Tag Archives: murder mysteries

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Although I read a mystery this week, I also read a tween novel by Gordon Korman. It was recommended by two eleven year olds.

Jett Baranov is the spoiled son of a tech billionaire and Doctors Without Borders mother who is always traveling. His last display of acting out gets him sent to Oasis, a vegetarian, unplugged camp, along with his long suffering minder Matt.

Jeff is immediately determined to get kicked out, as he has several other camps. He breaks into the office and steals his phone back, using it to order a hovercraft and some other items. But he is not thrown out and his father refuses to intervene.

The discovery of a small lizard named Needles brings Jett into a small group who hide and feed the creature and bond with one another.

But something is not right at Oasis. Who lives in the mansion outside of town and what is he hiding?

Funny and with one plot twist after another. Highly recommended.

Now for a change of pace; Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lillie.

Syd Walker shakes the dust of Oklahoma off her feet as soon as she can, although she becomes an archeologist working for the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs). As a child, she was traumatized when two men broke into a trailer and threatened Syd, her sister and best friend Luna. Syd shoots one of the men dead. The other, Luna and her parents are thought to have burned up in the trailer. Syd experiences recurring bad dreams and her sister, although rescued, gets into drugs.

But now Syd has been drawn back to search for her sister who has gone missing. A skull with Syd’s badge has been placed in a tree. Although not Emma Lou, it is the skull of a missing girl.

Unputdownable. Highly recommended.

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This week I read Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce.

This was an Edgar Award winner in the Children’s category. It reminded me strongly of the Enola Holmes books and Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series. Here’s an interesting fact. Although all the protagonists are young girls (opinionated and very bright, it goes without saying), the Bradley mysteries are considered adult while the Enola Holmes and Myrtle Hardcastles are classed as children’s lit.

Myrtle is a bright twelve year-old with an obsession for criminal justice. In the interest of science, she Observes (she always capitalizes this word) her neighbors. When her next door neighbor, an eccentric older lady who breeds lilies, dies under Mysterious Circumstances, Myrtles sees her chance to investigate. Armed with her mother’s microscope, and accompanied by her governess, Miss Judson, Myrtle sets about proving that Miss Woodhouse was murdered. No one believes her, not even her father, but Myrtle perseveres, putting not only herself in danger but also her father.

I really enjoyed the mystery and Myrtle is a great character. However, a young reader would have to be a very good reader to enjoy Premeditated Myrtle.

Recommended with reservations.

Just a reminder: I will be at Rensselaer Public Library Saturday, 1 to 3. The event is free. I will be giving away a copy of Death in Salem to all who buy a book.

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This week I read two books by members of my writing group – the Mavens of Mayhem.

A Wedding Gone to the Dogs is the fourth in Kazlo’s cozy Samantha Davies series. In this outing, Samantha and her cousin Candie are preparing for Candie’s wedding. Of course, nothing goes smoothly. One of Candie’s previous suitors has photos of her – and those photos might disrupt her relationship. More concerning, a dead man is found in Candie’s house and it looks suspiciously as though she has murdered him. Samantha is convinced her cousin could not be involved and investigates.

Frothy and fun.

The second mystery could not be more different. Autumn Embers by Tina De Bellegarde is a more traditional mystery.

While Sheriff Mike is worried about his upcoming election (and is already upset over his separation from his wife, Bianca is heading to Kyoto, Japan to visit her son. A murder, witnessed by Bianca, upsets everything. J.C. was universally disliked so there are many suspects, including Bianca’s son Ian. In a foreign country with none of her usual supports, Bianca calls Mike for help. He runs background checks on some of the other expats and gradually Bianca unravels the mystery.

De Bellegarde’s admiration and affection for Japan shine thorough out this beautifully written mystery. It really inspires me to visit Japan myself. Highly Recommended.

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Tragedy’s Twin is the second Carrie Lisbon mystery by Chris Keeper. (After No Comfort for the Undertaker.)

In this outing, Carrie and her Uncle have left Hope Bridge to visit a relative in Duncan, New York. Carrie has an ulterior motive; Sheriff Del Morgan is also in Duncan. Despite their vow to forget about their impulsive one night stand, Carrie can’t resist her attraction to the Sheriff.

Unexpectedly, Carrie is called to the local poorhouse to tend to one of the women there. She is supposed to have fallen from a window, but Carrie immediately notes the scratches on Abbie’s arms and hands. The fact that the poorhouse windows only open eight inches convince Carrie something about the death is wrong. Enter the Sheriff who agrees and the two are involved in another case, one in which Carrie is almost murdered.

This mystery has everything. Intriguing characters, a fascinating setting, a great story and excellent writing. The Carrie Lisbon series deserves a wide readership.

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I read two books this past week. Neither were traditional mysteries. The first one was Her Past Can’t Wait by Jacqueline Boulden.

At a business function, Emily is groped by an important client. Instead of accepting it, she turns and slaps humans causes a big scene. Although her supervisor saves her job, she is suspended for two weeks. During that time, she goes for therapy and discovers a long ago trauma. Her investigation of that trauma leads to a serial predator and almost costs Emily her life.

The second book was Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney.

Daisy Darker was born with a broken heart which has made her alternately scorned and spoiled. When her estranged family arrives on a tiny island in Cornwall for Nana’s eightieth birthday, they all arrive with secrets. Because of the tide, the house will be cut off for eight hours. As a storm rages outside and on the stroke of midnight, Nana is found dead. One by one, each of the family dies. Who can be killing the family?

