Death and the Taxman (Audiobook) by David Hankins

   

Today is an anomaly on my blog, as it is a twofer special day!  If you've just happened on this blog, welcome! But if you are a repeat reader, then first of all thank you, and secondly you know this blog focusses primarily on book reviews.  I LOVE TO READ!  

    I access my books from a reader site named NetGalley where I request advance readers copy literature in exchange for honest reviews.  Hence my blog. 💗 When I am not physically reading a book, I am listening to one. Pretty much non-stop, words are flooding my brain!  So imagine my happy heart when I remembered seeing audiobooks on the NetGalley website.  I dove in and requested my first one, and it is a gem! 

    Death and the Taxman by David Hankins is a lively read published September 1, 2026, from Lost Bard Enterprises. 

The Grim Reaper's main job in life is to usher souls from their deceased bodies into the afterworld. Imagine the surprise when Grim is tricked by a mortal named Frank Totmann who just happens to be an IRS auditor. Frank steals Grim's scythe, cloak, and immortality! In the exchange, the balance of death and dying falters and the laws of mortality begin to change. The world is in peril, and so is Grim as he finds himself thrust into a human form plagued with all the needs that human bodies endure...eating, sleeping, and the dreaded - defecation. Grim is mortified. How can he endure the humiliation as he deals with people and being alive as well as the need to get his real job of "death" back?  

David Hankins does a brilliant job creating his characters and storyline. He has a distinct comedic writing voice that keeps the reader entertained throughout the entire novel. As an audiobook there is an additional need to create a successful story, the narrator.  Death and the Taxman succeeds in this aspect as well.  Peter Wicks has a deep, resonant voice that creates just the right tone for the story.  I could picture Grim, the Reaper as Wicks performed the book.  

I am so happy to have chosen Death and the Taxman as my first audiobook to review for NetGalley!  I am rating the novel with 5 stars, something I rarely do, just because it was so entertaining and well done! You can find the audiobook to purchase on Audible and Amazon.com.

Thank you to NetGalley, David Hankins, and Lost Bard Enterprises for the Advanced Listeners copy of Death and the Taxman in exchange for this honest review.

To Crown It All by Rhys Bowen

    

 In the mood for a cozy mystery set in pre world war II England?  Well then, I've got the book for you, To Crown It All by Rhys Bowen is exactly that.  Set to publish on November 17, by Berkley Publishing Group, To Crown It All tells the tale of a murder mystery among the aristocracy leading up to the coronation of George the VI in 1936.  

    Lady Georgiana Rannoch, a relative to the soon to be crowned King George VI expects to attend his coronation as a guest. Being married to her husband Darcy, an lesser titled peer removes her from wearing her robes and coronet to the ceremony and relegates her to the lesser peers, even though she is a blood relative to the royal family.  Her biggest worry at the beginning is finding the correct outfit to wear to the abbey.  However, this does not remain her only concern for long.  

    Leading up to the celebrations her guests begin to arrive to spend time with family prior to traveling to London and the household gets complicated. Her husband Darcy is constantly absent as he deals with security matters for the coronation. So dealing with the guests is all on Lady Georgiana's  shoulders. 

    Her mother, a talented actress, is being detained in Germany as a pawn to the Fuhrer, and needs rescuing. When her mother arrives, she is accompanied by a Nazi "minder" set to track her every move. Her father-in-law comes to visit family and meet his new grandson, and brings a young male guest unknown to the family.  Her father, an explorer arrives and dotes on a foreign princess (also visiting) as well as his ex-wife. Finally, enter her brother and difficult sister-in-law and you have a setting for intrigue and unrest. When a murder occurs the day before the family leaves for London, Georgiana is set to solve the crime. 

    To add to the mix, one of the lady in waiting train bearers for the soon to be queen must be replaced, and Lady Georgiana is the lucky lady to fill her shoes, which now places her as an integral part of the entire coronation ceremony. Quite the ordeal for Lady Georgiana, now she has to not only solve a murder mystery that happened in her home, but also not trip while carrying the queens train!

    Bowen does a nice job of creating enough suspense to keep the plot interesting while not bogging the reader down in detail. To Crown It All is definitely a light read to enjoy. I was pleased to find myself turning the pages and becoming immersed in the story but not feeling encumbered by the story.  I was definitely in the mood for a "Hallmark like" mystery and this story was just that.  I rate To Crown It All by Rhys Bowen with 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and Rhys Bowen for the advanced readers copy of To Crown It All in exchange for this honest review.  

All the Little Secrets by May Cobb

   

 All the Little Secrets is my first introduction to the writing prowess of May Cobb, but I am impressed ather prolificness and the quality of her novels. All the Little Secrets, to be published November 17, 2026 by Sourcebooks Landmark, is a stand alone sequel to

Cobb's previous novel, All the Little Houses. I was utterly surprised at the beginning of the book, the reader is introduced to a murdermystery from the start, but in a contrast to many novels, this time we know exactly whokilled the victim and why. Yet the reader is the only one in the novel who is privy to this information. In a twisted fashion, Cobb narrates her story from all the character's voices throughout the murder investigation, while keeping the reader entertained to watch as the participants in the book weave their lies to one another, in order to cast blame on each other as to who killed         Charleigh Anderson. Each character is completely warped and in association with the victim who is not a stellar human being herself, they illustrate human deceit as a normal part of their lives.

