Category:

Review

Review

The Whitechapel Full Moon Society

by Willy Williams

On September 11, 1888, a few days after Jack the Ripper’s second victim was found brutally murdered, a desperate Caroline Foster arrives in London with only a battered steamer trunk and five shillings in her purse. Forced to sell her deceased father’s estate to settle his debts, Caroline is now homeless. Her only hope is to find her estranged brother, Charlie, whose last known address is 212 Montague Street in London’s notorious Whitechapel district. What she finds is a disreputable gentlemen’s boarding house, the Whitechapel Full Moon Society, but no Charlie, who vanished in June. With nowhere else to go, Caroline applies for the open maid’s position. Mrs. Easton, the landlady, gives her three rules: ask no personal questions of the guests, never enter the iron-barred room on the second floor, and, most importantly, remain locked in her room during the night of the full moon. As Caroline adjusts to her daily tasks, she begins to suspect that this strange house and its odd residents might be connected to her brother’s disappearance and the serial killings terrorizing London. Writing with verve and flair, DeLozier, in her sophomore outing (after Eleanore of Avignon), offers a fresh take on the Jack the Ripper mythos and adds a paranormal twist. Following Caroline’s transformation from a sickly, timid young woman into a strong, confident protagonist who discovers her true identity and takes charge of her life is a compelling and delightful journey. Fans of historical fantasy mysteries with a touch of dark romance will adore this one.—Willy Williams

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Little Red Death

by Dodie Ownes

Book of the Week May 28, 2026

Lyla’s best friend, Allison, disappeared more than 20 years ago, likely inspiring Lyla to become a Detective Inspector. While she’s solved other crimes, this case lingers on—the only clue left behind, a poisoned apple, hinting at the tale of Snow White. Now another woman is gone, and Lyla and her constable cannot ignore the Cinderella theme seemingly in place. And then there is another death, with a Hansel and Gretel twist, earning the case the name The Grimm Ripper Murders. The fairy-tale motifs create a pleasantly eerie mood, and the gruesome staging of the murders linger. Benedict’s fusion of classic tales with a modern setting works especially well, setting this book apart from run-of-the-mill serial-killer thrillers. The story within a story, with some mind bending elements, requires sharp attention to the clues the author scatters throughout. Readers will relish working out the solution to the detective’s dilemma she works to stop the Wolf from striking again.—Dodie Ownes

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Secrets We Hide

by Jeff Ayers

Slaughter returns with another gripping thriller following this series’s debut We Are All Guilty Here, and secrets once again prove fatal. Private investigator Allison Vickery, a former cop, is on the verge of vanishing with cash in hand and fake IDs ready for herself and her teenage daughter, Mandy, when gunshots shatter the quiet of their neighborhood. Sheriff Emmy Clifton arrives to find Allison dead. Clifton’s sister, ex-federal agent Jude Archer, sweeps the upstairs only to be shot herself and discover Mandy barely conscious with a head wound. All signs point to Allison’s allegedly abusive ex, but as Clifton digs deeper, a more complicated picture emerges. Mandy was secretly involved with an older man, a relationship she kept hidden even from her closest friends. In a town where nearly everyone is guarding something and buried secrets are practically a local tradition, Clifton must untangle a web of lies to find the truth about what happened to mother and daughter. Slaughter is masterful at keeping readers glued to the page, blending psychologically rich characters with dark, timely subject matter and a plot loaded with misdirection. Fans will be eager to follow Emmy Clifton and Jude Archer into whatever danger awaits them next.—Jeff Ayers

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Quilt Whisperer Investigates

by Danise Hoover

A lovely New England village, a charming, successful local museum, and the prospect of the loan of a historic quilt from a leading citizen; what could go wrong? Alas, the brunch meeting that museum curator Caroline Platte has with said leading citizen goes about as wrong as possible, with the discovery of the donor’s dead body and a missing quilt. Our lovely village is fraught with undercurrents of classism, real estate greed, and. of course, sexual misconduct. The morning coffeeshop coterie discusses and gossips hoping for clues, but it is our intrepid curator Caroline and her stalwart landlady Libby who face dangers to find the solution. Unfortunate arrests, false leads, and personal masks abound and lead our duo in fruitless directions. Like the best of cozies, this ends not with a recipe, but there’s a quilt pattern as well. Solid character development, a well-crafted plot with history and art pointing the way, and a heartwarming side-story make this a satisfying and enjoyable read.—Danise Hoover

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Fruit Fly

by Brian Kenney

Readers are either going to revel in the horror of this book.—Josh Silver’s first adult title—or pass it on as quickly as possible. The novel features two great narrators: Mallory Maddox, who wrote one successful novel that was published seven years ago.—talk about writer’s block!—and the young, drug-addicted Leo, who sleeps under a bridge and works in the sex industry, doing anything to score another hit. The two quickly form a sort of symbiotic relationship, as Mallory needs to appropriate Leo’s life to create her new novel and Leo needs help from Mallory—such as drugs—to survive. But Mallory is hardly the only exploiter in the lot; just take a look at Mallory’s publisher, who falls in love with her latest book but reminds her to “go gay, go sad, go dark” if she wants the book to succeed. In this BBC must-read book of 2026, Silver is even able to slip some humour into the text, which is really quite the miracle. Excellent writing and explosive characters make for a uniquely powerful read.—Brian Kenney

