How to Kill a Crime Writer

This book by Sarah Lotz has an interesting premise. When Annie Morrissey dies from an apparently accidental fall from a ladder, estranged daughter Niamh moves into the now vacant cottage in a small rural village to take care of the cat, Brian, and generally look after her mother's affairs. Except that she is "crap," as she will tell you, at dealing with anything-- her grief, the house, her mother's last emails to her or her mother's final book manuscript. She does befriend the cat; however she doesn't expect or welcome the sudden appearance of Leah Overton. "Leah isn't a stranger - she's the ultra-competent sleuth heroine from Annie's novels. The antithesis of Niamh in every way, she's lived in the fictitious character's shadow for years. But why (and how) has Leah turned up now? And why can only Niamh see her?" (Book jacket) And why is she claiming that it wasn't an accident but something more nefarious?

Library Journal would like to see a sequel. "Lotz's ... cozy mystery throws possible solution after possible solution at readers, but it does play fair. The fun odd-couple pairing of Leah and Niamh sets up a potential series. They'd be worth visiting again." Publishers Weekly asks "Can a meek woman solve her famous mother's murder with the help of her mother's fictional protagonist? That's the concept of this ambitious but slow-moving whodunit from Lotz..." They conclude their lukewarm review with "Though Niamh and Leah eventually crack the case, the plot never really heats up, and the ghostly conceit at the center of the novel feels undercooked. This feels like a missed opportunity." Booklist is considerably more positive. "Cozy mystery readers will relish Niamh and Leah's prickly relationship, Niamh's first-person narration, the book's dark humor and fresh plot, and Niamh's growing confidence as she and a ghost close in on a killer." And Kirkus finds merit in this tale. "Lotz creates a compelling mystery that’s also a genuinely touching look at grief. Annie’s career as a writer provides a fun meta touch, while Niamh and Leah make a charmingly mismatched crime-solving duo. And while the premise may involve a fictional character come to life, Niamh’s believable feelings about the loss of her mother keep the story grounded in reality. An absorbing murder mystery with a unique twist and a poignant look at grief."

 

The Book Witch

This delightful fantasy by Meg Shaffer imagines a world where specially trained people, Book Witches, can go into stories and save characters and story lines from bad actors in the real world, Burners. Rainy March--yes that's her name and not a weather forecast--has been a 3rd generation Book Witch since she was 15. She is an orphan, never having known a father and a mother who died when she was just 6 months old. She was raised by adoring grandparents and Pops--as she calls her grandfather--is still alive and living with her in Fort Meriwether, Oregon. Book Witches live by a series of rules which include the rule saying real people belong in the real world and fictional characters belong in works of fiction. So it is extremely against all the rules when Rainy falls in love with a character, a detective called the Duke of Chicago, when she is on a mission to save one of his books. Worse yet, the Duke falls in love with her, too. When her grandfather goes missing and the book her mother left her--her only inheritance--is stolen, there is no one Rainy trusts to help her solve the mystery except the Duke. The resolution of the book is a total surprise, or at least it was for me. Rainy will end up "uncovering secrets that could change the course of Rainy’s life"  (Kirkus). Kirkus goes on to say that Shaffer's writing style, while "a touch too cutesy to mine real emotional depths, the charms of the heroine and the conceit itself make up for it in spades. Catnip for anyone who ever wished they could walk around in their favorite book." There are lots of literary references and adventures inside other books on Rainy's mission to solve the mystery. Booklist calls it "magical, emotional and charming."

The Phoenix Crown

Two award winning authors of historical fiction, Kate Quinn and Janie Chang, team up to tell this tale of intrepid women in the weeks preceding and the years following the earthquake and fire that destroyed San Francisco in 1906. 

Booklist provides this useful summary of the storyline:  "In 1906, opera singer Gemma Garland moves to San Francisco to take her place in the chorus for a performance by the great Caruso, hoping to room with her old friend Nellie Doyle. But when she arrives, Nellie is nowhere to be found, though her housemate, botanist Alice Eastwood, encourages Gemma to stay. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Suling Feng dresses as a boy to help deliver her family's laundry, doing brisk business with hand-embroidery on the side. She is desperate to escape an arranged marriage, and she's also trying to forget her white lover, Reggie, who disappeared without a trace. One of Suling's hustles is serving champagne at the parties of industrialist Henry Thornton, who becomes taken with Gemma and offers to become her patron. But it's mere days before the devastating San Francisco earthquake and it will draw the women together in surprising ways. " They conclude their review with these praises: "Lushly detailed, richly imagined, and utterly satisfying, The Phoenix Crown will entrance readers."

Publishers Weekly agrees in their praise, "Readers of historicals with strong female leads will savor this."

 

 

Mad Mabel

Sallly Hepworth's newest novel opens with the lines "It's interesting to note that there are two groups of people who are rarely, if ever, suspected of murder. These groups are elderly women and little girls." Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is 81 years old and has been living a quiet life on Kenny Lane for 60 years. She gets along with all her neighbors except for the man next door who lets his yappy dog poop on Elsie's roses. Elsie throws the feces back over the fence in an endless battle. When the neighbor dies, Elsie's dark past is revealed by one of her neighbors to the police. In her youth, she was known as Mabel Waller, the youngest person ever to be convicted of murder. Her height and red hair would probably be enough to single her out for torment as as a child, but her father spreads the rumor that, when 3-year-old Mabel got polio, she intentionally exposed her younger sister. Sister Kitty was a toddler and subsequently died from polio. Mabel herself did not know the story until the neighborhood kids started calling her "Mad Mabel."

The news that Mad Mabel was living in this quiet cul de sac of Melbourne spreads quickly and the press and conspiracy fanatics show up in droves. Mabel decides to reveal her history to two young documentarians who want to present Elsie/ Mabel's side of the story.  The chapters alternate between young Mabel's childhood and the present day. This is a story of redemption which "emphasize[s] resilience and the power of friendship" (Kirkus). Library Journal concludes their review by saying, "Hepworth... showcases her storytelling prowess with this dual-timeline tale that is part thriller, part historical mystery and filled with quirky characters that will pull readers in different directions emotionally. The twists may not all be surprising, but readers will be fully enraptured by the story and fall in love with Mabel, curmudgeonly woman that she is."

Welcome to Cottonmouth

This inaugural and action packed thriller by Jay S. Bell takes you on a wild ride from the very start. The book jacket asks, "What does the U.S. government do with spies and special operators when they pass their expiration date? They retire them to a small town deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas, where they're certain to cause no trouble." What could possibly go wrong with this scenario, right?! When a car breaks down nearby carrying two women who are fleeing from sex traffickers with connections in high places, Devlin Mahoney, the de facto "mayor" of Cottonmouth, Texas  must choose between "doing what's right and doing what he's told." Once you get to know Devlin you will know he always chooses what's right and so begins a war between the handful of Cottonmouth's "special citizens" and a man with endless supplies of money, ammunition and ruthless killers. Devlin's predictable infatuation with one of the women, Britte, causes some near-fatal mistakes because of it, but you can trust that most things come out okay in the end.  Gets rave reviews from readers and I hope there's a sequel.  

Someone Else's Husband

This suspenseful mystery is the newest novel from Kimberly McCreight (2026) which offers "plenty of surprising secondary twists" (Publishers Weekly). The Boston Globe similarly comments that "“Multiple sleights of hand propel this pleasurably head-spinning thriller."

Kirkus introduces their review with this summary: "When Gretchen Falk and her husband, Richard, are awakened in the wee hours by police officers pounding on the door of their Upper East Side apartment, neither knows anything about why an up-and-coming artist named Frankie Callahan is dead—but it turns out that Richard knew Frankie fairly well, the two having met on a climbing expedition of Mount Kilimanjaro. The narration switches between Gretchen as her family copes with Richard’s arrest on murder charges and Frankie in the week before her death as she’s concerned about a man from her past; there are also scenes from the Kilimanjaro trip, which involved a tragic fall..." They go on to note that "Much of what connects these characters has to do with American social class" and conclude with this lukewarm assessment "McCreight focuses on class tensions in a plot that doesn’t quite rise to the heights of her previous books."

The New York Times has a more positive review, calling this a "labyrinthine mystery, told from multiple points of view in multiple timelines. It’s far more complicated than it first appears, and it rewards patience." Publishers Weekly likewise praises "Dynamic characters and expert pacing further bolster the proceedings." I was surprised by the ending as we are offered several red herrings that suggest who the murderer might be, and I found the storyline engaging. Secondary characters are only minimally developed; however, they serve to highlight aspects of the main characters.

The Housemaid

This book is the first in a series of 4 novels featuring the "Housemaid" by prolific writer Freida McFadden (pseudonym for Sara Cohen). Our initial narrator is Millie,an ex-con who is desperate to find a new job after getting fired from her last one and now living in her car. She interviews and is hired into the wealthy Winchester household by Nina who is crazy according to all the neighborhood gossip, having been hospitalized on more than one occasion for "delusional" behavior.  Although the husband Andrew is kind to his wife and to Millie, Nina seems determined to make Millie's life a misery, deliberately trashing the house, and giving Millie incorrect information about tasks and then blaming her for the mistakes. Millie is drawn to Andrew and the feeling seems to be mutual resulting in a one-night stand while Nina is out of town. Subsequently Andrew tells Nina that he doesn't love her anymore and throws her and her daughter Cecelia out of the house. The second part of the book tells the story of the marriage from the wife's point of view and to say anything more would be a spoiler. 

This is definitely a psychological thriller that will keep you engaged until the end. The Guardian calls the book "deliciously dark" and "ultra-twisty." The book was adapted as a movie.

Time to Burn

This suspense novel by Ellery Lloyd (the pen name for a British husband-and-wife writing team) posits a current day world in which time travel is possible, but only at great expense. We join a small group of travelers and their guide in 1941 London during the Blitz. En route to the return portal, one of the travelers is severely injured by flying glass from an explosion and one traveler, Sasha, does not come back with the rest of the group. This of course could be a public relations nightmare and so all resources are brought to bear to try and locate the missing person and bring her home.  Here is a summary from the book jacket:

"Mercurial tech entrepreneur Inigo Frank has perfected commercial time travel, though it is tightly regulated and so expensive that it's open only to the very wealthiest. His company, Tempus Tours, has so far been approved for just one route: a journey back to London in 1941, to the days of the Blitz, allowing the super-rich to experience the awesome sights and sounds of the aerial bombardment of the capital during World War II. It's a slick operation--routes across the wartime city are meticulously plotted, guides are extensively trained, and rules for the time tourists are strictly enforced. To immortalize his achievement, Frank enlists award-winning filmmaker Phoebe Hunt to create a fly-on-the-wall documentary. On her first day shadowing Inigo, she is set to witness the return of a billionaire property developer and his family from their trip to the past. But instead of their awe-filled return, she captures the group arriving bloodied and traumatized, with one of their number missing. Not only that, but Phoebe recognizes the missing woman, and knows not only that she's not who she claims to be but that she has every reason to harbor a grudge against her. And as events begin to unravel in the present day, it seems increasingly clear that she had sinister motives for returning to the past--and that people close to Phoebe are in danger. Phoebe must race to untangle the truth--before past and the future are rewritten."

Library Journal says in their review that "The setting is wonderfully constructed, the pacing is fast and orderly, and the characters are well-drawn. ...This is a thriller blended with old-school science fiction at its best: a story rooted in current reality and fertilized with a healthy dose of dystopia." Publishers Weekly concludes in similar fashion: "Well-wrought characters lend texture and emotional resonance to the intricate and diabolically clever plot. It’s a triumph."  

 

Plant Lady

Minyoung Kang (translated from Korean by Shanna Tan) introduces us to unassuming Yoohee in this "addictive South Korean import...part horror story, part noir mystery, and part women's revenge tale" (Booklist). Publishers Weekly offers this summary and glowing review:

"A woman abandons her office job to open a nursery that sells more than plants in Korean journalist Kang's brilliant debut. At her new shop in the quiet Sejin City neighborhood of Dosan-gu, Yoohee has created a lush, peaceful storefront brimming with her favorite plants. Sometimes, she offers her clients advice on removing troublesome insects from their gardens; other times, she helps them kill and dispose of the abusive men in their lives. News of her services spreads through careful word of mouth, but the disappearances pique the interest of police detective Cha Dokyung, who visits Yoohee's shop seeking answers ... What follows is a delightfully tense game of cat and mouse between Dokyung and Yoohee, who devises increasingly ingenious methods of dispatching entitled, dangerous abusers while avoiding detection. Smoothly translated by Tan, Kang's prose is both propulsive and plainspoken, and glimpses of Yoohee's past lend the narrative significant emotional depth. The result is an exquisite ode to female rage."

Although I found the writing to be a little stilted at times, perhaps due to the translation, I was definitely rooting for Yoohee to succeed in her plant-inspired vigilante machinations. This is a quick read. 

The Monogram Murders

This is the 1st installment of Sophie Hannah's authorized continuation of Agatha Christie's "Hercule Poirot" series of mysteries (see also my post on The Mystery of Three Quarters). In Booklist's starred review, they praise that "Hannah... proves more than capable at re-creating the legendary Belgian detective, who once again puts his little grey cells to good use, this time in unraveling an exquisitely tangled triple murder."Also giving this a starred review, Library Journal agrees that Hannah "has re-created the sleuth's voice and character as true to the original as anyone could."

Publishers Weekly offers this summary: "One evening in February 1929, Hercule Poirot is dining alone at a London coffee shop when a woman arrives who looks as if she had "come face to face with the devil." Poirot joins the distraught woman, known at first as Jennie, who tells the sleuth that no one can help her because she's "already dead," and that no one should search for her killer. "The crime must never be solved," she proclaims. Another cryptic remark Jennie makes before fleeing into the night-"please let no one open their mouths"-resonates with Poirot and Insp. Edward Catchpool, the Scotland Yard detective ... after two women and a man are found poisoned in a hotel near Piccadilly Circus, each with a monogrammed gold cuff link inserted in his or her mouth. The rest of the novel lives up to the promise of the opening, complete with dazzling deductions, subtle cluing, false endings, and superb prose."

I am more inclined toward the review from Kirkus: "So Poirot attaches himself to the case, ... alternately lecturing and hectoring Catchpool, and sounding very little like Agatha Christie’s legendary sleuth except for the obligatory French tags. Hannah... would seem an odd choice for the job of resurrecting Poirot. The main strengths she brings to her task are a formidable ingenuity and a boundless appetite for reviewing the same evidence over and over again. The herrings-within-herrings denouement, which goes on for 100 pages, hovers between tour de force and unintentional farce." 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

V.E. Schwab weaves an historical tale of a young woman who, out of desperation, makes a deal with "the darkness" even though she has been warned by the village wise woman to "never pray to the gods that answer after dark." Adeline LaRue has a wild spirit that longs to escape the confines of her small French village in the 1700s. When her parents promise her to a local villager as a bride, Addie runs away and inadvertently trades her presence for freedom. "She is cursed to be instantly forgotten by everyone she meets...A lonely Addie travels the world, sometimes forcibly moved by Luc, the literally handsome devil to whom she now owes her soul. She must survive by stealing and hiding because she is unable to establish any personal or business relationships... However, as she nears the 300th anniversary of her bargain, she may have discovered a loophole in the curse... " (Library Journal). They close their review, calling this  a "well-crafted exploration of the human condition... Recommend to those who appreciate atmospheric, character-driven dramas."

Publishers Weekly gushes in their review: "This sweeping fantasy is as much a love story as it is a tribute to storytelling, art, and inspiration. Schwab's diverse cast is beautifully rendered, and the view of human connection on offer is biting and bitter, yet introspective and sweet. This ambitious and hopeful work is a knockout." Similarly, Booklist praises, "Narratively, this is a whirlwind--deeply romantic, impossibly detailed, filled with lush language, wry humor, and bitter memories. This often startlingly raw story begs the questions: what is a soul? What does it mean to be remembered? And what prize is worth giving those things up?" Kirkus also recommends the book: "This spellbinding story unspools in multiple timelines as Addie moves through history, learning the rules of her curse and the whims of her captor. Meanwhile, both Addie and the reader get to know Henry and understand what sets him apart. This is the kind of book you stay up all night reading—rich and satisfying and strange and impeccably crafted. Spanning centuries and continents, this is a darkly romantic and suspenseful tale by a writer at the top of her game."

The Antidote

This novel by Karen Russell is set in the fictional town of 1935 Uz, Nebraska--right in the heart of the dust bowl and still struggling with the repercussions of the Great Depression. Some books are notable for drawing the reader in with the opening sentence or paragraph, but this one will deter many readers with a prologue which describes a hideous act of animal cruelty. Chapters are told from several different characters' points of view. One of the magical elements of this historic novel is the presence of what are called "prairie witches," who can store people's painful or unwanted memories until the owner wants to retrieve them -- if ever. In this way Antonina Rossi, was the prairie witch of Uz, says she can be the antidote to guilt, shame and other undesirable thoughts. The sheriff of Uz has  often coerced Antonina into hearing and storing the memories of prisoners who the sheriff wants to prevent from complaining about their abuse at his hands. Prairie witches go into a trance whenever someone shares their memories so they don't recall what they are told, but Antonina knows that there are terrible things going on. When she loses her abilities to store and retrieve memories during the April 14, 1925 "Black Sunday" dust storm, she takes under her wing a local teenage basketball star named Dell, short for Asphodel. Together they concoct a scheme to offer fake memories to those who come to retrieve memories. Dell has recently lost her mother to a murderer and has come to live with her uncle Harp Oletsky, a farmer who seems inexplicably to have been spared some of the worst effects of the drought and dust storms. The main narrators are rounded out by a New Deal photographer, Cleo Allfrey, who is traveling the west to provide pictures that would support Roosevelt's agenda.  Cleo comes into posssession of a camera which takes picture not of what is seen through the lens but instead of what historically existed or what could possibly exist in the future on that piece of land. She says of this inexplicable phenomenon that "The emptiness of any place is an illusion.  That's what this camera has taught me. Any piece of earth is brimming over with living (p. 319)."There are a couple of ancillary narrators, too: a sentient scarecrow, which is also spared the ravages of the storms, and a cat. All are ultimately involved in an effort to reveal the cover up of the sheriff, who has arrested and sentenced to death a young hobo for the murder of several women in the area, including Dell's mother. 

The Washington Post praises the book, noting at one point in their review, "what’s wondrous about “The Antidote” is how implacably it keeps swelling, gathering up swaths of history. In some sections, we’re drawn into a brutal institution for unwed mothers, which allows Russell to examine the way sexual roles were proscribed and enforced to control young women. We learn about Polish peasants who escaped oppression in Europe to settle in Nebraska, Native Americans who were removed from this land to make room for White farmers, and the agricultural malpractice that contributed to the Dust Bowl." 

NPR calls this a "spellbinding" and "epic American novel." Kirkus also praises, saying "Russell has always expertly woven the strange into depictions of the everyday, and her long-awaited second novel is no exception." They close with these comments: "A singular, haunting vision that fearlessly excavates the past and challenges the reader to face the future head-on. A storytelling tour de force that lives up to the promise of its name." Publishers Weekly calls it "an inspired and unforgettable fusion of the gritty and the fantastic." The New York Times says the book "blends speculative and fantasy elements with rich language and vivid characters in an effort not to escape reality but to comment even more thoughtfully on it....Sometimes you need to invoke the impossible to capture the truth."They go on to praise, "Russell’s lyrical writing dazzles on every page."

 

 

The Fox Wife

This novel by Yangsze Choo defies genre definition. Booklist offers this summary and recommendation: "In early 1900s Manchuria, aging detective Bao is enlisted to uncover the identity of a courtesan found frozen in a doorway. Superstitious locals claim she was lured to her death by a fox in human form. The case has special significance for Bao, who has unofficially investigated rumors about foxes since a childhood visit to a shrine that may have resulted in the gift of telling truth from lies. Elsewhere, a mysterious woman named Snow joins the household of a family whose eldest sons seem fated to die before age 24. Unbeknownst to the family, Snow has come to town with ulterior motives--she's seeking revenge for the death of her daughter. These two seemingly disparate stories soon converge as Snow and Bao seek the same man, and people from their pasts reemerge in surprising ways. Equal parts detective story, folktale, and family saga, the highly anticipated latest novel by Choo ...will appeal to fans of diverse, imaginative literary fiction, historical mysteries ..., and fantasy ..."

Publishers Weekly closes their review by saying "Choo's writing is lush and the slow revelation of complicated relationships and reunions hum with tension. This is a treat." I agree with their assessment that the writing is lovely and that this is a very slow burn. I initially found the switching of narrators in alternating chapters to be distracting. This is a common storyline structure but in this case the timelines of the the two narrators do not synch up until later in the book. 

Kirkus offers this summary and review: " The rich Asian tradition of fox folklore provides the backdrop for Choo’s complex and atmospheric tale of identity and discovery set in early 1900s Manchuria. Snow (later also referred to as Ah San) narrates the story of her search for a shadowy figure—the photographer Bektu Nikan—during the waning days of the Qing dynasty. She crosses Manchuria and travels to Japan in her efforts to locate the man she believes is responsible for the death of her very young daughter. Snow’s slow reveal of her trek and travails is often whimsical or wry and is particularly informative about the habits and practices of the shape-shifting foxes who are believed to appear in human form. Quite reasonably, this knowledge is derived from Snow’s own experiences…as a fox. Running on an eventual collision course is the slowly evolving story of a private investigator, the aging Bao, whose initial assignment is to determine the identity of a woman whose body was found frozen and dead outside a restaurant. As he follows the scant clues in that case, he becomes more and more enmeshed in circumstances that lead him into the orbit of Snow and her growing posse of humans and foxes. (Events in Bao’s early childhood have encouraged his belief in the presence of human-seeming foxes and have also left him with the personally and professionally helpful ability to discern when a lie is being told.) As the circuitous and alternating stories unfold and begin to converge, coincidence and historical events play out. Snow’s difficulties as both a fox and a young woman in a man’s world are clearly drawn, as is the pathos of Bao’s situation as a gentle soul who’s always been in search of something or someone.An intriguing vulpine mystery worth the suspension of disbelief."

 

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife

Publishers Weekly offers this summary and recommendation of Anna Johnston's debut novel: "Johnston debuts with a sweet story of mistaken identity and second chances. The narrative begins with a failed rescue attempt, as impoverished widower Fred Fife tries to help a nonresponsive man, who turns out to be nursing home resident Bernard Greer, away from a river's edge. After Bernard falls into the river and is carried out of sight, a harried nursing home employee ushers Fred, who looks just like Bernard, back to the home. Because Bernard exhibited signs of dementia, nobody believes Fred's insistence that he doesn't belong there, and when Bernard's body is discovered with Fred's wallet, which fell into the river during the botched rescue attempt, he's identified by the police as Fred. After Fred's initial resistance, he settles into the relative comfort of the home, befriending fellow resident Albert, who, in his dementia, believes Fred is his brother. When Bernard's estranged daughter, Hannah, appears at the nursing home, Fred, who always longed for children and deeply misses his late wife, decides to lean into his lie to offer Hannah a happy and supportive version of the man who abandoned her. Johnston places the painful realities of grief and aging alongside Fred's puckish antics and lands a convincingly hopeful ending. The result is a triumphant last act story." Similarly, Library Journal describes the book as "a heartwarming story about growing old, grief and learning to navigate life's many challenges." And Booklist concludes their review with similar sentiments: "This touching narrative explores themes of community, family, and the redemptive power of new beginnings, illustrating the impact of past choices and the potential for personal transformation."

I found the book almost too sweet for my taste. I didn't dislike the book but it never really engaged me either.  

Dear Committee Members

This epistolary novel by Julie Schumacher is a snarky send up of academia at a small college. Jay Fitger is a professor of English and creative writing who shares his candid views of students--present and former, colleagues, the administration, and his ex-wife among others. 

Library Journal offers this summary: "Jason Fitger, professor of English at a small liberal arts college, is experiencing the death of the humanities in higher education. While his colleagues in the "money making" departments have all the perks imaginable, his department has suffered budget cuts and staff eliminations. Fitger's own writing languishes in the face of relentless interruptions, from writing letters of recommendation for students to commenting on departmental activities to seeking work for his last remaining grad student. Also included in the story is his lively correspondence with his ex-wife and his ex-girlfriend, both of whom also work on campus. In his copious correspondence, he is not afraid to state his mind, even when it's not appropriate to do so... Sadly, Schumacher... has nailed the state of higher education exactly. She has done so with humor and wit, using this one-sided correspondence to tell a larger story. " 

 Kirkus describes our letter writer as "a caustic, frustrated and cautiously hopeful English professor named Jason Fitger. He's a former literary wunderkind who parodied his own writing teacher in a successful first novel called Stain 20 years ago and has since parlayed three unsuccessful follow-ups into a tenured position at a small liberal arts college."  They close their review with "It’s an unusual form for comedy, but it works. "Truth is stranger than fiction in this acid satire of the academic doldrums. Publishers Weekly calls Fitger "a man who exudes both humor and heart."    The New York Times calls the book "terrific" and "hilarious." NPR closes their review with "Like the best works of farce, academic or otherwise, Dear Committee Members deftly mixes comedy with social criticism and righteous outrage. By the end, you may well find yourself laughing so hard it hurts."

This is a light read that will resonate with anyone who has experienced the politics and personalities of academia.   

Curtain Call

This is an oldie but goody--revived by Vintage Books in 2015--that takes place between World Wars I and II in 1936 London. A rising star of the stage, actress Nina Land, has embarked on an affair with a married man, Stephen Wyley, who is the portrait painter  in demand with high society. Quite by accident, Nina interrupts ann attempted murder by a serial killer and unwittingly put a target on her back. Through various social contacts, Nina re-encounters the intended victim, Madeleine Farewell and they collaborate on providing the police a drawing of the potential killer. The brassy larger-than-life theatre critic, Jimmy Erskine, plays an outsized role in epitomizing the moral ambiguity of the age, keeping his life as a homosexual a secret even while constantly flirting with imprisonment through his "recklessly promiscuous" behavior. (The Independent). His talented secretary Tom Tunner is keeping his own secret about his epilepsy as he doesn't want to be  defined by his disease. Madeleine and Tom cross paths and begin a friendship, based on the shared secret of Tom's health and the not shared secret of Madeleine's life as an escort. The Author's Note says that he didn't want the who done it to dominate the story, but rather let the characters he created weave their way toward a conclusion. The New York Times concurs with this approach by saying that "This is a novel that would work as a character study alone — Quinn is that good — but it also happens to be a terrifically satisfying whodunit." The reviewer goes on to effuse "I cannot recommend “Curtain Call” highly enough. As a story, as a mystery, as a visit to between-the-wars London. Basically, drop everything you’re doing and read it." The Guardian calls this a "faultless murder mystery" and goes on to provide a lengthier summary of the characters and storyline. The Independent describes "Quinn's refined narrative voice ... as crisp, melodious and sure-footed..." and closes by saying the book is "a beautifully written, absorbing work of historical fiction."

 

Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone

Benjamin Stevenson has set out to create a very twisty murder mystery that would adhere to Ronald Knox's "10 Commandments of Detective Fiction"(1929) written in the Golden Age of mystery writers. 

The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow.

All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.

Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.

No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.

No Chinaman must figure in the story.

No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.

The detective must not himself commit the crime.

The detective must not light on any clues which are not instantly produced for the inspection of the reader.

The stupid friend of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal any thoughts which pass through his mind; his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.

Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.

 

Our narrator, Ernest Cunningham ("call me Ern"), is an author of "how to" books for aspiring writers and is also trying to solve the murder while explaining his writing process which endeavors to stick to the rules. Ern's Aunt Katherine has arranged a family reunion in an Australian ski resort for this very dysfunctional family: mother Audrey, step-father Marcelo, step-sister Sophia, brother Michael, brother Jeremy (deceased?), Katherine's husband Andy, Michael's wife Lucy, Ern's wife Erin. When an unidentified man turns up dead in very bizarre fashion, Ern begins his search for the killer. Along the way, he reveals how his family members have caused the deaths of other people. Three years ago, Michael "asked Ernie to dispose of a corpse that turned out not to be quite dead yet" (Publishers Weekly). Ern subsequenly testified against his brother who went to jail. but is now being released--hence one of the major rifts in the family dynamics. 

Reviews have been largely positive with Publishers Weekly calling the book "exceptionally clever and amusing " and concluding "Stevenson carries off this tour de force with all the aplomb of a master magician who conducts his tricks in plain view." The Washington Post's Maureen Corrigan praises "Stevenson not only “plays fair,” he plays the mystery game very, very well." Kirkus delivers a more modest review closing with "This book and its author are cleverer than you and want you to know it."

The Keeper

This is the 3rd installment of Tana French's "Cal Hooper" series; see my posts for the previous two books  for more background (The Searcher and The Hunter).  A young woman who is engaged to the son of Ardnakelty's wealthiest man apparently kills herself by drinking anti-freeze and then drowning in the river. The concensus is that she committed suicide but the rumors swirl about why she would have done that. Cal and Lena are reluctantly dragged into trying to find an answer because of Trey's obsession with the incident. As usual, the pacing is slow but beautifully written and you will be carried along by the maturing Trey and the town's dynamics for keeping secrets. 

Library Journal gushes "French is an expert at writing suspense and depicting the stifling tensions of small towns, and her final book in the Cal Hooper trilogy ...brings Cal's story to a pulse-pounding conclusion." Publishers Weekly rightly calls the novel "atmospheric" and I agree with their assessment "Though the serpentine final 100 pages are nail-biting, this will be best enjoyed by readers already familiar with Ardnakelty and its quirky cast of characters." Kirkus says it is "great crime fiction." 

How to Read a Book

This book by Monica Wood is a heart-warming story of mistakes and recoveries and the enormous impact of kindness. Here is Booklist's summary and review: 

"Every Friday, for 2 hours, 12 incarcerated women gather to discuss books with Harriet, a retired English teacher whom they affectionately refer to as Bookie. Violet is one of these 12 women, a 22-year-old who is released after serving 2 years for a drunk-driving accident that left a kindergarten teacher dead. Feeling lost and adrift as she attempts to establish a life for herself in Portland, Violet decides to buy the book she never got to finish in the book club and runs into Harriet at the bookstore. Their chance encounter takes a somewhat dramatic turn when the store's handyman (and the husband of the woman who died in the car crash) sees them and seemingly lunges at Violet. But this initial interaction turns into something much more meaningful as an unlikely friendship forms among them. Told with compassion and empathy, Wood's... tender novel explores the ways people can surprise themselves and others. A deeply humane and touching novel; highly recommended..."

A more comprehensive summary of the story is here at SuperSummary. 

Publishers Weekly was less flattering as they called the book "simplistic" and "predictable"; whereas Kirkus gushes "A finely wrought story, beautifully told, with deeply memorable characters." I really liked the book but decide for yourself.   

Winter Garden

 

This book by Kristin Hannah is a story within a story. The framing story is about a dysfunctional family in which the mother, Anya, has never shown any love or affection to her two daughters, Meredith and Nina, except for telling them occasional fairy tales late at night. The girls' father was the one who loved them demonstrably, but early on in the book he dies and leaves the family floundering. He made the girls promise to get to know their mother better. Meredith runs the family's apple orchards while thanklessly taking care of her octogenarian mother. As a consequence, she has no time for her husband and the marriage threatens to fall apart. Nina is a photo journalist traveling the world and rarely coming home, but when she does, she attacks  her sister for putting their mother into a rehab center where she will get more consistent care and be safe. The mother is showing signs of possible dementia and Meredith is simply overwhelmed with her responsibilities. She is also furious with Nina for never helping or being present to share the burdens of the family business. The historical story, couched initially as a fairy tale, is extracted from their mother due to Nina's insistence as she promised her dying father. It is the story of a woman and her two children during the siege of Leningrad during WWII.Both stories are painful reading and way too long. There is redemption at the end, but it seems far fetched to have transformed these unlikable main characters in such a short time.  Kirkus agrees with me of the on this point, noting that it is "a manipulative and contrived ending...Hannah... sabotages a worthy effort with an overly neat resolution." Publishers Weekly felt differently, saying "Readers will find it hard not to laugh a little and cry a little more as mother and daughters reach out to each other just in the nick of time."

I liked other books by Hannah much more, especially The Nightingale.

The Hunter

This is the 2nd installment in Tana French's "Cal Hooper" series.  See my post on The Searcher for quick background on the main character. It's been about 2 years since the events of the first book and Cal and Lena are now officially an item in the small Irish village of Ardnakelty where Cal is restoring a run down cottage and teaching a local teenager, Trey (short for Theresa), how to be a carpenter so she'll have future possibilities outside the townland. In other words, things are going well until Trey's long absent father swans back into town towing a London "millionaire" who claims to have information about gold depositss on the local area. Of course the pair are planning to scam the village inhabitants of "investment" money when planted gold is "found" and Trey is more than willing to help in the scheme to get revenge for the death of her older brother and the way the village has treated her family for years. Suddenly everthing the three have been working toward is at risk. Cal and Lena want to protect Trey at any cost, especially when she finds the money man dead on a mountain road. Tray has other ideas and is heedless of the potential consequences of her actions. the book is a slow start but a tense wind-up at the end. French''s writing and characters are worth the time it takes to reach the climax. 

Publishers Weekly calls this a "slow burn sequel" that is a "cut above similar fare." Booklist gushes "French's characterizations are brilliant, as always," and says the book is "masterfully written." Kirkus closes their review with this: "The book abounds in local color and lively dialogue. An absorbing crime yarn."

The Coroner

This is the debut entry in Jennifer Graeser Dornbush's "The Coroner's Daughter" mystery series. It is a decent although fairly predictable plot. Dr. Emily Hartford, a surgical resident in Chicago is called home when she learns that her estranged father has had a heart attack. Here's the plot summary and lukewarm recommendation from Kirkus : When Dr. Emily Hartford learns of her father's heart attack, she leaves her promising Chicago surgical career and new fiance, Brandon, to return home only to be pulled into a murder investigation led by her old high school sweetheart.Emily had abruptly left Freeport, Michigan, as a teenager after her mother's death. She felt that her father, Freeport's medical examiner, either couldn't or wouldn't tell her the truth behind the death. And although she had left a note for her boyfriend, Nick, who is now the sheriff in Freeport, he never found it. Now, shortly after arriving to take care of her father, Emily gets pulled into the case of Julie Dobson, a state senator's daughter. Julie was a brilliant horsewoman with a promising career until she was found thrown from her horse, dead from a head wound. Standing in for her father, Emily does Julie's autopsy, and when signs point to murder, both Nick and Emily struggle to find the truth. Meanwhile, Emily weighs her feelings for the almost too-perfect Brandon against her rekindled feelings for Nick, a quandary whose outcome the reader will never doubt. Although we are repeatedly told of Emily's many struggles, the reader is held at an emotional distance by prose that is adequate but not polished. Too, the use of "gonna," "wanna," and "gotta" may be phonetic depictions of how people speak, but its constant use in print is annoying. If Dornbush will trust her own ability to convey insights via actions instead of explanations, readers might want to find out what happens next in the obviously planned sequel."

If you like Patricia Cornwell but want something less grisly, this should fill the bill. I did find the lack of good editing very annoying, however.  

 

My Friends

This novel by Fredrik Backman is certainly touching in some ways but none of the characters really engaged me. The Washington Post calls it "an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a stranger's life twenty-five years later." 

Kirkus summarizes the plot as follows: "Never in her wildest dreams would foster kid Louisa dream of meeting C. Jat, the famous painter of The One of the Sea, which depicts a group of young teens on a pier on a hot summer’s day. But in Backman’s latest, that’s just what happens—an unexpected (but not unbelievable) set of circumstances causes their paths to collide right before the dying 39-year-old artist’s departure from the world. One of his final acts is to bequeath that painting to Louisa, who has endured a string of violent foster homes since her mother abandoned her as a child. Selling the painting will change her life—but can she do it? Before deciding, she accompanies Ted, one of the artist’s close friends and one of the young teens captured in that celebrated painting, on a train journey to take the artist’s ashes to his hometown. She wants to know all about the painting, which launched Jat’s career at age 14, and the circle of beloved friends who inspired it."And they close their review with this praise: "The novel is humorous, poignant, and always life-affirming, even when describing the bleakness of the teens’ early lives. ...A tender and moving portrait about the transcendent power of art and friendship."

Publishers Weekly gushes that "The author is at the top of his game." I have to admit that I only read the first and last thirds of the book.  

 

The Searcher

Now that the third installment has hit the shelves, I finally got around to reading the first in Tana French's "Cal Hooper" series. I always try and go back to the original book when I am interested in a new series. I have already put the next two books on hold at the Library: The Hunter and The Keeper.  Cal Hooper is a retired police detective from Chicago who,  after a painful divorce has bought a small run down house on the outskirts of a small village in west Ireland--the perfect escape from a job and a city he has gone sour on.  Or so he thinks. Then a ragged looking teenager, Trey,  comes to Cal and cajoles him into finding his missing older brother. Everyone claims to think that Brendan was full of big ideas and just ran off, but Trey is convinced he wouldn't run off and cut off all communication. Whether it's because Cal is an interloper in this insular community or because something more sinister is going on, Cal meets a wall of silence when he starts asking questions.

Publishers Weekly calls this book superb and closes their review by saying "Insightful characterizations, even of minor figures, and a devastating reveal help make this a standout. Crime fiction fans won't want to miss this one." Library Journal offers this: "Though neither the expected crime novel nor a quaint mystery, this work brilliantly meshes the two as it touches on belonging, morality, and the jarring way criminality seeps into almost all crevices of society. A thought-provoking ending provides opportunities for reflection on self and community." Booklist praises French by saying she"displays impressive versatility. ... a variation on country noir..." and continues, "This is a fine thriller, but it's also a moving story of an unlikely friendship that grows from refinishing a ramshackle desk to rebuilding two nearly broken lives."  Finally, Kirkus concludes, "Cal is a complex enough character, though, and it turns out that the mystery he’s trying to solve is less shocking than what he ultimately discovers. French's latest is neither fast-paced nor action-packed, and it has as much to do with Cal’s inner life as it does with finding Brendan. Much of what mystery readers are looking for in terms of action is squeezed into the last third of the novel, and the morally ambiguous ending may be unsatisfying for some. But French’s fans have surely come to expect imperfect allegiance to genre conventions, and the author does, ultimately, deliver plenty of twists, shocking revelations, and truly chilling moments. Slow moving and richly layered."

The Correspondent

This epistolary novel by Virginia Evans was a engaging read with it's slow evolution of secrets and relationships. It would be a spoiler to name all the characters with whom our 73-year-old protagonist exchanges a voluminous number of letters and emails, but they include a best friend, a neighbor, numerous famous authors, a stalker and her ex-husband. Sybil is going blind from a hereditary disease and fears losing the ability to continue her correspondence as well as the sense of permanence the letters gave her. She never knew her real mother, who put her up for adoption when Sybil was 14 months old. Her adoptive parents also adopted a boy, Felix, who Sybil considers her brother. Sybil pursued a career in law, both privately as a distinguished attorney and as a lowly clerk to her law partner when he was appointed as a federal judge, because the law was orderly, "black and white." That's also part of why she writes letters, to put her thoughts in order and be absolutely clear about what she wants to say. But it is also how she develops her relationships, finds her place in the world, comes to terms with her past, and discovers an unexpected future. 

Publishers Weekly calls the book a "charming debut" and concludes, "As the years go on, Sybil's relationships brim with tension waiting to be released, and the detailed connections between each character are brilliantly mapped through the correspondence. It adds up to an appealing family drama."

 Kirkus writes this summary and review "A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character. Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters ... Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth. An affecting portrait of a prickly woman."

A Morning for Flamingos

In this 4th Dave Robicheaux installment, Dave is approached by a DEA agent and asked to go undercover back in New Orleans for a sting operation to help catch drug lord Tony Cardo. He'll be presented as a disgraced and dismissed cop who's trying to make some money selling drugs. In the process, Dave hopes to locate and take revenge on a prisoner, an assassin named Boggs, who shot his partner and left Dave for dead in a muddy coulee. Therefore Dave agrees but wants to speed up the process and is soon in the good graces of Cardo himself. What no one predicted is that Dave would come to have some sympathy for Cardo who is the sole caretaker of a disabled son. Here is how Kirkus addresses this conflict: "Dave takes to him and his crippled son Paul much more deeply than to no-good guys like bullying, treacherous Vice Lt. Nate Baxter, who threatens to blow Dave's cover if he doesn't play the game his way. Multiple betrayals force Dave to choose between ... bagging and protecting Tony, between playing by the rules and going all out for Boggs. Another robust study of powerfully shifting motives disguised as an action yarn—thick and strong as southern gumbo."

Here are excerpts from the favorable review by Publishers Weekly: "...proceeds to balance the ... self-doubts of his tough, sympathetic hero with a complex, credible plot in his latest Cajun mystery. Robicheaux, a widower, leaves his small town for New Orleans, where he used to be a cop, to run a sting operation for the DEA. He engineers drug buys aimed at incriminating the local drug lord, an ex-Marine with nightmares and a habit from Vietnam, while trying to ferret out Jimmie Lee Boggs, the killer responsible for the coulee incident.... Attentive to language and atmosphere, Burke delivers action on churning Gulf waters, in city streets, in deserted fields and within the souls of his memorable characters--and a fully satisfying resolution." 

Booklist speaks to the strong sense of place created by Burke and it's meaning for the story and the characters. " James Lee Burke's interest in New Orleans...extends well beyond the travelogue surface. Burke's Cajun detective, Dave Robicheaux, is once again battling personal demons--questions of fear and bravery, violence and compassion, pleasure and pain--and as he stalks an escaped killer and infiltrates the world of a Mafia drug lord, he finds reflections of his own torment wherever he looks. What it means to be Cajun is at the heart of Robicheaux's dilemma: he treasures the easy-living side of his heritage, but with the po' boy sandwiches and the pulsing beat of Zydeco music come the lure of violence and an obsession with bravery and personal honor that consistently puts himself and his loved ones at risk. Can you enjoy beignets at the Cafe du Monde, or hum a chorus of "Jolie Blonde," or sip a Dixie beer without at the same time wanting to bash the head of anyone who smiles at your girl? And when you do bash a head, are you really doing it to protect the things you love or because the simple act of bashing something gives you such a kick? Robicheaux's ongoing attempt to resolve these questions brings new levels of meaning to the way we see New Orleans in particular and the pursuit of pleasure in general. Is the Big Easy really all that easy? Can any of us ever get free enough from our own demons to really experience the pleasures that New Orleans--or life--offers? "

Black Cherry Blues

This Edgar-winning 3rd installment in James Lee Burke's "Dave Robichaux" series. Enemies have already come after Dave and murdered his wife Annie. Now a new threat appears when an old friend confides in Dave that he overheard talk of a murder. This time the bad guys, who work in the oil lease business in Montana, are threatening his adopted daughter, Alafair. Dave goes after them and leaves them beaten but alive. One of the men kills the other and makes it look as though Dave is the killer. Now Dave must travel to Montana with Alafair in tow to clear him name or end up in Angola prison.  While Kirkus is once again less than laudatory of Burke's writing style, they still conclude that "Burke tells an evocative and compelling story of a good man's struggle with the vigilante inside him."

Publishers Weekly is more favorable, opening their review by saying "Burke pits a land-hungry oil company against a Blackfeet Indian reservation in a stunning novel that takes detective fiction into new imaginative realms.." and they continue "Robicheaux's dogged investigation...sets him on a collision course with Mafia thugs and oil interests...All the main characters in this darkly beautiful, lyric saga carry heavy emotional baggage, and Robicheaux's sleuthing is a simultaneous exorcism of demons of grief, loss, fear, rage, vengeance. Burke's fictional terrain--stretching from the Louisiana bayous to Montana's red cliffs and pine-dotted hills--is uniquely his own, yet also a microcosm of a multi-ethnic America. He writes from the heart and the gut."  

The Neon Rain

I was looking for a good mystery series to recommend to my brother-in-law and went down a rabbit hole with author James Lee Burker, reading 3 of his 4 first novels while on a trip to Nevada for a wedding. This is the first in the "Dave Robicheaux" series. In this debut, Robicheaux is still a detective with the New Orleans Police Dept and partnered with Clete Purcell, a continuing character in the series.  Dave is constantly battling old memories from his VietNam days, his cravings for alcohol, as well as police bureaucracy that prioritizes expedience over justice, so it's not surprise that he wants to find the killer of a young prostitute whose body was dumped in the bayou even though his superiors want to write it off. Now Dave is facing off against organized crime and his hot-headed partner is not consistently supporting him in trying to solve the case. What saves Dave from a total relapse to his alcoholism days is the constant care of Annie Ballard, who he eventually marries. As usual the writing is atmospheric and gritty. Richly developed characters are not always likable but they are compelling. 

Kirkus calls it a "bloody, ripsnorting suspenser" and offers in their review that the book is weak on storyline, overdrawn in the violence but still offers "some fine scenes that fairly crackle with menace." 

The Storm

Another book by Rachel Hawkins that will keep you guessing til the very end about who actually murdered the governor's rich and philandering son 40 years ago.  Lo (short for Gloria) Bailey is back in the tiny coastal town of St. Medard's Bay, Alabama, after being exiled by gossip and rumors that she was the one responsible. Even though she was found not guilty of the murder, popular opinion remained against her; but now she says that she has come back to clear her name once and for all. She is accompanied by a journalist, August, who says he wants to write her story. Geneva Corliss is the struggling owner of the Rosalie Inn, the only structure in town that has survived the periodic hurricanes that seem to seek out this otherwise out-of-the-way corner of the coast. The arrival of August and Lo promises to be a boon to the flagging business prospects of the Inn but everything turns out to be more complicated than that as Rachel learns secret after secret about her mother who is now forever silenced by Alzheimer's. 

Publishers Weekly says of this "sleek suspense novel" that "Hawkins toggles back and forth between Lo's return to St. Medard's Bay and the days leading up to Landon's death, marking each timeline with the name of a contemporaneous hurricane. She shrewdly orchestrates the plot twists in each story line, folding in letters, emails, newspaper articles, and excerpts from August's unfinished manuscript to raise new questions and ratchet up suspense. When the pieces finally click into place, readers will be more than satisfied." I personally found this structure to be disjointed and a bit off-putting as some of the reporting is not identified with an author and you have to figure out from the context who is speaking. Library Journal calls the novel "fast-paced" and "atmospheric" and indeed the weather plays a key role in both structuring the storyline and ratcheting up the suspense as chapter titles count down the days until the next hurricane is going to hit. Booklist concludes their review with this positive note: "Hawkins uses her mastery of multiple time lines and characters to great effect in this quick and enjoyable read." Similarly, Kirkus closes with "the story is gripping from beginning to end."

Gone Before Goodbye

This thriller from Reese Witherspoon and Harlen Coben will keep you guessing what's real in the world of uber wealthy clients who demand ultimate discretion from their medical providers. And Maggie McCabe is the one called upon to provide the skills and the willingness to go to an opulent palace in the wilds of Russia to perform some unique plastic surgery. Having always served the poorest patients in the most dangerous places, Maggie has lost her medical license and is thrown a lifeline by a former professor who has connections with this rarified clientele. It will wipe out the debts left behind after her mother died of cancer. Kirkus summarizes "A whirl of surgeries, chases, and escapes ensues as Maggie gradually comes to understand who these people are and what they have in mind for her, and how it connects to [her deceased husband] Marc and their missing friend and business partner, Trace Packer. She is aided by her delightful father-in-law, Porkchop, owner of a biker bar in New York City and a very handy guy to have on your team if you've run afoul of an international criminal organization. From the palace in Rublevka the action moves to Dubai and then Bordeaux, climaxing in a high-stakes illegal heart transplant. But wait—is Marc really dead? What happened to Trace? Who is Nadia really?" And they conclude: "Maybe not the most thrilling thriller, but the role of AI in coping with grief gives this novel pathos and interest." The Los Angeles Times calls it a "fun ride about the super rich...at the same time that it ponders real questions about the ethics of social engineering via medical advances in organ regeneration." Read the rest of their review for a more detailed story line. 

Murder at the Christmas Emporium

First of all, this novel by Andreina Cordani has a terrible book jacket image which does not represent the setting in any way, shape, or form--picky I know but really. I found the plotting entirely too complicated and the multiple flashbacks distracting, but Publishers Weekly loved the book. Here is their review in its entirety:

"Holiday magic goes horribly wrong in Cordani's delightfully eccentric follow-up to The Twelve Days of Murder. Merry Clarke steals her boss's invitation to the reopening of Verity's Emporium, a bespoke London toy store that's home to elaborate displays and strange mechanical attractions. After Montagu Verity, the store's Willy Wonka--esque proprietor, offers a warm welcome to Merry and a handful of other VIPs, the shoppers discover they've been drugged by their complimentary hot cocoa. They awake trapped in the multilevel, secret passage-filled building, their phones having been confiscated upon entry, and soon discover the dead body of the store's head toymaker. From there, flashbacks tease out each character's backstory and relationships to the Veritys, while tense conversations in the present slowly reveal their links to one another. Meanwhile, the store brims with clues and terrors, including a display depicting each guest's brutal murder. Cordani's plotting is devious and perfectly calibrated, revealing just enough to heighten dramatic irony while leaving plenty of room for shocking twists. This canny combination of whodunit and horror makes for a gleefully demented stocking stuffer." 

Likewise, Booklist praises characters and setting: "Told from multiple points of view, both past and present, this compelling, stand-alone mystery with its myriad plot twists, well-drawn characters, and a lovingly described Christmastime setting will appeal to locked-room-mystery fans." 

Kirkus, on the other hand felt much like I did. "...The problem is that at no time do any of her retrospective thumbnail sketches give readers much reason to wish for the grown-up characters’ survival. Even Merry, stuck in a dead-end job and hopelessly in love with co-worker Ross, is foolishly controlling, and TV celebrity Fran, tortured by a secret Cordani teases for more 100 pages before revealing as the most obvious thing possible, is shallow and self-serving. When bad things happen to good people, justice cries out for an explanation. But when bad things happen to bad people, well…why the hell not? A joyless Yuletide tale offers little to celebrate."