Tag:

Book of the Week

Review

French Windows

by Brian Kenney

A delightful, quirky, and comic foray into Parisian life that’s a clear homage to Hitchcock’s Rear Window (and the even earlier short story of the same name by Cornell Woolrich). Here, the dynamics include Nathalia Guitry, a successful photographer who, having witnessed a murder while taking pictures, is unable to work. She seeks help from Doctor Faber, who assigns her a creative task: to record the lives of the people in the apartment building across from her. Nathalia sends the stories to Doctor Faber via mail (she claims she can’t bear to watch him read them), vignettes that many readers will find to be the most fascinating parts of the novel. Eccentricity abounds as we encounter a lyricist, a life coach, and a well-known cartoonist; in its own surprising way, the Parisian building is reminiscent of Whitter, Alaska, where all residents live in one building, keeping a watchful eye on one another. Even the doctor has his own odd interests, from smoking to collecting keys. But what about that murder? Readers will appreciate racing through this brief novel to get to the other—very rewarding—side.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Understudy

by Willy Williams

It’s loathing at first sight when trained opera singer Kit (stage name Katerina) Margolis meets her understudy, the sexually alluring Yolanda Archambeau, on the first day of rehearsals for Barbarella, a new opera based on the 1968 film. Kit, struggling to prove she is right for the titular role, her first leading part, is taken aback when her director introduces Yolanda to the cast, something not done until later in the rehearsal process. “I felt a flash of irritation, uncharitable yet valid. She didn’t need to be there. She shouldn’t be there.” Kit’s unease rises when Yolanda yawns during Kit’s big aria and later confesses her operatic ambitions, despite her lack of training. Regarding underhanded scheming, Eve Harrington (of the film All About Eve) has nothing on the ruthless Yolanda, whose weapons against Kit include poisoned tea and dead rats. But before her plotting can escalate to a deadlier level, Yolanda is fatally stabbed in her apartment. Kit, who briefly falls under suspicion because of a violent incident in her past, turns sleuth to uncover her late rival’s dark secrets and identify her killer. Offering an entertaining look at the backstage world of New York City opera, Richter’s second novel (after The Divide) skillfully mixes the tropes of a psychological thriller with the conventions of an amateur sleuth mystery. Especially compelling is Kit’s growing self-confidence as a singer and a woman as she pursues the truth.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

A Case of Mice and Murder

by Brian Kenney

Attention anglophiles, lovers of dazzling historical fiction, and fans of a good draught of droll humor. This book is for you. Set in the Inner Temple, the heart of legal London for centuries, with its own degree of independence (not unlike the Vatican), the novel features Gabriel Ward KC, a brilliant legal mind who moves each day at the same measured pace between his chambers, which are crammed with books on nearly all topics; his office; and the dining hall. But on May 21, 1901, he emerges from his room only to discover a body on his doorstep. In fact, Ward is quick to identify it as the corpse of the Lord Chief Justice, who now has a Temple carving knife in his chest. But what is even more shocking isn’t that he is clad in evening wear, but that his feet are bare. How delicious is this plot? Appointed by the Temple’s Treasurer to investigate the murderer, Ward is paired with the eager and charming young Constable Wright, whose street knowledge turns out to be quite an asset, gaining Ward’s respect. The investigation drags the pair from the upper classes to the homeless, with an entirely separate court case—in children’s publishing, no less—providing some entertainment of its own. Quite simply, this is one of the very best debuts I’ve read in a long time; it’s sure to delight the Osman and Thorogood crews and readers of Sarah Caldwell’s legal murder mysteries as well.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Ruth Run

by Jeff Ayers

Ruth has an unconventional way of making money, and her method of robbing banks through a code in a hacked chip has finally caught up with her in Kaufman’s debut thriller. Taking cash in small amounts from transactions has made her a very rich cybercriminal. When alarms signal she’s been discovered, she grabs her accomplice, and they take off. A government agent named Mike has been watching her for some time and knows everything about Ruth since he feels he launched her career. Mike has planted tracking devices in her home, car, and a bag that never leaves her side, so he knows her every move. When his superiors want her eliminated since her bug is inside the government’s network, Mike agrees to help. However, he seems to have feelings for the woman he considers his protégé, so what is his objective? When Ruth realizes that the authorities are close and her usual tricks won’t be enough, she must improvise. But even though she is elusive and clever, her methods might put her in even more danger than she’s in from the law. Kaufman has created a compelling and complex character in Ruth, and watching her outwit and coordinate her surroundings to stay alive while being in control will endear her to readers. The motivations behind the people after this protagonist, and her inability to trust those she enlists for help, keep the paranoia above a level ten. Hopefully this terrific debut will launch a series featuring Ruth and her adventures.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Strangers in Time

by Jeff Ayers

The horrors of war are reflected in the lives of three people in Baldacci’s (A Calamity of Souls) latest. Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters lives with his grandmother in cramped conditions. She thinks Charlie is spending his weekdays in school, but he has quit and spends the day roaming the streets, stealing food and money to survive. His goal is to eventually enlist and fight the Germans for taking away his parents and his sense of safety. When he steals from Ignatius Oliver’s bookshop, rather than demanding punishment for Charlie, Ignatius treats him well, almost like a father would. Like Charlie, Ignatius is dealing with loss, but it’s his wife instead of his parents. When 15-year-old Molly Wakefield returns to London after spending time away from the big city and conflict, she is horrified to learn her parents did not survive the bombing. The three bond, throughout the war trusting and protecting one another from a relentless enemy and secrets they can’t see coming. Baldacci chronicles the story of this makeshift family brought together by circumstances out of their control and how they can survive and confront whatever awaits. The author does a terrific job of transporting the reader back in time to a tumultuous period of living in London, and readers will practically smell the smoke and feel surrounded by rubble from the shattered buildings. Another great tale from a grandmaster storyteller.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Welcome to Murder Week

by Brian Kenney

An utterly heartfelt, entertaining, and beguiling sophomore effort from Dukess, author of The Last Book Party (2019). Cath is finally going through the possessions of her recently deceased mother. Cath was raised by her grandmother, and her relationship with her hippy mom consisted of intermittent and impulsive visits throughout her Buffalo childhood, with mom disappearing nearly as fast as she would arrive. So it’s a shock when Cath finds among her mother’s possessions the tickets for “murder week,” in which a quaint British town is staging a fake murder to bolster tourism, with all the locals taking on a role. But even more remarkable is that Cath’s mother—who as far as Cath knows never left the U.S.—planned for them to go together. What was she thinking? Nevertheless, Cath can’t quite shake the idea of murder week, and in several weeks time, she finds herself in England’s Peak District, sharing a cottage with Wyatt, who back in the States works in his husband’s birding store, and Amity, a divorced romance novelist who is suffering from writer’s block. Dukess deftly handles multiple narratives: the search for clues to the hamlet’s fake murder; the unearthing of shocking revelations about Cath’s family; and a slow-moving, present-day romance. A joy for Anglophiles and chock-a-block full of humor, this coziest of cozies will delight fans of Vera Wong, Finlay Donovan, and The Thursday Murder Club.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Glitter in the Dark

by Danise Hoover

We are taken back to the roaring ’20s, to speakeasys and the Ziegfeld Follies, in this gritty noir with Ginny Dugan as our main character and sleuth. She and her dancer sister have come to New York from Kansas. Dottie, the sister, dances for the Follies, and is engaged to Charlie, a financial guy from home; Ginny writes an advice column for Photoplay, though keeps angling for real, hard-nosed reporting. Ginny is out partying at a speakeasy when she’s a witness to the kidnapping of Josephine, a headliner who is Black, but her story is not believed. People are dying of heart attacks in Harlem dance clubs, and dancers are reporting ghosts in the dressing rooms of the Follies, young women who have been murdered. There are drug stashes and secret crime bosses. Ginny partners with Jack, a detective, but it is Gloria, a Follies star, who calls to her heart. The level and complexity of the crime speaks to a mastermind: the Eagle, whose identity is unknown until the end. This debut turns back the clock with authentic detail and sharply drawn characters and a strong sense of violence and lawlessness. A challenging book.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Cold Burn

