Small Town

Olivie Blacke: A Fatal Groove

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Record Shop #2

This kick ass new series delivers on plot, character and setting.  I was a fan of book one (Vinyl Resting Place), and this sophomore effort from Blacke is just as strong.  Set in small town Texas, sisters Junie, Tansy and Maggie run a combo coffee-vinyl record shop, drawing collectors from nearby music capital, Austin.  As this book opens, Sip & Spin is manning a booth at the local bluebonnet festival (google an image, Texas bluebonnets are stunning), selling coffee and DJing in between live music sets. read more

Terry Shames: A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary

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This is the first Samuel Craddock mystery I’ve read, largely on the advice of other readers I met at Left Coast Crime this year.  As when I had a bookstore, the best recommendations often come from fellow readers, and I decided to give this one a try.  I was intrigued when I sat next to Terry at a panel and she told me this was a police series, by far one of my favorite sub genres.  This is a softer police story than say, one by Michael Connelly, but it’s still a police novel and a very good one. read more