Month: January 2025

Historical, Mystery, Suspense, Women

Trouble Island by Sharon Short

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Netgalley Description

A gripping new novel inspired by a real place and events from the author’s family, Trouble Island is the standalone suspense debut from historical mystery writer Sharon Short.

Many miles from anywhere in the middle of Lake Erie, Trouble Island serves as a stop-off for gangsters as they run between America and Canada. The remote isle is also the permanent home to two women: Aurelia Escalante, who serves as a maid to Rosita, lady of the mansion and wife to the notorious prohibition gangster, Eddie McGee. In the freezing winter of 1932, the women anticipate the arrival of Eddie and his strange coterie: his right-hand man, a doctor, a cousin, a famous actor, and a rival gangster who Rosita believes murdered their only son.

Aurelia wants nothing more than to escape Trouble Island, but she is hiding a secret of her own. She is in fact not a maid, but a gangster’s wife in hiding, as she runs from the murder she committed five years ago. Her friend Rosita took her in under this guise, but it has become clear that Rosita wants to keep Aurelia right where she is.

Shortly after the group of criminals, celebrities, and scoundrels arrive, Rosita suddenly disappears. Aurelia plans her getaway, going to the shore to retrieve her box of hidden treasures, but instead finds Rosita’s body in the water. Someone has made sure Aurelia was the one to find her. An ice storm makes unexpected landfall, cutting Trouble Island off from both mainlands, and with more than one murderer among them.

Both a gripping locked room mystery, and a transporting, evocative portrait of a woman in crisis, Trouble Island marks the enthralling standalone suspense debut from Sharon Short, promising to be her breakout novel, inspired by a real island in Lake Erie, and true events from her own rich family history.

My Thoughts

As a native of western New York and a child of the Great Lakes, I love reading books that are set in the area. Trouble Island was especially fun because it blended my regional interest with a cracking good historical mystery.

This one is all about gangsters of the early 20th century and how they used remote locations like Trouble Island to shield and fuel their illicit activities. This story is also about the friendship between two women deeply embedded in the world of crime. The author’s exploration of what brought them to Trouble island and, for one, how she was getting out of it made for a fascinating and relatively quick read. The writing is evocative and the plotting tightly wound and suspenseful. The author’s treatment of the complicated relationship between the two female protagonists is very well done.

This would make a good book club selection. Recommended.

Publication Date: December 3, 2024
Published By: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Cozy, Historical, Indie, Mystery, Women

Strong Temptations by Amy Renshaw

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Publisher Description

Reporter Sophie Strong uncovers deadly secrets in a 1912 department store. Can she find the killer?

In 1912 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, aspiring reporter Sophie Strong yearns for a thrilling undercover mission that rivals those of her idol, journalist Nellie Bly. Her dreams of adventure are dashed when her cautious editor assigns her to the seemingly mundane role of a shopgirl.

But appearances can be deceiving. What starts as an ordinary job takes a sinister turn when a fellow employee meets a tragic end. Suddenly, Sophie and her coworkers fall under suspicion. Determined to prove their innocence and driven by insatiable curiosity, she embarks on her own covert investigation. Detective Jacob Zimmer urges her to leave the pursuit of criminals to the professionals, but she can’t resist plunging into the perilous web of secrets, lies, and hidden motives. Sophie explores the shadowy corners of one of the city’s most popular department stores, and each step closer to the truth lures her into more danger.

In this gripping historical mystery, Sophie Strong’s relentless pursuit of justice sets the stage for a heart-pounding race against time. Will she expose the killer’s identity before she, too, becomes a victim? Perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen, Victoria Thompson, and Ashley Weaver.

My Thoughts

This is a solid, entertaining historical mystery featuring a smart and sassy protagonist in Sophie Strong. Modeled after famed reporter Nellie Bly, Sophie longs for an undercover assignment that is more exciting and exhilarating than the women’s columns she habitually writes. Finally given the chance, she finds herself smack in the middle of a murder mystery.

The author writes some strong female characters here who all contribute to the arc of the story. Of course, there’s the underlying romantic element which adds some mild spice to the story and promises of things to come. Sophie is the star here – she’s unflappable, brave, smart, and loyal – all the traits that will endear her to readers.

While I hadn’t read book 1 of the Sophie Strong series, I will go find it and I’m sure will enjoy it. Then I’ll await new entries in the series! Recommended.

Publication Date: April 23, 2024
Published By: Lilac Bower Media
Thanks to Book Sirens for the review copy

Historical, Horror, Mystery, Psychological, Uncategorized

The Death of Clara Willenheim by Charlotte Lesemann

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

Surrounded by family secrets, suspicious deaths, and her own repressed memories, fifteen year-old Clara Willenheim lives as a prisoner in her ancestral estate in 1860s Bavaria. Her only chance of escape is to journey through the castle’s secret passages, unraveling her family’s dark history and its place at the center of a vast web of crime. Driven by the capricious and vengeful ghost of her long-dead aunt, Clara opens doors that threaten powerful enemies, a place where she’s forced to choose between righting past wrongs or losing her own life.

A historical Gothic mystery brimming with suspense and plot twists, The Death of Clara Willenheim is layered in rich, period detail. The novel explores the cost of selflessness and the struggle to choose between justice and vengeance. But at its heart, it’s a story about how, when one part of ourselves dies, something greater can rise in its place.

My Thoughts

If you’re looking for a modern book written in the style of traditional gothics, this is your book. The language is complex, florid at times, and beautifully descriptive which will appeal to readers who truly love language, albeit very dark. The author has a solid grasp of descriptive narrative bolstered by a suspenseful and horrifying story with a satisfying resolution.

The first chapter skillfully set the stage for the suffocating, dangerous narrative which followed. There’s a lot in this story that will make a person with claustrophobia cringe. Which brings me to my only issue with this book – lack of trigger warnings in the description. While gothics traditionally hint at truly terrible things that occur to the heroine, the truly terrible things here – child molestation and trafficking – are topics that I typically avoid in the books I select. Taking my personal reaction to that out of the mix, I am left with a favorable review because the story is very well-written and the plot convincingly dark.

Publication Date: October 29, 2024
Published By: The Gothic Literary Society
Thanks to Book Sirens for the review copy

Uncategorized

The Best Books I Read in 2024

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

I wasn’t going to add to the huge noise of every reader online putting out their “Best Of” lists, but here we are. Truth – my reading in 2024 was pretty superficial – lots of cozy mysteries and children’s books. However, there were three books that I have not been able to forget, so here they are.

Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden – I actually read this in 2023, but it was published in 2024. If you’re not reading Katherine Arden, what’s stopping you? Her Winternight Trilogy is by far the best fantasy series I’ve read in the last decade, but this book…this book cannot be categorized. It’s part fantasy, part magical realism, and part historical fiction all wound up in one utterly draining and powerful story about the changing form of evil.

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo – I’ve recommended this book more times than I can remember. Gorgeous writing provides the foundation for a magical, tender tale of mothers & children, the power of childhood memories, and the cost of vengeance.

Lilith by Eric Rickstad – This heartrending, potent story of a mother going after the people she believes responsible for her child being involved in a school shooting is a timely, painful, and dark reading experience. There isn’t a parent out there who hasn’t thought about what they’d do if their child was a victim of gun violence.

Read these. Really.