This is a new to me author & I’m so glad I went in blind because I didn’t solve this one myself before the end! Love when that happens. This book started off with a huge scare that hooks you in quick. I physically could not put the book down after that because the POVs were riveting and I was determined to find out who was behind everything. I loved that while this book was a thriller, it was funny too and I could definitely see this being a series if it isn’t already.

I recommend going blind into this one but if I had to give you a quick plot - Shelby survives a brutal attack that left her for dead in the beginning of the book. A year and a half later, she’s being terrorized not only by memories of the incident, but now by anonymous notes being left for her reminding her of the attack. When a few folks from the local seniors community she works at decide to try and help solve the case themselves, we quickly see things escalate.

What kept this from being a 5 star for me was there was *a lot* of dialogue unrelated to the plot. I loved the humour injected into the book but the amount of tangent conversations was throwing off the pacing for me. Additionally, there was a huge cast in this book to keep up with. The amount of side character names made it a bit hard to remember who they were and their back story.

Since the author is new to me, I’m not sure if this is an existing series or not but I’d love to see another crime solved by the Oleander gang as I mentioned. 3/5 stars!

I'm loving this author and the characters she creates in her stories. I loved this book and was hooked from start to finish!

Rating 3/5 ⭐️

This was my first book by this author. I was really interested in the blurb when I requested this book however I felt a little disappointed in the book itself.

The plot and the premise were there and a lot of it was well done however there were somethings I had a hard time with.

It was hard to tell sometimes exactly what was happening in the book as the POV’s seemed to jump around a lot. The dialogue also seemed to be a bit juvenile in some parts. Also in the edition I had there were some typos, grammatical errors, and some of the spacing was off.

It started off with a bang and then slowed down a lot then sped back up. The pacing did seem a little uneven to me but it was fairly easy to read.

I really enjoyed the characters though. I thought a lot of them were really likable and easy to get to know. The ending was satisfying enough and I am glad I continued to read the book so I could get closure. I think the ending was one of the best written portions of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for this arc.

4 ⭐ 0 🌶️

What a thrilling ride. The setup is a little slow as the mystery builds, but I was on the edge of my seat as we approached the end and discovered whodunit.

I felt like there was a couple loose ends that never got tied up or revealed, but overall I really enjoyed this story. My jaw was on the floor as it all came to light, especially with some of the earlier reveals.

I love quick mystery suspense and I can't wait for more from Seraphina.

I typically love everything this author writes, but this one just wasn’t it for me. It was very slow and hard to get into. It was also hard to keep up with whose POV you’re reading. The ending was pretty good though I’m not sure it was worth the read.

I am a fan of this author, but unfortunately wasn’t much a fan of this book.
I found it to be on the side of silly, especially in regard to dialogue through the book. I ended up skimming a large portion of the book, and thus am not leaving a review on GR.
I will definitely revisit this author’s future works, but sadly I wasn’t a fan of this one.

Thanks Netgalley, author and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC.

In a small, snow-covered Minnesota town, Shelby is attacked at her friends’ coffee shop, leaving her shaken but alive. Fifteen months later, strange deaths at the Oleander retirement home seem connected to that fateful night. Enter Florence and her gang of elderly amateur detectives, determined to uncover the truth. But as they dig deeper, Shelby’s life is once again in danger—and not everyone in this town is who they seem.

This was my first read by Seraphina Nova Glass, and the wintry small-town Minnesota setting immediately hooked me. The story, told from the perspectives of Shelby, Mac, and Florence, is an engaging mix of suspense and humor. Shelby’s journey to recover from her attack felt real and relatable, while Mac’s subplot added depth, though I wished it had been explored more.

But Florence? Absolute star of the show. She and her hilarious crew of amateur detectives at the Oleander home were both heartwarming and sharp, often outshining the local police. Their antics and determination to solve the case had me smiling throughout.

While not the twistiest thriller I’ve read, the pacing was quick, and the mix of surprises kept me guessing. The small-town vibe of hidden secrets added to the intrigue, making it an entertaining and satisfying read overall.

It's a 3.75/5 ⭐read for me.

A fun, fast-paced mystery perfect for fans of quirky characters and small-town drama. Florence deserves her own series!

