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Book of the Week

Review

Detour

by Jeff Ayers

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Police officer Ryan Crane rescues a billionaire from an assassination attempt, and that act of kindness gives him the chance of a lifetime in Rake and Hart’s first collaboration. Three astronauts, a lottery winner, and a scientist join Crane on the first trip to Saturn’s moon, Titan. The plan is for them to go around the moon, drop off a reconnaissance satellite, and come back. This two-year journey will demonstrate that it’s feasible to create a future settlement there rather than on Mars. The thought of being away for that long rips family-man Crane apart, but the money and the chance to make a difference have him agreeing to be part of the crew. Right before launch, the billionaire gives Crane an envelope and tells him not to open it, but to give it to him upon their return and not tell anyone on the crew that the package even exists. As the ship blasts off, Crane does not realize that he’s not the only one harboring a secret for a rich man with presidential aspirations. The book begins in a similar vein to Gene Wilder’s version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but then dives into Andy Weir and Rod Serling territory, making this a blast from the first page to the last. I’m a fan of Rob Hart’s novels and Jeff Rake’s television series Manifest, and Detour exceeded my already-high expectations.

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Review

The Murder at World’s End

by Willy Williams

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Downton Abbey meets Gosford Park and Knives Out in this entertaining, locked-room historical cozy that marks best-selling British children’s author Montgomery’s (I am Rebel) successful foray into adult fiction. On May 18, 1910, Stephen Pike, fresh out of a Borstal Institution (a juvenile detention center), arrives at Tithe Hall on the Cornish tidal island of World’s End, where he has secured a job as an under-butler. But all is chaos at the manor as Lord Conrad Stockingham-Welt prepares to seal all the windows, doors, and keyholes of Tithe Hall from the dangerous gases that he believes the approaching Halley’s Comet will bring. Assigned to care for Conrad’s octogenarian aunt, Stephen spends the evening outside observing the comet with the scientifically inclined but foul-tempered and foul-mouthed Miss Decima Stockingham. Fortunately, she proves to be Stephen’s alibi when the hall’s rooms are unsealed the next morning and her nephew is found dead in his study, shot through the eye with a crossbow. Determined to identify the murderer with methodical rigor, Decima enlists Stephen’s assistance in investigating possible suspects among the family, guests, and staff. Was it cousin Edwin Welt, MP, who expects to inherit the estate? Or another cousin, Lettice Welt, rumored to have had a hand in the untimely demise (from gastric flu) of her husband, daughter, and son-in-law? Or could it even be the butler, Mr. Stokes, with his own secrets? The eccentric, hilarious Decima and the naive Stephen, who grows in self-confidence, make a delightful sleuthing pair as they track clues and cross names off their list of suspects. Cozy historical fans will anticipate the dynamic duo’s next adventure.

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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

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

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

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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Review

A Killer in the Family

by Willy Williams

Ali Azeem is a successful Mumbai wedding photographer, but, to his worried Ma, his life will only begin when he marries the right Ismaili Muslim girl. However, on his first arranged meeting with pretty and reserved Maryam Khan, the daughter of New York real-estate tycoon Abbas Khan, Ali is attracted, not to Maryam, but to her divorced older sister, the sensuous and mercurial Farhan. Still, because of his father’s financial difficulties, Ali agrees to the match with Maryam. After the wedding (a marathon, multiday affair vividly described), the newlyweds move to Manhattan, and Ali finds himself in a glamorous world of money, power, and prestige. But the naive bridegroom soon learns that beneath the glittering surface lie dark family secrets. Farhan, with whom Ali has embarked on a torrid affair, warns him against her domineering father: “Papa is a monster.” What is Abbas’s connection to the serial murders of young Indian women in Queens, as Farhan implies? Shifting between Ali’s first-person narrative and Farhan’s diary entries, Ahmad skillfully builds page-turning suspense with carefully plotted twists and red herrings that keep readers guessing until the chilling conclusion. His exceptional thriller is also a layered portrait of an immigrant family that has made it big in America and the moral costs paid for this success. With rich character development (Farhan is larger than life) and emotional storytelling, it’s hard to believe this is a first novel.

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Review

Lady Darling Inquires After a Killer

by Charlotte Del Vecchio

BOOK OF THE WEEK

Lady Irene Darling, a 50-year-old widowed marchioness, returns to London in the first installment of Gleason’s newest mystery series. Lady Darling intends to chaperone a friend’s daughter, Miss Priscilla Bedwith, during her first season out in society. Her return is followed by whispers of a troublesome past connected to a tragic event at Lady Enfield’s ball four years prior, resulting in the friends not speaking since. As the aging Lady takes on the challenging task of finding a husband for Priscilla, she finds herself at the heart of a new mystery, the murder of Mr. Tripley at his home during a dinner party she attended. Deciding she is the only person equipped and smart enough to conduct an investigation—with a little help from her friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s curious detective in mind—she sets out to solve the case, eliminating one suspect at a time (even as the suspects become victims themselves). This tale of strong-willed women, amateur sleuthing, and unraveled secrets is great for fans of Bridgerton and Sherlock Holmes alike.

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Review

Silent Bones

by Willy Williams

Book of the Week September 11, 2025

When a mudslide blocks a highway near Edinburgh, the debris also exposes a skeleton with a damaged skull, indicating signs of murder. Detective Inspector Karen Pitrie and her Police Scotland Historic Crimes Unit are called in to investigate. It’s spring 2025, five years after the traumatic COVID-related events of Past Lying. Research indicates that the skeleton, soon identified as that of freelance journalist Sam Nimmo, was buried back in 2014 when the road was constructed. At that time, Nimmo was the prime suspect in the killing of his pregnant girlfriend. Was his death an act of vengeance? Or was his investigation into a possible sex scandal connected to the 2014 referendum for Scottish independence the motivating factor? Pirie and her team also probe the so-called accidental death of a hotel manager with ties to a mysterious book club called Justified Sinners, whose members are wealthy, entitled men. Flavoring her writing with colorful Scottish slang, McDermid combines compelling, intricate plotting with strong character development. It’s nice to see DC Jason Murray developing his sleuthing skills and confidence under Karen’s patient mentoring, while talented but impulsive DS Daisy Mortimer occasionally still irritates her boss. The unsettled ending may disappoint some readers (real life is not always so neatly tied up), but McDermid’s passion for justice shines through.

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Review

The Tumbling Girl

by Henrietta Thornton

In the acknowledgments to this immersive debut, Walsh explains that she took a novel-writing course partly to convince herself not to write this series opener; readers will be happy that she went ahead anyway. Walsh drops us deep into the world of Minnie Ward, who writes music for Victorian London’s Variety Palace Music Hall. The shabby venue hosts a plate spinner whose dressing room sounds like breaking crockery and sobs, a soprano who only sometimes hits a note, a wayward monkey that likes to have its way with the ventriloquist’s dummy, and other downmarket wonders. When kindly detective Albert Easterbrook is hired to find the killer of a young woman who worked at the Palace, it brings him into Minnie’s world. She’s not content to sit on the sidelines of the investigation—she knows far more than Albert does about the workings of her realm, not to mention that those he needs to question aren’t going to open themselves up to a “toff.” While working through his exasperation with headstrong Minnie, Albert begins to fall for her, a situation she rebuffs as it will never work out—class divides loom large here. Their sometimes-parallel, sometimes-together work exposes both to dangers and horrors that will keep readers rapt; a side plot involving a serial killer who is terrorizing London closes the book and creates an opening for a sequel, which readers will eagerly await.

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