BLOG TOUR - A Stage Set for Murder

A Stage Set for Murder

by Alice Castle

SeriesSarah Vane Mysteries Book 7

PublisherBookouture

GenreCozy Mystery

FormatKindle ARC

Pages279

Pub. DateNovember 2, 2026

Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐

DESCRIPTION

A hush descends across the theatre. All eyes are on the leading actor, standing in the spotlight as he delivers his final lines… But will this killer performance be his last? 

Sarah Vane is happily working on the costumes for the Merstairs production of A Midsummer Night’s Dreamat the local theatre. But when star of the show and well-known local electrician Gavin Scott is crushed by a lighting rig during dress rehearsals, the play turns deadly.

Everyone thinks the disaster was a tragic accident, but when Sarah finds a knife and traces of pink lipstick at the scene, she suspects foul play.

The discovery of a confidential letter, hidden inside a well-thumbed copy of the play, puts Gavin’s ex-wife firmly in the frame, but maybe the spurned stage manager had a score to settle? And just who is plaguing the players with a series of mischievous pranks?

With opening night fast approaching, the show must go on. But before anyone can say ‘break a leg’, a second member of the company breaks their neck. Sarah is taking every cue to keep the rest of the cast and crew safe. Can she uncover the killer before the final curtain falls?

A totally charming and utterly gripping English murder mystery, perfect for fans of Faith Martin, J.R. Ellis and Agatha Christie.

BUY LINK

• Amazon: https://geni.us/B0H8T32CV2social

MY THOUGHTS

Sarah Vane, is only one of two members of the Merstairs Mummers’ costume department. She is quite content to remain behind the scenes as the group prepare for its upcoming performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Chaos is an inevitable part of such productions, but the unexpected death of a cast member is a shock to everyone involved. With Sarah’s keen sense of observation, she is determined to uncover the truth behind this tragic event. 

With more than a chaotic and extremely stressful dress rehearsal, everyone hopes that opening night will go more smoothly. There is definitely skepticism about things especially when someone on the cast is carrying out frustrating pranks. Sarah decides that she must investigate what has happened, but even before she can start getting answers, another cast member dies. While it looks like an accident, Sarah and the police believe otherwise.. Finding out who is responsible is imperative.

This is the seventh book in the Sarah Vane Mysteries series and it is just as delightful as the previous installments. With Sarah’s relationship with Charles going strong she clearly has his support - even if his ex-wife is being annoying. The same is true of her friendship with Daphne, even if she is not always helpful. The mysteries in this series are always engaging, and I look forward to seeing what lies ahead for Sarah.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Before turning to crime, Alice Castle was a UK newspaper journalist for The Daily Express, The Times and The Daily Telegraph. Alice is an avid reader of crime fiction, her favourite stories are cozy crimes with a strong sense of place. When she couldn’t find a series about her beloved south London, she decided to write her own – and single mum amateur sleuth Beth Haldane was born. Alice also writes twisty psychological thrillers for HQ Digital under the name A.M. Castle.  The Perfect Widow was a top selling audiobook in 2019 and  The Invitation hit the top 50 on Amazon UK in 2021. Alice lives with her two children and two cats and, if she isn’t writing or reading a whodunit, she’ll be watching one on telly.

Author Social Media Links
Website:https://alicecastleauthor.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/alice.castle.355
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AliceMCastle

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alice_castle__/

Bookouture Email Sign Up: https://www.bookouture.com/alice-castle

Robin Loves Reading

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW - Riley

Riley

by Lori Foster

SeriesPassionate Protectors

PublisherHarlequin Audio

GenreRomance

FormatAudio ALC

NarratorKit Swann

Length6 hrs 38 mins

Pages224

Pub. DateOctober 27, 2026

Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐½

DESCRIPTION

 Revisit this protector-hero romance from New York Times bestselling author Lori Foster.

Town reporter Regina Foxworth has no clue why an unknown assailant is out to get her, but with the police dismissing her concerns, she decides to take her protection into her own hands. Adopting a four-pound “guard” Chihuahua is the first step, and when she meets former SWAT member and gym owner Riley Moore, taking his self-defense class becomes an act of survival. But Regina can’t help falling for the sexy instructor, especially when his protective instincts kick in to save her life.

• Protector Hero
• Law-Enforcement Hero
• Romantic Suspense
• Heroine in Danger
• Small-Town Romance

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS

Lori Foster fans can revisit Riley Moore in the rerelease of Riley, now in audio format narrated by Kit Swann. 

Regina Foxworth is a reporter who finds herself in danger. She is convinced she is being targeted, but the police aren’t taking her complaints seriously. It is after a fire that nearly claims her life that she meets Riley Moore, ex-SWAT, now evidence technician and gym owner. What other choice does Regina have but to take things into her own hands? Signing up at a local gym with Riley as her personal trainer is a good start.

Riley doesn’t dismiss Regina’s concerns. Instead he finds them valid and has no hesitation about helping her to be in a better position to defend herself. Their training sessions lead to much more as the two realize that the attraction they share is too powerful to ignore. If Riley wasn’t already proving to be her dream man to Regina, his protective instincts certainly seal the deal. He takes her concerns seriously, and they work together in uncover the truth and eliminate the threat hanging over her.

Although this is a quick read, Lori Foster delivers plenty of entertainment, blending in an intriguing mystery and an engaging romance between two people who seem perfect for one another. Oh, and then there is Regina’s “guard dog”, which adds a welcome dose of humor in this delightful story.

Many thanks to Harlequin Audio and to NetGalley for this ARC for review  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lori Foster is a New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author with over 10 million books sold. She received the Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews and her books have been chosen as editors picks by Amazon multiple times. Foster is actively involved in charity work, and all of the author proceeds from her anthologies have gone to various organizations, such as the Animal Adoption Foundation, the Conductive Learning Center, and One Way Farm. She lives in Ohio with her high school sweetheart.

web / facebook / twitter / Instagram / pinterest / goodreads

Robin Loves Reading

BLOG TOUR - Losing Alice

Losing Alice

by B.R. Spangler

SeriesAgent Nichelle Wilkinson #2

PublisherBookouture

GenreMystery & Thrillers

FormatKindle ARC

Pages325

Pub. DateOctober 21, 2026

Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐

DESCRIPTION

A string of seemingly unconnected murders. And a maverick FBI agent ready to go undercover to discover the truth.

Rookie Special Agent Nichelle Wilkinson is in charge of a task force responsible for investigating the murder of Alice Robertson, a young woman living alone. She’ll need to step up if she’s going to earn the respect of the seasoned investigators on her team.

Alice was found dead in her living room, hair splayed across the hardwood floor, the scent of a homecooked meal hanging in the air. And with no signs of a struggle, Nichelle is certain Alice knew her killer. Alice’s tearful mother recounts her daughter’s troubled past in AA, but the newly framed photograph of a smiling Alice celebrating over a cake with her family speaks to someone happy and moving on.

Alice’s sponsor had helped her find a new job doing deliveries in the next county. Following her route takes Nichelle into the heart of the local Amish community. Famously tight-lipped to outsiders, Nichelle will have to gain their trust before anyone will even acknowledge knowing Alice…

Then another body is found in a lonely woodland. Nichelle finds similar packaging from Alice’s deliveries pressed into the dirt. Is someone targeting vulnerable people just trying to get their lives back on track?

With so little else to go on, Nichelle will need to go undercover. Now, she’s in the killer’s line of fire…

Losing Alice is a gripping thriller, packed with twists, that fans of Lisa Regan, A.J. Rivers and Melinda Leigh will be totally obsessed with!

BUY LINK

MY THOUGHTS

Special Agent Nichelle Wilkinson isn’t certain at first why a New Task force is being formed or why she has been chosen to take the lead. There have been a few murders, and it is because of a fourth murder that the Task Force has been formed. Hoping to avoid any friction among the team assembled, Nichelle knows that earning their respect is critical. 

When Nichelle and her team arrive at the murder victim’s home, they find Alice lying on the hardwood floor. It is clear that Alice was right in the middle of cooking when she was shot. What’s more, there is no evidence of a break-in or any signs of a struggle. When something like this happens, Nichelle knows that it is usually the case that the victim knew their killer.

Nichelle and her team begin searching the victim’s home, and something Nichelle discovers appears to be a very powerful clue in this crime. However, Alice’s body is not the only one discovered. Shockingly, another body is found, and there are some details that appear to connect the two murders. Not clear as to why these victims were targeted leads to Nichelle deciding that she must go undercover in order to try and identify the killer. However, this clearly puts her in the path of danger. 

Meanwhile, Nichelle has been conducting her own investigation into the deaths of her family. While their deaths were ruled an accident, Nichelle is determined to prove otherwise. It has been over a decade since she was ripped away from her family, and this has left her emotionally scarred. She will not stop until she discovers the truth.

I found Losing Alice to be an intriguing mystery, one filled with tension and a few surprises, especially with Nichelle’s personal tragedy woven into the investigation. This is a story that kept me on my toes as Nichelle dug deep for answers. I look forward to seeing what comes next for Nichelle.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

By day, B.R. Spangler pushes pixels, typing lines of code. When he's not developing software, or elbows deep in hardware, he is writing stories, plotting thrillers, or reading.

B.R. Spangler lives in Virginia with his wife and kids, as well as five cats, a parrot, a finch, a lizard.

 

Author Social Media Links:

To keep up to date, sign up for his newsletter by copying and pasting this link into your browser: https://brspangler.com/sign-up/  

 

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/BR_Spangler

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/authorbrianspangler/

Bookouture Email Sign Up: https://www.bookouture.com/br-spangler  

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COVER REVEAL - While They Sleep

While They Sleep

by Carla Kovach

Book 20 in the compelling Gina Harte series!

Coming December 17, 2026!

DESCRIPTION

Call the Magic Man and he appears. Tell anyone about him and he disappears.

It started as a whisper, a story bored kids in this small town told on the playground to spook each other. Then they began drawing pictures of the Magic Man on their walls at night – each one of them startlingly similar. It was all a harmless myth until the first body was found…

Trudie knows she and her little boy, Dexter, are safe here, away from her ex and far from her troubles with a colleague at the hospital where she works. But it doesn’t stop her double-locking her doors at night. You can never be too careful.

Then Dexter starts playing up – stealing food, getting into trouble at school and drawing on the freshly painted walls of his bedroom. His explanation shakes Trudie to her core: the Magic Man told me to.

Tucking him into bed at night, Trudie prays that it’s just a phase, that he’s acting out to make friends. But just days later, her worst nightmare comes true – Dexter is missing…

Fans of Rachel Abbott, Angela Marsons and Karin Slaughter will be totally gripped by this jaw-dropping and completely spine-tingling crime thriller from bestselling author Carla Kovach.

PREORDER LINK

https://ow.ly/4lvB50ZZfC8

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carla has been writing seriously since her mid-thirties. She started by writing stage plays which led to her producing and directing her own full length piece of theatre. After that, she decided to write films and books where she began by self-publishing. In the past, she has acted in a few indie films and has also co-owned a photography and video production company. 

Right now, she is a full time crime and thriller author living in Worcester with her husband, Nigel and Poppy the cat.

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarlaKovachAuthor/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ckovachauthor?lang=en
Website:  https://griffbuck.wordpress.com/
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/carla_kovach/
Bookouture Email Sign Up: https://www.bookouture.com/carla-kovach

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BLOG TOUR - Her Last Kiss

Her Last Kiss

by Lisa Regan

SeriesDetective Josie Quinn #25

PublisherBookouture

GenreMystery & Thrillers

FormatKindle ARC

Pages374

Pub. DateOctober 20, 2026

Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

DESCRIPTION

She lies on the bed, staring sightlessly at the ceiling. The gold cross necklace ripped from her neck and tossed onto the comforter. Around her throat is a deep red welt. But that isn’t what chills Josie’s skin. It’s the bright red lipstick smeared across the woman’s pale cheek. The mark of the Last Kiss Killer.

Racing into a burning house, Detective Josie Quinn is the only witness to Sylvia West’s body—strangled and arranged neatly on the bed—before the fire destroys the crime scene. After years in hiding, Sylvia had finally agreed to speak publicly about escaping an infamous serial killer. But catching a glimpse of a crimson kiss on Sylvia’s mouth before the flames engulf her makes Josie’s heart scream in pain: the killer has returned to seal Sylvia’s cold lips forever.

The reappearance of the Last Kiss Killer after thirteen years has the people of Denton trembling behind locked doors. How did he know Sylvia was ready to speak out? How did he find her? Josie’s only hope is trawling the victims’ case files for the missing link that eluded the very best detectives across the state for over a decade. And tracking the origins of the lipstick means she’s close…

Days later, a second new victim with the killer’s calling card surfaces, and her broken and bruised body tells Josie he’s spiraling. Forced to go deeper into the mind of a murderer than ever before, it will take everything in Josie’s power to get ahead of his next goodnight kiss. It might even cost her own life… 

A totally jaw-dropping and addictive crime thriller from an Amazon, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. You will be flipping pages long into the night and sleeping with the light on! Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Melinda Leigh.

