Category:

Review

Review

The Christmas Clue

by Dodie Ownes

The Second World War is grinding on, and it’s hard for anyone in Britain to be particularly cheerful this Christmas. Anthony and Elva Pratt will do their best to rise above the melancholy and give the guests at Tudor Close, an elegant hotel that has seen better days, a murder-mystery game that will puzzle and thrill. Before they ever reach their destination, the Pratts discover the body of Miss Silver, a local shopkeeper with deep roots in the village. Upon arrival at the hotel, they find guests Professor Rivers and his wife, former occupants of the building when it was a private home, arguing with manager Reg Browning over a room change. Tensions are running high, and the Pratts are not sure they will be able to pull off their planned mystery. Sharp observers, they quickly begin to question the Rivers’ intentions and the secrecy of the staff—and then another murder takes place, this time of Reverend Green, bludgeoned with a candlestick! Upson gives readers a clever locked-hotel mystery with relevant historical and social details woven into the plot and a final twist that may elicit a gasp. Any similarity to the game Clue™ is not accidental, as the real-life Pratts created the game Cluedo™, as it is known in the UK, in 1947! Best read during a snowstorm with a glass of sherry at hand.—Dodie Ownes

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder

by Jeff Ayers

Ella Chambers is barely scraping by, taking on odd jobs just to pay the rent. A few nights before Christmas, she attends a party at a mansion where her mother once worked as the housekeeper and comes face to face with Liam Montgomery, a man tied to her past in ways that she’d rather forget. Their argument that night sets off a chain of events she never could have predicted. She grabs a life-size nutcracker that she was gifted when she was younger and struggles to get it into her car trunk. Later, she’s detained by police who are convinced she killed Liam then disposed of his body. She knows she’s innocent and that he’s alive. But no one believes her, and the one person who could clear her name is determined to stay hidden. Just when Ella thinks that she might track him down, Liam collapses in her living room with a bullet wound, and the mystery deepens. Carter masterfully weaves together classic mystery and heartfelt romance, delivering a story that’s as clever as it is charming. Sharp, memorable characters and unexpected twists keep the pages turning, making this festive read impossible to put down. It’s the perfect pick for gifting to anyone who loves their rom-coms with a generous dose of intrigue.—Jeff Ayers

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Last Match

by Danise Hoover

A weekend with a matchmaker…a famous Irish one at that, and at an historic Newport RI hotel. How could that be bad? As this is a mystery and not a romance, though, the potential for bad must be hidden there somewhere. The information that everyone assumes is true is not, and though there are 50 people at the weekend, there is a core that turns out to have wildly preposterous connections. Davinia Devaney, the hotelier who has set this craziness in motion, is found dead. Is it an accident or was she murdered? What is the secret that ties the attendees together? The principals tell their own stories, make their own connections, and face dangers that seems specific to each person. In the short space of a weekend, decades-old sins come home to roost. This is a thriller with more than its share of twists and surprises, all of which come to a satisfying conclusion.—Danise Hoover

 

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Dark Messiah

by Henrietta Thornton

Book of the Week August 20, 2026

How smart people can allow themselves to be lured into a cult and the evils that charismatic men can convince followers to accept are laid bare on the pages of Carson’s psychedelically violent debut, set in the mid 1970s. Faye Sterling is embarrassed to come from big-time money, and when a religious leader known as Dad to his followers offers her the chance at authenticity by joining his group, she jumps at it. Her neglect and fervor force her teenage daughter, Nell, our narrator, from San Francisco to a supposed utopian compound in South America. The Jim Jones parallels are obvious and all too accurate. Dad, “a combination of Revered King, Angela Davis, and Albert Einstein,” just cares so much that he violently abuses his followers, even children, so that they can improve their behavior. Behind closed doors, his sex with Nell and other young women “helps them to detach from the shame that they feel in their bodies.” These abuses, and verbal viciousness including Dad’s repeated use of the n-word, are very much on the page, creating a feeling of hurtling toward disaster. Outside forces loom large in the end—some real, such as Nell’s actual father’s desperation to get her out, some exaggerated by Dad, including his news about the scary, threatening outside world. An absorbing, shocking first from Carson.—Henrietta Thornton

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Hear the Dead

by Dodie Ownes

Lens and Sin have big dreams: Sin will be lead bassist for a famous punk-rock band, and Lens will be the professional photographer capturing her greatness. Years later, Lens, now known by her real name, Elena, teaches visual art online from a quiet wooded retreat in Vermont, having put her punk days behind her, or so she thinks. When Eddie Carcinogen, one of NY punk’s biggest stars, dies at the ripe old age of 70, folks are mostly surprised he lived that long, considering his heroin addiction. After Elena is contacted about her photographs of Eddie being displayed at the Guggenheim, her world is shaken. Sin died of an overdose shortly after she fled NYC in 1983, and Elena is forced to confront memories, good and bad. And what a time for her gift, a connection with the dead through touch, to surface. Suddenly, she’s hearing the last moments of other female punk musicians, all allegedly dead from overdoses in the 80s, and she must investigate. Dávila Cardinal weaves magic realism into this gritty mystery that has a unique Nuyorican vibe, leading readers to question everything that Elena must immerse herself in to avenge the women’s deaths. Fans of punk music will be delighted with the playlist provided by the author.—Dodie Ownes

