Never-ending TBR, Part Five

I’m not sure why, but this was a slow reading month for me. I guess I had too many other things on my plate. Or maybe I spent more time on other hobbies. Anyway, here are the books I’ve read since my last review post: two cozy mysteries and a romance novella.

Sins and Needles by Monica Ferris
A Needlecraft Mystery, Book 10
A Texan named Lucille arrives in town (Excelsior, Minnesota) claiming that she’s looking for her biological parents. Betsy and the regulars at her Crewel World needlecraft shop agree that this woman looks exactly like Jan. one of her regular customers. Lucille and Jan meet and become friends.Things get dicey when Jan’s great eccentric great-aunt is murdered – with a knitting needle. 

Like all the Needlecraft Mysteries, I enjoyed reading about Betsy’s though process as she solves the mystery, but the middle part of the book dragged quite a bit. It wasn’t quite bad enough to make me stop reading altogether, but a lot could easily have been left out.

Knitting Bones by Monica Ferris
A Needlecraft Mystery, Book 11
This installment had an interesting twist. Just before a major event for the Embroiderers Guild, Betsy and Jill go horseback riding and Betsy has a terrible fall, resulting in a broken leg. Godwin, her assistant at Crewel World, attends the event during which the head of a charity accepts a large check and then disappears. Since Betsy is incapacitated, Godwin does a lot of the legwork for her. Although he reports back to Betsy, he actually makes some good deductions on his own. It was nice to see Godwin grow as a character and make some of the discoveries that eventually help solve the mystery. My local library has the next several installments, but I’m going to try to catch up on some of the mysteries and romances languishing on my Kindle app!

Burning Desire by Diana Stout
Laurel Ridge Novellas Book 2
It’s been a few years since I read Shattered Dreams — Book 1 in this series – so it was nice to return to the small town setting and the fascinating characters there. Diana has announced plans to release at least one more in the series within the next few months. In this segment, hometown girl Eddie Taylor struggles to keep the wall she’s built around herself since her parents’ tragic death. She’s a realtor, but business is slow, and she’s resorted to living in the old farmhouse she inherited from her grandmother. Recent newcomer Rhett is a firefighter who’s also busy in home restoration. He hopes to tear down the metaphorical walls Eddie’s built, but he’s got relationship fears of his own. Their story is told in a way that kept me reading until I was done. Looking forward to reading the next episode!