Elly Griffiths: Bleeding Heart Yard

In DS (Detective Sergeant) Harbinder Kaur’s third jaunt, Bleeding Heart Yard, she’s been promoted to DI (Detective Inspector). Author Elly Griffiths never lets her characters stay stagnant, and this latest entry is no exception. Harbinder is looking toward the future in every way – she’s living in a new city, has new roommates, and has her own team of detectives to command in her new position. Being away from her family and friends is a big adjustment to her life, but it’s lovely to see her making positive changes. Of course, her first case is focused entirely on the rest of the character’s pasts. read more

Rosalind Stopps: A Beginner’s Guide to Murder

This book was – surprisingly – both charming and touching, along with being a suspenseful caper novel. Three older women – Grace, Daphne and Meg – are sitting in a London coffee shop together when a young, frightened girl lurches in.  She heads for the restroom, and not long after a suspicious man comes in, claiming she’s his daughter.  They tell him they’ve seen nothing and watch him leave, then they immediately scoot out the back, taking the young woman with them.

As the title indicates, these women are beginners in the art of murder, but their target is immediately obvious.  What isn’t obvious are the personalities and characteristics of the women, and the author goes back in time to flesh out each character’s backstory, so the reader can see what shaped each one.  While the three hadn’t really known each other well before the coffee shop incident, they are united in their desire to save the young girl, Nina.  The real heartbreaker of the book is Nina’s story. read more

Jane Casey: The Killing Kind

This stand alone from Jane Casey is whip smart and terrifying.  I am a big fan of her Maeve Kerrigan series, with its combination of character, complex plotting and nuanced look at police work.  In this standalone, the central character is not a policewoman but a barrister, youngish Ingrid Lewis, happily involved with Mark.

As Ingrid goes through her court routine in the opening scene, which sets up not only the legal surround but some of the relationships and events that carry through the book, she lends a colleague her umbrella.  As she’s hurrying out later to another case, she sees that the umbrella borrower has been a victim of a hit and run.  As she is interviewed by a police officer about her colleague, she mentions a stalker from her past.  She’s afraid the man saw her umbrella and pushed the wrong woman under a bus. read more

Hank Phillippi Ryan: Her Perfect Life

This book will be published on September 14.

Hank Phillippi Ryan’s story telling style is so smooth, her books fly through your reading fingers faster than you can think, almost.  This novel may be the most emotional, heart felt story in all of Ryan’s books.  It’s the alternating story of big sister, Cassie, and little sister, Lily.  While the book opens with Lily telling the reader how perfect her sister is, it fast forwards in time to Lily’s life, which does seem actually perfect. read more