Too Old for This by Samantha Downing

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Lottie Jones has gotten away with murder.

Frequently.

Lottie thought her killing days were behind her, until someone starts digging into her past. Lottie is happier just going to church carry-ins and buying gifts for her grandchildren. And, maybe her son and soon-to-be-daughter-in-law will want her to move to their town and babysit the new baby. But in order to live her best life, she can't let her past catch up with her. Thus begins a domino effect of people who are getting in the way of an old woman who knows what she wants and how to get it.

Samantha Downing is rather skilled at making her readers like characters who seem like they should be unlikeable. Even though Lottie has a rather warped sense of right and wrong, there were things about her moral compass that I could totally understand. She had her reasons at the outset of her killing spree, twisted as they might have been. Lottie is rather brutal in her murder and body disposal methodology. She has learned quite a few things over the years.

When an old nemesis appears, Lottie is determined to keep ahead of investigators old and new. She calls upon her skills, using her cunning as well as blunt force to stay in control of her life. All she really wants to do is to live out her years in comfort, and maybe impress the church ladies a little. Lottie is smart, ruthless, and just getting too old for this.

At Death’s Dough by Mindy Quigley

 

Tommy, a local Butterball lookalike, with a copy of the book. 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Valentine’s Day approaches and while love is in the air, so is cold and snow.  The small town of Geneva Bay, Wisconsin brings in plenty of tourists in summer but winter—not so much.  Pizza chef Delilah is trying to brainstorm some ideas to drum up business so she can afford to keep the lights on and her staff paid.  Valentine’s Day is coming up, but so far her idea of a romantic dinner hasn’t brought in many reservations.

Delilah isn’t the only one struggling. Other business owners are as well, which is why the Chamber of Commerce hits on an idea:  why not lean into the town’s gangster history to draw in tourists?  It sounds like a great idea, but there’s one problem.  Delilah’s budding romance with a detective named Capone may not survive a promotion that uses his infamous relative as a draw.

As if that isn’t enough, Delilah’s ice fishing trip with Aunt Biz catches something other than fish:  a dead body.

The Deep Dish Mystery series follows the rules of many cozies, with a small town cast of characters, a plucky heroine, detective boyfriend, and a cat.  Just as with any recipe, the magic is how the ingredients complement each other. Delilah is stubborn and critical but at least she recognizes these traits in herself and is working on being less pig-headed.  She comes by it honestly, as her Aunt Biz could teach a mule a thing or two.  Quigley does keep the plot moving, and offers some good comic relief.  Of course, my favorite character is fat cat Butterball who did have a part to play in a successful conclusion. 

I also enjoyed the bits of Chicago gangland lore woven into the narrative, including about the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

For those who cook, there are recipes.   

For me, this is an enjoyable series, one I’m always going to buy when a see a new title offered.  The titles in the series are:

Six Feet Deep Dish

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust

Public Anchovy #1

Sleep in Heavenly Pizza

At Death’s Dough

Murder in the Upper Crust (October 2026)

"So, when do I get pizza?" ~ Tommy

Nevermore: When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Village of New Ghosts, 1066 And All That

 

Nevermore 11-18-25

Reported by Rita

 

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

Trying to make coffee when the water is shut off, David considers using the water in a vase of flowers and his chain of associations takes him from the French countryside to a hilariously uncomfortable memory of buying drugs in a mobile home in rural North Carolina. In essay after essay, Sedaris proceeds from bizarre conundrums of daily life-having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a fellow passenger on a plane or armoring the windows with LP covers to protect the house from neurotic songbirds-to the most deeply resonant human truths.

I laughed out loud! Sedaris never disappoints. I highly recommend this book. - CD 5 stars

 

The Village of New Ghosts by Winifred Hughes

The Village of New Ghosts is attuned to the destabilizing experience of loss. Time, and the poet's sense of it, has shifted, and she is newly awake. Hughes writes that now in her 70s, she is faced with "the confrontation of unimaginable loss. But there is also a sense of being an experienced writer, which comes with a freedom from youthful ambition or trying to build a career."

