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Mystery & Detective

Review

Under the Storm

by Brian Kenney

It’s winter when a fire destroys a farmhouse in rural Sweden, burning it to the ground. With the parents out for the night, the only victim was the twenty-something daughter of the house. But she wasn’t killed by the fire; her autopsy reveals that she was murdered by blows to the head. Who would have wanted to kill Lovisa, who was loved by everyone? While the murderer is quickly identified, tried, and jailed, this story continues to expand in multiple directions, exploring the impact of a murder on a community, the families, even Edvard, the perpetrator. It’s also a coming-of-age novel as we follow Edvard’s nephew, who grows up in the shadow of his uncle’s acts, worrying that he too has a propensity for violence. But at its heart, this is the tale of Vidar Jörgensson, a young police officer who was one of the first officers at the fire and helped to solve it, but then spent years ruminating over the case. This is no less than a brilliant crime novel. Carlsson combines his deep knowledge of criminal motivations and trauma—he has a doctorate in criminology—with rich, compelling storytelling. Fans of the TV series Broadchurch and the works of Ann Cleeves will enjoy the deep community focus. Sure to be one of the big books of early 2024.

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Review

Hammers and Homicide

by Jeff Ayers

Dawna Carpenter runs a hardware store in downtown Pine Bluff, Oregon. She struggles to keep it going, especially after the death of her beloved husband, Bob. The building shares space with a boutique, and the woman who runs Lipstick and Lace is a real piece of work. A real-estate developer in town has bold plans to open a luxurious hotel, but when he’s found dead in the hardware store’s bathroom, Dawna’s life gets turned upside down even more than she thought possible. The quirky cast of characters, the slowly building mystery, and the light-hearted tone make Hammers and Homicide a terrific debut. Charles also does an outstanding job of addressing how people deal with the grief of losing a loved one, without being overly depressing. Readers will be fixing to read more mysteries of this series and Paula Charles.

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Review

Bones Under the Ice

by Henrietta Thornton

Jhonni Laurent is the first female sheriff in her rural Indiana town of Field’s Crossing and its surrounding quad-county area. She tries to be more community oriented than her predecessor, showing up at the first day of school to greet parents and students, for example, and avoiding all efforts at improper influence. Her work is a hit with locals but isn’t appreciated by a colleague whom she beat in the race for the job. Or his nasty buddy at the local newspaper, who’s doing all he can to get Jhonni out of the political picture. She doesn’t need the first local murder in…ever?…to happen on her watch, but when teenager Stephanie Gattison is found frozen in a snowbank, it looks like foul play. The body is barely thawed before another victim is found, this time an ice fisher who’s found frozen to the lake surface. Fans of Emily Littlejohn’s Detective Gemma Monroe and Tony and Anne Hillerman’s police officer Bernadette Manualito will enjoy making the acquaintance of this steadfast, likable, and capable sheriff, while those who love a small-town atmosphere, with its closeness as well as its backbiting, will feel right at home here. A debut author to watch.

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Review

Neighborhood Watch

by Henrietta Thornton

This book could just as well be titled When the HOA Attacks or Ring Cameras on Steroids: A How-To. Oleander Court, a street in ritzy Alpharetta, GA, has it all. The fountain with $500 apiece koi, the perfectly maintained lawns (did I mention that HOA?), the perfectly Botoxed neighbors. But a few residents keep things from being too plastic. An artist, Helen Beecham, has moved in and while she likes to observe the others, she’s doesn’t love their snooty book clubs (at which the book is never mentioned) or other tortuous gatherings. A Korean American family, the Jungs, lives on Oleander, too, amid nasty comments; one neighbor in particular spreads the rumor that the mother barely speaks English, only Chinese. Lesbian couple Ray and Laura are hiding their rocky marriage and past secrets. And then there’s Adelaide, who formerly lived in a trailer park but is now married to a doctor and struggling to feel she belongs. Closed circle meets cozy when the nastier neighbors start getting bumped off in their homes, but with little attendant grisliness and dollops of dark humor. Come for the bitchiness, stay for the deep characterization of the oddball characters as well as the puzzling whodunit.

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Review

The Road to Murder

by Brian Kenney

Every flight headed to Italy should have on board a few dozen copies of Trinchieri’s mysteries—they are the perfect warm up to an Italian vacation, full of wry humor, eccentric characters, a gentle murder or two, plenty of excellent wine, and best of all a whole lot of Tuscan cooking. Ex-NYPD detective Nico Doyle moved to the small town of Gravigna after the death of his wife, a native, and he’s been embraced by the residents, even helping out in the kitchen of his in-laws’ ristorante (and getting great reviews). But he can’t leave his law enforcement years completely behind him, and he’s regularly summoned by Perillo, one of the local carabinieri, to help out on a case. Here, in the fourth installment, the murder victim is an older woman—owner of the handsome Villa Salviati—whose murder produces a bevy of possible suspects, including lovers, friends, and a couple of mean-spirited daughters. Will Nico and Perillo ever be able to return Gravigna back to more tranquil days? A delight from start to finish.

