Puss Reboots: Blog: June 2024: A Killer Romance

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The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught The Big Bath House by Kyo Maclear and Gracey Zhang (Illustrator)
Boys Dance! by John Robert Allman and Luciano Lozano (Illustrator)
Bread Over Troubled Water by Winnie Archer and Emily Durante (Narrator)
A Dash of Death by Michelle Hillen Klump and Lisa Negron (Narrator)
Death in the Stacks by Jenn McKinlay and Allyson Ryan (Narrator)
Detective Sweet Pea: The Case of the Golden Bone by Sara Varon
Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures with the Family Lazardo by William Joyce
Gótico by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Alexander Páez García (Translator)
In Farm's Way by Amanda Flower and Rachel Dulude (Narrator)
A Killer Romance by Maggie Blackburn and Christa Lewis (Narrator)
Meet Me on Mercer Street by Booki Vivat
Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem by Kekla Magoon, Cynthia Leitich Smith, and Molly Murakami (Illustrator)
Murder by the Seashore by Samara Yew and Catherine Ho (Narrator)
Murder in Volume by D.R. Meredith and Mara Lynne Thomas (Narrator)
Murder on Wheels by Lynn Cahoon and Susan Boyce (Narrator)
My Sister Eileen by Ruth McKenney
The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter Volume 3 by Kazuki Irodori et al
The Partner Plot by Kristina Forest
The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum and John R. Neill
Stowed Away by Barbara Ross and Dara Rosenberg (Narrator)
The Stranger in the Library by Eva Gates and Elise Arsenault (Narrator)
We All Play by Julie Flett

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May 2024 Sources

May 2024 Summary

Thirty-seven years of tracking my reading

Previous month

A Killer Romance: 06/06/24

A Killer Romance by Maggie Blackburn and Christa Lewis (Narrator) (2024) is the third book in the Beach Reads mystery series. Summer Merriweather has a romance author coming for a Valentine's Day book signing. Before the event, Summer sprains her ankle and has to miss attending in person. The next morning she learns that her author is dead, apparently poisoned by one of Summer's friends.

With Summer confined to home because of her ankle, much of this volume has a Rear Window vibe to it. Summer relies on what she can learn from her friends and via internet research.

After a while, though, it seems that most of the mystery is devoted to Summer's recovery and pain management. The narrative points are punctuated by Summer taking her pain meds or waking up from a nap.

The final straw for me, though, is the extended ending that happens a year later. It's a wedding and a pregnancy all in one to hit all the HAE ending vibes. I'm here for the puzzle solving, not the romance.

I gather this book is the end of this mystery series. That's probably a good thing. It never managed to find it's stride. Although it has the elements of a cozy mystery it never managed to find the voice of a cozy.

Three stars