Sherlock Holmes & The Christmas Demon

 

From the blurb:

"It is 1890, and in the days before Christmas Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson are visited at Baker Street by a new client. Eve Allerthorpe - eldest daughter of a grand but somewhat eccentric Yorkshire-based dynasty - is greatly distressed, as she believes she is being haunted by a demonic Christmas spirit.

"Eve stands to inherit a fortune if she is sound in mind, but it seems that something - or someone - is threatening her sanity. Holmes and Watson travel to the Allerthorpe family seat at Fellscar Keep to investigate, but soon discover that there is more to the case than at first appeared. There is another spirit haunting the family, and when a member of the household is found dead, the companions realise that no one is beyond suspicion."

My thoughts:  James Lovegrove does an excellent job of capturing the tone and spirit of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in this novel. I loved the Gothic atmosphere of Fellscar Keep, the forbidding and isolated castle where the Allerthorpe family lives, as well as the dark and sinister legend of Black Thurrick. And watching Holmes and Watson work their investigatory magic was as fun as always. Lovegrove really brings these beloved characters come to life. Plus, it takes place at Christmas time, which makes it extra festive. All in all, a very enjoyable and entertaining mystery. 

Happy Reading!

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme is a FREEBIE.

I was feeling lazy, so instead of coming up with something clever or fun, I decided to go with 12 Books I Just Checked out of the Library instead.

1. The Last Cold Place: A Field Season Studying Penguins in Antarctica by Naira de Gracia (I've already started this one and am finding it very interesting. But then it's set in Antarctica and it's about Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins and Antarctic fur seals...what's not to love?)

2. Sherlock Holmes & the Christmas Demon by James Lovegrove

('Tis the season!)

3. Snowed In For Christmas by Jaqueline Snowe

(Because I love that snowed in trope!)

 4. Silver Trail Christmas by Nik James

(This is a sequel to High Country Justice which I thoroughly enjoyed.)

5. North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan

6. Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke

7. Proposing Mischief by Regina Jennings

(Just couldn't resist that cover.)

8. A Match in the Making by Jen Turano

(I enjoy her historical romances a lot.)

9. Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer

10. Memory Lane by Becky Wade

11. A Cross-Country Wedding by Courney Walsh

(Because she's one of my favorite authors and I loved Cross-Country Christmas.)

12. Odd Man In by Stephen Whyno

(I threw this one in my bag on a whim...I don't even watch hockey, but the whole premise of these emergency goalies being signed to play for just one game kind of intrigued me.)

Happy Reading!

Randomness....

My sister and I have been writing another story on Kindle Vella:  Christmas, Ghosts, and Mistletoe.

"Christmas week at the Thimbleberry Inn gives Ellie Benson a chance to put her ex-boyfriend in the past and make a fresh start. Maybe now she'll be able to pursue her own hopes and dreams. What she doesn't count on is an unexpected snowstorm, ghosts, an awkward mistletoe kiss, and the handsome Derek Sullivan."

This one's a cute and clean romance (no swearing, no sex), with humor and heart, and a ghost or  two. The first three episodes are free to read, and I hope you'll check them out. It's set in the town of Grayhaven, where our first Kindle Vella story takes place. So if you're more in the mood for some supernatural suspense than romance, I hope you'll check out Ghosts of Grayhaven. 

My sister and I had so much fun writing this one; we hope to start writing the sequel to it next year...because Zeb's and Mariah's and Moose's story is not done. (Moose is the dog; he's awesome!)

FYI:  If you've never read anything on Kindle Vella, it's a collection of episodic fiction in every genre imaginable. The first three episodes of any story are always free...as are your first 200 tokens. If you want to buy more tokens you can get 200 for only $1.99. Then, once you start unlocking episodes with tokens that you've purchased, once a week you're given a fave vote which you can then award to your favorite KV story. And any story that gets enough fave votes is awarded a fave crown...which is what my sister and I are hoping happens with both our stories.

Happy Reading!

A Cross-Country Christmas by Courtney Walsh

 

The plot:  From the time she was 12, Lauren Richmond had a big crush on her older brother's best friend, Will Sinclair. Then, when they were in college, Will did something that really hurt her, and she promised herself she'd never fall in love like that again. She's all grown up now, but when she ends up driving home to Illinois for Christmas with Will on a weeklong road trip, her heart is in danger of falling for him all over again. Because Will is attractive, funny, kind, and has no idea he once broke her heart.

My thoughts:  Courtney Walsh is one of my favorite authors and this Christmas romance is entertaining, clean, light-hearted, humorous and sweet. I'm a sucker for roadtrip books, and I totally wanted to be on that roadtrip with Will as he stopped at every quirky diner and vintage gas station along the historic highway from Los Angelos to Chicago. And his cheerfully persistent attempts to reconnect with Lauren and help her feel the Christmas spirit made me smile. If you're looking for a cute and joyful holiday romance, I recommend this one!

Happy Reading!

Other favorite reads:

My Phony Valentine

 

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley

 

Top Ten Tuesday

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's theme is Books Set in X leaving it up to you to decide what X should be. After much consideration--and clicking through lots of other possibilities online--I decided to go with:  Books Set in Lighthouses. (Mostly because I've always wanted to live in one and I think they're a very fun setting to read about.) 

1. Secrets of the Lighthouse by Santa Montefiore

2. The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter by Hazel Gaynor

3. Lighthouse Beach by Shelley Noble

4. The Lighthouse by P.D. James

5. The Lighthouse by Christopher Parker

6. The Last Lighthouse Keeper by John Cook

7. 16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber

8. The Lighthouse Keeper by James Michael Pratt

9.  A Lighthouse Christmas by Jenny Hale

10.  The Lighthouse Sisters by Gill Thompson

Have you read any of these? They all look good to me.

Happy Reading!

Quick book recommendations...

 

Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Now I get why so many people love this book. It's smart, fast-paced, and humorous. Plus there are some good twists. The whole premise of a romantic suspense writer being mistaken for a hit woman makes me laugh. And I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series. 

Havoc by Ronie Kendig

This book has action, suspense and a little romance. I liked that the female protagonist was an MMA fighter and stunt double; she had some serious fighting skills. And all the military moments with Crew Gatlin, along with his issues with his prosthetic leg and hisdog handling skills felt authentic. And, of course, I loved his Belgian Malinois, Havoc. This is an entertaining read. (A big thanks to Ashley @ The Rustic Reading Gal for recommending this one.)

Happy Reading!

 

Watch Her Disappear by Lisa Regan

 "In all the years she had been on the Denton police force, Josie had never encountered a dead body on prom night."

 

The plot:  Gemma Farmer, a fifteen-year-old girl who went missing in January is found dead on her sixteenth birthday wearing a brand new prom dress. The way she was killed is eerily similar to another missing girl's murder two decades ago. That girl, who was also found on her sixteenth birthday, was Chief Bob Chitwood's younger sister. How are the two girls connected? Who helped lure them away from their homes in the middle of the night? And can Detective Josie Quinn and the other members of Denton's small police force find the murderer before he kills another teenage girl?

My thoughts:  This is the fourteenth book in one of my favorite mystery series. Lisa Regan writes a taut crime thriller. I've come to really like Josie Quinn, Noah Fraley, and her other characters. And the mysteries themselves are sometimes dark, always puzzling and often unexpected. Normally I recommend starting with the first book in this series, Vanishing Girls, but I think you could easily jump into this series with this book because the mystery is not tied to Josie's personal history and past like so many of the other books in this series are. Watch Her Disappear is well-written, fast-paced, suspenseful and compelling. Another solid 4-star read. 

Happy Reading!