A missing nine-year-old boy has Deputy Mattie Wray bring her K-9 partner, Robo, into uncharted territory to initiate a search and rescue for him in Mizushima’s latest terrific series. By leaving Colorado and heading to the Olympic Mountains of Washington State, Mattie risks Robo’s job and delaying her wedding. From the start, the information she and the team of searchers receive is a bit sketchy. When one of the other searcher dogs gets ill, it becomes clear that someone doesn’t want the team to find this boy. Since the missing kid is the son of a celebrity, and the longer he’s out in the wilderness, the louder the clock is ticking to still find him alive and keep away the paparazzi. Mizushima’s series engages on every level: the authenticity of the search scenes; the setting, in which the reader can feel the moss and dampness of the region; and the insight into the operation of coordinated efforts to find missing people. Gathering Mist is the perfect place to start if you are unfamiliar with her previous novels, and Robo is the most incredible dog ever. Who’s a good boy?
Women Sleuths
Hooray for a new series that is fresh and funny, sophisticated and country. Dee Stern has had better years. Her Mom died unexpectedly. Her second marriage went kaput. And her career—she’s a sitcom writer in LA—is petering out. On a drive through the country to escape from it all, she discovers the Golden Motel, a mid-century-modern motel nestled in the foothills of the Sierras. And best of all, it’s FOR SALE. It doesn’t take much for Dee to convince Jeff—husband #1—to join her in this “lifestyle change” and become co-owner of the Golden Motel, Findgold, CA. In no time, they attract their first customer, one Michael Adam Baker who—freakishly enough—Dee knew as a frenemy from the sitcom world. What are the chances of that? Zero to none, it turns out. By the time she discovers what Michael is really up to, it’s too late, and their first guest is also their first victim. Agatha Award-winning author Byron has taken a fascinating community, great characters, the tension between city and country people, and the indomitable Dee to create a high-energy and hilarious series that readers won’t be quick to forget.
This piercingly written tale of modern life in Ghana is preceded by a warning in Quartey’s heartfelt prologue that his novel includes scenes of violence against gay characters and should be approached with “caution and mindfulness.” That’s fair to say, but it must also be noted that the violence is in keeping with the story and not gratuitous, except on the part of the criminals. The effects of white-supremacist missionary work in Africa also loom large in the story, which centers around the murderous homophobia stoked in Ghana by an American evangelical Christian, Chris Cortland. His bigoted ways have brought him to Africa where he finds a home among those who believe that “homosexuality isn’t indigenous to Ghana.” The tale features many well-drawn characters, all presented in an opening character list (don’t be put off by the full to bursting cast here!). They fall into three main groups: trans women who are being murdered, with famous Ghanaian pop singer Henrietta Blay the focus; Emma Djan and the other private investigators who who make this police-procedural-esque, employed because “the police might not give the case high priority”; and the smarmy, self-righteous circle of Americans and Ghanaians around Cortland, whose behavior means the book could also come with a domestic violence warning. The murder mystery is compelling here, but readers will also be absorbed by the politics and religious machinations and the emotional brutality the mixing of the two creates.
Davey Burnet’s life is boring, tough drudgery, made no easier by his shame and frustration over having caused a lot of his own problems. He works at a Glasgow car wash where the work is both boring and freezing and the annoying customers bested only the even more draining pothead boss. But Davey wishes for the boredom back when an impulse decision brings a world of trouble down on him and the business. After nouveau-criminal-riche Paulo McGuinn takes to bringing his ostentatious vehicles to be cleaned and Davey “borrows” one of them to make it to a custody hearing for the daughter he desperately wants to see, the car is wrecked and suddenly Paulo is the de facto owner of the car wash and of Davey’s grim future. Paolo’s just-one-of-the-lads bonhomie is a wafer-thin veneer over viciousness; not taken in by it is DI Alison McCoist, whose pecking away at the car wash’s goings on are Davey’s only hope. While this fast-moving tale is dark and has moments of real terror, it’s also grimly hilarious, especially in McSorley’s skewering of Paolo’s inflated self regard. The dialog takes some getting used to, with the character’s thicker than thick Glasgow accents faithfully reproduced, but once readers acclimatize they’re in for a rollicking, satisfying read.
Call me old-fashioned, but when I’m reading a cozy, I like a corpse to make an appearance in the first quarter of the book. Puzzle Me a Murder delivers not just a corpse, but the body of George Milliner, the husband of Ruby, who just happens to be best friends with Alice Pepper. And Alice is totally at the center of this book. Director of the local public library (job and library are portrayed 100 percent accurately), Alice rules from her huge, old Craftsman house, her settlement in the divorce, surrounded by friends and family. So when George is murdered—he was last seen in his house chasing a young, scantily clad, blonde-haired woman—Alice, Ruby, and others spring into action, and having a granddaughter on the police force certainly helps. While cooking, eating, and working on puzzles provide the crew with some down time, Alice and Ruby are more often out and about ferreting information to help determine George’s murderer. What they find is shocking: corruption in local government, blackmail from vendors, and the harassment of some of West Hazel, Oregon’s leading citizens. There’s a buoyancy to this book that makes it a delight to read, while still capturing the evil that dwells among us. I am so looking forward to another Alice adventure.
Mavis is one busy single mom. Pearl, her seven-year-old, is smart, funny, and chatty. Her ex, who tries to be a good dad, is a musician who is regularly on tour across the country. The non-profit Mavis works for has the bad habit of skipping her over for promotions. And Trish, the incredibly bossy head of the PTA—when will a house fall on her?—tricks Mavis, as one of only a handful of Black moms at the school, to head its DEI committee. “DEI means diversity, equity, and inclusion, sure,” Mavis says. “But it also means free labor to be given willingly to fix problems we didn’t create.” The novel is barely underway when the new school principal suddenly disappears while Mavis, while walking her dog late at night, passes the school, only to see Trish loading up her car with cleaning supplies and heavy plastic bags…filled with the remains of Principal Smith? Joining forces with Jack, the “superhot” school psychologist, Mavis sets off to find the lost principal. Beautifully written and well-paced, this delightful novel explores the many friends and family who surround Mavis, the struggles she experiences, and the love that flows throughout. Elise Bryant is the NAACP Image Award-nominated author of the young adult novels Happily Ever Afters, One True Loves, and Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling.
Readers in search of a classic mystery need look no further, and if you have a fascination with San Francisco, as I do, then you’re doubly in luck. Capri Sanzio is the granddaughter of one of the City’s most famous serial killers: William “Overkill Bill” Sanzio, who’s now deceased. So named because “he bashed his three victims on the head, stabbed them to death, then sliced their throats after the fact.” A thorough kind of guy. Capri’s parents are shamed by their relationship to Bill, but Capri—who believes he was innocent—has a far more complicated response: she runs a highly successful business providing tours related to San Francisco’s serial killers (with herself, as Bill’s granddaughter, one of the prime attractions). But suddenly there’s a copycat of Bill murdering San Francisco women—one of whom is closely related to Capri—and the cops have made it clear that Capri or her daughter (herself a doctoral student in criminology) are their two prime suspects. With excursions from high society to the working class, and richly detailed portraits of San Francisco, this fascinating, fast-paced novel should find a broad readership. More, please?
Invincible is the adjective that comes most readily to mind when describing Maddy Montgomery, the hero in Valerie Burns’ Baker Street series. She’s relocated to the tiny, lake-front, Michigan town of New Bison, which is hundreds of miles from the closest Jimmy Choo boutique. Her nemesis in love has suddenly made an appearance, trashing Maddy all over social media. And while the bakery she inherited from her great-aunt is turning into a rip-roaring success, it attracts more dead bodies than the city morgue. Yes, there is a lot going on in this series, and we can’t forget the role of Baby, Maddy’s English Mastiff, who’s as expressive as any human. But one murder is rarely enough, and when a body washes ashore, it becomes clear that someone is out to suppress some important information. Once again Maddy needs to draw on the expertise of her great-aunt’s friends, the Baker Street Irregulars. This series has it all: fun, fashion, and friendship.
Taylor’s debut cozy hits all the beloved genre touchstones. There’s an offstage murder in a small town, baking, cats, a small business…cozy indeed! But the author adds a little spiciness to the relationships, making the book ideal for fans of the subgenre and those who love Taylor’s romantic-comedy What’s Not trilogy. The action takes place in Chatham Crossing, Massachusetts, where the self-proclaimed first lady is…well, that’s the subject of a friendly rivalry. Carole Duffy, the mayor’s wife, seems to have the most legal claim to the title. But if vivacity crowns the winner, the title would go to Venus Bixby, owner of a local vintage record and bake shop, Oldies and Goodies (home to cats Sonny and Cher and to Carole’s delicious cookies). Everyone who’s anyone is ready for Venus’s 50th birthday bash at the town’s big attraction, the Sofia Silva Whaling Museum, but the festivities grind to a halt when Venus falls over a distinct pair of orange platform shoes in the garden, shoes that are being worn by the dead owner of the museum’s gift shop. The sleuthing is on, with Venus, friends, and rivals excelling at small-town bitchiness even as suspects are ticked off the list. Watch for this fun first in a series, which comes with recipes and a playlist.
Perhaps only in New Orleans can there be a gay novice nun who is also a novice private detective and who offers up prayers like, “Hail Mary, share with me your divine vision, because I can’t see a fucking thing.” The nun in question is Sister Holiday, who teaches in a private school, runs a support group for survivors of Catholic Church sexual abuse, and on the side partners with a former cop to run Redemption Detective Agency. When the two hit the banks of the Mississippi to meet a new client, Holiday finds herself wading into the water to catch a body before it floats away. It’s her parish priest, and that awful discovery isn’t the last. Returning to school, the nun finds that another priest is missing. He seemed a kind young man, not one of the priests that Holiday loathes for their fake piety and fondness for their parishioners’ money. While a storm rages, Holiday must face the contradictions that are her life and life in New Orleans as well as help her brother and others face their demons, all while trying desperately to solve the mystery of the missing priest. Douaihy’s first in the series, Scorched Grace, was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, among other accolades. Fans of that book, as well as all who love an irreverent and smart lead, will happily join Sister Holiday for her second outing.