Jeanne M. Dams: Murder in Burnt Orange

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Having owned a bookstore for almost 20 years, the number of authors I’ve seen go in and out of print are a number almost too high to count. Often, talent and skill have little to do with publishing success, as the number of out of print authors that I personally feel are excellent writers is also a high number. Jeanne Dams is one of these. She’s the author of the popular (for our customers, anyway) Dorothy Martin mysteries, that were dropped long ago by her publisher, but she was writing another series at the same time, featuring a Swedish maid in 1905 South Bend, Indiana. This series, too, was dropped, but found another home with Perseverance Press, which could be another word for Jeanne’s tenacious writing career. While the Dorothy books had a larger audience, I’ve always been a big fan both of Jeanne and of her series set in South Bend. read more

D.E. Johnson: Motor City Shakedown

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Like his first novel, The Detroit Electric Scheme, D.E. Johnson’s second novel featuring the troubled Will Anderson is a richly layered portrait of Detroit in 1911. Poised at the dawn of the burgeoning auto industry, Will’s family owns the Detroit Electric Company, a producer of electric cars. The pricey electrics, quiet and easy to start, were driven mainly by wealthy women, but gasoline cars, cheaper and faster than electrics, are starting to overtake the market, despite the difficulty in starting them. And Henry Ford, with his ceaseless march toward efficiency in the workplace, is overtaking the electric in that way as well. His moving assembly line concept is miles ahead of the way electrics were produced, one bit at a time, carted between workstations. read more

Ellen Hart: The Lost Women of Lost Lake

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Ellen Hart is the best writer you’ve never heard of. This is her 26th book, the 18th in her fine Jane Lawless series. Jane is a Minneapolis restaurant owner who solves murders in her spare time – thus, she’s the very definition of amateur detective. She’s gay and since the death of her partner Christine, she’s drifted from relationship to relationship. Jane is also the calm center of the storm in every novel; while everyone around her reacts to events, Jane deducts and analyzes. read more

Spencer Quinn: To Fetch a Thief

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Like the other similarly cleverly named books by Spencer Quinn, Dog on It and Thereby Hangs a Tail, this book is narrated by Chet the dog, whose human partner, Bernie, is the owner of the Little Detective Agency. There are few enough twists left to give the standard private eye novel, but this is a new slant entirely, and it’s an entirely charming one. You may not enjoy this as much if you don’t own a dog (or have ever owned and loved a dog), but that caveat will no doubt cover many, many readers. read more

Carrie Bebris: The Deception at Lyme

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Carrie Bebris’ charming series following Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennett and her Mr. Darcy after their marriage also patterns itself on Austen’s novels. The latest installment is based on Persuasion, and the delightful Anne Elliott from that novel makes an appearance here. What Bebris really utilizes, however, is the setting of Lyme and it’s naval background for her story.

In Austen’s time, of course, England was the top sea power in the world, at a time when ships and shipping were the only way of moving goods overseas. Being a naval officer was an important and respected job, and when one turns up with his eye on Darcy’s sister, Georgiana, in this novel, it’s no surprise either that Georgiana responds to the handsome officer’s friendly overtures, or that her protective brother looks at him askance. read more

Sarah Stewart Taylor: O’ Artful Death & Mansions of the Dead

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O’ Artful Death was one of the “buzz” books of the year last year – while not causing as big a sensation as Maisie Dobbs or Monkeewrench (both notable first novels), after reading all of them, I almost think Taylor’s novel is the most polished and satisfying of the three. It’s also very much a first book in terms of its verve and energy, and if, like a beautiful but newborn colt, it sometimes lumbers off into uncharted territory, it’s always charming and compelling. This is a novel for fans of Deborah Crombie and Joanne Dobson – Crombie’s graceful prose and darker themes are present here, as is Dobson’s effective use of a university setting. read more

Loren D. Estleman: Alone

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“Winged Pegasus glided along the San Diego freeway, soared down the ramp onto Sunset Boulevard, and swooped into West Hollywood, full of oats and hubris. There gridlock clipped its wings.”

