Author

Brian Kenney

Review

Very Bad Company

by Brian Kenney

A delightful satire—fun, fast, and furious—of the high-flying tech industry. Every year adtech start-up Aurora brings together its top executives for a weekend retreat (think PowerPoint presentations and Jet Skis), this year, it’s in Miami Beach. It’s quite a cast of characters: for starters, the CEO models himself on Churchill. In the hands of other novelists, the cast could become a messy menagerie. But each character here is so well-defined, beginning with the company’s latest hire, Caitlin Levy, Head of Events (curious since Aurora has never sponsored an event). But just when the second day has started and everyone is beginning to sober up, there’s the announcement that the company has been sold, and suddenly everyone is if not very, very rich, then quite rich. It would be time to celebrate, except that one of the high-level executives has disappeared. And the entire retreat is under surveillance by the tech media, who can sniff a good story. Like Rosenblum’s first novel, Bad Summer People, this novel delights in exploring what lies under the surface. The adtech folks would call that a deep dive.

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Review

Agony Hill

by Brian Kenney

A classic mystery that pulls the reader in and doesn’t let go until there’s a resolution. It’s the mid-1960s, and Franklin Warren arrives in small-town Bethany, Vermont to join the state troopers as a detective. It’s a time of change: as young men head to Canada to escape the draft, the state is developing highways that, many fear, will change Vermont irrevocably, while the echoes of the Cold War continue to reverberate. Warren is also escaping his own demons, a tragic occurrence he left behind in Boston but is unable to forget. But before he can unpack—literally!—he’s called to investigate a fire; Hugh Weber, a hippie farmer, has burnt down his barn and likely killed himself, although evidence of suicide is scant. Warren digs deep into the community, from Weber’s widow to Warren’s elderly next-door-neighbor, a retired intelligence agent. Secrets abound, but which one will unveil the murderer? Fans of Kay Jennings and Jeff Carson will appreciate this new series by the author of The Drowning Sea.

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Review

What You Leave Behind

by Brian Kenney

A beautifully balanced novel that includes a foray into the world of the Gullah-Geechee people, the experience of grief, and the uncovering of a land grab, all wrapped up in an edge-of-the-seat thriller. Deena Wood is back in her hometown in coastal South Carolina. A 40-something lawyer, she had been living in Atlanta until her husband divorced her, she lost a court case—and her job—and her beloved mother died. It’s time to start over, which means moving in with Dad and his new wife. To unwind, Deena likes to drive along the coast, and one day she comes across a cantankerous, elderly African American man who states that he is fighting to keep his valuable land. Suspicious of Deena’s motives—has she been sent to make him move?—he chases her off his property. But Deena can’t forget him, and when she returns a week later, she discovers he’s gone, with no trace left behind. Deena becomes obsessed, and sets out on a fascinating but deadly search that takes her deep within her community as she goes after a conspiracy that has been exploiting the rural poor for decades, right up to today. Morris (All Her Little Secrets) has written a perfect novel for a book group, and it’s sure to be one of the best books of 2024.

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Review

Rhythm and Clues

by Brian Kenney

As always, Blacke (Vinyl Resting Place, 2022) does a fabulous job of keeping several balls in the air, from romances to murder, from seeking likely perpetrators to fighting off a pair of predatory investors. Small-town Cedar River, where gossip spreads like warm butter, provides the setting, while the three Jessup sisters—the youngest, Juni, is our narrator—are still struggling to keep their cafe/vinyl record store alive. When a crazy storm rips through town—this is Texas, after all—it washes out the roads, knocks out the electricity, and leaves a corpse in a parked car near their shop. He turns out to be one of the predatory investors—Juni knew him from college—who was hoping to make a deal with the sisters. But more importantly, with the town now isolated, where is the murderer hiding? The characters are wonderful, with Juni’s voice and sense of humor especially fresh, and the storyline is completely absorbing. A real treat for cozy fans.

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Review

The Switch

by Brian Kenney

Sexy and perverse, deceitful and disturbing, this is one domestic thriller that doesn’t hold back. Elena and Adam are house sitting in South London when they come across the beautiful painter Sophia and her equally handsome husband, Finn. Sophia and Finn are suave and sophisticated, and dinner with the four soon evolves into casual meetings between the two women, and eventually friendship. Despite this, Elena can’t stop herself from becoming obsessed with Finn—sex with Adam leaves a lot to be desired—and Sophia recognizes Elena’s infatuation. But instead of being threatened, Sophia has a plan. Why don’t they exchange partners, with the men never the wiser? The women, physically very similar, will switch places during the night, when the men are asleep, making every possible effort—from hair to perfume—to trick their partners. Plausible? Barely. (Pro-tip: use blackout curtains). But while “switching” increases Elena’s fervor for Finn, for Sophia it opens up a whole world, one that she has been planning for ages. A fast and effortless read that never stops surprising.

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Review

Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder

by Brian Kenney

A masterpiece, this is the dazzling tale of a gourmand and con-woman whose life opens up because of an intrepid, brilliant reporter. Manako Kajii is behind bars thanks to her multiple murders of forlorn businessmen whom she seduced with her cooking and promises of a traditional life together. As she famously states: “There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine.” And you can add a third: journalists, as she refuses to ever give any interviews. Until reporter Rika Machida comes along, herself a bit forlorn, and writes to Manako requesting her beef bourguignon recipe—just don’t call it beef stew!—without any reference to Manako’s lurid and extravagant past. Soon, Rika is visiting Manako in prison, where they cook and devour imaginary meals together, becoming totally immersed in gastronomic fantasies until we can only wonder: who is changing whom? While Manako provides the novel’s spine, we also delve deep into Rika’s world, the misogyny of her workplace, the loneliness of both men and women, her troubled family, the challenge of aging parents. Remarkably enough, this novel is based on a true story, “The Konkatsu Killer;” check out more information on Murderpedia. I cannot wait to discuss this in a book group.

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Review

The Marlow Club Murder

by Brian Kenney

What the world needs now is more Robert Thorogood and the three heroes of the Marlow Murder Club: Judith the crossword-puzzle author, Suzie the dogwalker, and Becks the vicar’s wife. This romp starts off with the Mayor keeling over at a planning meeting—lucky for us, Suzie happens to be attending—and the cause of death is soon determined to be poison in his coffee. Aconite, to be specific, the queen of all poisons. But who would kill the beloved Mayor? Before the ladies can begin their investigation, Tanika—a police officer in the earlier books and now detective inspector—appoints them as “civilian advisors,” a clear case of “if you can’t beat them, join them.” While traversing Marlow in search of the murderer is loads of fun, the real joy in this series is the dialog, wit, and friendships of the women. This is nothing less than the ultimate in cozies.

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Review

Eleven Huskies

by Brian Kenney

It’s great when a series keeps getting better and better, and this latest in the “Vet Mystery” series does exactly that. Veterinarian Peter Bannerman is on vacation with his family in northern Manitoba—lots of hiking and canoeing, mosquitos and dogs. But things quickly go wrong. The gorgeous sled huskies owned by the proprietor of the lodge are poisoned. Then a floatplane crashes into the lake; the pilot, it turns out, has been shot from the ground on the plane’s descent. And if human misbehavior weren’t enough, nature provides a terrifying forest fire that nearly kills the Bannerman family. They seek safety in the lodge along with the other tourists and staff. Here Schott’s (Fifty-Four Pigs) book turns into a locked-room tale as the outside world grows more fearsome while it becomes clearer that the murderer is likely in their midst. Wonderful, unique characters (including Peter’s sniffer dog, Pippin), a dramatic setting, and a brisk plot all make for an excellent mystery.

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Review

A Talent for Murder

by Brian Kenney

Librarian Martha Ratliff doesn’t expect to marry—isn’t running a public library in Maine satisfying enough?—until she meets Alan. A traveling salesman, Alan sells novelty items like t-shirts (“Math teachers aren’t mean. They’re above average”) at academic conferences. But as sweet as Alan might be, there’s something a bit off. Martha can’t help but do a little research, only to discover that five of the cities Alan visited have unsolved cases of murdered women, with all killed during Alan’s stay. Coincidence? Add to this the blood she finds on one of his dress shirts and Martha’s on the phone to Lily Kinter, a buddy from library school who helped Martha escape from an abusive boyfriend years ago. Could Martha be married to a serial killer? But Lily has her own baggage, and what started as a simple mystery explodes into a fascinating, dark, and complex novel of suspense. Every true-crime reader will find something to appreciate in this hugely inventive novel.

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Review

The Witless Protection Program

by Brian Kenney

Mia Carina is living her best life, as the kids say. Her family’s catering hall in Queens, NY is both hugely successful and, with her acumen, now a fully legitimate business (the Family hasn’t always played above board). Shane, the love of her life, has finally proposed (Mia’s one tough lady, although when it comes to Shane, her knees get weak). But then she catches sight of a man who very much looks like Adam Grosso, her presumed-dead husband. Could she be wrong? Possibly, but a second sighting of the no-good SOB confirms he’s alive, which means Mia and Shane will have to delay their wedding—which they refuse to do. Mia calls an emergency meeting of family and Family—capisce?—to remove Adam, just not kill him (“My goal is to be a divorcee, not a widow. Ya got it?”). While finding Adam takes up a good chunk of the book, there are several fun subplots, not to mention an incredible cast of characters. Normally I’d worry about telling them apart, but DiRico manages to give each a strong identity, starting with our lead, Mia the Magnificent. Yes, it’s the fifth book in the series, but feel free to jump in. You won’t regret it.

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