Book Reviews
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Book Reviews *
These book reviews are totally personal and simply reflect my opinion, curiosity, and taste β
AUGUST 2026 BOOK REVIEWS
By Karin Diskin
This month I read my favorite author. Every July Daniel Silva publishes a new book. In June I start panting for the middle to end of July when I can read the next iteration of the Gabriel Allon exploits. This happens for me again in September when I know that Louise Penny will publish one of her Inspector Gamache novels. Itβs good to have an order to oneβs year! Do you have any favorite authors who regularly publish during each successive year? Let me know and perhaps we can add that to our list for book reviews!
Pistols in Paris by Kelly Oliver
Ransom by Daniel Silva
Daniel Silva has written another page turner novel that includes some of my favorite characters from Silvaβs Britainβs MI-6, the United Statesβ CIA, Denmarkβs PET, Netherlandβs AIVD, as well as Londonβs genteel art world. There are the usual plot twists in the novel. Yet the beginning of the novel reads as if it might be the story of a simple kidnapping of a socialite and its ultimate resolution. No, Silva surprises us with a host of his old character friends and some new ones to spice up the twists and turns until we end with a bang.
One of my favorite characters, the Danish pickpocket and computer hacker Ingrid Johansen has a major role in the novel, but this time is a cooperative compatriot with Gabriel Allon as they try to defeat the Russian GRU plot against Europeβs various leaders. Allon explores the use of drones by various governments. The military incursion into Ukraine is threaded throughout the novel as well as Russiaβs goal of gaining control of its former satellites. Europe. Is the playground for the oligarchs but destabilizing Europe is their goal according to Silva and his avatar Gabriel Allon.
Ransom explores the complicated relationship that the United States has with its European allies and the opening the dissonant relationship provides the Russian leadership. It also explores the use of AI algorithms to surveil and provide information about individuals and groups throughout the world. Silva makes these observations in his newest novel without his usual use of Mossad operatives. Gabriel Allon has apparently decided to enjoy his retirement from the Israeli spy agency. I hope that he grows a bit βitchyβ in this stage of his life and goes back to a closer relationship with his former associates without losing the characters he has fleshed out in Ransom. All and all, I loved the novel. Thank you Daniel Silva!
MAD MABEL
by Sally Hepworth
I was surprised that I loved this novel as much as I did. Initially I thought this might be a summer womenβs fiction novel with a light mystery. Instead I entered Mabelβs worldβor Elsieβsβsince that is the name she went by for the major portion of the novel. Hepworth gracefully takes the reader back and forth with Elsieβs memories of a neglected childhood, the confusion of childhood naiveite, the confusion of power struggles and being taken advantage of by an older person, and the damage misinformation and rumors can do to a person. The reader knows that Mabel/Elsie killed someone. That is a given. But itβs a plot point that is simply there. Afterall, Mabel/Elsie is now eighty-one.
Elsieβs friend, Daphne, is a supporting character that Hepworth uses as a salve for Elsieβs torment. As the reader notes that Mabel/Elsie might become isolated Daphne and Persephone are the graces that save Mabel/Elsie from that smaller and smaller world. Mabel/Elsieβs memories are almost ruminations and when the author takes the reader into Mabel/Elsieβs spare room you begin to sense that Mabel/Elsie spends a good deal of time in the past.
Hepworthβs writing style becomes more and more lyrical as the plot twists and turns so that the reader is not surprised by the almost casual way the novel reveals its ending. You say to yourself, βyes, of course. I must have known that all alongβ¦β but you really didnβt. itβs just that it makes sense when thinking back over what one has read. Neglect and torment for a child leaves many wounds that money canβt resolve. The mystery is how the child survives and becomes an adult. Hepworthβs novel is well worth your time. Its story will certainly stay with me.
Finally, a book I picked up to read while I kept myself still in the big easy chair. Kelly Oliver does not disappoint. The novel takes place during World War I and Fiona Figgβoffice worker and occasional spyβis asked to follow Fredeick Fredricks and find out if he is indeed a German agent located in Paris. The reader is immediately confronted with the clothing shortage during the war, the limited food choices, and the changes from Victorian England to Edwardian England as well as the Parisian attitude of the war is outside their realm so live and love instead of getting depressed.
