Tag: Tucker May

Sunday Summary – 7th December 2025

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It’s a soggy Sunday here, but that won’t put a dampener on today’s Sunday Summary catch-up! Whether the weather is as miserable where you are as it has been here, or if you’ve got off lightly, I hope you’ve had a great week.

This week I’ve posted more than average on the blog. With the timing of a blog tour coinciding with the beginning of the month, I’ve had an increase in post obligations. That said, I’ve managed the extra post pretty easily, and I hope you have enjoyed finding out what I’ve been up to.

My first post that went live was my monthly wrap-up for November. In the end, November was a great month of reading progress. If you have yet to check out that post, or are interested in the books I read last month so you can maybe pick up a recommendation or two, here’s a link so you can take a look for yourself.

Next, I shared my blog tour review for a book called Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May. If you are looking for a fun, lighthearted murder mystery, this would be a great pick for you. I read this book very quickly and the lighter tone was very much needed. I’ve been reading a lot of heavy fantasy. The change of genre and tone were much appreciated.

On Friday, I shared my last monthly TBR of the year. With final reading goals to meet, I’ve planned December‘s reading list around hitting those final milestones. Final books in series? Check. Books on the Goodreads Fall Challenge? Check.

 

Books Read

Empire of the Dawn 

I’ve still not really read much of Empire of the Dawn this week. However, with the conclusion of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! tonight, I’ll have less in the way of TV obligations to keep up with and hopefully more time to pick up a physical read. 

I’ve toyed with the idea of getting a digital copy of this book from my local library. Sometimes, I think having a big heavy hardback can get in the way of me getting some reading done. However, I can’t borrow it that way, so I’ll persevere with my physical copy. 

 

A Crucible of Souls

Progress with my audiobook listen of A Crucible of Souls has gone much better. In fact, I have listened to several hours of the audiobook today whilst putting up Christmas decorations. That, and redecorating my Christmas tree every time the cats pull the ornaments off. I have a suspicion I’ll have ‘redecorated’ the tree about 50 times before the 1st of January… 

With progress at around the 75% mark, I’m now intrigued as to whether the narrative of this first instalment of the series will end. Caldan is doing pretty well for himself after his exile from the monastery he grew up in at the beginning of the book. Honestly, I think he’s having too good of a time at the moment and I’m wondering if it’s all going to come crashing down on him. He’s clearly an exceptional person who was undiscovered because of his cloistered circumstances. For a person of his naivety, I can’t help but think at some point somebody is going to take advantage.

Regardless of how the book pans out, with a little under five hours left of progress to make, I anticipate finishing A Crucible of Souls next week. Then, I can tell you more! 

 

Death of a Billionaire 

As of last week’s Sunday Summary, I picked up at the beginning of the week with priority going to finishing the last 80% of Death of a Billionaire.

With a review deadline of Wednesday, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I pushed on with this book so I had plenty of time to write my thoughts before that post went live on Wednesday. Not that it was difficult to finish! On the contrary, the change of genre, pace and tone was exactly what I needed. After reading a lot of heavier and longer books of late, I appreciated something shorter and with plenty of humour laced throughout.

This Sunday Summary isn’t the place where I’m going to outline all my thoughts. I’ve done so already in my blog tour review post. If you want to find out more, that’s the place to go.

 

Books Discovered

With a couple of book acquisitions last week, I’ve behaved and have nothing new to add to my reading list. The only update in today’s Sunday Summary is that I actually took a couple of books off my list when looking ahead to an upcoming post next week. It may not be exciting news, but I have plenty enough of my reading list to be getting on with without forcing myself to pick up something I’m no longer interested in. 

 

Coming Up… 

It’s been nearly a month since I shared my last book review with you that wasn’t for a specific commitment. And everyone knows I have a backlist longer than my TBR. Okay, well not quite, but it’s significant! Next on my list of books to review is Starsight by Brandon Sanderson. If you know a fan of young adult sci-fi, you won’t go wrong with this series if you need some Christmas present inspiration 😉 It’s well documented I love Brandon Sanderson, so my review won’t come as a surprise. 

