I had to do #MurderEveryMonday this week, on the day a different social network fell over dead (for a bit😂 ) to plug my compatriot (& the person who hooked me on Shakespeare) & flout my contrarian cred by sharing the OTHER Ellis Peters series (Cadfael bored me rigid, didn't finish even one - read all Felse twice, some thrice)
#Mystery #bookstodon #Reading
@bookstodon
https://crossexaminingcrime.com/murdereverymonday-theme-list/
mystery
Four stars:
Board to Death by C.J. Connor with Robert Mac Minshew (Narrator) (2023) is a mystery involving gaming. Ben Rosencrantz is home to run his father's gaming shop after a lackluster career as a literature professor. The shop is slowly but surely failing just as his father's health is, but he's determined to keep it open as long as possible.
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2026/comments_08/board_to_death.html
On my reading blog, I review A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett. Maybe the most intriguing mystery Ana and Din have had to solve yet. And we learn more about the fantastical world. Published today.
https://susannashore.blogspot.com/2026/08/a-trade-of-blood-by-robert-jackson.html
Five stars:
All Shell Breaks Loose by Molly MacRae with Callie Beaulieu (Narrator) (2026) is the third book in the Haunted Shell Shop mystery series. A haunted sword is the center of attention this time, especially after a man is found dead in the forest and the sword has recent blood stains on it. Dr. Irving Allred who wants the sword because of the ghost swears he had nothing to do with the man's death. Can Maureen and Emrys Lloyd sort things out?
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2026/comments_08/all_shell_breaks_loose.html
"Behind a Mask, Or, a Woman's Power" by Louisa May Alcott , A.M. Barnard (Pseudonym). My rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
Book description: Originally published in 1866 under the pseudonym "A. M. Barnard." Louisa May Alcott's novel of romance and sexual intrigue is one of her lesser-known gems. Its tone and characterizations strike a markedly different chord from her best-known works, such as "Little Women" and "Little Men," and it remains a popular addition to her work.
For #MurderEveryMonday this week's theme is "weather significantly affects the plot." My only entry almost has a spoiler on the cover. Book 11 of the excellent Lane Winslow series by Iona Whishaw it was not my favourite, but still got 4/5 from me at #TheStorygraph - none have gone below 4 and I gave book nine 5/5. The series does a great job blending mystery with social commentary, especially on issues relating to racism, indigenous peoples, and immigrants.
#Reading #Mystery #bookstodon @bookstodon
The discovery of an anachronistic artifact leads Ardyn, an Athla’naa ranger, into the Aria'una. After a Medellan trader named Jevan saves his life, they venture deeper into the forbidden woods and discover an ancient secret their elders hid for generations.
Now available at select online retailers: https://graysonbell.net/book/artifact-of-the-dawn/
#scifi #scifibooks #lgbtqia #lgbtqiabooks #mystery #adventure
Did you know that sudden #deaths in #Chinese villagers are still a #mystery?
Since 1978, the Chinese Centre for the Prevenion & Control of Diseases has recorded ~ 400 cases of villagers in Yunnan province suddenly & mysteriously dying. Both children & adults have died, & almost always during the monsoon season at an elevation of 1800m - 2400m.
There are 3 working theories for the Yunnan Sudden Death Syndrome:
1) Keshan disease - an illness caused by selenium deficieny paired with the Coxsackievirus
2) Water pollution with Barium
3) #Mushroom #poisoning - 'Little White' (Trogia venenata), a mushroom native to the area & gathered by villagers was determined in 2010 to be the likely cause. The mushroom contains Barium, too.
Option 3) was favoured initially, but a paper in 'Applied and Environmental Microbiology' from 2012, found that the Barium levels were too low to be the likely cause.
Some villages lost a third of their population.
Five stars:
Death by Irish Coffee by Alex Erickson with Melissa Moran (Narrator) (2026) is the 15th book in the Bookstore Cafe mystery series. Death by Coffee has a successful St. Patrick's Day collab with a newly opened bar but the next day the bar's owner is found dead in the back of a woman's truck.
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2026/comments_09/death_by_irish_coffee.html
Five stars:
The Wednesday Witches Book Club by Sarah Beth Durst with Meg Runyan (Narrator) (2026) is the third novella in the Magic & Mystery series. Recently divorced and moved to a new town, Ashley joins a witchy book club in search of new friends and social life.
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2026/comments_09/wednesday_witches_book_club.html
Another #MurderEveryMonday , another plug for Dean Street Press. This week's theme is "Crime fiction with the word ‘clue’ in the title." and of the hundreds I own, only one qualified. I'd never even heard of E.R. Punshon before DSP introduced me to him, and I love the series now.
#Mystery #Reading #bookstodon
@bookstodon
Five stars:
Bubble, Bubble, Tea and Trouble by Vicki Delany with Shaina Summerville (Narrator) (2026) is the seventh book in the Tea by the Sea mystery series. A group of ghost hunters have come to the B&B and their leader is found dead at the foot of the cliffs. Or is she?
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2026/comments_08/bubble_bubble_tea_and_trouble.html
Five stars:
Fudge Bites by Nancy Coco with Vanessa Johansson (2019) is the seventh book in the Candy-Coated mystery series. It's Halloween on Mackinac and Allie and Mallow are dressed up for the Zombie Walk. Like during the Zombie Ride in Killer Take Out by Lucy Burdette (2016), one of the zombies is murdered. This time, though, it's neither Allie nor Mallow who find the body; Mella does!
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2026/comments_08/fudge_bites.html
Edited 70d ago
RE: https://mastodon.social/@SesameSquirrel/117288420753537481
as Paul Harvey used to say, here's the rest of the story: #WatchPartyCalendar FRI-THU, Sep. 18-24 #Mastodon / #Fediverse
Live 📅 details: http://bit.ly/MastodonWatchParties
NEW:
#SatMat w/ @analgesicsleep
#WickedWed w/ @kamikat
#DollyParton Memorial films (Sun.) w/ @GrillChill
#anime #scifi #mystery #horror #westerns #Action #comedy #music #FilmMastodon #CineMastodon
Thx hosts🌺 @Taweret @MirrorAyako @hyde @LisaMarieBowman @lilymarswrites @AlsoPaisleyCat @klu9 @rsmon77 @MatthewTitus88 @greenpepper22
"Daughters of the Wreckage: A gripping dual-timeline historical novel inspired by the true story of the Batavia shipwreck and the women who survived it" by Stefanie Koens. My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars. Published in 2026.
Book description: "Two women. One shipwreck. And four centuries of secrets combine in this historical novel.
I nearly set this book aside, but now am glad I finished reading it. Both of the women, in this book, in the end, turned out to be interesting characters.
#HistoricalFiction #mystery #shipwreck #books #reading @bookstodon
Five stars:
Eight Enchanting Elixers by Lynn Cahoon with Angie Hickman (Narrator) is the eighth book in the Kitchen Witch mystery series. Mia is once again being tested on her skills as a witch, her last results being called into question. After her test, the proctor is found dead up in the woods and someone is trying to frame Mia!
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2026/comments_09/eight_enchanting_elixers.html
Buying options for the Crooked Medium's Guide to Terror
"Stephen Cox has done it again. An absolute page-turner that masterfully blends Victorian crime with unearthly menace"
"Humane tender and funny..."
RECOMMENDED UK PRINT OPTIONS using independent printer
From my website post free £10.99
https://stephencox.co.uk/product/the-crooked-mediums-guide-to-terror/
From my website both books as bundle £19.99
https://stephencox.co.uk/product/both-crooked-medium-books-discount-price/
All Good Bookshop (can be signed)
https://allgoodbookshop.co.uk/order-items/ols/products/xn--the-crooked-mediums-guide-to-terror-by-stephen-cox-m105a
Five stars:
Murder at the Toy Soldier by Maddie Day with Rachel Dulude (Narrator) (2026) is the eighth book in the Cozy Capers Book Group mystery series. Mac and Tim are busy now as the adoptive parents of Ella and Luca. There's a murder at the toy shop where Mac had purchased a birthday gift for Ella.
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2026/comments_09/murder_at_the_toy_soldier.html
For #MurderEveryMonday this week
"Crime fiction with a mythical creature in the title or on the cover"
five entries courtesy of
Dean Street Press
#Bookstodon #Reading #Mystery
@bookstodon
https://crossexaminingcrime.com/murdereverymonday-theme-list/
Happy Almost-ween🎃
#WatchPartyCalendar
Oct 22-29 #Mastodon / #Fediverse
📅details/updates: http://bit.ly/MastodonWatchParties
HIATUS:
#Comedon till 11/15
NEW(ish):
#SatMat w/ @analgesicsleep 🧛🏻
#SusansCinemaStash spooky films (Sun) 📺 w/ @GrillChill
#WickedWed 👻 w/ @kamikat
#anime #scifi #mystery #horror #westerns #Action #comedy #music #FilmMastodon #CineMastodon
Thx o hosts!🧟 @Taweret @MirrorAyako @hyde @LisaMarieBowman @lilymarswrites @AlsoPaisleyCat @klu9 @rsmon77 @MatthewTitus88 @JanineFromPgh
Five stars:
The Ghost and the Dead Librarian by Cleo Coyle with Hannah Cabell (Narrator) (2026) is the tenth book in the Haunted Bookshop mystery series. A well known and somewhat notorious retried librarian is poisoned in the bookshop after the signing of her new book.
The marketing for this latest volume is weird. Library Journal is calling it a "spin off" and Goodreads has completely removed the nine previous books from the series. What's happened is the series is being re-branded as "The Haunted Bookshop Detective." Spoiler, much?
A better description The Ghost and the Dead Librarian is that it is a change in direction for Pen. I will be listing future Pen and Jack mysteries still under the "Haunted Bookshop" list.
#bookstodon #audiobook #mystery
@bookstodon
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2026/comments_10/ghost_and_the_dead_librarian.html
Five stars:
All My Bones by P.J. Nelson with Hallie Bee Bard (Narrator) (2025) is the second book in the Old Juniper Bookstore mystery series. Madeline Brimley hoping to make the bookstore more her own decides the landscaping by the front porch needs attention. Her gardener boyfriend, David, suggests planting some of her aunt's roses, a breed she and he created together. While digging up the yard Madeline discovers the skeletal remains of Bea Glassie.
https://pussreboots.com/blog/2026/comments_11/all_my_bones.html
A fun month of #Reading in October, with Dean Street Press again dominating the winners. #Mystery and #Romance this month, two months to read two books to meet my goal of 20 #Nonfiction so back to a focus on #LanguageLearning after this break
@bookstodon
#bookstodon
Happy 🎃 ➕ CHANGE YOUR CLOCKS! 🇺🇸🇨🇦
#WatchPartyCalendar
10/29-11/5 #Mastodon / #Fediverse
📅details/updates: http://bit.ly/MastodonWatchParties
HIATUS:
#Comedon till 11/15
NEW(ish):
#SatMat w/ @analgesicsleep
#SusansCinemaStash films (Sun) w/ @GrillChill
#anime #scifi #mystery #horror #westerns #Action #comedy #music #FilmMastodon #CineMastodon
Thx hosts!⏰ @Taweret @MirrorAyako @hyde @LisaMarieBowman @lilymarswrites @AlsoPaisleyCat @klu9 @rsmon77 @MatthewTitus88 @JanineFromPgh
Edited 11d ago
For #MurderEveryMonday this week,I've finished 7 of these eight - meaning they are indeed predominantly read🤣
Murderous puns aside, Dean Street Press again leads the pack, bookended by works form the woman who gave her name to the crime fiction Awards here in #Aotearoa
#Bookstodon #Mystery #reading
@bookstodon
https://crossexaminingcrime.com/murdereverymonday-theme-list/
