A Killing in Costumes by Zac Bissonnette

August 09, 2022

Zac Bissonnette’s debut mystery, A Killing in Costumes, is whimsical, nostalgic, and a little bittersweet at times. He introduces a character duo who can take on the world together, a sympathetic pair that the reader wants to see succeed, whether they’re...

Something Fishy This Way comes by Gabby Allan

July 26, 2022

It’s time to go back to Catalina Island with the second fun Whit and Whiskers Mystery by Gabby Allan, Something Fishy This Way Comes. Whitney Dagner, owner of a gift shop on Catalina Island, is hiding a treasure chest on the golf course for a customer when she...

Ellen Byron, Interview & Giveaway

June 03, 2022

All these years I’ve been reading Ellen Byron’s mysteries, and I’ve never interviewed her for Lesa’s Book Critiques. We are remedying that today. And, she’s launching a brand new series, set in New Orleans, with a giveaway of a copy of...

The Fool Dies Last by Carol Miller

April 03, 2022

Occasionally, a book comes along that I enjoy, but it’s hard to put my finger on the reason I enjoyed it. Carol Miller’s first Fortune Telling Mystery, The Fool Dies Last, has a few elements that would normally bother me. Maybe, it’s her writing, but...

Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala

February 08, 2022

Mia P. Manansala’s Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries are not typical cozies. There’s a depth and relevance to the series that is sometimes lacking in the genre. I’m not disparaging cozies because I read a number of them. I’m saying that...