Christina Dodd: Thus With a Kiss I Die

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Daughter of Montague #2

Thus With a Kiss I Die is the second in Christina Dodd’s Daughter of Montague series, and it loosely follows the plot of Hamlet, complete with a ghostly father. Our protagonist, Rosie Montague, is the eldest daughter of Romeo and Juliet – who the series suggests actually survived the events of that play. Rosie has a hoard of siblings, a strong personality, and a romantic dilemma. In the previous book, Rosie had intended to be caught canoodling with her true love, Lysander, so they would have to be wed. Unfortunately for the pair, the podesta of Verona intervened, and ended up in the dark with Rosie instead. read more

Charles Todd: an overview of two beloved series

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After a two-year hiatus, Charles Todd has a new novella and a new novel coming out soon. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to their series, this is a cause for celebration – and time for a quick recap to remind you where both series left off. Warning for new readers: SPOILERS included.

Charles and Caroline Todd

For those who don’t know, Charles Todd is the pseudonym of mother-and-son team Caroline and Charles Todd, renowned authors of the Inspector Ian Rutledge series and the Beth Crawford series, both set in WWI and 1920s Britain. The authors have won the Barry Award for Best First Novel (A Test of Wills), the Mary Higgins Clark Award (The Shattered Tree), the Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel (A Question of Honor), and the Macavity Award for Best Historical Novel (An Unmarked Grave). read more

September Book Club: Whip Hand

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For September, we’ll be reading Dick Francis’ classic, Whip Hand, which was published in 1979 (and won the Best Novel Edgar in 1980).  It’s a follow up to his first Sid Halley book, Odds Against (1965).  Sid is a steeplechase jockey (like Francis was himself) who has lost his hand and can no longer race.  In Whip Hand Sid now has a prosthetic. Francis’ blend of suspense, a character that readers can pull for, and the details of the racing world really cannot be beat.  To me he remains one of the greatest of all suspense writers. read more

Vicki Delany: Tea with Jam and Dread

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Tea by the Sea #6

In Vicky Delany’s latest, Tea with Jam and Dread, teashop owner Lily Roberts, her grandmother Rose, and her friend Bernadette are all headed to Yorkshire, England for a party at the Thornecroft Castle House and Hotel. Rose had worked in the kitchen at the castle and was personally invited by Elizabeth Crawford, Dowager Countess of Frockmorton, to celebrate her one hundredth birthday alongside other friends and relatives. Lily also has a little side motivation to join Rose on the trip (other than it sounds amazing and she wishes to be there for her): her long distance boyfriend, Simon McCracken, is nearby, and can meet up with them. Everyone is beyond excited for their English adventure. read more

Sandra Jackson-Opoku: Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes

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Debut

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes is the winner of Minotaur’s Malice Domestic© Award, a prize previously won by writers like Donna Andrews and Julia Spencer-Fleming. Savvy Summers owns the soul food restaurant Sapphire Summers Soulfood Café and Catering Company, or Essie’s, for the abbreviation SSS-CCC. Her restaurant is a staple of the community and one of the few remaining businesses on a sought-after bit of land. Her one employee and friend, Penny Porter Lopes, keeps things running smoothly. Savvy is a very down-to-earth woman who is determined to make a success of her business and to keep ahold of it, something that is becoming increasingly difficult with numerous phone calls and emails from a very annoying investor harassing her almost daily. read more

Lindsey Davis: There Will be Bodies

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Flavia Alba #13

Lindsey Davis’s latest addition to her Flavia Albia series is There Will Be Bodies. Flavia Albia is married to a Roman by the name of Tiberius, and is a dedicated Roman wife who learned her husband’s business. She helps him to keep things organized and running smoothly and profitably. However, she has her own profession on the side as well. Flavia has a knack for solving mysteries and getting answers for people, and thus she has made a bit of a name for herself. If anyone wants to know what happened to a missing cousin, or are worried the local authorities might not give them a fair investigation, they turn to her. read more

Leslie Budewitz: Lavender Lies Bleeding

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Spice Shop #9

I enjoy all my meetups with Pepper Reece at her charming Seattle Spice Shop.  The books are set in the iconic Pike Place Market, and Pepper is very much an active part of the market community.  Many of the books have taken place in and around the Market, but in this one, Pepper ventures out to a nearby lavender farm.  She’s planning a lavender festival at the market and thinking of ways to get as many vendors as possible involved in her venture.

To this end, she’s gone out to the farm of a friend, Liz, who has a lavender farm in Salmon Falls. While the real Salmon Falls is now an historical (and abandoned) landmark, the Salmon Falls in the book is a lively place.  When Pepper arrives, though, Liz’s greenhouse has been trashed and the police are on the hunt for the boyfriend of Abby, Liz’s assistant, as the possible culprit for the vandalism.  Abby is sure he’s innocent. read more

Liza Tully: The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant

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This series debut was a complete delight.  Lead character Aubrey Merritt, the “Greatest Detective,” is a 60 something lady with a pristine reputation for cracking difficult cases, clearly cast in the Sherlock Holmes mold.  As the book opens, she finds her somewhat hapless Watson in the person of assistant Olivia Blunt, an obsessed low level stalker who had always dreamt of working for Merritt. When she’s hired, she happily jettisons her job and informs her fiancé she’ll be away on a case, only to realize too late it might mean missing his off-Broadway debut.  She hopes very much to be back in time, and he’s completely supportive, though he does fruitlessly beg her throughout the book to please call his mother, who is planning their wedding. read more

Elise Bryant: The Game is Afoot

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Mavis Miller #2

Reading this book and the one before it, It’s Elementary, I was reminded that the perils of raising a kid come with a mega peril: other parents.  The heroine of the series, Mavis, is a newly single mom who lives with her retired dad and a very adorable 8-year-old named Pearl.  Mavis, one of the few black moms at the suburban elementary school which Pearl attends, is extra attuned to the passive aggressive judging that goes on in school parking lots everywhere. These days, facebook groups and social media in general seem to have ramped things up even more. read more

Laurie R. King: Knave of Diamonds

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Mary Russell #19

At Damian Adler’s wedding Mary Russell thinks she sees a familiar figure in the crowd, someone who looks like her uncle Jake. But Jake is dead, isn’t he? She last saw her wayward uncle 14 years ago and only remembers that the charming rogue was cast out of the family shortly before her parents and brother were killed in an auto accident.

As Mary looks forward to recovering from their adventures in the previous two books, Mycroft Holmes summons his brother Sherlock to London. The case? A cold case involving the theft of the so-called Irish Crown Jewels 14 years before: a case Holmes could not solve, a theft that cost him the wrath of the Dublin police and the King. That 14 years is no coincidence and Holmes immediately recalls the unproveable involvement of Jake Russell in the theft. Should he tell Mary the truth about her beloved (and apparently dead) uncle? read more