Welcome to Litsy!

Alexia Gordon at an interesting panel during Malice Domestic. Topic: What scares you? Her answer: chihuahuas but not clowns.

“I want to leave on a high, not sneak away in shame like the Colts out of Baltimore.“

Several months ago I remembered most of this quote, but could not for the life of me remember the book. I was convinced it was an early Spenser.

I am weirdly thrilled I finally figured out what the book was.

(I enjoyed this series and wish there were more books.)

Very cozy.

Excited to this get a movie! Love this series 🙂

Sneaking in a few pages before the movie starts.

Ireland, music, a ghost, and unsolved murders all combine to make this a good story.

My afternoon plans involve wee Geo and this supernatural, musical mystery! MURDER IN G MAJOR will be my last #AuldLangSpine title for the month, since I‘m still way down the holds lists for the remaining three titles I can get from the library, and it‘s off to a great start. I‘ve had an awesome time reading through @MeganAnn ‘s list these last few weeks.

This week‘s library haul features MORE PROUST, a title from my Litsy stack, and the last readily available novel on @MeganAnn ‘s #AuldLangSpine list. Good times.

For December, I think I will select this one as my #12BooksOf2022 choice. I loved the classical music references, and Gethsemane is a great female character lead. Plus, it‘s set in Ireland, so it was fun to explore small village life through the eyes of Gethsemane, an American who moved to the village. Add a ghost to the mix, and it works well. I plan to read the rest of the series.

I really enjoyed this mystery set in Ireland and featuring a classic musician, a haunted house, and a group of unruly boys. Gethsemane is a strong female character who has seen adversity and accepts challenges. I love the quirky characters she meets and will definitely pick up the second book in the series. #2016 #192025

#nsr22 update

Finished the mystery category with these four titles. While I really loved all of these, Murder in G Major was an unexpected favorite.

I only managed one title in the horror categories, Bunny for a thriller which I very much enjoyed. I generally don‘t read a lot of horror books though so this was always going to be a hard one. And most of year I turned towards feel good romance titles instead.

Stranded, Gethsemane Brown takes on the job of turning a bunch of recalcitrant teens into an award winning orchestra. Of course, then she also needs to solve a 25 year old murder case because the accused murderer is haunting her house.

Quick and clever, loved the use of music, loved the Irish small town setting. But, all the characters but the main felt flat, and I really dislike the sequel bait ending of a new problem in the last 5% 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

This was a great, quick read for the flight home yesterday and acclimating to being back home today. I‘m not typically one for the supernatural, but it was handled with a lot of humor in this cozy, which made it easier for me to suspend my disbelief. A few things bothered me about the storyline (sooo many village “crazies” and some inconsistencies), but it was mainly good, fluffy fun. Also loved learning a bunch of Irish slang 🙃 #diversecozy

September‘s #diversecozy buddy read is Murder in G Major!

“Gethsemane Brown accepts a less-than-ideal position turning a group of rowdy schoolboys into an award-winning orchestra… The perk? Housesitting a lovely cliffside cottage. The catch? The ghost of the cottage‘s murdered owner haunts the place… he begs Gethsemane to clear his name so he can rest in peace.”

Join us! Or read the next in the series if you‘ve already read this first book 🙂

Well, I‘ve found a new series. Gethsemane Brown is a great character, and I love her interactions with the ghost in her house and with the villagers. I saw a bunny on my evening walk. #audiowalks

When I took a course on diversity in libraries, we talked about read-alikes; if a patron tells you they like a certain book, what books you can recommend that are similar to what they like but are by diverse authors. This series features a Black woman and is written by a Black woman and was recommended when we talked about cozy mysteries. I‘m loving it and Gethsemane Brown, a classical musician living and teaching in Ireland. #audiowalk

This was fun but not great. A few editing issues (what characters knew when was contradicted) took me out of the story. Didn't love enough to read more in this series. #AwesomeApril @Andrew65 - 6 hours
#Booked2021 @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft #musicalinstrumentonthecover
#BFC21 @wanderinglynn and #AxeTheStacks @howjessicareads -1 more book read
Make a great day everyone.

Starting #AwesomeApril @Andrew65 - 30 hours is goal
#LosersClub #LosersClub2021 @DGRachel @TheNeverendingTBR @CaffeineAndCandy @Tattooedteacher -finish Green Mile
#Booked2021 @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft - finish books for prompts 11 and 22
#BFC21 @wanderinglynn -finish some books😊
All finished books will be from my TBR list #AxeTheStacks @howjessicareads
Make a great day everyone.
(Image from Pennington Public Library)

My college roommate Vicki and I started every Saturday morning playing this and singing along🎶
#ThinkPositiveBePositive

#AxeTheStacks @howjessicareads ought to help me this month with TBR and #BFC21 @wanderinglynn April goals and some #Booked2021 prompts @4thhouseontheleft @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage
(Picture from lastlemon.com)
Make a great day everyone.

At first I was upset and thinking “Where was I when this came out? How did I miss this?” Now I‘m just happy I found it! Already have book two. I loved the setting, the characters, the ghosts, and pretty much everything about it. On the plus side, finding it late means less downtime til the next book! 😊

#mystery

Oh dear, I'm ruining this book's 100% pick rating😬 I didn't hate it, but the fact that I found the ghost more believable than the Irish setting or the musical subplot was a definite problem. Also, I thought the murderer was fairly obvious very early in the story. Sorry to be a bit of a curmudgeon about this one. #BookspinBingo

Absolutely delightful cozy mystery with an added supernatural element. I have to say one the best thing about 2020 is finding so many new African American authors and stories featuring POC as the main character. Gethsemane Brown is an African American classical musician Who is reluctantly pushed into an amateur detective situation by a restless ghost. The characters and the little Irish town were all delightful and engaging. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#20series20days Day 7 This series has everything I love: set in Ireland, a strong interesting female lead, great supporting cast, and a clever mystery.

