Tag:

Amateur Sleuth

Review

I Died for Beauty

by Brian Kenney

Amanda Flower’s Emily Dickinson series just keeps getting better and better. It’s 1857 and Amherst, Massachusetts is experiencing one of the worst winters anyone can remember. Along with the freezing cold is the fear of chimney fires, and indeed an out-of-control blaze in Kelley Square, the Irish section of town, kills a young family, with the eight-year-old daughter, Nora Rose, the sole survivor. But the blaze has suspicious origins, and Emily and her maid Willa take it upon themselves to investigate. There is a lot going on in this novel, but it is all handled with great deft. Emily’s ongoing reliance upon Willa sets the maid apart from the other household staff, fostering jealousy. The marriage of Emily’s brother, Austin, and his wife,, Susan, continues to deteriorate. Women’s role in society, especially in marriage, is a source of ongoing debate. The future of the now-orphaned Nora Rose, an Irish Catholic girl in a largely Protestant town, and with no relatives, upsets the Dickinson household. Meanwhile, Willa’s own love life takes a dramatic turn. A great choice for book groups, which will appreciate both the book’s breadth and depth. Readers who enjoy this title may also like Mariah Fredericks’s The Wharton Plot and Kate Khavari’s A Botanist’s Guide to Parties and Poisons.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Retirement Plan

by Brian Kenney

This marvelous tale of marriages that go awry and of friendships that save the day is certain to be one of the funniest crime stories of 2025. Four couples—close friends for 30 years—look forward to their retirement in Florida, their days idle and carefree. To guarantee even more money, the husbands, working off a tip, draw down their life savings and invest them in funds that quickly disappear—leaving them broke and their marriages even more miserable. But when one of the husbands dies, the wives are shocked to discover he left behind a life-insurance policy worth a whopping seven figures. In fact, the wives discover, all their husbands have identical policies. But what’s the use of life insurance when the men could live another 20 years? So the women decide to take matters in their own hands, or at least the hands of an accomplished hitman. But will the husbands be able to outplay their wives? Full of great characters who bring their own fun to the party, this book is perfect for readers who have enjoyed Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, The Author’s Guide to Murder, and A Serial Killers’ Guide to Marriage

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Shot Through the Book

by Danise Hoover

In this latest visit to the lighthouse library on the outer banks of North Carolina, locals await a YA book festival featuring a recently local and very popular author of a fantasy series. Our librarian and amateur sleuth, Lucy MacNeil, is surprised to find this gentleman on her doorstep wanting to talk. She escorts him to the deck, goes to retrieve refreshments, and returns to find him dead of an arrow shot. To say that chaos ensues is an understatement. The new widow has political ambitions and intends to use this to launch her campaign, local teen ultrafans of the author set up a shrine invading Lucy and her husband’s privacy, and two lesser local authors battle it out for the now vacant top spot on the festival program. The clever policing by the local force is, of course vital, but, as usual, the little details that our research-minded librarian provides begin to tie things together, though the culprit may come as a surprise. The local color and community spirit shine, and the quirky personalities are never more so. While this is certainly a cozy, it is never dull. The ending leaves clues promising changes, so readers will look forward eagerly to the next installment.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Last Hamilton

by Jeff Ayers

Bregman takes the history of Alexander Hamilton and his legacy, mixes it with a modern-day conspiracy, and delivers a fun and engaging read. Elizabeth Walker is the last heir of the Hamilton family line, and when she passes away, that’s it. During research, Elizabeth uncovers a key created during Hamilton’s life. On her way home after, she’s followed, and in the New York subway, rather than have the key taken, Elizabeth texts her best friend, Sarah Brockman, to contact Elizabeth’s husband, Ralph. Then she jumps in front of an oncoming train. Sarah, devastated by Elizabeth’s death, receives a box of documents her friend sent over before her death. Working with Ralph, they are shocked to learn that a secret society established by Hamilton still exists today. The bedrock of this society has kept the United States strong all these years. Still, sinister forces want to destroy the States, and they have plans to use Hamilton’s legacy to cause economic chaos by eliminating the foundation of the American dollar. Bregman has crafted a page-turning thriller of history and the financial world that will have readers wondering if any of the story could be real. Steve Berry and Dan Brown fans will want to add this to their reading list.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Molten Death

by Danise Hoover

Kristen and Valerie, long a couple, are in Hawaii on vacation, partly to help Valerie come to terms with her brother’s death. They are staying with Isaac, who’s a surfer buddy of Leslie’s, a high-school science teacher, and a lifelong resident of the islands. During an early morning excursion to see the glowing lava rolling down the landscape, Valerie sees a boot in the lava and realizes that there is a leg attached. It is quickly consumed by the lava, and as she is the only witness, all doubt the truth of what she has seen. The police report goes nowhere, so Valerie takes on the task of finding the identity of both the victim and the killer herself. With the luck and determination of the amateur, and the friendly and open nature of Hawaiians, allowing for a few glitches, she succeeds. This is a Hawaii we seldom see in TV police dramas. The locals speak a pidgin dialect, the importance of which is carefully explained by Isaac, and the customs and practices date back centuries. The landscape is of course dramatic and beautiful and the descriptions of food and produce mouthwatering. There are recipes for some of the dishes at the end, and a glossary of words and phrases. This is billed as the first in a series, so expect more to come from our interesting characters.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Language of the Birds.

by Henrietta Thornton

Arizona’s beloved father, the only one besides her mother and precious dog, Mojo, who really got her, died recently in a motorcycle accident. He was on a solo ride while mom and Arizona stayed in the trailer they travel in while the 17-year-old is being homeschooled. Mom and Arizona—who seems to be on the autism spectrum—are back in Bodie Historic Park, the California ghost town near where the accident took place, planning to spread Dad’s ashes. Arizona is barely holding things together as it is, she misses her father so viscerally, but things spiral out of control even further when her mom goes missing. It’s hard for Arizona to trust others at the best of times. But when it’s clear that harm may have come to her mom, a realistic and touching new friendship is a chance for readers to watch the girl force herself to open up to another. This is an inwardly focused book, with debut novelist Merson taking us inside Arizona’s sharp mind and exploring her feelings at having to depend on others while pushing relentlessly to uncover what happened to her family. A sparkling debut; readers, including young adults, will definitely want more from this new author.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

One Death at a Time

by Brian Kenney

This is one glorious, sprawling, comic work of crime fiction, full of characters you are likely never to forget. Chanel-clad, 60-plus Julia Mann—former actress, current lawyer, and full-time curmudgeon—meets Natasha Mason, all of 20-something, at an AA meeting. Julia is obsessed with the corpse that was discovered in her pool, and can only remember snippets of how it might have gotten there. Could she have done it? Perhaps. She was so drunk last night that she remembers nearly nothing, and the cops seem to believe she’s guilty. Julia sets to worrying, since she has already been locked up for murder once in her life and has no desire to repeat the experience. Fortunately, Natasha makes the perfect companion, and despite her loathing of the film industry, Julia talks the young woman into joining her staff—yes, Julia’s that rich—to help her clear her name. Natasha agrees, if she can also help to keep Julia sober. The joy of this book is both its breadth and depth. The two women—who couldn’t be more unalike—careen about Los Angeles County seeking out the real murderer, driving from the Hollywood Hills to Palm Springs to a night of old-school burlesque all while sharing stories of their lives. It’s a marvelous portrait of 30 years in Hollywood, the conflict between the generations, and how humor can almost conquer all.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Deep Beneath Us

by Danise Hoover

Tabitha is compelled by the spiteful actions of her ex-husband to move back to her childhood home. This is not a cozy, safe space as one might hope. It is a sort of compound: two schoolhouses on different sides of a reservoir, one occupied by her family, the other by her uncle’s family. In the past, four cousins, Tabitha the youngest, ran and played like a pack. But her mother is an unstable artist, her father and uncle killed themselves, and her sister and cousin married each other at age 16. Now, cousin Davey purportedly dies by suicide as well, leaving his property to Tabitha. But is that what really happened? Davey’s two cronies, along with three smart teens, use skills learned from TV crime dramas and DNA analysis to get to the bottom of it all. The characters are captivating, the atmosphere is dark and dour, and the wretched weather contributes to the overall tone of the book. The novel is set in Scotland and the use of Scottish dialect and expressions is sometimes daunting, but never gets in the way of the telling. To say that the plot here is a tangled mess may be an understatement, but the untangling is a treat.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

Oyebanji, Adam. Two Times Murder

by Henrietta Thornton

Some jobs are more permanent than others, such as working for Russia’s GRU, or secret service. Greg Abimbola, real name Grigoriy Adamovich Petrov, has left the organization and now lives a traitorous life, according to his old colleagues, in Pittsburgh. There he teaches Russian and French at a prestigious school, masquerading as a quiet British man who’s content to help students with grammar and teenage issues. Greg is mixed race, his father Black and mother white, so being an outsider is a well-worn path for him, and he’s thriving in his new life. Until, that is, GRU wants his help—and they never ask nicely. A man has been found dead in Pittsburgh, with signs that he’s Russian, possibly a man that GRU has been after, and they want to know who’s responsible. Greg then becomes a kind of double agent, as a contact he has in the Pittsburg police since he helped solve a murder (in the series debut, A Quiet Teacher, 2022) also wants his help with the mystery of the dead maybe-Russian. And then a second death, labeled a suicide but maybe a murder related to a proposed and hotly debated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program at another local school, sees Greg also investigating. There’s no need to read the first book to enjoy this one, but readers will undoubtedly want more from this lovable teacher who brings his spy smarts to every encounter but knows enough to conceal them when necessary—and when to drop the facade to perfect effect. The ending here is—what’s the Russian for chef’s kiss? Get this on your list!

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Review

The Gatsby Gambit

by Brian Kenney

It takes a lot of guts to write a book based on one of America’s most beloved novels, one that’s the inspiration for several major films and is assigned reading in high schools across the country: Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. But Wheeler successfully takes the original setting, Jay Gatsby’s mansion in West Egg during the summer, and the same cast of characters (Gatsby, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Nick Carraway, Jordan Baker) and shifts the narrative into a work of crime fiction. The biggest surprise is the arrival of Greta Gatsby, Jay’s much younger sister. Greta is finally done with finishing schools, has moved into Jay’s mansion, and is ready to take on the world. But the suicide—or was it murder?—of one of the leading characters, and the response of most of the residents (one more Gimlet, please?) inspires Greta to become a sleuth, if no one else will. Greta’s new role is hardly acceptable for a young lady, but she just barrels through the criticism, investigating the household staff, the cops, even Gatsby’s guests. A fresh and exciting take on America during the roaring ‘20s, with feminism and class tensions taking center stage, and sure to be a pleasure for readers who enjoy historical mysteries. It would be a delight to have Greta return in all her nosy glory

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail