Tag: Mystery

Our Marriage is Murder by Carol Goodman (Literary Mystery)

A love story and a mystery, immersed in literary and classical references with a touch of modern greed and drama. Master genre novelists Fred and Theda Morgan-Lane are both writing and life partners. At least they were. Now — on the cusp of attending a mystery convention at the gorgeous Italian castle where their very popular “Death Takes a Holiday” series was launched — they plan to announce the end of both. Or at least Theda does; Fred has a few other plans up his sleeve. Ignoring whatever plans they each may have, things start going horribly wrong as one by one the murders from their first novel seem to be repeating in real life.

The writing is (as always) good; the pacing deliberate and triggering just the right blend of edge-of-the-seat and calm curiosity; and the characters are all interesting (to me) people. The characters and their various relationships are intriguing because they capture multiple levels of overlapping and inconsistent emotional undercurrents. Especially once the murders start and everyone is forced to look at everyone else in a whole new, and highly suspicious, way. Goodman is both a classicist and a feminist, and both themes run through the narrative in credible fashion. Most importantly, the resolution was surprising (to me), tenable, and completely satisfying — the perfect combination!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on July 21st, 2026.

The Lady on Esplanade by Karen White (Mystery / Ghost story)

The third installment (not necessary to read the first two, but they are good!) of the New Orleans-based Nola Trenholm mystery / romance/ dear-departed-spirits series — itself a spinoff from the similar Charleston-based series starring Melanie Trenholm — Nola’s relatively new stepmother. Nola and best friend Jolene (unrelenting fashionista and all-around force-to-be-reckoned-with) tackle two mysteries centered around the haunting spirits of two old houses under renovation: Nola’s Creole cottage (a lovely money sink of renovation needs) and a new house that will be the first project for the Murder Flip Business Nola is starting with reluctant psychic Beau, with whom she has an undesired (from both sides) strangely strong connection. A few new characters, wickedly tangled stories from the past, and a pretty creepy Madame Alexander doll that manages to appear inopportunely where she isn’t wanted without any external help.

The whole series is entertaining — fun writing, plenty of colorful characters and great banter (both inside people’s own heads and in dialog exchanges). The spirit-augmented mysteries are interesting and always somewhat historical, the action well paced and full of humor, and despite the fact that this is book is number ten for me, none of the stories feel repetitive or in any way dull. They grab my interest on page one and continue through the end. For those who enjoy architectural marvels and renovation stories, plenty of that, too. Not my thing but the descriptions never get in my way.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on Nov. 4th, 2025.

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman (Literary Mystery)

Read this in a single sitting — impossible to put down. The story has typically good twists and this time delves into bitcoin, trust issues, and a whole new meaning for deep storage, but what I have always liked about Osman’s books are his characters. The core Thursday Murder Club members (Elizabeth, Ibrahim, Joyce, and Ron), the somewhat unwilling police “friends,” and the various colorful criminal elements have all returned along with some new parts — and they are all as intriguing as ever. Osman’s characters have not run out of depth or surprises as often happens in series. Plenty of fun!

Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on September 30th, 2025.

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (Literary Fiction)

Mia’s family is unusual to say the least. Half Korean, half white, a working mother and a stay-at-home father, wildly different fraternal twins (Mia and John), and a younger brother (Eugene) who has both Autism and Angelman’s Syndrome (also known as the Happiness Syndrome as it is characterized by a happy demeanor). While Mia is hyperlexic (new word for me) and ultra analytic (sinking often into her vortex mode as in “warning, warning you’re sinking into a vortex of over analysis”), her twin John is ADHD, with a heavy emphasis on the H. Their mother is a linguist (who once helped with the libretto of a Vulcan opera) and their father is engaged in some very interesting “Happiness” research while caring full time for the now teenaged Eugene.

One day, the father goes missing and a very distraught Eugene — the only witness — makes it home on his own in a disheveled mess — without the ability to communicate anything about what occurred. What follows is an intricate plot to solve the mysteries of both the missing father and the essence of Eugene, complete with detectives, crowdsourced clues, behavioral specialists, plenty of confusion and misdirection, and some real surprises. The plot is engaging enough to attract most readers on its own, but what intrigued me was the obsessively interesting characters. The inner meanderings of our narrator (Mia — explained in the first pages as her compulsive need to digress) traipsed through philosophy, neurology, linguistics, human perception, music and emotion, modes of communication, and most especially the tools and abilities for understanding oneself and others — especially those others who do not function in the same way as yourself. Lots of research on conditions such as Eugene’s woven seamlessly into the narrative. While none of this would get in the way of a plot-oriented reader finding fulfillment, to me it was a Disneyland of intellectual treats that actually propelled the story forward.

Apropos of nothing, the author had a fantastic working vocabulary — I particularly liked the phrase “titular panache” — tickled me.

Highly recommended!

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths (Mystery / Speculative Fiction)

The first book in a brand new series from Elly Griffiths — one of my favorite mystery writers.
This book combines a mystery with speculative fiction (time travel). Ali Dawson’s cold cases are so cold they are frozen (thus jokes the team). Their secret? They can use time-travel to find out what actually happened. Now, to please a Tory Justice Minister whose grandfather was rumored (though never accused or brought to trial) of killing an artist’s model, Ali heads back to 1850 to see what she can find out. However, before she can return, a body turns up in the current day that is very much related to the case …

Griffiths is a great writer and brings all her powers of description and persuasion to the story, bringing the 1850s to life in exactly the way it would appear to someone born in our time. I liked the way Ali prepared for her “trip” — not just learning what to wear, eat, and say, but how to change the way she actually thought. A well-articulated differentiation between modern day and Victorian feminism ensued. I liked the cast of characters including Jones, the designer wearing communist physicist who is the time travel whiz (that’s the beauty of novels — characters don’t have to be internally consistent!). I’m sure they will be appearing in future books as there were some definite hints of stories left untold. Plenty of fun references — like using A Wrinkle in Time’s tesseract model (without actually stating such), and referencing the (real) match girls strike at the Bryant & May match factory (that’s how Christopher Fowler named his history obsessed, aged, detectives!). Lots of good history.

Really enjoyed this book — it won’t be available in the US until July 8th — I couldn’t wait and bought it on my (conveniently timed) trip to England. No regrets!

Who Will Remember by C. S. Harris (Historical Mystery)

Number 20 in the historical mystery series featuring Sebastian St. Cyr, Lord Devlin. Throughout the series, Harris has successfully embedded each volume in an historically accurate period — this one is no exception. It is set in London in August, 1816, the year that “had no summer.” Later historians promoted the cause as a large volcano explosion that blocked the sun causing weather abnormalities, floods, and massive crop failures leading inevitably to riots, strikes, apocalyptic fears, and the potential for revolution.

In this milieu, the body of a Lord is found in an abandoned chapel, hanging upside down with legs posed as depicted on a rare set of tarot cards (Le Pendu — the Fool). From here connections are made to French assassins, the Prince of Wales, friends made during the 1808-9 British retreat across Northern Spain (Battle of Corunna), and a particular (nasty) society called the Society for the Suppression of Vice.

I always like the characters in these books — representing multiple walks of life and varied ideas of morality. I particularly like the depiction of the members of the “ton” — a term for the fashionable members of upper class English society during the Regency period. As one might expect, those characters run the gamut from utterly selfish, corrupt, and “above the law” to considerate, moral, and obsessed with a fair justice. Always fun to guess which is which upon the first “meeting.”

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 25th, 2025.

You Must Remember This by Kat Rosenfield

Writing: 5/5 Plot: 4.5/5 Characters: 5/5

When Mimi, elderly and suffering from dementia, comes back to the family home (Whispers) in Bar Harbor for Christmas, the family knows it will be for the last time — she will either be gone or completely lost in the past by the following year. But they didn’t expect it to happen so quickly: somehow escaping the house, Mimi goes walking on the ice surrounding the estate in the middle of the night and freezes to death. What sounds like a simple accident evolves into a bit of a mystery and an ongoing hash of family dynamics both past and present.

The characters were both interesting and surprising, especially as they shifted in the eyes of the narrator — Mimi’s granddaughter, Delphine. Del who is also living in Whispers after (spectacularly) blowing up her life in New York City. Del loves hearing Mimi’s stories, and I loved hearing them too. The shifts and connections between past and present bring surprises both in plot and in our perceptions of character.

I’m a big fan of Rosenfield’s columns on various aspects of culture — she goes deep and original. I always find her interesting and most often agree with points made that I hadn’t even considered before. I had no idea she wrote novels and am finding her characterization and plot points to be fully steeped in her cultural acumen and clear writing style. She’s very good at essence! Time to go seek out earlier books — I love discovering a new novelist!

Great for fans of Carol Goodman.

