Stillwater by Melissa Lenhardt

Stillwater, Texas. The town in Melissa Lenhardt’s first Jack McBride mystery is as bleak and dark as it sounds. But, McBride isn’t one of those perfect saints, a lawman who comes into town to clean up the place. McBride’s brooding, angry personality...

I Will Have Vengeance by Maurizio de Giovanni

Maurizio de Giovanni’s I Will Have Vengeance: The Winter of Commissario Ricciardi, introduces a fascinating detective. And, Anne Milano Appel’s translation captures the spirit of the man, while her closing afterword summarizes historical and opera facts to...

Caught Dead Handed by Carol J. Perry

What better setting for a Halloween mystery than Salem, Massachusetts? Carol J. Perry launched her Witch City Mysteries by bringing her amateur sleuth home to Salem in Caught Dead Handed. And, Salem doesn’t disappoint the reader. Lee Barrett returns home...

Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves

Sometimes, I forget how much I love police procedurals. Then I read a book such as Ann Cleeves’ latest Vera Stanhope mystery, Harbour Street. Cleeves makes me regret every book I’m reading that is not a procedural. Just before Christmas, Detective Joe...

Ornaments of Death by Jane K. Cleland

Jane K. Cleland’s Josie Prescott Antiques mysteries continue to get better. Josie Prescott has not only grown her antiques business over ten years, she has grown as a character. Readers of Ornaments of Death will find an intelligent, strong amateur sleuth,...