Very rich and touching. Truly amazing. - PP 5 stars

 

1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England by W.C. Sellar, R.J. Yeatman

This humorous "history" is a book that has itself become part of the UK's history. The authors made the claim that "All the History you can remember is in the Book," and, for most Brits, they were probably right. But it is their own unique interpretation of events that has made the book a classic; an uproarious satire on textbook history and a population's confused recollections of it.

Hilarious and easy to read in small sessions. - RR 4 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America by Beth Macy

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston

Follow Me to Alaska: A true story of one couple’s adventure adjusting from life in a cul-de-sac in El Paso, Texas, to a cabin off-grid in the wilderness of Alaska (Follow Me to Alaska Series Book 1) by Ann Parker

All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein

The Last Gentleman Adventurer: Coming of Age in the Arctic by Edward Beauclerk Maurice

Sleep by Honor Jones

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin

A History of Present Illness by Anna Deforest

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Island in the Sea of Time (Nantucket, #1) by S.M. Stirling

The Honey Month by Amal El-Mohtar

 

New Books

The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #1) by Hisashi Kashiwai

The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong

My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future by Alice Randall

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies and No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding by Catherine Mack

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Eleanor Dash has made quite a name for herself by simply telling the truth. Well, a version of the truth anyway. Since that fateful trip to Italy a decade ago where she got mixed up in solving crimes, she is now an accomplished author of the Vacation Mystery series. Eleanor thought that changing most of the names except for Connor Smith, the star of her book series and the original star investigator would be a great idea. After all, Connor should be flattered that she used his name and gave him credit. Unfortunately, Connor decides to take it as a chance to usurp a significant percentage of Eleanor’s royalties—for the first book, When in Rome, and every one after. It’s no wonder that Eleanor is ready to kill Connor. On the page, that is.

The second in the series sees Eleanor, sister Harper, actress and best friend Emma, Emma’s fiancé (actor) Fred, and a large cast of characters on Catalina Island off the coast of California, for Emma and Fred’s wedding. Conveniently, Emma and Fred are also starring in the movie adaptation of When in Rome. Keep it in the family, and all that. But a storm is brewing, and not just metaphorically. Eleanor and the entire crew are trapped on Catalina when a note turns up that says, “Someone is going to die at the wedding.”

I listened to both of these titles as audiobooks, so was charmed to see the cover and end pages of the physical books at the library. The covers are realistic cartoon drawings, and the inner end pages look like scrapbook bits and pieces with fun little notes like, “Harper, have you checked the latest forecast? There’s not an ACTUAL hurricane coming to Catalina, is there? That’s, like, fake weather news—right?”

I enjoyed these fast moving stories that were a bit over the top, but still wickedly funny. The characters are very likeable (except Connor; we don’t really like him, but he still hangs around.) Coming in April 2026: This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone.

New Books in January!

 

New in January!

Alexander, Ellie A Very Novel Murder (Novel Detectives)

Bailey, Tessa  Catch Her If You Can (Big Shot)

Balogh, Mary  Remember That Day (Ravenswood)

Butcher, Jim Twelve Months (Dresden Files)

Dave, Laura The First Time I Saw Him

Deveraux, Jude  Order of Royals (Blue Swan)

Dugoni, Robert Her Cold Justice (Keera Duggan)

Elston, Ashley Anatomy of an Alibi

Everhart, Donna  Women of a Promiscuous Nature

Feehan, Christine  Dark Joy (Carpathian)

Freeman, Brian  Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Revenge (Jason Bourne)

Gilbert, Victoria  A Deadly Clue (Hunter and Clewe)

Grippando, James  The Right to Remain (Jack Swyteck)

Hawkins, Rachel  The Storm

Ibanez, Isabel  Graceless Heart

Kingfisher, T.  Nine Goblins: A Tale of Low Fantasy and High Mischief

Koontz, Dean The Friend of the Family

Krentz, Jayne Ann The Shop on Hidden Lane

McLain, Paula  Skylark

Meltzer, Brad  The Viper (Zig & Nola)

