aunt_agatha

E.J. Copperman: Same Difference

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Fran and Ken Stein #2

There are several things a reader can expect when they pick up an E.J. Copperman book, among them humor, a tight plot and great characters. Also to be expected in each of his series, written as either Jeff Cohen or Copperman, is a high concept premise, and this instalment is no exception.  The sibling protagonists, brother and sister Fran and Ken Stein (you get the word play), were not born, exactly, but created by their scientist parents who added a little extra something to the formula.  The two of them are remarkably tall and strong, the downside being that they have to plug the USB port under their arms into a charger every couple of days to keep going.  This part of the story was, to me, almost extraneous – the rest is so excellent that it needs no embellishment.  Fran and Ken could just simply have been tall and extra strong and the book wouldn’t have suffered any.  Being Copperman, however, there’s an extra emotional layer here as Fran and Ken haven’t seen their parents since they were children and are still hoping to find them.  All signs point to that search being the plot of the next book. Their sense of loss is only lightly touched on here but it’s present and beautifully handled. read more

M.E. Hilliard: Smoke and Mirrors

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Greer Hogan #4

Since the first book in this series (The Unkindness of Ravens), librarian Greer Hogan has been working through the aftermath of her husband’s murder.  While she’s upright and functional, his death feels unresolved, and she’s not so sure the right person is in prison. While she has a job, she’s taken on a temporary one in New York City, archiving the collection of a magician.  The gig comes with an apartment across the street, and the archiving job gives her the flexibility she needs for sleuthing.  It also comes with an assistant: the aptly named “Grim” (short for Grimaldi), a former magician himself, is helping out by archiving the straight up magic tricks part of the collection, while Greer herself sticks to books.  She decides to trust him early on and he proves to be incredibly useful. read more

Frank Figliuzzi: Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers

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True Crime

Long Haul: Hunting the Highway Serial Killers is former FBI agent Frank Figliuzzi’s second non fiction work, and an in depth dive into the prevalence of serial killers in long haul trucking. Though not an examination of any one individual, or any one case, the  book covers the culture of trucking. That includes not only the drivers themselves, but the prostitution rampant at truck lots, and the kind of trafficking that leads to an unfortunately thriving industry.  Truckers are primarily men alone for weeks at a time, isolated and often unaccounted for, and combined with vulnerable and often intoxicated women, this doesn’t lead to good things. read more

Lynn Morrison and Anne Radcliffe: The Missing Diamond

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Crown Jewels Regency #1

(Editor’s note: this is only available on Kindle Scribe & Audio).

The first in Lynn Morrison and Anne Radcliffe’s Crown Jewels series, The Missing Diamond is a regency delight. Starting at the beginning of the London season, the drama, at first, revolves around who will marry who. At first it seems obvious that the season’s most eligible bachelor, Roland, Lord Percy, will wed the season’s diamond, Lady Charity. Charity is determined to marry as well as she can and her best friend, Lady Grace, is happy to help her do so. read more

Carolyn Haines: Lights, Camera, Bones

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Sara Booth Delaney #27

Lights, Camera, Bones is impressively Carolyn Haines’ 27th book in her Sarah Booth Delaney series. Hollywood comes to take a bite out of Greenville, Mississippi, to film a dramatic movie about a great flood in 1927. It was a very controversial flood for the town as, while there were heroes, there were also some very unfortunate victims left to the mercy of the elements. The Director and lead actor, Marlon Brandon’s, goal is to share the heroic story of how his family saved many during the tragedy. However, not everyone believes that showing off his hero roots is the whole story. There are at least two who are convinced that the movie is there to paint Greenville in a negative light, and dig up old wounds caused by the state’s darker history involving slave labor. What starts as just a few arguments and clashes escalates when Marlon and another member of his crew, Jules, goes missing. read more

Krista Davis: The Diva Goes Overboard

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Domestic Diva #17

Krista Davis’ latest addition to her Domestic Diva Mysteries, The Diva Goes Overboard, follows event planner Sophie Winston in Old Town Alexandria. Her best, and highest maintenance friend, Natasha Smith, has wonderful but shocking news. Her free-spirited mother, Wanda, and local antiques dealer, Orson Chatsworth, are getting married. Sophie is thrilled to be asked to help Natasha get an engagement party together, but not so thrilled with the short time frame she’s given to work with. With the short notice, she already knows finding a venue is going to be more than a little challenging. read more

Author interview: Patrice McDonough

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I really loved Patrice McDonough’s debut mystery, Murder by Lamplight, set in 1860’s London, and featuring a female doctor as the main character.  Much like Anne Perry, she’s not afraid to tackle social issues, and also like Perry she supplies the reader with some wonderful characters (hard to believe this was a debut!).  I am very much looking forward to more in the series, and Patrice was nice enough to answer some questions.

Q: I loved the main characters – as I think there are two, but let’s start with Julia.  Talk about making her a doctor at that time.  How many female doctors were there in London in 1866? read more

Michael Bennett: Return to Blood

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Hana Westerman #2

This is an interesting new series.  In the first novel, New Zealand cop Hana Westerman took down a serial killer – and then walks away from the job.  She’s not just a New Zealander, she’s a Māori. The Māori culture is infused into both books, lending them an interest and snap.  She was conflicted in book one: is she a Māori, or is she a cop?  Is she meant to enforce laws against her own people?  In book two she’s back in the tiny seaside town where she grew up, living down the street from her father, Eru. Her daughter, Addison, and her roommate, PLUS 1, are back in Auckland living in Hana’s old place – and to Hana’s annoyance their new puppy is peeing all over her beloved garden. read more

Ann Claire: A Cyclist’s Guide to Crime & Croissants

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Series debut

This is a charming debut, set in the French countryside.  As promised in the title, it provides both cycling and baked goods.  The main character, Sadie Greene, has shucked her secure actuary job in Chicago after the hit and run death of her best friend, Gem, and bought a French bicycle touring company.  She’s all in and her little company, Oui Cycle, is about to take off on it’s first tour. Joining her are – let’s be real – the suspects: her hometown almost family, the Appletons (parents, son, and girlfriend); a sleek German, Manfred; two Scottish sisters who can’t get enough of the baked goods; and a supposedly undercover travel writer, Nigel.  In true Murder, She Wrote style, two of the most unpleasant on the tour, Nigel and Dom Appleton, seem targeted for doom. read more

Daryl Wood Gerber: A Twinkle of Trouble

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Fairy Garden #5

As an enthusiast of mystery and fantasy novels, I am always delighted to find a series that manages to blend the two in an effective and engaging way, and Daryl Wood Gerber’s Fairy Garden Mystery series does just that. Her fifth book, A Twinkle of Trouble, follows our heroine Courtney Kelly during Carmel-by-the-Sea’s Summer Blooms Festival. Her fairy garden shop Open Your Imagination is hosting a booth this year alongside many other local shops and influencers. Other than excitement for the event itself, Courtney is glad for the distraction. Her stalwart companion Fiona has been gone for a bit, having returned to the fairy realm to see her family. Worry for her righteous fairy friend, and what reception she might have received at home, Courtney is determined to focus on the festival as well as some other new side projects. Not to mention her blossoming romance with local restaurant owner, Brady Cash. read more