Thursday, August 25, 2016

Reading right now:

Arsenic with Austen            “Arsenic with Austen” by Katherine Bolger Hyde. When English teacher, Emily Cavanaugh inherits an estate from her great aunt, she hears rumors that her aunt was murdered and finds herself being targeted for death. Is it possible that the people developing the coastal village where her aunt lived into a major resort want her out of the way?

On hold right now:

Miss Dimple and the Slightly Bewildered Angel” by Mignon F. Ballard. First grade teacher Miss Dimple is the main character in Mignon F. Ballard’s series the latest of which came out this month. This is the fifth book in the series.

Other Mysterious Things:

As summer ends, it’s back to school. Lots of mystery books have main characters who are going to college or changing careers, or are teachers or professors. In Donald Bain’s Murder She Wrote series, Jessica Fletcher is a retired English teacher. Watch out for his latest in the series coming out in October called “Hook, Line, and Murder.” The Ohio Amish mystery series by P. L. Gaus features History Professor Michael Branden. If you like Bill Crider, you may have read his Sally Good series. Dr. Good is the Head of the English and Fine Arts Division of Hughes Community College in Texas. In August, Crider presented the 23rd book in Dan Rhodes series (“Survivors Will Be Shot Again”). Laurien Berenson writes a series with Melanie Travis who is a special education teach and dog lover. Her latest in the series came out in July (“Life and let Growl”). Erika Chase’s book club series features Lizzie Turner, a tutor and literacy teacher. The fifth book in the series came out last year in September so, hopefully, there will be a new book soon. Elizabeth Spann Craig’s 10th Myrtle Clover mystery “Cruising for Murder” just appeared. Myrtle is a retired English teacher who is bored and ready for action.
Image result for Hook, Line, and Murder. bainImage result for cruising for murder spannImage result for miss dimple and the slightly bewildered angelImage result for crider survivors will be shot again

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Reading right now:

            “Die Like an Eagle” by Donna Andrews. Andrews’ 20th book in the Meg Lanslow series, has Meg and Michael participating in typical suburban parent fashion in their sons’ youth baseball team. Between fighting with the league’s head, trying to discover who killed the brother of the league’s head, and keeping the boys from running the wrong way around the bases, the Lanslow family is, as usual, in over its head.

On hold right now:
“A Catered Tea Party” by Isis Crawford. In this 12th book in the Mystery with Recipes series, the opening of the remodeled Blue House art complex finds catering sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons planning a tea party for the opening night fundraiser. When the billionaire who is funding the project is murdered, the sisters find themselves with a long list of suspects.


Other Mysterious Things:

So many Cozy mysteries available in August! In addition to the above, Ellery Adams' "Murder in the Secret Garden" is the third book in her Book Retreat mystery series; the fifth Miss Dimple mystery comes out by F. Ballard Mignon (“Miss Dimple and the Slightly Bewildered Angel"); the new Cora Crafts mystery series called "Death Among the Dollies" by Mollie Cox Bryan: the fifth Bookmobile Cat mystery series "Cat With a Clue" by Laurie Cass; the third book in the Book Club mystery series by Laura DiSilverio (“The Readaholics and the Gothic Gala"); "Bruised Spirits" is the tenth book in the Daisy Gumm Majesty mystery series by Alice Duncan; the 19th Needlecraft Mysteries mystery series "Knit Your Own Murder" by Monica Ferris; Daryl Wood Gerber’s “Grilling the Subject” is the fifth book in the Cookbook Nook mystery series; Victoria Hamilton’s “Much Ado About Muffin” is the fourth in the Merry Muffin mystery series; A.L. Herbert’s Mahalia Watkins Soul Food mystery series' new book is  “Murder with Macaroni and Cheese” and is the second in the series; the second Dixie Dew Mystery series is "Wedding Bell Blues" by Ruth Moose;  and the final cozy I will mention here is Marty Wingate’s “The Bluebonnet Betrayal” which is the fifth in the Potting Shed mystery series.