Women were asked to take typical menβs jobs to fill in for their absences during the war. Thus, women began to feel the pull of wearing less confining clothing, although hats and gloves continued to be expected, and to feel that they should be allowed to have more choices and say in government policies. Fiona travels to Paris and gets herself into escapades almost immediately. She was to make the trip simply as an observer, but no. Fiona dresses as a bellboy so that she isnβt discovered in the same hotel as an officemate and by Fredricks himself. That all three are staying in the same hotel is funny, but convenient. Fiona dons her outfit, mustache and bushy eyebrows, and is quickly asked to deliver luggage to various hotel patrons. This is the beginning of Fionaβs escapades.
Along the way Fiona meets up with a spy that she knew from a previous adventure and Mata Hari. As is Kelly Oliverβs style, the book is well researched and Mata Hariβs dances, garb, and eventual downfall are accurately portrayed. The novel isnβt hinged on Mata Hari but the information provides the reader with some historic information.
Fiona finally achieves her objective as well as acquiring a second suiter. How she resolves her personal conundrum of who to become closer to remains for successive novels. The novel is an easy and delightful read for a hot summer day. Enjoy!
HAVE YOU RECENTLY READ A BOOK THAT YOU ENJOYED? WRITE A SHORT REVIEW OF IT AND SEND IT IN. WEβLL INCLUDE THE REVIEW THE NEXT MONTH.
July 2026 Book Reviews
by Karin Diskin
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers is one of the Golden Age of Mysteries books that I read when I was much, much younger and had completely forgotten. As I reintroduced myself to it, I began to remember why Dorothy Sayersβs writing is as important as it is. What a marvelous ear she had for dialogue. The interchange between characters is as if you were listening in. I felt like a person at a restaurant table listening in on another coupleβs conversation and writing it down (embarrassingly I did that once when my daughter and I were in NYC. It was a nonsense conversation about Central Park, but very, very funny).
The novel centers around Lord Peter Wimsey and his penchant for solving murders. Of course, thereβs a murder at Pymβs Publicity, an advertising company. While most of the staff view the incident as an accident, the owner of the firm feels differently. He asks Lord Peter to solve Victor Deanβs tumble down a staircase and weβre off and running. Lord Peter gets a job as a copywriter in the advertising company calling himself Death Bredon. No one except Mr. Pym knows that Lord Peter is Death Bredon even when heβs spotted at a theater by one of the employees. The following day Death Bredon tells the employee that she must have spotted his cousin.
As it turns out, Lord Peter has a touch of advertising talent and comes up with some clever copy for margarine, alarm clocks, and nerve tonics. He is able to cozy up to each person on his floor and find out background on each. Since Death Bredon is so affable, staff members have no problem sharing gossip. Thus, Lord Peter as Death Bredon discovers the use of catapults, cocaine, and cricket. The reader is able to feel the fast pace of the advertising world with the use of the dialogue. It is fast and much like what one would hear and participate in. Itβs interrupted, picked up, and staff members are in and out of the conversations. Itβs wonderfully real.
β βMurder Must Advertise is the 10th book in Dorothy Sayersβs Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries. Each is a terrific reading experience in their own way, but Murder Must Advertise is one of my favorites. Youβll enjoy it also.
A Sunlit Weapon is a Maisie Dobbs mystery by Jacqueline Winspear and I loved the novel. It takes place in 1942 in England. The United States has already entered the war. Jacqueline Winspear writes about the wartime with great authority. The reader can feel the concept of austerity, the fear of night bombings, and the desire to do oneβs part in the war effort. It is with this in mind that the reader is introduced to Jo Hardy, a 22-year old ferry poiot who is ferrying a Supermarine Spitfireβthe fastest fighter in the worldβto Biggin Hill Aerodome. While flying the Spitfire Jo realizes that someone is shooting from the ground at her Spitfire. This is so odd that after delivering the aircraft Jo returns to the farm area where she was shot at and discovers an American serviceman bound and gagged in a barn. Jo releases the man from his bindings and suddenly military police appear and arrest the service man. Apparently another serviceman was supposed to have been with Joβs serviceman and that man had been murdered. The military police claim that the rescued man murdered his companion.
Two days later another ferry pilot crashes her plane in the same farmβs field where Joβs plane had been attacked. Jo then contacts Maisie Dobbs. Maisie is a psychologist and an investigator. Jo wants Maisie to investigate the crash. Coincidentally Maisieβs husband is attached to the United States embassy. His position is very high up and his particular assignment at this time is to make sure that no one is informed that Eleanor Roosevelt is scheduled to come to England and to visit some facilities that feature womenβs war time occupations. The embassy is afraid that Eleanor Roosevelt would be a target for German leaning individuals who might shoot at the First Lady. As it turns out there is a connection between those who would shoot the First Lady and the plane crash in the farm field. Maisie puts herself in danger to solve the crime and the incipient danger for Eleanor Roosevelt.
The descriptions of the rural German leaning individuals in the novel was perfect. Winspear has researched enough to put the reader right into the time period. The book moves quickly and frankly when I would stop reading I would be surprised that I was in the present time. If you want to slip into a World War II time period pick a Maisie Dobbs mystery. Itβs bound to take you along with it.
The Afternoon Tea Murders by Helena Dixon is a frothy mystery novel that might remind one of the Golden Age Mysteries. Itβs written with a similar mood to that of Agatha Christie. I enjoyed it. The novel is again a 1942 time period. It revolves around a Miss Jane Treen who is an avid coffee drinker and works for Whitehall in England. Apparently Janeβs good friend Arthur Celento is in danger while working in Devon. Janeβs boss asks her to go there and report back to her boss. She is tasked with finding out what the danger is and why Authur Celento is the subject of the danger. Of course Arthur is working for the government in a code breaking operation so, one more time, there might be German leaning operatives in Devon. Jane gets to Devon and arranges to speak to Arthur on the QT but finds out very little initially.
Unfortunately, Janeβs forensic accounting of the boarding houseβs larder finds a great deal of possible theft which is punishable with jail time. She discovers that the owners were selling off food allocated to the residents of the boarding house and keeping the money derived from the sale,.They were also selling food from their gardens to local tea shops and other stores, and misrepresenting the amount of heat available to the boarding house residents. Then there was a murder. The owner of Arthurβs favorite tea house was murdered. Jane and Arthur begin to investigate the murder but thereβs another murder and it causes Jane to feel that Arthur might be next. The two characters become worried that theyβre not working fast enough to solve the murders and discover why these people were victims. Was there someone who gave away some secrets from the code breaking department? Is that why there have been two murders in sleepy Devon? Fortunately with a bit of a twist Jane and Arthur discover the reason and the person responsible for the murders and why there was a focus on Arthur. The Afternoon Tea Murders is a good cozy. I liked it.
Book Reviews for June 2026
Lois Winstonβs Seams Like the Perfect Crime: Anastasia Pollackβs Crafting Mystery doesnβt disappoint. Although itβs number 14 in the series the reader is immediately taken into the background of the characters and Anastasiaβs history. Ms. Winston has an easy way of imparting all of the information that one needs to enter into Anastasiaβs world regardless of whether you pick up the first in the series or the fourteenth.
It seems that the Union County police department has a shortage of homicide detectives. This gives Detective Spader a ready excuse to one more time invite Anastasia to help with his investigation of the murder of Anastasiaβs new across the street neighbor. Anastasia is newly married to Zack Barnes who is a bit reluctant for Anastasia to get involved; however, when Anastasia insists Zack is very supportive and at times helps out with the investigation. Zackβs help opens up a subplot whether or not Zack is actually an agent for the CIA. The subplot is mentioned fairly often throughout the novel but the reader is left to guess. Perhaps book fifteen will answer the question.
Meanwhile, the murdered across the street neighbor was Barry Sumner who participated in Revolutionary War reenactments. The weekend before his death Barry had been in a reenactment that ended in a brawl that left Barry with black eyes and bruises on his face. Anastasiaβs son, Nick, had discovered the body but it was Zack who had approached the body and discovered that Barry had been stabbed by a sword typical of those carried by Revolutionary War soldiers.
Gloria, Barryβs wife, with the help of her financial advisor, arranged the viewing and funeral. During the viewing another brawl broke out which then doubled Anastasiaβs list of possible suspects. Gloria doesnβt seem to be able to get her story together and is one of Anastasiaβs chief suspects, but after Gloriaβs son, Billy, is invited to Anastasiaβs home and is befriended by Anastasiaβs son Nick, Anastasia begins to doubt that Gloria had the stomach to kill her husband. The friendship between the two young boys might also be a plot line for further Anastasia Pollack books.
Winstonβs writing is easy, immersive, and delightful. There are instructions for a memory quilt at the end of the novel (I wish a pattern had been included. I need one!). I enjoyed the novel β read it. Youβll have a good time.
A Spoonful of Murderβ fits right into the cozy mystery genre. Three retired teachers meet every week for a get together over a cup of tea and a piece of cake. Thelma is the take care of business type, Liz has a lot on her plate due to home issues, and of the three is the most astute. Pat is the character less clearly drawn, but at the end of the novel is the closest to solving the crime.
It turns out that one week the ladies bump into another retired teacher called Topsy. Topsy is not quite as healthy as the other three but is still active and gets around. However, after the chance meeting, Topsy turns up dead. The three friends determine that they need to investigate Topsyβs death. There are many suspects, red herrings galore, and a good number of funny incidents along the way. The authorβs sense of humor is apparent throughout the book and handles the three amateur sleuths often with a light, often funny, touch.
The book opens with the author writing in the first person. It gives the novel a sense of immediacy, but truthfully I had to get used to it. After a few pages one does fall into it and the novel reads quickly. There are times that I had to check to see which character the chapter opened with, but that just requires double checking (or not reading while one is tired!).
Hall also explores the concept of aging. Each of the main characters is a woman who is aged and represents a variety of characteristics and fears associated with aging. Memories become precious and burnished with time for them, but always thereβs the fear that the memories will be lost in the miasma of dementia. Hall does an excellent job of handling these fears and inevitable loss of independence but with the addition of a quirky sense of humor. Itβs a good book and one that is worth your time. Enjoy!
The Thing About Amanda: A Story in Letters is by Lise McClendon. We read a novel of hers a few years ago: Blackbird Fly that you all enjoyed. This novel is one that is written as letters back and forth between sisters (if you were with us then you might remember that there are several sisters in the family), her husband Pascal, and between Merle and her Aunt Amanda. Amanda is in a womenβs prison for killing her husband. Sheβs almost 90 and quite crotchety. Of course, if one is in prison for life I guess being cranky might be expected. Amanda is actually Merleβs former husband, Harryβs aunt, but Merle feels compelled to visit Amanda because Amanda is the one who brought Harry up when his parents died in a car crash
Merle infers that there is more to Harryβs parentsβ crash than what was initially reported and determines to investigate. She gathers newspaper clippings of the crash, tries to find people who were at the dinner that night at Harryβs parentsβ friendsβ home, as well as trying to find the driver of the mysterious black car. What was it all about?
All of this activity occurs at the same time Merle tries to take care of her mother who is sick and needs care. Merleβs days are filled and she has to delay flying home to France and Pascal. Still, she feels that she owes Harry the investigation. Afterall, the parentsβ deaths and how he was brought up shaped the adult Harry became.
The style of writing is engaging. The mystery is one of familiesβ secrets, loyalties, and fragments of memories. Itβs a short novel, but well worth your time. Lise McClendon continues to write about the Bennett sisters and I feel as if Iβm a distant relative when I read her novels.
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French Windows by Antoine Laurain reminded me of the movie Sixth Sense and works by Camus. I donβt know why and will have to think about it for a while. I loved this book. Nathalia Gultry is a photographer who claims to have witnessed a murder on the fifth floor of an apartment building in Paris. This has traumatized her, she says, and thus she is unable to work. She begins to attend therapy with a Dr. Faber who suggests that she write about the people she sees on each floor, starting with the ground floor. The novel takes the reader from floor to floor and the reader then reads what Nathalia ostensibly supplies to the psychotherapist each week.
Why does Dr. Faber not report a murder and the witness to the police are not issues. Instead the reader sails from floor to floor, reading the stories as if a ship is slowly rocking but the reader canβt figure out where the ship is headed. We know something is wrong. Is Nathalia telling fabricated stories or are the observations real? Is Nathalia real and Dr. Faber just a bit off his rocker? The reader has to continue sailing on the authorβs ship, never quite knowing the destination but feeling increasingly suspicious.