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Review

The Watchmaker’s Hand

by Jeff Ayers

Paraplegic forensic Captain Lincoln Rhyme; his wife, Detective Amelia Sachs; and their team of NYPD officers race against the clock in Deaver’s terrifying thriller. A construction crane collapses, and without a last-second move by the operator, it would have done extensive damage. The crash ends up only killing several people rather than hundreds. It was sabotage, and the crash is only the beginning, as those claiming responsibility will conduct another act in 24 hours unless their demands are met. One by one, the team members experience accidents designed to eliminate Rhyme’s trustworthy colleagues and those he truly cares about. Rhyme learns that the mastermind is someone he has been unable to capture, The Watchmaker. The Captain’s nemesis seeks revenge, his end goal to murder Rhyme. Deaver is the master of manipulation and telling a story quickly, and he is at the top of his game here. Readers should not be intimidated by the 15 previous entries in the series, as this one can be read as a standalone. The Watchmaker’s Hand is a fantastic thriller with great characters and jaw-dropping surprises.

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Review

The Mystery Guest

by Brian Kenney

Millions of fans of Molly—“the maid”—Gray will be delighted with this wonderful second installation, which features returning characters (such as Mr. Preston, the congenial doorman, and Detective Stark, the grouchy cop) along with a handful of new characters. But most important is J.D. Grimthorpe, renowned mystery author, who chooses Molly’s five-star Regency Grand Hotel to make a most important announcement. No sooner does he mount the stage in the perfectly appointed tea room (expect nothing less from Molly, the head maid) than he suddenly drops dead. Very, very dead. And not from a medical condition. J.D. Grimthorpe was murdered. The path to finding the murderer is a long and twisted one, taking Molly back into her childhood and her early days working alongside her beloved Gran. But as guests and employees start looking at each other with accusation in their eyes, the pressure for Molly to solve the case mounts. In the first volume, The Maid, there was much discussion about Molly being autistic or otherwise neurodivergent. Not qualified to make such an assessment myself, I prefer to think of Molly as eccentric. As this tale draws to a close, several secrets are most satisfyingly revealed, and one major opportunity presents itself, which will leave me in a state of wonder until the next Molly mystery. Pronto, please.

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Review

Jane and the Final Mystery

by Willy Williams

In March of 1817, Jane Austen is struggling to complete her latest manuscript, The Brothers, in spite of her declining health: “I, who enjoyed a riotous constitution throughout my four decades, had felt so little like myself in the previous twelvemonth that I found it hard to remember being free of pain.” But when the 15-year-old son of her widowed friend Elizabeth Heathcote (whose brother once proposed to Jane) is accused of the drowning death of a senior classmate at the prestigious Winchester College boys’ boarding school, she summons the energy to travel to Winchester with her beloved 19-year-old nephew, Edward, to investigate. There, she learns from Elizabeth that for the past three years, William had been the “subject of relentless attacks on his spirit, his mind, and his standing in the world.” He had been especially bullied by the sadistic late Arthur Prendergast, who enjoyed hazing the younger boys. Is there a connection between Prendergast’s murder, the malicious campaign against William, and an entailed inheritance that would benefit William? Jane is determined to clear William’s name before she succumbs to her illness. Over the course of 14 books, the multitalented Barron, who also pens spy thrillers as Francine Matthews, has brilliantly combined authentic historical and biographical details with skillful plotting and a credible evocation of Austen’s wry, distinctive voice. She brings the English author’s final investigation to a poignant, unforgettable close. Fans of this historical series will not be disappointed, and kudos to Barron’s excellent double-entendre title. While the earthly crime may be solved, the final mystery is one that we all will face.

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Review

Listen for the Lie

by Brian Kenney

One of the darkest, but funniest, novels I’ve read in a long time—largely thanks to the wonderful narrator, Lucy Chase. Lucy is taking a break from Los Angeles and heading back to her hometown of Plumpton, Texas. It’s been five years since she’s been in Plumpton, where nearly everyone, including her parents, is convinced she murdered Savvy, her best friend. After all, she was found leaving the scene of the crime, covered in Savvy’s blood, Savvy’s DNA under her nails, and suffering from amnesia. Kind of a downer, right? The one exception is her Grandma, who believes Lucy’s innocence and uses her 80th birthday party to lure Lucy home. It also seems like Ben Owens, the editor of the hugely popular true crime podcast “Listen for the Lie” is in town, with Lucy in his cross-hairs. Grandma is convinced that the handsome Ben will end up exonerating Lucy—and Lucy ends up sort of working with, and sleeping with, Ben, while also fooling around with a few other potential witnesses, like her ex-husband. The prose snaps and the plot speeds along in Tintera’s portrayal of small town, alcohol-addled, smiling-to-your-face-while-trashing-you-behind-your-back Texas. This would make a perfect series—and what fun to cast! For those who enjoyed Jennifer Hillier’s Things We Do in the Dark and Bella Mackie’s How to Kill Your Family.

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Review

Death by Demo: A Home Renovation Mystery

by Brian Kenney

In cozies, we often meet our hero when they are in a state of flux, and Death by Demo is a classic example. Jaime is recently divorced—her husband was having an affair—and the prenuptial she signed without reading has left her nearly broke. She and her ne’er-do-well ex-husband ran a highly successful construction and interior design firm in Charlotte, NC, but now all she’s left with is a dilapidated Queen Anne style house and her best friend’s couch. While everyone expects Jaime to sell the house, she takes a certain liking to it and decides to renovate it on her own. That’s part of what makes this book so interesting, watching Jamie—who’s a real carpenter—put the historic home back together while she ruminates on how her life fell apart. But in the midst of some serious demolition, she comes across a body walled up in her new home. Tragic, for sure. But also annoying, as the house is now declared a crime scene and Jaime is forced to abandon the one thing that’s keeping her sane. Until it dawns on her that maybe law enforcement needs a little help. Well-written, nicely plotted, with great insights into the renovation industry and a cute and sensitive next door neighbor. Cozy readers will delight in this discovery.

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