Reviews

Alex Erickson: Death by Spiced Chai

by

Alex Erickson’s barista turned part-time sleuth, Krissey Hancock, finds herself the target of a sinister stalker in her newest book Death by Spiced Chai. Everything begins with little incidents such as the sudden appearance of cockroaches, and ominous texts about her local cop boyfriend Paul Daulton. At first, most are easily explained as either accidents or perhaps even as revenge by someone in town who has taken exception to Krissey’s history of being a tad too intrusive in her past investigations. But soon things escalate to accusations from friends and neighbors. Krissey finds her head spinning and anxiety rising as she desperately tries to clear her name left and right. Despite her efforts, things continue to escalate and eventually the police come to accuse her of vandalism of other local establishments, and then even of murder! read more

Donna Andrews: Dashing through the Snowbirds

by

Donna Andrews’ Dashing Through the Snowbirds will have readers dashing to solve the crimes alongside Meg Langslow. Christmas cheer abounds in Caerphilly, only broken up by a few grumpy guest programmers, who work for the small AcerGen company. Ian Meredith, the head programmer, seems determined to make everyone around him as miserable and uncomfortable as possible. Meg does her best to manage her constantly active family and their house guests, but thanks to Mr. Meredith she and her Mother are finding hosting more of a chore than a pleasure. read more

S.K. Golden: The Socialites Guide to Murder

by

This charming, frothy concoction is as charming and frothy as it’s heroine, Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy, daughter of the owner of New York City’s Pinnacle Hotel.  She lives in the penthouse, and she never leaves the building – there’s no need!  She has a social life, friends, food delivery, even a dog walker.  It’s 1958 and she loves to dress like her favorite movie star, Marilyn Monroe.  Her fluffy white dog – she carries him around in her purse – is named Presley.  As the story opens there’s a big art exhibition opening, and Evelyn is on the arm of movie star(let) Henry Fox.  She’s dressed to the nines, in a replica of Marilyn’s pink dress in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  read more

Tasha Alexander: Secrets of the Nile

by

The annual return of Lady Emily – wherever she may journey – is always something to celebrate. In this outing, Tasha Alexander’s 16th, Lady Emily and the dashing Colin have chosen to accompany Colin’s mother on a trip down the Nile.  The host, Lord Deeley, is an admirer of Lady Hargreaves, Colin’s mother, as well as an old friend, and joining the expedition is Colin’s daughter Kat.  Emily has a slightly prickly relationship with both women, one she tries very hard to set right. read more

Andrea Penrose: Murder at the Serpentine Bridge

by

Murder at the Serpentine Bridge is the sixth installment in Andrea Penrose’s Wrexford and Sloane Regency mystery series.  As the book opens, in 1814, the two protagonists, the Earl of Wrexford and Lady Charlotte Sloane, are a newly married couple, and Charlotte is trying to get used to life as a countess, while inwardly rebelling against the restrictions of Regency high society.

Wrexford is a man of science, a brilliant chemist, who relies on logic and deductive reasoning to solve crimes.  Charlotte is a satirical cartoonist who uses the pseudonym A.J. Quill.  She had eloped with her drawing teacher when she was very young, and scandalized her family.  Now that her first husband is dead and she is married to Wrexford, she is finally accepted back into polite society.  In contrast to Wrexford, she uses her intuition and artist’s eye to solve murders.  The two complement each other very well.  At first I wondered if the series would not be as compelling now that the two of them are married, but I am happy to say I was wrong.  Wrexford and Charlotte make a great couple, and the witty dialogue which was a strength of the earlier novels is still there. read more

Susan Elia MacNeal: Mother Daughter Traitor Spy

by

In her Maggie Hope series, Susan MacNeal has seemed to be more and more interested in the US side of the outbreak of WWII (see The Hollywood Spy, 2021).  In this novel, a standalone, she pursues that interest, creating a terrifying account of Nazism in America in 1940.  Her central characters, mother and daughter Vi and Veronica, kick off the action with Veronica’s graduation from Hunter College in New York.  Veronica is looking forward to an internship at Mademoiselle magazine, but thanks to an unfortunate turn of events the internship is rescinded. She and her mother, along with her Pasadena based Uncle Walter (in town for her graduation from Hunter) make plans to move to California.  Uncle Walter is willing to let the women live in his beach house. read more

Amanda Flower: Because I Could Not Stop For Death

by

Amanda Flower’s charming historical mystery is set in the household of Emily Dickinson and her family around 1855.  The main character is not Emily herself (though she is a strong second) but the new maid in the Dickinson household, Willa Noble.  One of the more fascinating aspects of this novel is Flower’s simple ability to put the reader into a different mindset.  Willa, who has always been poor, is grateful for the work and for a roof over her head.  Her simple expectations are so different from the highly enlarged expectations of the early 21st century. read more

Deanna Raybourn: Killers of a Certain Age

by

This book is an absolute blast.  Hilarious, well plotted, exciting, packed with interesting characters, it is definitely the most fun I’ve had reading a book all year.  As I have read a few books lately with detectives who are on the older side, I thought I knew what to expect, but I was so, so wrong.  Raybourn’s “Killers” are 60 something female assassins who are on a retirement cruise. They are a little puzzled by the cruise but are determined to enjoy each other’s company, the food, and the booze. Their collective bad-assery is a far remove from Jane Marple’s. read more

Ann Cleeves: The Rising Tide

by

I came late to the Vera Stanhope party, but I am a complete convert.  Whenever she says “Not to worry, pet,” she reminds me so much of my beloved Columbo and his “Just one more thing.”  In this outing, Ann Cleeves does something else she excels at: setting.  This book is set on the remote British island of Lindisfarne, or “Holy Island,” a place not actually an island, but one that becomes an island thanks to rising and falling tides.  That particular detail could not have a more beloved place in the mystery genre, and Ann Cleeves, the ace of setting, does it better than anyone else. read more

Karin Slaughter: Girl, Forgotten

by

Despite the title of Karin Slaughter’s latest work, Girl, Forgotten, it’s pretty clear that Emily Vaughn’s idyllic little hometown has never truly forgotten her. Told half in the present, where the case has been reopened by newly minted US Marshal Andrea Oliver, and half in the past, where Emily lives out the days before her own murder, her voice isn’t silenced for long. That can make the horrific things she endured – rape by someone who knew she was drugged, ostracization by former friends, loss of her future, and unexpected pregnancy – difficult to bear. It is clear throughout that Emily was a sweet, good person who intended to make the most of her situation moving forward. Unfortunately, she never gets the chance to do so. read more