The Running Bibliophile

Irish Soda Bread Murder   by Carlene O'Connor, Peggy Ehrhart, and Liz Ireland is a collection of three short stories that include Irish Soda Bread Murder  by Carlene O'Connor , An Irish Recipe for Murder by Peggy Ehrhart, and Mrs. Claus and the Sinister Soda Bread Man by Liz Ireland. The expected publication date of this book is December 24, 2024, and my overall review of this book is four out of five stars. I'd like to thank NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) that I received for free in exchange for my honest review. Irish Soda Bread Murder  by Carlene O'Connor opens with Tara Meehan helping her Uncle Johnny and Aunt Rose with a local bake sale and psychic convention with the proceeds going to charity. When Rose's biggest rival shows up and ends up dying from her soda bread, Tara knows she must step in to help clear her aunt and uncle from the suspect list. I enjoyed this story a lot better than the last one I read in the series. The only complaint ...

The Big Empty by Robert Crais falls into the Mystery & Thriller genre and has an expected publication date of January 14, 2025. The story opens with Anya calling to remind her mother Sadie to pick her up from the skate park. When Sadie arrives, Anya is missing. Fast forward to Traci Beller hiring private investigator Elvis Cole to find her father Tommy Beller, who abandoned her and her mother almost ten years previously. What will Elvis Cole discover? I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Big Empty by Robert Crais from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review. I was excited to be approved and receive this novel. The main character, Elvis Cole, was an instant hit with me. He's just an extremely likable character. A somewhat insignificant character that I absolutely love is Cole's semi feral cat since I am a huge cat lover. Cole taking care of the cat is probably a huge factor in me liking him so much. I also really like his partner Joe Pike because he...

Scone Cold Dead (Country Store Mystery, #13) by Maddie Day opens with Robbie and her husband Abe preparing for the birth of their first child in a few weeks. When a stranger comes into Robbie's restaurant, Pans 'N Pancakes, asking about her aunt, Robbie is a bit uneasy about the situation. Then, the stranger is found dead in her aunt's field, and Robbie knows she must clear her aunt's name off the suspect list. NetGalley, thank you for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this book. I really enjoy the author's writing, and I was ecstatic to receive a copy for free in exchange for my honest review. I really enjoyed this story in the Country Store Mystery series, and I am looking forward to start it from the beginning after this latest edition so I can really get to know the backstory of each character. Most of the characters are likable, and it's not too hard to pick up on things from previous books despite me not reading a lot of the series. It definitely can be ...

Mary Downing Hahn is a children's author and a former librarian. She was born on December 9, 1937 in either Washington D.C. or College Park, Maryland to Kenneth Earnest Hahn and Anna Elisabeth Sherwood.   Before attending school, she was in the care of her grandmother, who terrified her with superstitious beliefs that mainly had to do with death. Hahn's grandmother is featured in many of her middle grade novels, including Daphne's Book , The Time of the Witch , The Doll in the Garden , Time for Andrew , The Old Willis Place , and All the Lovely Bad Ones . During the summer, she would play Mother May I  and Kick the Can  along with other games. She would also go into the woods, which were supposed to be off limits to her. Anyone else wonder if these excursions are the basis of Stepping on the Cracks ? During elementary school, Hahn was the class artist and enjoyed drawing picture books and disliked writing stories. It wasn't until her junior high days that she to plea...

Thanksgiving Turkey Tragedy (A Lexy Baker Holiday Novella)  by Leighann Dobbs opens at a turkey farm and various turkeys talking to one another about the one who was chosen for the Thanksgiving Dinner. When their roosting branch collapsed, it kills the owner, and the turkeys escape. Will Lexy Baker be able to find the killer? This novella was the perfect story to read before Thanksgiving. At first, I thought the entire story was going to be told from the turkeys perspectives, but it wasn't. Right off the bat, we know the tree branch broke under the weight of the turkeys roosting on it and is the reason the farmer died. However, there are boot prints near the body, so it doesn't look like an accident. Dobbs does an excellent job of throwing suspicion on several characters, which had me doubting myself on who might have sawed the branch to weaken it. I ended up being partially correct on who was involved. The majority of the characters are likable, but there are a few that do get...

You Feta Watch Out (Grilled Cheese Mysteries, #5)  by Linda Reilly was published on November 19, 2024. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review.  When I started hearing some buzz about this book on Threads and Instagram from people who had received an ARC, I knew I wanted to get my hands on a copy, so I am thankful for NetGalley providing me a copy. This is the first book I've read by Linda Reilly, and I enjoyed it for the most part. I loved the fact that it revolved around a Christmas play and the holiday season. Despite a murder taking place in the story, it was still full of holiday cheer, which is helping put me in the mood for the upcoming holidays. There were quite a few characters, and it took me a bit to keep them straight, especially when it came to Gina and Nina. Most of the characters were quite likable. Reilly did a fantastic job of throwing suspicion on quite a few people and making me second guess myself....

A Corpse Among the Carolers (Food Blogger, #7) by Debra Sennefelder opens with Hope Early preparing for the annual Jingle Bell Stroll. When the person playing Santa Claus is murdered, Hope knows she must find out how and why it happened.  I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review. This book was just the one I needed to read to help me get in the mood for Christmas. I know that it sounds weird since it's a cozy mystery where people are murdered, but it was full of holiday activities including caroling, a holiday market, making wreaths, picking out a Christmas tree, and more. The caroling event especially made me think of my childhood when the neighborhood kids along with a few adults would go door to door around the neighborhood to sing Christmas carols. We would have luminaries lit on both sides of the street as well. All of the characters, minus one or two of them, were very likable, and despite me not having read any of th...

Let Her Be (Hush, #6)  by Lisa Unger is a short story that opens with the main character attempting suicide and going through a treatment plan to get better. When his ex-girlfriend disappears, he elicits the help of their mutual friend Emily to find out what happened. I decided to read this story without reading the synopsis because it is written by one of my favorite authors. Had I realized the story included domestic abuse and attempted suicide, I might have passed on it. However, I persevered and wanted to find out what happened to the ex-girlfriend.  There were some red herrings that completely threw me, and the person who I thought was involved wasn't involved. I have to say I was shocked by the ending and didn't care for the revelation.  As for the characters, there weren't many in the story, but I have to say I didn't care for the main character. The rest of the characters were likable. Four out of five stars is what I gave  Let Her Be (Hush, #6)  by Lisa...