On Friday, I’ll share my next Shelf Control post. If you haven’t seen this before, it’s a series I have ongoing on my blog. In the series, I look at upcoming reads on my TBR to make sure what’s on there is still relevant. This week, I’ve got a sinister thriller lined up for you. 

Finally, this time next week I’m back again with another Sunday Summary. I’ve got plenty of books on my final TBR of the year, so hopefully I’ll have plenty more reading progress to share! 

That’s all from me right now though. Enjoy your week ahead! 

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Blog Tour Review: Death of a Billionaire – Tucker May

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When the nights are drawing in, a funny murder mystery definitely lifts the spirits. If you’re in the market for a quick and engaging whodunnit, Death of a Billionaire will be perfect for you! 

Before I get stuck into this review in earnest, thank you to Tucker May and Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review Death of a Billionaire. Whilst I was provided with a copy of the book for the purposes of providing my review, my thoughts are my own. 

Now, let’s dive in, shall we? 

 

Death of a Billionaire – Tucker May

Genre: Murder Mystery

Pages: 268

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Tucker May Books

Original Publication Date: 14 Nov 2025

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads – Death of a Billionaire

Ever dream of killing your boss? Alan Benning knows how you feel.

The problem: his billionaire boss actually winds up murdered. And the whole world thinks he did it.

When globetrotting tech billionaire Barron Fisk is found dead on the floor of his swanky Silicon Valley office, all evidence points to Alan.

Alan must venture into the glitzy, treacherous world of tech billionaires to clear his name by sortingthrough a long list of suspects with motive aplenty. If he can’t find the real culprit, Alan’s going down.

The clock is ticking.

Who killed Barron Fisk? The truth will shock— and change— the entire world.

Fans of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club series, Carl Hiaasen’s tales of high-stakes hijinks,or Ruth Ware’s page-turning mysteries will love Death of a Billionaire.

Purchase Link

 

My Thoughts… 

Plot 

Do we all dream of murdering our bosses? I can’t say I do, but then again, I am pretty boring by a lot of people’s standards. Alan Benning, however, despite the same reputation, finds himself accused of his CEO’s murder. So begins Death of a Billionaire. From here, the book almost comically lays out all the potential suspects and why they have a motive to see the late Barron Fisk off. 

The book also has a good twist at the end. I had my suspicions from quite early on as to the identity of a mysterious anonymous narrator. And I was close, so close. Tucker May is clever in unveiling the big reveal at just the right time! 

Generally, the book is well paced, and revelations, stake outs, and parodied corporate boardroom drama drive the plot forward. Death of a Billionaire isn’t shy on the action, which is what I really enjoyed about this narrative. 

 

Setting

Aside from being a little futuristic in technology, the world of Death of a Billionaire is much like our own. It’s fun and approachable, regardless of whether you are technically minded or have a lot of interest in technology. Let’s be honest, in our world 30% of smartphone users are loyal to one of the tech brands in the world. Hint, their logo and name are fruity… It’s therefore not a stretch for one brand to dominate the market in this fictional world. 

The spectrum of characters in the book allows us to see people and settings from all demographics. Rich, poor, people of colour – it’s a diverse place! I also like to see this wider representation, so kudos that Death of a Billionaire does this well. 

 

Characters

The suspects in Death of a Billionaire are all comically shady in some way. It was a fun jaunt to pick apart their stories and get under the hood with their relationships to Barron Fisk. He, and some of the other characters in this book, are far from noble or even nice. It’s hard to feel sorry about what happened to him. The police investigation tears apart the lives of those closest to Fisk, some deserving, others less so. 

Barron Fisk is not a likeable character, so Tucker May has done a fantastic job of maintaining that personality and facade of Fisk whilst keeping us readers invested in his murder investigation. 

 

Narrative Style 

The book is short and snappy. With concise chapters and lots of action to match, you’ll be whiling away the page count before you know it! The plot does a lot of the work to get you compulsively turning the pages, but this does help you along 😉

Combine that with the humour and unique disdain shown to us readers by the narrator, and you get a fun, quirky read. Death of a Billionaire was fantastic as a light palate cleanser around some longer, heavier books. Its tone and joviality are refreshing. Truthfully, it was the type of book I needed right now.  

