Search Results for “our reviewers”

Our Reviewers

Margaret Agnew is a senior courthouse clerk in St. Louis, Missouri. A graduate of Ripon College and Indiana University, she has been a mystery fan and an avid reader from an early age. She was also a reviewer for Mystery Scene Magazine.

Robin Agnew owned & operated Aunt Agatha’s Bookshop with her husband, Jamie, for 26 years. The store won the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 2014. She reviewed for Mystery Scene for many years, writing the Very Original Cozy column, and she is now writing a column for Deadly Pleasures. She also maintains and writes reviews for auntagathas.com. read more

Reviewers and Readers faves 2022

When we had an open store, I often got recommendations from customers or even authors that guided my reading – Libby Hellman, for example, recommended Elly Griffiths to me very early on. I spent my first winter catching up on Elizabeth George, thanks to a good tip from a reader. Now that I have three wonderful reviewers writing for the website and a book club full of intelligent and discerning readers, I can still, happily, pick up some recommendations. This is a varied list, but there are a few commonalities – Elly Griffiths, Louise Penny, S.A. Cosby, Naomi Hirahara, and Mia P. Manasala. Some are on my own lists – Tasha Alexander, SJ Bennett, Harini Negendra, Elly Griffiths, Mia P. Manasala, Gigi Pandian, Sarah Stewart Taylor and Louise Penny. Vicki’s, Margaret’s and Carla’s reviews of many of these titles can be found on the website. read more

Reviewers & Book Club Faves

Our two regular reviewers, Cathy Akers-Jordan and Vicki Kondelik, have shared their top 10 lists with us, and the book club chimes in on their favorite reads of the year as well. Lots of good reading here!

Cathy:

Daughter of the Morning Star, Craig Johnson. The new Longmire book is always the highlight of my mystery-reading year. The rez isn’t part of Walt Longmire’s jurisdiction, but when Tribal Police Chief Lolo Long recruits Walt and Henry to protect her niece, we learn the shocking statistics on the abuse and murder of Indian Women. Walt deals with a teenage basketball star while trying his best to keep her alive. read more

Best of 2023: Reviewer’s favorites

Our reviewers, Margaret Agnew, Vicki Kondelik, and Carla Schantz, have all shared their top 10 lists with me. If you’d like to know more about them, you can read about them here. All of them are accomplished women and passionate readers. I appreciate Margaret’s way with words, Vicki’s love of historical mysteries, and Carla’s passion for cozies. There’s lots here to add to your TBR piles! Full reviews can be found in most cases by searching the site, though Vicki has some classics on her list she didn’t review here. Carla’s list can be found in the forthcoming Best of Cozies post. read more

About Aunt Agatha’s

After selling mysteries in our brick & mortar store in Ann Arbor, MI, for 26 years, we closed our doors in August of 2018 and moved online. Our extensive used book collection can be found at abebooks.com (new titles being added every day) and we’ll be offering selected books for sale, including book club picks, on our website. With hopes you’ll continue to enjoy our reviews and our love of the mystery genre.
—Robin & Jamie Agnew

Our Reviewers

Margaret Agnew is a senior courthouse clerk in St. Louis, Missouri. A graduate of Ripon College and Indiana University, she has been a mystery fan and an avid reader from an early age. She was also a reviewer for Mystery Scene Magazine. read more

Vanessa Riley: Murder in Drury Lane

Lady Worthing #2

The second book in Vanessa Riley’s Lady Worthing Series, Murder in Drury Lane, starts off with a recently reformed rake getting stabbed with a theater prop. Though Anthony Danielson had lived far from a blameless life, and died with others owing him money they couldn’t pay, it seems he truly had turned over a new leaf. Newly married to the previously upstanding Joanna Mathews Danielson, Anthony had a lot to look forward to. He was even writing a new play that he was sure would be a smash hit. read more

Clara McKenna: Murder on Mistletoe Lane

Stella & Lyndy #5

Murder on Mistletoe Lane is the fifth book in Clara McKenna’s series about a newly-married couple, Stella Kendrick and Viscount “Lyndy” Lyndhurst, set in the New Forest region of England in the early 1900s. Lyndy is the son of an impoverished aristocrat, and Stella is a wealthy American who grew up on a horse farm in Kentucky. Their marriage was arranged by their fathers and, happily, they fell in love not long after they met. But Lyndy’s mother, Lady Atherly, has always disapproved of Stella and her American ways, even though she needed Stella’s money to make improvements to the crumbling family estate, Morrington Hall. Stella and Lyndy share a love of horses, and some of the best scenes in the book are the ones where Stella takes her beloved mare, Tully, for a ride. Lady Atherly sees that her son and Stella are in love, and recently the two women have come to an uneasy truce, but they are still far from being friends. read more

S.K.Golden: The Socialites Guide to Death & Dating

Pinnacle Hotel #2

This charming series follows Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy in 1958 New York City. Her father owns the swanky Pinnacle Hotel, where Evelyn lives, and he makes only occasional appearances in her life. As the book opens, she and her boyfriend, Mac, are at a party she’s planned at the hotel. It’s full of wealthy, prominent people, but as it’s wrapping up, Mac suggests they make a break for it and head to his place in Yonkers. Evelyn, who is agoraphobic (but she’s working on it) reluctantly agrees to this plan. Unfortunately, on their way out of the hotel garage, they find one of the guests, a Judge Baker, dead in his car of an apparent heroin overdose. read more

Carol J. Perry: Now You See It

Witch City #13

Carol J. Perry’s thirteenth book in her Witch City Mystery series is the delightful addition Now You See it. In it, Salem’s local reporter and scryer, Lee Mondello, once more finds herself drawn into solving not just a murder, but a possible heist as well. As a scryer, Lee is both blessed and cursed with the gifts of sight. Mirrors, pools of water, and even the metallic surface of an elevator door can sometimes trigger images to appear before her. The images don’t always tell a comprehensive story, and sometimes they are just a still frame like a picture, but they all inevitably help Lee to unravel any mysteries surrounding her life. Her husband, Pete, is a local Salem police detective, and while he believes in his wife and her gifts, he prefers to deal in the real and provable. It makes sense – a police detective can’t very well arrest someone based on his wife claiming to have seen something in the nearby fishbowl. Lee isn’t offended, as she knows physical evidence is crucial to getting criminals to stay behind bars. But turning visions into evidence can be a little tricky. read more

Michael Falco: Murder in an Italian Village

Bria Bartolucci #1

Few sights and experiences rival that of the coast of Italy, and the beautifully colored buildings of Positano balanced along cliff faces and overlooking stunning stretches of ocean. Michael Falco launches a new mystery series set in this idyllic place. The first book is Murder in an Italian Village and it follows widow and single mom Bria Bartolucci as she also starts a new life running a B&B called Bella Bella. While she has lived near Positano, she has only recently made it home for herself and her son Marco. She is not only striving to make her business thrive, but also to become an accepted part of the Positano community and not be seen as a tourist or outsider. read more