-
Review: A Death by Any Other Name (Lady Montfort Mystery #3) by Tessa Arlen
I am always on the look out for new murder mysteries, preferably with a female lead ‘detectives’ and set in England. While this isn’t my first novel by this author, it felt new to me. I read Tessa Arlen’s first book in this series, DEATH OF A DISHONORABLE GENTLEMAN, back in early 2015 and though I wasn’t completely hooked at the beginning, I was invested enough to finish it and was rewarded for my tenacity. I didn’t read the second book in this series for some reason, but when the third book came up for review it sounded rather good so I decided to give her books another go. I…
-
Special Feature: HIMSELF by Jess Kidd
Released in the UK to glowing praise—“a rollicking tale of a hero’s return… breaking down the barriers between mystery story and comedy of manners, mixing magical realism and crime fiction” (Guardian); a “brilliantly bold debut… Utterly unputdownable” (Sunday Express Magazine)— HIMSELF is the spellbinding tale of a young man who returns to the provincial Irish village where he was born in search of the truth about his long-lost mother. When Mahony returns to Mulderrig, a speck of a place on Ireland’s west coast, he brings only a photograph of his long-lost mother and a determination to do battle with the village’s lies. His arrival causes cheeks to flush and arms…
-
Book Blast: The Semper Sonnet by Seth Margolis
The Semper Sonnet by Seth Margolis Publication Date: April 19, 2016 Diverson Publishing eBook & Paperback; 374 Pages Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery/Thriller READ AN EXCERPT. In this stunning thrill ride, perfect for fans of Dan Brown and Steve Berry, a long-lost manuscript, written for Elizabeth I, holds the key to unlocking the past—and to eliminating the future. Lee Nicholson is ready to take the academic world by storm, having discovered a sonnet she believes was written by William Shakespeare. When she reads the poem on the air, the words put her life in peril and trigger a violent chase, with stakes that reach far beyond the cloistered walls of…
-
Review: Love You Dead (Roy Grace #12) by Peter James
This is the fall of more modern thrillers for me, particularly ones set in England. I love love love British thrillers and when I heard this one was set in Brighton, I was all over it! I haven’t read anything by Peter James or heard anything about him, so this was a completely new author for me. Jodie Bentley had two dreams in life – to be beautiful and rich. She’s achieved the first, with a little help from a plastic surgeon, and now she’s working hard on the second. Her philosophy on money is simple: you can either earn it or marry it. Marrying is easy, it’s getting rid…
-
Review: The Inheritance (Charles Lenox Mysteries #10) by Charles Finch
One of my favorite ‘armchair detectives’ is back…..though he’s less of an amateur and more of a professional than he was in the first books! Charles Lenox receives a cryptic note from a former classmate, pleading for help and eludes to the fact that he might be in danger. Lenox and his friend Leigh agree to meet but when Leigh doesn’t turn up, Lenox begins to worry. Fortunately Leigh is found alive but his lawyer is not……and it’s clear that Leigh is being stalked by a group of gangsters but what is unclear is the why? Leigh was lured back to London after many years abroad, with the promise of…
-
Review: Friday on My Mind (Frieda Klein Mystery, #5) by Nicci French
It’s just another day on the River Thames. Commuters are avoiding the Tube by taking the water ferry when a body catches the attention of the passengers. The body is that of a man who has had his throat slashed and while he lacks any other identification, he is wearing a hospital ID tag that reads Dr F Klein. The police quickly discover that Dr F Klein is actually a women, Dr Frieda Klein psychotherapist to be exact, and one who has helped the police in many investigations before this. Dr Klein identifies the body as her former lover, Sandy. Dr Klein quickly becomes the prime suspect in his murder.…
-
Review: A Girl Like You: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel by Michelle Cox
For Henrietta von Harmon times are hard. Not only is it the 1930s but her father committed suicide leaving behind a large family. Henrietta helps support her family by working as a 26 girl in a local pub and waiting tables when she can. But it’s not enough. So she takes a job taxi dancing to help support her younger siblings and mother. It’s while she’s taxi driving that she meets the mysterious Clive Howard. Detective Inspector Howard is investigating the dance hall as a potential supplier of prostitutes to a mob establishment.
-
Review: A Murder in Time (Kendra Donovan #1) by Julie McElwain
Kendra Donovan has worked hard to become respected in the FBI as one of their youngest agents ever. She has been working tirelessly on a case that reveals a mole within the FBI itself. She is wounded during the course of duty and once she recovers she is hell bent on revenge for her team. Unfortunately her quest for revenge is short lived as she falls through a worm hole at a castle in England only to reemerge in the early 19th century…..1815. After having more or less come to terms with the fact that she some how time travels back to 1815, she realizes her purpose there might be more…
-
Review: The Queen’s Accomplice (Maggie Hope Mystery #6) by Susan Elia MacNeal
I’ve been a fan of Maggie Hope for quite some time now. I read the first book when it came out and fell in love with that sassy red head. Over the years, Maggie’s adventures have been one part spy and one part detective/mystery series. Maggie has also evolved immensely as a character which if both exciting and at times a little sad when you look back on how much she has changed over the course of the books. In this book, there is a madman on the loose, systematically murdering women in the fashion of Jack the Ripper. Dubbed ‘The Blackout Beast’ by the press and the women of London…
-
Review: Dark Road to Darjeeling (Lady Julia Grey #4) by Deanna Raybourn
Fall is the perfect time to read a good mystery…..my fall reading is always full of mysteries, thrillers, suspense, and detective novel. We have had a few foggy mornings here in the Pacific Northwest so I couldn’t help but read yet another Lady Julia mystery! This book finds the newly married Lady Julia and her husband, Nicholas Brisbane, enjoying their honeymoon abroad when a couple of Julia’s siblings show up and beg them to join them on the road to India. Julia’s sister, Portia, is sure that her long time friend and lover, Jane, is in danger. Jane recently abandoned Portia for a more ‘conventional life’ with Freddy Cavendish in…