Secrets, Lies and Fireflies by Angie Fox

 Secrets, Lie and Fireflies

Book Summary

Verity’s grandmother returns to help Verity and Frankie solve a mystery that reveals a shocking family secret, as well as the heartwarming history of Verity’s home. This is one family reunion you don’t want to miss!

My Thoughts

Secrets, Lies and Fireflies by Angie Fox is a humorous story.  I always look forward to my yearly visit to Sugarland, Tennessee.  I can count on laughing often thanks to Verity and Frankie’s antics.  I like Angie Fox’s casual writing style which makes her stories easy to read.  There are great characters that include Verity, Frankie, Melody, Ellis, and the darling Lucy.  I could just envision Lucy in her costume, and I cracked up when I read about Ellis’s.  I loved reading about Verity interactions with her grandmother.  It was obvious how much Verity loved her.  We also get an opportunity to see what the house looked like before Verity had to sell off everything.  

The mystery was entertaining.  I liked that it involved the history of Sugarland. I found the fire devastating (the loss of books and historical documents).    I wish, though, that the guilty party had been less obvious.  This did not lessen my enjoyment (I devoured this story in a couple of hours).  There is a scene with Verity, Verity’s grandmother, and Frankie that had me laughing out loud.  The descriptive details allowed me to envision a certain person in my head which just made me laugh harder (I still giggle when I think about it—I do not want to spoil it for you by saying more).  Secrets, Lies, and Fireflies is the fourteenth book in The Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries.  While it can be read as a standalone, I recommend reading this entertaining series in order because it will allow you to get to know Verity and Frankie (and understand their unique relationship). I was hoping that Didi, Verity’s grandmother, would have insights on how to free a certain gangster from Verity’s property.   Secrets, Lies and Fireflies is an amusing story with a blazing library, a gregarious ghostly grandmother, a curious key, peaches a plenty, a snazzy sweater, a costumed skunk, an updo hairdo, and an interesting history.  

Secrets, Lies and Fireflies is available from Amazon (make sure you have nowhere to go before you begin). Angie Fox has the 15th book Garters, Ghosts and Wedding Toasts coming out February 27, 2026.   You can find the other books in The Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries here.  If you follow Angie Fox on Amazon, they will send you an email when she has a new book release.  Thank you for popping by today.  I will return on Saturday, March 8 with Amish Home Remedy for the Heart by Debra Torres.  I hope that you have a day filled with joy.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

*I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book.  I am not required to leave a review.  The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Dread and Buried by Angie Fox

 Dread and Buried

Book Summary

Dead men tell no tales.

Until they meet ghost hunter Verity Long.

Verity Long is proud to say she gets along with just about anybody—dead or alive. But she’s put to the test when her well-meaning boyfriend and her sweet-as-pie sister con her into a remote island “double date” weekend with her sister’s new flame and Verity’s long-time nemesis, Alec Duranja.

Her plans to avoid the uptight police officer go up in smoke when the four of them team up for a weekend treasure hunt competition based on the island’s legendary pirate past. And it doesn’t take long for Verity and her team to discover more than game clues. Someone is using the game to dig up real pirate gold...and they’re willing to kill to keep it.

There’s no escaping the island or the game. And when the killer targets someone Verity loves, she realizes she’s the only one who can uncover the truth behind the legend. She must stay one step ahead of the dangers of the island and two steps ahead of Frankie’s new ghostly pirate buddies—all in a race against time to solve a centuries-old puzzle and take down a real live killer before he strikes again.

My Thoughts

Dread and Buried by Angie Fox is an amusing paranormal mystery.  I laughed often while reading about Verity and Frankie’s latest adventure.  I felt for Verity.  Verity loves her sister, Melody.  Melody’s birthday wish, though, was hard one for Verity to agree to.  Verity and Ellis were invited (like she could refuse) on a weekend double date to a remote island (Phantom Island) with Melody and her boyfriend (Verity’s nemesis), Alec Duranja.  The weekend gets off to a rough start when Verity runs late after forgetting Lucy’s favorite toy.  Melody waits until they are on Phantom Island to inform them the weekend is a treasure hunt, and they are competing against three other teams.  One team is particularly ruthless.  The foursome soon discovers that someone is searching for more than the game's prize.  Verity believes the island’s legend about buried treasure could be true.  She will need to keep her wits about her to stay ahead of the bad guys as well as Frankie and his new pirate chums.

