Allan Gaw’s novel, The Silent House of Sleep, won the 2024 Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, and deservedly so. The historical mystery introduces Dr. Jack Cuthbert in a story that beautifully entwines Cuthbert’s years in medical school in Edinburgh, his time serving in World War I, and a case in post-war London. Cuthbert is a complicated,… Continue reading The Silent House of Sleep by Allan Gaw
Tag: crime fiction
Last One Out by Jane Harper
I’ve read several of Jane Harper’s books, and Last One Out is my favorite of the ones I read. It’s heartbreaking, as her novels tend to be. It’s atmospheric, set in New South Wales, with vivid descriptions of a dying rural community. It’s bleak and stark, and moving, and filled with grief. It’s everything that… Continue reading Last One Out by Jane Harper
The Crypt Thief by Mark Pryor
It took me a little longer to get into the second Hugo Marston novel by Mark Pryor, The Crypt Thief. The first book, The Bookseller, was more personal to Marston. It was a friend of his who was killed. But, once again, murder and politics are entwined, and Marston and his friends drew me in.… Continue reading The Crypt Thief by Mark Pryor
Stolen in Death by J.D. Robb
While Stolen in Death was as complicated and terrific as any of J.D. Robb’s books, the sixty-second in the series was also an uncomfortable one. Roarke’s youth in Ireland as a thief comes back to haunt him, and haunts Eve Dallas even more. Eve and her husband Roarke are at a charity gala when she’s… Continue reading Stolen in Death by J.D. Robb
The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards
I’ll be honest and tell you I haven’t quite finished Martin Edwards’ The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books. I’m close enough to the end, though, that I can discuss this excellent reference book. Edwards, who is President of the Detection Club, tells the story of crime fiction published during the first half of… Continue reading The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards
The Perp Wore Pumpkin ed. by J. Alan Hartman
“A bad meal is a misdemeanor but going to bed hungry is the biggest crime of all.” Although this humorous crime anthology was published in 2023, the cause it supports has been even more vital this year when food has been uncertain for so many people. According to editor J. Alan Hartman, The Perp Wore… Continue reading The Perp Wore Pumpkin ed. by J. Alan Hartman
The Killer Question by Janice Hallett
Janice Hallett has created her own crime fiction niche, beginning with The Appeal. She continues in that slot with her latest book, The Killer Question. If you’re unfamiliar with her books, she uses letters, texts, emails, phone calls, pub reviews, and in this one, quizzes, as conversations between her characters. From December 2017 to October… Continue reading The Killer Question by Janice Hallett
Kevin’s Corner Annex – Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley
I met Bryan Gruley years ago when his first book, Starvation Lake, was out. In fact, I took him to lunch, hosted him at the Velma Teague Library, and I still have the tee shirt he gave me with Starvation Lake on it. It’s been a few years since his last book. Kevin Tipple reviews… Continue reading Kevin’s Corner Annex – Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley
The Quiet LIbrarian by Allen Eskens
Allen Eskens’ standalone, The Quiet Librarian, is not an easy book to read with its descriptions of violence and war in Bosnia. But, like The Life We Bury, it’s a book we should read. In 1995, Nura Divjak was a Muslim teenager living in Bosnia with her family until Serbian soldiers arrived at their farm,… Continue reading The Quiet LIbrarian by Allen Eskens
They All Fall the Same by Wes Browne
Wes Browne brings back cannabis dealer Burl Spoon from Hillbilly Hustle in a vicious, cruel novel. When two drug dealers in Kentucky go to war in They All Fall the Same, they don’t care who gets hurt or what gets destroyed. Burl Spoon controls his empire in Jackson County, Kentucky with an iron fist and… Continue reading They All Fall the Same by Wes Browne