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Debut

Review

Killer Vibes

by Brian Kenney

Book of the Week January 8, 2026

Peter Key, 30, is a hipster detective of sorts, whose personal life is, if not actually a full-blown mess, certainly free of any clear agenda. He’s bisexual, a sometime pot dealer, and recently an inheritor of his uncle’s dilapidated home, which is located in one of Austin’s most desirable neighborhoods. No sooner does he relocate to Austin than he is surrounded by realtors eager to get their hands on his home, and they’re willing to get as violent as necessary. And it turns out that Uncle may not be as broke as Peter has been led to believe. The fun in this novel–and there is plenty–is thanks to Peter, whose inner musings (he has an imaginary butler who lends support) keeps the book bouyant.—

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Review

Darkrooms

by Willy Williams

Book of the Week 12.15.25
The disappearance of nine-year-old Roisin O’Halloran on the night of the summer solstice in 1999 has haunted two emotionally damaged women for 20 years. Deedee, Roisin’s grieving older sister, has joined the Gardai in her small Irish town of Bannakilduff so she can more easily investigate what happened after Roisin vanished into the mysterious Hanging Woods. Although she’s engaged to Sean, scion of the prominent Branagh family, DeeDee is barely holding it together, drinking too much and having a casual fling with a fellow officer. Caitlin Doherty, Roisin’s childhood friend and the last person to see her alive, is also living a chaotic life, surviving as a petty thief in London and trying to escape painful memories. But the death of her estranged mother forces her to return to her hometown and her dark past. As Caitlin and DeeDee warily circle each other, they gradually uncover secrets that expose long-buried shocking crimes. Winner of the UEA/Little Brown Crime Prize, Hannigan has written a twisty, atmospheric debut that captures the claustrophobic small-mindedness of a community willing to close ranks against the innocent to protect the guilty.

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Review

She Made Herself a Monster

by Dodie Ownes

Book of the Week 12.11.25

When Kiril returns to his village of Koprivci after getting medical training in the city, he is struck once again how superstition and the Captain, the man who adopted him, control the townspeople. Preparing to set up a practice in town, he feels betrayed by Anka, his adopted sister; and friends Margarita and Simeon, who are betrothed. And Anka, just 16, will be married to the Captain as soon as she begins to menstruate, which only her caretaker Yulia can help her hide. An eviscerated chicken is found on the church steps and blood is found in eggs, all terribly bad signs for a village that is already known to be cursed. When Yana, a vampire hunter and seer, arrives, the Captain sets her the task of finding a cause for all the misfortune. Who, or what, is responsible? Could it be the pregnant widow Nina, whose husband, the village smithy, was killed by a blow from the Captain’s horse? Or maybe the Devil himself? Anka is seeking a purpose, and believes Yana can provide her with it, if she can escape the Captain. This heady Gothic debut dabbles in witchcraft and superstition while still tackling themes of betrayal and domestic abuse, weaving in stories from Slavic folklore. Eerie, haunting, and captivating.

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Review

Death and Other Occupational Hazards

by Dodie Ownes

Death has gone on vacation here and there, but after she hears about a sabbatical while on a trip across the River Styx, the Boss agrees to her request for a break. Her sister Life gives her the chance to live in human form so she can understand humans better. Now Delara, working as a paralegal at a second-rate law firm in London, is shaken when she discovers an Unplanned Death caused by vampire fish—after all, it’s her department, and the Boss will not be happy if he finds out. She left the temp in charge—is that the problem? Of course, Life is all over Delara, asking how her creations could be snuffed out without regard for the Plan. The days of simply putting folks on the Boat could be over if she cannot find out how this aberration has occurred. No longer in a black sack and carrying a scythe, Delara is hot to get to the bottom of the issue when charming parasitologist Marco enters the investigation. Debut-author Dapunt fills this rollicking story with sideways glances at the afterlife, the underworld, and the Human Communications Director (HCD, aka Jesus). Beyond the central murder mystery, the novel explores themes of life and death, love and relationships, the meaning of existence, and human emotions. Satirical, funny, and packed with wry observations on how humans approach death, and life.

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Review

You’ll Never Forget Me

by Henrietta Thornton

Raya, Isha. You’ll Never Forget Me. January 13, 2026. 304 pages. Bantam. DEBUT

Always a bridesmaid, that’s Dimple Kapoor. She looks so like her rival for movie roles, Irene Singh, that they can’t be in the same movies. Casting directors must choose one or the other, and it seems they always go for Irene. It all comes to a head at a glitzy party at Irene’s Hollywood home. The two verbally spar at the top of some stairs, and Irene ends up at the bottom, dead, after a push from Dimple, who suddenly finds her career taking off as a result. All’s fair in love and movie roles, right? But Dimple learns to her horror that someone saw what happened and has evidence. As she takes care of that situation, too, ruthless private investigator Saffi Mirai Iyer is on to her and laser-focused on getting justice. The clash of two women who are twinned in their ambition and inability to back down, but completely different in their goals, creates an absorbing moral game, while the spoiled Hollywood expectations of the main character adds a delicious love-to-hate element. Dimple is the bridezilla of actresses and readers won’t be able to look away from this fast-moving debut thriller.

© 2025 firstCLUE Reviews

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Review

The Dogwalkers’ Detective Agency

by Brian Kenney

A heartfelt animal cozy akin to David Rosenfeld’s Andy Carpenter series and Rita Mae Brown’s Sneaky Pie Brown books, along with all the sophistication of Only Murders in the Building. The small, coastal town of Framstone is dog heaven, with walkers providing their pooches with rural strolls, treats galore, and smells most intriguing. Until Charles Boardman is dragged deep into the woods by Ruby, his Staffordshire bull terrier. Has Ruby found a half-eaten burger? Try the corpse of a former cop who now owns a bar. It takes only milliseconds for the information to spread among the dog-walking community, with mid-thirtyish Charlie—who grew up in Framstone and has only recently returned—at the center of the investigation. But the story doesn’t end there. Charlie receives anonymous threats, and, even more frightening, another body surfaces on the beach. Can Charlie resolve the mystery and come out alive? Hogan’s prose is delightful, full of humor and wonderfully clever. This reader’s only wish is that this book is the first in a series.

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Review

The Bush Tea Murder

by Brian Kenney

St. Thomas makes a perfect environment for a mystery: rich in history and culture with plenty of family drama to go around and some longtime friendships to rely upon. Culinary journalist Naomi Sinclair spends most of her time off-island, although St. Thomas, and a budding romance, keep tugging at her to come home and invest herself full-time in the island. ”Thing about history, Naomi—about any kind of story—is that how it’s told matters,” she is reminded by her former Foods and Nutrition teacher, Mrs. LaPlace. But even if Naomi returns to St. Thomas regularly, she doesn’t expect she will be returning to unleash one troubling case after another, culminating in a story of murder. Fans of Joanne Fluke, Vivian Chien, and Mia P. Manansala will delight in this mystery-plus-food concoction.

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Review

Worse than a Lie

by Henrietta Thornton

When Chicago Metra rail system police officer Hollis Montrose is pulled over by the city’s regular police the night of Barack Obama’s first presidential win, he follows every order. He tells the officers repeatedly that he’s a police officer himself and begs them repeatedly to look at his ID, but it does no good. Hollis, a Black man, is shot 10 times in the back by the white officers. Enter Beau Lee Cooper, a Black lawyer who has made a name for himself as a tough, smart winner. He can see that Hollis, who’s now hospitalized and accused of being the aggressor in the roadside encounter, desperately needs help, the first challenge being the enormous bail that’s engineered to send the badly injured man to jail. From the beginning, and later in court, it looks like Chicago PD and the legal system are targeting Hollis, and it takes everything Beau has to push back. The supporting characters—especially Hollis’s and Beau’s wives, Gigi and Rocky—create a loving backdrop for this tense legal thriller, and readers will be as invested in the lives of Hollis and Beau as they are in the outcome of Hollis’s trial. Gripping court proceedings lead up to a brilliant and satisfying ending. Get this on your reading list!

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Review

Robbie McNeil’s Hit List.

by Danise Hoover

A characteristic that makes mysteries such a popular genre is that the concept of right and wrong is so often very clear. Not so much here. Robbie, our heroine, and Dee, her queerplatonic partner in a gay karaoke bar in a nothing Indiana town, are both successful contract killers. Their jobs are done quickly, cleanly, and without emotion, except for Robbie’s latest one. The information on the local target is sketchy and the target himself suddenly disappears. She can’t afford to return the deposit because she and Robbie have sunk all their money into a theatrical venture, and besides, it feels all wrong. Instead of ignoring who the target is, she works hard to find out the exact opposite. We have local politicians, Robbie’s musical ambitions, and the lively karaoke scene all tangled up with a client who just won’t quit in his effort to have this target done away with. Heath provides a fun story with a great deal of gender and identity fluidity. There is a happy ending of sorts, but is it right?

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Review

The Bush Tea Murder

by Brian Kenney

St. Thomas makes a perfect environment for a mystery: rich in history and culture with plenty of family drama to go around and some longtime friendships to rely upon. Culinary journalist Naomi Sinclair spends most of her time off-island, although St. Thomas, and a budding romance, keep tugging at her to come home and invest herself full-time in the island. ”Thing about history, Naomi—about any kind of story—is that how it’s told matters,” she is reminded by her former Foods and Nutrition teacher, Mrs. LaPlace. But even if Naomi returns to St. Thomas regularly, she doesn’t expect she will be returning to unleash one troubling case after another, culminating in a story of murder. Fans of Joanne Fluke, Vivian Chien, and Mia P. Manansala will delight in this mystery-plus-food concoction.

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