Saturday, August 13, 2022

The Unkept Woman by Allison Montclair

Business is good for the owners of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau (Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge and Miss Iris Sparks), but they are dragged into solving a murder once again when a dead body--first assumed to be Iris--is found in Iris' apartment. In order to clear her name, Iris, along with a very reluctant Gwen (who is trying to gain back custody of her young son and needs to be above reproach) try to uncover the murderer. Another very enjoyable entry in the Spark and Bainbridge series.

The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander

 After Jess' grandmother dies and she loses her job as a librarian, she's ready for a change. She falls in love with Ivy College in the small English village of Middlemass and impulsively buys it. Jess has enough money tucked away to take some time off and decide what she wants to do next. When Jess learns that a red telephone box is part of the property she bought, she opens up a lending library for the people in the village using the many boxes of books that her grandmother bequeathed to her. Soon, Jess is feeling part of the local community and has made many friends, but as time ticks away Jess is finding it hard to find a job nearby. Will she have to leave Middlemass and move to the city? And what about her infuriating handsome neighbor, Aidan, with whom Jess has made a point not to get involved? A great read-alike for Jenny Colgan and Felicity Hayes-McCoy.