Review: Until Next Summer by Ali Brady

 

Until Next Summer by Ali Brady

Publication Date: July 9th 2024 by Berkley

Pages: 448

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Old besties Jessie and Hillary reunite after years apart as Camp Chickawah, the place they met and bonded at is about to be sold and close for good. They mend fences over wonderful memories and unite to save the camp, each finding romance with past campers, Luke, the broody author, and Cooper the camp chef.

Until Next Summer was full of nostalgia, looking back at the good times of summer, even if you didn’t do camp as a youngster. The story makes me remember summer vacations by the lake, swimming, boating, campfires, smores, and fun getting away from it all! I enjoyed both Jessie and Hillary’s journey back to friends and sorting out their lives along the way! This is the perfect feel-good, summer read!

 

4 Stars

Book Description:

Two former best friends each find love at an adults-only summer camp in this romantic and nostalgic novel that proves “once a camp person, always a camp person.”

Growing up, Jessie and Hillary lived for summer, when they’d be reunited at Camp Chickawah. The best friends vowed to become counselors together someday, but they drifted apart after Hillary broke her promise and only Jessie stuck to their plan, working her way up to become the camp director. 

When Jessie learns that the camp will be sold, she decides to plan one last hurrah, inviting past campers—including Hillary—to a nostalgic “adult summer camp” before closing for good. Jessie and Hillary rebuild their friendship as they relive the best time of their lives—only now there are adult beverages, skinny dipping, and romantic entanglements. Straitlaced Hillary agrees to a “no strings attached” summer fling with the camp chef, while outgoing Jessie is drawn to a moody, reclusive writer who’s rented a cabin to work on his novel.

The friends soon realize this doesn’t have to be the last summer. They’ll team up and work together, just like the old days. But if they can’t save their beloved camp, will they be able to take the happiness of this summer away with them?

Review: Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong

 

Disturbing the Dead (A Rip Through Time #3) by Kelley Armstrong

Publication Date: May 7th 2024 by Minotaur Books 

Pages: 337

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Disturbing the Dead was another exciting mystery in the Rip Through Time series! It’s the third book in a series best read in order. The Grays are invited to a mummy unwrapping, which is distasteful to Mallory with its insensitivity to the dead, but this is 150 years ago. However, the unwrapping serves up a shocking surprise! Mallory, Duncan, and Detective McCreadie hunt up a killer and thief.

 

It’s been fun seeing how Mallory deals with the lack of forensic advances and technology in solving these cases. I also enjoy the relationship between Mallory and Duncan. There’s been a romance brewing, the slow-burn kind. I also enjoy Mallory’s friendship with Isla, Duncan’s sister. The two have scientific minds and big hearts!

 

I was happy that Mallory’s place as Dr. Gray’s medical assistant was more solidified. There were a few ends tied up that have been hanging through the series so far, and I’m very pleased with how it turned out. I look forward to the next mystery!

I alternately read and listened to the story, and I recommend either version. Kate Handford has done a wonderful job bringing Mallory to life, making each character distinct, both male and female, and with the different accents. I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed. 

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Disturbing the Dead is the latest in a unique series with one foot in the 1890s and the other in the present day. The A Rip Through Time crime novels are a genre-blending, atmospheric romp from New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.

Victorian Scotland is becoming less strange to modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson. Though inhabiting someone else’s body will always be unsettling, even if her employers know that she’s not actually housemaid Catriona Mitchell, ever since the night both of them were attacked in the same dark alley 150 years apart. Mallory likes her job as assistant to undertaker/medical examiner Dr. Duncan Gray, and is developing true friends―and feelings―in this century.

So, understanding the Victorian fascination with death, Mallory isn't that surprised when she and her friends are invited to a mummy unwrapping at the home of Sir Alastair Christie. When their host is missing when it comes time to unwrap the mummy, Gray and Mallory are asked to step in. And upon closer inspection, it’s not a mummy they’ve unwrapped, but a much more modern body.

Review: Liar's Point by Laura Griffin

 

Liar's Point (The Texas Murder Files #5) by Laura Griffin

Publication Date: May 21st 2024 by Berkley & Dreamscape Media

Pages: 368

Audio Book Length: 9hrs 26min

Narrator: Teri Clark Linden

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

As with Laura Griffin’s past stories in this series, Liar’s Point was an engrossing combination of crime procedure and romance, that I breezed right through!

 A jogger discovers a woman dead in her car, which appears to be an overdose. However, it turns out the woman was murdered. Nicole and her partner Emmett, as well as all the Lost Beach police force come together to find the killer.

I’ve been eager to read Nicole’s story since Midnight Dunes and Deep Tide where she contributed significantly to nailing down the killer. Nicole and Emmett have been circling around each other with chemistry and attraction brewing between them, so I was pleased to finally see them paired.  

I really enjoyed getting back to Lost Beach, Texas, as I’ve gotten to know the small, tight-knit group of detectives and their families.  Nicole is a persistent detective with good instincts, and I was thrilled to see her recognized as such. Her determination, constantly following up with the witnesses, and pursuing the evidence is what ultimately solved this case.

The story is part of a series, but it’s not necessary to read the previous stories to enjoy this one, as each features a separate couple and mystery that’s wrapped up by the end.

I alternately read and listened to an audio copy of Liar’s Point narrated by Teri Clark Linden. I’ve enjoyed many stories narrated by her! She expertly performed both male and female characters, bringing Nicole and Emmett, as well as the other characters, to life!

4 Stars

Book Description:

Two homicide detectives must separate the puzzling truth from a growing web of lies while investigating a murder victim’s friends and lovers in Lost Beach, Texas.

Detective Nicole Lawson is fed up with her job and nonexistent love life. Her first date in months gets cut short by an urgent call from the chief of police. A body has been discovered at Lighthouse Point, and the medical examiner finds an array of strange clues. When the death is ruled a homicide, the news quickly reverberates through Nicole’s beachside hometown.

The Lost Beach police department swings into high gear. Leading the investigation is Emmet Davis, a veteran detective who is Nicole’s fiercest rival at work and also the man she has secretly harbored feelings toward for years. With Emmet calling the shots, Nicole sets out to search for leads, starting with the enigmatic yoga instructor who first discovered the body. Nicole is certain the witness knows more than she’s revealing and may even hold the key to unlocking the case.

When another person turns up dead under suspicious circumstances, Nicole sees a bizarre pattern, but no one believes her theory. Under the gun to solve the case, Nicole must put aside her tumultuous feelings and work closely with Emmet to figure out who is targeting her beloved hometown . . . before she becomes a target herself.

About the Author

Laura Griffin is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty books and novellas. She is a two-time RITA Award winner, as well as the recipient of the Daphne du Maurier Award.