Publisher: Berkley

#BookReview Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #GreatBigBeautifulLife #EmilyHenry #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #GreatBigBeautifulLife #EmilyHenry #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: Great Big Beautiful Life

Author: Emily Henry

Published by: Berkley on Apr. 22, 2025

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, eBook

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 9/10

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years–or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.


Review:

Addictive, charming, and fun!

Great Big Beautiful Life is an amusing, feel-good romance that takes you into the lives of both Alice Scott, a young aspiring novelist who is determined to finally get her big break writing the biography of the infamous Margaret Ives, and the broody, handsome Hayden Anderson who has the career of his dreams and is looking to write one more successful book until he’s required to compete for the job against a woman who may finally challenge his long-standing views on life and love.

The writing is light and tender. The characters are supportive, intelligent, and kind. And the plot is an entertaining, alluring mix of life, love, family, friendship, guilt, trust, regrets, happiness, self-reflection, tricky moments, undeniable attraction, surprising revelations, and romance.

Overall, Great Big Beautiful Life is another enchanting, optimistic, delightful tale by Henry that is the perfect blend of heart, hope, humour, and heat and is undoubtedly one of the must-read novels for summer 2025.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

 

Thank you to Berkley Romance for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Emily Henry

Emily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read. She studied creative writing at Hope College, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it.

Photo by Devyn Glista/St. Blanc Studios.

#BookReview One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #OneDeathAtATime #AbbiWaxman #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #OneDeathAtATime #AbbiWaxman #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: One Death at a Time

Author: Abbi Waxman

Published by: Berkley on Apr. 15, 2025

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

A cranky former actress teams up with her Gen Z sobriety sponsor to solve the murder that threatens to send her back to prison in this dazzling new mystery novel from the USA Todaybestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.

When Julia Mann, a bad-tempered ex-actress and professional thorn in the side of authority, runs into Natasha Mason at an AA meeting, it’s anything but a meet-cute. Julia just found a dead body in her swimming pool, and the cops say she did it (she already went to jail for murder once, so now they think she’s making a habit of it). Mason is eager to clear Julia’s name and help keep her sober, but all Julia wants is for Mason to leave her alone.

As their investigation ranges from the Hollywood Hills to the world of burlesque to the country clubs of Palm Springs, this unconventional team realizes their shared love of sarcasm and poor life choices are proving to be a powerful combination. Will secrets from their past trip them up, or will their team of showgirls, cat burglars, and Hollywood agents help them stay one step ahead? Are dead piranhas, false noses, and a giant martini glass important clues or simply your typical day in Los Angeles? And will they manage to solve the crime before they kill each other, or worse, fall off the wagon? Trying to keep it simple and take it easy is one thing—trying to find a murderer before they kill again is a whole other program.


Review:

Atmospheric, witty, and entertaining!

One Death at a Time is a charming, captivating tale that transports you to the Hollywood Hills and into the life of Julia Mann, a formerly successful actress turned lawyer who, after the body of one of her previous co-workers, now enemy winds up dead in her pool, finds herself, with the help of a handful of people, doing whatever she can to prove her innocence so she doesn’t wind up an inmate once again for a crime she didn’t commit.

The writing style is humorous and light. The characters are sharp, quirky, and impulsive. And the plot is a pacey whodunit full of friendship, danger, oddball situations, red herrings, amateur sleuthing, lies, secrets, deception, deduction, attraction, revelations, the cutthroat work of movie making, and new beginnings.

Overall, One Death at a Time is a mysterious, amusing, satisfying treat by Waxman that had just the right amount of suspicious personalities, zany antics, and an abundance of drama to keep me engaged from start to finish.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Berkley Romance for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Abbi Waxman

Abbi Waxman is the USA Today bestselling author of Christa Comes Out of Her Shell, Adult Assembly Required, I Was Told It Would Get Easier, The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, Other People’s Houses, and The Garden of Small Beginnings. She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her three children.

