Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd

April 08, 2025

It’s 1954, and England is still recovering from World War II. The country is bleak at times, and the food isn’t what it once was. Nora Breen isn’t what she once was either. After thirty years as a nun, Nora leaves the monastery and heads to a seaside...

Under the Paper Moon by Shaina Steinberg

April 24, 2024

When I don’t care for a book, I always say, this one wasn’t for me, but others may love it. I hate when I have to say that about a debut, but Shaina Steinberg’s historical mystery, Under the Paper Moon, didn’t work for me at all. I found the...

The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear

March 20, 2023

Jacqueline Winspear, author of the Maisie Dobbs mysteries, takes a break with a riveting standalone involving a young woman during both world wars. The White Lady is a suspenseful novel with some unusual twists at the end that I never saw coming. Elinor DeWitt’s...

The Ghosts of Paris by Tara Moss

June 08, 2022

Every time I read a later book in a series, I regret that I didn’t start with the first one. But, I picked up The Ghosts of Paris by Tara Moss to review for a journal. I just wish I’d read The War Widow, the first Billie Walker mystery, before reading this...

The Mausoleum by David Mark

June 02, 2019

David Mark’s standalone thriller, The Mausoleum, is a difficult book to discuss. The flap doesn’t do it justice, but to reveal too much more will give away the story. At the same time, it was also a difficult book to read, told in alternating chapters by...