Welcome to Litsy!

As we get ready to move into this last week of 2024/beginning of 2025, remember to take time for self-care, everyone!

On my second book of the day (the first was a re-read of Christmas Cupcake Murder) while the hubs plays Witcher and we wait for the Independence Bowl to start. Have to get in all the fun reading I can while winter break is still on! Hope you‘re all having a good weekend!

Second audiobook in the series. Superb, clever, and darkly funny. 5 stars.

I devoured Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, so I've high hopes for this sequel!

Fun! I liked this book more than the first one in the series and thought the audio was well done. The narrator constantly breaks the fourth wall to talk to the reader and help them try to solve the crime. I didn‘t solve it but I liked all the twists!

Today I‘m in bed with a nasty bout of vertigo, which I haven‘t had (thankfully) in over a decade. So it was a perfect time to finish up this audiobook, and I‘ve got another one cued up on Libby. 💗

I cleared this one off my shelf and enjoyed it more than the first. I appreciated this “fair play” mystery especially in the midst of reading Sherlock Holmes where so many “clues” are kept from the reader.

I‘m moving right on to reading the #ARC I have in this series. It‘s a holiday novella.

#BookSpinBingo #readyourTBR #SeriesLove2024

Poolside reading is a true summertime treat!

A fun quick listen - both a murder mystery and a love letter to the genre.

That's the good stuff right there. I think I remember
having a similar experience with the first book in
this series, that I was enjoying myself riding along
with the attempted mystery solving, then got a bit
iffy in the reveal, as there were certain things I'd
already guessed, and then other things I hadn't had
a clue about that were just barely believable, and
then it was how the book actually ended that
settled it for me, 1/?

Reading this weird book, weird as nothing seems to happen but I am intrigued enough to keep reading. Chapter 14 and the first murder is discovered. Have not read Everyone In My Family Has Murdered Someone but may have to if I can just get through this book.

I liked the mysteries/ reasons for the murders and I loved the setting- on a luxury train through the middle of Australia. But I've already grown tired of the breaking of the 4th wall and the conceit that narrator is talking us through their writing process as the book progresses. Mostly a pick but I'm going to try to avoid this type of plot for a while.

Well worn chestnut that needs to be retired. Not a lot of nuance in assuming popular automatically equals dreck.

An early night and a (hopefully 🤞🏻) good mystery.

Listened to this one over audio. I liked this one more than the first book by the author. The downside of audiobooks is trying to keep up with who is who but still overall a great & fun listen. Definitely some fun & interesting characters while Ernest tries to solve the murder on the train. #bookspin (TW: there is a mention of rape, for those that are sensitive to this topic).

Cute.

I‘m a sucker for a snarky narrator. Enjoyed this just as much as the first book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

@wideeyedreader picked this one for our mother-daughter murder mystery book club this month. I loved it. It was just as good, if not better, than the first and as always with these things I was surprised by the ending. I would not make a good detective 😂😂

Loved this one as much as the first—and was just as stumped by it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Read with @AmyK1 for this month‘s mother daughter murder mystery book club

👍

A murdery audiobook needs a murdery @FrostbeardMPLS candle 🕯️ Nearly finished with this one and just how I felt when I read the first one I feel like I need more Australian author recs 😄

Ghastly ⭐️ (😉) I loved this one even more than the first! I decided to try the audiobook this time around, and it made the experience even better. I love the humor and the style of these books, and I enjoyed the mystery even if I didn‘t guess any of the plot twists. When the epilogue started, I actually went sheet white and gasped out loud 😱 but by the time it was finished I was giggling 🤭 I adore this series and can‘t wait for the next book!

⭐️ 🚞 🔪 📝 (tagged book, which is hilarious and so so good!)
⭐️⭐️ I‘m very excited to start Where the Dark Stands Still by A. B. Poranek
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I frequently recommend Fredrik Backman :)

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

A little too much filler, mostly in the form of breaking the fourth wall over and over without adding anything to the story, but witty like the first and an interesting enough story with some fun reveals.

A fun follow up to Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone. Definitely influenced by Agatha Christie, but with its own fun first person quirks. I enjoyed it and will read more from this author. 4⭐️

34/150 As fun as the first book was, I actually like this one even better. Some people might be annoyed by the author breaking the fourth wall to talk to directly to the reader, but I enjoy those moments, it adds a quirky charm to solving the murder mystery. I'm not sure how many books can be written with this MC, but I hope we get another one at least.
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

#bookmail

I enjoyed Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone very much, so I ordered the next book featuring Ern.

