Category: Mystery

British, Historical, Magical, Mystery, New Releases, Romance, Suspense, Time Slip

The Murderer Inside the Mirror by Sarah Rayne

patriciau

Description

Another day, another grand scheme! The thieving Fitzglen family are back in this second instalment of the spellbinding Theatre of Thieves gothic mystery series set in Victorian England.

London, 1908. The Fitzglens, one of London’s leading theatre families and part-time thieves, are plotting their next scheme when they receive terrible news about Great Uncle Montague. He’s been killed in a tragic accident at his Notting Hill home.

Montague will be much missed, not just for his talent in art forgery, but his death provides an unlooked-for opportunity: the chance to search for his infamous iron box. No one knows what it contains – if, that is, it even exists – but Jack Fitzglen is certain it has to be something highly valuable . . . or extremely dangerous. Why else would the grand master of storytelling have refused to even drop a hint?

Jack is amazed when he finds the box – and even more amazed by its contents. An unknown play by one of Ireland’s leading playwrights, entitled The Murderer Inside the Mirror. Jack reads the first few pages, and is struck by a nameless feeling of dread. But even he has no idea what kind of dangerous adventure the manuscript will take him on – one which will tangle him in revenge, madness . . . and murder.

This unsettling gothic historical mystery, following Chalice of Darkness, will appeal to fans of Daphne du Maurier, Laura Purcell, Rebecca James, Sarah Waters and Stuart Turton.

My Thoughts

Sarah Rayne rarely disappoints and in The Murderer Inside the Mirror she has delivered another tense, clever, and engaging mystery featuring the Fitzglens, one of her series families.

Rayne is exceptionally skilled at telling stories that alternate time periods and/or have some sort of time travel or past life connection. Here, the Fitzglen clan of actors and thieves find themselves embroiled in a mystery surrounding a previously-unknown play written by a well-known author which disappears as mysteriously as it was found. The search for the manuscript reveals a complicated web of scandal, betrayal, and love spanning centuries.

Rayne’s books are always well written and this is no exception. The plot will keep readers engaged, and will appeal to fans of mysteries, romance, and history. If you’re new to this author, check out her earlier series. All are terrific reads.

Publication Date: June 4, 2024
Published By: Severn House
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

British, Mystery

What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley

patriciau

Description

Amateur sleuth Flavia de Luce, along with her pestilent younger cousin, investigates the murder of a former public hangman and uncovers a secret that brings the greatest shock of her life.

Flavia de Luce has taken on the mentorship of her odious moon-faced cousin Undine, who has come to live at Buckshaw following the death of her mother. Undine’s main talent, aside from cultivating disgusting habits, seems to be raising Flavia’s hackles, although in her best moments she shows potential for trespassing, trickery, and other assorted mayhem.

When Major Greyleigh, a local recluse and former hangman, is found dead after a breakfast of poisonous mushrooms, suspicion falls on the de Luce family’s longtime cook, Mrs. Mullet. After all, wasn’t it she who’d picked the mushrooms, cooked the omelet, and served it to Greyleigh moments before his death? “I have to admit,” says Flavia, an expert in the chemical nature of poisons, “that I’d been praying to God for a jolly good old-fashioned mushroom poisoning. Not that I wanted anyone to die, but why give a girl a gift such as mine without giving her the opportunity to use it?”

But Flavia knows the beloved Mrs. Mullet is innocent. Together with Dogger, estate gardener and partner-in-crime, and the obnoxious Undine, Flavia sets out to find the real killer and clear Mrs. Mullet’s good name. Little does she know that following the case’s twists and turns will lead her to a most surprising discovery—one with the power to upend her entire life.

My Thoughts

I was surprised and thrilled to find this new Flavia DeLuce book because I thought the author was finished with the series. I am so glad Mr. Bradley had this story to tell because it is a shocker! Flavia is older here – 14 and worrying that she’s “becoming a woman.” This opens up the opportunity for growth with the character, who has developed from a precocious, brilliant child to a young woman coming into her own power. And what power it is! There are some loose ends tied up here and even more information on the mysterious Nide, culminating in one of the best mic-drop endings I’ve read.

Flavia’s relationships are stretched here, with the odious Undine playing a greater role in Flavia’s life. Bradley’s writing is saucy and eloquent as usual, although the murder plot seemed to be a vehicle used to guide Flavia through some startling revelations about her family and her place in Bishops’ Lacy as mistress of Buckshaw. Flavia’s odd relationship with Inspector Hewitt seemed less important here, but still something she values.

If Bradley has a few more Flavia books to write, this reader will eagerly devour them.

Publication Date: September 3, 2024
Published By: Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine, Bantam
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Family, Historical, Magical, Mystery, Romance, Suspense, Time Slip, Women

Forgetting to Remember by M.J. Rose

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Description

Discover a spellbinding love story in this dazzling time-travel adventure from the NYT bestselling author of The Last Tiara, M.J. Rose.

Setting aside grief from the fallout of the second World War and putting her energy into curating an upcoming show critical to her career as the Keeper of the Metalworks at London’s renowned Victoria and Albert Museum, Jeannine Maycroft stumbles upon a unique collection of jewel-framed miniature eye portraits—a brilliant romantic device and clandestine love token of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

One piece among the assembly intrigues her more than all the others: a twilight-blue man’s eye framed by opals shimmering with enchanting flashes of fiery color. But the beauty is just the beginning. Not only is the painting a self-portrait of one of her favorite Pre-Raphaelite artists, Ashe Lloyd Lewis, but the brooch itself is a portal eight decades into the past.

Despite being cast into an era she was never meant to be in, Jeannine and Ashe develop an immediate and passionate bond, complicated by the undeniable fact that she does not belong in 1867, and the disaster about to destroy her family and reputation in her time.

Striving to live a dual life and dangerously straddling two time periods, Jeannine fights to protect her career and her father from scandal in the present while desperately trying to save her lover’s life in the past.

Forgetting to Remember—richly embroidered with historical detail and heartbreaking conflict—is another luscious and thrilling masterpiece by M.J. Rose. A beautiful and compelling story of art, war, magic, and survival, wrapped in a love that defies time.

My Thoughts

MJ Rose is one of my go-to authors when I’m looking for incredible storytelling with a pleasing blend of history and romance. As an added benefit, she throws in some time-travel here, adding yet another dimension to her already gorgeous descriptive narrative and imaginative plot.

I can’t say much more about this captivating author except go get her books and immerse yourself in her worlds. This one can be read as a stand-alone, so start here by all means, then get the rest of her work from the library.

Recommended.

Publication Date: March 26, 2024
Published By: Blue Box Press
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Family, Fantasy, Folktales, Magical Realism, Mystery, Teens, Young Adult

Under the Heron’s Light by Randi Pink

patriciau

Description

Inspired by stories about the real-world Great Dismal Swamp, this dual POV Young Adult fantasy by Randi Pink explores alternate history, a family’s supernatural connections to the swamp, and the strength that comes in knowing your roots.

“Four thousand six hundred forty-two steps in,” Grannylou interrupted. “You remember that now, Baby. Four-thousand six hundred forty-two steps to paradise.”

On a damp night in 1722, Babylou Mac and her three siblings witness the murder of their mother at the hands of the local preacher’s son—so Babylou kills him in retaliation. With plantation dogs now on their heels, the four siblings breach the treacherous confines of the Great Dismal Swamp. Deeper and deeper into Dismal they delve, amid the biting moccasins and pitch-black waters, toward a refuge where they can live freely within the swamp’s natural—and supernatural—protection.

Three-hundred years later, college student Atlas comes home to North Carolina for the annual Bornday cookout and hog roast: a celebration of the fact that she and her three cousins were all born on the same day nineteen years ago, sharing a birthday with their Grannylou. But this Bornday, Grannylou’s usual riddles and folktales about a marvelous paradise deep in the Great Dismal Swamp start to take on a tangible quality. Change coming.

When Dismal calls, sucking Grannylou in, it’s up to Atlas and her cousins to uncover the history that the black waters hold. Centuries of family tension, with roots all over Virginia and North Carolina, are about to be dug up. Because Babylou and Grannylou are one and the same, and the power she helped cultivate hundreds of years ago—steeped in Black resistance, familial love, and the otherworldly mysteries of the Great Dismal Swamp—is bubbling back up. But so is a bitterness that runs deep as the swamp’s waters. And some are ready to take what they feel they’re owed.

