Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T.A. Willberg

The letter was short. A name, a time, a place.

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder plunges readers into the heart of London, to the secret tunnels that exist far beneath the city streets. There, a mysterious group of detectives recruited for Miss Brickett’s Investigations & Inquiries use their cunning and gadgets to solve crimes that have stumped Scotland Yard.

Late one night in April 1958, a filing assistant for Miss Brickett’s named Michelle White receives a letter warning her that a heinous act is about to occur. She goes to investigate but finds the room empty. At the stroke of midnight, she is murdered by a killer she can’t see—her death the only sign she wasn’t alone. It becomes chillingly clear that the person responsible must also work for Miss Brickett’s, making everyone a suspect.

Almost unwillingly, Marion Lane, a first-year Inquirer-in-training, finds herself being drawn ever deeper into the investigation. When her friend and mentor is framed for the crime, to clear his name she must sort through the hidden alliances at Miss Brickett’s and secrets dating back to WWII. Masterful, clever and deliciously suspenseful, Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder is a fresh take on the Agatha Christie—style locked-room mystery with an exciting new heroine detective at the helm.

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Available today (December 29th)!

Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder reminded me so much of Harry Potter and it brought back so many amazing memories. Marion is an intern learning about the secret world of detectives in underground London. The gadgets reminded me of the spells in Harry Potter and the tunnels in the underground felt like the many passageways in Hogwarts. 

Unfortunately that is where the similarities ended. JK Rowling created a magical world where you remember traits about every single character, regardless how minor of a character they were. Even though I’m not a big fan of fantasy, the magical world wasn’t hard to understand and I could easily picture what was going on, even at a young age. 

In Marion Lane, it was hard to tell any of the characters apart. All of the professors/more experience professionals all blended together and same with the rookies. There were many times where I was questioning which character Marion was talking to and if I had previously been introduced to them. 

The mystery was lackluster and the whole time I was wondering what all of the other detectives were doing and why the murder of one of their own was left to be solved by a first year trainee. 

2 calculators out of a potential 5. I loved the memories of reading Harry Potter, but sadly that’s all I enjoyed about this novel. 

Thank you to Netgallery and HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada) for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Wrong Alibi by Christina Dodd

WRONG JOB

Eighteen-year-old Evelyn Jones lands a job in small-town Alaska, working for a man in his isolated mountain home. But her bright hopes for the future are shattered when Donald White disappears, leaving her to face charges of theft, embezzlement—and a brutal double murder. Her protestations of innocence count for nothing. Convicted, she faces life in prison…until fate sends her on the run.

WRONG NAME

Evelyn’s escape leaves her scarred and in hiding, isolated from her family, working under an alias at a wilderness camp. Bent on vengeance, intent on recovering her life, she bides her time, patiently searching for the man who took everything from her.

WRONG ALIBI

At last, the day comes. Donald White has returned. Evelyn emerges from hiding; the fugitive becomes the hunter. But in her mind, she hears the whisper of other forces at work. Now Evelyn must untangle the threads of evidence before she’s once again found with blood on her hands: the blood of her own family…

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Available tomorrow (December 29th)!

Wrong Alibi took me a while to get into. The start of the novel just felt really choppy. First, Evie is alone during the winter time. Then it’s the summertime and she is assisting at a Alaskan hunting camp where there are some questionable visitors. Then we jump back in time, to see how she ended up at the hunting camp. I was really confused at the start, I had no idea what the novel was about and had a hard time seeing how realistic it was. 

So once Evie has one mistake (or ten), the novel really does start to get interesting. Putting aside all of her questionable actions, Evie does grow on you and you just want to the best for her and her family. I was super surprised by the mystery and who was behind everything. 

3 calculators out of a potential 5. Once you get past the beginning, it’s a great mystery!

Thank you to Netgallery and HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada) for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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The Last to See Her by Courtney Evan Tate

A woman disappears into the dark city night…

Gen is on the verge of a divorce from her cheating husband. When her sister, Meg, has a convention to attend in the Big Apple, she invites Gen along to celebrate her newly found freedom. But the perfect sisters’ getaway quickly goes awry when a tipsy Gen defiantly throws her wedding ring off the hotel room’s balcony. Then, wanting some fresh air, she decides to take a late-evening walk alone and vanishes without a trace.

The investigation that follows uncovers secrets—and betrayals—between sisters and spouses that will twist the truth in on itself until nothing is clear.

What really happened to Gen and who, besides Meg, was the last to see her? 

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Available today (December 15th)!

Secrets, secrets, secrets! I love reading books where you think that everything is normal, but it turns out that everyone has a secret and boy are they juicy secrets!

The Last to See Her hooked me in right away. The chapters alternated between the characters’ past and present and of course all of the secrets were revealed. I was curious on what had happened to Gen and what had happened in her past to have her disappear in the present.

I’m knocking the novel off a few stars because of the ending. I was highly disappointed. I was hoping for a great ending, but it just left me confused. I didn’t understand the motives of what some of the characters did. 

3 calculators out of a potential 5. Was hoping for a better ending after a great page turner!

Thank you to Netgallery and HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada) for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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