Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead

July 11, 2022

If you’re a fan of locked-room mysteries or Golden Age ones, you might want to try Tom Mead’s debut, Death and the Conjuror. His mystery is a tribute to John Dickson Carr, and all those masters of the locked-room puzzles. It’s evident he’s a...

Pay Dirt Road by Samantha Jayne Allen

April 18, 2022

Samantha Jayne Allen’s mystery debut, Pay Dirt Road, was the winner of the 2019 Hillerman Prize. To me, that indicates a quality mystery set in the Southwest that captures the local atmosphere of the setting, just as Tony Hillerman’s books did. In this...

The Appeal by Janice Hallett

January 24, 2022

Janice Hallett’s debut novel, The Appeal, is unlike any epistolary novel you’ve read. Even the title has several meanings. And, the story itself? Don’t believe anything until you get to the end of the book. All you can do is guess with the clues...

The Disappearance of Trudy Solomon by Marcy McCreary

September 12, 2021

How do authors handle a police procedural written nowadays? Marcy McCreary’s debut, The Disappearance of Trudy Solomon, introduces a fifty-three-year-old police detective who questions her own actions after a shooting. In fact, Detective Susan Ford questions the...

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manasala

May 04, 2021

Mia P. Manasala’s Arsenic and Adobo, will make you hungry, if nothing else. But, it does offer a great deal more. The debut mystery introduces readers to Filipino-American food and culture, with its emphasis on family. There are cozy tropes; the close-knit...