Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell

Started: 10/28/2025

Finished: 10/31/2025

Year: 1991

Pages: 403

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book, continuing the series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "A reclusive author, Beryl Madison finds no safe haven from months of menacing phone calls—or the tormented feeling that her every move is being watched. When the writer is found slain in her own home, Kay Scarpetta pieces together the intricate forensic evidence—while unwittingly edging closer to a killer waiting in the shadows."

Opinion: Everything comes full circle...interesting mystery.

Dying Cry by Margaret Mizushima

Starting: 10/25/2025

Finished: 10/27/2025

Year: 2025

Pages: 277

Genre: mystery

Grade: A

Reason for reading: TBR, continuing with series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Newlyweds Mattie and Cole Walker are teaching Cole’s daughters how to snowshoe in a remote canyon when a shattering scream pierces the air. They know that somewhere ahead, someone has been injured or worse. Cole takes the girls while Mattie and Robo go deeper into the canyon to search for the source of the scream.

"From a distance, Mattie and Robo see a shadowy figure at the base of a cliff, but a rockslide buries the person under layers of stone and shale before they can provide help. Desperate to uncover the individual in case they’re still alive under the rock, their efforts are in vain. The victim is already dead. When they investigate the canyon rim from which the person fell, they discover evidence that indicates the fall was no accident. To make matters worse, the victim was one of Cole’s friends.

"The Timber Creek County investigative team springs into action, uncovering a trail of greed that leads to a killer who threatens Mattie’s cherished new family and tests her with the most difficult task she’s faced in her duty as a K-9 handler."

Opinion: Another great book in this series. Action starts immediately. Interesting twist. Can't wait to read the next one.

Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests by KJ Whittle

Started: 10/21/2025

Finished: 10/24/2025

Year: 2025

Pages: 336

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Seven strangers meet for an anonymously hosted dinner party. As the evening winds down, seven cards appear, one in front of each of the guests. On the card is a number – the age at which they will die. Thinking it an elaborate prank, the guests disperse into the night, hoping to forget the morbid evening forever.

"Two weeks later, one of them is dead at exactly the age the card predicted.

"It must be a coincidence. But as more guests die, each one dead at the same age as their card, it soon becomes clear that something much more sinister is afoot. Now, it's up to the quickly dwindling group to figure out who (or what) was behind that fateful dinner party, before their numbers catch up with them.

"Told from the perspectives of each of the seven guests, Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is a spellbinding and mysterious exploration of mortality, begging the question: how would you live your life if you knew your number was up?"

Opinion: Similar to Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" book. Twisted ending. Good mystery.

The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard

Started: 10/18/2025

Finished: 10/21/2025

Year: 2024

Pages: 323

Genre: mystery

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Welcome to San Francisco, a city with killer charm.

"The chill of a San Francisco summer can be deadly. No one knows this better than Capri Sanzio, who makes her living giving serial killer tours of the city. Capri has been interested in the topic since she was a kid, when she discovered she’s the granddaughter of serial killer William ‘Overkill Bill’ Sanzio. She’s always believed in his innocence, though she's never taken the leap to fully dive into the case.

"But now an Overkill Bill copycat has struck in San Francisco. And Capri’s former mother-in-law, Sylvia, just cut off Capri’s daughter’s tuition payments. Needing cash, Capri wonders if this is the time to exonerate her grandfather. The case is back in the news and the police will be looking to understand the past to catch a present-day killer. Capri could finally uncover the truth about Overkill Bill―documenting the process with a podcast and a book―and hopefully earn some money.

"Before Capri can get very far, the cops discover the copycat’s latest victim: Sylvia. Capri soon finds herself at the heart of the police’s investigation for an entirely different reason. She and her daughter are prime suspects."

Opinion: Wasn't what I thought it was going to be about based on the title. Decent mystery and I had not fully predicted the killer. I will be reading the next in the series.

A Whiff of Death by Issac Asimov

Started: 10/17/2025

Finished: DNF

Year: 1958

Pages: 191

Genre: mystery

Grade: C

Reason for reading: TBR pile

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Everyone knew that Ralph Neufeld was a careful young chemist, especially his professor, Lou Brade. That's why Ralph's accidental demise due to a confusion of chemicals struck Brade, as well as the police, as highly unlikely.

"Someone on campus had, somehow, switched bottles on poor Neufeld, and the result was as deadly as had been planned. The trouble was all the right suspects were in the wrong places when it happened...all the wrong suspects had the right motives...and the one person most qualified to solve the crime was already being considered the killer!"

Opinion: Predicted the killer and was confirmed. Didn't realize that he wrote mysteries along with his science fiction.

Tilt by Emma Pattee

Started: 10/17/2025

Finished: 10/17/2025

Year: 2025

Pages: 224

Genre: literature

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Last night, you and I were safe. Last night, in another universe, your father and I stood fighting in the kitchen.

"Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. With no way to reach her husband, no phone or money, and a city left in chaos, there’s nothing to do but walk.

"Making her way across the wreckage of Portland, Annie experiences human desperation and kindness: strangers offering help, a riot at a grocery store, and an unlikely friendship with a young mother. As she walks, Annie reflects on her struggling marriage, her disappointing career, and her anxiety about having a baby. If she can just make it home, she’s determined to change her life."

Opinion: An interesting birth story. Considering that I live in the area where this book takes place, I could relate to it since we are all waiting for the Big One. Ending left something to be desired.

Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Started: 10/15/2025

Finished: 10/17/2025

Year: 2007

Pages: 337

Genre: mystery

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: library book, continuing with series

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "While getting ready to judge the baking contest at the local town fair, Hannah Swensen stumbles upon the dead body of a fellow judge, along with a smashed key lime pie."

Opinion: Took too long to get to the murder. Predictable killer but setting of a county fair was decent and relatable.

Unleashed by David Rosenfelt

Started: 10/12/2025

Finished: 10/15/2025

Year: 2013

Pages: 308

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: TBR pile, continuing with series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Andy Carpenter's accountant, Sam Willis, is stunned to receive a phone call out of the blue from Barry Price, a high school friend he hasn't spoken to in years, pleading for help with something too frightening to discuss on the phone. Barry needs Sam's financial acumen and lawyer Andy Carpenter's legal expertise―and he needs them immediately. But when Sam almost runs over an injured dog lying in the road on the way to Barry's house, he can't drive off without waiting for help to arrive. By the time Sam makes it, Barry's already taken off on a private airplane headed who-knows-where.

Assuming their help is no longer needed, Sam and Andy turn their full attention to helping the dog Sam found recover from his injuries. Then they learn that Barry's plane has crashed, and they come to the terrifying realization that Sam was also supposed to have been killed on that plane. Barry was in far more serious trouble than either of them knew, and for Sam and Andy, the trouble is only beginning."

Opinion: Getting caught up in an international/domestic terrorism...Decent mystery.

The Night Stalker by Philip Carlo

Started: 10/8/2025

Finished: DNF

Year: 1996

Pages: 421

Genre: True crime

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Painstakingly researched over 3 years, based on nearly 100 hours of exclusive personal interviews with Ramirez on California's Death Row, The Night Stalker is the definitive account of America's most feared serial murderer, Richard Ramirez. You'll follow Ramirez on his odyssey into depravity and mind-numbing violence, from his earliest brushes with the law in El Paso, Texas to his deadliest stalking expeditions. You'll watch an unprecedented police manhunt gather force, driven by one implacable goal: to capture and bring to justice the monstrous Night Stalker. You'll triumph with the brave group of East Los Angeles civilians who, in a moment of unparalleled courage, finally brought his career of mayhem and murder to an end. And you'll be witness to one of the most sensational trials in California history, which resulted in no less than nineteen death sentences for Ramirez.

"A killer whose seductive, darkly brooding looks still draws women like moths to flame - from avowed Satanists who worship his perverted credo, to a legion of true crime groupies - including a juror who actually fell in love with the "Death Row Romeo" after helping to convict him - Richard Ramirez continues to fascinate and terrify to this day."

Opinion: I knew what had happened once he was arrested and that's when I stopped reading-I was more interested in why he became who he was-bad childhood/role models, etc. I had also recently watched a documentary about him and was also based partly on this book so I thought that I'd read it.

Bodies and Battlements by Elizabeth Penney

Started: 9/28/2025

Finished: 10/8/2025

Year: 2025

Pages: 277

Genre: mystery

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: library book

Type: paperback

Genre: "Herbalist Nora Asquith is delighted to welcome Ravensea Castle’s first guests to the picturesque village of Monkwell, Yorkshire. After a thousand years of ownership, her family has decided to convert the castle into a bed and breakfast. But when Hilda Dibble, a self-appointed local luminary, is found dead in the knot garden the next morning, Nora’s business is not only at risk―she’s a prime suspect.

"Hilda had opposed the hotel plan every step of the way, and although she didn’t succeed in stopping the venture, her disagreements with Nora seem to only further her motive. One of Ravensea’s guests happens to be Detective Inspector Finlay Cole, who is new to the area and now finds himself with a murder case in his lap.

"Nora and her actress sister Tamsyn decide to investigate for themselves. They look into the entangled dealings of their newly arrived guests, while also getting hints from Sir Percival, one of the castle ghosts. As they learn, Sir Percival’s tragic death centuries ago sheds light on present-day crimes. Surely they can get to the bottom of this mystery while keeping their new business afloat . . ."

Opinion: A decent murder mystery-first in a new series.