Mystery

Spark Jr: Creative Writing Prompts for Young Adults

Spark Jr: Creative Writing Prompts for Young Adults, by Dusty Durston, is a collection of story starts and challenge vocabulary…

4 years ago

The Price of Freedom: A Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain

The Price of Freedom is the seventeenth in Rosemary Rose's Libertus mystery series. By this point, the pavement-laying crime-solver is…

4 years ago

Five Best Campus Crime Novels

In All The Beautiful Lies, bookseller Bill keeps a list of the five best campus crime novels. I'd only read…

4 years ago

The Widows of Malabar Hill

The Widows of Malabar Hill, by Sujata Massey, blends two of my favorite things to read about: a vibrant, distant,…

4 years ago

My 2020 In Books

This was a record year for my reading, with over 200 books on my GoodReads challenge.  Instead of doing a…

4 years ago

Trade Secrets

By now, whenever Marcus and Perilla start talking about having a relaxing time, I'm pretty sure someone's about to find…

4 years ago

Puzzle Me Dead

Puzzle Me Dead, by Kathy Childs, is a fast-paced suspense novel. In her teens, Careen Tamley was a final girl…

4 years ago

88 Names

After finishing Matt Ruff's amazing novel Lovecraft Country, I immediately requested 88 Names and Bad Monkeys by the same author.…

4 years ago

Pandemic Isolation Reading Roundup

In this endless pandemic isolation, I'm reading a lot of suspense, gore-free thrillers, old mysteries, and travel stories. As this…

4 years ago

The Thirteenth Tale

I'd read and enjoyed Diane Setterfield's Once Upon A River, so I was excited to read The Thirteenth Tale. The…

4 years ago

Gaudy Night

I chose Gaudy Night based on the recommendation in All The Beautiful Lies, as one of bookseller Bill’s top campus…

4 years ago

Murder in Old Bombay

Murder in Old Bombay, by Nev March, is a layered mystery, involving complicated questions of loyalty and identity, with fun…

4 years ago

The Perfect Guests

Why didn't The Perfect Guests work for me? This book has all the elements of a good suspense novel, and…

4 years ago

Editorial Review: Masters of the Broken Watches by Razi Imam | ManyBooks

I've got another review up on ManyBooks: Masters of the Broken Watches, by Razi Imam, blends myth, scientific discovery, and…

4 years ago

Doctor Who: The Secret in Vault 13

In Doctor Who: The Secret in Vault 13, by David Solomons, the Doctor and her friends are traveling through space…

4 years ago

All The Beautiful Lies

In All The Beautiful Lies, by Peter Swanson, bookseller and general mystery lover Bill Ackerman recommends The Secret History as…

4 years ago

The Throne of Caesar

In the beginning of The Throne of Caesar, it's just before the Ides of March, 44 BCE. Gordianus the Finder…

4 years ago

Editorial Review: Sinner, Saint or Serpent | ManyBooks

Sinner, Saint or Serpent by John Anthony Miller is a delightful mystery in which a journalist enjoys showing up the…

4 years ago

Waterfalls, Rainbows, and Murder

In "Waterfalls, Rainbows, and Murder" by Debra Williams, when the body of a beautiful and well-dressed young woman is found…

5 years ago

Disenchanted by Kara Pleasants

The beginning of Disenchanted, by Kara Pleasants, is a beat-for-beat Regency retelling, with magic. The second part of the story…

5 years ago

Editorial Review: Broomstick by A.L Hawke | ManyBooks

I have a new review up over on ManyBooks, just in time to be part of the Wyrd and Wonder…

5 years ago

One By One

Ruth Ware's upcoming novel, One By One, is set in a luxe ski lodge where feuding tech founders combine a…

5 years ago

Medicus

In Medicus: A Novel of the Roman Empire Ruth Downie uses the tensions between Roman army and British locals to create a…

5 years ago

Murder at the Mena House

In Murder at the Mena House, Jane Wunderly and her aunt Millie are escaping Prohibition and the post-WWI shadows at…

5 years ago

One of Us Is Next

In the amazing sequel to the twisted Breakfast Club thriller One of Us Is Lying, there's a new manipulative gossip-monger…

5 years ago