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Better Than Revenge

by Dodie Ownes

Book of. the Week May 14, 2026

Were you a theater kid in high school? I wasn’t—but I sure enjoyed watching the drama play out between the teenage divas and their choruses. I got the same vicarious joy from this book, watching Nadine Heywood and Harper Moore, frenemies since their early days at the elite Central Arts and Drama School in London, duke it out to be “the” number one A-list actress. While Nadine is considered an accomplished and serious thespian, Harper is more the It Girl, getting roles in “popular” films that don’t garner her as many awards as Nadine, but do capture the attention of fans and the press. But even when Nadine has won all the recognition and lauds needed to seal her reputation, thoughts of Harper still haunt her. Their mutual obsession comes to a head when Nadine discovers Harper at her door with a confession, and blood on her hands—literally. These two actresses know how to perform, and together, they will control the narrative. Snippets from an upcoming crime documentary provide additional clues to the reader and add layers to this passionate tale of two celebrities who have the ability to take each other down, but can’t follow through. Bitchy, catty, and hellacious fun—with murderous intent.—Dodie Ownes

 

0 comments
1 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Murder at University Park

by Chris Kahn

Academic life is notoriously difficult, and striving for tenure often proves arduous if not impossible, but in this case, it might be deadly. Lacey is in a particularly impossible position; she’s a woman in the sciences—nutrition—with a department chair who dislikes her, a troublesome student who is the son of a major donor, and a data set from the chair that doesn’t add up. She needs tenure because her husband’s job and children’s lives are to the town. Her best friend, a computer specialist who is helping unravel the data problem, is found dead, the abusive department chair also dies, and the interim chair is an unknown. But enemies and danger don’t end there—even the family dog is in jeopardy. Twists and turns and false friends abound, but a rare true friend emerges. This is set in the late 1990s, so the time frame is a bit strange, not current, not historic, but overall, Dellasega offers an interesting and engaging puzzle.—Danise Hoover

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Pressure Point

by Henrietta Thornton

Author duo Jeff Ayers and Jon Lindstrom, writing as Landau, bring back Investigative Services Branch Special Agent Michael Walker for his third investigation in the national parks system. Walker is pulled from scene to scene as the book opens. He’s called to Hawai‘i’s Volcanoes National Park when a fugitive from previous books shows up there, only to be pulled out when a body is found in another park. It’s not one of the two options he suspects—a current day murder or the body of an ancient Indigenous resident of the area—but something very unexpected: the suspected remains of John Muir, the father of the national parks. After the reader finds themselves gripping the outside of a flying helicopter with Walker, it’s clear that none of these cases will be a smooth ride, and that’s putting it mildly. This tale takes a breakneck ride through Yosemite and other beloved locales while Walker and his also-lovable agency sidekicks trounce the bad guys, which vary from environmental disaster to capitalism run amok, and did I mention volcanoes? Educational details about the parks are imparted throughout the text and in each short chapter’s header, informing readers, for example, that Yosemite bid to host the 1932 Olympics. Muir’s legacy, and that of his steely-sounding wife, Louie Strentzel Muir, is the spine of this story, which gives readers an insight into the man for whom “Yosemite was not just a landscape—it was a sacred text.” Chase down Agent Walker on his adventures, you’ll be happy you did.

Pressure Point co-author Jeff Ayers is a Contributing Editor to firstCLUE.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Shrink Solves Murder

by Danise Hoover

Book of the Week May 7, 2026

Patricia Phillips, formerly a Lawyer and now a psychotherapist, revels in her status as village curmudgeon. She lives on the Sussex Downs, swims in the cold English Channel daily, and lays down the law to tourists who venture too close to the edge of the cliff and people with their dogs off-leash. One of her patients is found washed up at the bottom of the cliff and is swiftly declared a suicide by the local incurious police department. Pat loudly and vehemently disagrees but has no success in getting the case reopened. She, of course, sets out to solve it, with the assistance of her friend Prichard. While she feels that her training will give her insights and make her readily able point out the killer, there are holes in her assumptions. She must face the changing local population (swingers and boho golf club planners) in addition to her own errors in thinking and lack of internet know-how. Pat is an extraordinary character, equally cranky and loveable, and the ending of her tale leaves open the chance for another installment. Readers can only hope.—Danise Hoover

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Nasty Little Secrets

by Dodie Ownes

Rose Dearling’s brother, Will, sits in jail, convicted of murdering Alexandria Hopely, his first love. With adjoining backyards, the Dearling and the Hopely families were particularly close, but that all changed when Rose refused to accept that Will was the killer. Years later, Rose is the best-selling author of The Smileys Next Door, a thinly fictionalized account of what she thinks really happened to Alex, naming Mr. Hopely as his daughter’s murderer. When her sister, Hazel, disappears, Rose is summoned by family to leave New York City and return to her hometown, Loxahatchee FL, where unsurprisingly, former friends regard her with suspicion and disdain. As family secrets begin to surface, Rose becomes even more convinced that Will is innocent and that the real killer is still on the loose. Local cop Nick Pullman gets put on the case, bringing another backstory into the narrative as the search for Hazel grows more desperate. A skanky teacher and a lecherous neighbor round out the cast, and Hanks has readers’ heads snapping as this story tumults to its thrilling and surprising conclusion.—Dodie Ownes

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail