Katie Tietjen

Best of 2025

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Best of the year lists are so difficult!  I’ve given myself leeway to divide books into categories – cozy, historical, best all around – giving me a chance to spotlight more great reads.  All of the reviews appear either on this website or over at Deadly Pleasures (or both).  Deadly Pleasures also features my pared down top 10 list.  Here are 30 great reads culled from the 100 or so books I read each year.  My standard is simple – a book that stays with me long after I finish it, great writing, great characters.  There are veterans and newbies here.  Dive in! read more

Katie Tietjen: Murder in Miniature

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Maple Bishop #2

The second book in the Maple Bishop series, Murder in Miniature, finds Maple at a bit of a crossroads. Though she has started to find her place in her small town, with a thriving dollhouse business, new friends, and a new position with the local law enforcement, she isn’t quite settled. When she came out here, it was with her husband, to support his career. Maple grew up a city girl in Boston, and worked hard to earn a legal degree, something she hasn’t been able to make use of in small town Vermont. Even with all the good things going on in her life, does she truly belong? read more

Author Interview: Katie Tietjen

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Katie Tietjen

I was a huge fan of Katie Tietjen’s first novel, Death in the Details, which follows war widow Maple Bishop just after the war has ended.  Maple is living in a tiny Vermont town and, though she’s a trained lawyer, ends up piecing together a living selling the dollhouses she creates.  She also makes “nutshells,”  tiny recreations of crime scenes.  The nutshells are based on the work of Frances Glessner Lee, the mother of crime scene investigation.  By book two, Murder in Miniature, Maple has earned the respect of the police in town and is now an official consultant.  The books are charming, thoughtful, and fascinating.  Katie was nice enough to answer a few questions about her books. read more

January and February Book Clubs

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We’ll be meeting on zoom this winter, all are welcome to join us.  Our next meeting is Sunday, January 19 at 2 p.m. (E.A. Poe’s birthday) to discuss Katie Tietjen’s wonderful debut, Death in the Details.  Ms. Tietjen will be joining us.

For February we’ll be reading Kemper Donovan’s humorous and clever The Busy Body, about a ghostwriter working with a Hilary Clinton-esque figure.  The two of them, along with working on a memoir, team up to solve a murder.  This is a delightful first mystery.  Mr. Donovan is the force behind the All About Agatha podcast and a giant devotee of the golden age, especially of Ms. Christie.  His book is a homage to that style of writing.  We’ll be discussing the book on Sunday, February 23 at 2 p.m.  All times Eastern. read more

Favorite Reads of 2024

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This year was a slow burn – sometimes I find a book early in the year that I’m completely passionate about.  This year I didn’t find “the one” until November, when I devoured Christina Lynch’s utterly original Pony Confidential.  I read lots of other great books along the way though, some by tried and true writers – Elly Griffiths, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Ann Cleeves, Anthony Horowitz, Deanna Raybourn and Ragnar Jonasson – and particularly in the historical novel category, lots of wonderful debuts that give us lots to look forward to. These recommendations are divided into categories.  Full reviews for all of these can be found on this website, just search by title or author. read more

January Book Club: Katie Tietjen

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Katie Tietjen

As always our book club meetings are open to all.  During the winter months, we meet exclusively on zoom.  Simply message us on facebook or email me at store (at) auntagathas.com for a zoom link.  In October, we’ll meet on the 20th at 2 p.m. to discuss Michael Bennett‘s debut novel, Better the Blood, featuring a Māori detective.  This is a strong start to a new series.  In November, we are delighted to welcome author Vanessa Lillie on Sunday, November 17 at 2 p.m.  She’ll discuss her wonderful novel, Blood Sisters, which I very much hope is a series kick off.  We take December off and in January we are lucky enough to have new author Katie Tietjen join us on Sunday the 19th at 2 p.m.  Katie will discuss her first novel, Death in the Details. The book is loosely based on the work of Frances Glassner Lee who created crime scene “nutshells” (miniature rooms, basically) and revolutionized the way crime scenes are processed and investigated.  As Katie is a novelist, however, she brings the reader her own fascinating story.  This is a terrific debut novel, one of my favorites of this year. read more

Katie Tietjen: Death in the Details

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Debut

This ingenious historical novel begins in post WWII Vermont, where Maple Bishop is enduring a tidal wave of loss –  she’s lost her brother, her mother and her husband, and, as the insurance company informs her in the opening chapter, most of her money.  She has $12 to her name, no way to pay her mortgage and, since she and her husband donated its tires to the war effort, a car she can neither drive nor sell.

What keeps her (and the book) going is her obsession with building dollhouses.  She can’t stop herself, and her garage workshop is full of the things, complete with idealized dolls living idealized doll lives.  When she goes into the hardware store to purchase supplies, the owner, sensing a promotional opportunity, offers her a corner to set up shop, in order to bring in customers and spice up his window display. read more