FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE

4 stars out of 5

Golly, I love this series!

If you “get” that, it means you’re well acquainted with the delightful antics of Lady Georgiana Rannoch – just as I have been for quite some time now (this is the 19^th in the “Royal Spyness” series). If you don’t, I suggest you waste no time learning about it for yourself, especially if you like historical fiction with a mystery twist and a cozy flavor (just a titch; Georgie is not your typical cozy mystery heroine, but like most cozies, the blood and gore of other mysteries is noticeably absent).

At this point, Georgie is married to an heir to Irish royalty – Darcy O’Mara, and they have a not-yet-year-old son James and live in a good-sized mansion courtesy of an elderly relative who’s happy to share (and lives elsewhere, even though he’s welcome to live with them). Darcy is some kind of agent with Scotland Yard, often disappearing for days at a time on an assignment he can’t share with his wife. Georgie’s mother, a rather flighty character, lives the good life in Germany. That shouldn’t be much of an issue, except it’s the late 1930s, when Hitler was just getting revved up. Despite warnings from Georgie and her husband, she refuses to leave; Hitler, she says, is a friend who admires her (Georgie and Darcy, though, have very different opinion of the guy).

Such is the setting at the start of this installment; Georgie, who is a bit of a detective (both unwittingly and willingly), is for the most part a stay-at-home mom. Bucking most of the “rules” for aristocracy at the time, she’s loves interacting with her son as often as possible. While they’re far from wealthy, both she and Darcy will one day inherit tidy sums; for now, they’ve got servants courtesy of the homeowner so Georgie doesn’t need to do dishes, laundry or cook. When she goes to visit a couple of old friends (who will be familiar to regular readers).  In part, Georgie was happy to escape the uber-rigid nanny her very annoying sister-in-law hired without her knowledge to underscore Georgie’s lack of all things regal – and one of those friends asks for help with the suspicious death of her friend’s son. Despite Georgie’s begging when she gets back home, given the official declaration that the death was an accident, Darcy hesitates to get involved.

Not long thereafter, other suspicious deaths come to light; Georgie once again escapes her awful nanny (as well as Fig, the uppity sister-in-law who invited herself to occupy a room at Georgie’s home and takes great pleasure in ordering the servants around) to do more sleuthing in hopes of finding some kind of connection among all the deaths. That, she reasons, will force Darcy to take notice.

Over the course of the book, readers will follow Georgie as she tries to solve what she’s sure are murders, find a nanny who’s willing to share James with his mother and father and give Fig the boot – the latter hopefully for good. Sprinkled in between are details that make this series so interesting, such as the abdication of King Edward VII when he opted to marry divorced commoner Wallis Simpson. As a relative of Edward’s who has met “Mrs. Simpson” several times, Georgie has no shortage of opinions on that subject, by golly.

The ending, of course, ties up almost all the loose ends, leaving a bit of a teaser for the next installment. If I have a concern, it’s that Darcy, usually extremely supportive of his wife’s interests and opinions when they differ from what’s expected of “upper class” society folks, was a bit more critical than usual. And I’m still wondering how Georgie, a nursing mother, was able to leave her child for days at a time without being super-uncomfortable (to say the least).  All told, though, it’s rousing good fun once again, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

From Cradle to Grave by Rhys Bowen (Berkley, November 2025); 328 pp.

EVIL BONES

3.5 stars out of 5

As I write this, I’m not sure how I feel except, well, deflated. This series featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan has long been one of my favorites (and for the record, I don’t think I ever missed an episode of the related “Bones” TV series). So naturally, I was delighted to see Tempe front and center in this, the 24^th installment. Also back are all the blood, gore, bones, nasty smells and even nastier villains I’ve come to know and love.

Glaringly missing for the most part is Tempe’s main squeeze, French-Canadian detective Andrew Ryan, but I can live with that (though if they ever break up, he’s welcome to come visit me). I can live with the couple of teenage brats who are staying with Tempe (her daughter is tolerable, but the other one I’d boot out my door before the sun went down). Though mostly weirdos, I enjoyed the other characters who are woven into the texture of the plot and give me plenty of whodunit possibilities to wrap my speculations around.

And it stayed all right with Tempe’s world right up to the ending. The best way I can describe that experience is this: I’m about to gleefully bite into a warm, sugared doughnut, my taste buds anticipating which of several flavors of ooey-gooey jelly will be hidden inside. I take that bite, and surprise: It’s sauerkraut. Where in blazes did that come from, and how in the world does fermented cabbage relate to a doughnut?

All that noted, though, the book as a whole is – as was expected – pretty much a treat to read. It begins as some small, horribly mutilated animals are discovered in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area where Tempe lives and works. She’s upset by what she sees, as is irascible detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell, who is semi-retired but with whom she’s worked before. Together, they vow to find the culprit and bring him (or her) to justice. As the corpses pile up, though, another, more terrifying thought occurs to them both: the killer appears to be escalating. Does that mean a human could be next?

As readers will expect, the worst happens; a female body really does turn up, mutilated in much the same fashion as the animals. That’s followed by the similarly treated corpse of a male, and then another. Clues begin to pile up as to where the victims are coming from, giving Tempe and Skinny some trails to follow that lead them to a handful of prime suspects. As their investigation progresses and gets closer to a resolution, their nosing around puts the lives of a couple of notable characters in danger and me close to the edge of my seat till I ran smack-dab into that thoroughly disappointing end.

Despite that, though, I’m already up for the next installment (though hopefully with more appearances by Tempe’s hunky significant other). Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to get eyes on this one by way of a pre-release copy.

Evil Bones by Kathy Reichs (Scribner, November 2025); 288 pp.

RETURN OF THE SPIDER

 5 stars out of 5

Wow – this is the 34^th book featuring detective and psychologist Alex Cross? Believe it or not, I’ve read almost all of the others. One of the most popular repeat characters in this series featured another noteworthy character – serial killer Gary Soneji – a nasty dude who (ahem) Crossed paths with Alex in a few books before finally getting his due.

Well, Soneji is long dead, but the author has found a creative way to bring him back to life in this installment; apparently, the killer’s debut in Along Came a Spider wasn’t the first time the two (ahem again) Crossed hairs previously. Now a homicide detective with the Washington, D.C., Metro Police, Alex and his department friend John Sampson are called by Alex’s old partner Ned Mahoney to a house that once belonged to Soneji (a.k.a. Gary Murphy). Among other things, they find a hidden notebook that clearly belonged to Soneji; as Alex begins to read it, he’s taken back to those long-ago cases.

And of course, he takes readers with him. For the most part, current wife Bree and his delightful Nana Mama are left behind except for an occasional chapter that returns to the present. Back in Soneji’s heyday, Alex was a rookie cop married to first love Maria, already the mother of a son and not far from delivering their second one. Readers follow the progression and conclusion of the detectives’ case back then as they learn how the facts impact a current one (with a few that take both the detectives and readers by surprise.

Did I love the book? You bet. Do I recommend it to all mystery/thriller readers? In that it stands alone well, sure; but I do think that while those who are not regular followers of the Cross series will enjoy the journey, those who are well-seasoned travelers are likely to get a few more miles to the gallon. In any event, I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for taking me on a great ride by way of a pre-release copy. Well done!

Return of the Spider by James Patterson (Little, Brown and Co., November 2025); 410 pp.

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE

4 stars out of 5

As I reflect on my reading of this book, I’m left with a bit of a conundrum: The plot seemed implausible given the age and education level of the characters, who themselves were for the most part not likable. And while the ending brought resolution, it also read like the draft of a Sunday morning sermon. On the other hand, had I not needed to eat or sleep, I would willingly kept at it from page one to the conclusion – it held my interest pretty much throughout (well, except for that preachy ending). Ah, what’s a reviewer to do?

Since my overall impression was favorable – and the book is so short it almost doesn’t qualify as a book  so it doesn’t take long to finish - I’ll err on the positive end of the scale. The basic story follows Harvard roommates and fast friends Sara (the narrator), Barbara (Bee), Dina, Allie, Wesley and Claudine. Well, Claudine not so much; apparently, she died in the midst of a sort of “last one standing” game they played in college – and from that time forward, many folks, including Claudine’s parents, believed Sara was guilty of murder.

That was two decades ago, and each year, the remaining friends have continued their annual “killing” game, complete with fake (but not street legal) guns annually in New York City called the “Circus.” Why women of their age and stature would even think about doing anything so childish as that is beyond me, but hey, it’s not my story to write. This year, partly because Sara’s photography career has stalled and her husband Coulter’s family restaurant is inching toward failure, she wants to call it quits with the game. The others don’t agree (of course – had they done so, well, there’d be no book to read), but they do decide this will be the last year. And big surprise – unlike other years, to the victor will go substantial spoils none of them realized were possible till now.

Most of the story from that point on outlines what each of the women are like now, what they were like back in college and what’s happening at the Circus  – meaning who has the most to lose by not winning. Early on, for instance, Dina tells Sara that the investigation into Claudine’s death at the college is being reopened – not exactly what any of them want to happen – especially Sara, the once-accused murderer, and Bee, a hot-shot district attorney whose run for a four-year stint (at least) in Gracie Mansion would come to a screeching halt if word got out about the group’s secret activity. There are a few twists along the way, though I wouldn’t call any of them a big surprise. All told, I’m sure many suspense lovers will enjoy the book, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to be one of them by way of a pre-release copy.

With Friends Like These by Alissa Lee (Atria/Emily Bestler Books, November 2025); 240 pp.

QUEEN ESTHER

3 stars out of 5

I’m starting this review a way I never do and hope I never feel compelled to do again: with something personal. After losing someone with whom I shared a home for the past 63-or-so years, I’m just beginning to get my new life back together and, not surprisingly, my enthusiasm for life in general – and reading in particular – isn’t quite back to where it used to be. That’s a long way to say that when I just couldn’t seem to “get into” this novel despite its top-of-the-crop author, I thought it was just me. For days, I struggled with it, sometimes inventing something I needed to do in an effort to avoid booting up my Kindle. Keep plugging away, I told myself; you’re getting better every day, and so will the book.

I told myself that right up to the 60% mark, when I finally realized that despite some excellent writing – almost exquisite in many places – the story simply wasn’t going anywhere I cared about going (or more to the point, the mostly unlikable characters didn’t seem to know where they were going, and I really didn’t care to go with them no matter where they ended up).

The book is, according to the official description, a extension of sorts of the author’s 1985 best-seller, The Cider House Rules, which features Dr. Wilbur Larch, the director of an orphanage in Maine. While I’m pretty sure I read it, at this point I don’t recall much of anything about it (it doesn’t help that I’m now an octogenarian, so my memory isn’t at its peak) – so all that background is totally lost on me. One of the orphans the often not-so-good doctor takes in, apparently, is Esther Nacht, a Jewish girl born in Vienna in 1905.

Here, Esther has been adopted at age 14 by a wealthy non-Jewish couple, James and Constance Winslow, who are horrified by anti-semitism. They’re also one of the quirkiest couples I’ve had the displeasure of meeting. Back in the day, I, too, would have gone to some length to keep my husband from being drafted (fortunately, his status as a teacher and father made him exempt); but never in a million years would I have considered the tactics this wacko family conjured up).

The story follows Esther’s determination to get to Vienna and immerse herself in her Jewish heritage; at the end of the book, she’s made it to Jerusalem and is 76 years old (or so I read elsewhere; I called it quits while she was still in Vienna and she and her quirky friends were dealing with the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy).

No doubt those who loved this book’s predecessor will love catching up with Esther in this one, but it really wasn’t my thing. Still, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to give it a go – and I’m sorry it just didn’t work for me.

Queen Esther by John Irving (Simon & Schuster, November 2025); 432 pp.