Photo by Photo by Dina Waxman

#BookReview Who Will Remember by C. S. Harris @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA #WhoWillRemember #SebastianStCyrSeries #CSHarris #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview Who Will Remember by C. S. Harris @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA #WhoWillRemember #SebastianStCyrSeries #CSHarris #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: Who Will Remember

Author: C. S. Harris

Series: Sebastian St. Cyr #20

Published by: Berkley on Apr. 15, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: Hardcover

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

The gruesome murder of a prominent nobleman throws an already unsettled London into chaos in this electrifying new historical mystery by the USA Today bestselling author of What Cannot Be Said.

August 1816. England is in the grip of what will become known as the Year Without a Summer. Facing the twin crises of a harvest-destroying volcanic winter and the economic disruption caused by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the British monarchy finds itself haunted by the looming threat of bloody riots not seen since the earliest days of the French Revolution. Amidst the turmoil, a dead man is found hanging upside down by one leg in an abandoned chapel, his hands tied behind his back. The pose eerily echoes the image depicted on a tarot card known as Le Pendu, the Hanged Man. The victim—Lord Preston Farnsworth, the younger brother of one of the Regent’s boon companions—was a passionate crusader against what he called the forces of darkness, namely criminality, immorality, and sloth. His brutal murder shocks the Palace and panics the already troubled populace.

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, learns of the murder from a ragged orphan who leads him to the corpse and then disappears. At first, everyone in the dead man’s orbit paints Lord Preston as a selfless saint. But as Sebastian delves deeper into his life, he quickly realizes that the man had accumulated more than his fair share of enemies, including Major Hugh Chandler, a close friend who once saved Sebastian’s life. Sebastian also discovers that the pious Lord Preston may have been much more dangerous than those he sought to redeem.

As dark clouds press down on the city and the rains fall unceasingly, two more victims are found, one strangled and one shot, with ominous tarot cards placed on their bodies. The killer is sending a gruesome message and Sebastian is running out of time to decipher it before more lives are lost and a fraught post-war London explodes.


Review:

Ominous, rich, and gritty!

Who Will Remember is an eerie, sinister, absorbing tale set in London during 1816 when the city is ravished with economic instability and political upheaval, and Sebastian St. Cyr and his wife Hero now find themselves investigating a strange case involving a set of murders in which the victims are found posed in the same positions as the depictions on the tarot cards left with the bodies.

The prose is meticulous and tight. The characters are sharp, reliable, and resourceful. And the plot is a menacing tale about life, loss, secrets, deception, danger, control, power, politics, lawless behaviour, violence, and murder.

Overall, Who Will Remember is another dark, intense, intriguing addition to the Sebastian St. Cyr series by Harris that does a wonderful job of interweaving historical times and compelling fiction into a suspenseful mystery that is deliciously atmospheric and disturbingly entertaining.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Berkley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About C. S. Harris

C. S. Harris is the USA Today bestselling author of more than two dozen novels, including the Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries; as C. S. Graham, a thriller series coauthored with former intelligence officer Steven Harris; and seven award-winning historical romances written under the name Candice Proctor. A respected scholar with a PhD in nineteenth-century Europe, she is also the author of a nonfiction historical study of the French Revolution. She lives with her husband in New Orleans and has two grown daughters.

#BookReview A Proposal to Die For by Molly Harper @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #AProposalToDieFor #MollyHarper #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview A Proposal to Die For by Molly Harper @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #AProposalToDieFor #MollyHarper #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: A Proposal to Die For

Author: Molly Harper

Published by: Berkley on Apr. 8, 2025

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

A fast-paced, witty, and delightful new mystery about a marriage proposal planner whose biggest job yet is threatened by a dead body (or two).

Jessamine Bricker loves a plan. Contingency plans and pros-and-cons lists are her love language, and because of that, her proposal planning business is thriving. But with rent costs rising at her office building, Jess jumps at the chance to plan a proposal between her snobby high school classmate, Diana, and her very wealthy boyfriend, Trenton Tillard…the Fourth.

Roped into joining Diana’s ”pre-bridal” retreat at the exclusive Golden Ash resort, Jess hopes to fade into the background, get some work done, and maybe find some time to unwind. Their first day is anything but relaxing: Diana is furious about the mountain spa’s lack of cell phone reception, the couple next door argues constantly, and Jess swears she just saw a drug deal go down. To top it all off, she’s warned to stay out of the woods by the gruff and sexy chef, Dean Osbourne. Is this a retreat or a horror movie?

As Jess tries to do her job while placating the bride-to-be and her increasingly over-the-top demands, she spends more and more time with the resort owners, finding herself much more in tune with the laid-back Osbourne family than her social climbing “boss.” Between a meditation garden-related drowning and Jess’s discovery of a body in a sauna, it’s clear that deadly secrets abound at the Golden Ash. Now it’s up to Jess to unravel the mysteries here in the mountains—before all her plans are cancelled…permanently.


Review:

Whimsical, engaging, and satisfying!

A Proposal to Die For is a well-paced, amusing murder mystery that takes you into the life of Jessamine Bricker, a young woman who, after a high school classmate she never really liked hires her to plan her engagement proposal, finds her life turned upside down when while at a pre-wedding retreat, more than one person winds up dead.

The writing is playful and light. The characters are inquisitive, clever, and determined. And the plot is a delightful mix of misdirection, deduction, clues, suspects, mishaps, drama, amateur sleuthing, and murder.

Overall, A Proposal to Die For is a humorous, charming, quirky whodunit by Harper that is the perfect choice for anyone looking for a fun, lighthearted read.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Berkley Romance for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Molly Harper

Molly Harper is the author of more than forty paranormal romance, contemporary romance, women’s fiction, and young adult titles. A lifelong romance reader, she graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts from Seton Hill University, focusing on writing popular fiction. She lived in Kentucky for most of her life before recently moving to Michigan with her family…and she’s still figuring out how to choose outerwear and play complicated winter card games.

#BookReview Swept Away by Beth O’Leary @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #SweptAway #BethOLeary #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview Swept Away by Beth O’Leary @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #SweptAway #BethOLeary #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: Swept Away

Author: Beth O'Leary

Published by: Berkley on Apr. 1, 2025

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

Two strangers find themselves stranded at sea together in this epic new love story by bestselling author Beth O’Leary.

What if you were lost at sea…with your one-night stand?

Zeke and Lexi thought it would just be a night of fun. They had no intentions of seeing each other again. Zeke is only in town for the weekend to buy back his late father’s houseboat. Lexi has no time for dating when she needs to help take care of her best friend’s daughter.

Going back home with a stranger seems like a perfect escape from their problems. But a miscommunication in the dark, foggy night means no one tied the houseboat to the dock. The next morning, Zeke and Lexi realize all they can see is miles and miles of water.

With just a few provisions on the idle boat, Zeke and Lexi must figure out how to get back home. But aside from their survival, they’re facing another challenge. Because when you’re stuck together for days on end, it gives you a lot of time to get to know someone—and to fall in love with them.


Review:

Romantic, tender, and sentimental!

Swept Away is a sweet, amusing tale featuring the loyal, dependable Lexi and the patient, contemplative Zeke as they discover over twelve days stranded at sea that there may be a lot more depth to their relationship than just instant attraction, miscommunication, forced proximity, and an unforgettable one-night stand.

The writing is passionate and light. The characters are endearing, awkward, and troubled. And the plot is a delightful mix of life, love, friendship, family, secrets, revelations, light drama, self-discovery, and romance.

Overall, Swept Away is another charming, addictive, compelling tale by O’Leary that was a real treat to read.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Berkley Romance for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Beth O'Leary

Beth O'Leary is an internationally bestselling author whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. Her debut, The Flatshare, sold over a million copies and is now a major TV series. Her subsequent novels The Switch and The Road Trip were instant Sunday Times bestsellers. Beth writes her books in the English countryside with a very badly behaved golden retriever for company. If she's not at her desk, you'll usually find her curled up somewhere with a book, a cup of tea, and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).

Photo by Ellen O'Leary.

#BookReview Code Word Romance by Carlie Walker @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #CodeWordRomance #CarlieWalker #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview Code Word Romance by Carlie Walker @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #CodeWordRomance #CarlieWalker #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: Code Word Romance

Author: Carlie Walker

Published by: Berkley on Mar. 18, 2025

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Two exes. One mission. A trip she’ll never forget…

Max is just your average girl. She works odd jobs, has a soul-crushing amount of debt and just happens to have an uncanny resemblance to Europe’s youngest female prime minister, Sofia Christensen . . .

So when the prime minister receives a credible death threat, the CIA approaches Max with a a life-changing amount of money if she pretends to be Sofia on the prime minister’s annual Italian trip.

It would be a dream if it weren’t for those pesky assassins and Flynn, Max’s ridiculously hot handler – the man who broke her heart years and years ago.

With her life now on the line, Max knows she has no choice but to lose herself in the role. But losing her heart to Flynn again? Now that’s a risk that she isn’t willing to take . . .


Review:

Lighthearted, captivating, and fun!

Code Word Romance is a sweet, amusing, action-packed tale that takes you into the life of Max, a debt-ridden young woman who finds herself inadvertently hired by the CIA to be a body double for a European prime minister with the unfortunate consequences of not only putting her life in danger but being in close contact and protected by the one man who left her heart shattered into pieces eight years ago.

The writing is warm and playful. The characters are feisty, impulsive, and amusing. And the plot is an adventure-filled tale of temptation, mystique, chemistry, attraction, witty banter, humorous mishaps, danger, and romance.

Overall, Code Word Romance is a charming, humorous, entertaining read by Walker that is the first novel I’ve read by this author, but certainly won’t be my last.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Berkley Romance for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Carlie Walker

Carlie Walker attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she first majored in Peace, War and Defense, a feeder program for intelligence services—before realizing that she is way too anxious to be a spy. Having gone on to study at Oxford University and at City, University of London, she worked briefly in publishing before becoming the bestselling author of eight books for children and young adults. She has a registered 250-pound dead lift, volunteers in a cat shelter, and used to spend her Saturdays practicing martial arts. She lives in Marietta, Georgia, with her husband, young son, and their American dingo.

#BookReview A Map to Paradise by Susan Meissner @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA #AMapToParadise #SusanMeissner #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview A Map to Paradise by Susan Meissner @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA #AMapToParadise #SusanMeissner #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: A Map to Paradise

Author: Susan Meissner

Published by: Berkley on Mar. 18, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 352

Format: Hardcover

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

1956, Malibu, Something is not right on Paradise Circle.

With her name on the Hollywood blacklist and her life on hold, starlet Melanie Cole has little choice in company. There is her next-door neighbor, Elwood, but the screenwriter’s agoraphobia allows for just short chats through open windows. He’s her sole confidante, though, as she and her housekeeper, Eva, an immigrant from war-torn Europe, rarely make conversation.

Then one early morning Melanie and Eva spot Elwood’s sister-in-law and caretaker, June, digging in his beloved rose garden. After that they don’t see Elwood at all anymore. Where could a man who never leaves the house possibly have gone?

As they try to find out if something has happened to him, unexpected secrets are revealed among all three women, leading to an alliance that seems the only way for any of them to hold on to what they can still call their own. But it’s a fragile pact and one little spark could send it all up in smoke…


Review:

Rich, atmospheric, and unpredictable!

A Map to Paradise is a mysterious, captivating tale set in Malibu during the late 1950s that takes us into the lives of three main characters. Melanie, an aspiring actress whose affair with a suspected communist has blacklisted her from the movie business; Eva, a European immigrant maid who is content to keep her head down and get her work done; and June, a middle-aged woman who since losing her husband has spent her days happily taking care of her agoraphobic brother-in-law.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are vulnerable, resourceful, and resilient. And the plot is a compelling tale of life, loss, deception, surprises, secrets, heartbreak, betrayal, friendship, survival, and a touch of romance.

Overall, A Map to Paradise is an intriguing, absorbing, enigmatic tale by Meissner that immerses you in another time and place and does a wonderful job of highlighting the lengths that people will often go to for survival, and reminds us just how important and powerful female friendships can truly be.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Berkley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Susan Meissner

Susan Meissner is a USA Today bestselling novelist with more than half a million books in print in fifteen languages. Her critically acclaimed works of historical fiction have been named to numerous lists including Publishers Weekly’s annual roster of 100 best books, Library Reads Top Picks, Real Simple annual tally of best books, Goodreads Readers’ Choice awards, Booklist’s Top Ten, and Book of the Month.

She attended Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego and is a former managing editor of a weekly newspaper. Susan’s expertise as a storyteller and her thoroughly researched topics make her a favorite author of book clubs everywhere. Her engaging and warm speaking style appeal to all manner of women’s groups, literary organizations, libraries and learning institutions, and service clubs.

