Month: March 2026

Not a detective Ernest Cunningham is back in another fun, head scratching, filled with clues murder mystery thriller. This time Ernest and his fiancé Juliette find themselves at a bank at the request of the bank manager. Ernest has decided he wants to open his own detective agency even though he isn’t a detective, but Juliette wants to borrow money to pay for their upcoming wedding as they have none, due to the sudden death of an actor who was to play Ernest in a movie…and unfortunately that killed the deal (pun intended). But everything suddenly takes a turn for the worse when a man enters the bank with a gun and explains he’s robbing the bank and taking everyone hostage.

He only wants a dollar from the safe.

What happens next is a series of misfortunate events, with each hostage carrying secret baggage, including Ernest himself! The comical cast of characters include: A Priest who does not speak but only types on his iPad, a young gamer who is touted as one of the best in the country, the film producer who was producing the film about Ernest, a young girl with a Go Fund Me page who is looking for a new heart and her caregiver, a very ditzy receptionist and a bank security guard. Oh, and there is also a talking parrot!

Are you intrigued yet? You should be because this is truly when the fun starts. As the day goes on, they of course will discover a body and will begin to uncover what they have each been hiding. Could they all be in this together?

Everyone In This Bank Is A Thief is a laugh out loud story with amazing clues which all are pieced together by the end of the story with so many ah ha moments your head will spin (or explode) …read the book… I can’t wait for the next!

Thank you #NetGalley #MarinerBooks #BenjaminStevenson #EveryoneInThisBankIsAThief for the advanced copy.

Life: A Love Story is a beautiful, touching, poignant story about an elderly woman who discovers she is dying. Now, she must get her life in order before her inevitable passing. Although she feels her life was simple and ordinary, as she looks back on all she has done and seen, and all those she has loved and cried about, she comes to the realization that no life in fact is just ordinary, but extraordinary. Yes, simple. but rich with life, love and good friends.

At 92 years young, Florence (Flo) Greene has just come back from the doctor who has informed her she only has a short time left to live. Her husband passed years ago and they never had children, so Flo decides to leave everything she owns including her house to her life-long friend Ruthie. Flo starts a letter to Ruthie and in doing so, rediscovers forgotten memories, happy times and yes, even very somber ones.

Thus begins the beautiful life Flo never realized she had. Not ordinary at all, but remarkable! As she goes through items in her home and where to find them, Flo tells Ruthie stories brought on by the memories they bring up, including some with her friend. Just a simple elastic band in a kitchen draw tugs at her heart for the love she shared with her husband Terrence. She relives times with Ruthie when they were young and innocent. She finds an old book which when she opens it surprises her with a new memory.

At the same time, she meets a neighbor who she feels needs a little push in the world. Flo decides it should be up to her before she dies to glean some of her many years of understanding upon a woman, she feels is lonely, yet at the same time, this wise new friend pushes Flo to do things she has never done before such as get her nails done.

Flo even tries to give Ruthie a bit of marital advice in her final letter knowing it might be none of her business but she’s dying anyway! More importantly, Flo comes to the understanding through her letter that every life has impact. On themselves, on others and sometimes that impact allows you to see what joy you have had, heartbreak, a learning experience, and the forgivingness of peace to the soul. But a life is a true love story.

Life: A Love Story will stay with you after the last beautiful page. It will make you smell the roses and look at the sky differently and it will have you hugging those you love or want to get to know a bit tighter. You see, it’s the little things in life that are not only the sweetest, but the most impactful.

Thank you #NetGalley #RandomHouse #ElizabethBerg #Life:ALoveStory for the advanced copy.

Once and Again is magical, but heartbreaking, yet such an uplifting moving story about a family of women with a decade’s secret. “The secret? With a mysterious ticket, once in their lifetime they can turn back the clock. The question becomes is it worth it? The answer is in the story as we learn about their lives, their regrets, their hopes and dreams and failures. Is the ticket worth what its cost to the user?

Sylvia is the mother of Marcella and the grandmother of Lauren. Years ago, she was gifted a ticket as a thank you and told she could use it once to reverse time. Every woman in her family would get their own ticket. As mysterious as the ticket is Sylvia’s past life is just as puzzling. She keeps that to herself. Marcella never knew her father, but she did learn about the ticket.

When Marcella’s husband died in a car crash leaving daughter Lauren and herself alone, she did not blink an eye. She knew she had to use the ticket to save him. But by doing that she has spent her life worrying about him. He came back energetic and loved to surf. Needless to say, her fear of losing him never went away.

Now as Lauren ponders her life with her husband Leo, she must make a few decisions. She and Leo have been secretly doing IVF. No matter what they do, they can’t get pregnant and now they have reached a point where not only can’t they afford the process anymore, but Leo just wants to stop completely. This has become a bone of contention between the two of them.

So, when Leo gets an assignment which will take him away for the summer, Lauren decides to spend the summer with her mother, father and grandmother at their house on the beach. She too is an avid surfer. Although she enjoys spending time with her mother, she is much closer to her grandmother and father. For Lauren she has never understood her mother’s feelings towards her.

Thus begins a summer which will change all their lives forever. Certain situations will occur which will not only test Lauren and Leo’s relationship but also test all of their past decisions, starting with Lauren who discovers her first true love, Stone, is living back home, and he tells her he regrets what happened to them years ago.

As the summer progresses, secrets, wishes and dreams will be discovered. So will betrayals. But for Lauren, this ticket will be on her mind. Do you change history? Do you try and work out problems on your own? Who do you love more?

Once and Again is a powerful, sensitive family story filled with intense love, grief and making amends. But the shocking twists and turns will keep you glued until the end!

Thank you #NetGalley #AtriaBooks #RebeccaSerle #OnceandAgain for the advanced copy.

That’s What Friends are For is Wade Rouse’s first, but not really first book. For years we have been reading his wonderful, beautiful stories under the name Viola Shipman, an ohmage to his beloved grandmother. But this new book although very different from his past stories is in my opinion stronger, more powerful, so very funny but in keeping with Shipman’s plots and characters has such heart and soul, love and strength and truly so much more. The story, inspired by a television show he watched with his grandmother and mother, The Golden Girls, incorporates the values and groundbreaking plots of the past show and wonderfully integrates them into current day dilemmas.

The story is about a group of gay men who found each other, live in Palm Springs, California, share a house named Zsa Zsa while each is trying to pursue their dreams, trying to leave their pasts behind and be there for each other. Sound familiar? They also monthly have a very popular drag queen show called The Golden Gays. But of course, each have come to the house of Zsa Zsa with terrible, sometimes horrific baggage.

Teddy loves his life with men and drink. He owns a consignment store and is the proud creator of The Golden Gays as that was his and his mother’s favorite show to watch when she was dying. Having been exiled from his family at an early age for not being like them, his father tortured him and his sister Trudy basically bullied him and stopped talking to him, he is now living his truest life. Until an unfortunate situation occurs.

Barry was actually in the first episode of The Golden Girls. But then they dropped him. He has been chasing the dream ever since. With the help and push of his friends he will continue to audition until he becomes famous or until he dies. Then he actually meets someone who hurt him terribly years ago and he is offered a proposition.

Ron was a devoted Midwest Catholic who keeps his housemates in order. Making sure the house looks decent and everyone is well. He is the heart of Zsa Zsa. But he is still sensitive to and nervous about his lifestyle and tries to stay under the radar. Until someone challenges him.

Finally, there is Leo. Who came out late in life leaving a wife and children (and grandchildren). But Leo has yet to find love or a soulmate. It could possibly be his age, he is in his 80’s, but he will never give up hope that he will somehow meet his one true love. Hopefully.

But when Teddy’s sister Trudy and her teenage granddaughter Ava show up all bets are off as to what will happen to the friends and the impact this visit will have on all of them.

They fight, they love each other, they cry for each other, and they will stand by each other no matter what. That in a nutshell is exactly what friends are for, if you are lucky to have them. That’s What Friends are For is filled with humor, drama, mystery, friendship, sensitivity and love, so much love, with so many lessons to be learned!

Thank you for being a friend to all of your readers Wade Rouse!

Thank you #NetGalley #MiraBooks #WadeRouse #That’sWhatFriendsareFor for the advanced copy.