Amateur sleuth

Mariah Fredericks: Murder on 34th Street

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What Fredricks has put under the tree for her readers this year is an instant Christmas classic, the kind of book you might reach for every December – but only if your taste runs to a few murder victims in Santa’s bag.  Set in 1932, main character Grace Verlander is in charge of much of the big Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade, an event as big in 1932 as it is today.  Her biggest headache is that someone has threatened Santa Claus, and she must do everything she can to keep the big fellow safe despite the chaos of the parade. read more

Michelle L. Cullen: A Field Guide to Death and Deceit

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Harry & Emma #2

It’s always tricky when a second book in a new series is released the same year as the first one, for a couple reasons, but a big reason is that the first one is still fresh in your mind, so you won’t be able to help comparing the two.  Cullen’s first book, A Field Guide to Murder, was released last January. It’s one of my favorite debuts of this year.  I’m happy to report that book two might be even stronger than book one.  (Where this lands Cullen during award season is another story).  This nascent series has a great set up: retired anthropologist Harry meets young caregiver Emma in book one.  He’s grieving his wife, but as he and Emma investigate a murder in the neighborhood together, they both find friendship and a new purpose. read more

Donna Andrews: Probable Caws

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Meg Lanslow #39

After 27 years, 40 books, and unprecedented number of punny bird titles, the Meg Langslow series remains fresh and entertaining as ever. #40 (Jay to the World) will be released in time for Christmas and #39 (Probable Caws) is available now. In Probable Caws Meg and her family are helping retired heavy metal drummer Ragnar Ragnarsen cope with temporarily housing fifty horses from Hoof and Hearth rescue on his estate.

Why move the horses? Able Abernathy, who owns the farm where Hoof and Hearth is based, has just lost his father who apparently died intestate. That means Able does not technically own the farm and his co-inheritor brother George’s only interest in the farm is selling it for a profit. Did George to try harm the horses so his brother would move them off the farm, making it easier to sell? Is there a missing will that might prevent the sale of the farm? And when there’s a murder at Ragnar’s farm, is it related to the horses, the dispute over the farm, or something else? read more

Carolyn Marie Wilkins: Let the Murderer Say Amen

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Psychics & Soul Food #2

This lively and compelling mystery is set in a small town in Illinois in the 20’s.  While author Wilkins names her fictional town Agate, if you’d like to orient yourself it’s fairly close to Joliet, outside of Chicago. The central character is the charming Nola Ann Jackson, who is working for a caterer and lives with her Aunt Sarah.  Both women are psychics though Aunt Sarah has far more experience, and is known as a conjure woman.  Both can see auras.  I loved this aspect of their characters – it made them both more specific and more interesting. read more

Carol Goodman: Our Marriage is Murder

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Our Marriage is Murder centers, appropriately, on the crumbling marriage of Thea and Fred, a duo in writing and in life. The latest in Carol Goodman’s stand alone novels, it has a cozy feel with some of Goodman’s trademark grisly murders sprinkled in. The married couple are up for an award for their who-done-it series, based on their relationship in the loosest terms, at a mystery convention they’ve attended many times before. Now, partially to honor Thea and Fred, it’s being held in Italy at the new hotel, and former nunnery, Castellarosa. read more

Sarah Lotz: How to Kill a Crime Writer

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I was of two minds on this novel.  I enjoyed the main character, Niamh, who has just lost her mother and who has moved into her mother’s remote cottage in the English countryside.  She has a cat, Brian, but mostly she is (not) dealing with her grief by sofa surfing and playing video games. She is startled out of her “grief journey” (as her stepmother refers to it) by the appearance of the main character in her author mother’s books.  Her mother had written thrillers featuring someone I can only describe as a female Jack Reacher, differing in gender and in that she has a fixed place of abode. read more

Kemper Donovan: Sweet Spot

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Ghostwriter #3

This is the third book in a series that is strikingly original in many ways.  In the first book, Donovan’s heroine was not even named.  She was just functioning as a ghostwriter (and amateur sleuth) for a Hilary Clinton-esque politician, who had recently lost an election. In the second, after writing about the crime she and the Hilary character solved, she’s a mini celebrity, and she’s asked on a cruise as a writing instructor.  By book two, she has a pen name – Belle Currer – though it’s made very clear it’s not her real name. In book three, Donovan has chosen to model his story on the heartbreaking 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart in Utah. read more

Paula Sutton: The Body in the Kitchen Garden

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Hill House Vintage #2

Ninety-six years after Miss Marple made her first appearance in the village of St. Mary Meade, The Body in the Kitchen Garden demonstrates that the gentle English village mystery genre is still going strong.  Like Agatha Christie, the legendary creator of Miss Marple, modern practitioners of the British village mystery- writers like Connie Berry, G.M. Malliet, and most recently Katarina Bivald – find the depths of human emotion and depravity lurking not far below the surface of this seemingly idyllic setting.  Sutton has further updated the formula with the provocative move of having her detective be the only black woman in town. read more

Frank Anthony Polito: Dragged to Death

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Domestic Partners in Crime #4

I’ve enjoyed the first three books in this series, which features writer Peter Penwell and actor JP Broadway adding sleuthing to their busy lives. Somehow, bodies keep turning up, no matter what they do.  They also are hosts of a house reno show on “HDTV” – a show that sounds like HGTV’s sadly departed Bargain Block.  In this outing, however, the home reno is taking backstage to a drag show, which they’ve agreed to participate in for charity.

The strongest part of this novel is the explication and definition of the drag community, and the reasons why people are a part of it.  As Peter and JP join the group they are introduced as drag “sisters” who will learn techniques from the older queens.  In loving detail, Polito provides rich descriptions of the makeup and fashion that go into a drag presentation.  I loved that this was a universe where these men felt safe and accepted.  Like every other bubble in the world, though, bad things sometimes happen. read more

Sarah Graves: Death by Chocolate Ladyfingers

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Death by Chocolate #9

In Sarah Graves’ Death by Chocolate series, Jacobia “Jake” Tiptree runs the Chocolate Moose bakery in Eastport, Maine. Her partner and friend Ellie White have a reputation for serving up baked goods to die for, and finding out what people died for. Death by Chocolate Ladyfingers takes place in the summer amidst several town celebrations, including a class reunion, which provides Jake and Ellie with plenty of catering opportunities.

Class reunions tend to bring up more than memories of good times with friends — they also bring up old flames, grudges, and resentments. However, most high school angst does not result in a body. Cindy Munson is found murdered at the reunion’s masquerade dance. The primary suspect ends up being her ex-husband and grown high school bully, Terry Lawson. Given that Cindy’s body was found in Terry’s car, the local authorities do not see this as a difficult solve. However, a six-year-old daughter of Terry and Cindy, Ivy, is now caught up in a strange town with no one to look after her and no foster families readily available to take her in. As a former foster care kid herself, Jake feels compelled to help Ivy avoid the trauma of being drawn into the system and takes her in. Determined to figure out the truth so Ivy can either be reunited with her father, or protected from him, Jake and Ellie begin to investigate, which can be a little tricky when you also have a small child you are responsible for. There aren’t a lot of options for amateur sleuth childcare. Luckily, Jake’s parents come home early and are able to help take over some of the watch. read more