When she is not working on a new novel, she enjoys teaching workshops on writing and dream-following, spending time with her family, music, reading great books, and travelling.

Photo courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #JaneAndDanAtTheEndOfTheWorld #ColleenOakley #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley @BerkleyRomance @PenguinRandomCA #JaneAndDanAtTheEndOfTheWorld #ColleenOakley #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: Jane and Dan at the End of the World

Author: Colleen Oakley

Published by: Berkley on Mar. 11, 2025

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: Hardcover

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 9/10

Date night goes off the rails in this hilariously insightful take on midlife and marriage when one unhappy couple find themselves at the heart of a crime in progress, from the USA Todaybestselling author of The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise.

Jane and Dan have been married for nineteen years, but Jane isn’t sure they’re going to make it to twenty. The mother of two feels unneeded by her teenagers, and her writing career has screeched to an unsuccessful halt. Her one published novel sold under five hundred copies. Worse? She’s pretty sure Dan is cheating on her. When the couple goes to the renowned upscale restaurant La Fin du Monde to celebrate their anniversary, Jane thinks it’s as good a place as any to tell Dan she wants a divorce.

But before they even get to the second course, an underground climate activist group bursts into the dining room. Jane is shocked—and not just because she’s in a hostage situation the likes of which she’s only seen in the movies. Nearly everything the disorganized and bumbling activists say and do is right out of the pages of her failed book. Even Dan (who Jane wasn’t sure even read her book) admits it’s eerily familiar.

Which means Dan and Jane are the only ones who know what’s going to happen next. And they’re the only ones who can stop it. This wasn’t what Jane was thinking of when she said “’til death do us part” all those years ago, but if they can survive this, maybe they can survive anything—even marriage.


Review:

Quirky, funny, and suspenseful!

Jane and Dan at the End of the World is a humorous, compelling read that transports you to California and into the lives of Jane Brooks, a struggling mystery writer, and her husband Dan, a somewhat successful podiatrist, whose lives get turned upside down when a terrorist group storms the swanky restaurant they won a reservation to, hold them hostage similarly to a way Jane previously wrote about in her one failed book, leaving their anniversary dinner in shambles and Jane’s request for a divorce on a temporary pause.

The prose is sharp and witty. The characters are relatable, stressed, and multilayered. And the plot unravels quickly into a riotous yet thrilling tale filled with marital drama, criminal intentions, secrets, tricky situations, spirited hijinks, danger, and hilarious mishaps.

Overall, Jane and Dan at the End of the World is a fresh, charming, laugh-out-loud funny mystery by Oakley that kept me amused and entertained from the very first page. It’s escapism at its very best, and I would, hands down, love to see it as a movie.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Berkley Romance for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Colleen Oakley

Colleen Oakley’s novels BEFORE I GO and CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH have been named best books by People Magazine, Us Weekly, Library Journal, and Real Simple, and both were long-listed for the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize. Formerly the editor-in-chief of Women’s Health & Fitness and senior editor of Marie Claire, her articles and essays have been featured in The New York Times, Ladies’ Home Journal, Women’s Health, Redbook, Parade, Marie Claire and Martha Stewart Weddings. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, four kids and the world's biggest lapdog, Bailey. Her third novel YOU WERE THERE TOO will be published by Berkley/Penguin in January 2020.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview Dead Man’s List by Karen Rose @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA #DeadMansList #SanDiegoCaseFilesSeries #KarenRose #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview Dead Man’s List by Karen Rose @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA #DeadMansList #SanDiegoCaseFilesSeries #KarenRose #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: Dead Man's List

Author: Karen Rose

Series: San Diego Case Files #3

Published by: Berkley on Mar. 4, 2025

Genres: Romantic Suspense

Pages: 480

Format: Hardcover

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Homicide Detective Kit McKittrick’s latest case exposes San Diego’s seedy underbelly in this nerve-shattering tale of romantic suspense from New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose.