The Examiner by Janice Halett (Mystery)

A kind of a cozy thriller, if that makes sense. Six diverse students are part of a new art master’s program but things go weirdly wrong amidst the standard types of exercises mixed with a “real world” final project installation at a local tech company. The entire book is composed of emails, text messages, online assignments, essays, and assessments, giving the book a kind of forensic feel as events (and the ensuing panic) are slowly revealed. No dialog, no internal ponderings, no real time action.

Unfortunately, this is not my kind of book. It’s very slow paced and is largely composed of “filler” with way too much detail on the arts program (not the art) and interacting with the tech company. It was repetitive, full of bureaucracy, and that particularly irritating mode of interacting with others which is false in every possible way. By the second half of the book there were some big twists and surprises, but honestly they didn’t pass my “not stupid” test. I can deal with “stupid” in my plots if the book is very funny or the characters so interesting that I get to think about how they would react in these improbable situations, but this book is not funny and the characters are not depicted in depth. They aren’t even likable. Perhaps I’m lucky in that I never had a work environment (or school environment) that was populated by such unpleasant and incompetent people! Most of them seemed like absolute prats (British slang for someone who is foolish or stupid, or has little ability — this is a British book, after all!).

There was one good line: “That’s something they don’t tell you about teamwork. It can normalize the horrific.” Never thought about teamwork that way but I get it.

This is my first Janice Hallett book and I know she is popular. I can see that some people would enjoy the text based story, the crazy activists, the shallow and negative depiction of corporations and academic institutions that we can all rally around and groan about but … not for me.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on Sept. 10th, 2024.

Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz (Mystery)

The fifth in The Hawthorne and Horowitz series (for newbies, the two main characters are the fictional Detective Hawthorne and the author himself. It can get kind of twisted in a brain that holds too firmly to reality). In this episode, Horowitz — under pressure from his agent to produce a fifth book when there are no fresh murders for the duo to solve — decides to write up an old Hawthorne case. He is warned by many — including Hawthorne — not to do it but naturally he does it anyway!

The case: The peace of an idyllic upscale gated community (a close — cul-de-sac to Americans) is shattered when a loud, obnoxious, and inconsiderate family moves into the largest lot. It doesn’t take long for the neighbors to get irate and only a little bit longer for the main irritant to show up with a crossbow bolt through his neck on his doorstep. Enter the curmudgeonly Hawthorne at the grudging request of the local police.

As always, Horowitz draws you in from the first paragraph, introducing each character in a way to arouse your curiosity, and then continually shedding layers until you think you see the truth behind the character. At least in my case, I never quite do figure it out even though Horowitz does not cheat, and all the clues are actually there. And who are these characters? A chess grandmaster, a compassionate dentist with a chronically ill wife, an NHS doctor who wishes he were still in London, two older women who share a house and a business (a cozy mystery shop), and a black barrister whose wife has passed away. The plot twists deliciously and the book itself alternates between the mystery and Anthony’s trouble getting enough information out of a reluctant Hawthorne to build on. And then there is Dudley — Hawthorne’s old “Watson” of whom he speaks positively (certainly in comparison to his thoughts on Horowitz as a replacement!) and yet whom he no longer sees…

Excellent fun.

Thank you to Harper and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this audio book in exchange for my honest review. The book was published on April 16th, 2024.

The Perfect Passion Company by Alexander McCall Smith

A new offering from Alexander McCall Smith — possibly the beginning of a new series. Katie has taken on management of the Perfect Passion Company — a matchmaking service with the personal touch. She is aided by the knitwear-designing, gorgeous but unavailable, William next door. Together they face a number of difficult-to-place candidates and manage to find matches for all in a typical McCall Smith simplistic, but effective and empathetic, approach to every day human problems (very reminiscent of Mma Ramtoswe’s style in the Number One Ladies Detective series).

I completely enjoyed reading this book with its emphasis on kindness and making a positive difference in people’s lives, though I admit to being slightly more annoyed than usual by some of the principles that inform his characters. Some are kind and empathic but also (IMO) weak, allowing themselves to be taken advantage of and turning the other cheek (they happen to be rich which I guess helps). There is also some not-too-subtle demonizing of the Right with, for example, some (very negative) descriptions of “libertarians” that don’t map to any of the libertarians I’ve ever met. However, as always I loved his ability to see people from different viewpoints and (except for the libertarian) accept people for who they are and acknowledge that they can still find happiness and love despite some very annoying (and pretty humorous) characteristics.

Thank you to Vintage and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on February 13th, 2024.