I quickly devoured Dread and Buried.  Verity Long is a great character and so is Frankie.  I did miss Lucy in this book.  She is staying with a friend while Verity is away.  Frankie was not as present in this story.  He popped up now and then when Verity called for him.  I missed his witty repartee.  Alec Duranja is a character that grows on you.  Melody sees a different side of Duranja (who knew the man owned a dog), and she wants Verity to get to know him.  I thought the books she gifted Verity and Duranja were hilarious.  The mystery is fun.  While I found it easy to solve, my mother only solved part of it before the reveal (my mother could not wait to get her hands on this book).  I did find it odd that Melody would date someone who shows such antagonism towards Verity especially considering how accepting and supportive Melody is of Verity’s gift.  Dread and Buried is the twelfth book in A Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries.  It can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading this delightful series in order.  It will allow you to get to know the characters and Verity’s journey (her struggles and triumphs). One of my favorite lines from Dread and Buried is when Frankie says, “Is that a pirate ship in the distance?  he demanded, giddy as a goat in clover.”  Another is when Verity says, “There was something about a mystery that always puts a spring in my step.”   Dread and Buried is an entertaining tale with an isolated island, an infuriating nemesis, a thrilling treasure hunt, sweet skunk earrings, troublesome twin contenders, bothersome books, an unforeseen find, a frustrating Frankie, a precious parrot, and a vexed Verity.

Dread and Buried is available from Amazon*, Nook, and Kobo.  The audiobook will be out on June 6.  Here is a link to read an excerpt from Dread and Buried. You can find the other A Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries here.  You can follow Angie Fox on Amazon and receive an email when she has a new book release.  Thank you for joining me today.  I will return on Tuesday, April 25 with Paper Cuts by Ellery Adams.  It is the sixth A Secret, Book, and Scone Society Novel (and my favorite).  There are several good books coming out next Tuesday (I have been up late reading every night).  I hope that you have an entertaining weekend.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader 

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Haunted Homecoming by Angie Fox

    The Haunted Homecoming

   Book Summary

Apple cider, bonfires, football, and—ghosts.

It’s homecoming weekend in Sugarland, Tennessee and ghost hunter Verity Long is tickled to see so many souls—living and dead—back in town to celebrate. But not all reunions are happy ones, and when Verity stumbles upon a dead body by the football field, it appears someone has already evened the score.

   My Thoughts

The Haunted Homecoming by Angie Fox has Verity Long welcoming her mother, Tilly and stepdad to Sugarland, Tennessee for the 106^th Annual Sugarland Homecoming Festival.  The town will be opening their time capsule that weekend as well.  When the time capsule is opened, a woman in a red dress is found dead inside.  It turns out to be Tilly’s best friend who disappeared the night of her homecoming dance.  Tilly asks Verity to investigate and get justice for her friend.  Verity will have to do her sleuthing while helping Frankie evade a Cuban mobster intent on killing him (after a couple of decades of torture).  Verity will need to solve the murder with one reluctant ghost and one overeager mother.

The Haunted Homecoming by Angie Fox is the 10^th The Southern Ghost Hunter Mystery.  It can be read as a standalone, but you will be missing out on a delightful series.  I look forward to reading a new Verity and Frankie book each year and so does my mother.  When she heard I had gotten The Haunted Homecoming, she insisted I download it on her device.  I thought The Haunted Homecoming was easy to read with developed characters and plenty of humor.  I laughed often while reading this entertaining tale (and so did my mother).  Verity must deal with her mother who insists on telling people every detail of her life (especially the embarrassing stories and stuff Verity wants kept secret like her ghost hunting adventures).  Frankie, of course, is up to no good.  He has a Cuban mobster gunning for him which has Frankie plotting a way to get even.  The mystery was fun to follow.  A cold case has Verity questioning her mother’s old classmates—those alive and those who have passed.  Verity had plenty of “help” from her mother.  Verity’s mother provided many laugh-out-loud moments that included Lucy’s wearing a cheerleading outfit with a bow for her head and a wreath for Frankie’s shed.  The author ended the book on a cliffhanger which has me eager to read Give Up the Ghost. You cannot help but love a book that makes you laugh and smile.  The Haunted Homecoming is witty tale with an aggrieved girlfriend, a killer Cuban, a rumormonger mother, a freaked-out Frankie, a lovable Lucy, and a vexed Verity.  

The Haunted Homecoming is available from Amazon*.  You can find the other novels in The Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries here.  Give Up the Ghost will be the 11th novel in the series and it publishes May 31, 2022.  You can follow Angie Fox on Amazon so you can receive updates on her latest releases.  Thank you for visiting today.  Tomorrow I am sharing my thoughts on Complications by Danielle Steel.  I hope that you have a spirited day.  Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader 

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.