My Grandfather, the Master Detective by Masateru Konishi

I can see why Masateru Konishi’s My Grandfather, the Master Detective was a bestseller in Japan. It’s filled with mystery, short tales, suggestions of romance, and evil. The author, and the translator, Louise Heal Kawai, lovingly portray the relationship...

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman

According to Laura Lippman, Mrs. Muriel Blossom first appeared in the novel Another Thing to Fall in 2008. Lippman admits readers occasionally called her out for being ageist and anti-fat when it came to Mrs. Blossom, who did surveillance for PI Tess Monaghan at one...

Pony Confidential by Christina Lynch

A month ago, I reviewed Paula Munier’s The Night Woods, and mentioned that the theme was related to The Odyssey. Here’s a second mystery, with an even larger connection, Christina Lynch’s unusual Pony Confidential. I’m not crazy when I say how...

Midsummer Mysteries by Agatha Christie

For some of us, when nothing seems to fit our reading taste, Agatha Christie will work. Midsummer Mysteries: Tales from the Queen of Mystery collects a dozen stories featuring Christie’s sleuths. Of course, there’s Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot to kick...