A lot of light and fun cozies to make the end of summer even more enjoyable.


Saturday, July 23, 2016


Reading right now:

            “I am No One” by Patrick Flanery. Flanery is an American author living in London and “I Am No One” is his third novel. This thriller’s focus is on one man’s fear – fear of loneliness, fear that his privacy is being invaded online, fear that he is being watched, fear that his past has caught up with him. Is his fear real or paranoia?

On hold right now:

            “The Second Death” by Peter Tremayne. This is English author Tremayne’s 26th book in the Sister Fidelma series which takes place in AD 671 in Ireland at the approach of the Great Fair of Bealtain. After one of the painted wagons carrying entertainers catches fire, two corpses are found within. Sister Fidelma and her companion, Eadulf, investigate.

Other Mysterious Things:
“No Second Chances” by Lyndon Stacey. English author Lyndon Stacey’s fourth book in the Daniel Whelan series sees dog handler Whelan drawn into his neighbor’s problems with potentially fatal consequences.




Monday, July 11, 2016


Reading right now:

            “Little Girl Gone” by Gerry Schmitt. This is the first book by Schmitt which is the first in a new series featuring Minneapolis Police Department’s family liaison officer Afton Tangler. After a baby goes missing from a Minneapolis home, Tangler is left with the job of dealing with the family in crisis and the growing conviction that this is not an isolated incident.

On hold right now:

            “Among the Wicked” by Linda Castillo. This eighth book in the Chief of Police Kate Burkholder series finds Burkholder infiltrating an Amish community in upstate New York in order to find the truth behind a young girl’s death. Burkholder finds herself alone in a community filled with secrets they are guarding to the death. This is a terrific series and the latest installment sounds truly promising. Can’t wait to read this one.

Other Mysterious Things:                              
“Outfoxed” by David Rosenfelt. Hard to believe this is the 14th book in the fantastically funny Andy Carpenter series. Andy Carpenter turns his money and time to his greatest love—dogs. In this case, Andy has been working with a county prison program where inmates help train rescued dogs to make them more adoptable. Unfortunately, one of the inmates Andy has bene working with makes a prison escape with the dog he has been training. When the escapee is captured and accused of murder, Andy finds himself defending him. This legal thriller sounds perfect: dogs, escaped prisoner, murder, and Andy Carpenter. What could be better?
“The Baker Street Jurors” by Michael Robertson. Brothers Reggie and Nigel Heath continue to answer letters that arrive at the 221B Baker Street address for Sherlock Holmes. Unfortunately, one of the letters they receive is for Nigel Heath to serve on a jury. When England’s greatest sports hero is accused of murder, Nigel finds himself part of the jury which is more dangerous than he could have ever anticipated. This is the fifth book in this interesting and fun series.
“The Secret Language of Stones” by M. J. Rose. If you enjoy Rose’s unusual books, you might light her latest standalone novel which isn’t a traditional mystery, but is a thriller written by a writer whose books are original and exciting.
“All is not Forgotten” by Wendy Walker. This unusual thriller involves a girl who underwent a horrific attack and has her memories erased in order to move on with her life. Unfortunately, she is still haunted by something that she can’t really remember. Her parents are no help since her father is obsessed with finding the monster that attacked her and her mother is sunk in depression. Jenny’s only solution may be to try to get her memories back.

Sunday, June 19, 2016


Reading right now:

“City of Jackals” by Parker Bilal. In this fifth book in the series, a Sudanese student disappears and Cairo PI Makana is hired to find him. Makana is distracted when a severed head is found on a nearby riverbank. The police suspect that this is just another murdered emigrant which Cairo is known for and quickly lose interest in the case. Makana’s own emigrant past pulls him into an involvement which leads him to believe that his lost student and the murdered emigrant may be connected.

On hold right now:

“Murder on the Quai” by Cara Black. Black has written 15 books in the Paris detective Aimee Leduc series. This 16th novel is a prequel set in 1989 when Aimee was a medical student. When her father travels to Berlin, Leduc agrees to keep the family detective business going during his absence. She finds the murder case which is linked to the disappearance of a truck filled with Nazi gold fascinating and begins to believe that medical school is not the right path for her.

Other Mysterious Things:
International intrigue is always popular among mystery fans and this month brings plenty of amazing international mysteries:
“Ping Pong Heart” by Martin Limon. This 11th book in the George Sueno and Ernie Bascom series finds the CID sergeants investigating a lowly robbery. The case quickly takes on added weight when the bar girl accused of the robbery and the Major doing the accusing are both found dead. It appears that the suspects are part of a U.S. Army battalion charged with tracking down North Korean spies.
“Marked for Life” by Emelie Schepp. This is a new Swedish series with Public prosecutor Jana Berzelius taking the lead. After the head of the migration board is shot to death in his living room, Berzelius is called in to investigate only to find mysterious child-size fingerprints in the childless home. Days later the body of a preteen is discovered with the murder weapon on the body. His body has been mutilated in a way that indicates child trafficking which plunges her into a convoluted case.

“The Crow Girl” by Erik Axl Sund. This is the first in a new series which takes place in Stockholm Detective Inspector Jeanette Kihlberg and therapist Sofia Zetterlund team up to investigate the murder of several homeless boys which seems to be related to human trafficking and a shocking truth hidden in Swedish society.
“Fatal Pursuit” by Martin Walker. This 9th book in the Bruno, Chief of Police, series. While in the middle of one of France’s great car races, Bruno finds looking for a lost Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic, one of the most beautiful cars ever made, investigating a murder, and confronted by a complicated family feud.

Monday, June 6, 2016


And the Winners Are:
Image result for On the Road with Del and  louise art

Looking at award winners for last year is a good way of finding some of the best mysteries being written today and possibly finding some great books you may have missed from last year. The Edgar award winners were recently announced and include best novel “Let Me Die in His Footsteps” by Lori Roy and best first novel “The Sympathizer” by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Other nominees in the best novel category included: “The Strangler Vine” by M. J. Carter, “The Lady from Zagreb” by Philip Kerr, “Life or Death” by Michael Robotham, “Canary” by Duane Swierczynski,” and “Night Life” by David C. Taylor.

The Agatha winners recently announced included best contemporary novel “Long Upon the Land” by Margaret Maron. The other nominees in that category were “Bridges Burned” by Annette Dashofy, “The Child Garden” by Catriona McPherson, Louise Penny’s “The Nature of the Beast,” and “What You See” by Hank Phillippi Ryan. Winning in the best historical novel category was “Dreaming Spies” by Laurie R. King. Best first novel winner was “On the Road with Del and Louise” by Art Taylor.

Anthony winners will be announced later this year, but the nominees include for best novel: Matt Coyle’s “Night Tremors,” “The Killing Kind” by Chris Holm, “The Child Garden” by Catriona McPherson, “The Nature of the Beast” by Louise Penny, and “What You See” by Hank Phillippi Ryan. Best first novel nominees are: “Concrete Angel” by Patricia Abbott, “Past Crimes’ by Glen Erik Hamilton, “New Yorked” by Rob Hart, “Bull Mountain” by Brian Panowich, and “On the Road with Del & Louise” by Art Taylor.

The Barry awards are also presented later in the year and this year’s nominees for best novel include: “Badlands” by C. J. Box, “A Song of Shadows” by John Connolly, “The Stolen Ones” by Owen Laukkanen, “Life or Death” by Michael Robotham, “Devil of Delphi” by Jeffrey Siger, and “The Cartel” by Don Wilslow. Best first novel nominees include: “Ruins of War” by John A Connell, “Past Crimes” by Glen Erik Hamilton, “Jade Dragon Mountain” by Elsa Hart, “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins, “The Unquiet Dead” by Ausma Zehanat Khan, and “Bull Mountain” by Brian Panowich.