The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves

September 04, 2022

Even if you’ve never read one of Ann Cleeves’ Vera Stanhope mysteries, you can pick up The Rising Tide. It’s the tenth in the series, but it’s a haunting novel that reads as if it was a standalone. While the focus is on characters, including...

The Retreat by Sarah Pearse

July 20, 2022

In the case of Sarah Pearse’s The Retreat, I may be glad I didn’t read the previous book in the series, The Sanatorium. A fellow librarian said she loved the earlier book, and couldn’t get into this one. I didn’t have that problem because I...

The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander

July 17, 2022

I wish I could remember who recommends a book to me when I love it. It’s usually not a mystery because I’m up-to-date with those. It’s usually just a good story, such as Poppy Alexander’s The Littlest Library. I “think” it might...

Two-Way Murder by E.C.R. Lorac

July 13, 2022

Sometimes, Martin Edwards’ notes about a book for the British Library Crime Classics are almost as interesting as the mystery itself. According to his introduction, this novel in the Crime Classics series is published now for the first time. Evidently, Lorac...

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...