A great sequel and a feline hot water bottle combine for happy weekend reading 👓

#shelfie #LitsyLove #LitsyLoveBingo

One of my HP shelves and my book haul from today. 📚🤓💙

I actually liked this one better than the first one! I think this book really took the criticism of the first book and made the second better. When the author interjects, it felt more natural than the first one. I felt the main character was a little more fleshed out. I also just enjoyed this setting more. 4.5/5

I do believe this second book in the series was even more fun than the first. I love Stevenson's humor and style. Highly recommended!

These are my most recent acquisitions. All bought in the past 3 weeks. None were needed, but all were wanted. 😊

Currently reading the tagged book and Infinity Gate, and both are fantastic.
#bookhaul

"It doesn't matter how many names on how many spines of how many books you have, sometimes your legacy boils down to meat in a black plastic bag."

Loving this book.

A great follow up to Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. Humor and grisly murder combine on a train…with several mystery authors…and a bunch of secrets. I greatly enjoyed listening to this one. Ernest is a fun character, who provides as much info as possible to solve the crime. But, there are a lot of twists and turns, with just a tiny bit of red herrings scattered throughout. Enjoyable!

A unique literary festival is taking place on a train bisecting #Australia when suddenly someone dies. A couple amateur sleuths, including protagonist Ernest are sure it‘s murder and trying to solve the crime. This is a super fun read with a good sense of humor. You don‘t have to have read the first book to enjoy this one.

#ReadingOceania2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

If you liked the first book, I think you will like this follow up! I did enjoy the first one more, though. Everything came together in a clever way, but it was a bit convoluted and I didn‘t feel as invested in the cast of new characters. It also had some similarities to “The Mystery Guest”, which I listened to within the last couple of months, so it didn‘t feel quite as original to me as the first one did.🎧

1. Work, hang out with my grandson, read.
2. I have a planner, and lists everwhere.
3. Austrailia, 1940's Germany, Limbo

#motivationmonday
@cupcake12

Well, I couldn't not read all of this book in one sitting. Could I have put it down? Sure, but why would I?

Not as many deaths as the first book, lots of suspects though. And Ernest pulls some stunts that are Mission Impossible worthy.

#SeriesLove2024 @TheSpineView @Andrew65

I‘m doing something a bit different this year. Instead of the bracket style monthly picks I‘ve done in the past, I‘m going to pick my favorite book from the month and leave it at that 😊 So, without further ado my Jan 2024 pick is 🥁🥁🥁 the tagged book 🎉🎉🎉 I loved it and devoured it over the 3-day MLK Jr weekend. This author has joined my “auto-buy author” list for his humor, wit, and overall great story telling 🙌 #TopReads2024

I enjoyed this slightly zany (both in structure and plot) story, but did not 'love' it and I wanted to. Maybe it got just a little too crazy for me. I also think it would have been a better read as a physical book, as I often wanted to go back to check things and find that easier with an actual book. That being said it was still worth my time and would read the next in the series. Thanks to Edelweiss for the digital ARC. 3.5/5 stars.

I loved this book. L-O-V-E-D IT! I started it Friday and then a winter storm forced me to stay home so I finished this delightful read this weekend from our frozen tundra 🥶☃️🧊 I am keeping my fingers crossed for more stories from Ernie! If you enjoyed Anthony Horowitz‘s ‘Horowitz & Hawthorne‘ books, you‘ll really like this one and Stevenson‘s first book (tagged in comments). ALL THE STARS!!!!

This book is EXACTLY what I needed 🥰 Our plans to visit my family in Iowa this weekend were ‘derailed‘ by a winter storm that brought blizzard like conditions and below zero real temperatures with unheard of wayyyy below zero windchills 🥶🧊❄️ So, we unpacked our bags and have been hunkering down on the sofa; me with this hilarious and great read and my hubby with Madden NFL. We‘re aiming to meet up in Feb 🤞🤞🤞

Too much dialogue. I've got many more books waiting to be read.

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 Someone pinch me!!! There were easily 1000+ people in this giveaway, and I WON A COPY!!! What a fantastic way to start a Monday!!!