Best Of

Best of 2025

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Best of the year lists are so difficult!  I’ve given myself leeway to divide books into categories – cozy, historical, best all around – giving me a chance to spotlight more great reads.  All of the reviews appear either on this website or over at Deadly Pleasures (or both).  Deadly Pleasures also features my pared down top 10 list.  Here are 30 great reads culled from the 100 or so books I read each year.  My standard is simple – a book that stays with me long after I finish it, great writing, great characters.  There are veterans and newbies here.  Dive in! read more

Best of 2025: Reviewer’s Choice

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Our reviewers, Margaret Agnew, Cathy Akers-Jordan, Vicki Kondelik and Carla Schantz, are all extremely discerning readers and all have shared their favorites for the year.  I so appreciate the yearly efforts of these wonderful reviewers, and their top 10 lists should help you find a good read.  Some have comments, some (like Margaret) have merely listed their selections in order.  All the choices have been given lots of thought.  Needless to say, their reviews appear on the website, and you can read more about them on the “Our Reviewers” tab here. read more

Charles Todd: A Christmas Witness

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This novella is set in Dec. 1921 after the events of the forthcoming novel A Day of Judgement, which is set in July 1921.

A few days before Christmas, Chief Inspector Ian Rutledge is sent to Kent to the home of Lord Edward Braxton, a retired Army Colonel who has survived an attempted murder. As the newest Chief, and one who has no children to spend Christmas with, Rutledge takes the case.

The Colonel, who prefers his Army title to ancestral rank, is cantankerous, uncooperative, and convinced that someone will kill him before he sees another Christmas. The problem is, he can’t describe his attacker in detail or think of a specific person who means him harm. Since he spent the war as part of the staff for Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, referred to as “Butcher Haig” by Hamish because his orders sent many good soldiers to unnecessary deaths, any number of people could want Braxton dead: soldiers who survived as well as loved ones of soldiers who died. read more

Reviewer’s favorites 2024

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Vicki Kondelik’s List

Better the Blood, Michael Bennett  (2022).

Night Flight to Paris, Cara Black  (2023).

What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust, Alan Bradley  (2024).

To Slip the Bonds of Earth, Amanda Flower (2024).

Moonflower Murders, Anthony Horowitz (2020).

A Fatal Reception, Kathleen Marple Kalb (2024).

Blood Sisters, Vanessa Lillie  (2023).

The Last Hope, Susan Elia MacNeal (2024).

Murder at the White Palace, Allison Montclair (2024).

The Grey Wolf, Louise Penny  (2024). read more

Favorite Reads of 2024

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This year was a slow burn – sometimes I find a book early in the year that I’m completely passionate about.  This year I didn’t find “the one” until November, when I devoured Christina Lynch’s utterly original Pony Confidential.  I read lots of other great books along the way though, some by tried and true writers – Elly Griffiths, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Ann Cleeves, Anthony Horowitz, Deanna Raybourn and Ragnar Jonasson – and particularly in the historical novel category, lots of wonderful debuts that give us lots to look forward to. These recommendations are divided into categories.  Full reviews for all of these can be found on this website, just search by title or author. read more

Best of 2022

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I had a really, really hard time keeping this to 10 books – hence my lengthy honorable mention list this year.  This is the first year this list is all women!  That was my goal when I closed the store – to cover new series and books by women and it looks like that’s what’s happening organically.  These are the books that stuck with me all year, books that when I read them, I was entranced and transported. They appeared in different ways. Mariah Fredericks pressed an early advance copy of The Lindbergh Nanny into my eager hands at Malice Domestic last spring – it was a book I was very excited to read and I was not disappointed.  I saw the cover of Blackwater Falls and it called to me – again, I was not disappointed.  I was interested to see Deanna Raybourn doing something so different – again, no disappointment.  It’s such a fun journey of discovery. Some on this list are veterans turning in great books, some are new series or standalones – all have that great, memorable sparkle.  What a wonderful year to be a reader. I did include one reference book this year, one so exceptional it would be criminal not to give it a shout out. read more

Best of: History Mystery 2022

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One reason I love historical mystery fiction so much is that the characters are operating without technology – they are using old fashioned deductive reasoning to solve their cases.  This year there was an incredible variety of wonderful work to choose from, embracing periods from just pre-WWII America in both the Southwest and in LA; to the East Coast in the 50’s; to Ohio in the 20’s; to Emily Dickinson and her maid investigating a crime close to home.  And of course there are some new installments of some always excellent series fiction, as well as two break outs with first in series books. read more

Best of: Cozies 2022

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So many cozies – so little time!  Reading cozies for my Mystery Scene column has been a real joy, and an extra joy was that the column focused on my favorite of formats, the mass market paperback.  A long ago customer, a pilot during WWII, told me he learned to love Agatha Christie during the war as he was able to stick a paperback in his back pocket.  This format is slowly being squeezed out, but to me it’s the best way to have a little rectangle of affordable, portable happiness always on tap.  Hopefully this list will give you a place to start (not ALL on this list are mass markets, but most of them are). Dive in!   read more

Honorable Mention 2022

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With over 500,000 books published each year (not all are mysteries, obviously), there’s no way I can even read a solid sample of what’s out there.  I do gravitate toward historicals, cozies and traditional detective fiction, and out of the 80 plus books I read this past year (all but two were mysteries) these are the (additional) ones I found remarkable and worthy of a look.  Happy reading!

The Rising Tide, Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope #10 ). Cleeves always provides a spectacularly thoughtful read, and this one is no different.  Set on “Holy Island”, an island cut off by the tides every night, a group of high school friends have been meeting up for 50 years.  When one of them commits suicide, Vera is sure it’s murder, and of course she’s right.  As expected from Cleeves, there are complex characterizations and a spectacular setting that assumes its own part in the story. read more

Reviewers and Readers faves 2022

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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