Audiobook Review: Without a Clue by Melissa Ferguson
Without a Clue
Author: Melissa Ferguson
Narrator: Karissa Vacker
Published: February 17, 2026
Audiobook: 8 hours 43 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: February 24-28, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
When a mystery writer mysteriously dies on a cruise filled with rabid fans, his protégé (and personal assistant) teams up with a rugged cowboy and fellow writer to crack the case. One part Only Murders in the Building, one part Book Lovers, and a whole lot of laughs, Without a Clue will keep readers guessing and swooning until the very end.
If there’s one thing Penelope Mae Dupont prizes most, it’s her composure–her ability to stay calm in the face of stress. It’s a vital trait in her job as a personal assistant to renowned mystery author Hugh Griffin. But when Pip organizes a book cruise featuring The Fabulous Seven–seven celebrated authors from different genres who have supported each other through thick and thin–her famed composure is in danger of sailing away. One boat, hundreds of devoted readers, and seven Big Personalities. What could possibly go wrong?
Disaster strikes when, on the second day of the cruise, Hugh is found murdered. And, in the face of gross incompetence by the on-board security force, Pip realizes she’ll need to be the one to discover who did it. With the ship stranded in the middle of the Atlantic and no help on the horizon, it’s up to her to unravel the mystery. Along with her friend Nash–a dreamy Western author who’s just as rugged as the cowboys he writes about. As Pip’s composure starts to sink faster than a leaky dinghy, Nash becomes her anchor in a storm of clues and red herrings.
With Nash at her side, Penelope dives into the murky depths of the mystery, navigating treacherous waters filled with unexpected twists and turns. No one, not even a desperately hopeful mystery sleuth named Pip, could anticipate the wild ride ahead. Whether she likes it or not, she is on the adventure of a lifetime . . . and maybe, just maybe, she’ll find love along the way.
In this laugh-out-loud funny Clue-meets-Emily-Henry rom-com, Penelope Mae Dupont is about to find out that in the world of mystery and romance, you have to risk going overboard to find the truth.
Jessica’s Review:
This was such a fun novel to listen to! And Karissa Vacker narrated it: She is a narrator I look out for, so when I saw this one, I had to listen to it!
We have Penelope (Pip) who has organized a book cruise (that would be so much fun to go on!) featuring The Fabulous Seven and the cruise is seemingly going well until… we have a murder of one of the seven! And it was committed by another one of the seven! On board security is useless so Pip finds herself having to ‘catch’ the killer… without harm coming to anyone else. And along the journey comes a possible love connection… or is it?
Again, Without a Clue was so much fun! The listener gets a little bit of everything: mystery intrigue, murder, and maybe a love connection! Come on this cruise and follow Pip figure out just what is going on! You’ll be in for an adventure all the way unto the end! I was not expecting the novel to go the way it did!
If you need a fun read with some murder and intrigue, give Without a Clue a read or listen! Many thanks to the publisher for granting me an audio copy to listen and review. I enjoyed this one!
Audiobook Review: The Good Samaritan by John Marrs
The Good Samaritan
Author: John Marrs
Narrators:
Elizabeth Knowelden
Charlotte Cole
Matthew Lloyd Davies
Tim Campbell
Published: December 1, 2017
Audiobook: 11 hours 36 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: February 6-13, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
She’s a friendly voice on the phone. But can you trust her?
The people who call End of the Line need hope. They need reassurance that life is worth living. But some are unlucky enough to get through to Laura. Laura doesn’t want them to hope. She wants them to die.
Laura hasn’t had it she’s survived sickness and a difficult marriage only to find herself heading for forty, unsettled and angry. She doesn’t love talking to people worse off than she is. She craves it.
But now someone’s on to her—Ryan, whose world falls apart when his pregnant wife ends her life, hand in hand with a stranger. Who was this man, and why did they choose to die together?
The sinister truth is within Ryan’s grasp, but he has no idea of the desperate lengths Laura will go to…
Because the best thing about being a Good Samaritan is that you can get away with murder.
Jessica’s Review:
The Good Samaritan. The title leaves you to believe we are in for a story about a ‘good’ main character, but Laura is just the opposite: She is the villain that you love to hate! I actually listened to this one after finishing Dead in the Water but wish I had listened to Samaritan first.
The Good Samaritan is a dark and twisted novel that plays a cat and mouse game with the two main characters: Laura and Ryan. Laura is a volunteer for End of the Line, which is a suicide hotline. She is a master manipulator who abuses her position to get what she wants: People dying. We also have Ryan who lost his pregnant wife to suicide. He is trying to find answers and Laura is seemingly responsible.
Like always with Marrs’ novels, we have quick chapters that keep a reader/listener coming back for more. I really had no idea what was going to happen at the end. And when you are finished reading The Good Samaritan go ahead and read Dead in the Water for more in this world.
The narrators did a great job with the narrations and one narrator is back for Dead in the Water.
Needless to say, there is a trigger warning for suicide and suicide attempts.
What will John Marrs bring us next?
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Blog Tour: A Review of The Heart-Shaped Box by Lucy Kaufman
Today I am helping end the Blog Tour for The Heart-Shaped Box by Lucy Kaufman! I am sharing my review for this novella. If you are lucky enough to be in the UK, there is a giveaway going on! This is a page-turning psychological thriller novella about infatuation, revenge and the lengths we will go to for love.
Novella Description:
Victorian, rural Sussex. When headstrong daughter of a rector, Constance Timothy, receives a flurry of gifts in pretty little boxes from the charming, smouldering student doctor Smith Williams, her whole family anticipates a future betrothal.
Yet beneath the exquisite pastel lids and satin bows lie macabre secrets that entice Constance into a private world of obsession and darkness, where morality becomes blurred, loyalties are tested and unthinkable acts are possible.
One secret will shake the genteel world she knows to the core…
The first book of The Carousel of Curiosities series, this haunting novella is perfect for readers of Sarah Waters, Laura Purcell, and Angela Carter.
The Heart-Shaped Box
Series: Carousel of Curiosities #1
Author: Lucy Kaufman
Published: February 3, 2026
Kindle: 87 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: January 19-29, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Jessica’s Review:
The Heart-Shaped Box is a short novella, just 87 pages, but it pulls you in! At first you think it’s going to have a little romance with Constance receiving gifts from her suitor Smith Williams, but then what the gifts are… The reader realizes that this novella is in fact, is going down a dark path!
The more gifts Constance receives the further into the macabre Constance goes, and she is seemingly enjoying it. As the novella progresses, there are a few unexpected twists and then the reader was left hanging: I need the second in this series as I need to know what happens! Ms. Kaufman, how many novellas will be in this series? When will novella two be released?
In addition to a potential romance this novella has topics that readers who enjoy ‘darker’ novellas will enjoy: Jealousy, the macabre, obsession, and more!
I received a copy to read and review as a part of the blog tour. I enjoyed reading this one! I just wish I had been able to sit down and read it quicker than I did.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
UK Giveaway
If you live in the UK you can enter this giveaway: Subscribe to Lucy Kaufman’s newsletter at www.sepiaink.co.uk by 15th February 2026 (UK home address only) to win a small heart-shaped box of chocolates!
About the Author:
Lucy Kaufman is an award-winning author, playwright, audio dramatist and poet. 40 of her plays have been performed professionally around the UK and Australia, to critical acclaim. She has lectured in Playwriting and Screenwriting for Pen to Print and Canterbury Christ Church University and is a mentor at The Writing Coach. Originally from London, she now lives by the sea with her husband, sons, dogs and cats.
Contact Lucy:
Instagram: @kaufmanlucy
Instagram: @sepiainkpublishing
Sepia Ink Website