Tag:

Mystery & Detective

Review

A Will to Kill

by Danise Hoover

Book of the Week January 29, 2026

In a classically framed and styled mystery set in India rather than the English countryside of classic novels past, readers start off with our wealthy head of family, Bhaskar Fernandez. He’s so sure that someone is trying to kill him he has written two wills: one if he dies of natural causes, the other if under suspicious circumstances. Athreya, famed solver of crimes, has been invited to the country house to be charged with the task of solving the murder should it occur.  As the family is all gathered, there is a landslide that traps all within the compound and thick pea-soup fog that heightens confusion and adds to the intrigue. Confusion and intrigue are the least of it, though, and while murder does occur, it is not what or who was expected. In a lovely throwback to tradition, the book includes area maps and floorplans, and our investigator sorts things as methodically as Poirot might have. This is charming, character driven, and great fun to read.—Danise Hoover 

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Review

The Body in the Kitchen Garden

by Brian Kenney

Pudding Corner in the quaint parish of Pepperbridge. The name says it all, doesn’t it? The sleepy village, a bit twee. The regular offerings of teacakes or fruitcakes. The sharing of what can only be described as gossip, and quite excellent gossip at that. But then there is the shocking smell of smoke, seemingly coming from the gardens of the very grand Darlington Hall. Could it be a fire, set off by the homeless man who had taken up residence on the property, Daphne wonders? Yes, indeed! Closer inspection by Daphne—an antiques dealer helping to renovate the Hall—reveals the horrible end the man experienced, burnt to death in the Hall’s gardens. But as traumatizing as this incident might be, it does not stop Daphne from trying to determine who the man was and why he was murdered. Suffice it to say that Daphne is like some heat-seeking missile—kids, husband, even friends are pretty much moved aside while the search is on. “These villages had been the silent witnesses to secrets both harmless and grim, they had been the background of love trysts and betrayals, of an abundance of happiness and the stage set for a deluge of tears and hidden mystery.” Readers who appreciate S. J. Bennett, Janice Hallett, or Anthony Horowitz will be delighted by Sutton’s latest.—Brian Kenney

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Review

A Disorganised Death

by 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

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Review

Blunt Instrument

by Danise Hoover

Disgraced and unemployable academic Dela, short for Delarobia, has taken over her uncle’s PI business. Her father, a grumpy academic who’s drifting into dementia, railroads her into solving a murder at a small college–a crime that’s two weeks old with no solution in sight from the local police. Oh, what a cast of characters is presented! Conniving academics, drunken faculty wives, smarmy college presidents, Dela’s aged and blind godfather (is he an asset or a complication?), to say nothing of the police force. Dela takes them all on, with an understanding of the situation that comes from her having experienced campus politics first hand, and from a deep, if jaded, comprehension of the human psyche. She doesn’t always see things clearly, but she is smart and dogged. The ending is not exactly just, and somewhat lumpy, but readers learn the truth. What sets this apart from most is that the author, a novice at mysteries, is an accomplished novelist who brings her talent to creating texture and nuance that is not usually found in even the finest genre fiction. Blunt Instrument is a pleasure to read.—Danise Hoover

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Review

Thirty Feet Under: A Mystery

by Willy Williams

When an ancient marble sphinx is stolen from a small museum in Italy, the Carabinieri enlist the assistance of the FBI Art Squad in recovering the piece, which may have been smuggled into the United States. Lowly agent Kate Taylor, who has spent the last three years doing dull computer and filing work, is thrilled to be finally assigned to a real case, especially since she’ll be partnering (although via Zoom) with her Italian counterpart, the gorgeous Luca. Meanwhile, failed New York art dealer Paul Krugman has resigned himself to working for his dollar-store-tycoon father until he receives an intriguing call from his British dealer friend, Harry, that will change his life. Both Kate and Paul gradually find themselves involved with an international art-smuggling ring and the lost tomb of Alexander the Great. Ignore the publisher’s blurb; this debut mystery, which was a finalist for the 2024 Crime Writers of Canada Best Unpublished Crime Manuscript, is not the next Dan Brown thriller, and that is a good thing. Wodhams writes with more style and humor than the plodding Brown, and his characters, despite their sometimes irritating and foolish actions, have more appeal than the preachy Robert Langdon. Although the ending feels rushed and a few geographical errors raised this New Yorker’s eyebrows (the 9 subway train was discontinued in 2005), this promising thriller offers an entertaining and insightful look at morally ambiguous art-world trading in looted artifacts. (The book’s title refers to the depth at which significant archaeological findings have often been uncovered).—Willy Williams

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Review

The Spies of Hartlake Hall

by Danise Hoover

The year is 1917, and we begin in a seemingly mundane office of the Admiralty, where a seemingly mundane secretary finds a dead body in a locked room. She is, of course, an agent, as is her supervisor. In the dead man’s possession is a secret coded telegram that belongs in the admiral’s safe. Thus begins an incredibly tangled story of spies and deception with all the players invited to a country-house shooting party. Gallagher, boss of Mrs. Vane, our secretary, has engineered the weekend event at his stepfather’s house with the intent of smoking out the traitors and planting the right kind of misinformation in the correct ears. A greedy underhanded American, a misguided but loyal Armenian, terrible food, and cold drafty rooms liven things up.  Graham pays some homage to Agatha Christie in that members of the group keep dropping off, but there are plenty left to finish up the story. Those with poor name memory will do well to take notes, as this is as convoluted as it is entertaining.—Danise Hoover

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Review

Imposter

by Henrietta Thornton

When a young mother is found murdered in her Mayo, Ireland home, psychologist and criminal profiler Alex Gregory is asked to consult. Traveling from the English prison hospital where he struggles in vain to help another mother, an abuser who won’t face her past, he worries that the Irish police and other locals will see him as a big shot coming to belittle them. He’s right to be worried, but more problematic than his background is that the locals are wary of profiling and of Alex’s questioning of them. This is where the protagonist’s history treating manipulative patients comes wonderfully to the fore; he’s both kind to those he meets and able to see right through their ways and fears, abilities that will endear him to readers. The small town comes to life through the psychologist’s astute observations of its inhabitants, with past relationships and scandals enriching the whodunit puzzle, which is topped off with a satisfying twist. Ross’s several series have just become available in the United States, so, happily, there’s much more where this came from.—Henrietta Thornton

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Review

Missing in Soho

by Brian Kenney

A leader of London’s huge drag scene. A mentor to many young queens. A devoted spouse. A stunning entertainer who is a partial owner of the famous club Lady’s Bar. Misty Divine is all that and a whole lot more, when all of a sudden a man lurches his way into the club, a victim of a stabbing. “You’re in danger, Misty…” is all he can say before passing out. It would be a lie to say that Misty isn’t terrified. But she’s equally aware that she needs to step it up and quickly learns that there are actually a number of leads who want to see her disappear, if not end up six feet under. Misty’s espionage work takes them from a journalist who’s in hiding to a group of creepy financiers to an infamous U.S. televangelist. Tune in to see if Misty manages to overturn the patriarchy and create a new queer order while wearing couture.

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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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