When 12-year-old Lauren Suszek is abandoned by her mother in an amusement park, she's not sure what to do. It's clear her mom isn't coming back and Lauren sure as heck doesn't want to go into foster care. With no other alternative, she decides to hide in the park until she can come up with a better plan. "Borrowing" a uniform and a name tag designating her as "Mouse," she sets about imitating an employee, albeit one who secretly lives inside one of the rides in Ghost Town. 

Things are going along rather swimmingly until a nosy girl starts poking around. Not only does Cat seem to know exactly who "Mouse" really is, but she's obviously determined to rat her out to the authorities. Lauren refuses to be caught. She's become an expert at hiding in plain sight. Will her camouflaging skills be enough to keep her out of trouble now, when it matters most? Or will Cat be able to trap the wily Mouse once and for all?

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to live in a busy, magical amusement park? Maura Jortner has. Her debut novel,102 Days of Lying About Lauren, was inspired by a trip she took to Disney World in which she started imagining living inside the Haunted Mansion attraction. Although the park in the book is never named, it has all the sparkly enchantment of The Happiest Place on Earth. It's a fun setting for this heartfelt story. Lauren is a sympathetic heroine, but she's likable because she's hopeful, funny, and compassionate (even though dealing with other people's emotions triggers her own anxiety). She's also a giver, appointing herself as a park janitor so that she can give back to her adopted home, instead of just taking from it. Although I would have liked more details about how she survives on a day-to-day basis, there are enough there to make her situation believable. Ish. Would a 12-year-old (even one who looks like a 16-year-old) really be able to fly under the radar for so long without attracting any attention? Who knows, but it makes for a compelling story! Speaking of, there's plenty of action in the novel, which makes it a quick, exciting read. I buzzed through it in one evening. Lest you think there's no substance in 102 Days of Lying About Lauren, let me assure you that there's plenty. Both Lauren and her best park pal, Tanner, are dealing with grief and trauma that lead to anxiety, panic attacks, and sadness. They help each other cope. In the end, as part of the book's realistic but satisfying ending, trustworthy adults also step in to aid the kids.

Despite some heavy subject matter, 102 Days of Lying About Lauren is exciting, humorous, and buoyant. Because of its unique setting, likable characters, engrossing plot, and upbeat vibe, this is a book that young readers will love. I'm hardly its target audience, but I enjoyed the book immensely.

(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. You?)

To the FTC, with love: I bought a copy of 102 Days of Lying About Lauren with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger. Ha ha.

I love the buzzy beginnings of a new reading year when we're all atwitter with excitement and anticipation about the books we're planning to read over the next 365 days. So far this year, I've made two (Part One, Part Two) Top Ten Tuesday lists of Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2023 and one about New-to-Me Authors I Want to Try in 2023. This week's prompt goes right along with its predecessors: 2023 Debut Books I'm Excited About. After digging into my TBR list and doing some Googling, I've found ten I'm looking forward to reading.

As always, this fun weekly meme is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Give her some love, won't you? While you're there, you can get all the deets about TTT so you're ready to hop on board the TTT party bus!

6. The Perfect Ones by Nicole Hackett (available May 2)—A group of popular influencers travel to Iceland for a fabulous promotional trip. One of them ends up dead. Who killed her and why? The Icelandic police are on the case. 

7. The Housekeepers by Alex Hay (available July 4)—This novel sounds clever and fun. It stars Mrs. King, the offspring of tricksters and con artists, who has escaped her checkered past to become a respected housekeeper in a posh Mayfair home. When she is unceremoniously dismissed, she vows to get revenge by robbing her former employees of all their possessions on the night of their much-anticipated costume ball. Mrs. King hires an eclectic group of women to help steal all the family's treasures—and their secrets. 

8. Her Little Flowers by Shannon Morgan (available July 25)—Billed as an "irresistible" read for fans of Kate Morton and Eve Chase (both of whom I adore), this Gothic ghost story sounds like a perfect match for me. It revolves around a 55-year-old woman who has lived in the same haunted manor house for her whole life. When her estranged sister returns home bearing unbelievable tales about their family's troubling past, everything she thought she knew is shaken to bits. Rattled to her core, she must find out the truth for herself.

9. Into the Sunken City by Dinesh Thiru (available Fall 2023)—This YA dystopian adventure is a retelling of Treasure Island "with an Ocean's 11 twist." Count me in! It's about two sisters who are just trying to survive in their harsh world. When a mysterious stranger clues them in to a massive treasure to be found under the sunken ruins of a Las Vegas casino, they vow to make it theirs.

10. Up in Flames by Hailey Alcaraz (available October 3)—When a California wildfire destroys everything wealthy, entitled Ruby Ortega has, she is forced to confront a much different reality than anything she's previously known. Her family and her hometown are in desperate need of help. Can self-centered Ruby step outside herself long enough to help rebuild their ravaged world? This timely YA novel riffs on themes of resilience, change, and compassion.

There you are, ten 2023 debuts I'm excited to read. Have you read any of them? What did you think? Which debuts are you looking forward to? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. 

The Texas River Odyssey is a grueling, 265-mile competition that pits canoers against every kind of danger—from raging rapids to snapping alligators to paralyzing exhaustion to agonizing injuries. Sadie Scofield can't wait to tackle the race. Not only is the 17-year-old out to prove that she, like competitors from the past three generations of her family, can finish the race but she also has to redeem herself after last year's debacle. Because of her, her father's 20 year finishing streak ended. Their relationship hasn't been the same since and Sadie can't stand it. This year, she's teamed up with her older brother, Tanner. Despite some tough competition, she knows they have an excellent chance of finishing the race, maybe even winning. If she can just make her dad proud, maybe things will go back to normal between them.

When Tanner joins another team at the last minute, Sadie is shocked. And desperate. Her only option is to team up with John "Culley" Cullen, the boy she once called her best friend. She hasn't spoken to him in six years, not since a bitter family feud turned them into enemies. With no other choice, the two form a tense, awkward partnership. Out of synch from the get-go, it seems unlikely the pair will make it through the next hour, let alone through three days of forced closeness while competing in a punishing race against dozens of well-oiled teams. Can they set aside their differences long enough to finish? As the competition intensifies, tempers flare, and truths from the past are revealed. Will the tension break the uneasy duo? Or will it bring them together in ways neither of them could ever have imagined?  

Contemporary YA isn't my usual genre, but In the Same Boat—a debut novel by Holly Green—sounded like a fun change of pace, so I decided to give it a whirl. The story features competitive canoeing, something I've never read about before. It may be a little over-focused on the race at its core, but the story offers lots of interesting details about canoeing and the canoeing community, which helps bring the setting to vivid life. Although a lot of unfamiliar terms are used in the novel, which sometimes made it tough for me to picture exactly what was happening, I got the drift enough to become engaged in the story. It's got plenty of action, tension, and conflict to keep the reader burning through the pages. While I'm not a competitive person and really can't understand the kind of drive that would make anyone want to compete in an exhausting, dangerous river race, Green created convincing motivations for the main characters so I got while they were all in. Sadie and Cully are both sympathetic and determined, which made me root for them, even though I didn't really love the former. All in all, though, I enjoyed this book. It's a quick, entertaining read that teaches some good lessons about friendship, family, being enough, and working to accomplish one's goals. 

Growing up in a New York City orphanage has given scrappy Amelia Matthew the pluck to survive in a rough time and place. Combining moxie with a modicum of psychic talent, she manages to earn enough to create a decent life for herself and her beloved foster brother, Jonas. When a knock on the head changes Amelia's mild ability into something far more powerful, she's shocked. As she grapples to understand her newfound skills, a strange vision in a public park assaults her. The next thing she knows, she's waking up in a city insane asylum on isolated Blackwell's Island. Despite her protests, Amelia is unable to leave. Even Jonas can't find a way to free her. 

In spite of himself, Andrew Cavanaugh, a young doctor from Philadelphia, finds himself quite taken with the pretty new patient. Naturally, he doesn't believe her when she claims to see spirits—until she proves it to him. As Andrew works to release Amelia from care, he's approached by a desperate mother searching for the daughter she believes is being hidden in the asylum. With Amelia's help, he looks into the case, uncovering a shocking trail of corruption and cruelty at his workplace. Powerful people rule the asylum. What can a lowly doctor and his imprisoned patient possibly do for their helpless victims? Especially when Amelia's dubious gift is still so uncontrollable and she's not entirely sure she doesn't belong on Blackwell's Island herself...

Until 16-year-old Ada Morgan ran away with her boyfriend, she had never known true freedom. The last thing she wants to do now is return home to the squalor of her stilt house on the swamp. She knows her father—a coarse and cruel trapper—will be thrilled to have her back. Not only will he have someone to wait on him again, but he will also delight in punishing her for leaving him. If she had any other option, she would never return to him. With nowhere else to go, she has no choice but to go back to Mississippi, back to the Trace, back to her father. 

Matilda Patterson is also anxious to leave her home on the Natchez Trace. The Black teen is the daughter of poor sharecroppers who eke out a meager living in a place that will never allow them to get ahead. With local bootleggers making things even more difficult for the family, Matilda's ready to take her secrets and run. A more promising future awaits her in the north; she just has to make it there.

When their lives converge one fateful night, Ada and Matilda are shocked to find themselves partners in crime. Literally. Their tenuous bond is the only thing keeping both of them safe, but it's a tenuous sisterhood that could break at any moment. As their linked past becomes more apparent, the two begin to realize just how much danger they're really in. When more trouble comes calling, it's up to them to protect themselves and each other against deadly odds.

It's no secret that I love me an absorbing historical story, the more atmospheric the better. The Girls in the Stilt House, a debut novel by Kelly Mustian, ticks all these boxes. Its vivid, visceral setting is a character in its own right, exhibiting all the beauty, danger, and contradiction inherent in every human. As untamed as the swampland surrounding them, our heroines are sympathetic because of their impoverished, hardscrabble lives. What makes them admirable is the fiery grit that burns deep inside them, giving them strength, courage, and the will to keep fighting. Plot-wise, this is a slow-burning tale. While this device takes a little patience, it also ensures that by the time the story's action really amps up, the reader cares deeply about what's going to happen and to whom. Although it's not a happy, all-tied-up-with-a-bow story, The Girls in the Stilt House is compelling, moving, and beautifully written. I loved this assured debut.

1926—As a nurse working in the adrenaline-fueled, male-dominated field of emergency medicine, 24-year-old Althea Anderson is used to taking orders from the doctors, obeying their commands without question. When another premature baby dies at her hospital because a physician determines it to be "God's will" that only the strongest infants survive, Althea can no longer stay quiet. She knows tiny babies are being saved every day at nearby Coney Island. Yes, they're on public display, another lurid attraction to entertain gawking tourists, but the admission fees are used to employ nurses who cuddle and care for the children, giving them a chance to not just survive but also thrive. "Doctor" Martin Couney's medical credentials might be a bit murky, but Althea knows he's working miracles with his boardwalk babies. Althea's superiors scoff when she suggests sending their newest struggling infant to Couney, so she takes matters into her own hands, changing the course of her life—and the baby's—forever.

1950—While Stella Wright isn't sure she wants children of her own, she pours her heart and soul into nurturing the students she teaches in her special education class. School administrators believe the kids aren't worth the effort; Stella is determined to prove them wrong. By day, she battles for their rights while by night, she helps her veteran husband fight the demons that haunt him night after night. When her beloved mother dies, Stella is wracked with grief. A curious letter found among the dead woman's things mystifies Stella, sending her on a puzzling journey into her mother's past. As old secrets are revealed, she learns shocking truths about her mother—and herself.

I read The Light of Luna Park, a debut novel by Addison Armstrong, back in June, but it's appropriate that I'm reviewing it in November as my two preemies were born this month. Both of my sons made sudden arrivals at 29 weeks, weighed less than 3 1/2 pounds, and spent at least a month in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) fighting for their lives. My teensy-tiny babies seemed incapable of living through the night, let alone growing up to be the strong, healthy young men they are now. If they had been born 100 years ago, would their doctor have deemed them worthy of saving? 

