Tag: Mystery

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!

Continue reading “Special Feature: Castle Shade (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #17) by Laurie R. King” →
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.

Continue reading “Special Feature and Excerpt: Dead Dead Girls (Harlem Renaissance Mystery #1) by Nekesa Afia” →
Book Critic, Book Review, Books, Literary Criticism, Reading

Review: The Hunting Wives by May Cobb

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Hunting Wives by May Cobb

When I first saw this one as a Book of the Month pick….I couldn’t click the ‘make my book of the month’ button fast enough. Not only is the cover eye catching and memorable, but the description sounded tantalizing. I have been on the look out for a really good domestic thriller lately, something in the vein of Samantha Downing and this one sounded perfect!

I am sure many of you have seen this book on a number of ‘hot releases’ or ‘most anticipated’ lists this spring and all the buzz made me equally excited and wary. I mean clearly I bought into the hype since I couldn’t get my hands on this one fast enough, however there was part of me that worried that I wouldn’t love it.

The last domestic thriller I read that was getting all the buzz I did not like at all so there was part of me that tried not to hype this one too much in my mind because if I didn’t like it, I didn’t want to feel fully let down. I would say this book fell firmly in the good category for me. I mean I didn’t love it in the way that I hoped but I was content with the book and how things played out.

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

Review: The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon (Audible Edition)

by The Lit BitchLeave a Comment on Review: The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon (Audible Edition)

I read my first Jennifer McMahon book when I was on vacation a few years ago. The Winter People was so good and I immediately went out and bought more of her books! She has such a unique voice and I love the gothic/creepy vibe so much and I love that she is from Vermont and sets all of her books there. I can feel her pride and love for Vermont in all the books I have read by her.

When I saw this book was coming out, I couldn’t wait. It sounded eerie and I loved that mysterious cover so much. I haven’t listened to any of her books before so I thought this would be a great book to start with. My book club even picked it as our May read and we were all super excited to read and discuss it.

For me personally, I don’t think this book was as strong as some of her others but overall it was a haunting ghost story with a creepy connection to the past. I also loved the narrators. The historic narrator wasn’t my favorite at first (she was really wispy) but within a few chapters I started to really enjoy her soothing voice, but the modern narrator was great!

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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!

Continue reading “Special Feature: A Trail of Lies (Jazz Ramsey #3) by Kylie Logan” →