 

Summary 

Are you after a lighter, humorous murder mystery where everyone is a suspect and probably should be for a good reason? If so, pick up Death of a Billionaire and you won’t regret it! I shared that I’d just started this book in my Sunday Summary a few days ago, and I finished it quickly.

 

Author Bio

Tucker May was raised in southern Missouri. He attended Northwestern University, where he was trained in acting and playwriting. He now lives in Pasadena, California, with his wife, Barbara, and their cat, Principal Spittle. He is an avid reader and longtime fan of the Los Angeles Rams and Geelong Cats. Death of a Billionaire is his debut novel.

Social Media Links – 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tuckermaymysteries/

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/tuckermaymysteries.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556491591135

Monthly Wrap-Up – November 2025

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I’m looking forward to sharing the books I read in the last 30 days in today’s monthly wrap-up for November! I put in some solid reading, and I have a lot of good books to recap and share with you. How many books did you read in November? I’m not even sure how many I read; let’s take a look, shall we? 

 

Books Read 

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping 

As of my last monthly wrap-up post, I had just 100 pages left of A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping. I got on so well with this book, I didn’t even feature it on November’s monthly TBR – I finished it on the first day of the month. 

I enjoyed this cozy, whimsical read. The message is great, and I was compelled to find out whether Sara’s life and circumstances changed after the book or not. The characters were great, and A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping was a well-received read, even if it’s not one I’d have picked myself. That’s what makes books clubs fun – and helps me meet me reading goal of reading outside of my comfort zone. 

 

Wizard of Ends: United Army

The beginning of the month was punctuated with reading deadlines. In a way, I actually think that helped me get some solid reading done. Sometimes, you need something like that to give you a kick up the bum, right? 

The added bonus is that Wizard of Ends: United Army was a shorter read. I read the book over the course of a day, and I published my review of the book on the 3rd November. No rest for the wicked, is there? In the interests of getting you to appreciate my efforts in writing down my thoughts, I’m going to point you to that review. I had fun with this short fantasy book. I also have a unique perspective in that unusually, I read this third instalment before picking up the earlier books. It’s not a habit of mine, but necessity struck. 

 

The Angel Prophecy

Just three days after my review of Wizard of Ends went live, I had another deadline to meet. When it rains, it pours, eh? It’s my own fault! I have a tendency to book myself on to a load of blog tours in one go, then not do any for a bit. Rinse and repeat. 

I wanted to pick up The Angel Prophecy after reading and reviewing The Atlantis Covenant as part of a blog tour back at the beginning of September. Honestly, it was as fun as I anticipated after reading that first instalment. Not only that, but I enjoyed getting to read some chapter perspectives from characters I liked from that first book, but maybe didn’t have a dominant enough role or personality to shine in The Atlantis Covenant. 

As with Wizard of Ends, if you want to read more on this book, you can check out my review. 

 

The God of the Woods

My final deadline was to read The God of the Woods ahead of our book club meet at work. I did have to put this meeting back a couple of weeks, as originally it was coinciding with my deadlines earlier in the month. 

Thankfully, events of this book were compulsively readable and I enjoyed this one thoroughly. So did Meg, who listened to the audiobook of this in just a matter of days after I announced the read to the club. If anything, I had to remind her of events as it had been a good while between her reading and our meet! 

We had a good discussion about the book too. The characters are interesting and I was doubting pretty much everyone at some point in the narrative. What’s real, and who could be trusted? It’s an interesting narrative. I’m glad I chose this book! 

 

The Shadow of What Was Lost 

Another book carried forward from October’s monthly wrap-up is my audiobook listen of The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington.  

Progress remained slow and steady throughout the month, until my time off work in the second half of the month. I was 30% into the audio as of the beginning of November, but rapidly made much more progress in the first week I had off and finished the audiobook on the 22nd. 

It’s a long audiobook, and I felt it in a way. However, it was a solid story and the ending really made the book for me. My decision to continue the series was made by the epilogue and by the epilogue alone! I had some suspicions that there was more to Kaden’s character. It wasn’t what I expected, but somehow, it was better… 

 

The Housemaid’s Secret

After listening to The Shadow of What Was Lost, I flew through The Housemaid’s Secret. The audiobook is about a third of the length of that first audiobook. That, and I was midway through kitchen renovations and both a crochet and cross-stitch project at the time. All are perfect opportunities to listen to audiobooks at the same time. 

