In Tell-Tale Bones, spousal abuse, disappearances, a psychic, a ghost, and Edgar Allen Poe combine to create an intriguing cozy mystery. Sarah Booth and her best friend, Tinkie, are private detectives in small town Zinnia, Mississippi. Sarah Booth is frequently visited by her family’s ghost, Jitty, who tries to helpContinue Reading
Below the Line is a modern-day Hollywood noir brimming over with genuine characters. Everyone is trying to make it in Tinseltown…but not all have virtuous goals. Former Detroit homicide detective Blake had a lucrative career as a LA script consultant. Until he didn’t. Hoping a promised production credit pans outContinue Reading
My Review Penelope, Pen for short, is part-owner of a bookstore in rural Rhode Island. She is also a single mother who talks to ghosts in her head. Actually, it’s just one ghost. Jack was a 1940s private investigator until he was murdered in Pen’s bookstore. Now, he and PenContinue Reading
It was the worst or the best reason for a reunion. Ten years after a high school field trip goes horribly wrong, The Only Survivors get together every year on the event’s anniversary. They are sticking together to avoid the fate of two of their number. Survivor’s guilt and aContinue Reading
Even in suburban Ireland, stay-at-home wives with young children hide behind their Instagram filters while their real home life falls apart. Ciara and Lauren are neighbors—but certainly not friends. Lauren’s life is chaotic but is based on love. Ciara, an important, at least in her own mind, Instagram influencer, hasContinue Reading
In Fateful Words, Delaney is a Kansas expat working in an Edinburgh bookstore when her boss mysteriously disappears right before hosting his annual tour of the area. Despite her ex-pat status, Delaney steps in as head of the small global tour group. The tour relates books including The Prime ofContinue Reading
Sherlock Holmes—The Final Problem is a new illustrated edition of the famous short story. The illustrations are reminiscent of German woodcuts. They are beautiful. The text is abridged from the original version, which may make the story more accessible for younger readers. Though originally published in 1893, the story holdsContinue Reading
Hiss & Tell is a cozy mystery with two timelines—the present and 1789–both set in the same location in rural Virginia. In the present day, when a man is found shot dead in a ditch with no ID and drugs in his system, the locals worry that big city problemsContinue Reading
My Review Courtney is the owner of a fairy-gardening/tea shop in picturesque Carmel-by-the-Sea. She also can see fairies around her. One fairy in particular, Fiona, is tasked with helping Courtney with any issues in her life. In A Flicker of a Doubt, Fiona’s story is told, and it is fascinating!Continue Reading
Not you see him…and now you don’t. When a dead body goes missing, Phee’s retired, but not retiring, mother Harriet insists that her amateur sleuth/bookkeeper daughter find out what happened. If only it were that easy. Will Phee Strike Out 4 Murder? Sun City West is a retirement complex inContinue Reading
Three newborn identical triplets are found abandoned in a roadside rest stop. The girls are split up by the government and grow up in multiple foster and group homes with only occasional visits with each other. Moody, Iris and Sissy reunite at eighteen. When one’s relationship goes horribly awry, theContinue Reading
Ali Reynolds’ husband B. is almost killed when traveling to the airport to attend a London business conference. The police are sure it was a planned hit. But was B. the intended victim or was he just Collateral Damage in the attempted murder of his hired driver? Disgraced ex-cop FrankContinue Reading
An improbable cartoonish plot and paper-thin unlikeable characters makes What Have We Done a miss for me. Five teenagers meet in a horrendous group home and do something drastic to save themselves from its horrors. Twenty-five years later, all five have achieved various levels of success: a judge, a techContinue Reading
Review Murder interrupts a genteel tea party and fashion show in Charleston, South Carolina in the Lemon Curd Killer. During a catering event, tea shop owner Theodosia finds a fashion show coordinator, Nadine, face down in the lemon curd. It is obvious that Nadine was shot in the back ofContinue Reading
Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett is once again waist high in both snow and intrigue in Storm Watch. While being snowed in here in southern California in March(!), I decided to stay in bed under multiple blankets and read a thriller. If my intention was to forget about the snowContinue Reading
Alex North, the author of the brilliant The Whisper Man, is back with the complex, enthralling new thriller, The Angel Maker. The book has not one, not two, but three crazed killers running around! Don’t miss it! High schooler Katie decides to have an after-school tryst rather than walk homeContinue Reading