Tag: Mystery
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“The Raging Storm” by Ann Cleeves
The residents of Greystone, a small fishing town in North Devon, England, like to keep their problems hidden from outsiders. But when the celebrity sailor and adventure seeker, Jem Rosco, is found dead, his body lying in a boat in the legendary and feared Scully Cove’s water, they have no choice but to accept the…
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“The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp” by Leonie Swann
“Getting old isn’t for the faint of heart,” the American movie star Mae West once said, and the residents of a senior citizens’ home share in the quaint English village of Duck End can attest to it. In addition to the common ailments of old age, they face an unexplained murder at a next-door house…
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“Mastering the Art of French Murder” by Colleen Cambridge
Tabitha Knight is a twenty-something girl from Detroit who moved to Paris. She lives with her grandfather and uncle, tutoring Parisians in English (her French is perfect thanks to her French mother.) It’s 1949, and Paris has just reclaimed its title of “The City of Lights” after the darkness of WWII. The restaurants are open,…
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“Murder at the Mill” by Debbie Young
Sophie Sayers, the budding writer working in the quaint Cotswold village’s bookstore, run by her boyfriend Hector, feels slightly out of place when she arrives at a writer retreat on a small Greek island. She didn’t plan on attending such a workshop, but Hector secretly entered her into a writing competition – which she won…
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“The Block Party” by Jamie Day
Alton Road is a neighborhood where you won’t see a Honda Civic in one’s driveway but Samir’s Lexus, Brooke’s Mercedes, and Riley’s Beamer. Only 17-year-old Lettie drives a rusty Hyundai Santa Fe, but everybody knows she prefers her bike to reduce her carbon footprint. However, as much as the flashy cars are for everyone to…
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“The Girl by the Bridge” by Arnaldur Indriðason
A young man walks in the evening searching for poetic inspiration and stops on the bridge over the Pond in Reykjavik. He notices something unusual in the water: a doll, and he retrieves it. Then he sees a dead girl in the pond. Twenty years later, a young woman is found dead, a syringe stuck…
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“Showstopper” by Peter Lovesey
There is a new detective in town. Actually, he’s been around in the mystery literary circles for over 30 years, and he’s just new to me. “Showstopper” is the 21st book in the Peter Diamond mystery series by Peter Lovesey but the first one I read. What a pleasant surprise! Peter Diamond, the detective at…
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“The Medici Murders” by David Hewson
Venice is one of my favorite cities worldwide, so I jumped right into the story when I learned about the new Venetian mystery novel. The author, David Hewson, notes that in Italian, the word “storia” indicates both history and a story. Fittingly, the novel’s main plot is a story of murder in Venice, but in…
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“So Shall You Reap” by Donna Leon
Commissario Guido Brunetti wouldn’t be a true Venetian if he were not interested in Venice real estate market. When his father-in-law’s friend is curious if an old palazzo is for sale, Brunetti finds himself knocking on the palazzo’s door. He doesn’t know that the person who opens, a Sri Lankan man, will soon be found…
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“A Heart Full of Headstones” by Ian Rankin
I was an avid reader of Ian Rankin’s series with the Edinburgh detective John Rebus. Still, I somehow became distracted by the new and shiny mysteries that pop in the bookstores every week. Now I’m glad to see that Rebus is back and better than ever. It’s such a classic, noir fiction, with sharp dialogs…
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