Doreen Sheridan

Professional book critic, amateur cellist, full-time polymath. Occasional game designer, perpetual game enthusiast. Mom of 3. Arsenal till I die. I like a good story. My other mystery reviews can be found here: https://www.criminalelement.com/author/dvaleris/

Most commented posts

  1. Deathless (Leningrad Diptych #1) by Catherynne M. Valente — 12 comments
  2. A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1) by Arkady Martine — 10 comments
  3. Sweet Tea by Piper Huguley — 7 comments
  4. The Love Report by BeKa & Maya — 7 comments
  5. I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley — 6 comments

Author's posts

Looking Back On 2025

Y’all, I read my Looking Back On 2024 column in preparation for writing this one and have never been more depressingly reminded of the French aphorism “Plus ce change, plus c’est la meme chose” or as we say in English “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Ofc, not everything has been …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/01/06/looking-back-on-2025/

Winnie-The-Pooh, 100th Anniversary Edition by A. A. Milne & Ernest H. Shepard

collecting both the original Winnie-the-Pooh short story collection as well as its follow-up, The House At Pooh Corner, in one delightfully velour-covered volume reminiscent of a particularly huggable (and decidedly yellow) stuffed animal friend. I did not, unfortunately, have a Winnie the Pooh childhood. I only really came to the property in my adolescence, after …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/01/05/winnie-the-pooh-100th-anniversary-edition-by-a-a-milne-ernest-h-shepard/

Tantalizing Tales — January 2026 — Part One

Happy New Year, readers! I hope you had a delightful celebration ringing in a year that is hopefully no worse than the last… tho given the state of the country I live in and the absolutely infuriating refusal of large swathes of it to take note of history’s lessons, who even knows any more. Apologies …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/01/02/tantalizing-tales-january-2026-part-one/

Vera Wong’s Guide To Snooping (On A Dead Man) by Jesse Q Sutanto

At the end of 2025, I hit pause on my overloaded schedule to try to get to books I’d been greatly anticipating this year that I just didn’t have the time for before this. So yeah, I basically used my industry-wide two-week end of year break to do more work but oh wow, was that …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/12/31/vera-wongs-guide-to-snooping-on-a-dead-man-by-jesse-q-sutanto/

Murder By Muffin by Rosie A Point & Charles Timmerman

The second book in the Cranberry Creek Word Search mystery series is just as delightful as the first, even if the solution to the mystery itself didn’t make the most sense this time. But let’s be honest, if we’re talking cozy mysteries, a thoroughly logical conclusion is often secondary to cozy vibes, and this story …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/12/30/murder-by-muffin-by-rosie-a-point-charles-timmerman/

Tantalizing Tales — December 2025 — Part Three

In our last Tantalizing Tales column of 2025, dear reader, let’s look back at some (more) of the books I wish I’d had time to read this year, as well as books publishing soon that sound super exciting! First up is Nat Cassidy’s latest thrilling horror novel, When The Wolf Comes Home. Jess is a …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/12/26/tantalizing-tales-december-2025-part-three/

Candy Corn Christmas! by Jonathan Fenske

Y’all, there’s nothing quite like blearily turning to the last book you plan to review before Christmas and discovering that it might truly be the weirdest thing you’ve read all year. Picture this: it’s one in the morning on Christmas Eve Eve and you’ve made enough of a dent in your emails that you’ll only …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/12/23/candy-corn-christmas-by-jonathan-fenske/

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead

As a winter treat to myself — while I’m supposed to be on break with the rest of my industry, lolol — I decided to finally crack open one of my most anticipated books this year. Ashley Winstead broke my heart in 2023 with Midnight Is The Darkest Hour, so I was ready for This …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/12/22/this-book-will-bury-me-by-ashley-winstead/

Tantalizing Tales — December 2025 — Part Two

Another round-up column for you, dear readers, catching up with books I still haven’t yet had the time to read this year but really want to! First up is a book co-authored by four amazing thriller writers. In Desperate Deadly Widows, Kimberly Belle, Layne Fargo, Cate Holahan and Vanessa Lillie join forces once more to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/12/19/tantalizing-tales-december-2025-part-two/

The Heartwarming Love Coloring Book by Gaynor Carradice

I don’t ever remember being this overwhelmed in previous holiday seasons but y’all, this year has been a doozy. Between work, holiday events, shopping and unexpected medical emergencies, this has already been A Month. I’ve had to let so many non-essential things fall to the wayside this December, including my weekly art sessions, while I …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/12/18/the-heartwarming-love-coloring-book-by-gaynor-carradice/