Work in Progress by Kat MacKenzie

I finished Work in Progress by Kat Mackenzie and thoroughly enjoyed this warm, witty debut rom-com. It took me a little while to settle into the Bridget Jones-style references and list-making quirks, but once they clicked, they made perfect sense and added a lot of charm to the story.

The premise is pure escapism: after her carefully planned life unravels, American Alice Cooper impulsively books a three-week literary bus tour across the UK. What she finds is a lively group of older women, a converted bus, and one infuriatingly handsome Scottish driver named Robbie. From there, the novel delivers exactly what a good rom-com should—cheeky banter, humorous situations that had me literally laughing out loud, and a slow-building connection that feels earned.

I loved every single character. Doris, Flossie, and Helena were absolute delights—each with their own personality, sharp observations, and the kind of lived-in wisdom that makes the group dynamic so enjoyable. Alice and Robbie, though, were the real standouts for me. Their banter is pure gold, full of snark and chemistry, and the scrapes they get into along the way kept the pages turning.

What really elevated the book for me were the descriptions. The literary and historical sites the group visits across Scotland, Wales, and England, along with the various foods they sample, never felt overdone. Instead, they pulled me right onto the tour with them—I could almost taste the scones and feel the landscapes.

Mackenzie balances humor, heart, found-family warmth, and a tasteful enemies-to-lovers spark without ever tipping into excess. It’s light, funny, and genuinely comforting, the kind of rom-com that leaves you smiling.

If you’re looking for a bookish, travel-tinged romance with memorable characters and plenty of laughs, this is one well worth reading. Five stars from me.

PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION by Emily Henry

I’m not usually a romance-novel reader, but People We Meet on Vacation won me over by being more comedy than pure romance.

Poppy Wright, the outgoing travel writer for R&R Magazine lives in New York and has a love-hate relationship with her Midwestern hometown and family, and Alex Nilsen, the quietly handsome, almost pathologically introverted high-school teacher who is perfectly at home there, have been best friends for about twelve years. Their annual summer trips—part research for her articles, part just an excuse to spend time together—are the heart of the book and the source of most of its biggest laughs. They date other people, Poppy sometimes more impulsively than Alex, yet the real tension is the slow recognition that their friendship already contains something deeper.

Emily Henry’s strength here is the banter and the specific, lived-in quality of the friendship. The book is funny, warm, and low-pressure in the best way—a genuine change of pace that I enjoyed a lot.

Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐

MURDER on the ÎLE SORDOU by M.L. Longworth

Murder on the Île Sordou by M. L. Longworth was published in 2014 by Penguin Books and is the 4th book of the Verlaque & Bonnet Provençal Mysteries series.

A recently renovated luxury hotel on the secluded island of Sordou off the coast of Marseille is the setting for travelers seeking a week's long rest, relaxation, and solitude. Two hotel guests are the story's main protagonists, Antoine Verlaque, a wealthy magistrate from the Aix-en-Provence, and his love interest, Marine Bonnet, a law professor. Both want to keep their professions to themselves while on this much-needed vacation. But fortunes being what they are, their secret is soon revealed. 

As the guests settle in for their week of R&R, a shot rings out during the night, which no one seems to pay much attention to until the dead body of one of the hotel guests, the well-known actor Alain Denis, is found the following day. A police investigation ensues, which includes a collaboration between Judge Verlaque, Professor Bonnet, and their police inspector friend Bruno Paulik, along with a stormy sea that prevents anyone from leaving the island; it becomes evident that the murderer is among them. 

This story is not filled with many twists and turns, although there are one or two. Yes, there is a murder, but it's not graphic or bloody, making me think of this story as more of a cozy mystery, which I enjoy. 

The many characters are vividly described, though one or two can easily be pegged as stereotypical. Although fictional, the locale's atmosphere, cultural references, and culinary delights are beautifully depicted in this story, which reminds me more of a travelogue at times than a mystery, and that's okay.  

The main characters are opposites attracted to each other. Antoine Verlaque comes from money and is stuffy but likable. Marine Bonnet is more grounded and makes a good foil for him. Their back-and-forth banter, along with that of Marine's friend Sylvie, is entertaining. Unfortunately, I have not yet read any other Verlaque & Bonnet Provençal Mysteries, of which there are 9, but I will. Regardless, Murder on the Île Sordou is a good read, especially if you are a Francophile or enjoy the Mediterranean lifestyle.  

My Personal Rating is ⭐⭐⭐¾

The BULLET THAT MISSED by Richard Osman

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman, published in 2022 by Pamela Dorman Books, is another excellent installment in the Thursday Murder Club Mystery series that features a loveable geriatric group of friends living in a retirement community outside of London. Much like a book club, they hold weekly meetings and use some of their pre-retirement skills, Elizabeth Best, a former spy; Ron Ritchie, a longtime union organizer; Ibrahim Arif, an ex-psychiatrist; and Joyce Meadowcroft, a retired nurse, to solve cold murder cases. The group is called The Thursday Murder Club, and this review is about the 3rd book in the series.  

Elizabeth has a lot on her plate, which includes her husband's dementia which seems to be worsening by the day. A new foe sends her threatening notes, makes threatening phone calls, and ultimately pays her a visit with a kill-or-be-killed demand. In addition, the cold case the group has committed to resolving is heating up. It is a decade old and relates to the murder of Bethany Waites, an investigative reporter about to crack a case of tax fraud wide open. But unfortunately, before Bethany can break the case, her car careens off a cliff, and her body is never found. 

Never content to limit their research to online activities, the club members manage to wheedle their way into situations that give them access to Bethany's friends and colleagues, the chief constable that worked the case, a drug dealer the group previously put in jail, and wants to kill Ron as soon as she gets out, along with an assist by many other unsavory characters. But, of course, all this leads to a full schedule for this group of retirement village sleuths. 

From the crafty Elizabeth, kind-hearted Joyce, brilliant Ibrahim, and the fussy but loyal Ron, this quartet of friends are the ones you want around when things go sideways. The Bullet That Missed is as suspenseful as it is entertaining. In other words, another great story from an author that knows how to write them. 

  

My Personal Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

The LION's GAME by Nelson DeMille...

The Lion's Game by Nelson DeMille was published in 2002 by Grand Central Publishing and is the 2nd book in the John Corey series. 

John Corey is a veteran New York City police detective that does not follow protocol if he can avoid it. Wounded on the job the previous year, Corey is assigned to work with the Anti-Terrorist Task Force during his recovery. Unlike John, the team, comprised of FBI and CIA agents, follows protocol consistently. 

Asad Khalil, whose name means Lion in Arabic, has been in training for the past decade to exact revenge against America for the 1986 bombing of his country. He is now ready to strike. 

While Khalil is stalking his targets, finding and stopping him falls mainly on the shoulders of the irreverent John Corey. Corey's street smarts come in handy after the Lion successfully fulfills part of his personal war against the U.S. However, the ATTF team must first identify and find Khalil's next victim and thwart any further attempts at completing his self-imposed mission of murder.

John Corey's cheeky attitude toward authority, along with his sometimes indelicate turn of phrase, adds a touch of humor that offsets the severe and tragic events of the novel and brings this character to life. But, of course, like any good story, there must be a love interest, and this is a good story! Kate Mayfield, an FBI agent on the task force, fills that role perfectly. She's intelligent, beautiful, good at her job, and keeps John on his toes, which helps him keep his job. 

The Lion's Game is an action thriller at its best. DeMille fans will love this novel. And if you've never read one of his thrillers, you will find The Lion's Game an excellent initiation into this author's work.

My Personal Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

The QUICHE of DEATH by M.C. Beaton...

The Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton was published in 2006 by St. Martin's Paperbacks. It is a cozy mystery and the first in the Agatha Raisin series of books. The story follows Agatha Raisin, a successful London public relation firm's owner, who decides to chuck it all in and retire from the business for a simpler life in the small village of Carsley in Cotswold. However, Agatha needs help fitting into her new community. Of course, it doesn't help that she steals her neighbor's housekeeper away within the first week of residence. 

When Agatha hears there is to be a baking competition in Carsley, her competitive nature kicks in. She decides to wine and dine the lecherous contest judge and his wife to get the inside scoop on the competitors and enter the competition herself. One problem...Agatha can't cook, so she buys a spinach quiche from a London quiche shop and submits it to the contest as her creation. Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse as Agatha loses the contest, and as it turns out, someone adds an extra ingredient to her quiche, killing the judge. The only way to get out of this pickle is for Agatha to investigate independently of the local police. Along the way, Agatha enlists the aid of her former assistant Roy from her days at the PR firm, her newly acquired housekeeper Gemma, and P.I. Bill Wong, who has a not-so-secret crush on her. 

If you like detective fiction, particularly of the British variety, that is not too heavy on the gore, along with some light comedy and romance, you might enjoy this series as much as I do.  

My Personal Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

VERA WONG'S UNSOLICITED ADVICE for MURDERERS by Jesse Q Sutanto

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto is a cozy mystery. The story takes place in San Francisco’s Chinatown. It centers around Vera Wong, the owner of a local teashop called ‘Vera Wang’s World-Famous Teahouse’ (named after the famous fashion designer with the hopes of drumming up more business). Vera is a lonely woman in her sixties who misses her late husband and feels neglected by her successful lawyer son. Vera lives upstairs from the teahouse that she owns and operates, which has seen better days, and she seems to be having a one-sided rivalry with the owner of the bakery shop next door.

One morning as Vera prepares to start her day, she discovers a dead man lying on the floor of her run-down shop. The police are called to the scene but are less than enthusiastic to include Vera in their investigation, no matter how many delicious delicacies and specially blended teas she tries to serve them. Not one to give up, Vera turns amateur detective. Finally, she decides to investigate independently when her teahouse suddenly attracts the attention of several individuals who seem interested in the dead man. The story continues as secrets are uncovered, suspects come and go, friendships are formed, and finally, the murderer is discovered. 

If you are looking for a mystery that does not include all the explicit gory details of the crime, has endearing characters, and will make you laugh out loud along the way, you should read this book.

My Personal Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