Happy Tuesday!
It’s a short and sweet release week for SBTB HQ. Only a trio of books are on our radar and they’re all mysteries of a sort. Perhaps your own TBR pile feels the same.
What are you excited for this week? Let us know in the comments!
Murder by Cheesecake
Author: Rachel Ekstrom Courage
Released: April 15, 2025 by Hyperion Avenue
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Series: Golden Girls #1The first novel in the all-new Golden Girls Cozy Mystery Series!
When Dorothy’s obnoxious date is found dead in a hotel freezer, it not only ruins a gorgeous cheesecake but threatens the elaborate St. Olaf–themed wedding Rose is hosting.
Things are heating up, and not just because of Blanche’s hot flashes. Rose’s cousin is eloping to Miami, and Rose is playing host. If she can’t balance the groom’s family’s snobbery against the traditional St. Olaf wedding week guidelines, her hometown may never accept her cousin again!
Dorothy quickly realizes she needs a date with whom she can exchange wedding-related wisecracks. Turning to a newfangled VHS dating service, she believes she’s found the ideal conversationalist. Unfortunately, what looks good on TV can actually be a total jerk in real life. It seems she’ll just have to enjoy the company of Sophia, Blanche, and whomever Blanche has targeted for a hookup.
As the Girls all pitch in, Rose is thrilled that the tea-and-fish-themed kickoff event is perfect, not a herring out of place. That is until Dorothy’s date is found dead—face-planted in an otherwise scrumptious-looking cheesecake. With every guest a suspect (especially Dorothy) and a marriage on the line, the four besties must ID the real killer, get the should-be-happy couple down the aisle, and make sure nobody from St. Olaf gets lost in the wilds of Miami. It’s up to the Golden Girls to sleuth out a way for friendship and love to win the day!
Sarah: I’m intrigued!
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Author: Abbi Waxman
Released: April 15, 2025 by Berkley
Genre: Mystery/Thriller“Abbi Waxman is both irreverent and thoughtful.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin
A cranky former actress teams up with her Gen Z sobriety sponsor to solve the murder that threatens to send her back to prison in this dazzling new mystery novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.
When Julia Mann, a bad-tempered ex-actress and professional thorn in the side of authority, runs into Natasha Mason at an AA meeting, it’s anything but a meet-cute. Julia just found a dead body in her swimming pool, and the cops say she did it (she already went to jail for murder once, so now they think she’s making a habit of it). Mason is eager to clear Julia’s name and help keep her sober, but all Julia wants is for Mason to leave her alone.
As their investigation ranges from the Hollywood Hills to the world of burlesque to the country clubs of Palm Springs, this unconventional team realizes their shared love of sarcasm and poor life choices are proving to be a powerful combination. Will secrets from their past trip them up, or will their team of showgirls, cat burglars, and Hollywood agents help them stay one step ahead? Are dead piranhas, false noses, and a giant martini glass important clues or simply your typical day in Los Angeles? And will they manage to solve the crime before they kill each other, or worse, fall off the wagon? Trying to keep it simple and take it easy is one thing—trying to find a murderer before they kill again is a whole other program.
Amanda: A cranky actress has a Gen Z sober coach? Sounds like a lot of fun in an “odd couple” sort of way!
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As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!The Raven Scholar
Author: Antonia Hodgson
Released: April 15, 2025 by Orbit
Genre: Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: Eternal Path Trilogy #1From an electrifying new voice in epic fantasy comes The Raven Scholar, a masterfully woven and playfully inventive tale of imperial intrigue, cutthroat competition, and one scholar’s quest to uncover the truth.
Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, Bersun the Brusque must end his reign. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders compete to replace him. They are exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists—the best of the best.
Then one of them is murdered.
It falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor’s brilliant, idiosyncratic High Scholar, to find the killer before the trials end. To do so, she must untangle a web of deadly secrets that stretches back generations, all while competing against six warriors with their own dark histories and fierce ambitions. Neema believes she is alone. But we are here to help; all she has to do is let us in.
If she succeeds, she will win the throne. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won’t let that happen.
We are the Raven, and we are magnificent.
Amanda: The whiff of mystery has me quite interested.
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Willow Dixon’s OFF LIMITS (April 17) is the fourth book in her Legacy Mechanics series of m/m romances. This is an antagonists-to-lovers story between step-brothers, one of whom appears to be a cam-boy. My favorite book using this theme is Nyla K’s FOR THE FANS; I’m curious as to how Dixon will measure up.
My preorders for the week:
Who Will Remember (Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery Book 20)
C. S. Harris
Always ready for some more of Sebastian and Hero and company. So happy with the direction this series took after the first few books. One of the few times when the original love interest was replaced and improved upon with my full approval.
Wild and Wrangled: A Rebel Blue Ranch Novel
Lyla Sage
And I enjoyed Sage’s earlier ones so I’m up for more here.
I loved Willow Dixon’s OFF LIMITS and also Beth Bolden’s ON THIN ICE.