She is an auto read for me, so I was excited to have the opportunity to get the ARC. As usual, Glass does not disappoint! I was kept guessing til the end and enjoyed the book very much. Her work never disappoints me.

I cannot even imagine what it was like for one of the MC's in this story
to have been humiliated and then forced into a walk-in freezer while her twin daughters are waiting outside in her car asleep!

There is so many twists and turns with the characters and what has happened or what is happening.
It's fast paced and never a dull moment just how I like my books. I love the assisted living facility the elderly characters are loads of fun and full of mischief.

I'm an even bigger fan of Seraphina after reading this story.
I enjoyed this one so much that I read it in a day.

4.5 stars out of five


This book was such a twisty, on the edge of your seat story. It pulled me in right from the very beginning. I couldn’t put it down because I needed to know what happened next!! I feel like thrillers often lean into certain tropes, making the story somewhat predictable. However, this one felt quite different in a lot of ways.

“Nothing Ever Happens Here” is told from three different points of view. Florence was my personal favorite. She was so witty and quite hilarious, and I loved her and the rest of the seniors at the Oleander so much. I enjoyed their sleuthing, and their attempts at a podcast. The found family trope gets me every time, and I loved seeing it in a thriller.

Shelby and Mack (our two other povs) were equally interesting characters. So much kept happening to those two. Despite everything, I was so happy to see Shelby and Mack continuously supporting each other. There were so many opportunities where their friendship was tested, yet they still stuck by each other. I love seeing women supporting women and strong friendships!!

I did have my suspicions on who the suspect was, but I was still extremely shocked by the end. Nothing could have prepared me for all the twists! There were lots of gasp out loud moments.

I definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for their next thriller! It’ll have you guessing till the very end!

Thank you to The Hive for an advanced copy!

📖 Nothing Ever Happens Here
🖋️ Seraphina Nova Glass
⭐️⭐️⭐️

🗓️Release date: February 11, 2025

❄️Missing person
🔪Mystery thriller
❄️Small town
🔪Multiple POVs
❄️Whodunit
🔪True Crime Podcast

➡️ Swipe for the summary

A missing husband, money laundering, attempted murder, killer on the loose, and a geriatric true-crime podcast. The beginning of this story pulls you in and this tale is pretty wild.

Nothing Ever Happens Here is a cozy mystery with great banter, especially between the podcasters. Does give “Only Murders” vibes.

A miss for me was the ton of extra characters that weren’t extremely necessary for the plot. The story dragged a little bit in the middle. There were several good red herrings, but I wasn’t thrilled with the suspect reveal.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, but felt like it had so much more potential and fell short of my (probably unrealistic) expectations.

A massive thanks to Seraphina Nova Glass, NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced digital copy. All thoughts are my own and my review contains my honest feedback.

Wow! This was a great book. Seraphina Nova Glass is certainly a talent. Each of her books has been amazing, and her newest one is no exception. The premise centres around a young woman, Shelby Dawson, surviving an attack in a small close-knit community. With the help of her best friend, she is able to find a renewed sense of security until a note surfaces. Shelby is once again launched into the nightmare that she thought she left behind. With a cast of colourful characters, a twisty plot, and clever story-telling, this read will surely keep you hooked and entertained until the end.

This is my second read by this author and, again, may be the outlier but it wasn't for me. I had to force myself to pick this one up and keep going despite it being marked as a "thriller".

Shelby and Mackenzie are best friends that live in a quiet, cold town in Minnesota. Mack runs her own successful café, a business that is truly her own in the portfolio of businesses owned by her husband, and Shelby manages the local assisted living facility. When Shelby returns back to the empty cafe after closing one night she is brutally attacked and left for dead, but miraculously survives. That very same night, Mack's husband Leo never returns home from a night out with his friends and seems to vanish into thin air. Small town gossip is quick to connect the two events, but a year and a half later the two women are just trying to get on with their lives.

But when the threats against Shelby continue and the local PD doesn't seem inclined to investigate, the residents of Shelby's living facility decide to take matters into their own hands and co-opt a historian's podcast following to try and figure out who is behind all of this terrorizing.

Octogenarians banding together to solve crime are having a moment in fiction lately -- but unlike some other iterations (Thursday Murder Club comes to mind) this one didn't work for me. I never felt truly connected to *any* of the characters and a lot of the plot frustrated me.

I do think many people will like this book, but it wasn't the read for me!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC.

Honestly this book I had to start twice and almost DNF-ed but I'm so glad I didn't.

Why did I almost quit? I couldn't tell the difference between Shelby and Mack most of the time. So when it was on the chapters I always seemed to forget who was talking. I was reading on Kindle, so I couldn't easily flip back to see.

So why did I come back? I could not let go the residents of the Oleander. They brought me back needing to know what happened. They were charming, hysterical, and such great characters. Honestly the whole book could have been them as the characters and I think it would have been 5 stars. Definitely gave Only Murders In The Building vibe but with an assisted living going broke instead of Upper Eastsiders.

Overall this was refreshing and I really enjoyed it.

In a quaint Northern Minnesota town, a series of unsettling events unfold. An attack on Shelby in Mackenzie’s coffee shop and then the mysterious disappearance of Mackenzie’s husband Leo. To unravel these mysteries, a group of concerned senior citizens begin a podcast (that goes viral). This book is told by multiple POVs that I actually enjoyed. The story was filled with all of the twists and turns I enjoy in thrillers, there was also warmth in the senior’s perspectives. The storyline was well constructed and addictive. I was entertained from beginning to end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Seraphina Nova Glass for sending me the ARC of this amazing book.

I was looking forward to this book based on the summary. In fact, the first chapter had me hooked! I was excited it started off thrilling and suspenseful, but that’s where it ended for me. The rest was a mix of Golden Girls meets Murder She Wrote. The nursing home residents made up a huge portion of the story, but they didn’t hold my interest. There were so many characters and multiple point of views, I found it hard to keep track of who was who. I also found it hard to believe the small town detectives refused to do their due diligence after all the in-your-face evidence. I didn’t connect with any characters, which was frustrating since it started off so well. Sadly, I would consider this more of a cozy mystery than thriller.

Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass

Thank You NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a complimentary copy of this novel!
Two things happened one fateful night...Shelby was attacked by an unknown assailant and left for dead; and Shelby’s friend Mackenzie’s husband, Leo, vanished without a trace. The story takes place in Minnesota during the cold winter months. Over a year has gone by and neither incident has been solved. Were the two related? Seems very likely. But now things have started happening again. Shelby finds a note on her car, and she believes it is from her attacker over a year ago.
Mackenzie wants to look further into her husband’s disappearance. What she finds leaves her in shock. As Shelby runs a facility for the elderly, the group of the elderly folks decide to help Shelby figure out what’s happening. One of them has a podcast and they decide to use that to help them solve the case. But more bodies begin to pile up before it’s over and the bad guy may be closer than they realize. I really enjoyed this novel. I got Thursday Murder Club vibes from reading this. It was suspenseful and the ending was not at all what I expected! Look for it AVAILABLE February 11, 2025!!!

This was a fun and fast thriller to read. I’ve enjoyed this author’s work previously, so decided to give this one a try.

It was very unique, some of the characters were elderly and lived in an assisted living home together. I thought the characters with quirky, each different in their own way, however, I wish they had more character development and just overall a better backstory.

There were a lot of twists and turns in this story that had me hooked. The idea of this happening to someone in a small town is quite scary, but I love the small town vibes and the way gossip spreads. It was realistic and done well.

You follow three female characters throughout the story but get to know a lot of the other characters as well. There was a lot going on, but I felt it flowed well.

The amount of times I laughed out loud because of the banter between Herb and Millie was too perfect. It really gave the creepy story some comedic relief, and I can appreciate that.

If you’re into thrillers that are winter based, lots of drama in a small town and some mild banter, this should be added to your TBR!

At first I was unsure about this own. But then about 15% in I started to love it. It’s like the Thursday Murder Club but more intense. I really loved the characters and was shocked by many of the twists and turns. I also got very annoyed with a couple of the characters, not to name names but…… Riley, you know what you did.

This author can do no wrong for me. On a quiet streeet was one of my favorites a few years ago. This thriller kept my attention the whole time and was perfectly twisty. I loved the elderly group!