Category Archives: mystery

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

04 Friday May 2018

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When murder strikes a remote hamlet in the Shetland Islands, and the body of a teenage girl turns up in the winter snow, Inspector Jimmy Perez launches an investigation into the killing that takes him into the heart of sinister secrets from the past.

Book One of the Shetland Island Quartet (Shetland Island Mysteries)

“Chilling…enough to freeze the blood.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“Deserves the top crime writer’s prize in the United States this year. Don’t miss this standout.” —Rocky Mountain News

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Verdict of Twelve (British Library Crime Classics) by Raymond Postgate

13 Friday Apr 2018

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Since its first publication in 1940, Verdict of Twelve has been widely hailed as a classic of British crime writing. This edition offers a new generation of readers the chance to find out why so many leading commentators have admired the novel for so long.

“Verdict of Twelve is a superb piece of writing and makes other horror stories seem flat and undiscerning.” — New Yorker

The prosecution and defense present their cases, and the jury retires to consider aspects of the evidence that would startle the court. The characters are well drawn, at times frighteningly so, and the ending is perversely satisfying.  – Publishers Weekly

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The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

02 Friday Mar 2018

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I loved this dark, creepy novel. The main character is an alcoholic, agoraphobic woman who lives in NYC who hasn’t been able to leave her apartment in almost a year. She spends her days drinking, watching old black and white movies, and spying on her neighbors through their windows. One day she thinks she sees something very disturbing happen, but can we, the reader, trust her point of view? If you like Alfred Hitchcock, you’ll like this one.

“The Woman in the Window is a tour de force. A twisting, twisted odyssey inside one woman’s mind, her illusions, delusions, reality. It left my own mind reeling and my heart pounding. An absolutely gripping thriller.” (#1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny)

“The Woman in the Window is one of those rare books that really is unputdownable. The writing is smooth and often remarkable. The way Finn plays off this totally original story against a background of film noir is both delightful and chilling.” (Stephen King)

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The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey

26 Friday Jan 2018

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This is debut novel with punch!  Detective Gemma Woodstock seems to have an unhealthy obsession with the victim, a former classmate, and you don’t know why. She seems jealous of Rosalind’s beauty and sense of mystery which has a kind of magnetism on people which Gemma feels she lacks and the train-wreck of her own life reflects. As the secrets of this small Australian town are revealed, her partner and boss sense Gemma has deeper connections to the murder victim, more than adrmissible…but when Gemma falls into the sights of the murderer, nothing will keep her from the satisfying pursuit to its end. For readers who enjoy Tana French and Lisa Gardiner –  a new writer to follow.

“Police work comes easily to Det. Sgt. Gemma Woodstock, the narrator of Australian author Bailey’s stellar first novel…Bailey interweaves her sympathetic protagonist’s past and present with uncommon assurance…a page-turner that’s both tense and thought provoking.”―Publishers Weekly

“The Dark Lake is a mesmerizing thriller full of long buried secrets that sucked me right in and kept me up late turning pages. Gemma Woodstock is a richly flawed and completely authentic character – I loved going on this journey with her and the way the truth of her past was revealed in bits and pieces as we went along. Sarah Bailey has crafted an exquisite debut – I can’t wait to see what she does next!”―Jennifer McMahon, New York Times bestselling author of The Winter People

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Murder in the Marais (An Aimée Leduc Investigation) by Cara Black

22 Friday Dec 2017

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This title is the first in a series featuring female sleuth Aimee Leduc. The story is set in 1990’s Paris with flashbacks to the early 1940’s.  The author’s writing style makes for a quick, absorbing read and her inclusion of details about life in France during the German Occupation are revealing. The story hinges on the murder of Lili Stein, the proprietor of a small grocery store in a Jewish neighborhood. When she is discovered strangled in her bedroom, forehead marked by a Swastika, Aimee sets about unraveling long held secrets that lead ultimately to a present day election.\

“Literate prose, intricate plotting, and multifaceted and unusual characters mark this excellent first mystery.” –Library Journal

“The charm of this series comes from the character and a vividly rendered setting. Aimée rides her pink scooter through the streets of Paris, roller skates through the Louvre after closing time, and tears through dark tunnels under the Palais Royal wearing peep-toe shoes or vintage Valentino boots, her eyes ringed with kohl, trying to figure out who is out to get her . . . Zut alors! It’s quite a ride.”
—The Boston Globe

“Forever young, forever stylish, forever in love with Paris—forever Aimée.”
—New York Times Book Review 

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Odd Child Out by Gilly MacMillan

06 Wednesday Dec 2017

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This is a new writer for me.  Best friends Noah Sadler and Abdi Mahad have always been inseparable.  But when Noah is found floating unconscious in Bristol’s Feeder Canal, Abdi can’t–or won’t–tell anyone what happened.  Noah is British.  Abdi is a Somali refugee.   And social tensions have been rising rapidly in Bristol, England. The writer keeps the tension at high pitch, a real page turner. Against this background of fear and fury two families fight for their sons and for the truth. The writer’s empathy for her characters is spot-on. (Includes reading discussion questions.)

“Macmillan captivates readers with a story just as addictive as her first… [and] shines when exploring the intricacies of relationships… Fans of Tana French, Ruth Ware, and Gillian Flynn will become completely entrenched in the unfolding details.” (BookPage)

“With lovely prose, depth of character and an intelligent narrative, Macmillan lifts the level of suspense with stiletto-like precision: a tiny graze here, a shallow cut there and, eventually, a thrust into the heart. At once profoundly unsettling and richly rewarding.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

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The Strangler Vine (a Blake and Avery novel) by M.J. Carter

01 Wednesday Nov 2017

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“From the thrilling prolog to the satisfying conclusion, former journalist and nonfiction author Carter’s first foray into fiction hooks the reader into a ripping adventure ride, full of danger, conspiracy, and trickery. Young William Avery, a soldier in the service of the British East India Company in 1837 India, receives an unexpected assignment. He is to accompany Jeremiah Blake, a secret political agent with an astonishing talent for languages and Sherlock Holmesian disguises, on a mission to find the scandalous British writer Xavier Mountstuart, who is missing. Each twist and turn of the duo’s journey draws them deeper into the mystery of the sinister Thuggee cult and closer to uncovering the shocking truth at the heart of the puzzle of Mountstuart’s disappearance. VERDICT Carter’s clever historical thriller is a winner.–Barbara Clark-Greene (Reviewed November 15, 2014) (Library Journal, vol 139, issue 19, p76)

“Totally engrossing — the sort of story that makes you forget that there are other books stacked next to your bed, waiting to be read.”–Michael Lewis, The New York Times Book Review

“[A] yarn reminiscent of adventures by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.”—The New York Post

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The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

03 Tuesday Oct 2017

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A group of contestants are filming a survival reality show when a disease strikes the real world. However, isolated in the wilderness, the contestants have no idea, and believe everything they encounter is part of the TV show. This is a gripping story that is hard to put down.

“The TV show Survivor meets Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in Oliva’s stellar debut. . . Fueled by brilliantly intimate and insightful writing as well as an endearing and fully realized female lead, this apocalyptic novel draws its power from Zoo’s realizations about society and herself as she struggles to survive long enough to somehow make it back to her home.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Part wilderness-survival thriller and part dystopian pandemic story . . . a gripping portrayal of an ordinary person’s evolving survival instincts as she realizes she can’t trust the reality she sees.”—Booklist

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Camino Island by John Grisham

13 Wednesday Sep 2017

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John Grisham has broken away from his classic legal storytelling and has written a lawyerless, bookish thriller set in a picturesque Florida beach resort town.

Camino Island, Grisham’s 30th book in 28 years, is a story filled with book lovers – from those who write them to those who steal them, in particular the manuscript copies of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s early works which are housed in the basement vault of the Rare Books and Special Collections Department in the Firestone Library at Princeton University.  Filled with insights on the book trade, Camino Island is a fun read for those who love books!

“Tasty . . . a fresh, fun departure . . . sheer catnip . . . a most agreeable summer destination.” —USA Today

“A theft of priceless books from a library, a book dealer who dabbles in the black market of stolen manuscripts, and a novelist who is recruited for a daring mission all add up to what sounds like the ideal beach read.” – Library Journal

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Wrong Girl (Jane Ryland) by Hank Phillippi Ryan

01 Friday Sep 2017

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Chosen by the Weston Library Mystery Group.  Now the AGATHA AWARD WINNER for Best Contemporary Mystery and the DAPHNE AWARD WINNER for Best Mystery/Suspense!

Investigating allegations against an adoption agency that is suspected of reuniting adopted children with the wrong birth parents, Jane Ryland finds her efforts suspiciously tied to Jake Brogan’s case involving a young woman’s brutal murder and the disappearance of a baby.

THE WRONG GIRL has all the right stuff! The pacing is furious, the characters are great fun, and the dialogue crackles.–Linwood Barclay

A riveting story that will hook you from page one! Unputdownable–Deborah Crombie

 

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