Patterson, James  The Invisible Woman

Patterson, James  Private Rome

Preston & Child, Pendergast: The Beginning

Quick, Matthew  The Method

Rake, Jeff and Rob Hart Detour

St. James, Simone  A Box Full of Darkness

Saunders, George  Vigil

Singh, Nalini Such a Perfect Family

Steel, Danielle  The Devil’s Daughter

 

Non-fiction

Alker, Ashely  99 Ways to Die: And How to Avoid Them

Bauer, Susan Wise The Great Shadow:  A History of How Sickness Shapes What We Do, Think, Believe, and Buy

Block, Stefan Merrill  Homeschooled:  A Memoir

Kelly, Jack  Tom Paine’s War:  The Words That Rallied a Nation and the Founder for Our Time

Reid, Jennifer  Guilt Free: Reclaiming Your Life from Unreasonable Expectations

Tucker, Philip Thomas  Kings Mountain:  America’s Most Forgotten Battle That Changed the Course of the American Revolution

Nevermore: Twice, Frederick Fife, Heartwood

Reported by Rita

Twice by Mitch Albom

What if you got to do everything in your life -twice? The heart of Mitch Albom's newest novel is a love story that dares to explore how our unchecked desires might mean losing what we've had all along.

Not his usual spiritual writing, but a romance with a very heart-warming ending. - LK 5 stars

 

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston

Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he'd return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is there's nobody left in Fred's life to borrow from. At eighty-two, he's desperately lonely, broke, and on the brink of homelessness. Fred's luck changes when, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he takes the place of Bernard Greer at the local nursing home. Now he has a roof over his head, three meals a day, and, most importantly, the chance to be part of a family again. All he has to do is hope that his poker face is in better shape than his prostate and that his look-alike never turns up. As Fred navigates life in Bernard's shoes, he learns about the man's past and what it might take to return a life in better condition than he found it.

A real feel-good story. - MH 5 stars

 

Heartwood by Amity Gaige

In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping.

I listened to the audiobook and thought it was very good. - WJ 5 stars

 

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

Mailman: My Wild Ride Delivering the Mail in Appalachia and Finally Finding Home by Stephen Starring Grant

The Judge's List (The Whistler, #2) by John Grisham

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

The English Problem by Beena Kamlani

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs

Five Epic Disasters by Lauren Tarshis

The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei

Books Can Be Deceiving (Library Lover's Mystery, #1) by Jenn McKinlay

Found Recipes: Beloved Vintage Recipes Worth Sharing by Betty Crocker

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Opening this book was like opening a box of recipes from my grandma. These “vintage” recipes run from the 1920s to the 1990s, with strong representation from the mid-century when pre-packaged mixes became more popular for those homemakers who needed to whip up a quick dessert. This book doesn’t lean heavily on mixes, but Bisquick and cake mixes are included as time savers through the decades.

Betty Crocker has an enormous database of their recipes (almost 96,000!) but some of them had fallen through the cracks and had been lost. Over 500 Betty Crocker themed cooking magazines were published between 1972-2014, (see page 62) and as some of these have been rediscovered, the company decided to create this Found Recipes cookbook/history. In some cases, customers shared their memories of long ago meals where no recipe could be found, and Betty Crocker recreated them for a nostalgic taste of the past. Quotes from happy customers are included alongside bits of history and inside looks into the test kitchens.

A few recipes that caught my eye, along with the dates originally created (when available) and page numbers…yes, my tastes lean toward the sweets!

“Oven-Baked Chicken and Biscuits” – 1956 – page 71

“Chocolate Cookie Muffins” – page 117

“Luscious Lemon Loaf” – page 125

“Magic Cinnamon Balloon Buns” – 1969 – page 145

“Cardamom Cookies” – page 177

Those are just a few that sound like they would be fun to make with the five-year-old in my life. Maybe I’ll have to pull out a few of my grandma’s vintage recipe clippings as well, whether they came from Betty Crocker or elsewhere.