Cozy

This latest work of the Marlow Murder Club, one of the most popular cozy crime series, is the fifth, with a major TV presence as well. Yet as cozy as this volume might be, it’s the darkest of the books to date, with blackmail, murder, and scandal all playing a major role. The murder of two of Marlow’s best known celebrities—soccer-player Gary Wise and thriller-writer Tony Sexton—galvanizes our three amateur female detectives, who travel all about the town to discover the killer, an endeavor both serious and hugely comic. But what’s changed? DI Malik, who always assisted the women in their previous searches, has now been suspended from duty; it’s a huge loss. And Judith, who has always been at the center of any investigation, shows up only to shortly disappear and then repeat again. Where is she going? Aficionados of the Marlow Murder Club can only worry that the three brave women may not survive and make it through to the other side.—Brian Kenney

Lively, sophisticated, and chock full of red herrings, this is the fifth in Brett’s decluttering novels featuring Ellen Curtis. She normally refuses to do house clearings, but in her current case, Ellen does take on a clearing job because the work is largely focused on locating a will that must be hidden somewhere in the family’s house. As with the earlier volumes in the series, the book features a small handful of returning characters, including Ellen’s daughter Jools, who now lives in London and is working, to great success, in her mothers decluttering company, while her artist son continues to struggle with mental illness. These family members and friends that pop in and out of the book provide a richness and a vitality that gives the novel real depth. Readers of Richard Osman, Jesse Q. Sutanto, Olivia Black, M. C. Beaton, and many more readers will be delighted.—Brian Kenney