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Review

The Price of Everything

by Jeff Ayers

In a future world where the delivery of goods is overseen by an organization called the Guild, a courier steps into a conspiracy. Armand Pierce’s job required him to have surgery to graft a titanium handcuff onto his wrist bone so that theft of an attaché case linked at the other end is physically impossible. Like the Domino’s Pizza guarantee of 30 minutes or less, the Guild promises a successful transaction or death for the courier if that person fails to deliver the package for any reason. When Pierce arrives with a package, he’s shocked to learn that the materials inside have vanished, and he’s forced to kill everyone in the room to stay alive. On the run, he has nowhere to go and nobody to trust. This ultraviolent and nonstop action sci-fi thriller delivers (no pun intended) all the goods. McGoran does a terrific job of worldbuilding, and readers will dig this blending of Blade Runner and John Wick. Is there a sequel coming?

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Review

Carved in Blood

by Willy Williams

June in New Zealand means a chilly winter. But it also marks the rising of the sacred stars known as the Matarike, launching the start of the Māori New Year. “When Matarike rises, it is a time for remembering the dead; a time for saying goodbye. And it is also a time for starting anew.” Like the sacred Matarike celebrations, Bennett’s emotionally charged third Hana Westerman mystery (after Better the Blood and Return to Blood) revolves around a series of transitions, in which beloved characters say goodbye to loved ones and embark on new directions in their lives. Returning from festivities in his ex-wife Hana’s hometown, Detective Inspector Jaye Hamilton stops at an Auckland convenience store to pick up champagne to celebrate his daughter’s engagement when he is shot and seriously wounded by a balaclava-wearing assailant. The getaway car is quickly found and a young Māori man, Toa Davis, is implicated in the crime. But Hana, who has asked to join the investigation as a temporary constable, soon suspects that this was no random assault but a targeted attack. Could it be connected to Jaye’s work as an undercover cop years ago? Māori author Bennett delves deeper into New Zealand’s aboriginal culture (with helpful footnotes translating Māori words) while exploring the deeply embedded racism that the country’s first peoples face. An open-ended conclusion will have fans eagerly awaiting the next installment.

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Review

Been Wrong So Long It Feels Like Right

by Henrietta Thornton

It’s the names that tell those new to Mosley that they’re in for something special: the main character, King’s, of course, but then there are Forthright Jorgensen, Gladstone Palmer, and Melquarth Frost. Dickens, look out. Studded with descriptions such as “like grooming a fancy doll with razor blades in her hair” and characters who resemble “a human container of stoppered rage,” Mosley’s tale of love lost and found and inner strength battling terrible odds sees his PI Joe King Oliver helping two women this time. One is his grandmother, Grandma B. She wants to see her son, King’s long-incarcerated father, one more time before she dies, which won’t be far off. Then King’s PI business sets him on the search for a woman whose husband is looking for her, only it looks like King shouldn’t tell the man her whereabouts. Our hero’s emotions as he barely contains the pain of losing his father to jail just so the man could keep his pride intact wonderfully gird this fast-moving tale of the guts it takes to stay true to tough beginnings.

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Review

Death of an Ex

by Brian Kenney

Readers were introduced to Evander “Vandy” Myrick in the excellent first book in this series, Trouble in Queenstown. In that book, Vandy had just returned to her hometown (Queenstown, New Jersey) to establish herself as a private investigator, while still mourning the death of her college-age daughter. It’s a strong narrative that ricochets from Vandy’s tragic past to her gutsy present. In Death of an Ex, Vandy once again gets tangled up with family, specifically her ex-husband, Phil Bolden, who walks into her life—and into her bedroom—promising to bring their family back together. But after just one night together, Bolden is found murdered. And Vandy decides it’s her responsibility to investigate who killed him. But Bolden was complicated: a successful businessman, father, philanthropist, and more. And as the only Black woman investigator in town, Vandy has little privacy but is a victim of plenty of gossip. Once again, Pitts has written a novel rich in the many layers of community while delving deeply into the character of Vandy; the balance between the two is perfect. A great choice for a reading group.

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Review

All This Could Be Yours

by Brian Kenney

A pitch-perfect novel of suspense from Ryan that will force readers into racing to the book’s dramatic, and unsettling, conclusion. Tessa Calloway is a new but hugely successful novelist, and to capitalize on her popularity, her publisher has sent her on a multi-city, multi-week book tour that leaves Tessa exhausted, missing her young children and husband, while appreciating the hundreds of fans who come out to greet her. Until Tessa realizes that among her fans is a stalker. A stalker who knows her past inside and out, and has the power to sabotage her career while also destroying her family. Will Tessa capitulate and give her what she demands, if it means her darkest secrets will remain hidden? It’s a delight to have experienced, industry-insider Ryan provide this nail-biter with a good jolt of reality. And thanks to her for recognizing the roles that both booksellers and librarians play in fostering readers.

