My father’s old computer. It has access to Interpol under an alias. If I use his login information

You will get a “login failed” screen. Interpol fights cybercrime. They would not leave their own backdoor wide open.

My suspension of disbelieve in paranormal cozies does not include law enforcement. Also the MC was kind of dim. She did three tea readings and felt incompetent for getting the same image each time. It seems she had forgotten all three readings were for the same person.

1.5*

Lindsey Bakewell has turned her whole life upside down. Actually, her fiancé Jeffrey Plank did that when he let himself get caught in a compromising position with his pastry chef. Lindsey quit him, quit her job and bought a lighthouse in a town she remembers from Summer holidays when she was a kid. She has dreams of opening a bakery in the lighthouse.

All’s going well. The renovation of the lighthouse (inside and out) is going smoothly, Lindsey has managed to hire an experienced baker (she herself is a confident amateur) and she’s even hit it off with her somewhat recluse of a neighbour.

I like the quirky and lighthearted tone of the narrative and am feeling a little bit of dread for the inevitable accusation of murder.

On Memorial Day weekend Lindsay has her grand opening. Unexpectedly, her ex and his new girl-friend show up. Apparently with an axe to grind. The girl-friend causes a scene, is escorted out and collapses on the lawn. She later dies. The last thing she ate was a donut made my Lindsey.

The moment I had been dreading. A young cop mentions it looks bad for Lindsey. She had opportunity and motive. Opportunity? Mia grabbed a random donut to stuff in her mouth (and spit out) and grabbed a random cup of coffee to wash away the taste. I guess the opportunity to kill someone was there, but that goes for all the people present at the bakery. It’s up to the police (or when the thing goes to trial, the DA) to prove that Lindsey had more opportunity than any of the other people, and more motive.

And they must prove this beyond a reasonable doubt.

I quite enjoyed this story. Not even the nineteenth century ghost that had mastered the skill of taking over a computer threw me. It’s the dumb police that bothered me. Suspicion that Lindsey did not like the woman and may have had reason to kill her, is not enough grounds for arrest. It may be reason to invited her to the station for another chat. But to make an arrest is premature. Suspicion is not a substitute for fact.

There are countries where you are entitled to compensation after a wrongful arrest.

Why is there not a lawyer present during Lindey’s questioning after her arrest? Was she not informed of her rights?

3.5 stars overall. For the longest time I didn’t know whether to round up or down. Until another cozy cliché I don’t have the patience for happened: when the sleuth is about to find out who the murderer is, the murderer pulls a gun. When at no time previously in the story a gun was used. And Lindsey channeled her inner New Yorker a few times too often. (None of these times she was crying on the subway and not caring what others think.)

Meet Nicole Wilde, girlfriend of influencer Rowan Nutter who’s working on her exit strategy out of the relationship. Rowan’s done something terrible and she wants out.

What he’s done, is not revealed immediately, but for the first 40 pages Nicole mentions about every other page that he’s done something terrible he can’t make up for. I started to suspect that when I finally would be enlightened about the terrible thing it would be a let down for all that it is hyped up.

And I kind of was disappointed. Okay, Rowan did do a terrible thing and breaking up with him would make sense, but Nicole has him first repair the damages and then she will leave him. That’s a bit, hmm, well, mean. (It does give off the signal that Rowan can repair everything that he has broken.)

At the same time with the reveal of the terrible thing - told rather casually - Nicole mentions that she’s a reputation manager (or something like that). Now if she’d mentioned that a couple of times up to that point, I would have understood why what Rowan did is such a big deal to her.

Next, old boyfriend Dylan King moves in across the street and wants to hire Nicole for her services. Naturally, Rowan gets jealous.

Overall a nice story, but Nicole did get repetitive in mentioning that she would be leaving Harehill soon, to the point that I stopped believing that she would.

I read an ARC through Boldwood Books and NetGalley.

I’m a little of two minds on this.

There was all together too much relationship drama, and in the beginning there was also a lack of mystery. I feel duped by the blur. At least the title was accurate: it was set in London and there was much mention of rain.

The mystery picked up after the second murder. The rating is for the mystery, but the relationship drama is the reason it’s not a whole hearted four stars.

When I pick up a book in a long running series I hope it’s something I like so I can have many stories to look forward to. This one won’t do. It’s more women’s fiction than cozy mystery. If there was any sleuthing I missed it.

This book ties up some loose ends that were left in the previous book. It’s best to read that one first.

The mystery is not much cozy, more a thriller with some slapstick elements thrown in.

This one did not pull me in as the previous two books did. At least not until about a third of the way into the story. That’s when Daisy sets aside her moral objections (or at least stops discussing them) and starts a proper investigation.

It’s a pretty solid story after that. Daisy makes a few odd assumptions, which to me make no sense considering what she knows, but she never reflects on the fact she got things wrong.

After sitting through a hundred pages of her fretting about her morals that feels off.

As always Misha Popp tries to check all the boxes for diversity and inclusion. No ethnicity is mentioned for any hospital staff. Not sure what that is supposed to mean.

I read an ARC through NetGalley.

2.5* Started of all right, but lost me sort of halfway through.

Jeanie’s on her hen do, which she seems to have been bullied into by her sisters. Sisters that are old enough to know that some things just ain’t funny anymore. Or weren’t ever. Anyway, Jeanie tries to make an escape and stumbles over a dead body.

With a day to go before Jeanie’s wedding, friends (and co-workers at the bad girl detective agency) Amber, Clio and Jeanie decide to investigate. Chapters are told alternating from their three perspectives.

At first I liked Amber and Jeanie, but Clio not so much. But both Clio and Jeannie seem a bit dense. Perhaps it was the advantage of seeing all three perspectives that made some twists obvious from a mile away, or perhaps the writer was a bit too obvious about things.

I stopped liking Jeanie when she became whiny, seriously disliked her when she started arguing stealing a car is a crime. She was fleeing quite possibly from the murderer and she was on her way to protect her children from criminals that might hurt them. And under those circumstances she wants to take the moral high ground and not take someone else’s car?

Story picked up a bit after that, but I wouldn't have blamed Jeanie if she had slapped Tan or grabbed his arm and marched him out the door.

I read an ARC through NetGalley.

Excellent read.

I much appreciate that the main character has a day job and is not perfectly skilled at everything she sets her mind too (as I've seen in other historical cozies with characters of aristocratic / wealthy birth).

Harriet White, known to everyone as Harry (even her mother calls her that, in front of men she tries to set her daughter up with as potential husband material) is Sherlock Holmes's secretary. Her employer's offices (a bank) include the address of 221 Baker Street and for that reason receives many letters requesting the help of the great detective. Harry's job is to write a polite note to the sender.

One of the letters, and its follow-up, catch her eye, and Harry decides she will try to gather some information and see if she can help the sender.

I read an ARC through NetGalley.