Well one of my Aims at the start of this year, as in most years, was to increase my reading.  I don’t know about you but I do go through phases of reading non-stop and then only reading a bit a day and of course there is the inevitable reading slump which seems to affect everyone at some point.  I have also got myself out of my reading slump by listening to books through the BookBeat App when I am working.  This has definitely helped and some of the books have been really successful and others not so much but that happens with hard copy books too.  

Anyway onto the books I have read and listened too in November 2025 so far;

Thisa is a hard copy book which I started last month and have about twenty pages left.  It is about the three Dahlias and them investigating a murder at the Castle in Scotland where they have been invited to  the wedding of their dear friend and the Laird of the Castle.  The castle gets cut off by a bad snow storm and also loses power and then the murder happens.  Not only is a young woman dead but she is wearing the wedding dress and a diamond necklace which had gone missing!  Why and who did it?  It is a gentle read with no horros in it and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  Just waiting to see who the murderer is!!!!

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This is one of the hard copy books I am not sure of!  I sort of liked it but then the more I got into the book the more I did not like the main character at all!

Dinah Marshall meets up with her old Oxford University friends for a weekend away but she was not invited the first time round, she was invited because one of the other friends could not make it.  So Dinah knows she is second best.  It does not help that she did not finish University with her friends but that was another story.  They are staying in a fabulous home in one of the Home County villages whilst the owners are holidaying abroad.  To Dinah this home represents everything her life is not, her small flat would fit into the sitting room and her job at the local cafe does not provide her with much money.  She becomes obsessed with the owners of the home and starts to stalk them, putting herself on the fringes of their group and then miracle of miracles she gets drawn into their group, but it will end in murder.

Dinah is not a likeable person and the more you get to know her the more you don’t like her but then she has to put up with a very pushy younger sister who treats her like her third child and a mother wo does not care about her at all, she is seen as just a nuisance and her sister has spies reporting on Dinah’s behaviour to her!  Therefore you begin to feel sorry for her but then she does something and you are right back to the you could quite cheerully smack her!!!  This is where I got to with this book and at the end it is a bit of a mess.  Would I read another one  of Ruth Irons books?  Probably not but I did give it four stars.

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I gave this Four Stars as well because again I was not sure about the story and again the ending was not quite right!

Two couples, one bad decision a death and a cover up!  Kirsten and Nick are driving home after a weekend away in Devon when they are involved in an accident and a man is killed.  Instead of calling the autorities they decide that they will cover it up including taking the dog that the man was walking!  

Amy & Greg have been married for ten years and are expecting their first baby together.  When Greg fails to come hom from a short dog walk Amy begins to worry and calls the Police, their friends and his parents.  The Police first think that Greg has left because of his life changing, baby on the way, his business is slow, been married for ten years.  However Any knows that Greg would not leave her and something is wrong but they cannot find him or their dog Rusty.  Amy decides to investigate his disappearance herself and vows to get justice and if she cannot get justice then it will be revenge!

The story wa good although in parts slightly annoying.  There is a twist in the end but then the final bit is a bit far fetched so hmm.  Definitely one I would not read again.

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*****

This I listened to whilst doing a job on Thursday and finished it on Thursday as well!  I loved it!  If I could give it more stars I would!

DI Barton is about to retire but he is not sure if he actually wants to.  His loving wife Holly has put up with so much over the years and now their children, one at University and one about to go, are older he wants to give Holly time to do what she wants to do for a change.  However there is one last case he needs to deal with before he leaves and it is an unusal case.  Firstly he has to help his young neighbour who has been abandoned by her husband with their almost one year old son.  He finds her stood in her living room with no heat or lights on and a knife in her hand.  She has not done anything but she is stood looking into the distance, her son is safe upstairs in his cot.  He taks her and the little boy home and Holly moves into high gear getting her warm and feeding the baby.  He knows they are safe.

The same thing cannot be said for a member of the local Book Club.  He and his wife went home after the meeting at the beginning of December and whilst he was in his study have a nightcap whisky he falls to sleep never to wake up.  It is assumed he died of a heart attack until the Pathologist finds no heart disease.  DI Barton and his team take on this last case to find the murderer before he strikes again, although he may already have done so.

This story is well written, DI Barton and the characters are very likeable and he goes about his investigation without any fanfare but does so in a way where he gets answers without too much stress.  It is funny in places and there is no angst in it.  All in all a great read with a good ending.  There are several of the DI Barton books so I am now able to go back and read the others which is always a bonus finding a new set of books!

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As we are going into the third week of November, the third “Ber” Month, I have got out my “Christmas” books which I love to read at this time of year, all those cosy Christmas books with the odd Christmas murder thrown in!!!!  I will let you have a list next month.  

I have also started to listen to this on my Book App.  I have seen a lot of recommendations for Riley Sager books and as we know what one person likes is not always liked by someone else and this may be the case with his books!  I am 20% of the way through this and will be listening to it whilst I am cleaning but the Narrator, Stephanie Cannon, her voice is a little hard to listen to!  She comes across as a little girl playing dress up!!!  I will contine to see how it goes but not sure yet!

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That is my round up for November.  December is looking good as I got quite a few Christmas books on my TBR shelf from last year.  As the nights are drawing in fast, it is now dark by 4.15pm, it is the perfect time of year for reading by the fire.  Hopefully by the end of today I will be able to finish my book and then start another.  I hope you lovely lot are able to find time to read over the weekend. 

Hugs & Love Susie & Coco xx