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Review

Marble Hall Murders

by Brian Kenney

There’s a whole lot going on in this new Susan Ryeland novel, starting with Susan’s dumping of her Greek boyfriend, subsequent return to London, and taking on a freelance editing gig. But if only things were that simple. The book Susan finds herself editing is a new novel featuring Atticus Pünd, a fictional detective from decades ago and the star of the Alan Conway books. (Many readers will be familiar with the two preceding books and if they aren’t, they should be: Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders, written by the now deceased Conway and edited by Susan.) In this novel, Susan is caught up in a metafictional mystery, in which the novel from decades ago, featuring Pünd, becomes all tangled up with the contemporary story, which is written by Eliot Crace—whom Susan actually knows!—and again edited by Susan. Horowitz’s (Close to Death, A Line to Kill) whole book-within-a-book thing is wonderfully smart, and the onslaught of twists and red herrings moves the stories along briskly. Susan’s voice dominates: it’s funny, sarcastic, anxious, and tough. It would be foolhardy to try to recount this book’s plotting. Just be assured that this book is brilliant, sure to be one of the best crime novels of 2025.

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Review

Streetwhys

by Henrietta Thornton

After Scavenger and Standalone, Chambers has brought his DC PI Dickie Cornish back to have his smarts tested and his heart trampled on again. Dickie’s clean after “a mishap in college” (Howard University, no less) saw him living as an addict on the streets and in various flophouses. He’s the kind of guy who lets his cat eat mayo and crumbs off his plate, but can put a tough facade on when he has to. When a way-out-of-his-league former classmate, now Deputy Attorney General of the United States, asks him—with the threat of a murder charge from his past if he says no—to find out who’s supplying lethal drugs to the area, he’s back on the streets, tough attitude in place. Readers are in for a layered mystery here, with Dickie moving between tent cities and the Department of Justice to figure out what’s going on, and with figures from his past reappearing and adding to the puzzle and mayhem. Throughout, the Black PI’s failure to fit in his old haunts and new ones creates an atmospheric tension that’s imparted by Dickie’s inner monologue and realistic dialogue with characters of all kinds. Noir fans, look out.

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Review

Kiss Her Goodbye

by Jeff Ayers

Frankie Elkin, finder of missing people, goes to Tucson, Arizona, to search for a missing Afghan refugee in Gardner’s (Still See You Everywhere), latest thriller. Sabera’s a young mom who vanishes, leaving behind a frightened little girl and a husband who doesn’t seem all that concerned his wife is missing. The police don’t even bother opening a case into the matter. Sabera’s friend, Aliah, knows something has happened and hopes Frankie can uncover the truth, even if the answer is painful. Establishing a home base of operations, Frankie finds a place to live temporarily: housesitting for a rich gamer with exotic pets and a quirky staff, who quickly become her allies. The more Frankie digs, the more everyone seems to be hiding something, and when a breaking news segment on local television shows what appears to be Sabera in the background of a murder scene, Frankie starts to question if anyone is trustworthy. The past collides with the present, and Frankie will face the unfortunate reality that finding answers might not necessarily mean winning or justice. Gardner knows how to do a psychological deep dive into her characters, making readers feel that these people with traumatic pasts and secrets could easily be our next-door neighbors. She also provides insight into the plight of refugees while amping up the tension and twists. Another great entry from the always reliable Gardner.

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Review

The House on Buzzards Bay

by Henrietta Thornton

Murphy likes to take lawyer characters out of their geographic and emotional comfort zones, and in this, perhaps his best book yet, he makes the discomfort both sharper and more nebulous than we’re used to. The author’s (An Honest Living) main character is Jim, who’s married to Valentina; they spend the summer in a house he inherited in Buzzards Bay, on the southeastern coast of Massachusetts. Before he met Valentina, he gave his tight pack of college friends shares in the home; over the years, they’ve summered there, some regularly, others rarely seen. This summer sees the return of several regulars and of Bruce, who hasn’t shown up in years. He brings with him a darkness that creeps over the old friends and becomes especially pronounced when the residents, in a nod to the house’s origins as a home for an occult group, holds a séance. A French woman who’s an ex of one of the gang, with her languid but also guarded ways, will be memorable for her strange manner. But all the characters and even the house will stay with readers, especially those who enjoy introspective language (“there was something petty, almost squalid, in not appreciating a friend’s beauty until she was holding it there before you”) and a slight tinge of the supernatural.

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Review

Exiles

by Jeff Ayers

Coile, who also writes as Andrew Pyper, passed away in early January, and this tense and terrific novel is sadly his last. A crew of three—two men and one woman—is sent to Mars to coordinate the eventual habitation of the red planet. Machines were sent earlier to create the base where they will live out the remainder of their lives, but the crew arrives at Mars to find no response to their signal. A bumpy ride to the surface and changed lock codes reveal a strange scenario. The robots built the habitat but were attacked by a being with stealth abilities and super strength, and the description sounds like an insect if it had one giant claw and could walk on two legs. As the crew listens to the machines tell their story, it appears that not all is as it seems, and the robots might be homesick for Earth, which would be entirely against their programming. This mix of horror, isolation, and psychological suspense demands to be read in one sitting and forces the reader to ask provocative questions with answers that have profound implications, such as, “What constitutes sentience?” and “What is the price humanity is willing to pay to reach the stars?” Exiles would make a fantastic movie, and fans of Alien or Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow should consider going on this journey.

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