When I first began reading All the Little Secrets, I was a bit frustrated. Jumping from personality to personality felt taxing. I already knew who killed Charliegh so I felt cheated in the build up for the murder mystery. Yet as I continued to read I saw the genius in Cobb's approach. It was like watching a reality T.V. show unfold. All the players in the novel were making alliances with each other and manipulating the information to cast blame on each other. Even the dead victim had a voice in the story as she watched the plot unfold. I was particularly impressed with Cobb's writing voice to make each character become alive to the reader with a distinct personality and physical voice.  As I read I could tell more from the dialogue who the character was than the description of the person.  That takes talent.

There were surprises to the plot as the police solved the crime.  The reader knows, but the characters are kept in the dark until the bitter end. I was convinced that darkness had ruled the day but in the last pages, justice was served. 

If you are in the mood for a unique story, then I would recommend reading All the Little Secrets when it is released on November 17.  I am rating the book 4 stars, for its adept view of twisted human nature. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and May Cobb for the Advanced Reader's Copy of All the Little Secrets in exchange for this honest review.

#NetGalley #AlltheLittleSecrets #MaryCobb

Portrait of a Haunting by Madison Tyler Nelson

     

Looking for a ghostly suspense for the upcoming spooky season? Look no further than a new novel to be published October 6, 2026 by the Berkley Publishing Group.  Portrait of a Haunting by Madison Tyler Nelson is an exceptional read for those who love paranormal stories. 

    Tatum Alexander has grown up in the shadow of her mother's shocking past. Her mother, Amarina Alexander, an artist known as the "red hand". Amarina is famous for the violent murder of her boyfriend where she used his blood to paint the picture. She confessed and was imprisoned when Tatum was nine years old. What the world doesn't know is that Amarina and her daughter Tatum are also "watchers", those gifted with the sight of seeing and hearing the dead left as ghosts on earth.  Amarina embraced her gift, but Tatum has hidden from her powers ever since her mother's crime, avoiding all the spirits that recognize her ability by observing her gray eyes.  

    When her best friend Mischa is killed in their New York apartment, she searches for answers from her friends, a coven of witches in Manhattan. With the aid of her friends and her mother she learns that the only way to live with her gifts is to embrace them to save herself and her friends from becoming the killer's next victims. 

    I'm not a huge fan of paranormal horror stories, but this one pulled me in from the very first page.  Nelson does a superb job of creating characters that have depth and intrigue.  I hurt when Tatum's friend dies.  I feared for her safety as the plot built, and I was encouraged when she found her strength to overcome her trauma and become the woman she was meant to be all along.  

    I truly appreciated the pacing of the story.  It moved! I have read many lately that felt like a slog to get through, even though the story and writing were good.  Nelson's novel was not this way.  I enjoyed every moment I sat down to read, and though I was satisfied with the ending, I could have kept going without becoming bored.  That's high praise! I could easily see this book become a  Halloween season movie.  The characters and story are engaging and it would lend itself to film easily.

    I rate Portrait of a Haunting with 5 stars.  If you are looking for a bit of a thrill, pick up Portrait of a Haunting by Madison Tyler Nelson when it becomes available on October 6.  

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group and Madison Tyler Nelson for the Advanced Reader's Copy of Portrait of a Haunting, in exchange for this honest review. 

#NetGalley #PortaitofaHaunting #MadisonTylerNelson #BerkleyPublishing #paranormalsuspense 

The Vanished Sister by Sherry Thomas

 

Sherry Thomas, an American novelist  has added another story to her Lady Sherlock series. The ninth novel is, The Vanished Sister, publishing on September 29, by Berkley Publishing Group. 

Charlotte Holmes joins yet another mystery case when her friend Mrs. Watson  is invited to her sister's (Mrs. Carstairs)  party.  The sisters have been estranged for a very long period of time so when Mrs. Watson is personally invited to the guest holiday at the Carstair estate, Mrs. Watson is unsure of attending. When she does decide to go and reconnects with her older sister, she is devastated when her sister vanishes overnight.  No one notices Mrs. Carstairs is gone as she told the staff not to disturb her in the morning. When she is found missing, a woman is also found dead.  Is it Mrs. Carstairs?  Is it another woman entirely? The body is difficult to identify which causes much trauma to all involved.  How will Charlotte solve the mystery?

This was my first experience with the lady Sherlock set of mysteries by Thomas.  I was intrigued by the premise as I love a good murder mystery and cut my teeth on Sherlock Holmes original  stories.  Having not read Thomas's series before, I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters involved, even though Thomas included a list of characters and their connections to each other in the introduction of the novel.  I think what made it the most difficult to me was the fact that since this is a Victorian mystery, the characters were identified throughout the book by their surnames.  Mrs...Mr....Lord...etc.  It is simply a personal preference for me in particular, but I found my brain lost track of the people in the story as I was halted by the Mr. and Mrs. instead of primarily referring to the characters by their first names and getting to know them personally this way.

I have no doubt that avid readers of the series, having already learned all the characters and having fallen in love with them will have no trouble in the fluency of the reading. It was just my issue.  

I rated the book three stars, I felt the story didn't flow from scene to scene as well as I hoped. I still enjoyed the book and the premise of the story.  I need to read additional stories in the Lady Sherlock series to become more familiar with the setting and characters. I am certain with more time the reading will be easier to follow.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, Sherry Thomas and NetGalley for the Advance Reader's Copy of The Vanished Sister by Sherry Thomas in exchange for this honest review.