Women Sleuths

As Amber approaches a luxury Arizona retirement community, she is truly at the end of her possibilities. All her worldly goods are in her backpack, she’s coming off a really bad breakup, and i
she’s looking to mooch off a grandmother she has never met. Amber’s mother has essentially blackballed grandma, but as mom is eternally disappointed in Amber, the young woman hopes to make a connection with her grandma. And oh my, does she! Grandma Judith, now known as Jade, is the glamorous leader of a crime-podcasting pack of residents. The physical resemblance is striking, and as Amber has been working for three years with her PI boyfriend, Bones, hoping to qualify for her own license, so is the subject expertise. The night she arrives, one of the podcast members dies under suspicious circumstances in the studio, and all are suspects. In order to earn her keep, Amber searches for information and for the dead man’s missing tortoise. Then an ex-boyfriend shows up, Jade is arrested, and it is up to Amber to figure things out with the help of a temporarily disabled veterinarian and a nurse. People are not who they seem, a major clue is concealed in the most unlikely place, and above all, Amber grows up and comes to terms with herself and her family. There are good characters here, and an insightful look at senior living.

A case from almost 60 years ago threatens the present in Gilbert’s (Schooled in Murder, 2025) latest addition to her terrific Blue Ridge Library mystery series. A true-crime author, Maureen Dryden, visits the library run by Amy Muir to give a book talk and pursue a cold case from the area for her next book. She’s famous for writing about an unsolved crime in her previous book, and her identification of the killer resulted in the accused dying by suicide. One of the folks Maureen’s trying to track down is Kurt Kendrick, godfather to Amy’s children. When Maureen dies, Kurt ends up at the top of the suspect list. Amy’s investigation goes badly from the start, and Kurt is a bit too angry and demanding when Amy asks him questions, scaring her. It seems that bringing up the past makes a lot of residents in town reluctant to provide answers. When Amy starts receiving death threats, she realizes she might have gone too far this time. Gilbert does a terrific job of keeping the pace while showcasing a realistic small town with relatable characters. The solution to the mystery might seem obvious, but Gilbert has a few twists in store that will keep the reader guessing until the last page.

Cozy mysteries have a template of sorts. They are usually set in a small town, and often set in a small business with a friendly, plucky, sleuthy heroine. Trouble, sometimes from the past, drops into the mix to spoil the perfection. Bait and Swiss is a fine example of the genre, with all the proper elements in place from chapter one. Willa and her incredibly simpatico team from her cheese shop, Curds & Whey, preparing for their second anniversary celebration, pause to attend the grand opening of a neighboring cake shop. Surprisingly, the cake shop includes a chocolatier run by Willa’s ex-fiancé and best friend from 10 years ago. In the chaos of the opening, Willa delivers samples of the chocolates to the newspaper editor, a reporter is poisoned, and the lovely town is in a panic. Willa’s relationship with the hunky local detective is in danger, but she sleuths on, partnering in a somewhat slapstick style with the editor. Food sales are down all over the town as the population fears poison from all quarters, but friendships hold firm and instincts are strong though the who-done-it is a surprise. The recipes at the end underscore the power of cheese. Fun all around from Moss (Cheddar Off Dead, 2022).