On a long-anticipated second date with police psychologist Dr. Sam Reeves—right as things are getting steamy—Kit stumbles across the mutilated body of a local San Diego politician. The politician is loved by many of his constituents but is hated and reviled by many more. That the suspect list is long is no surprise to anyone, but exactly who ends up on it stuns Kit and her team.

As the SDPD reveal the victim’s sinister dealings, Kit and Sam are forced to navigate the lawless world of the city’s most rich and powerful citizens to find answers. But time is rapidly running out, with their sources of information dropping like flies as the killer methodically eliminates loose ends—and anyone else who stands in the way.


Review:

Sinister, intricate, and intense!

In this compelling third instalment in the San Diego Case Files, Dead Man’s List, Rose has written a tortuous whodunit that sees homicide detective Kit McKittrick and her partner Connor Robinson working together with psychologist Dr. Sam Reeves on a complicated case involving a serial killer with nothing to lose, a prolific blackmailer with something to hide, and a list of victims who will pay whatever they have to in order to keep their secrets buried for good.

The writing is menacing and tight. The characters are consumed, persistent, and dependable. And the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat as it submerges you, page after page, into a world of blackmail, murder, wealth, arrogance, violence, terror, deception, corruption, suspicious personalities, palpable chemistry, and a sliver of romance.

Overall, Dead Man’s List is an addictive, engrossing, thrilling addition to what has quickly become a must-read series for me with its flawed characters, great pace, and consistent sense of urgency.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Berkley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Karen Rose

Karen Rose is the award-winning, #1 international bestselling author of over twenty-five novels, including the bestselling Baltimore and Cincinnati series. She has been translated into twenty-three languages and her books have placed on the New York Times, the Sunday Times (UK), and Germany’s der Spiegel bestseller lists.

Photo by Michael Greene Photography

#BookReview I Died for Beauty by Amanda Flower @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA #IDiedForBeauty #AnEmilyDickinsonMystery #AmandaFlower #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads

#BookReview I Died for Beauty by Amanda Flower @BerkleyPub @PenguinRandomCA #IDiedForBeauty #AnEmilyDickinsonMystery #AmandaFlower #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #PenguinReads Title: I Died for Beauty

Author: Amanda Flower

Series: An Emily Dickinson Mystery #3

Published by: Berkley on Feb. 25, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Berkley Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

When a blaze takes both a neighbor’s home and his life, Emily Dickinson and her maid Willa have a burning desire to crack the case in this new historical mystery from Agatha Award–winning author Amanda Flower.

Amherst, 1857. The Dickinson family braves one of the worst winters in New England’s history. Trains are snowbound and boats are frozen in the harbor. Emily Dickinson and her maid, Willa Noble, have never witnessed anything like it. As Amherst families attempt to keep their homes warm, fears of fire abound.

These worries prove not to be unfounded as a blaze breaks out just down the street from the Dickinson in Kelley Square, the Irish community in Amherst, and a young couple is killed, leaving behind their young child. Their deaths appear to be a tragic accident, but Emily finds herself harboring suspicions there may be more to the fire than meets the eye. Emily and Willa must withstand the frigid temperatures and discover a killer lurking among the deadly frost.


Review:

Mysterious, atmospheric, and entertaining

In this latest novel by Flower, I Died for Beauty, we head back to 1857, where poet Emily Dickinson and her maid/sidekick Willa Noble now find themselves tangled up in a tragic investigation into a house fire that may not have been as accidental as it first appeared and which ultimately left two people dead and one little girl orphaned.

The writing style is fluid and light. The characters, including the intelligent, independent heroine, are well-developed, complex, and intriguing. And the plot is a well-paced, engaging whodunit full of twists, turns, amateur sleuthing, red herrings, suspects, customs, tradition, deduction, and danger.

Overall, I Died for Beauty is a cosy, enjoyable, satisfying tale by Flower that I thoroughly enjoyed and which is undoubtedly another wonderful addition to the Emily Dickinson Mysteries.

 

This novel is available now.

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Thank you to Berkley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Amanda Flower

Amanda Flower is the USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning mystery author of over forty novels, including the nationally bestselling Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series, Magical Bookshop Mysteries, and, written under the name Isabella Alan, the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries. Flower is a former librarian, and she and her husband, a recording engineer, own a habitat farm and recording studio in Northeast Ohio.

Photo by David M. Seymour