Update on my progress for #CozyInTheSun ☀️
This is the 7th cozy mystery I‘ve read this month and it might be my favorite. I loved that the main character Gethsemane is a maestra and the musical part of the book was interesting and so was the mystery! Highly recommend!

Sharing books by black authors during the month of July. I will add the synopsis from Goodreads below and in the comments.

With few other options, African-American classical musician Gethsemane Brown accepts a less-than-ideal position turning a group of rowdy schoolboys into an award-winning orchestra. Stranded without luggage or money in the Irish countryside, she figures any job is better than none. ⬇️
#readblackauthors #blacklivesmatter #blm

#MagicalMay #MusicalCover
Gethsemane Brown, an American classically trained musician, ends up taking what looks to be an impossible job of creating a prize winning high school orchestra in southeastern Ireland. Add a haunted Irish cottage, murder, and rather unique cast of characters and you have a cozy read.

15/63
I didn't read the plot summary before I started so I didn't know there was a supernatural element, but I think it it was well done and fit in the story. While the end wasn't a huge surprise I enjoyed the journey. Also it ended on such a cliff hanger but Libby doesn't have the ebook for the next in the series so I'll have to wait😕

#bookallusion #BooRadley #TKAM
No murder or mystery yet, but a figure, rarely seen, either human or supernatural, roams the Irish hills. An Apparition? A ghost like “Boo” who had not seen the light of day?
The violinist, Gethsemane, has come from America to Ireland in an attempt to recover from, & hopefully salvage her fall from grace in what had been a brilliant & promising orchestra career.
Love when I find a book alluded to in another book.

I‘ve got this chilly gray day off, so what‘s better than a cozy mystery and my two little furry companions? I bought a new nook yesterday and am giving it a whirl. Though I bought it because I thought my old one was dead, but I managed to fix the old one when I got home. Oh well. 🤣 #catsoflitsy #lennox #huey

This fun mystery took me to the Irish countryside with Gethsemane Brown, classical musician and amateur detective. The ghost of a great composer awaits in the cottage where she ends up, needing someone to solve his murder. And the adventure begins! The first in a series I'm excited to read.

Some more of my options for #cozyinthesun next month. I'm hoping to read a lot of the #cozymysteries that are sitting on my shelves waiting to be read but I suspect I will also end up checking a bunch out of the library 😁

Finished this audiobook today. It was actually a pretty good mystery. I didn‘t know much about it before reading it.

Gethsemane is teaching the orchestra of a boys school in Ireland. All her luggage gets stolen so she stays in a cottage no one has lived in for 25 years. Turns out it‘s haunted. Eamon is haunting the place and wants her help to discover who killed him and his wife.

#readingwomenchallenge - Mystery WOC
#ReadingUSA2019 (VA author)

Stats for Week 3 #BookFitnessChallenge

Points Week 2: 73 + 6 from Week 3 = 79 points

Made a conscious decision to not run a 3rd time this week. My schedule was messed up and I needed to reset. I workout the most on Wednesday and running on Tuesdays/Thursdays were not working for me.

Also, I think my book goal is too high. I thought I could listen to audiobooks more but I haven‘t been able to. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ I‘ve finished 4 with goal of 10..

I read about this series in a @bookriot mystery newsletter- I‘m glad she mentioned this! This MC is a smart, snarky POC musician stranded in Ireland who falls into a mystery with the ghost that haunts her cottage. This is book 6 in this season of #booked2019 - #newtomeauthor
Summary post to follow!

This was a really nice lazy Sunday mystery.
My only problem was pronouncing character names. You see, Gethsemane is not a name that rolls easily of the tongue, at least not if English isn't your first language.
Nonetheless I really liked Gethsemane and her story, I will definitely pick up the sequel.

A cozy mystery with an African American MC (by and African American author) where ghosts help solve the mystery and musical nerdy is a thing? Yes please!

This was a really good cozy mystery that I just finished, so it's perfect for the #backtoreading prompt #followtheclues! It wasn't the best of the genre I've read but it was really good for a debut novel and I'll definitely read more in the series. I don't recommend the audio though; the narrator was doing accents and the way she said some of the words really grated. @Tiffy_Reads

This was a delightful, charming mystery that's unlike almost any others - a musician in Ireland, ghosts, and a decades old murder. The main chapter is smart, funny, and appreciate a good bourbon. What's not to love about her? Definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.

This isn't perfect, but it is definitely out of the ordinary - I haven't found many Cozy crime books with black American lead characters - much less ones who are gifted concert musicians who've ended up stranded in rural Ireland teaching at music to ungrateful children! And there a ghosts. This is the first in the series and I'll definitely be watching out for the next one.

This isn't perfect, but it is definitely out of the ordinary - I haven't found many Cozy crime books with black American lead characters - much less ones who are gifted concert musicians who've ended up stranded in rural Ireland teaching at music to ungrateful children! And there a ghosts. This is the first in the series and I'll definitely be watching out for the next one.

This isn't perfect, but it is definitely out of the ordinary - I haven't found many Cozy crime books with black American lead characters - much less ones who are gifted concert musicians who've ended up stranded in rural Ireland teaching at music to ungrateful children! And there a ghosts. This is the first in the series and I'll definitely be watching out for the next one.