by Henrietta Thornton

Brace yourself. Landau (pseudonym for authors Jeff Ayers and Jon Land) is back with a new National Parks-based thriller, and it’s even more breakneck-speed than the last. This time, several mysteries entwine, starting with the fate of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) workers who disappear after the reader follows their every panicked move as an avalanche descends on them at the Lamplugh Glacier in Alaska’s Glacier Bay. Michael Walker, a special agent with the National Parks Investigative Services Branch, hero of Leave No Trace (2024) is dispatched to find them, working with Tlingits, Natives whose animosity toward white outsiders has been well earned. At the other end of the country, a USGS intern is found dead, his cause of death seemingly impossible. And the crew of a U.S. Navy submarine finds itself in terrible peril, the claustrophobia and fear seeping off the pages. There are several highlights here, in addition to the fast-paced, dangerous subplots: a respectful look at the Tlingits and their ways, with a show of force by the tribe creating knife-edge suspense near book’s end; a young Tlingit woman, Amka Reynolds, whose scientific know-how and dedication to her community will make her a reader favorite; and the continued look, in protagonist Walker, at a disabled character with a physically active career, realistically hampered at times but getting on with it. For fans of Landau, outdoorsy thrillers, and stories about the effects of technology (you’ll see).

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Retirement Plan

by Brian Kenney

This marvelous tale of marriages that go awry and of friendships that save the day is certain to be one of the funniest crime stories of 2025. Four couples—close friends for 30 years—look forward to their retirement in Florida, their days idle and carefree. To guarantee even more money, the husbands, working off a tip, draw down their life savings and invest them in funds that quickly disappear—leaving them broke and their marriages even more miserable. But when one of the husbands dies, the wives are shocked to discover he left behind a life-insurance policy worth a whopping seven figures. In fact, the wives discover, all their husbands have identical policies. But what’s the use of life insurance when the men could live another 20 years? So the women decide to take matters in their own hands, or at least the hands of an accomplished hitman. But will the husbands be able to outplay their wives? Full of great characters who bring their own fun to the party, this book is perfect for readers who have enjoyed Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, The Author’s Guide to Murder, and A Serial Killers’ Guide to Marriage

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Girl from Greenwich Street: A Novel of Hamilton, Burr, and America’s First Murder Trial

by Willy Williams

On the chilly evening of December 22, 1799, a young woman named Elma Sands, wearing her best calico dress, slipped out of her Quaker cousin’s boarding house on Greenwich Street, ostensibly to elope with her lover (as she told her cousin, Hope). Eleven days later, Elma’s body was found floating in the Manhattan Well, and Elma’s family accused Levi Weeks, a young carpenter and a fellow boarder, of killing her. The subsequent trial, which featured the powerhouse defense team of political rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, became the first sensationalized murder trial in American history; it was also the first U.S. trial for which there is a recorded transcript. Willig (The Pink Carnation series) draws on this transcript to bring the historical personalities involved brilliantly to life in all their human complexity. Especially fascinating are her depictions of Hamilton and Burr and their contrasting legal strategies. The impulsive, idealistic Hamilton wants to identify the true killer; the Machiavellian Burr is only interested in exonerating his client (even if he might be guilty). In her closely observed details, Willig also vividly recreates a growing New York City in a newly independent America. With an epilogue that reveals what happened to the principal characters after the trial and a historical note that details the author’s research, this compelling novel will appeal to true crime fans, aficionados of legal thrillers, and readers of historical mysteries. [Fun fact: The notorious Manhattan Well, which is an actual well, still exists at 129 Spring Street in lower Manhattan.]

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail