I read about book 3 in this series, Death Comes to Kurland Hall, in the December 2015 issue of Romantic Times, which we’re recapping on the podcast. As I mentioned in Whatcha Reading, like a completely strange human being, I didn’t start with book three. I started with book one, Death Comes to the Village. This review will be mostly about that book, with some warnings about book two, Death Comes to London. A Very Important … Continue reading Death Comes to the Village by Catherine Lloyd →
I’m a sucker for a historical mystery with an angry female lead. Can’t resist. Must read immediately. Fortunately, I discovered this series of books with exactly this type of sleuth on offer. Rhiannon ‘Non’ Vaughan is auditing some lectures at Oxford in 1881. Women aren’t allowed to attend all lectures, write exams or attain degrees, but Non is determined to do as much as she can nonetheless. Non is a fearsome young Welsh woman studying … Continue reading A Bitter Remedy by Alis Hawkins →
I said in Whatcha Reading about reading Lavender’s Blue, “In some ways my brain feels like I am putting on clothing from two jobs ago that fit but feel strange and familiar at the same time.” Now that I’ve finished it and sat with my thoughts and tried (several times) to write out a longer impression, I agree with my earlier assessment that it is both strange and familiar, but disagree with the idea that … Continue reading Lavender’s Blue by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer →
This was an excellent airplane book. I found it on Kindle Unlimited in the airport, and read it on a two hour flight. It held my attention, but was light enough that I could read quickly and not feel like I was taxing my tired brain. There is a lot of dialogue and in just about any other circumstance that would make me very happy. I love dialogue. But the characters do a lot of … Continue reading Death in Soho by Emily Organ →
I mentioned this book in a recent edition of Whatcha Reading? and said, I have started A Most Agreeable Murder and it is extremely silly and absurd and I’m turning pages. Or pressing a button to do so, whatever. There are glowing, I presume bioluminescent, frogs. Their glowy slime is likely used for face cream to create a similarly glowy complexion. These frogs are unique to the town and make a lot of noise. I … Continue reading A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales →
When I’m not in the mood for a romance, I need a cosy mystery, especially an old school murder mystery. Murder mysteries set in post-WW2 Britain – particularly the variety featuring small villages? Yes, please! They tend to lean towards ‘cosy’ on the ‘cosy’ to ‘hard-boiled’ spectrum, and there is a glorious escape from modern technology and its baggage. If you, too, enjoy this type of story, may I propose Catherine Aird’s book The Religious … Continue reading The Religious Body by Catherine Aird →
We have a word among the bitchery: catnip. Catnip in this context is not the plant, it is the trope, or group of tropes that is our personal drug of choice. The Mimicking of Known Successes is a queer science fiction romance/mystery featuring a woman who is of the Sherlock Holmes mode of detective and another woman as the Watson type, although unlike some versions of Watson, this one is intelligent and useful. I understand … Continue reading The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older →
The Spare Man is most frequently described as The Thin Man in space, and the cover copy does a better job of summarizing than I could: Tesla Crane, a brilliant inventor and an heiress, is on her honeymoon on an interplanetary space liner, cruising between the Moon and Mars. She’s traveling incognito and is reveling in her anonymity. Then someone is murdered and the festering chowderheads who run security have the audacity to arrest her … Continue reading The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal →
CW: Death/Murder, Bugs, a scene where a character is deadnamed The minute I saw this cover (we featured it on Cover Awe!) and heard the series name was Midsolar Murders, I was sold. Honestly, I didn’t need to know anything else. In the most succinct genre description, it’s a sci-fi cozy murder mystery. While that definition holds true, it’s also a chaotic blend of world-building, an inventive cast of aliens, and serendipity. For as long … Continue reading Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty →
Killers of a Certain Age is a sharp mix of heist, thriller, mystery, and the type of story where, besides all that action, the four main characters are shifting from one phase of their lives to another. There’s a lot of chemistry, both literal and interpersonal, murder, plotting, hunting, and scheming. There’s also a lot of on-page murder, but because everyone who is dispatched is quite terrible, it didn’t bother me too much, especially not … Continue reading Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn →
Oh my gosh, this was such a tender m/m fantasy romance, steeped in narratives about healing, acceptance, and love. It’s also a mystery about a series of bloody, brutal killings (including, I regret to inform you, the death of a horse). And it’s a political thriller. There’s a lot happening here and fortunately the novel takes its time with all the pieces although it doesn’t quite stick the landing. While the book involves a lot … Continue reading A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows →
