Tag: Detective Novel

Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: A Peculiar Combination (Electra McDonnell #1) by Ashley Weaver

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: A Peculiar Combination (Electra McDonnell #1) by Ashley Weaver

I have really enjoyed Ashley Weaver’s Amory Ames books so when I saw she was coming out with a new lady detective series and with a heroine by the name of Electra (Ellie for short), I knew this was going to be a great, great read! Clearing my schedule, I added this one to my early summer reading list and I am so glad that I did!

The Amory Ames series has been fun and I have liked the books I have read, but this book felt so much more complete for some reason (I will get to my thoughts on that in a minute!). Historical mysteries are my favorites, especially when it includes a little romance between the murder and investigating. But as many historical fiction/mystery readers know, WWII and the Victorian era are saturated with books.

So the question becomes how does an author distinguish their new lady detective series? It’s a tough question, for me the thing that caught my eye about this one was the name of the heroine. I loved her flashy and memorable name, it conjured images of a brazen, bold heroine that I just couldn’t get out of my head. That was what made me pick this one up in the sea of WWII historical mysteries!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: Castle Shade (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #17) by Laurie R. King

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: Castle Shade (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #17) by Laurie R. King

I absolutely fell in love with Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes when I randomly picked up The Bee Keepers Assistant years ago. I have since only read a few books in the series and sadly skipped around quite a bit. Now here we are with book 17 being released! I couldn’t believe how far behind I got in this series! Rather than skip around again by picking this one up, I decided to go back and re-read the other books in the series first. So in the coming months you will see more reviews for this series being posted!

But I did want to get this one on your radar! This is a series where you definitely can skip around, I have and I haven’t been too lost. The principal characters are timeless and the author always does a great job keeping new readers and long time fans abreast of the goings on in Mary and Holmes’s lives. Plus the focus is on the mystery so you could easily pick up this book (or any in the series) and find something to love about the characters and stories/mysteries.

If you are a fan of lady detective novels like Veronica Speedwell, Georgie from Her Royal Spyness series, Lady Darby and a host of others, then this series will appeal to you. King is an experienced writer who has kept the character of Sherlock Holmes alive and solving crime with his lady love through ages and I think it’s fantastic. This is a smart, well written series and I have no doubt this latest installment will be equally enjoyable and fun to read! It is out now so make sure to check it out!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature and Excerpt: Dead Dead Girls (Harlem Renaissance Mystery #1) by Nekesa Afia

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature and Excerpt: Dead Dead Girls (Harlem Renaissance Mystery #1) by Nekesa Afia

Nothing caught my eye faster than a new historical mystery series featuring an author and main character POC. I was thrilled to see something so tantalizing, new, and timely hitting book shelves this summer. I literally jumped at the change to feature this one! Glitzy speakeasies, the roaring 20s, murder, and a smart intelligent heroine—-need I say more!?

While historical mysteries are a favorite of mine, sometimes they start to run together. Often they are set in England in the late Victorian era and the heroine is generally young, white and wealthy. A book like Dead Dead Girls breaks that tradition and moves toward something new, relevant, and enticing in the genre. I cannot wait to read this one and am so excited to be sharing not only a bit about the book with you guys today, but also an excerpt!

I also couldn’t close out this post without also noting how gorgeous this cover it! This cover captures the 1920s so well! It looks appealing, elegant, with an edge that will instantly draw your eye and make you wonder about what exciting tale awaits with in! I know the second I saw this cover it went on my TBR and then I read the back and was like YES! This one sounds—-So. Good.

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: A Trail of Lies (Jazz Ramsey #3) by Kylie Logan

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: A Trail of Lies (Jazz Ramsey #3) by Kylie Logan

How can I pass on a book with a sweet pup on the cover? The answer is, I can’t! I would be lying if I said that this sweet little dog on the front didn’t suck me in because he totally did! I don’t really know much about the Jazz Ramsey series but I think the books sound like they are quick and fun mystery reads.

Plus I mean they feature cadaver/rescue dog and I think that’s so cool and I am excited to read the books in this series. This book is the third in the series and from what I have read, I think it can be read as a standalone. However I personally like the full experience when possible, so I will be reading the other books before this one but I wanted to share a bit about this one with you guys today!

This book sounds like it’s going to have a complex plot with lots of twists and turns. I love the idea of an unstable/unreliable parent being part of this mystery. I think that’s going to add a lot to the plot and I am super excited to read this one (as well as the other books) and see how things unfold. This series has received a lot of praise and I think it’s going to be a solid installment to the Jazz Ramsey books! This one is available now and that sweet dog makes it worth a purchase for sure!

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Books, Reading

Special Feature: Death with a Double Edge (Daniel Pitt #4) by Anne Perry

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Special Feature: Death with a Double Edge (Daniel Pitt #4) by Anne Perry

If you love mysteries, Anne Perry will be a familiar author to you! While I haven’t read her books, I absolutely know the name! Her books are the ones that I walk past at the bookstores and think, ‘I need to read her books!’, but knowing that there are currently 32 books in her most popular series, Charlotte and Thomas Pitt, it just seems daunting to go back and read them all!

That’s why this series sounds so much more manageable! This latest book is fourth in the Daniel Pitt series and reading four books sounds much easier than reading 32. Perry is a prolific mystery writer with numerous, successful series under her belt! If you are looking for a tried and true mystery writer there are few who can achieve Perry’s caliber!

I think the most intriguing part of all Perry’s stories is she actually served time for murder. In my mind that adds some authenticity to her stories as she has first hand knowledge of murder, solving crimes, and the trial which is what makes me so excited to read her books. I actually have the first two books in this series on my iPad and I think I am going to be moving them up on my TBR list as this one in particular sounds wonderful plus the detective duo are mother and son and really how cute is that! I cannot wait to start this one!

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