It’s obvious Loren Estleman has a blast writing his new series about film archivist Valentino. If anything could be a fantasy for a massive film buff like Estleman, it would probably be a job as a “film detective”, tracking down old films so the prints can be salvaged for future generations. Even better, in this second outing, Valentino is restoring an old movie theater, although the correct term for it would be “palace”. Estleman really sparkles here. The book is filled with funny one liners that move along as quickly as an old Cary Grant/Rosalind Russell movie—sometimes you’re saying “Oh, I get it” a page later. read more

Julia Spencer-Fleming: All Mortal Flesh

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This is the kind of book that I know will have customers coming in and shaking me by the shoulders to either mourn or complain about what happens in it. The only other author who has that effect on readers is Elizabeth George, so it says lots that Julia Spencer-Fleming’s now five book series has the same effect. Her main characters. Claire and Russ, are so fleshed out, so tormented, so genuinely human, that you can’t help but be completely swept up in their lives whether you want to or not. Book five (and I’m not giving anything away) opens with the discovery of Russ’ wife Linda horribly butchered on the floor of their kitchen. Spencer-Fleming’s greatest gift, I think, is in the emotional details of her characters, and in her portrayal of Russ’ grief and Claire’s response to Linda’s death, she doesn’t disappoint. To catch up readers who may not have read the rest of the series, Claire Fergusson is the Episcopal priest in tiny Miller’s Kill, New York, and Russ Van Alstyne is the married police chief. Claire and Russ, while not having an actual affair, have engaged in “an affair of the heart”, and many people in town are aware of their relationship, now including (as of book four) Linda Van Alstyne. She and Russ are recently separated. Spencer-Fleming’s other gift is to take the backdrop provided by these genuinely conflicted characters, as well as Claire’s unusual occupation, and spin a clever and gripping mystery around them. In this book, of course, the mystery part is obvious – who killed Linda? read more

Casey Daniels: A Hard Day’s Fright

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Daniels has been a very busy lady since I first met her, when her first Pepper Martin book, Don of the Dead, was published.  Since then she’s written six more “Pepper” books, and started a cooking related series under the name of Miranda Bliss.  This latest “Pepper” book is not only fun, it’s a terrific story, and Pepper has developed as a character since I first encountered her.  If you are unfamiliar with the series, Pepper works as a tour guide in an historic Cleveland cemetery.  When she starts her job in the first book, she’s distressed to discover that the pesky ghost of a dead mob boss is following her around, asking her to find out what’s happened to him.  Since Pepper is the only one who can hear him, he doesn’t let up, and another career is born: investigating what’s happened to the already dead. read more

Elizabeth Sims: The Actress

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This is very much a St. Martin’s mystery, as I’ve come to know them. Smart, concise plot; vivid characters; interesting setting and a twist of originality. It fits in with many other St. Martin’s authors I’ve loved over the years, from K.J. Erickson to Ellen Hart to David Housewright. This is the first book by Ms. Sims, but it’s told in the assured voice of a pro. The story and set up are great—struggling actress Rita Farmer meets famous lawyer Gary Kwan at the library when she’s doing a story time performance for kids, including Kwan’s. Kwan pulls her aside and offers her a job, one so secret she has to meet him in his office to discuss it. Intrigued, she gets her best friend and working actor Daniel Clements to look after her own son, Petey, while she goes to talk with Kwan. What he wants is simple: a talented and unknown actress to coach his client in the best ways to project herself sympathetically to a jury. Rita is slightly horrified to discover that Kwan’s client is the notorious Eileen Tenaway, a recent widow who is in jail for the murder of her own toddler with an overdose of Valium. Complicating matters is the chance that Rita may just have a shot at an audition with the most revered, artistic movie director of all time, one who routinely directs actresses to Oscar winning performances and careers. He likes to work with unknowns, just like Rita. However, Kwan names an outrageous fee for Rita’s efforts, telling her that it’s an exclusive—no outside auditions while she’s working for him. Intrigued and needing money badly, Rita accepts. read more