aunt_agatha

Elly Griffiths: The Last Word

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Harbinder Kaur #4

There is really nothing better than a great cast of characters, and Elly Griffiths always delivers one. In the fourth instalment of her Harbinder Kaur series, The Last Word, Griffiths revisits one of my all time favorite casts in Benedict, Natalka, and Edwin. The trio has been living happily in Shoreham since we last saw them, and Natalka and Edwin have even started their own PI business, while Benedict continues to run his coffee shop, the Shack. Their PI firm generally deals with cheating spouses, but both are excited when a murder accusation falls into their lap. read more

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice: 30 years of reading magic

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Every writer of historical mystery fiction writes in the shadow of Ellis Peters, whose first Brother Cadfael novel was published in 1975, and Elizabeth Peters, whose first Amelia Peabody novel was published the same year.  Elizabeth Peters, an incredibly influential figure, created not only the historical cozy-slash-adventure novel, she also foregrounded a woman as the central figure.  Anne Perry’s first Pitt novel was published in 1979.  There was, in other words, a cluster of work, a zeitgeist.  This pop zeitgeist worked it’s way through mystery fiction for the next 20 or so years, and with the publication of The Beekeeper’s Apprentice in 1994, Laurie R.King upended the historical mystery genre once again. Once again there was a cluster of novels written around the same time – Sharan Newman’s Death Comes as Epiphany (1993), Margaret Frazer’s The Novice’s Tale (1992) and Candace Robb’s The Apothecary Rose (1993) – all of which featured, as King’s novel does, a woman at the center of the action. read more

Cara Hunter: The Whole Truth

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DI Adam Fawley #5

This popular UK series is being released in chunks stateside.  With the release of The Whole Truth, books 3 through 5 are now available.  If the rest of them are anything like this one, sign me up – if Harlan Coben wrote a police series it might be something like this insanely readable and provoking book.  Hunter, in golden age style, provides a precis of the characters at the beginning to aid the reader coming late to the series in getting up to speed. It remained a helpful reference as I sorted characters mentally. read more

Anthony Horowitz: Close to Death

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Hawthorne & Horowitz #5

Anthony Horowitz is simply a plotting genius, with a brain that must that must be constantly constructing puzzles, and fortunately for us, he’s nice enough to share a few.  His latest gem is an instalment in his very meta Hawthorne and Horowitz series, where Horowitz himself takes the almost Hastings-esque form of a writer who follows genius detective Hawthorne around, writing down his actions, thus creating the novel we hold in our hands.  As this outing begins Horowitz is working on a new book under a deadline, but unfortunately Hawthorne hasn’t caught anything interesting for a while.  Horowitz decides to revisit an old case, and as Hawthorne doles the story out to him in portions he writes, using case notes as his guide, creating personas for the people involved in the story. read more

Katie Tietjen: Death in the Details

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Debut

This ingenious historical novel begins in post WWII Vermont, where Maple Bishop is enduring a tidal wave of loss –  she’s lost her brother, her mother and her husband, and, as the insurance company informs her in the opening chapter, most of her money.  She has $12 to her name, no way to pay her mortgage and, since she and her husband donated its tires to the war effort, a car she can neither drive nor sell.

What keeps her (and the book) going is her obsession with building dollhouses.  She can’t stop herself, and her garage workshop is full of the things, complete with idealized dolls living idealized doll lives.  When she goes into the hardware store to purchase supplies, the owner, sensing a promotional opportunity, offers her a corner to set up shop, in order to bring in customers and spice up his window display. read more

Nancy Coco: Three Fudges and a Baby

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Candy Coated Mystery #12

Three Fudges and a Baby is Nancy Coco’s twelfth book in her Candy Coated Mystery series. Allie McMurphy is our protagonist, and she has one of the most important jobs on Earth: Fudge Maker. She is also a hotel manager for her Mackinac McMurphy hotel, but that’s not nearly important as her attached fudge shop, at least as far as I’m concerned. Allie loves her hotel and fudge shop equally, but has a bit of a problem taking a step away from her work. She has integrated herself into the culture of the island, and has become a staple thanks to winning a fudge competition the year before. Her best friend Jen also lives on the island, and is expecting her first baby any day. Her support system is in place for her to have the baby on the island instead of on the mainland hospital. She even has a Doula, Hannah, to be there to advocate and support her through the birth. read more

Karen Rose Smith: Murder Marks the Page

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Tomes & Tea #1

I have been a longtime fan of Karen Rose Smith’s Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery series. I cannot really express how thrilled I was to hear Karen Rose Smith was starting a spin-off series focusing on Daisy Swanson’s daughter Jazzi. Murder Marks the Page follows Jazzi to New York State’s Belltower Landing where she opened Tomes & Tea with her college friend Dawn. Belltower Landing is a resort town and flourishes during the summer months with tourists and boating activities aplenty. As a brand new business, Tomes & Tea faces the challenges of the first year, not being sure what their fiscal outcome will be, or if they’ll even be able to stay afloat once the tourists depart at the end of summer. read more

Olivia Blacke: Rhythm and Clues

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Record Shop #3

Music, murder, and mayhem await in Olivia Blacke’s Rhythm and Clues. In the true spirit of family business, three sisters have opened and run a record and coffee shop known as the Spin & Sip in Cedar River, Texas. Tansey, Maggie, and Juni Jessup have their own specialties, but are all involved in the daily running on the shop. However, Juni adds a little extra spice to their lives that isn’t just in the pumpkin lattes. She’s a very efficient amateur sleuth with a reputation of successfully solving murders about town. While her sisters would prefer for Juni to keep out of any dangerous situations, when in involves their shop they are very supportive of her sleuthing specialty. read more

Christina Estes: Off the Air

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Debut

Reporters: Some love them, some hate them, but most understand they are a necessary part of society if we want to stay aware of current events. Off the Air is Christina Estes’ first mystery novel and follows reporter Jolene Garcia, a TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona. Jolene covers everything from puff pieces to in depth breaking news. She tries to hold onto her integrity to not reveal her sources, and to not publish information that isn’t verified and confirmed, despite the fact that other reporters around her have no qualms of just running with any crumb they’re given. read more

Erica Ruth Neubauer: Secrets of a Scottish Isle

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Jane Wunderly #5

Secrets of a Scottish Isle is the fifth full-length book in Erica Ruth Neubauer’s Jane Wunderly series, which also includes a delightful e-novella, Murder Under the Mistletoe.  Set in the 1920s, the series features the American war widow Jane, who travels the world after the death of her abusive husband has left her a free woman.  Each book has a different setting.  So far, Jane’s adventures have taken her to Egypt, an English country house, an Atlantic crossing on the sister ship of the Titanic, Istanbul, the north of England (in the e-novella), and, in this novel, Iona, a remote island off the west coast of Scotland. read more