The Dog Park Murders

 The Dog Park Murders

Dog Park Murders #1

Angela Barker

Reviewed by Helen

A great start to a new series this one is a cosy mystery and romance all rolled into one fabulous story, set in the small town of Labrador Falls where gossip runs deep and just about everyone has a dog, come along and meet the characters who live there.

Juliette Macintyre has grown up in Labrador Falls she works at the dog grooming salon What The Fluff and loves dogs she has a twin sister Norah a best friend Alexa but the town looks on the Macintyre’s with suspicion after what her father did years before but Juliette is strong and resilient, she loves fostering dogs and has a Jack Russell at the moment named Digger she also loves to annoy her new business neighbour Joel Cunningham who runs the café.

Joel has moved to Labrador Falls to put the past behind him he owns the Brewed Awakening Café and comes across as surly and grumpy he doesn’t want to make friends and he doesn’t want to know the gossip that is always being told in his café and he does his best to ignore Juliette, that is until she discovers a body in the dog park and she appears to be number one suspect and Joel steps up to keep her safe.

Soon there is chemistry growing between them as they investigate first one murder and then another and Joel is doing his best to not get close to either Juliette or Digger but as they get closer to the answers they are looking for and do their best to keep the police from arresting Juliette losing their hearts is a lost cause.

I loved this one it is witty, fun, moving and mysterious all rolled into one fabulous story, wonderful characters lots of moments that had me smiling and cheering them on, I look forward to the next one in the series which is Norah’s story and I have my fingers crossed that Alexa will get her story as well.

I do highly recommend this one to any lover of a good cosy mystery/romance.

My thanks to Harlequin and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

4 stars

August 25, 2026 by Harlequin

The Widows' Guide to Foul Play

 The Widows' Guide to Foul Play

The Widow's Detective Club #5

Amanda Ashby

Reviewed by Helen

The fifth book in this awesome series and it is getting close to Christmas and that means it is Pantomime season in Little Shaw and the local theatre group are going to put on Mother Goose one that they did thirty years ago and they have convinced the main character from back then, know a national celebrity and a diva, Monica Larkwell to return and perform the main character again and Ginny, Tuppence, MJ and Hen have been roped into help with the performance and things seem to be going very smoothly no bodies.

Then Ginny discovers Monica’s body in her dressing room lying with a chandelier on her Ginny and her friends are convinced this was no accident but after the last case they have decided to stay out of the investigation and let DI Wallace and his police officers do their job that is until Wallace actually asks for their help and of course they throw themselves into the investigation full swing, with a new murder board this time Flora.

What they uncover is a case of secrets that have been kept for many years and another murder will they find the culprit before there is another murder and will the detective Widow’s find themselves in danger? There are many twists and turns in this one that kept the Ladies on their toes and again I loved it these Ladies have me smiling throughout the story as well as thinking and trying to work out who done it?

I do highly recommend this one and the series and I am looking forward to another trip to Little Shaw.

My thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

August 10, 2026 by Storm Publishing

Deadly Tides

 Deadly Tides

Martha's Vineyard Murders #5

Raemi A Ray

Reviewed by Helen

We are back at Martha’s Vineyard with Kyra, Tarek and Chase for another action packed page turning mystery, Tarek is still getting over all his injuries and having a hard time and Kyra is doing her best to help but it has been hard and Chase is being his usual self-there for everyone when a mutilated body is discovered in the lighthouse just after the fourth of July weekend, the island need Tarek and Kyra’s help to find out what happened.

Tarek is slow to respond but Kyra with Chase’s help jumps straight in and when evidence goes missing Tarek is soon helping as well which is what they need not only evidence is missing witnesses go missing as well and then Kyra is caught in the middle in grave danger, Tarek and Chase are beside themselves what they uncover is corruption, lies and secrets and it appears that somewhere in amongst all of this is a link to Tarek one that he had kept to himself, will Tarek and Chase rescue Kyra before it is too late and how many bodies will there be at the end of all of this?

I loved this one from start to finish and I cannot wait for the next one, I do highly recommend this one and the series which are best read in order so you get to know Kyra, Tarek and Chase along the way the setting is fabulous, it is sure to keep any reader on the edge of your seat, thank you MS Ray for another awesome story.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

June 8, 2026 by Tule Publishing

The Body at St Edmunds

 The Body at St Edmunds

Georgina Drake #8

Kate Hardy

Reviewed by Helen

We are back in Norfolk with Georgie and her friends and this is another fabulous story in this series that I am loving, this time Georgie is in St Edmunds church photographing the lead light stained glass as it is being renovated, she is having a lovely chat to craftsman Liam Jacobs and learning so much from him, she leaves him to go to the kitchen with church volunteer Kathleen after sharing a cup of tea and piece of banana cake they return to find Liam on the floor with his half eaten piece of banana cake, they immediately start CPR but sadly with no success and Georgie calls her partner DI Colin Bradshaw, they had known that Liam was allergic to coconut but Kathleen swears there was none in the cake she made but did someone else add it?

Colin arrives a takes over the investigation while Doris Georgie’s ghostly friend alerts Georgie to an historic case here in the village that has to do with the church regarding two deaths, these two people are related to Kathleen and this starts Georgie and her friend Sybbie on an investigation of their own, which involves secret tunnels and hidden treasure could this be linked to the death of Liam as well?

This is another fabulous story one in which I kept changing my mind on who I thought was the killer, I loved being back in Little Wenborough, with the fabulous friends that I have made throughout the series, Kate Hardy has again bought her readers a mystery to uncover and an historical one that was so very interesting with the historical facts. I loved this one and I do highly recommend it and the series. Such a fabulous ending to this one I was thrilled and look forward to more in this series and some planning.

My thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 Stars

May 25, 2026 by Storm Publishing

The Body in the Bath House

 The Body in the Bath House

Bitterport Mysteries #2

Suzanne Gilchrist

Reviewed by Helen

Book two in this multi author series and I loved it and being back in Bitterport Tasmania, this town is like a ghost town these days with many mysteries and secrets, some of the old buildings are being inherited by people who are not locals and this time we see Mercy Galanis taking possession of the old bath house, it is not in the best of conditions but not as bad as she thought it would be and this is just what Mercy needs to start fresh and she is going to turn this place into a wellness spa, life is sure to be looking up for Mercy and her little dog Pip.

Mercy arrives to cold and wet weather and it feels like someone is watching her every move light globes are missing and the place feels very eerie and the plumbing is not working a quick message to the plumber she has hired to help with the renovations sees Zac Alexander and his dog Zero arrive to help but when Pip uncovers a mummified body in a tiny room off the pool area things change very quickly, the police are called but Mercy and Zac decide that they are going to do what they can to uncover the dead persons identity and surely this will help Mercy make friends with the few locals that live in Bitterport, this leads to a couple of very dangerous situations and as they try to get answers and keep each other safe they are growing closer by the day, but Zac has a son and he has plans will they find a way to be together?

This is a fabulous story that had me turning the pages and guessing pretty much to the end, the setting is just so good the atmosphere of the bath house is eerie at times and Mercy has a lot to uncover she also would love to find out who left her the house is it someone who is related to her. So many questions but will they get the answers?

I do highly recommend this one a cosy mystery a little romance with wonderful characters danger and trouble around every corner and a presence in the house that is always there.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

June 29, 2026 by Tule Publishing

Murder at Millmerran House

 Murder at Millmerran House

Bitterport Mysteries #1

Raven Corbin

Reviewed by Helen

What a fabulous story, a fabulous start to a new series this one had me turning the pages, set in Bitterport, Tasmania, a small gothic town. Millmerran House has been sitting neglected and waiting for eighty years when a London hotel owner Aiden Bellingan inherits the building, Aiden arrives hoping for a quick renovation a new hotel for his business but what he finds is nothing that he expected, even more so with the ghost Elvira Brown and she makes herself known from his first visit.

Marielle McGregor has recently arrived home from The States and is back at the family interior design store in Hobart when she is offered the job of helping to restore Millmerran House, this is probably the last job she should take and her mother agrees, after all her grandfather died in this house many years ago and her father has been missing for weeks now and she knows it is connected to the house as well but she is determined to take it on hoping to find answers as well and Aiden is easy to get on with but when she meets Elvira for the first time it is with a bang but it appears that she may just help with uncovering the past.

A house with many hidden secrets, tunnels underground and conspiracies, murders and so much more can Aiden and Marielle find the answers and her father before it is too late and discover who has been protecting people from the past and what of Elvira will she finally get justice after all of these years?

I loved this one so much from start to finish ghostly, gothic mystery with awesome characters red herrings thrown in to change my mind a few times and a touch of romance thrown in makes this one a story that I would highly recommend, and I am looking forward to more in the series.

My thanks to Tule Publishing for my digital copy to read and review.

5 stars

June 24, 2026 by Tule Publishing

The Widows' Guide to Last Orders

 The Widows' Guide to Last Orders

The Widows' Detective Club #4

Amanda Ashby

Reviewed by Helen

We are back in Little Shaw with The Widows’ Detective club, things have been a bit quiet and the ladies have been adhering with DI Wallace’s wish to stay out of things but when their Merry Widows trivia team are at the pub The Lost Goat and the barman is found dead in the cellar after going to change a keg, the police say is was death by misadventure but the ladies think otherwise and well the ladies cannot help themselves and this time their murder board is a stack of old beer coasters, let the investigation begin.

The victim Nathan has moved to Little Shaw apparently to trace his great aunt who lived in Little Shaw back in 1963 it appears that she vanished that year as well and what the ladies uncover from gossip will lead them to spies, to uncovering code and priest holes there is a lot of digging into local history, but when there is another murder DI Wallace is soon it appears working with the ladies but will they find out who the killer is and uncover the sixty year old mystery?

This is another awesome story in this fabulous series that had me thinking all the way through the characters are so good, as always Ginny, Tuppence, JM and Hen used the clues and their instincts to get the answers.

I loved this one and highly recommend it to any lover of a good cosy mystery, I am looking forward to more visits to Little Shaw in the future.

My thanks to Storm Publishing and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

5 stars

April 15, 2026 by Storm Publishing