I spent the weekend reading Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica. Thanks to Harlequin Books, Mary Kubica, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. The reader starts out 11 years before the current day with a short prologue of a woman going for run, and meeting a vague but implied bad ending. The reader then transitions to the story of Delilah, in current time, before heading to another character 11 y....

I always grab C. J. Tudor's books. I loved the Chalk Man so much and always hope the author's latest effort will live up to the Chalk Man in elements of mystery and character. The Burning Girls is the story of Jack (yes, that's her name- Jack) and her daughter and their move to a small English village. A group of quirky, mean, and secretive characters greet Jack when she arrives and she quickly b....

Theater Nights Are Murder is the latest mystery by Libby Klein. It is cute and quick. Nothing exceptional in this reviewer's opinion and in fact I found the murder almost uninteresting, instead finding Poppy's love triangle with Gia and Tim the best part of the plot. Still, readers of the "cozy" will probably enjoy the book.

This book is fascinating. The type of book that you want to read a second time. Like a river there are so many bends and runs, so many facets. This is a "story of stories" with family love at the center of three distinct families and their potential relationship with a mute girl who turns up in a small town. The characters of the novel are somewhat simple people. Some more or less educated than ot....

I just finished Broken River by J. Robert Lennon. The author uses a "POV" called the Observer throughout the novel. Some readers may have a problem with this as the Observer is not human, but instead it is a presence; a watching, moving, learning presence.  Otherwise the book is basically a fast moving, short, well-written crime novel. I liked the insights into human nature and relationships, whil....

After talking about the subgenre "cozy mystery" with a co-worker I got curious and decided I had to read one.  So when The Advice Column Murders by Leslie Nagel came to my attention as an Advance Reading Copy I requested it immediately.  And I wasn't disappointed.  I feel it was a great introduction to the format of crime fiction with less emphasis on sex, violence, and gore. Charley Carpenter is ....

Years ago a girl was brutally murdered, dismembered, and her head placed in a backpack for unknown reasons. What the reader does know, is that the crime, although solved, is really probably unsolved. That is the beginning of The Chalk Man by new author C.J. Tudor. The novel uses a familiar pattern of past and present to engross the reader in the youth of Ed and his childhood buddies and Ed as a mi....

Anne is a young mother who has lived through the suicide of both her parents. Then she receives a note making her think it wasn't suicide at all. Were her parents really murdered? This book has many twists and turns, great secondary characters, and a plot that picks up speed as it goes, making it hard to put down. My only complaint is a bit of a glum final wrap up for the characters. Otherwise thi....

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware turned out to be better than I expected. I guess I had let some mediocre reviews cloud my impression before I even started the book.  So the book is about four girls at a boarding school in England and the dark secret that forces them apart and ultimately back together years later. Of course there is plenty of suspense, and the author is skilled at writing characters wh....

This author has many books in our Mystery Section, so when I saw The Late Show was introducing a new Detective--Renee Ballard,  I decided it was a good time to give him a try. The Late Show refers to the night shift and Renee is stuck there because of past trouble between her and another cop. On the "Late Show" shift she responds to calls but then turns the case over to the day shift.  For me the ....