Because of my experience with premature birth, I have always found Martin Couney's work fascinating. I've never read a novel about the subject, so I was keen to give Armstrong's a go. The Light of Luna Park features sympathetic characters who are admirable for their kindness, compassion, and bravery. Althea is likable, while I had a harder time with Stella, although she did grow on me as her story progressed. As usual with dual-timeline setups, I enjoyed the past story in this book better than the present one. Still, both are compelling in their own way. Plot-wise, it's obvious from the get-go how the novel's two storylines are going to merge, but that really doesn't make the tale less engrossing. There are a few holes that make the story less believable. On the whole, though, The Light of Luna Park is an engaging, thought-provoking novel that brings to light an interesting piece of history most people probably don't know about. Even though I knew the basics, I still found the novel to be a fascinating, enjoyable read.

(Readalikes: Reminds me of The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards as well as books by Susan Meissner and Diane Chamberlain)

Traveling west on an orphan train is supposed to give impoverished kids from dirty, crowded New York City a chance at a better life. But hope is not exactly what Charles, Patrick, and Opal are feeling as they're paraded in front of prospective "parents" and prodded like animals. Eighteen-year-old Charles' bulk makes him attractive as a farmhand, but his bruised face brands him as a troublemaker. Patrick, a 14-year-old Irish immigrant, is passed over because of his foreign accent. Tiny, silent Opal is in obvious need of a loving home, but the 8-year-old is so haunted by her past that others are put off by her skittishness. By the time they near their last stop, the trio of misfits has had enough. Deciding that they're enough for each other, they hop the train in Montana, determined to survive on their own. 

A desperate act brings the children to the attention of Nara Stewart, a hard-working spinster who runs a cattle ranch with her father. Although she's loathe to admit it, Nara could use help working her land. She's got enough problems on her hands what with trying to prove herself to her father while trying to keep her growing, forbidden feelings for a Native American man under control. The last thing she needs is three scraggly orphans causing her more stress. Reluctantly, she puts Charles, Patrick, and Opal to work, expecting they'll run off rather than buckle down. Life on the ranch and in a rough frontier town is not easy for any of them, but as the days pass, the kids and the Stewarts are forming something that almost resembles...a family. With crises pummeling them on every front, will the makeshift group solidify into the thing all of them most need? Or will the tentative bond dissolve when trouble arrives on their doorstep?

Ten years ago, 33-year-old Milla Anderson was a pro snowboarder at the top of her game. Along with a crowd of other young athletes, she came to Le Rocher, a ski resort in the French Alps, to train while pitting herself against the best of the best. Amidst the tense, sometimes vicious, competition, friendships were formed, rivalries heightened, and enemies created. The season ended with Saskia Sparks—the most beautiful and conniving snowboarder among them—missing, presumed dead.

A decade later, Milla receives an invitation from a former Le Rocher friend to reunite at the resort. Although reluctant to return to the site and revisit the trauma she experienced there, she can't help but be intrigued. She hasn't seen or spoken to anyone from that fateful season on the mountain in the intervening years. Is it finally time to put the past behind her? Time to renew friendships, even rekindle a past flame? Despite her misgivings, Milla goes, only realizing too late that nothing about this mysterious reunion is quite what it seems. The resort is deserted, save for her and four others; their cell phones have disappeared; an innocent-seeming icebreaker game turns sinister; and everything is going bump in the night. With the threat of an oncoming snowstorm looming over the uneasy group, it's becoming quickly apparent that none of them is safe. Someone wants the truth about what happened ten years ago—and they'll stop at nothing to get it.

Shiver, a debut novel by Allie Reynolds, is my favorite kind of thriller. I mean, an atmospheric locked-room type mystery set in a remote location that features dangerous old secrets coming to the fore as nasty weather threatens to trap all the victims together in one place? Yes, please! Those kinds of stories always get my imagination whirling and my heart pumping. Although there are many things Shiver is not, it is a page turner. The story is a crazy, addicting thrill ride that kept me racing through the pages. Even though I figured out who was behind the reunion setup about halfway through the book, I still wanted to know what was going to happen next. While Shiver's plot kept me engaged, its characters are not a likable lot. They're admirable for their athleticism and determination, but not for their fickleness, petty jealousies, cruelty, and cold-hearted competitiveness. A good deal of the story, in fact, revolves around who slept with whom ten years ago, which I absolutely could have done without. Although we do see some growth in a couple of the characters, overall they're just a very messed up group. That, plus the fact that the story's a mite predictable, made Shiver less enjoyable for me. Still, for pure entertainment value, it's not a bad read as far as thrillers go. It definitely kept me engrossed.  

