Lesa's Book Critiques
Sharing Books and Authors, with an Emphasis on MysteriesRecent Posts
What Are You Reading?
A good week here. Dinner, as usual, at my brother-in-law’s. He’s an excellent cook, and there are always leftovers to take home! My sister was at her son’s in Massachusetts, babysitting for her granddaughter, but Kevin still had five of us for...
Orris and Timble: Lost and Found by Kate DiCamillo
There’s something about Kate DiCamillo’s Orris and Timble books that speaks to my heart. The current one, Orris and Timble: Lost and Found is a story of friendship, being lost, and finding your way home. Carmen Mok’s illustrations just add to the...
Booked for Revenge by Karen Rose Smith
Well, there’s something I seldom do. I read Booked for Revenge by Karen Rose Smith, the second book in a spin-off series, and I didn’t read the first book or the Daisy’s Tea Garden series where this came from. However, this cozy mystery works,...
Agatha Award Winners 2025
Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 Agatha Awards, presented this past weekend at Malice Domestic. Best Contemporary Novel: Gigi Pandian for A Midnight Puzzle Best First Novel: K.T. Nguyen for You Know What You Did Best Non-Fiction: Phyllis M....
Kevin’s Corner Annex – The Amber Waves of Autumn
I always appreciate Kevin Tipple’s reviews of story collections. Today, he introduces us to The Amber Waves of Autumn: Noir Stories. Thank you, Kevin. Received from the publisher, Kelp Books, LLC, through NetGalley longafter the December 2024 publication...
The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-Gwang
I switched from those short Japanese collections to a novel set in South Korea. The Rainfall Market is by You Yeong-Gwang, translated by Slin Jung. The Acknowledgements are interesting in that the author crowdsourced the publication of his book, and wrote it during...





