Cozy, Mystery

Written in Stone by Paige Shelton

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Netgalley Description

When Delaney Nichols wins a special Hidden Door Festival invitation to artist Ryory Bennigan’s studio, she isn’t sure quite what to expect. What she finds is an elusive fellow obsessed with the Picts—complete with his own versions of their blue tattoos and vibrant red hair—recreating the stones they left behind. She also meets a visiting paleontologist, Dr. Adam Pace, from the University of Kansas attempting to sell an artifact that might just explain what the Picts’ language really sounded like.

Or at least that’s what he claimed the artifact was for. Before the deal can close and Ryory can get a closer look at it, Dr. Pace is found dead.

With the police dragging their feet in the investigation, Delaney takes it upon herself to dig into Dr. Pace’s past. Her research goes murky as she quickly discovers Pace’s shady background—selling fake dinosaur bones and running into some 3D-printing trouble back in Kansas. Could his past have come back to bite him in Edinburgh? And what does his questionable background mean for the mysterious Pictish artifact he was trying to sell to Ryory? Delaney will have to dust off her magnifying glass to uncover the truth behind this case… or risk becoming a pile of bones herself.

My Thoughts

Paige Shelton is one of my go-to cozy mystery authors, and her Scottish Bookshop series is a favorite. This latest entry in that series is another winner.

One of the things I love about this series is that Shelton makes every story a mini-lesson in history. For instance, past books have included plots involving Mary, Queen of Scots and famous swords. Here, we learn about the Picts, perhaps the most mysterious of the Celtic peoples. It’s not a deep dive into history, but enough to make me want to know more. Add that to inventive plots and colorful characters and you have a very successful story.

While this can be read out of order, if you’re new to the series I recommend you start at the beginning and savor each one.

Publication Date: April 1, 2025
Published By: St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Historical, Non Fiction

Four Lost Cities by Annalee Newitz

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Publisher Description

In Four Lost Cities, acclaimed science journalist Annalee Newitz takes readers on an entertaining and mind-bending adventure into the deep history of urban life. Investigating across the centuries and around the world, Newitz explores the rise and fall of four ancient cities, each the center of a sophisticated civilization: the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Central Turkey, the Roman vacation town of Pompeii on Italy’s southern coast, the medieval megacity of Angkor in Cambodia, and the indigenous metropolis Cahokia, which stood beside the Mississippi River where East St. Louis is today.

Newitz travels to all four sites and investigates the cutting-edge research in archaeology, revealing the mix of environmental changes and political turmoil that doomed these ancient settlements. Tracing the early development of urban planning, Newitz also introduces us to the often anonymous workers–slaves, women, immigrants, and manual laborers–who built these cities and created monuments that lasted millennia.

Four Lost Cities is a journey into the forgotten past, but, foreseeing a future in which the majority of people on Earth will be living in cities, it may also reveal something of our own fate.

My Thoughts

This is a bit of a departure in my typical reading, but I picked this up after an enthusiastic recommendation from Stephanie Cole Adams, someone whose opinion I greatly respect. I found an accessible, thought-provoking, and sometimes irritating look at ancient urban development and why it failed at four specific sites.

The format of the book – essentially four long sections each devoted to one city – makes this a comfortable read and easy to start and stop. However, I often found it hard to stop reading.

Netwitz explores each city in person and through scientific experts, which lends a familiarity to the narrative. For the non-scientific reader, it feels like an enthusiastic friend touring you through a new city sharing interesting bits of information. I understand that for the scientific reader this is an irritating approach, but for me it was just right.

A number of reviews mention the author’s interjection of their personal belief system and exposition of conjecture as fact as a major issue here. I suppose that’s true, but that’s how connections are made for many readers. I found their personal reactions and use of imagination entertaining and thought-provoking, and something that I believe is often missing in the cold, hard facts of scientific research. I *want* to imagine the daily life of the inhabitants of these cities, and Newitz does a good job of humanizing the people who lived, farmed, labored, and died in each location.

I found the section on Pompeii especially interesting as I had the most knowledge about this city prior to reading the book, but I learned something new about each city. Pompeii, though, seemed like the Las Vegas of Ancient Rome, something I didn’t really understand before reading this book.

I’d recommend this for the casual non-fiction reader with an interest in urban development and ancient history.

Publication Date: February 2021
Published By: W.W. Norton & Company
Thanks to the Monroe County Library System for the book

Fairytales, Family, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Suspense, Teens, Young Adult

The Whisperwood Legacy by Jo Schulte

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

Knives Out meets The Hazel Wood in this twisty contemporary fantasy about an amusement park shrouded in dark secrets—and the family desperate to inherit it at any cost. 

Welcome to Whisperwood, a sprawling theme park nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, where thrilling rides and picture-perfect scenery bring cult-classic fairy tales to life. Or at least they did until eighteen months ago, when the family matriarch, Virginia Strauss, suddenly shut Whisperwood’s gates and the beloved park was left to wither away along with the family’s dwindling fortune.
 
For seventeen-year-old Frankie Strauss, Whisperwood’s closure has been a blessing in disguise. After seeing three generations of wealth’s corrupting influence, she is more than ready to shed the Strauss-family’s gilded handcuffs.
 
But when Virginia goes missing, Frankie realizes that her family might be guilty of something much worse than mere dysfunction. With the help of the mysterious and handsome groundskeeper Jem, Frankie sifts through a web of near truths and outright lies, uncovering a reality where nothing is as it seems and fairy tales aren’t just real—they’re deadly. 

My Thoughts

With nods to many, many sources – folkloric, modern film, YA horror – The Whisperwood Legacy turns them all inside out in this fabulous, creepy, dark fairytale. Just when I think I won’t find another author or story to surpass books like The Hazelwood and The Clackity, along comes something new that just blows my mind.

Emerging readers of dark fiction will adore this twisted, anxiety-ridden tale as our protagonists attempt to control a story centuries in the making. Schulte spins a tale that envelops you with sticky little tendrils that just won’t let go until the last little bit of your nerve has been shredded.

This one will be at the top of my October spooky reads list this year.

Highly recommended.

“Atmospheric and delightfully eerie with monstrous fairy tales and toothy secrets.”—CG Drews, New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Let the Forest In

Publication Date: May 27, 2025
Published By: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

British, Detective, Mystery, Suspense

Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

From the internationally award-winning creator of Broadchurch comes a brilliant new detective story following one man’s death and the secrets that unravel in a coastal English village

Nothing keeps a village together like secrets.

The villagers of Fleetcombe like to think of it as one of the most picturesque spots on England’s coast.

But now, it’s a disturbingly macabre crime scene.

A man is found dead, tied to a chair in the middle of the road, a stag’s antlers on his head. The gruesome scene stuns the town, especially when the victim is identified: Jim Tiernan, who ran the White Hart pub.  Tierney’s pub is at the center of village life and he knew everyone’s secrets.

Detective Nicola Bridge grew up in Fleetcombe and has now returned, for the good of her family, from a life away in Liverpool. DC Harry Ward is ten years younger and, despite his newcomer status, determined to earn Nicola’s trust.  Because they don’t have long to crack the storybook façade and find out just what the people of Fleetcombe have to hide.

And now, in the place she thought she knew so well, Detective Nicola Bridge is asking questions. Is she ready for what she’s about to find?

My Thoughts

After the phenomenal Broadchurch, this author had some high expectations to meet with new work. Those expectations were exceeded for this reader!

You’re gripped from the first chapter, as an utterly gruesome and very weird murder unfolds in an idyllic English village. The detective in charge of the investigation is flawed but brilliant, her protegee by turns charming and reluctant, and the village full of quirky folks, including a tough but vulnerable child who is key to the whole mystery. I was reminded of Martha Grimes’ Emily Louise Perk, one of my all-time favorite child characters.

The action moves at a fast pace, with chapters and sections just the right length to keep the reader engaged. Chibnall has mastered the craft of suspense, building tension with every sentence, leading up to the startling conclusion.

Fans of Anne Cleeves and Val McDermid will thoroughly enjoy this one.

“Fans of Broadchurch are going to LOVE Death at the White Hart! With its compelling pair of detectives and tense, creepy atmosphere, once you start reading, I defy you to stop.” —Shari Lapena

Publication Date: June 10, 2025
Published By: Penguin Group VIKING PENGUIN, Pamela Dorman Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

British, Cozy, Family, Ghosties, Mystery

Bodies & Battlements by Elizabeth Penney

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Publisher Description

The first in a new cozy mystery series by Elizabeth Penney investigates a suspicious murder in a haunted British castle-turned-bed and breakfast.

Herbalist Nora Asquith is delighted to welcome Ravensea Castle’s first guests to the picturesque village of Monkwell, Yorkshire. After a thousand years of ownership, her family has decided to convert the castle into a bed and breakfast. But when Hilda Dibble, a self-appointed local luminary, is found dead in the knot garden the next morning, Nora’s business is not only at risk—she’s a prime suspect.

Hilda had opposed the hotel plan every step of the way, and although she didn’t succeed in stopping the venture, her disagreements with Nora seem to only further her motive. One of Ravensea’s guests happens to be Detective Inspector Finlay Cole, who is new to the area and now finds himself with a murder case in his lap.

Nora and her actress sister Tamsyn decide to investigate for themselves. They look into the entangled dealings of their newly arrived guests, while also getting hints from Sir Percival, one of the castle ghosts. As they learn, Sir Percival’s tragic death centuries ago sheds light on present-day crimes. Surely they can get to the bottom of this mystery while keeping their new business afloat . . .

My Thoughts

Elizabeth Penney is hands-down one of my favorite cozy mystery authors. She has a couple series out there and starts a new one with this delightful mystery set in an ancient castle on the English Yorkshire coast. Our protagonist is the usual plucky heroine/business owner intent on running a successful venture – here it’s a family castle turned B&B. We have the faithful family retainers, the somewhat eccentric parent, the requisite adorable pets and family ghosts, the hunky policeman, and a smattering of family & friends to round out an appealing cast of characters.

The mystery blends a new murder with a fatal accident from the past, and the author deftly introduces all sorts of red herrings and complications until she winds everything up with a confrontation in an old smuggler’s cave. The setting in the old castle, complete with extensive gardens and grounds, is captivating and lends interest to the murder mysteries. The author does a great job of setting up events for future entries in the series, which I will eagerly await.

Recommended for cozy mystery fans.

Publication Date: May 27, 2025
Published By: St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Historical, Horror, Mystery, Psychological, Short Stories

Deeds of Darkness by William Burton McCormick

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

DEEDS OF DARKNESS is the best short fiction produced by award-winning author William Burton McCormick. A collection of twenty-four globetrotting stories of suspense, mystery, crime, espionage, horror, and historical genres from the pages of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, Mystery Magazine, and elsewhere.

This collection includes short stories nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award, Shamus Award, Thriller Award, five Derringer Award-nominated stories, and two unabridged novellas, “Demon in the Depths,” which finished second in the Ellery Queen’s Readers’ Poll for 2021, and “House of Tigers,” named to the Honor Roll for both the Black Orchid Novel Award and the Mysterious Bookshop’s Best Mystery Stories of 2023.

DEEDS OF DARKNESS takes readers from war-torn Eastern Europe to gangster America and deep below the frozen seas of the Arctic Ocean. From modern tales of crime to World War II espionage to ghost stories in shadowy Odessa and murder in Ancient Rome, every flavor of suspense and adventure awaits within. With a foreword by Linda Landrigan, Editor-In-Chief of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.

My Thoughts

It’s been awhile since I so throughly enjoyed a collection of short stories as I did this one. Each story is a polished jewel of suspense or horror that explores the darkest areas of the human psyche. Some I’d read before but stories like Locked In and Kutsenko’s Cage impart the same sense of dread and horror every single time you read them.

Many stories take place in Latvia or other parts of eastern Europe, some in ancient Rome, and still others in various colorful locations. The stories also have an incredible range and varying lengths, both of which add considerable interest and readability to this collection. The author provides some sly commentary on things as wide-ranging as plagiarism in The House in Glamaig’s Shadow to beauty practices in Cleopatran Cocktails.

Every story brings something new, which is not often something you see in anthologies like this where many stories are pretty much the same. Not here. You’ll find a delightful if sometimes dark reading experience enhanced by the author’s beautiful command of his craft.

Highly recommended.

Publication Date: November 5, 2024
Published By: Level Short
Thanks to Book Sirens for the review copy

Book Tour, Detective, Historical, Mystery

Twist of Time by Gy Waldron

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Book Siren Description

A Templar secret, a brutal murder—can Detective Flynn unravel a deadly mystery before time runs out?

Detective Sgt. Kate Flynn of the Santa Barbara Police Department is called in to investigate a gruesome decapitation and homicide. Her first clue comes from a most unlikely source: an Anglican monk and Celtic studies expert.

Brother Thomas has been expecting the hand-delivery of a priceless diary of a fourteenth-century Templar Knight, but instead he finds the messenger has been murdered.

Kate and Thomas are pulled deep into a centuries-old mystery with roots in medieval Europe and branches that lead to government intelligence, the Vatican, and a top-secret private lab where untold powers were being alchemized that could alter the face of humanity forever.

It’s a race against evil to uncover a plot that could lead them to centuries-old treasure — or to their own demise at the hands of a deranged tech billionaire who has nothing to lose.

A fast-paced thriller by Emmy Award-nominated screenwriter, producer, and director Gy Waldron.

With parallel quests for the truth taking place centuries apart, and a touch of mysticism, readers will be taken on a suspenseful journey with one twist after another in Twist of Time, an electrifying novel of intrigue and history.

Readers of thrillers and novels of suspense by Dan Brown, Ken Follett, David Baldacci will savor every surprise in screenwriter Gy Waldron’s fiction debut.

My Thoughts

I went through a period a few years ago where I binge-read every bit of fiction I could find on the Templars. Some of it was really, really good and some not so great. Twist of Time is a really, really, really great addition to the subject.

I was captivated from the first page, even though the very first sentence was a bit startling! We begin with a present day murder that is immediately connected to the chaotic days in France when the Templars were hunted and executed by the French king. At the center of the chaos is a diary that holds many Templar secrets, including, possibly, the key to finding the fabled Templar treasure.

The author immediately begins building a web of complicated relationships between and among the characters – a tough homicide detective, a mysterious modern-day monk, and a number of other shady characters. I was particularly taken with the author’s cleverness in keeping me guessing about who was shady/bad and who was shady/good.

I also enjoyed the way Waldron wove together the mysterious Templar past with modern day science. I hope to read more stories like this from this author.

I will recommend this for fans of historical mysteries.

Publication Date: August 20, 2024
Published By: First Fruits Publishing
Thanks to Book Sirens for the review copy

Book Tour, Ghosties, Mystery, paranormal, Partners In Crime, Psychological, Suspense

The Bone Pendant Girls by Terry S. Friedman

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

February 10 – March 7, 2025 Virtual Book Tour
The Andi Wyndham Series

Description

Beware the Fisherman

Andi Wyndham has communicated with spirits since she was a kid. When a bone pendant carved into the likeness of a girl’s face calls to her at a gem show in Pennsylvania, she can’t resist buying it and a sister piece. When she discovers the girls are missing runaways and the pendants are made of human bone, Andi is drawn into a mystery that will force her to confront her gifts, her guilt, and the ghosts haunting her.

Pendant Girls Mariah and Bennie urge Andi to find a man they call “Fisherman,” a master of disguise. Teaming up with a handsome private eye and a South Carolina sheriff, Andi must find the girls’ bodies and put their souls to rest, before the Fisherman casts his deadly net to trap Andi.

My Thoughts

Bone Pendant Girls is a non-stop, nail-biting ride of story. While there are plenty of books out there about people who can talk to the dead, this one comes alive in the hands of this author. Spare prose focuses on the important elements of the story – Andi, the girls, and the Fisherman – and builds tension that ultimately snaps and builds again until you get to the stunning conclusion.

The story is well-paced and full of action. The author skillfully blends a murder mystery with the supernatural elements, which results in one of the most chilling climaxes I’ve read in awhile. The characters, especially Andi, are nicely developed and their relationships add to the success of the story.

As a jewelry artist and a frequent visitor to gem shows, I am always looking at carved stones. This story gives me a new perspective with which to handle and care for these kinds of objects. I will think long and hard about handling or buying any stones that are carved faces!

Recommended for fans of paranormal mysteries.

Book Details:

Genre: Paranormal Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Southern
Published by: CamCat Books
Publication Date: February 25, 2025
Number of Pages: 496
ISBN: 9780744307931 (ISBN10: 0744307937)
Series: Andi Wyndham, Book 1
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | CamCat Books | Goodreads | Audible

Author Bio

Terry Friedman is a writer and a rockhound. Her novel, BONE PENDANT GIRLS, a paranormal thriller, was published by CamCat January 30, 2024.

Terry began her writing career freelancing for a small newspaper outside Philadelphia. While raising her daughters Jessica and Chelie in West Chester, PA, she taught English for decades and traveled abroad with students. Terry earned an M.F.A. from Wilkes University and also graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy. Thirteen of her fiction and non-fiction pieces have been published, and she co-edited Delaware Valley Mystery Writers’ short stories anthology. DEATH KNELL V.

She is an award-winning author. In 2022 the Southeastern Writers Association awarded her first place in their writing contest for her humor piece, second place for BONE PENDANT GIRLS in a fiction category, and an honorable mention for THE BANSHEE’S WAIL, an unpublished Irish novel. She is a Killer Nashville Claymore Finalist in the Supernatural category.

A Pennwriters Board member and a member of Sisters in Crime, she currently writes thrillers from coastal South Carolina. Terry has traveled the world from Fiji to Delphi and brings to her writing a solid respect for things that go bump in the night.

Catch Up With Terry S. Friedman:
www.TerryFriedmanAuthor.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads – @tfried44
BookBub – @tfried44
Instagram – @wineandreeses
Threads – @wineandreeses
X – @tfried44
BlueSky – @tfried44
Facebook – @TerrySFriedmanAuthor

Shortlinks

Author’s Links:
Website    https://pictbooks.tours/tzRO0
Goodreads    https://pictbooks.tours/xO9IJ    PERSONAL  
Goodreads    https://pictbooks.tours/zkm3f    AUTHOR  
BookBub    https://pictbooks.tours/HUNf9    @tfried44
Instagram    https://pictbooks.tours/gVgO0    @wineandreeses
Threads    https://pictbooks.tours/Lc8Fe    @wineandreeses
Twitter    https://pictbooks.tours/Rf4R2    @tfried44
Facebook    https://pictbooks.tours/ZwOkv    @TerrySFriedmanAuthor
BookSky    https://pictbooks.tours/LIwHa
Amazon Author    https://pictbooks.tours/3MDT2
Terry’s Jewelry Site    https://pictbooks.tours/Ko2lf

Retail Links: 
Amazon –     https://pictbooks.tours/eWOQA
BN –     https://pictbooks.tours/2Ltvc
Goodreads –     https://pictbooks.tours/Pxltg
BookShop.org –     https://pictbooks.tours/OUrS7
Publisher –     https://pictbooks.tours/nWfL0
Audible –   https://pictbooks.tours/zOZt8

PICT Tour Page    https://pictbooks.tours/nH4qG

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