The Antique Hunters Guide to Murder

 By: C. L. Miller

Location: FIC MIL

Genre: Cozy Mystery

“What antique would you kill for?”

Readers learn early on that this book was written in consultation with international antiques expert, Judith Miller (who passed in 2023) and was a regular specialist on BBC’s “Antiques Roadshow.” She was also the co-founder of the bestselling annual “Miller’s Antiques Price Guide” which began in 1979. What readers may not realize is that C.L. Miller, the author, was an editorial assistant for Judith Miller on the “Miller’s Antiques Price Guide” and that Judith was her mother. This is her debut novel.

C L Miller's The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder is the start of your new favourite crime series, The Number One Ladies Detective Agency meets The Fellowship of the Puzzle Makers as written by Richard Osman.

Freya, it’s down to you to finish what I started. . .

Freya Lockwood has avoided the quaint English village in which she grew up for the last 20 years. That is until news arrives that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and Freya’s estranged mentor, has died… and the circumstances seem suspicious.

You will uncover a reservation, I implore you to attend. . .

But when a letter from Arthur is delivered, sent just days before his death, and an ordinary pine chest concealing Arthur’s journals including reservations in her name are revealed, Freya finds herself sucked back into a life she’d sworn to leave behind.

But beware, trust no-one. Your life depends on it. . .

Joining forces with her eccentric Aunt Carole, Arthur’s staunch best friend, Freya follows both clues and her instincts to an old manor house for an ‘antiques enthusiasts weekend’. But not is all as it seems; the antiques are bad reproductions and the other guests are menacing and secretive.

Can Freya and Carole solve the mystery surrounding the weekend before a killer strikes again?

How to Solve your Own Murder

 By: Kristen Perrin

Location: FIC PER

Genre: Murder, Mystery Thriller

For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club , an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate... Now it's up to her great-niece to catch the killer. 

It’s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances’s night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.
 
In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances’s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?
 
As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt’s fate instead of her fortune.

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin is a well-crafted, entertaining whodunit. The narrative is presented from the perspective of Annie with Frances’s journal entries from the 1960s in chapters interspersed throughout the narrative. The author deftly weaves past and present events into a fluid, well-paced narrative with more than one intriguing mystery and several suspects in the fold. Even though we don’t get to meet adult Frances we get to know a lot about her from her journal entries from when she was a teenager on the cups of adulthood and details shared by those who knew her during her lifetime. Annie is an endearing protagonist – impulsive yet smart, perceptive and curious - and I enjoyed following her efforts in unraveling the mystery. I loved the atmospheric setting and enjoyed getting to know the characters (even the unlikable ones). Even though the story features a large cast of characters and several sub-plots woven into the narrative, at no point does the plot get overly complicated, ambiguous or convoluted. Though I wasn’t entirely surprised by the final revelation, I enjoyed how we got there and was intrigued by many of the developments along the way.

Overall, I found this novel to be an enjoyable cozy mystery and would be eager to explore future books in this series. Sojura review

Salt and Sugar

 By: Rebecca Carvalho

Location: FIC CAR

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Food

The grandchildren of two rival Brazilian bakeries fall in love despite their families’ feud.

Trust neither thin-bottomed frying pans nor Molinas.

Lari Ramires has always known this to be true. In Olinda, Brazil, her family’s bakery, Salt, has been at war with the Molinas’ bakery across the street, Sugar, for generations. But Lari’s world turns upside down when her beloved grandmother passes away. On top of that, a big supermarket chain has moved to town, forcing many of the small businesses to close.

Determined to protect her home, Lari does the unthinkable—she works together with Pedro Molina to save both of their bakeries. Lari realizes she might not know Pedro as well as she thought—and she maybe even likes what she learns—but the question remains: Can a Ramires and a Molina truly trust one another?

Love between rival families’ children theme with sweet, salty, mouth watering bakeries make you extremely hungry with well developed characters! Yes, I’m in!

Two rival bakeries in the same street: across each other. Ramires family only prepares savory foods as Molinas family only prepares sweets.

After Lari’s grandmother’s sudden dead, her mother barely manages the bakery by herself and Lari is way too much clumsy to create another disastrous scene at the kitchen which may result with being banned to be inside the bakery forever.

Unfortunately Pedro’s family business has its own problems. The supermarket chain’s decision to move to town will affect entire small businesses and force them to be closed.

Both Lari and Pedro are ready to fight but only way to win is teaming up, gathering forces to save their businesses by burying hatches.

After hating a person for a long time, it may be real challenge to work alongside.

Absolutely entertaining, smart execution of enemies to lovers theme. Both Lari and Pedro are lovable, genuine characters and their palpable chemistry make you smile. The food recipes are mouth watering. The family feuds, regrets, grief blended well into this sweet romance story. Review by Nulifer Osmekik

Anna O

 By:  Matthew Blake 

Location: FIC BLA

Genre: Thriller, Mystery

READ LIKE A DREAM BUT UNSETTLES LIKE A NIGHTMARE- A.J.Finn

BEST COVER OF THE YEAR FOR ME! so far!!!

A dark, twisty, and shocking mystery about a young woman who commits a double murder while sleepwalking, and then never opens her eyes again.

The world will know her name.

What if your nightmares weren’t really nightmares at all? We spend an average of 33 years of our lives asleep. But what really happens, and what are we capable of, when we sleep? Anna Ogilvy was a budding twenty-five-year-old writer with a bright future. Then, one night, she stabbed two people to death with no apparent motive—and hasn’t woken up since.

Dubbed “Sleeping Beauty” by the tabloids, Anna’s condition is a rare psychosomatic disorder known to neurologists as “resignation syndrome.” Dr. Benedict Prince is a forensic psychologist and an expert in the field of sleep-related homicides. His methods are the last hope of solving the infamous “Anna O” case and waking Anna up so she can stand trial. But he must be careful treating such a high-profile suspect—he’s got career secrets and a complicated personal life of his own.

As Anna shows the first signs of stirring, Benedict must determine what really happened and whether Anna should be held responsible for her crimes. Only Anna knows the truth about that night, but only Benedict know.

Review by Mandy

Oh I loved Anna O!! I regret having it on my NetGalley shelf to be read for so long. I could not get enough of this story. When I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about just how it was going to unfold. I loved that all of my theories were wrong and the ending was jaw dropping. This book has been much hyped and is still not out until February. In my opinion, it is worth the attention. Do whatever you have to do to get your hands on this book.

Anna O is famous around the world. 4 years ago she killed 2 people in her sleep. And she hasn’t opened her eyes since. She is now being transferred to a sleep clinic for high profile people and it is Ben’s job to wake her up.

So many questions!! murdering in your sleep, how is that even possible? Why did Anna do it.. did she do it? why is she still asleep? I loved reading the chapters from Anna’s diary, getting to know her better and learning what happened in the lead up to that infamous incident.

Just fantastic!! 

Wrong Answers Only

 By: Tobias Madden

Location: FIC MAD

Genre: Contemporary, LGBT, Young Adult

Marco's always done the right thing. But now it's time for wrong answers only.

Marco should be at university, studying biomedicine. Instead, he’s been sent to live on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean with his estranged uncle, all because of a ‘blip’ everyone else is convinced was a panic attack. (Which it most definitely was not.)

And even though Marco’s trip is supposed to provide answers – about himself, about his family – all he finds on board the Ocean Melody are more and more questions.

But then his best friend CeCe proposes a new plan: for someone who has always done the right thing, in every possible way, it’s time for Marco to get a few things wrong. And hooking up with a hot dancer from the ship is only the beginning.

Great review by Chris Leow

Masked as a simple YA queer novel with a teenage protagonist as its main character, Madden weaves a complex story that brings forth the anxieties and discomfort of life's endless questions. The coming of age grapples with commentary around family in the most traditional sense. The authenticity in the ethnic-Australian migrant family characters and dynamics brought forth a subtle commentary on intergenerational traumas and evolution of characters through cultural assimilation.

Marco's self rejection of weaknesses deeply rooted in high achievers and likeness to parental figures is a mature revelation that is well supported with contradictions of self makes for a truely authentic queer teenage character that acts beyond his years. Resolution of the decade-long rifts in the family subvert the expected typical YA happy ending but rather roots itself in the imperfect nature of endless questioning, partial answers and incompleteness while attempting to move forward with life.

So while "Lascia che la vita to sorprenda" (let life surprise you) remains the catch phrase of the novel, Madden does wonders in layering the cacophony of grief, shame, pain, anxiety, wonder, and numbness young queer Australian boys experience.

Elsewhere Elsewhere

 By: Gabriele Zevin

Location: FOC ZEV

Genre: fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Death

I'm so proud I discovered Zevin before she got big, years ago I read "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry"- I loved it and recommended it to all our staff. Then came her bit hit "Tomorrow" and now we go "Elsewhere" I love the writing- it reads like it feels it would be said..

“Every so often a book comes along with a premise so fresh and arresting it seems to exist in a category all its own. Elsewhere is such a book” – New York Times Book Review

" I'd really recommend reading this book, it made me question life, death and everything in between and i feel it really helped me grow as a person." Phoebe

Welcome to Elsewhere. It is warm, with a breeze, and the beaches are beautiful. It's quiet and peaceful. You can't get sick and you can't get older. In Elsewhere, death is only the beginning …

Elsewhere is where fifteen-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she is killed in a hit-and-run accident. It is a place very like Earth, yet completely different. Here Liz will age backwards from the day of her death until she becomes a baby again and returns to Earth. But Liz wants to turn sixteen, not fourteen again. She wants to get her driving licence. She wants to graduate from high school and go to college. She doesn't want to get to know a grandmother she's never met before and have to make all-new friends.

How can Liz let go of the only life she has ever known and embrace a new one? Or is it possible that a life lived in reverse is no different from a life lived forward?

I really loved this story. One of the most delightful things in ELSEWHERE is the animals, especially the dogs. Liz, a natural at the language of Canine, is able to interpret for her four-legged friends, and finally understand everything they have to say. I can't truly imagine aging backwards, but Gabrielle Zevin has managed to make a truly believable story that is realistic, entertaining, and emotional, all at the same time. This is definitely a recommended read, and in all honesty, I would love to visit the land of Elsewhere again in the future.- Jennifer

Goddess Crown

 By: Shade Lapite

Location: FIC LAP

Genre: Fantasy, Sci Fi Fantasy

Kalothia has grown up in the shadows of her kingdom, hidden away in the forested East after her parents were outed as enemies of the king. Raised in a woodland idyll by a few kindly adult caretakers, Kalothia can hunt and fish and fend for herself but knows little of the outside world. When assassins attack her home on her sixteenth birthday, she must flee to the king's court in the West--a beautiful but lethal nest of poison, plots, and danger, overseen by an entrenched patriarchy.

"Wow. Such a beautiful face paced read with some black girl magic action thrown in story. In Goddess Crown we are introduced to Kalothia she’s 16 & we go on this journey with her. She’s brought up by guardians in a rural area basically living away from her birth parents who are King & Queen to keep her out of harms way. Kalothia is kind & smart from the very beginning. But we also get to see her use other skills & strengths when she has to prove herself in front of the Kings Court." Shaye