Dear Fellow Reader,

How do you feel about resolutions? Do you feel better about resolutions or goals? I am a terrible goal setter. I don’t know if I have ever accomplished a goal. It feels like the minute I set a goal, it is lost. I know that back in the old days, we would set goals at work and then had to put in all the steps that would be involved in meeting those goals. I could do that fine – although I always wondered how far down you should really break it down- I always wanted to probably go a bit too far. And then they get lost. And I never reach them. As a result, I avoid goals.

But I do try to make resolutions. Are they different? I think they are. Mostly because I still think I have a chance with a resolution. Maybe we could call it a list of things I want to change in 2026. More than the past few years, I want to make sure that I am reviewing books more often. I took on a volunteer position a couple of years ago, and I have let it be just about a full-time job. I will be shifting my time in 2026 so that I will be able to pursue my interests more. That will include writing here more.

Enough of that!

Today’s book is a cozy mystery about an author. The story is set in Hoslewit, Great Britain. There is an event in town to celebrate the crime novel, The Killer Lines Festival. Many of the authors and agents are in town for the event. Jane Hepburn is an author whose works have not quite made her rich or famous. Jane feels that this is her chance to get her books out where people will find them. One of the ways that Jane thinks she can get her books more notice is to sneak into the tent where the books are displayed and move her books to the front and center. While in the tent, she finds the body of literary agent Carrie Marks, who is generally hated.

Jane, Natasha Marts, one of Carrie’s newest authors, and Daniel Thurston, an intern with the agency Carrie worked for, join forces to find the murderer. There are lots of suspects, and Jane discovers that it is much easier to figure out the “who done it” in her books than in real life.

A Novel Murder by E. C. Nevin (seems to be a pseudonym) is a good story. Jane is not very sure of herself in life but she is sure that her books should be selling better. While her insecurities plague her throughout the investigation, she does find the murderer and solve the case.

I enjoyed this book, and I think you will also. It is not heavy – it is a cozy mystery and it lives up to the genre.

Thanks for reading!