(Readalikes: Reminds me of One By One by Ruth Ware; In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware; The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse; The Guest List by Lucy Foley; And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, etc.)

At first glance, the death of a teenage surfer in a small Maui town looks like a routine drowning.  A closer inspection by police captain Walter Alaka'i, however, reveals hints of a far more sinister cause of death.  Wanting an expert opinion, Walter calls in his niece, Kali Māhoe, who is both a detective and an anthropologist specializing in Hawaiian culture and tradition.  Kali is also alarmed by what she finds on the corpse, especially considering the spate of noperra-bō sightings that have been reported.  She doesn't really believe that a mythological malevolent spirit is wreaking havoc on her community, but there's no doubt that someone is up to no good.  Who killed the young wave rider?  Kali is determined to find out.

As strange things continue to occur in Hana, followed by another body washed ashore, the pressure mounts.  Can Kali figure out what is going on in her town before she becomes the next victim?

High in the Swiss Alps sits Le Sommet, a just-opened luxury hotel with a minimalist approach that showcases the jaw-dropping views to perfection.  The place should exude a peaceful vibe, but despite extensive remodeling, the building still holds an unsettling feeling left over from its days as a tuberculosis hospital.  Whispers of unease whistle through Le Sommet's newly-painted halls, hinting at its dark past...

The last place Detective Elin Warner wants to be is on a remote mountaintop with her estranged brother, but without a good excuse to skip his engagement party, she really doesn't have a choice.  As the assistant manager of Le Sommet, Elin's sister-in-law is eager to show off the new hotel.  Despite Laure's enthusiasm, Elin feels completely unsettled by Le Sommet, with its strange history and cut-off location.  The onset of a winter storm doesn't help her feelings of claustrophobia and disquiet.  On leave following a traumatizing case, Elin is supposed to be resting.  Le Sommet should offer the perfect refuge for her.  So, why does she feel so discombobulated?

When Laure disappears suddenly, Elin is immediately on alert.  The assistant manager is not answering her phone and the weather has made travel nearly impossible.  Where could Laure possibly be?  When Elin finds the gruesome answer, a startling truth becomes terrifyingly clear: someone in the hotel (or very nearby) is a cold-blooded killer.  While Elin collects clues, another woman disappears.  With no way off the mountain, all the hotel guests are in danger unless Elin can find a murderer—a murderer who just may be her own brother.  Racing against time, she must put all her rusty detecting skills to use before it's too late for her and everyone else. 

Locked-room mysteries set in isolated places are my jam.  Throw in inclement weather and a creepy old building and you've got my attention, 100 percent.  The Sanatorium, a debut novel by Sarah Pearse, combines all of these elements to create a compelling novel, the kind I usually devour and love.  Did it fulfill all my thriller-loving dreams?  Well...     

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Sanatorium with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

Tornadoes are known for causing havoc and destruction, but for 12-year-old Lexington Willow, a tornado was the thing that brought her home.  Seven years ago, the biggest storm in Nebraska's history blew her into the zoo.  She was found near an elephant enclosure, watched over by Nyah, a 20-year-old African elephant.  No one has ever come forward to claim Lex, so she has remained at the zoo in the care of Roger, her foster father.  She feels so safe and sheltered by the place's familiar boundaries that she rarely leaves.  Her days are spent doing homeschool lessons; hanging out with her best friend, Fisher Leigh, who also lives on the grounds; and voicing train tours of the zoo.  Now that she and Fisher are finally old enough to help with the care of her beloved elephants, Lex couldn't be happier.

Lex has always felt a special connection with Nyah, but when the pachyderm sends her a telepathic message, Lex is puzzled.  The elephant seems to be telling her to go outside the zoo, into the woods beyond, to find the answers to the many questions Lex has about her past.  Is she crazy to listen to the advice of an animal?  As nervous as she is to leave the safety of her precious zoo, Lex feels compelled to follow Nyah's instructions.  When Lex makes an otherworldly discovery out there, she embarks on a magical adventure involving a ghost, a treasure hunt, and a mystery, all of which promise to lead her back to her own inexplicable beginning. 

Magical realism is common in middle-grade books, but to find it combined with a mystery, a ghost story, and a tale of lost treasure?  That's something special.  The Elephant's Girl, a debut novel by Celesta Rimington, offers this enticing genre mash-up along with a unique setting, two likable heroines (one human, one pachyderm), and an exciting plot.  Not only does the book educate readers about elephants, but it also teaches important lessons about humans' responsibility toward animals, kindness, the true meaning of family, standing up for one's self, and finding courage to do hard things.  The story is predictable and I didn't always find the magical realism bits convincing, but overall, I found The Elephant's Girl to be a delightful, entertaining book.  Young animal lovers looking for a fun, magical reading adventure won't be disappointed.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling, and books by Kate DiCamillo)

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of The Elephant's Girl from the generous folks at Penguin Random House as part of an awards program I'm helping to judge.  Thank you!

At 26, Meddelin Chan is playing the part of the dutiful Asian daughter by living with her mother and working as a photographer for the family wedding planning business.  It's not exactly what she had in mind for her future, but she can't allow herself to follow her cousins' shameful examples by flitting off to a more exotic clime in search of her own life, leaving her mother behind to cluck over her disloyalty.  Even as she yearns for freedom, Meddy has to admit she finds reluctant comfort in the way her mom and her mom's three loud, overbearing sisters fuss over her every move.  When a bad blind date takes a turn for the much, much worse, she knows exactly who to call.  Turns out, when it comes to hiding a body, her always-feuding, middle-aged aunties are better than the mob.  

Meddy's timing couldn't be worse, however.  With the biggest wedding of their career about to unfold, the women have to bring their A-game to the sparkling event.  Having a corpse along for the ride is not exactly helping.  Things become even more complicated when Meddy realizes her college boyfriend—the one she has pined for ever since their devastating break-up four years ago—is part of the wedding.  Then, the groomsmen get too plastered to walk down the aisle, millions of dollars in gifts go missing, a storm descends on the resort venue, and everything else that could possibly go wrong does.  A suspicious sheriff on the premises could mean the end of the charade and the incarceration of Meddy and her unlikely accomplices.  Can the ladies pull off both a flawless wedding and the perfect crime?  Or will they be planning their next event behind bars, wearing those oh-so-unflattering orange jumpsuits? 

Ever since I heard about Dial A for Aunties, a debut novel by Jesse Q. Sutanto, I knew I wanted to read it.  It just sounded like the perfect light-hearted blend of rom-com and cozy mystery.  Sure, it would be far-fetched and silly, but it also promised to be a fun, upbeat romp.  I've read a lot of dark, depressing books lately, so I was down for something different.  My verdict?  Dial A for Aunties is a fun read in lots of ways.  The "aunties" are definitely the highlight of the story with their constant bickering, hilarious malapropisms, and misplaced pride.  While little about the plot makes any logical sense, it is entertaining in its madcap absurdity.  I also appreciated the #OwnVoices aspect of this novel, in which Sutanto highlights her own Indonesian-Chinese heritage.  All of these elements combine to make the story humorous and entertaining.

I read mostly serious books, which sometimes makes it tough for me to really appreciate a kooky comedy.  So, while I found Dial A for Aunties entertaining, its quick transitions from silly to ridiculous to utterly absurd did drive me a little crazy after a while.  By the end of the story, I was very much done with the over-the-top-ness of it all.  Even in a screwball story like this, there has to be some logic governing the characters' actions, right?  Another thing that tempers the fun in this one is that it's actually very R-rated.  I was surprised to find F-bombs being dropped all over the place, as well as a plethora of innuendo and less subtle sexual references.  This just didn't fit the fun, cozy-ish vibe Dial A for Aunties seemed to be going for.  I admit to going into this book with unrealistically high expectations, which maybe contributed to me feeling (disproportionally?) disappointed in it.  Nevertheless, I found myself wishing for a less daffy, more PG version of this novel.  This opinion will probably make me an outlier in the book blogging world (which is totally okay), but for me, Dial A for Aunties was just an average read.  An entertaining one, just one that didn't turn out to be as satisfying as I wanted it to be.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of the Noodle Shop Mystery series by Vivien Chien)

To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC for Dial A for Aunties from the generous folks at Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!