BUY LINKS

• Amazon: https://geni.us/B0HCVK556Bsocial
• Apple Books :http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781807223229?itsct=books_toolbox&itscg=30200&at=1010lnPy&ct=B0HCVK556B-social&ls=1
• Kobo: https://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=9781807223229
• Google Play:https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Lisa_Regan_Her_Last_Kiss?id=1s39EQAAQBAJ

MY THOUGHTS

It’s not just a house fire - as devastating as that is - but there’s a woman who’s been murdered. The killer has left behind a signature that Detective Josie Quinn and her team can clearly identify. The victim is someone Josie knows, because she almost lost her life to a serial killer years ago. When the victim agrees to come forward and provide any information that might help the police, she’s strangled and her house set ablaze. This is shocking to Josie. The killer has been dormant for years, and now Josie must gather as many clues as possible to find and stop the killer before another woman loses her life. 

The killer is being called the Last Kiss Killer, and Josie is working alongside partner Detective Kyle Turner, who joined the team in the nineteenth book in this series, Face Her Fear, Josie often finds herself annoyed with him. So much so that Josie finds herself wanting to throat-punch him on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, Josie’s lieutenant and husband, Noah Fraley are facing some changes to their home life. Always sharp as a tack when it comes to their caseload, Josie and Noah work together to navigate what’s happening both at home and on the job. This is when this twenty-fifth installment in the series takes on an emotional edge adding another layer to this well-written and compelling story.

As another victim falls prey to the killer, Josie finds herself dangerously close to danger making it imperative that the case finally come to a close. Having been a longtime and devoted fan of this series, this book is another reminder of just how wonderful Lisa Regan is at drawing readers into Josie’s world. Suspense, emotional depth and well-developed characters that shine throughout the series continue to captivate me. Her Last Kiss is a compelling addition to an exceptional series. 

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa Regan is an Amazon bestselling crime novelist. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Master of Education Degree from Bloomsburg University. She is a member of Sisters In Crime, Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and daughter.

• Mailing List: https://bookouture.com/subscribe/lisa-regan
• Website: http://www.lisaregan.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LisaReganCrimeAuthor
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisareganauthor/
• Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6443334.Lisa_Regan
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Robin Loves Reading

Review - The Midnight Guests

The Midnight Guests

by Alex Hay

PublisherHanover Square Press

GenreMystery & Thrillers

FormatKindle ARC

Pages352

Pub. DateSeptember 29, 2026

Rating⭐⭐⭐⭐½

DESCRIPTION

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER

“Hay’s tightly woven plot unfolds at an addictive pace, and the twists come in all the right places." —Publishers Weekly

From the bestselling author of The Housekeepers comes a glossy, dark, page-turning mystery to rival The White Lotus–unfolding over twenty-four fateful hours in London's most lavish hotel.

1926. Diana Gold, owner and impresario, throws open the doors to the most opulent new hotel in London. As the champagne flows and the chandeliers shimmer, millionaires and gamblers rub shoulders with film stars and royalty.

 

Though, things at the Hotel Artemis aren’t quite what they seem—including the two guests Diana expects at midnight. Powerful and dangerous, they’ve dragged her from the gutter and taught her all she knows. Now Diana must take perfect care of them—unless they take care of her first.

 

But when a body is found in the hotel’s finest suite, the lavish opening night begins to spiral out of control. And over twenty-four fateful hours, the staff and guests of the Artemis will find out why they are really there.

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS

The Midnight Guests, a captivating historical mystery, seamlessly transitions between 1926 London and the present day. The narrative revolves around Hotel Artemis, an exclusive establishment that becomes the center of sinister activities. As the story unfolds, it becomes evident that the hotel is shrouded in an aura of mystery and intrigue, drawing readers into a world of suspense and danger.  

Diana Gold has big dreams for her exclusive hotel, a high-class establishment, with the highest echelon of guests expected. The fact that it is also a place of gambling, the best of the best will have opportunity to rub shoulders with one another. There is just one suite to host the finest, but when that guest is found dead, all Diana’s hopes for her new hotel come crashing down. 

With a diverse cast of captivating characters, a rich historical backdrop, and an opulent ambiance, all seamlessly woven together by a skillfully crafted plot, make The Midnight Guests an exceptional and unforgettable read.

Many thanks to Hanover Square Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ALEX HAY grew up in the United Kingdom in Cambridge and Cardiff, and has been writing as long as he can remember. He studied history at the University of York, and wrote his dissertation on female power at royal courts, combing the archives for every scrap of drama and skulduggery he could find. He has worked in magazine publishing and the charity sector and lives with his husband in London. His debut, The Housekeepers won the Caledonia Novel Award, and was named a Best Book of the Summer by Reader’s Digest, The Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar, and others. His second novel, The Queen of Fives, publishes in January 2025. Alex lives with his husband in South East London.

Social Links:

Author Website: https://alexhaybooks.com/

X/Twitter: https://x.com/alexhaybooks?lang=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexhaybooks/?hl=en

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