Category: mystery
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Headlights
Headlights, by CJ Leede People are waking up beside the highway covered on blood, naked except for the skin of another person they have no memory of killing. There’s no apparent connection between any of the killers and the victims, except none of the killers can remember what happened and they all come to with…
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Dear Sylvia, Love Jane
Dear Sylvia, Love Jane, by Erin Hall Molly Malone is a private detective in 1943 San Francisco, shortly after the Atherton Report brought the SFPD’s corruption to national attention. When a beautiful woman I love detective fiction, the more hardboiled the better, and I get really excited when the detectives are queer. You can imagine…
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Summer Shadows
Summer Shadows, by John Harris Dunning, Ricardo Cabral, Brad Simpson, and Jim Campbell Nick’s ex sends a postcard from the Greek island Avraxos before disappearing altogether. Filled with dread, Nick travels to the island in search of him. There he meets Alekos, a coast guard looking into another disappearance on his own time. Together they…
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Mirage City
Mirage City, by Lev AC Rosen Andy returns in a new mystery! A missing persons case takes Andy back to his roots in L.A. and while the city has changed some things never do. What does his mom have to do with the missing people, and will Andy ever come out to her? Now that…
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Fadeout
Fadeout, by Joseph Hansen Hansen’s Brandstetter series bridges the gap between Phillip Marlowe and Evander Mills. There’s poetry in the descriptions, but the prose is spare. The mystery itself plays out at a decent pace, but Hansen is almost stingy with Dave’s background and personal details, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs that picks up again…
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They Fear Not Men in the Woods
They Fear Not Men in the Woods, by Gretchen McNeil Jen’s father disappeared into the woods. Six years later, she’s called back to her hometown when his remains are discovered. She doesn’t want to believe he’s actually dead and wants to explore the woods he loved, the last place he was seen. But what will…
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The Mafia Nanny Volume 2
The Mafia Nanny Volume 2, by Sh00, and Violet Matter Things are heating up in the Angelina household! New threats to Mikey arise and Davina accidentally draws the attention of the don while trying to solve the mystery of her parents’ in life and death. Can she handle this assignment, or is she too close?…
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Hobtown Mystery Stories: The Cursed Hermit
Hobtown Mystery Stories: The Cursed Hermit, by Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes It’s Christmas break and Sam is still trying to find his dad. Dana forces her own father to take her on vacation to recuperate from the events of The Missing Men. With the Mystery Club’s leader out of the way, Hobtown’s powers that…
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The Farmhouse
The Farmhouse, by Chelsea Conradt Six months after the sudden loss of her mother, Emily and her husband move to rural Nebraska to start over. But something is wrong, and the more Emily learns about the family who lived in the house before them, the more invested she becomes in figuring out what’s going on…
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Calavera, P.I.
Calavera, P.I., by Marco Finnegan Our story begins in 1920s Los Angeles, where our action hero investigor, Juan Calavera, thwarts a human trafficking ring in collaboration with reporter Maria Valdez. Unfortunately, Juan dies later the same day. Five years pass, and someone kidnaps Maria’s son, promising to free him if Maria can bring the dead…
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Hobtown Mystery Stories: The Missing Men
Hobtown Mystery Stories: The Missing Men, by Kris Bertin, Alexander Forbes, and Jason Fischer-Kouhi New kid Sam’s dad is one of several men who have disappeared without a trace in Hobtown, Nova Scotia. He agrees to team up with the Mystery Club to help find his father and the other missing men. Town residents are…
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Death of an Ex
Death of an Ex, by Delia Pitts Vandy’s back! Still struggling with her past and the death of her daughter, Vandy reconnects with her ex-husband shortly before he’s found dead. Can she figure out who shot Phil and why, without admitting to his widow that they were having an affair? Another great mystery from Pitts!…
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The Mafia Nanny Volume 1
The Mafia Nanny Volume 1, by Sh00, and Violet Matter Davina’s home was invaded and her parents murdered when she was a girl – only surviving herself because she was rescued by her nanny. Now an adult and a certified Elite Nanny, Davina has been hired to protect and care for Gabriel Angelini’s young son. …
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The Library Game
Enjoyed @GigiPandian’s #TheLibraryGame, out from @MinotaurBooks! Enough clues for the reader to identify the culprit, and enough fun stuff to keep you entertained while the characters figure it out.
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Raymond Chandler’s Trouble Is My Business
Raymond Chandler’s Trouble Is My Business, by Arvind Ethan David Adaptations are tricky, and I always try to consider them first as their own story before comparing it to the source. Unfortunately, this graphic novel fails both to stand on its own, as well as twisting the source material into something nearly unrecognizable. If I…
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Stone Certainty
Stone Certainty, by Simon R. Green Bishop Alistair Kincaid and actress Diana Hunt return, this time to appear on a documentary about a stone circle with a history of uncanny happenings. The Actress and the Bishop take on stone circles and folk horror vibes. Stone Certainty is a bit more Scooby-Doo than the first book…
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Darkly
Darkly, by Marisa Pessl Dia is one of seven interns selected for an exclusive opportunity to work with the renown (and defunct) Darkly company. Things are not what they seem as the interns dive into the history of founder Louisiana Veda and her stolen masterpiece. Pessl poured so much love and effort into the legend…
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The Get Off
The Get Off, by Christa Faust I can say, without spoiling anything, that The Get Off is the last of the Angel Dare books. Since we first met her in the back of a Honda Civic, Angel Dare has been in trouble and on the run. But you can’t run away forever, and Angel’s story…
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Everything Glittered
Everything Glittered, by Robin Talley There’s a murder in Washington DC…in 1927. Only three teenage girls are willing to look beyond the surface and see what really happened. I really enjoyed this book but if you’re looking for a mystery-forward plot this might not be the book for you. The murder mystery is certainly there…
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The Gutter and the Grave
The Gutter and the Grave, by Ed McBain Matt Cordell is a drunk and a bum since the day he lost his wife, his PI license, and his dreams. But when a childhood friend from the old neighborhood tracks him down for help with a small matter he reluctantly goes along… to discover a dead…
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The Great British Bump-Off
The Great British Bump-Off, by John Allison, Max Sarin, Sammy Boras, and Jim Campbell Before filming even begins for the newest season of UK Baking Tent, someone poisons the most obnoxious contestant. The producers are panicking when another contestant, Shauna, volunteers to discover the poisoner. But competing in a baking competition while trying to solve…
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Joyland
Joyland, by Stephen King I know it’s Stephen King but I was not expecting the ghosts to be real. I was also surprised by the psychic little kid. This isn’t what I was expecting from a crime/detective imprint but I did enjoy it immensely once I shifted gears. King does a great job painting a…
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Trouble in Queenstown
Trouble in Queenstown, by Delia Pitts We have another PI named Evander, this one a Black woman who goes by the name of Vandy Myrick. I was a little taken aback by the opening pages that felt almost like too much right off (similar to my reaction to Christa Faust’s Money Shot), but once we…
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Queenpin
Queenpin, by Megan Abbott I’ve been on a noir kick, as you might’ve noticed, and Megan Abbott’s novella Queenpin tops the lists of more recent offerings in the genre. I can see why! I could not put this book down. I don’t like our narrator, but she didn’t set out to be likable. No, our…
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The Bell in the Fog
The Bell in the Fog, by Lev AC Rosen I loved Lavender House, but The Bell in the Fog hits all the right notes. We’re back in the city and Andy is finally making some friends when ghosts from his past complicate things. This was an amazing continuation of the journey Evander Mills began in…
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Review: Angel Dare
Money Shot, by Christa Faust Confession time! I debated whether or not to read these books for years, including that time I read the preview and bailed. But I bit the bullet and bought both books and now it’s your problem. First off, there is sexual assault in these books. Money Shot opens with our…
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