation that the movie was based on. Forest is born with a intellectual disability. He through life and is inserted in some pivotal in American history, sometimes pulling out wisdom from who knows where. *** 8/9/25

[Carol]

248. Dorothy and the Wizard of O by L. Frank Baum - The fourth book in the Oz series. Dorothy is once again plunged into a magical world where trouble finds her. She and her friends get out of this trouble and into some new trouble in Oz. *** 8/10/25

[Carol]

249. The Queens of Crime" by Marie Benedict - THIS is my favorite of 2025. London-1930: The 5 greatest women crime writers banded together w/ one goal, to show they will not be treated as 2nd-class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy call themselves the Queens of Crime. They plan to solve the murder of May Daniels, a young woman found strangled in a park in France. The police are trying to write it off as a drug deal. ****

[Elyse, Moderator]

Carol wrote: "249. The Queens of Crime" by Marie Benedict - THIS is my favorite of 2025. London-1930: The 5 greatest women crime writers banded together w/ one goal, to ..."

I really enjoyed this one!

[Carol]

250. Tarzan and the Lost Empire by Edgar Rice Burroughs - Tarzan is looking for a German scientist. He also finds a lost group from the Roman Empire hidden in the mountains of Africa. *** 8/12/25

[Carol]

Elyse wrote: "Carol wrote: "249. The Queens of Crime" by Marie Benedict - THIS is my favorite of 2025. London-1930: The 5 greatest women crime writers banded together w/..."

I'm going to try reading some books by these lady authors...

[Carol]

251. Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer - Oh my gosh!!! The ending!!! **** 8/12/25

[Carol]

252. The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan - Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon is a senior in High School. Then his father lets him know that he must fulfill three quests, in order to get the three recommendation letters from the gods to get into New Rome University. In his first quest, he must help Ganymede, Zeus’s cup-bearer, get his golden goblet before it falls into the wrong hands. **** 8/12/25

[Carol]

253. Bandit Heaven: The Hole-in-the-Wall Gangs and the Final Chapter of the Wild West by Tom Clavin - Stories of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid and other outlaws in the Old West. To this day we are not sure of the outome of Butch and Sundance. *** 8/13/25

[Carol]

254. The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware - Yikes! This is turning into a scary book series! In the previous book, The Woman in Cabin 10, Lo owes Carrie a lot, as Carrie saved her from a traumatic incident on a cruise ship years before. In this book, Carrie, a "virtual prisoner" of Marcus Leidmann, asks Lo for help to escape. But, as the author notes, Carrie has an "elastic" relationship with the truth. This puts Lo in big trouble. **** 8/14/25

[Carol]

255. Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews - Meg's neighbors, the Smetkamps have just won a free home renovation. The renovators specialize in modernizing grand old mansions.... then someone releases a flock of feral turkeys in the area... then someone kills Mrs. Smetkamp. **** 8/15/2025

[Carol]

256. >The Cat Who Went Bananas by Lilian Jackson Braun - A rare book is missing in Pickax. After reading 27 of the Cat Who books, I am thinking these books are more about the towns folk than the mystery. *** 8/16/25

[Carol]

257. The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center - This was so good! It had been sitting on my "Want to Read" bookshelf for a year! Emma wants to be a screenwriter. She’s the sole caretaker for her dad, who needs full-time care. Then she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates! Emma’s younger sister offers to takeover caring for their dad, & Emma moves to L.A. for 6 weeks to work w/ Charlie. But he is not all she imagined & helping him rewrite his rom com is more of a battle. ***** 8/17/25

[Carol]

258. The First Gentleman - Madeline Wright the first female president of the United States is married to former NFL player Cole Wright, the first gentleman. In the past, Cole was dating a woman who disappeared. He was cleared of any charges. Years later, while his wife was president, the remains of her body show up and evidence linking him to the crime. Bill Clinton's contribution was providing insider knowledge and details about the presidency and the White House to James Patterson. **** 8/19/25

[Carol]

259. Effigies by Mary Anna Evans - Archaeologist Faye Longchamp and Joe Wolf Mantooth traveled to Neshoba County, Mississippi, to excavate a site near Nanih Waiya, the sacred mound where tradition says the Choctaw nation was born. Farmer Carroll Calhoun refuses their request to study the mound. He tries to bulldoze the huge relic to the ground. Faye and Joe rush to protect history with their bodies. Later, the farmer is found dead. Did Faye kill him? **** 8/21/25

[Carol]

260. Thus With a Kiss I Die by Christina Dodd - Thank you Kensington Books & thank you Christina Dodd! I was awarded your book Thus With a Kiss I Die (Daughter of Montague, #2) in a goodreads giveaway! Christina Dodd's books in the Daughter of Montague series are wonderful. She takes the original Shakespeare story of Romeo & Juliet & twists it (in a good way). There's a dash of modern attitude but it still feels right for the time. In this book, she is forced to become engaged to Prince Escalus. Plus, there are ghosts! **** 8/21/25

[Carol]

261. The Flemish House by Georges Simenon - Maigret is summoned to Givet, France by a woman who wants to clear her family of murder. *** 8/22/25

[Carol]

262. The Call of the Wrens by Jenni L. Walsh - Marion aged out of the orphanage system in England during The Great War. Her friend Eddie left with her. They fell in love and both did their part in the Military. Marion joined the Women's Royal Naval Service--the Wrens. The war ramped up and Marion and Eddie got married in secret because married women were not allowed in the Wrens. Fast forward to WWII. Marion is a senior Wren. Then she sees someone from her past. *** 8/22/25

[Carol]

263. The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter - Maggie Chase is a Cozy Mystery writer & Ethan Wyatt is a Thriller writer. She doesn't like him. They both accept an invitation to attend a Christmas event at the English estate of a reclusive fan. The fan turns out to be Eleanor Ashley, a huge writer. The next day, the senior citizen author disappears! **** 8/24/255

[Elyse, Moderator]

Carol wrote: "263. The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter - Maggie Chase is a Cozy Mystery writer & Ethan Wyatt is a Thriller writer. She d..."

I enjoyed this one!

[Carol]

264. Beans, Bourbon, and Blood by William W. Johnstone - Luke Jensen meets Dewey McKenzie! Bounty hunter Luke comes to Hangman's Hill with a prisoner to send back east. He also finds a town that's lawmen are looking mighty corrupt and under the thumb of Ezra Hannigan. **** 8/27/25

[Carol]

265. Esperance by Adam Oyebanji - 2 different investigations converge: Detective Ethan Krol of Chicago investigates a drowned father & son, found far from an ocean. Abidemi Eniola, a technologically advanced woman from a mysterious background, appears in Bristol, England, to return heirlooms from the ship called the Esperance, a slave trader. *** 8/27/25

[Carol]

266. The Curse of La Fontaine by M.L. Longworth - Verlaque and Bonnet have just gotten married! Also in Aix, Chef "Bear" Valets has opened a popular new restaurant. It has been so popular that he would like to expand into an adjoining courtyard. Some of the locals do not want that at all. Then the Chef starts to fear for his life. *** 8/28/25

[Carol]

267. Little Mountain, Big Trouble by Chris Norbury - 12 year old EJ is having a hard time. Self image being one of his issues. His parents are divorced and his dad is not a good role model. Then, his mom enrolls him in the Big Brother program. That's when he meets Russ, a mountain of a man. **** 8/29/25

[Carol]

268. The Message in the Hollow Oak by Carolyn Keene - Professional detectives asked Nancy Drew to find a valuable message hidden by a French missionary in a hollow oak tree in Illinois. They find that the "message" is actually a cipher connected to a land scheme exploiting Dust Bowl refugees. *** 8/30/25

[Carol]

269. Gone by Randy Wayne White - Hannah Smith, a Florida woman makes her living as a fishing guide on the Gulf Coast of Florida. She is a strong woman who people often come to for help in solving their problems. In this book, a young woman goes missing. It is thought that she went off with a local gigolo with a reputation of being a bully. *** 9/1/25