aunt_agatha

Sarah Weinman: Scoundrel

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The legendary figure of the trickster has been part of English and American literature from the beginning. Ever since works like Defoe’s Moll Flanders and Melville’s The Confidence Man, readers have been perennially fascinated by tales of the pompous and privileged being made fools of by the humble and underprivileged, the overeducated dunce capped by the wisdom of the streets. And I’m here to tell you that modern times are no different, as evidenced by Sarah Weinman’s great new nonfiction book Scoundrel: How a Convicted Murderer Persuaded the Women Who Loved Him, the Conservative Establishment, and the Courts to Set Him Free. Oh, and did I mention that one of the hoodwinked was perhaps one the most privileged and pompous figures of his time, the revered public Conservative, William F. Buckley. read more

April Book Club: The Bone Track

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Our April book club will meet only on zoom on Wednesday, April 20 at 7 p.m. because of Easter Sunday on the 17th.  For more information, message us on facebook or email us at store (at) auntagathas.com.  The publisher’s description of this book:

A nature trek turns dangerous when the wilderness gives up its bones…

New Zealand’s remote Milford Track seems the perfect place for forensic investigator Alexa Glock to reconnect with her brother Charlie, with whom she hasn’t spent much time since they were kids. Their backpacking trip seems ill-fated from the start, though, when she must stop on the way to examine nine skeletons—most likely Maori tribespeople—whose graves have been unearthed by highway construction. Before she opens the first casket, a Maori elder gives her a dire warning: “The viewing of bones can unleash misfortune to the living. Or worse.” read more

Rhys Bowen & Clare Broyles: Wild Irish Rose

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I really, really love Molly Murphy. For me these books are an inhale – as in, when one is available, I don’t look up from the pages until I am finished reading. Molly came to readers through Ellis Island in 2001 (for Molly, it was 1901), and the books kept appearing until 2017, when I was afraid the series had come to a natural end. Starting her adventures with “The next morning I sailed for America with another woman’s name”, Molly proceeded to shove her way into reader’s hearts as she made her hardscrabble way through New York City, finding work as a lady private detective. read more

Vicki Delany: Deadly Director’s Cut

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This is the second book in Delany’s series set in the Catskills in the 50’s.  While the Catskill resorts that served so many families back in the 50’s and beyond are now gone – even the great Grossinger’s is a ghostly version of itself – Delany nevertheless manages to make the area come alive for the reader.  She doesn’t dip into the pure historical novel category.  Instead, she provides period details that set the reader where she wants them to be, and she somehow manages to invoke the feel and atmosphere of a very specific place and time.  The fact that a Canadian writer who, I am thinking, did not spend her childhood summers in the Catskills, is able to do this with such virtuosity is one of those mysteries of the writer’s art.  The time period is close enough that with a little bit of yearning and nostalgia you are right back there with her. read more

S.J. Bennett: All the Queen’s Men

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I am a devotee of this charming new series, where the detective is the most famous woman on the planet – Queen Elizabeth II.  She shares detecting duties (she’s quite busy of course) with Rozie Oshodi, one of her private secretaries, a London born Nigerian.  She and Rozie formed a bond in the first novel as they investigated the mysterious death of a young Russian pianist at Buckingham Palace.

There are many things to love about these books.  One is the meticulous backstage look at how an enormous household like Buckingham Palace functions. One is the author’s loving portrayal of the queen – a woman who is busy, organized, intelligent and curious.  One is the character of Rozie herself, who is almost, but not quite, a superwoman.  She’s respected by her colleagues, but Buckingham Palace appears to be very much an old boy’s club in many ways.  It’s something the author turns her observant eye on in this novel. read more

Deanna Raybourn: An Impossible Imposter

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I’m a huge fan of Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell series, but in every series, there are always one or two books that have a bit more sparkle than the rest.  For me, it’s this book, which combines all of Raybourn’s many gifts into one completely delicious package.  In book seven of this series, lepidopterist Veronica has settled in with her beloved Stoker, in an extremely unconventional arrangement for the time (Victorian Britain): they live in sin, and Veronica is very much a working woman. read more

Reading for Black History Month

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When we opened Aunt Agatha’s in 1992, we celebrated Black History Month every February by putting the work of black authors in our front window.  In 1992, that group of authors was small, and if we were to still be an open store, out window display would be much larger.  In 1992 it included Eleanor Taylor Bland, Hugh Holton, Iceberg Slim, Chester Himes, Donald Goines and of course, Walter Mosley, whose first novel, Devil in a Blue Dress, was published in 1990.  Bill Clinton, a famous mystery fan, had helped his career by mentioning him as a favorite writer. read more

Mia P. Manansala: Homicide and Halo-Halo

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This charming second novel in Mia Manasala’s standout new series is as delectable as the first.  Instead of being set in the main character, Lila’s, aunt’s restaurant, it’s set in the world of a small town beauty pageant.  Lila, a former winner turned business owner, is now a reluctant judge.  Manansala takes several typically cozy tropes and slightly tweaks them.  There’s a bit of a romantic triangle for Lila; there’s a new business she’s setting up with her two best friends, the Brew-Ha café; and then there’s the beauty pageant to provide a rich array of suspects for the eventual murder. read more

Charles Todd: A Game of Fear

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Through now 24 novels, Charles and Caroline Todd have provided their readers with excellence, pure and simple.  The first novel in the Rutledge series, A Test of Wills, is a classic, and the rest of the series, elegiac, carefully plotted, and richly characterized, have all been solid and worthy reads. Sadly, this is the last novel written in collaboration with Caroline Todd, who passed away in 2021. She leaves a huge legacy.

In this novel, set in 1921, Inspector Rutledge has been called in from Scotland Yard to look at a case in Essex.  He goes where he’s sent by his higher ups, but he is puzzled to be looking in a case that seems to involve a ghost.  No-one is better than the Todds at setting up a disturbing premise that sticks in your mind as you read, wondering what’s going on.  Twenty-four books in, I was pretty comfortable waiting to discover the solution. read more

February and March Book Clubs

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We’ve moved our discussion of Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala to Sunday, March 20 at 2 p.m. via zoom.  Our February read will be Death on the Boardwalk by Caleb Wygal.  We’ll meet on February 13 at 2 p.m. via zoom. The publisher’s description of Death on the Boardwalk:

The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk is normally an idyllic place. Until death arrives on recently widowed bookstore owner Clark Thomas’ doorstep.

When the body of a local businesswoman and environmentalist gets dumped by the back door of his shop, Clark finds himself in a unique position to investigate the crime. But should he? When it comes to murder, something else drives him he doesn’t want to admit. read more