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Murder Returns to Gravigna

by Dodie Ownes

Nico Doyle, an American ex-homicide detective, is once again coerced into working with Gravigna’s local police in the final installment of Trinchieri’s “A Tuscan Mystery” series. Maresciallo Perillo, the town’s highest ranking police officer, is weary of his work and gladly accepts Nico’s assistance in determining who murdered Gravigna’s butcher, Sergio Macchi. Amid the beautiful scenery of the Chianti region, bad feelings and secrets lurk and soon the townspeople are suspicious of everyone. As readers meet the shopkeepers and restaurateurs and spend time with OneWag, Nico’s adorable dog, a picture begins to form of a town and its people in transition. There’s even a developer interested in building a high-end hotel complex, much to the chagrin of the locals. After the owner of the enoteca dies by apparent suicide, the search for the murderer picks up speed—what good is a Tuscan town without meat and wine?! Trinchieri brings this deliciously plotted (yes, there is much good eating and a recipe included) mystery imbued with the everyday loves and lives of the locals to a satisfying conclusion. Fans of contemporary mysteries who are craving a trip to the Tuscan countryside without the airfare will find much to relish in this series conclusion.—Dodie Ownes

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Hidden Currents

by Henrietta Thornton

Sheriff’s deputy Sam Karnes just wants to get married to the love of his life, Brenna. His first attempt at writing vows, “Respondent states he loves her and would be willing to proceed with a lifelong commitment,” is perhaps not quite right. Worse again is his meddling mother-in-law. He’s gotten great advice from his boss, the star of this absorbing police procedural, Sheriff Hank Worth, who says to just stay out of most of the wedding arrangements. But Hank can’t stay out of messy politics himself, as in this sixth outing in the series, he’s leading the investigation into a shocking murder in his small Ozarks town of Branson, Missouri. The owner of a local fishing store has been found dead. He was relatively new to town, having bought the store from its long-time owner and moved here with his wife, who he was in the process of divorcing, and her troubled son. In the background of that investigation, Hank’s second-in-command, Sheila, is under the microscope as she testifies against attackers in a case that has politics written all over it. Booth has again brought the Ozarks and police life to the page in a way that will keep readers rapt and leave them waiting for more from these steadfast characters. New readers will find Hank especially endearing and will want to go back to the previous books for more.—Henrietta Thornton

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

If We Survive the Night

by Dodie Ownes

Being at a residential treatment center for girls is just another stop on Quinn’s journey through juvie and foster homes, but it’s not too bad—if she can keep it all together a bit longer, she’ll be released, get a place, go to college, do all the things normal kids do. But Quinn is not normal, and nor are any of the other residents. She notices Keisha, who always sneaks her meds into her pocket, and the two become fast friends. One night, they sneak onto the roof and discover that the world around them has gone bad—carriers, zombie-like humans, are roaming the streets, biting and killing people. The problem is, the dead reanimate when there are loud sounds. A little bit A Quiet Place, a lot twisted “final girl”, the story takes off as a small contingent of staff and girls decide to leave the treatment center. Quinn’s true self is released, that of a heartless psychopath—helpful for survival but terrifying nonetheless. The debut author, a licensed clinical social worker with experience working in juvenile detention facilities, draws characters so believable that teens will find themselves and others experiencing mental illness on the page. Readers will know one thing: you don’t want to be on the wrong side of Quinn’s machete. The breakneck pace and wicked creativity she demonstrates keep the blood-slicked action going to the very end.—Dodie Ownes

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Last Man Standing

by Jeff Ayers

When a young woman named Brooke calls for help, she pulls Evan Smoak, the Nowhere Man, into his most dangerous mission yet. She’s one of several people trapped under the control of Boz, who’s as ruthless as he is untouchable. Boz never loses. Evan’s trying to build something like a normal life, carving out time with the people he loves even when it puts them in the crosshairs. When he decides to rescue Brooke, he brings his loved ones along for the ride, and at first, it works. The extraction goes smoothly. Too smoothly. Because Evan has no idea what Boz, or the team of hardened professionals backing him, is really involved in,.Once Boz learns that he’s up against the Nowhere Man, he plans a way to get Brooke back and destroy Evan forever. The tension between family man and lethal operative is where the book hits hardest. Evan’s usual playbook isn’t enough this time, and watching him dig for something beyond tactics, something more human, makes this one of the most emotionally charged entries in the series. Hurwitz keeps delivering riveting, suspenseful, and surprising stories that just keep getting better with each entry.—Jeff Ayers

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Party in the Woods

by Willy Williams

Book of the Week August 13, 2026

In the prosperous Dublin of 2001, technomusic and illegal raves enable kids from the working-class estates of Finglas and Ballymun to mingle joyfully with posh Trinity College students. “It was the great leveller, the scene, all of them chasing the intimacy of it, regardless of background.” Straddling this class divide is DJ Annie Fagan, who grew up on the right side of the tracks, although her boyfriend, Fran Baker, doesn’t quite meet the approval of her affluent Southside friends. But at her crew’s biggest party yet, set in the woods behind the ruins of the notorious 18th-century Hellfire Club, the mysterious disappearance of Seán Salinger, the brother of Annie’s best friend, Rachel, and the son of one of the richest families in Ireland, ends the good times. Twenty-two years later, when Seán’s body, showing signs of blunt force trauma, is discovered in the Dublin mountains, Annie wonders which one of her old friends killed him and why. McPhillips’s second thriller (after When We Were Silent) is an entertainingly twisty, suspenseful story that skillfully alternates timelines between Annie’s exuberant youth and her disappointed-adult present. If the perpetrator is obvious early on, the author’s insightful depiction of the widening social gap between the privileged elite and those with fewer advantages holds the reader’s attention. Also compelling is her portrayal of a marriage so strained that it explodes into domestic violence.—Willy Williams

 

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail