Kensington Books

Kemper Donovan: Loose Lips

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Ghostwriter #2

I really enjoy this quirky new series featuring a nameless ghostwriter as the main character.  In the first book, the writer trailed a Hilary Clinton-esque figure and wound up solving a crime with her.  In this follow up, she’s now an established professional after publishing an account of her previous adventure and is recruited for a private cruise for wannabe writers.  She’s the “mystery writer” instructor, along with a poet, a memoirist, and an ultra successful romance writer.  We eventually learn her pen name, Belle Currer, which certainly makes things simpler from a logistical point of view. read more

Nicholas George: A Lethal Walk in Lakeland

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A Walk Through England #2

This series, one of the sweetest around, centers on Widower Chase, a retired policeman, who, enthralled by the beauty of the British countryside, goes on frequent walking tours.  This is the second book in the series and so far every time Chase goes on one of these journeys, someone gets murdered.  In the first one, he met a man, Mike, a coroner in the UK (Chase is American) and sparks flew.  In this installment they will be reunited, but Chase’s walk through Lake Country is the real focus, and the pair don’t even get together until nearly the end. 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

Ellen Yardley: Eleanor and the Cold War

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Eleanor Roosevelt #1

This is a pleasant read, with the added bonus of having Eleanor Roosevelt, a remarkable human being and perhaps our greatest first lady, as one of its main characters.  In this novel, which takes place in 1951, we find her in the middle of the cold war, a widow and a former first lady working for human rights in every possible manner.  The action begins when Eleanor and her secretary, Kay Thompson, discover the body of a young woman in the bathroom of a train. The girl proves to be the missing daughter of a friend who had asked Eleanor to look into her disappearance. read more

Author Interview: Rob Osler

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Rob Osler kicks off a new historical mystery series with The Case of the Missing Maid, featuring a young LGBTQ woman at the turn of the 20th century who has just landed a job as the first female operative at a detective agency in Chicago.  His sleuth, Harriet Morrow, is intrepid and intelligent, and a great new character to enjoy.  In addition, Osler crafts an excellent mystery surrounding Harriet which she, of course, solves. Rob was nice enough to answer a few questions about his new novel, which publishes on Christmas Eve. read more

Rob Osler: The Case of the Missing Maid

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Harriet Morrow Investigates #1

This fun historical mystery from Rob Osler features an unusual heroine: Harriet Morrow, an LGBTQ woman at the turn of the 20th century who has just secured a job as the first female operative at a detective agency in Chicago.  In 1898, law enforcement remained somewhat haphazard, so private detectives did lots of investigative work that today would be handled by regular law enforcement. Consequently, when Harriet tells someone she’s an investigator, they tend to pay serious attention and respond to her questions. read more

Sara Driscoll: Summit’s Edge

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FBI K-9 #9

Sara Driscoll’s FBI K-9 novels follow Meg Jennings, and her FBI human scent evidence team partner, Hawk the black lab, as they work hard to save lives in the face of horrific situations. Summit’s Edge is her ninth book, and this time Meg is coming face to face with her very deep fear of heights. A private jet was hijacked, and went down in the mountains of the Elk Mountains in Colorado. Mountain climbing might be a deep personal torment for Meg herself, but she knows that Hawk is needed, and that he loves nothing more than being out in the field saving lives. So Meg faces her deepest fear and heads off to the mountains. read more

Clara McKenna: Murder at Glenloch Hill

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Stella & Lyndy #6

Murder at Glenloch Hill is the sixth book in Clara McKenna’s Stella and Lyndy series set in early 1900s England (or, in this case, Scotland).  The two protagonists are a recently married couple: Stella Kendrick, the daughter of a wealthy Kentucky horse farmer, and Edwin “Lyndy” Lyndhurst, a British aristocrat from an impoverished noble family.  The marriage was arranged by their fathers because Lyndy’s family needed Stella’s fortune to save their estate, and Stella’s father wanted the prestige of an aristocratic title in the family.  Luckily for the couple, they fell in love, with the help of a shared love of horses.  Stella’s father has died since then (murdered in a previous book), and Lyndy’s father is always away, indulging his passion for fossil-hunting.  Lyndy’s snobbish mother, Lady Atherly, disapproves of Stella because she’s American and because of her adventurous spirit, which means she doesn’t always follow society’s expectations of an aristocratic lady.  Lately, though, she and Stella have been getting along better, but, at the beginning of this novel, Lady Atherly is disappointed in Stella because she has yet to produce an heir. read more

Rosemary Simpson: Death Takes the Lead

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Gilded Age #9

Death Takes the Lead is the ninth book in Rosemary Simpson’s Gilded Age Mystery series set in New York City in the 1890s, with protagonists Prudence MacKenzie and Geoffrey Hunter.  Prudence comes from one of New York’s wealthiest families–one of Mrs. Astor’s Four Hundred.  Rebelling against the life of a society lady, she has passed the New York bar and become one of the first female lawyers in the state.  Geoffrey is an ex-Pinkerton agent and a Civil War veteran.  He is the son of a Southern plantation owner and, after seeing the horrors of slavery firsthand, has run away from his home and fought for the North.  Both characters are rebels against the society in which they were born, and the two are now partners in an investigative law firm.  A slow-burning romance has developed between them, and, I am pleased to say, without giving away too much, this book takes it to a new level. read more

Colleen Cambridge: Murder Takes the Stage

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Phyllida Bright #3

Murder Takes the Stage is the fourth addition to Colleen Cambridge’s Phyllida Bright series. Our protagonist is obviously Phyllida Bright, housekeeper of Mallowan Hall. She also happens to be good friends with the lady of the hall, Agatha Christie. Living with the mystery writing legend also gives Phyllida Bright early access to her favorite detective stories featuring Hercule Poirot. Both women have a knack for mysteries, and have helped the local authorities to solve several murders. Now they are traveling to London for a bit of a vacation. Mrs. Christie and her husband are, anyway, and Phyllida isn’t exactly thrilled about it, which isn’t surprising given her rather complicated past revolving around her deceased husband. However, she isn’t about to let a little discomfort keep her from performing her duties. read more