I listened to the first book of the series, The Housemaid, earlier this year. To be consistent, I opted to continue the series in the same format. It was every bit as good as the first instalment. Given that I’d just listened to such a long audio, this one felt like it flew by! 

 

Empire of the Dawn

The last physical book I progressed with in November was Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff. Admittedly, I slowed down on physical reads towards the end of the month. On the one hand, I’d argue that it’s because I was doing more physical things and therefore listening to audio instead. However, that wouldn’t be a real answer. If I’m honest, I think I started holding out on reading the book because I’m scared and sad to get to the end. 

I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far, and I am having a good time with the book. As a result of not finishing it in November, this is one of my first reads of December – and I need completion to achieve my series goal. Is that motivation enough to get over my trepidation about finishing the book? 

 

A Crucible of Souls

Finally, the last book on this monthly wrap-up is A Crucible of Souls. I started listening to this audiobook right at the end of the month, but still succeeded in getting to 33% before the end of the month. Audiobooks have really been working for me, what can I say? 

So far, this audio is pretty interesting and I’m optimistic it’s only going to get better. Caldan is an intriguing character and I can’t wait to find out more. What really happened to his parents, and who is he? Is he going to be taken advantage of in the big wide world he’s not used to? I suspect so, but that remains to be seen. 

You’ll find out more in the near future as I report progress in my Sunday Summary updates. 

 

Death of a Billionaire

Finally, I picked up my e-reader for the first time in a while to start an ARC of a book you’ll be hearing more about soon. Sneaking on to today’s monthly wrap-up post is Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May. I started this book yesterday, the last day of the month, as I am due to review this in just a couple of days time as part of an ongoing blog tour.

I read the first 20% yesterday, with the rest to follow very shortly!

 

Summary 

I’ve made good reading progress this month, especially audiobooks! Circumstances have meant these have suited what I’ve been doing this month. It’s odd, because there are months I don’t read a lot on that format at all. Then, I get months like this where I listen to several. 

I’ve enjoyed this month, and I also have the great news to share that I met my Goodreads Challenge of 45 books this month. I’m a happy bunny, so any reading above and beyond this is a bonus. Naturally, in December’s monthly TBR I’m going to focus on reading towards my other reading goals. 

Thanks for checking out today’s monthly wrap-up! How many books have you read so far this year? 

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Sunday Summary – 30th November 2025

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This week’s Sunday Summary follows another week off work. Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not rubbing it in. If you feel that way, you can laugh at me because I’m back tomorrow. Bag packed? Check. Lunch organised? Yup. Jokes aside, it’ll be nice to get back into my normal routine.

The routine that hasn’t really changed is my blog schedule for this week. Whilst I’ve been off, I’ve kept up with posting online as usual. This week, my first post was a final review of my 2025 resolutions and a list of books I could pick up in December to meet my outstanding goals. As of that post, I have actually already completed one of my goals due by the end of the year! If you haven’t read that post and you want to find out what’s coming up in the very near future, you can check that out now.

On Friday, I set myself a challenge to feature a young adult novel in my First Lines Friday feature. In the end, I featured the first book of a series loved and plan to re-read in future. Whilst young adult isn’t a genre I gravitate to very often, I did enjoy this one. I even confess in that post that I could get behind the relationship between the protagonists – that’s not something I say lightly! 

 

Books Read

Empire of the Dawn 

Progress with Empire of the Dawn has admittedly been slow. I’ve enjoyed picking up this book in the couple of instalments I have, but honestly, I think I’m holding myself back. Empire of the Dawn is the final instalment of Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire trilogy. The only reason I can give for my resistance picking up this book is that I’m not looking forward to finishing it and the series being over. 

