Reviews

Allison Montclair: An Excellent Thing in a Woman

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Sparks & Bainbridge #7

This is one of the best series going at the moment, and even though it’s the seventh, this installment retains the freshness and originality of the very first.  It follows the adventures of Gwen Bainbridge (a widowed socialite) and Iris Sparks (a former WWII spy), who together run The Right Sort, a marriage bureau in central London.  It’s now 1947, and as London recovers from the horrors of war it still finds new things to celebrate, like the dawn of a new technological miracle – television.  Gwen’s beau Sally, a giant sometime playwright, works at the BBC, and is willing to take Gwen, Iris and Gwen’s son and cousin on a tour of the studio. read more

Jenny Elder Moke: She Doesn’t Have a Clue

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Series debut

She Doesn’t Have A Clue by Jenny Elder Moke is a mystery romance combo. Just a quick disclaimer: it has a bit more sexual content than what one might expect from a cozy. It was the description of the book that made me take a chance on this particular novel. Then I was hooked when the protagonist, Kate Valentine, recounts an incident in her past of hiding in some shrubbery to eat a massive piece of cake in peace without regret or shame – truly something an inspiration to introverted sugar addicts. Kate is a quirky introvert, who is also a bestselling mystery author. Her own main character is Loretta Starling, and Kate comes up with scenes using her own every day experiences and to figure out how to deal with situations using Loretta’s perspective instead of her own. read more

Kemper Donovan: Loose Lips

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Ghostwriter #2

I really enjoy this quirky new series featuring a nameless ghostwriter as the main character.  In the first book, the writer trailed a Hilary Clinton-esque figure and wound up solving a crime with her.  In this follow up, she’s now an established professional after publishing an account of her previous adventure and is recruited for a private cruise for wannabe writers.  She’s the “mystery writer” instructor, along with a poet, a memoirist, and an ultra successful romance writer.  We eventually learn her pen name, Belle Currer, which certainly makes things simpler from a logistical point of view. read more

Nicholas George: A Lethal Walk in Lakeland

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A Walk Through England #2

This series, one of the sweetest around, centers on Widower Chase, a retired policeman, who, enthralled by the beauty of the British countryside, goes on frequent walking tours.  This is the second book in the series and so far every time Chase goes on one of these journeys, someone gets murdered.  In the first one, he met a man, Mike, a coroner in the UK (Chase is American) and sparks flew.  In this installment they will be reunited, but Chase’s walk through Lake Country is the real focus, and the pair don’t even get together until nearly the end. read more

Laurie L. Dove: Mask of the Deer Woman

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Debut

Laurie Dove’s debut novel, Mask of the Deer Woman, is a mystery centering on the many missing and murdered indigenous women who have vanished throughout the southwest and beyond. There have been several books on this topic, recently William Kent Krueger’s Spirit Crossing and Vanessa Lillie’s Blood Sisters, as well as a searing television show, True Detective: Night Country. Dove frames her story with a strong and troubled female character.  Carrie Starr, an ex-Chicago cop, has made her way to her long ago childhood home, Oklahoma, where she has ties to the rez and is the newly appointed Federal Marshal for the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs). read more

Ellen Yardley: Eleanor and the Cold War

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Eleanor Roosevelt #1

This is a pleasant read, with the added bonus of having Eleanor Roosevelt, a remarkable human being and perhaps our greatest first lady, as one of its main characters.  In this novel, which takes place in 1951, we find her in the middle of the cold war, a widow and a former first lady working for human rights in every possible manner.  The action begins when Eleanor and her secretary, Kay Thompson, discover the body of a young woman in the bathroom of a train. The girl proves to be the missing daughter of a friend who had asked Eleanor to look into her disappearance. read more

S.J. Bennett: A Death in Diamonds

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Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #4

I love this series, and with this title its excellence continues.  It was originally published in the UK last year, but thanks to a change of publishers, readers in the US have had to wait until now to get their hands on it.  While the central premise of Queen Elizabeth having a private secretary who helps her with undercover investigations may sound a bit silly, Bennet pulls it off thanks to her way with smart plots, great characters and humor.  The Queen has access to all kinds of things, of course, but there are also topics that the people around her think a royal should not concern herself with.  As portrayed by Bennett, Elizabeth loves solving puzzles, and her private secretary becomes her eyes and ears out in the world. read more

Darcie Wilde: The Matter of the Secret Bride

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Rosalind Thorne #8

The Matter of the Secret Bride is Darcie Wilde’s eighth novel in her Regency series featuring Rosalind Thorne (but see below, on series numbering).  Rosalind is a gentlewoman whose family has fallen on hard times after her father’s abandonment and later, his death.  To make a living, she assists aristocratic women with their difficulties, helping them avoid scandal and, often, solving crimes.  At first she was able to do so discreetly, frequently going undercover, but now she has acquired a reputation, as well as several highly-placed patronesses.  She shares a house with her friend Alice Littlefield, a gossip columnist turned novelist, and Alice’s lover Amelia, Rosalind’s former maid, who now runs a school for impoverished girls.  Rosalind’s love interest is Adam Harkness, who used to be a Bow Street Runner, but has now left because his politically-minded boss considers him a radical.  Now he works for the coroner and helps Rosalind in her investigations. read more

Rob Osler: The Case of the Missing Maid

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Harriet Morrow Investigates #1

This fun historical mystery from Rob Osler features an unusual heroine: Harriet Morrow, an LGBTQ woman at the turn of the 20th century who has just secured a job as the first female operative at a detective agency in Chicago.  In 1898, law enforcement remained somewhat haphazard, so private detectives did lots of investigative work that today would be handled by regular law enforcement. Consequently, when Harriet tells someone she’s an investigator, they tend to pay serious attention and respond to her questions. read more

Angela M. Sanders: The Witch is Back

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Witch Way Librarian #6

In Angela Sanders’ sixth addition to her Witch Way Librarian series, The Witch is Back, readers travel to Wilfred, Oregon, to join local librarian Josie Way, who also just so happens to have a literal bit of magic with books. Coming from a long line of witches, Josie is blessed with some truly powerful magic that manifests itself through books. They whisper to her, based on either what the magic feels she needs, or in response to questions she poses to them. But she has to be careful: even without things like witch trials going on, it isn’t safe to just flaunt her powers about the small town. So when she does use her abilities it is often secretly, and primarily to help others. Not even her boyfriend and local sheriff, Sam, knows of her secret. At this point she has also used her powers to help solve several mysteries and murders about her otherwise quiet and peaceful town. read more