In Loise Penny's latest Armand Gamache mystery, KINGDOM OF THE BLIND, the Canadian crime fighter has been suspended from his job as head of the Sureté, the top law enforcement agency in Canada’s French-speaking Quebec province. The storyline is a...
#reviews category
Book review: Sherlock Holmes, twice as nice
Jan 28, 2019 | #reviews
A KNIFE IN THE FOG and DUST AND SHADOW are both sensational thrillers. The two books have a few things in common, including exceptional historical research, an investigative trio, and a satisfying conclusion, yet each offers an original take on Victorian...
7 Life-changing books to read right now
Sep 16, 2018 | #noticed, #reviews
Fall is here. Our New Year’s resolutions petered out long ago and the holidays, with overspending and family drama, loom on the horizon. In this season between what-might-have-been and what-will-overwhelm-us-soon, dive into one of these life-changing books. You'll get...
Department Q and The Keeper of Lost Causes
Aug 15, 2018 | #reviews
THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES, the first Department Q novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen, has toppled Jo Nesbo from the top of my Nordic Noir favorites list. And I didn’t even know I wanted to go to Denmark. Some series take a few books before all the pieces are properly in place...
Book Review: FOOLS AND MORTALS by Bernard Cornwell
Aug 2, 2018 | #reviews
FOOLS AND MORTALS by Bernard Cornwell sets the standard for historical fiction with a touch of suspense and a healthy dose of Shakespeare. But before I gush about how good the book is, let me say that Cornwell is one of my favorite authors....
Book review: RED SPARROW by Jason Matthews
Jul 30, 2018 | #reviews
RED SPARROW by Jason Matthews is a gripping Cold War espionage thriller in the style of John le Carré’s thrillers. Except longer. SPARROW starts with a heart-pounding and authentic scene of spy tradecraft in Moscow. Nathaniel “Nate” Nash is...
Book Review: Blue Light Yokohama by Nicolás Obregón
Feb 3, 2018 | #reviews
BLUE LIGHT YOKOHAMA by Nicolás Obregón is a dense and layered police procedural set in contemporary Japan. The title is that of a song which keeps playing in the mind of the main character; like the song, the book is one I won’t soon forget because of...
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Jan 16, 2018 | #reviews
THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE by James M. Cain is a noir classic from 1934. I stumbled on a copy in a used bookstore and realized I’d never read it. I didn’t know what I’d been missing all these years. Frank Chambers is a drifter, roaming...
Sally Andrew’s deadly and delicious Tannie Maria mysteries
Jan 13, 2018 | #reviews
I’ve never been to South Africa and the only thing I know about the Afrikaans language is that it is derived from Dutch. But in the Tannie Maria mysteries, RECIPES FOR LOVE AND MURDER and THE SATANIC MECHANIC, author Sally Andrew weaves a spell...
Book Review: 2 Tickets to Venice
Aug 4, 2017 | #reviews
Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Architecture, canals, and history make it a prime setting for a mystery. Two favorite authors, Donna Leon and Martin Cruz Smith have new books set in Venice that take you on two very different...
Book Review: Claws of the Cat by Susan Spann
Jul 21, 2017 | #reviews
CLAWS OF THE CAT is one of those books you wish you’d written, but grudgingly know you’d never come up with the premise. Related: Author to Author with Susan Spann Author Susan Spann takes us to imperial Japan in 1565. The Jesuits, in the form of Portuguese priest...
Book Review: A Madras Miasma by Brian Stoddart
Jul 14, 2017 | #reviews
In A MADRAS MIASMA, New Zealand author Brian Stoddart takes us to India in 1920 with an extraordinary sense of place and time. India is on the brink of explosion and the murder mystery is another lit fuse on the powder keg. Related: Author to Author with Brian...
Book Review: The Trespasser by Tana French
Jul 7, 2017 | #reviews
THE TRESPASSER by Tana French is the 6th novel in the chronicles of the fictional Dublin Murder Squad. Each is narrated by a different member of the squad, whose private life is somehow linked to—and tragically impacted by—the central crime. When in Dublin last year,...
What Happened to the Jesse Stone Mystery Series?
Apr 20, 2017 | #reviews
When mystery author Robert B. Parker passed away, I mourned the end of the Spenser and Jesse Stone mystery series, as well as his Westerns featuring the enigmatic Virgil Cole. Sunny Randall, not so much, as I never quite connected with the female PI and her annoying...
Book Review: Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbo
Oct 7, 2016 | #reviews
For those mystery lovers who reveled in Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series, his new stand-alone novel Midnight Sun will be a bit of a surprise. Midnight Sun is easier on the blood pressure than Harry, with a sympathetic protagonist and the wooded setting of Norway’s remote...