I’ve enjoyed every aspect of the book I’ve read so far and to continuing with it. I’ll have to put my big girl pants on and just accept that it’s the final book and I won’t find out what happens unless I read it! Even when it’s over, I can always re-read it… 

 

The Housemaid’s Secret

You may recall in last week’s Sunday Summary post, I shared that I’d listened to just over 25% of The Housemaid’s Secret. Well, it’s fair to say I made pretty light work of that book! Having listened to such a long audiobook before picking up this one, finishing Freida McFadden‘s second instalment in her housemaid’s trilogy was a breeze! 

As I mentioned in last week’s post, whilst I’ve been off work, I’ve been doing some work around the house. More specifically, I’m updating my kitchen. Because I’ve been doing physical work, I’ve been occupying myself with audio to keep myself entertained. I’ve also been doing a lot of crafty projects in my downtime, and listening to audio works really well for me at the same time. 

As a result, I devoured The Housemaid’s Secret. The plot and characters in the book really helped this along. It was an easier read because it was a lot shorter, but it is also engaging and an interesting story to listen to. Truthfully, I expected nothing less. I felt the same about the first instalment of the series, The Housemaid. If you read or checked out my 2025 resolutions review post earlier this week, you may have spotted the sequel to the series on that list as a potential December read.

Watch this space… 

 

A Crucible of Souls

After devouring The Housemaid’s Secret, I started A Crucible of Souls by Mitchell Hogan. This is the second book I’m reading as part of a ChatGPT recommendations challenge I’ve set myself. 

So far, I’m getting on pretty well with the book. For a debut, it reads really well and I’m hoping the action in the book starts to pick up pace very shortly. As of this Sunday Summary post, I am a third of the way through this audiobook. It’s interesting, and there are elements of the plot that have us intrigued because they are unresolved at the moment. The main character Caldan is also a little bit of a mystery. Who is he, and is he going to draw unwanted attention by his abilities? Time will only tell. 

 

Death of a Billionaire 

Finally, I picked up Death of a Billionaire by Tucker May today. I am reviewing this book as part of a blog tour which kicked off earlier this week. My review is due on Wednesday, so naturally this book is taking priority in the immediate future. 

As things stand, it’s a pretty short and easy read. I’m enjoying the humour and I’m intrigued as to who the mystery narrator is. Their overt opinions and distain for a lot of people, the reader included, has me asking questions as to who it is and why they presenting themselves that way. It’s not the sort of thing you see in a lot of books, but it has me intrigued! I have a suspicion already, but it remains to be seen whether that turns out to be the case! 

As of this Sunday Summary update, I’m 20% into Death of a Billionaire. Naturally, I’ll be sharing more about this book on Wednesday, so I hope you can check in with me then. 

 

Books Discovered

I popped into town on Friday to do some Christmas shopping, and of course I had to take a look in our local Waterstones. Armed with some vouchers, I picked up Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad and Come to This Court and Cry. 

No prizes for guessing I combed through the history section… as sad as it is, I love reading about World War II and the associated events, history and people affected. I’m looking forward to reading these books in this category. 

 

Coming Up… 

I may be back to work next week, but there is no rest for the wicked here! I have a full week of content planned, and I’m excited to share each of these posts with you 😊

My first post will go live tomorrow as it will officially be the beginning of December. I can no longer complain about premature Christmas music or mince pies being on sale. With it being the end of the month, I’m looking forward to sharing my monthly wrap-up for November and sharing the books I’ve read over these last few weeks. Progress has felt really good, so I hope to have plenty of content in that post for you.

Next, on Wednesday I’ll be sharing my review for Death of a Billionaire, as I’ve previously alluded to. December 3rd is my official stop date, so that’s a hard deadline to meet.

On Friday, I’ll share my December reading list in my usual monthly TBR format. I’ve already got several books planned which has been shaped from my 2025 resolutions review post. I’ve got some cracking books to finish up the year with. If you are intrigued to see what those will be, I hope you can check in with me later this week.

Finally, this time next week I’ll be back with my next Sunday Summary instalment. No doubt I’ll be a little bit tired and fed up because I’m planning to put up my Christmas decorations. Good luck to me – I have no idea how the cats are going to react to the Christmas tree. However, I have my suspicions and it may not be pretty 😂 

Like I said, no rest for the wicked! 

What have you been up to this weekend?

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