My Thoughts

This is a complex, absolutely gripping novel that crosses genres to create one of the best stories of the year. Pink introduces plenty of southern Black folklore regarding the Great Dismal Swamp, and does a fabulous job of incorporating original takes on traditional folklore to create an unusual and authentic world of magic.

However, this is also a story about family – connections, betrayals, unshakable love, protection, and redemption. It is a book that requires the reader to pay attention and be fully immersed in the story – coming eye to eye with moccasins, feeling the black water of the swamp pool over your feet and the mud squish beneath you.

Pink does some extraordinary storytelling here that will both challenge and engross the reader. If this doesn’t become a movie or series, I will be very disappointed.

Highly recommended.

Publication Date: October 15, 2024
Published By: MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

British, Detective, Mystery, Suspense

The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves

patriciau

Description

As New York Times bestseller Ann Cleeves’s beloved Vera series explodes in popularity in print and on TV, this stunning eleventh book explores the web of secrets surrounding a young man’s death.

The man’s body is found in the early morning light by a local dog walker in the park outside Rosebank, a home for troubled teens in the coastal village of Longwater. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who was due to work the previous night but never showed up.

DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate the death, with her only clue being the disappearance of one of the home’s residents, fourteen-year-old Chloe Spence. Vera can’t bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can’t dismiss the possibility.

Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie Bell, are soon embroiled in the case, and when a second connected body is found near the Three Dark Wives monument in the wilds of the Northumberland countryside, superstition and folklore begin to collide with fact. Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, and the dark secrets in their community that may be far more dangerous than she could have ever believed possible.

My Thoughts

When an author gets to a certain number of titles in a series, the stories often get stale and the character development stalls. Not so with the latest entry in Ann Cleeves’ Vera Stanhope series. Here we find Vera and the team trying to recover from the horrific ending of the previous book, with Vera thinking more about her future and the people in it.

In past stories, Vera is often portrayed as a hard, unyielding, no-nonsense detective who can turn empathy and sympathy on and off when needed. In Dark Wives, we see a softer side of Vera as she encounters a murder outside a carehome for teens and gets an insight into that world.

As usual, the mystery is well paced and well-developed, with great characters, narrative, and dialog. Cleeves truly is one of the best writers of her generation. We see a softer, humbled Vera here who is grappling with grief she never expected, and that underlayment to the story drives everything forward to a very satisfying end.

Well done.

Publication Date: August 27, 2024
Published By: St. Martin’s Press Minotaur Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Cozy, Ghosties, Mystery

A Ghostly Clue by Maryann Shanesy

patriciau

Description

It’s the Christmas season in the charming small town of Starport Cove, but amid shopping for gifts, decorating, baking sugar cookies, and organizing the Christmas Bazaar, the discovery of a body is not the holiday event that anyone expected. When antique store owner Milton Cenford is found dead in a suit of armor, amateur sleuth Tarsey Quinston is determined to find the killer.

As quirky visitors arrive in town and create more questions than answers, Tarsey finds herself investigating rumors of a missing historic diary penned by a First Lady from Starport Cove and looking into paranormal activity.

Will the discovery of a mysterious hidden passageway and an encounter with a ghost lead Tarsey and her intuitive cat Silver down the path to danger? Or will they finally unveil the identity of the killer?

My Thoughts

This second entry in the Pet Momma cozy mystery series is a fun, quick read. The author has made an excellent start on developing characters that readers will want to follow as more books are written in the series.

The writing here is well-done, with a nicely paced plot, witty dialog, appealing characters, and a cracking good mystery. Fans of cozy mysteries, especially ones with a paranormal overlay, will thoroughly enjoy this one.

Publication Date: December 15, 2023
Published By: The Author
Thanks to Book Sirens for the review copy

British, Detective, Historical, Mystery, Suspense

Shot With Crimson by Nicola Upson

patriciau

Description

Violence finds its way to old Hollywood in the eleventh Josephine Tey mystery, perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen and Jacqueline Winspear.

September 1939, and the worries of war follow Josephine Tey to Hollywood, where a different sort of battle is raging on the set of Hitchcock’s Rebecca.

Then a shocking act of violence reawakens the shadows of the past, with consequences on both sides of the Atlantic, and Josephine and DCI Archie Penrose find themselves on a trail leading back to the house that inspired a young Daphne du Maurier – a trail that echoes Rebecca‘s timeless themes of obsession, jealousy, and murder.

My Thoughts

Upson’s Josephine Tey series has been hit or miss for me over the years, but I picked this one up because it focuses on one of my favorites fictional tales, Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier.

I was not disappointed.

The action here follows two separate but connected storylines – one in England with detective Archie Penrose and one in America with Josephine. Both stories feature Upson’s trademark clever plotting and witty dialog, although I was more engaged by the story in America on the set of Alfred Hitchcock’s film.

Upson does a good job of keeping the action moving despite a very large cast of characters, and she neatly ties up loose ends with some eyebrow raising twists in the last couple of chapters.

Having read a few of this series already, I was familiar with some of the characters, and that definitely helped me follow the plot. If you haven’t read this series before, I suggest you not start here but go to the library and start at the beginning.

Publication Date: November 7, 2023
Published By: Penguin Random House
Thanks to the Rochester Public Library for the book

Children's, Fairytales, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mystery

Witch in the Woods by Michaelbrent Collings

patriciau

Description

Strange and terrifying things are suddenly happening in a mysterious town where people are disappearing and changing into characters from the Grimm fairy tales.  

Twins Willow and Jake Grimm are not prepared for the bizarre gadgets and scary changes in their new home of New Marburg, the location of the top-secret Think Tank where their parents now have jobs as scientists. In this town, people jetpack to work, robots direct traffic, and senior citizens duel with laser swords.

Yet nothing compares to what happens the day after lightning strikes the twins’ house. Their school building transforms around them, becoming a medieval castle—complete with moat, drawbridge, and a dangerous giant who looks strangely like the school’s overly aggressive hall monitor.

Barely managing to escape before a massive beanstalk lifts the castle above the clouds, Willow and Jake learn that their ancestors, the original Brothers Grimm, were more than storytellers. They were Grimmwalkers, able to travel from our universe to Grimmworld: the universe where all fairy tales are born.

Somehow, Willow and Jake have been transported to Grimmworld as well. But before the twins can figure out how to get back to their own universe, they discover that their best friends, Hank and Pearl, have morphed into the fairy tale characters Hansel and Gretel and been captured by a candy-obsessed witch deep in the Cursed Forest.

Now, aided by a mysterious wizard with shimmering golden eyes and a befuddled, talking naked mole-rat named Chet, the twins must trust in each other, believe in themselves, and find the courage to face their darkest fears in order to save their friends, return to their family, and maybe—just maybe—save the world.

My Thoughts

The middle grade adventures coming out this spring are some of the best I’ve seen in years, and this one adds a lot of fuel to an already hot list. I was completely taken in by the imaginative blend of 21st century science and traditional Grimm fairytales in this fast-paced and fascinating mystery-adventure.

The modern day Grimms, Willow and Jake, are as appealing a set of characters as I’ve come across. They display the best and worst of sibling rivalry and support – very real life. The theme of family devotion and strength runs throughout the story, leading up to an ending that points to more adventures to come.

Middle grade readers who are familiar with Grimm’s Fairy Tales will thoroughly enjoy this 21st century upgrade.

Well done!

Publication Date: March 5, 2024
Published By: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Book Tour, Cozy, Detective, Historical, Mystery, Partners In Crime

Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles by Elizabeth Crowens

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Description

“Sherlock Holmes has lost his dog? We have bigger crimes to solve. Go find him yourself!” That’s what the Los Angeles Police Department told Basil Rathbone. The City Pound ridiculed him as well.

Asta, the dog from the popular Thin Man series, has also vanished, and production for his next film is pending. MGM Studios offers a huge reward, and that’s exactly what young private detectives Babs Norman and Guy Brandt need for their struggling business to survive. Celebrity dognapping now a growing trend, Basil also hires them to find his missing Cocker Spaniel.

The three concoct a plan for Basil to assume his on-screen persona and round up possible suspects, including Myrna Loy and William Powell; Dashiell Hammett, creator of The Thin Man; Nigel Bruce, Basil’s on-screen Doctor Watson; Hollywood-newcomer, German philanthropist and film financier Countess Velma von Rache, and the top animal trainers in Tinseltown. Yet everyone will be in for a shock when the real reason behind the canine disappearances is even more sinister than imagined.

Jump into Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles, Book One of the Babs Norman Golden Age of Hollywood Mystery series, Finalist in the Killer Nashville Claymore Awards for Comedy and First Prize winner in the Chanticleer Review’s Mark Twain Awards for Comedy and Satire.

Get ready for its sequel, Bye, Bye, Blackbird, featuring Humphrey Bogart and the cast of The Maltese Falcon.

My Thoughts

If the madcap detective films of the 1930s had a bookish sister, it would be this book. Crowens dives deeply into the Hollywood that produced those iconic films starring William Powell, Myrna Loy, Nigel Bruce, and Basil Rathbone and overlays them with a clever, sassy mystery featuring as snarky a detective as I’ve ever encountered.

Crowens writes with abandon, deliciously describing the naughty and often hilarious goings-on behind the scenes in Tinseltown. I was reminded of one of my all-time favorite series of books by George Baxt which feature mysteries surrounding Hollywood royalty. Those are mostly out of print and hard to come by, so I am happy to see a 21st century author plumbing the depths of Old Hollywood for some fun mysteries.

This is a quick read that will appeal to fans of cozy and historical mystery stories.

Book Details:
Genre: Golden Age of Hollywood Humorous Mystery
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: March 2024
Number of Pages: 299
Series: A Babs Norman Hollywood Mystery, Book 1
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Book Shortlinks:
Amazon – https://pictbooks.tours/mGh0H
Goodreads – https://pictbooks.tours/TsSyN

Author Bio

Elizabeth Crowens has worn many hats in the entertainment industry and has a popular Caption Contest on Facebook. She has three award-winning alternate history novels. Awards include 2020 Leo B. Burstein Scholarship from the MWA-NY Chapter, New York Foundation of the Arts grant, an Eric Hoffer Award, Honorable Mention in the Glimmer Train Awards, and two grand prize and five first prize Chanticleer Awards, including Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles, the first in her Babs Norman Hollywood series, which is also a Killer Nashville Claymore Awards finalist and part of her three-book publishing deal with Level Best Books

Catch Up With Elizabeth Crowens:
www.ElizabethCrowens.com
Goodreads
BookBub – @ECrowens
Instagram – @crowens_author
Twitter/X – @ECrowens
Facebook – @thereel.elizabeth.crowens

British, Cozy, Family, Mystery

The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder by C.L. Miller

patriciau

Description

In this “irresistible, immersive, and completely unputdownable” (Ellery Lloyd, New York Times bestselling author) debut novel, a former antique hunter investigates a suspicious death at an isolated English manor, embroiling her in the high-stakes world of tracking stolen artifacts.

What antique would you kill for?

Freya Lockwood is shocked when she learns that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and her estranged mentor, has died under mysterious circumstances. She has spent the last twenty years avoiding her quaint English hometown, but when she receives a letter from Arthur asking her to investigate—sent just days before his death—Freya has no choice but to return to a life she had sworn to leave behind.

Joining forces with her eccentric Aunt Carole, Freya follows clues to an old manor house for an advertised antiques enthusiast’s weekend. But not all is as it seems. It’s clear to Freya that the antiques are all just poor reproductions, and her fellow guests are secretive and menacing. What is going on at this estate and how was Arthur involved? More importantly, can Freya and Carole discover the truth before the killer strikes again?

My Thoughts

When I was a reference librarian, I adored Miller’s Guide to Antiques, so when I learned the author of this delightful mystery is part of the Miller family, it was a bonus reading experience!

Miller has delivered a clever mystery featuring two endearing and super-smart characters in Carole and Freya. The author does an excellent job with dialog, description, plotting and pacing although I admit I got a little irritated with the numerous references in the early chapters to the dirty deed done to Freya in Cairo. Just tell us what it was, for goodness sake! (I am an impatient reader sometimes!)

The deeper I got into the book, the more engrossed I became because the mysterious elements abounded! Observant readers will figure out at least two of the villains early on, but that won’t detract from the sheer pleasure of this delightful book. I hope this becomes a series with Carole and Freya going on all sorts of adventures.

Nicely done.

Publication Date: February 6, 2024
Published By: Atria Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy