Tag:

Mystery & Detective

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

The Midnight Taxi

by Danise Hoover

Book of the Week

Driving a taxi is often the first job for a new immigrant, as it was for the father of Siriwathi, or Siri, as her friends call her. She drives the cab now as a family obligation. A brown woman doing this job late at night is not exactly ideal or safe, nor is it what she planned to do with her life. At the court building in lower Manhattan, she fortuitously picks up a fare: another brown woman, another Sri Lankan, a public defender. In the short time it takes to drive to Brooklyn, they bond somewhat. That’s good, because Siri’s next fare, one to JFK airport, is dead on arrival. Siri is arrested and really needs a lawyer; Alex, a wealthy friend from private-school days (Siri was a scholarship student) helps bail her out, and he and the two women do a deep investigation into the victim, finding more than any run-of-the-mill police inquiry would. This is an ultra-complicated story, but what makes it special is a view of immigrant New York that few see. Deep family ties, strong food culture, and love and longing for a better future build a picture that one can only hope isn’t quashed by today’s political chaos.

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Review

A Zoom with a View

by Brian Kenney

This is one packed piece of crime fiction, certain to bedazzle any and all mystery readers. Blue Oak is a unique small town on the border of Austin, committed to “Keep Blue Oak Weirder.” Which, it turns out, isn’t all that hard. It starts with the return of Leo (Leonora), who has been back on the East Coast completing her Ph.D. in English, but has yet to find a tenured position. Let’s just say that Blue Oak wouldn’t be her first choice, especially with her challenging mother, Karina, a real estate agent whose motto should be “the higher the hair, the closer to god.” But no worries, Leo has a whole team of friends from her BFF, Emily, to Mack, high school sweetheart and now local detective. But a fire during the annual Fourth of July celebration leads to all sorts of crazy accusations…and when Leo comes across the body of dead rival real-estate agent and social media influencer, Chaz, things really start to fall apart, and Leo has no choice but to dive in the deep end to try to save her closest friends. And when did Mack get so handsome?

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Review

The Keeper

by Henrietta Thornton

We have been fooled. In Tana French’s previous two books following former Chicago PD detective Cal Hooper’s new life in rural Ireland, The Searcher and The Hunter, Cal seemed to be settling down in small-town Ardnakelty. He found love in steadfast local woman Lena, took unruly teenager Trey under his wing and is fast making a skilled woodworker out of her, and even managed to figure out the local pub etiquette rules. But it’s all upended in this latest entry in the series when a local young woman is found dead in the river. She was in a long-term relationship with the son of Tommy Moynihan, a sly man who unofficially runs Ardnakelty, and whose pitting of locals against one another after the tragedy makes Cal wonder if he will ever understand this town and his place in it. Though the novel could have been pared down, readers will find this often darkly funny visit with Cal and his neighbors a satisfying look at the undercurrents of rural life as observed by an astute outsider. A piercing death scene near the book’s end is a highlight of the series. A must for French’s fans and all who enjoy a simmering rural mystery.

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Review

Last One Out

by Henrietta Thornton

Book of the Week

Ro Crowley is making a tough, reluctant trip to her former home of Carralon Ridge in Australia’s New South Wales. It’s a trip she makes annually, marking both her son Sam’s birthday and the day he disappeared five years ago at age 18. The town supports Ro and her family—her husband Griff, whom she’s now separated from, and their daughter, Della—although those remaining in Carralon, a town slowly being bought out by a mining company, are barely doing much better emotionally than the bereft Crowleys. Harper dives deep into the fear and loneliness of having a missing child and how disparate ways of dealing with grief can tear a family apart. Equally strong is her chronicle of a dying town and the eating-itself-from-the-inside culture created by deep pockets offering a way out. Readers will long to know what happened to Sam and will be satisfied by the ending of this haunting exploration of loss.

 

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Review

Monster in the Moonlight

by Danise Hoover

A cryptozoologist’s views are not exactly recognized by the whole of the scientific community. But a dead woman in small-town Wisconsin brings law enforcement to cryptozoologist Morgan Carter, as they know her as a source of assistance. Lydia Palmer was found in a rural area with a broken neck and her throat ripped open by what could be the “Beast of Bray Road,” a local legend that has been capturing imaginations for years. Morgan is pretty sure from the outset that there is some human source to this mystery. Lydia, a widow with an adult son disabled from the car accident that killed her husband, was always looking for a way to make money. She wasn’t particularly wise about her methods, but there is still no good reason for her to have been in dark woods in the middle of the night. Sightings of the beast seem realistic, but Morgan has a good idea of what caused the deep scratches in Lydia’s car and body, and it’s not what people think. Another dead body and faked historic documents, among other things, lead Morgan to a conclusion that is worse than any beast. Though part of a series, this is nicely framed so that the back story stays in the background and readers new to Morgan and trusty hound Newt can keep up.

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Review

What Happened Next

by Brian Kenney

Taut and intense, this novel is sure to set every reader who picks it up on edge. Charlie Kilgore was an infant 25 years ago when, at Idlewild, their family camp, his father murdered a man, went on to stab Charlie’s mother, left her for dead, then drifted off into the White Mountains of New Hampshire, never to be seen again. It’s a legacy of horror that Charlie hears from time to time as he grows up, including how his older brother saved them both by hiding them in an ancient rowboat on the lake. But soon enough, WASPY, old Idlewood returns to its annual summer silence and secrets. Until Charlie, an aspiring journalist, blows everything up. While writing and editing a podcast about the camp, Charlie weaves together various narratives that point to an even greater story than the murder, exposing the truth, awakening the past, and placing himself in danger. What Happened Next is certainly one of Hill’s best works with its sharp analysis of families and powerful presentation of the individual in an environment where no one can be trusted.

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Review

Murder Will Out

by Danise Hoover

In this sparkling, energetic debut, we have a murder to be solved, not just for the benefit of the community, but for the health and well-being of the ghosts that abide within the Cameron family mansion that is under contention. Willow, graduate music student and accomplished organist, receives an invitation from her long-estranged godmother, Sue, to attend her wedding. The message was written long before it was sent. Sue is now dead, and Willow makes it to the funeral with just enough time to play Sue’s favorite music. Maine’s Little North Island is where she spent her summers with Sue until her parents summarily ended the arrangement with no explanation. Sue had come out as a lesbian to Willow’s parents, which they found abhorrent. After the service, the next Cameron heir is poisoned, and Willow, along with a tight group of local women, set out to unearth the truth. Her own top-notch research skills pale in comparison to those of the village librarian, who unearths essential old family facts. This is a wonderfully tangled plot, and the characters are aided in the solving by a fantastic range of ghosts. It is oh-so-much fun and leaves open the possibility of another to come.

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Review

The Bone Thief

by Henrietta Thornton

Lillie, Vanessa. The Bone Thief. October 28, 2025. 384 pages. Berkley.

Two unequal forces collide in rural Rhode Island in Lillie’s sequel to Blood Sisters. First there is the Narragansett tribe, whose members can’t get jobs and are having their heritage slowly stolen and Disneyfied. Then there is the Founders Society, descendants of local colonizers who view their Native neighbors as a source of endless exploitation and entertainment. The Founders are dismissive of the young Native woman, Naomi, who worked for them and whom Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker, Cherokee from Oklahoma, fears is a victim of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Woman epidemic. At the same time, the thorny situation of old Native remains that are discovered on Founders’ land and then disappear lead Syd into a web of deceit, danger, and entitlement. None of this she needs as she’s just putting her family back together after the events of the previous book. There’s lots for readers to learn here about the market for what collectors call artifacts and Natives call belongings, memorable characters to catch up with, and a mystery that will keep readers wondering until the end.—Henrietta Thornton

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Review

The Pie & Mash Detective Agency

by Jeff Ayers

Book of the Week

What does a dating millennial couple do to add adventure to their lives? Take a class on becoming a private detective, of course! Jane Pye and Simon Mash are quirky; even their class instructor finds them a bit strange. With no job possibilities anywhere in their immediate futures, they decide to open the Pie & Mash Detective Agency after they graduate. Then they are given a class assignment that the instructor guarantees will result in a failing grade. Dev Hooper’s girlfriend, Nellie Thorne, has vanished. The police believe she’s just left him, but Dev thinks otherwise. As Jane and Simon start investigating, they stumble upon what’s either a wild coincidence or something more sinister. This Nellie Thorne is not the first woman with her name to vanish; the phenomenon has been occurring for decades. All of the women are similar in appearance, and all disappeared after around a year of dating. Is this a weird legend or ghosts? If it’s real, are others with that name safe? J.D. Brinkworth is the writing team of Jo Dinkin and Catherine Brinkworth, and this quirky, fun mystery will keep readers guessing while bringing a smile to their faces. The main characters are a hoot, and a hodgepodge of strange folks with secret agendas surrounds them. Filled with British humor, this introduction to Jane and Simon is hopefully the start of a long series. (DEBUT)

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