Creepy and captivating. Perfect for a Halloween Read. I admit, however, that I was not thrilled with the final twist.

WordPress has ‘upgraded’ which means it is more difficult to use and without some of the previous amenities. Bear with me, I am still figuring it out.

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On a Bookbub recommendation, I bought the set of Marsh and Daughter mysteries by Amy Marsh.

So far, I have read the first two and begun the third.

Georgia and her father, a retired police detective, research cold cases. Anything that piques their curiosity – a little bit of supernatural here – and then write books solving the mystery.

In the first one, The Wickenham Murders, a young gardener Davy Todd is accused of murdering Ada Proctor, the Doctor’s daughter. But so many parts of the story don’t make sense. The villagers don’t want the Marshs poking around but there is that strange music indicating someone doesn’t believe Davy was guilty. Then Georgia discovers Davy’s old sweetheart, still alive, and convinced of his innocence.

In the second book, Murder in Friday Street, a rock musician, Fanny Star, is murdered when she returns to the village to give a concert. Although her partner is accused of the crime, serves time and is murdered almost immediately upon his release, Georgia and her father don’t believe he was the guilty party. Suspects abound but the investigation into ‘the gang’, the friends of Fanny when they were kids, leads to the solution.

These are darker than Agatha Christie but, like her mysteries, show that murders happen even in cozy villages.

Terrific!

Currently Reading – a good beach read

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Murder in the Bistro; a Maggie Newberry mystery, by Susan Kieran-Lewis, is number 9 in the series. I bought it after seeing an ad on Bookbub.

There is a lot going on in this mystery. It really gives the reader of the stresses of a young mother with young children, married, and in the French countryside.

Maggie’s husband Laurent is busy with the grape harvest and is having trouble with some of the gypsy pickers. At the same time, her friend Grace, and Grace’s two children, are staying at the house. The youngest, Zouzou is fine but Taylor is a difficult thirteen. Grace is trying to get her business off the ground – but the photographer is more interested in shooting photos of Maggie’s youngest, Mila.

Then another American in the village, a chef trying to open a bistro, is murdered and Laurent’s partner is accused. The victim is so poisonous the reader is unsurprised when she is murdered, but there are other unpleasant characters in the village. The reactions of the locals to Maggie sure don’t encourage moving to a village in France.

But – I loved the book. I plan to go back to number one and read them in order. Recommended.

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Killer in the Kitchen is the second Chesapeake Bay mystery by Judy L. Murray.

Lizzie, Helen’s daughter, is the host of a popular cooking show. Upon hearing that Roberto, the popular chef and main attraction of the show, wishes to sell his house, Helen visits the set to meet him. When she visits the second time, she is just in time to see Roberto collapse, poisoned.

Worse yet, Lizzie had also tasted the food and is slightly affected.

Helen jumps in with both feet to identify who might have murdered Roberto. Now its personal since the shooter clearly considered Lizzie only as collateral damage.

There are suspects aplenty. Besides Roberto’s partner Adrian, Dana is another host who was pushed aside and lost a huge percentage of her ratings. The food stylist, Mariah, is another suspect, this time with an important secret.

The characters shine here. Although I had a suspicion about the murderer’s identity, I kept reading. I felt like I knew the characters personally and I was engaged in their lives.

Highly Recommended.

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You should have died on Monday, by Frankie Bailey, is the third of her Lizzie Stuart mysteries. They just keep getting better and better.

In this outing, Lizzie bends all her efforts to finding the mother who abandoned her at five days old. With an old post card as her only lead, she travels to Chicago. It does not take long to discover her mother, at twenty-two, was already involved in a relationship with a gangster and, at the same time, with the leader of a group that later becomes associated with the Black Panthers.

When Becca’s close friend suddenly disappears from Chicago, Lizzie follows her to Wilmington, North Carolina and then to New Orleans.

Secrets – who murdered Reuben James and Becca’s lover-gangster – are covered. But one secret, Lizzie’s paternity, remains unknown.

Throughout, Lizzie struggles with the status of her relationship with John Quinn, a man who has his own secrets. Highly Recommended.

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This past week I read Murder in the Fourth Position by Lori Robbins.

This is the fourth in this very interesting series. The protagonist/detective is a ballerina.

In this outing, Leah Siderova leaves the world of ballet for a musical on Broadway. The truth, though, is more complicated. There are rumors of problems on the set and the star of the show, Amber, is being targeted by online threats.

Then the online threats escalate into real world violence, resulting in the hospitalization, not only of Amber, but also of a costumer.

Then Leah herself is targeted. I love this unusual protagonist and setting and the mysteries aren’t bad either.

The second book for the week is Old Murders, the third in Frankie Bailey’s Lizzie Stuart mysteries.

I love this series. Lizzie Stuart is an engaging character with flaws as well as strengths.

Against the backdrop of a fight over the development of downtown Gallagher, a talented local artist goes missing. At the same time a fifty year old murder raises its ugly head. Someone wants to keep bury both mysteries and Lizzie is in the way.

At the same time, she is dealing with her fragile relationship with detective John Quinn.

As usual, Bailey does a great job of setting her mystery against the intersection of race, gender, and the imbalance of power. Highly recommended.