Author

Brian Kenney

Review

A Death on Corfu

by Brian Kenney

The island of Corfu at the turn of the 20th century, with its native Greek population, large British expat community, and tensions therein, provides an excellent background for crime fiction. When her husband died unexpectedly several years ago, Minnie Harper was left with two children to raise on a modest income, with a deathbed promise to her husband that the family would remain in Corfu. Well-educated Minnie isn’t in the position to turn down a side gig, so when she is asked by her neighbor Stephen Dorian—a well-known, and handsome, mystery author—to type the manuscript of his latest book, she can only say yes. Despite her loathing of the man. But just as the two seem to settle into a disagreeable routine, Minnie discovers that one of the island’s young Greek women, who works as a maid, has been murdered. And the British community is doing its very best to ignore the murder, if not actually suppress it, while the local Greeks, for different reasons, are keeping their lips sealed. But Minnie isn’t about to let justice go undone, and with the help of Stephen, she heads off where no British woman has gone before her. Fans of The Durrells in Corfu, a hugely popular Masterpiece Theater drama set in the ‘30s, will appreciate this prequel of sorts, as will fans of cozy historical mysteries by Rhys Bowen, Jacqueline Winspear, and Amanda Flower.

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Review

The Busybody Book Club

by Brian Kenney

Nova Davies has relocated from London to a remote Cornish seaside town, in part to be with her fiancé, whom she is set to marry in a little more than a week. While Nova loves her job as a social worker in the local community center, she can’t help but be a bit frustrated by her clients. Must the five members of her book group—a real bunch of misfits if there ever was one—argue about everything? But that’s just the beginning of a series of misfortunes, all of which seem to point to Nova. First one of their own, a book group participant, disappears, only to have a dead body show up in his house. Then a significant sum of money, earmarked to repair the community center’s ancient roof, goes missing—could Nova really have been so dizzy that she forgot to lock up the building? There’s a lot of fun to be had here, from Phyllis, an Agatha Christie superfan who insists on using Christie’s plots to solve the murder and find the funds, to Nora, whose life couldn’t become more complicated thanks to a full-on control freak of a mother-in-law and a mom who’s stranded in South America, likely to miss her wedding. And the fiancé? Please dump him. A delight from start to finish, and sure to please cozy readers who appreciate strong characters, a great community setting, and a dollop of criminal activity. For readers who enjoy Lucy Gilmore and Emily Henry.

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Review

The Potting Shed Murder

by Brian Kenney

Might this book be a cozy mystery? Let’s run it through my cozy-meter and find out. One, do we have much empathy for the lead character? Absolutely. Daphne Brewster, a Black woman—in fact, the only person of color as far as the eye can see—has moved her husband and family out of south London to a Norfolk town called Pudding Corner to escape urban woes. She’s become so successful at selling antiques that she’s now known as the vintage lady. Still, it turns out that things are as complex in Pudding as they are in London. Two, isn’t the book too slow? No. If you want faster, go find James Patterson. The characters in this town are so absolutely delightful as they roam about the town that I would happily spend another day or two with them. Again, the name: Pudding Corner. Might that be a hint as to what we can expect? Three, is it sexy and violent? Much more yearning than sexy. And if there had been any sex, it was years ago. As to the violence, it is offstage, involving a corpse that keels over in his allotment patch—a little garden the size of a postage stamp where Brits go and plant rutabaga on the weekends. Four, is this book a stand-alone? We hope that the publisher is sensible and Ms. Sutton will be back to delight us again with Daphne and Book Two.

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Review

The Betrayal of Thomas True

by Brian Kenney

It is 1715, and young Thomas True has managed to escape from his parent’s home, arriving in London, where he takes up residence with his uncle, a candlemaker to whom he becomes apprenticed. But that’s hardly the story. Eighteenth-century London was home to a flourishing, if risky, gay subculture, a world that seduces Thomas and that was centered around the molly houses. “Molly was a slur used for effeminate, homosexual men and the term was adopted to describe the clubs, taverns…where they met up in secret”, according to The British Newspaper Archives. And although the houses were called mollies, they attracted a range of men, from workers to aristocrats. It was a world where Thomas felt a sense of belonging, made all the more immediate with his discovery of beefy carpenter Gabriel Griffin (AKA Lotty), the doorman at Mother Clap’s Molly House. But when a young molly is found murdered, Gabriel goes in search of the rat who is exposing the men to the judicial system. Could it be someone he is close to? This book is that rare thing: both a strong historical novel that drops you into a richly rendered early 18th century and a powerful mystery that remains at the center of the book.

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Review

Welcome to Murder Week

by Brian Kenney

An utterly heartfelt, entertaining, and beguiling sophomore effort from Dukess, author of The Last Book Party (2019). Cath is finally going through the possessions of her recently deceased mother. Cath was raised by her grandmother, and her relationship with her hippy mom consisted of intermittent and impulsive visits throughout her Buffalo childhood, with mom disappearing nearly as fast as she would arrive. So it’s a shock when Cath finds among her mother’s possessions the tickets for “murder week,” in which a quaint British town is staging a fake murder to bolster tourism, with all the locals taking on a role. But even more remarkable is that Cath’s mother—who as far as Cath knows never left the U.S.—planned for them to go together. What was she thinking? Nevertheless, Cath can’t quite shake the idea of murder week, and in several weeks time, she finds herself in England’s Peak District, sharing a cottage with Wyatt, who back in the States works in his husband’s birding store, and Amity, a divorced romance novelist who is suffering from writer’s block. Dukess deftly handles multiple narratives: the search for clues to the hamlet’s fake murder; the unearthing of shocking revelations about Cath’s family; and a slow-moving, present-day romance. A joy for Anglophiles and chock-a-block full of humor, this coziest of cozies will delight fans of Vera Wong, Finlay Donovan, and The Thursday Murder Club.

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Review

A Fashionably French Murder

by Brian Kenney

Expat Tabitha King—formerly of suburban Detroit—is living, as the kids would say, her best life. She’s upped and moved to post-war Paris—she’s bilingual thanks to her mother and French grandmother—and this third, and best, in the mesmerizing “American in Paris” series finds Tabitha hanging out with her chum Julia Child, from whom she picks up some much-needed cooking tips. She’s also settling disputes between her Grand-père and his partner, Oncle Rafe (they are reopening a restaurant, thus the agida) and dipping her toe in the heady world of haute couture, with Christian Dior, who makes a cameo appearance, leading the way with his “New Look.” But when Tabitha discovers a body in one of the exclusive fashion ateliers, all the frothy fun comes to a halt, or at least a sputter, as Tabitha, with the sometime help of the all-too-handsome Inspecteur Merveille, throws herself into the search for the murderer. It’s a search that takes Tabitha back to Paris during the Occupation and the work of the Resistance against the Nazis and the French Vichy government, as well as those whose role was less clearly defined. Rich in history, full of the value of friendship and family, and with a very, very slow-growing romance (we want more, Colleen!) this is certain to be one of the best mysteries of 2025.

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Review

I Died for Beauty

by Brian Kenney

Amanda Flower’s Emily Dickinson series just keeps getting better and better. It’s 1857 and Amherst, Massachusetts is experiencing one of the worst winters anyone can remember. Along with the freezing cold is the fear of chimney fires, and indeed an out-of-control blaze in Kelley Square, the Irish section of town, kills a young family, with the eight-year-old daughter, Nora Rose, the sole survivor. But the blaze has suspicious origins, and Emily and her maid Willa take it upon themselves to investigate. There is a lot going on in this novel, but it is all handled with great deft. Emily’s ongoing reliance upon Willa sets the maid apart from the other household staff, fostering jealousy. The marriage of Emily’s brother, Austin, and his wife,, Susan, continues to deteriorate. Women’s role in society, especially in marriage, is a source of ongoing debate. The future of the now-orphaned Nora Rose, an Irish Catholic girl in a largely Protestant town, and with no relatives, upsets the Dickinson household. Meanwhile, Willa’s own love life takes a dramatic turn. A great choice for book groups, which will appreciate both the book’s breadth and depth. Readers who enjoy this title may also like Mariah Fredericks’s The Wharton Plot and Kate Khavari’s A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons.

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Review

Claire, Darling

by Brian Kenney

Yes, her childhood was terrifying, with a mother who made Mommie Dearest seem like milquetoast. But, these days, Claire has really got it together. Now she’s 30, with a job in PR that she always wanted and a fiancé, Noah, who’s handsome and loving; life couldn’t be better. Even her horrible mother died a few months ago, freeing Claire, although leaving her nothing in her will. Until one day when she decides to drop off lunch for Noah at his office—it’s their anniversary—and the receptionist won’t let her in. In fact, she claims that Noah hasn’t worked there in three months. Whaaaat? That night, Noah doesn’t show up at the apartment they share. He’s not picking up her calls. Not answering her texts. In the days to come, and with the help of her friend Sukhi, Claire tracks Noah through every channel possible, getting repeatedly blocked along the way and transforming from a happy young woman to a stalker, obsessed with the beautiful blonde woman who keeps showing up in Noah’s socials. A psychological thriller that will delight readers who enjoy fiction that’s thoughtful but also reads like a rocket. If you appreciated Kimberly McCreight’s Like Mother, Like Daughter, you may well like this.

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Review

The Retirement Plan

by Brian Kenney

This marvelous tale of marriages that go awry and of friendships that save the day is certain to be one of the funniest crime stories of 2025. Four couples—close friends for 30 years—look forward to their retirement in Florida, their days idle and carefree. To guarantee even more money, the husbands, working off a tip, draw down their life savings and invest them in funds that quickly disappear—leaving them broke and their marriages even more miserable. But when one of the husbands dies, the wives are shocked to discover he left behind a life-insurance policy worth a whopping seven figures. In fact, the wives discover, all their husbands have identical policies. But what’s the use of life insurance when the men could live another 20 years? So the women decide to take matters in their own hands, or at least the hands of an accomplished hitman. But will the husbands be able to outplay their wives? Full of great characters who bring their own fun to the party, this book is perfect for readers who have enjoyed Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, The Author’s Guide to Murder, and A Serial Killers’ Guide to Marriage

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Review

Eat, Slay, Love

by Brian Kenney

Three women, who couldn’t be more different, come together over a man—known as Zander, Zachary, Xavier and more—whom they hate a great deal and love, perhaps, just a little. Marina is a former chef, now a full-time mom, who’s recently divorced and quite broke, but is enjoying rediscovering love with Xavier. Lilah is a withdrawn librarian who wins the lottery—literally. With funds pouring into her account, and falling in love with a man who is now her fiancé, Xavier, life couldn’t get any better. Then there’s Opal, the oldest of the trinity and a well-known health guru whose history with Xavier—confidence man, liar, thief, and lover—extends back the farthest. How the three women come together, and slowly learn to trust one another, is an absolute delight. But what to do with Xavier, currently a hostage in Marina’s basement, is even more of a laugh riot. Until it isn’t, and the book takes a very dark turn indeed. For all who loved Cohen’s Bad Men and Robert Thorogood’s The Marlow Club Murder.

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