The ending is a surprise and how it is written is what reminded me of the movie. The meat of the novel is what reminded me of Camusβs writing. Itβs short, but packed with Parisian perfection. I am intrigued by this novel and recommend it to you.
Book Reviews for May 2026
This was a busy reading time and writing time. Iβve been trying to decide if I prefer reading from an actual bound book or one on Kindle. Each serves a different reason for me and I am addicted to both.
Cleo Coyleβs Dead to the Last Drop was published in 2015 and is book 15 in an ongoing Coffeehouse series. The author did quite a bit of research for this book, incorporating information about Washington D.C., the brewing of coffee, and jazz.
The author started the novel with Clare Cosi (love the name since it reminds the reader the novel is cozy) and her boyfriend, Mike Quinn, driving away from D.C. to keep Clare from being arrested. The book then cleverly integrates what led up to the escape so that the reader is seeing the events through the charactersβ mindsβ eyes. Itβs a clever technique and was quite successful in this book. Clare, it turns out, is in D.C. to open and run the new tavern and restaurant that specializes in coffee varieties and good food. The tavern section has jazz nights and the story starts out with a patron collapsing in it muttering βyour father--the truth.β The novel reveals that Clare has befriended the Presidentβs daughter who is a surprisingly accomplished jazz pianist. Unfortunately, the Presidentβs wife and the President himself had not planned for that to be a serious endeavor or lifestyle.
There are a number of funny scenes including the one with the chef who insists on displaying his culinary skills with some really strange menu offerings (e.g. Sea Turbot stuffed with cranberry chutney--yuk!). Fortunately the chef walks off in a huff as Clare fires him, and Luther the sous chef takes over as the main chef. Lutherβs fare sounds yummy and Coyle includes some of the recipes at the end of the novel.
I wasnβt familiar with the series and now want to read more of Cleo Coyleβs novels. This one was a βjust one more chapterβ kind of book. I didnβt want to put it down. Youβll love the series.
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This is a compilation of novellas that are available on Kindle and by Audio. There are about 27 novellas written by a partnership of Matthew Costello (based in the U.S.) and Neil Richards (based in the U.K.). The co-authors have been writing together since the mid-90βs and have written for the BBC, Disney, ABC, and Nintendo to name a few. These novellas are set in the small town of Cherringham where everyone says that nothing bad ever happens and surprisingly there are several murders a la Murder She Wrote. The three novellas included in the first set are Murder on Thames, Mystery at the Manor, and Murder by Moonlight. I thought the last two were much better than the first, but perhaps that was because the first novella spent a deal of time introducing the two characters that eventually team up to be detectives for the murders that occur. Jack, an ex-NYC detective, and Sarah, a local graphic designer team up to investigate the different murders. The first novella gives the reader/listener the background for each sleuth with Jackβs story a bit more poignant than Sarahβs.
Frankly, the description of the sleepy town and itβs main characters sucked me in. I was ready to move there and go to their local pub and sit and have light conversation with anyone who drifted in. The novellas are shorter than a regular novel, but these also create a profound description of a locale that has its customs, welcomes its visitors, respects its localsβ quirks, and has history. I wanted to be there.
The novellas have to be read/listened to in order as they build upon one another. For instance in the third novella you learn that Jack is becoming interested in Sarah but his memory of his wife interferes with his taking any action. Meanwhile as the novellas progress, Sarahβs children grow up. If youβre listening to the novellas, Neil Dudgeon is the narrator. Since Neil Dudgeon is Detective Barnaby on Midsomer Murders, it brings a bit of homey richness to the audio. Mr. Dudgeon shifts his voice so that Jack sounds like a hard, somewhat bitter NYC detective. It gave it a bit of a Dashiel Hammett vibe. When Jack realizes that Sarah might be of interest, Dudgeonβs voice takes on a βI canβt believe myselfβ tone. Itβs as if one could see Jack shaking himself to get real. I love it and I love the novellas. Try them.
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I know that I reviewed another Kelly Oliver book last month, but I really loved what I read and decided to read more of the series. This is The Case of the Christie Conspiracy and the first of The Detection Club Mysteries. How nice that Kelly Oliver planned the series. I think that she allowed her charactersβ arcs to develop very well. In this novel the characters are introduced and Eliza obtains her job by way of Dame Agatha as Dorothy Sayersβ secretary.
The incident of Agatha Christieβs disappearance is eventually solved by Eliza but not before Eliza and Theo, the clubβs newest member, compete as sleuths. This is funny and also provides for some tension as the rivalry can be well-imagined by the reader. We find out that Eliza had been a spy during the Great War and her partner had been killed. Oliver establishes Elizaβs background as an impediment for Eliza to accept the possibility of a romance with Theo.
The murder mystery begins with Lord Nevilleβs murder at one of the Detection Clubβs meetings. It so happens that this was the meeting during which Theo was inducted. Who murdered Neville is the driving mystery that initially brings Eliza and Theo together, but then Agatha Christie disappears. Since Neville and Christie had had a disagreement, the book posits that Agathaβs disappearance is almost a confession that Dame Agatha had done the deed. Of course the reader knows that this is impossible so the two mysteries become entwined and the sleuthing begins.
I think that Kelly Oliverβs view of her characters became more involved as she continued the series. Iβll probably continue to read the series because Iβm hooked on the Eliza-Theo romance. The novels are fun cozies and the authorsβ writing becomes better with each of her successive novels. I love that as well.
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Iβm addicted to the tea shop mysteries. Itβs a bit embarrassing, but Iβm still faithful. I think Laura Childs had a bit of a βre-enthusiasticβ feeling about her series because the last few that Iβve read (this one is # 26) are a bit better constructed. Honey Drop Dead was one of the good ones. I didnβt guess the murderer until the reveal and was actually surprised. This novel starts out with Theodosiaβs tea set up in a new park in Charleston, South Carolina in response to Holly Burnsβ request that Theodisia cater the event.
Since the park has a community beekeeping project, the theme of Holly Burnsβ event is honey bees. Theodosia offers honey everything -- the tea is honey drop, the cakes are honey themed, the scones are also honey bee themed, and thereβs honey to drip on whatever goodie one chooses from the catered offerings.
Holly Burns is a new gallery owner and has on display works from artists, both established and new. The event has tables with tablecloths and elegant settings on the tables, centerpieces that are deep yellow to carry out the theme of the event, and guests who include political candidates and their guests. However, someone interrupts the affair by spraying toxic smoke at the guests causing the party to fall into chaos and Osgood Claxton III falls down dead. Since heβs a candidate for the state legislature the murder takes on political overtones.
Meanwhile,Theodosia foolishly chases the culprit but loses him at the edge of the park in the midst of the tall grass and bushes. She asks her stalwart tea sommelier, Drayton, to not tell her boyfriend who happens to be on the police force that she chased the culprit. Police arrive including Detective Tidwell. Detective Tidwell appears in many of the tea shop mysteries and is still grumpy, clever, and a supporter of Theodosiaβs sleuthing. Tidwell loves nothing better than being offered scones or muffins and a cup of tea when he visits Theodosiaβs tea shop.
Some guests were injured by the fumes while the paintings from the gallery display were destroyed or damaged. The event turned into a fiasco that made newspaper headlines. As a result Hollyβs gallery was in danger of losing its reputation and Holly would lose artists and money. So, she asked Theodosia to investigate the murder at the same time the police were investigating. Drayton reminded Theodosia that she had a pretty full plate. She had two events that were coming up within days.Theodosia agrees to running a shadow investigation nonetheless.
Theodosia finally has to confess her involvement to her police detective boyfriend who gives Theodosia a bit of information that the police have gathered. However, thereβs a second murder and Theodosiaβs sleuthing becomes a personal danger.
The plot is much more complex than other tea shop books. Honey Drop Dead is a good read. One of the quarrels I have with Laura Childs is that she doesnβt grow some of her main characters. Both Drayton and Theodosia donβt seem to age, but Hayley, Theodosiaβs tea shop chef does age. Itβs a bit of a confusion. Still, the book is fun and definitely a cozy mystery. Iβm looking forward to numbers 27 through 30.
Book Reviews for April 2026
by Karin Diskin
by
Queen of Poisons
by Robert Thorogood
Oh how I love a good Thorogood novel and this one is marvelous. Itβs book 3 in the Marlow Murder Group series and is soon to be on television. Yippee for us!
The novel opens with the mayor, a very affable and universally liked person, dropping dead with a cup of coffee in front of him. No one else at the Town Council meeting has died from their own drink so what happened? Who would kill someone everyone likes?
The police again invite Suzie, Becks, and Judith to help them solve the crime. This time the crime seems to be full of suspects. Thereβs the embezzler, the spurned lover, the blackmailer, the gardener with a bed of poisonous plants, the developer who starts projectcs with and without the councilβs approval, and still others. With so many possibilities the women decide to make a murder board. to help sort out the inf
ormation.
The murder board gets put in Judithβs βother roomβ in her house fronting the Thames. In this novel Judith swims only a few times. She seems to be a bit more aware of swimming in her birthday suit than in the previous novels. Judithβs workroom is replete with more than a decadeβs worth of newspapers and newspaper clippings. Susie and Becks gently try to persuade Judith to burn the whole lot, but Judith is reluctant to give up her past. Coincidentally, it is a newspaper clipping that gives the women the right clue that unlocks the mystery.
The novel amusingly puts forth the questions of WHO committed the crime and WHY with the HOW being the biggest question. The women eventually answer each of the three questions, surprise the police with the solution, and get closer to helping Judith escape her past (and hoarding problem). It was so fun reading this novel. I loved it and wish that I could meet the three women and be part of their group. Thank you Mr. Thorogood for a very pleasant two days with your novel.
Wendy Corsi Staubβs light paranormal is a good read. I donβt usually choose to read paranormal mysteries but this series doesnβt dwell to heavily on the psychic powers of some of the characters. Instead, Staub develops a handsome set of inhabitants of Lily Dale, a very small town in what sounds like upper state New York. The main character is Bella Jordan. Sheβs a young widow with a son, Max, who is in first grade. Heβs just beginning to get over the death of his father. Bella purchases a B and B and is in the process of redoing the guest rooms to get ready for tourist season.
The story opens when Pandora drops over to Bellaβs for a chat and easily persuades Bella to host Pandoraβs Aunt Eudora and Eudoraβs special friend Nigel. Eudora and Nigel are coming to America on a cruise from England and Pandora asks that Bella host them gratis. Bella agrees and then continues to berate herself for agreeing to do this for free, especially when Eudora and Nigel turn up to be very, very demanding guests. Fortunately Bella can depend on her best friend Odelia Jourdan to help out with this and that, including bringing over bacon for a complicated breakfast request, watching Max and his best friend, and agreeing to read Eudoraβs future or past at Eudoraβs request.
Bella senses that things arenβt quite right in her home. Items seem to be moved slightly, there are noises when there shouldnβt be, and the like. Bella tosses them off to her imagination. But it makes her feel just a bit off kilter. At the same time, Bella is trying to maintain a relationship with the local vet who is very interested in Bella, and run a book club that should be run by someone other than herself since sheβs new to the club. With so much on Bellaβs plate, she thinks, itβs no wonder she thinks that sheβs hearing things.
The mystery finally draws to a highpoint when Pandora begins to suspect something is fishy with Aunt Eudora and Nigel. How Staub manages her mystery without dwelling on using a psychic powers trope is clever. I enjoyed the novel. Itβs light reading and cleverly plotted. Since itβs part of a series and there are many characters, it would be sensible to read the first few of the series to be introduced to the peripheral characters. It would make for a meatier read.
Of the three novels, this was my favorite. Kelly Oliverβs The Case of the Christie Curse is an homage to the Agatha Christie novels. In this novel Agatha Christie is a character that is integral to the plot, but she isnβt the main character. Eliza Baker is the protagonist. Her special friend is Theo, a writer and would be novelist.
Eliza is invited to Dorothy Sayerβs home for an interview and is hired to be the secretary of the Detective Club. This happens before this particular novel, but is important to know for the way the story unfolds. Thus, when Eliza receives a letter from Agatha Christie expressing her anxiety about feelings that something isnβt right among the participants on the dig at the ruins of Ur in Mesopotamia, Eliza invites not only Theo, but Dorothy Sayers as well. They resolve to go to Mesopotamia and help out Agatha identify the unseen-unknown problems there. There are the two murders, the need to watch out for the wadis, and the various characters who may be suspects. Throughout the novel Dorothy Sayersβs character provides a running commentary of βget on with itβ spirit and βman upβ humor. She sounds almost like a Dorothy Parker character, but isnβt.
β β Kelly Oliverβs writing in this novel is at times elegiac. There is such beauty to the writing that she attributes to Theo and to her descriptions of the area, that one could only wish to be the subject of the manβs words or pine to be in the Mesopotamia of the early 1930βs that Oliver describes. Iβm reading the first of this series and Oliver gets more poetic as she moves the characters along their arc.from book to book. I am anxious to read $4 in the series.
Book Reviews for March 2026
by Karin Diskin
My TBR Books
Dead to the Last Drop by Cleo Coyle
Dead in the Frame by Stephen Spotswood
Glory Daze by Danielle Arcenaux
Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge
What a month for book reviews! Iβve been reading with my old glasses and noticed that the words were getting more and more difficult to read. Off I went to the optometrist and sure enough I needed new glasses, but I love my frames (theyβre a delicious violet color). The solution was to get the lenses replaced and keep the frames. Well, I went back this week to get the new ones and I was a bit too enthusiastic and they werenβt quite finished. While I was waiting to find out an estimate of time I spied frames that were to die for. Theyβre an amazing dark blue and gold. Oh yes, I wanted them with all my heart, but theyβre so, so expensive. Iβll have to save up for them and continue to love the delicious violet ones. How easily I fall in love!
These are the books that I read this past month that I fell in love with as well as those glasses:
Published in 2024, the novel Reading Between the Lies is Lynn Cahoonβs fourth in her Survivorβs series. This novel centers on the main characterβs move to Sedona, Arizona and opening a book store called The Next Chapter. Rarity, the main character, is in remission from her bout with cancer. Grateful for her health, she wants to give back to her community and support other new ventures as well as the children living in the area. Her bookstore features several different book clubs and most evenings the bookstore is open to one type of meeting or another. Tuesday evenings are the Murder Club meetings. Another club is the Mommy and Me crafts and books meetings. Those meetings are run by an older woman, Shirley, who has a husband, George, in a memory care home. Shirleyβs friend Terrance asks her to go to an Art Gallery opening for a new artist, but Shirley is afraid that the small Sedona community will think that she has abandoned her husband and started dating. Shirley asks Rarity and Rarityβs best friend to go as cover for her.
Rarity also has a new boyfriend after an emotional ending of a previous relationship. Rarity and her new boyfriend as well as Rarityβs best friend, Sam go along with Rarityβs boyfriend and Samβs boyfriend. The reception for the new artist is successful, but the next morning the gallery owner, Jackson, is discovered dead in the center of a so-called vortex and with an arrow through his back by Rarityβs boyfriend. The arrow had poison on the tip of it. The mystery begins there. Rarity has to solve the crime so that her boyfriend is not arrested for the murder,
Lynn Cahoon does a fine job of moving the mystery along as well as describing the energy of a vortex, the attraction a vortex has, and the popularity of Sedona with tourists. She also describes the attraction for crystals and their popularity. She is a very good salesperson for taking a trip to the area. Itβs easy enough to guess who the ultimate culprit is, but it doesnβt detract from the novel because the author develops the growing seriousness of Rarityβs and the boyfriendβs relationship. Itβs a comfortable read for a very hot weekend.
Sue Minxβs Murder at the Bookstore was published at the beginning of 2023 and certainly spoke to me when I recently read it. The novel is about a crimewriter who wrote a bestselling book and then canβt manage a terrible case of writerβs block. No matter what Jen attempts, sheβs stalled with the notion that sheβll never meet her own or her readersβ expectations of her writing. Jen finally returns to her hometown where she has some oldtime friends. She locates herself in a friendβs bookstore to write and drink copious amounts of coffee. As luck, or the usual cosy murder book, would have it, the owner of the bookstore suddenly dies and when the will is read, Jen finds that she is the new owner. This creates even more trouble for Jen. Sheβs the likely suspect for the ownerβs death. Jenβs attention to crime is now a real life incident and Jen has to clear her own name. The author involves the reader in sailing, meeting a family in which the grandmother cooks amazing food, By the end several people are put in danger but the culprit is finally found. Ms. Minx moved the novel along and did an excellent job of character development. Readers got to really know Jen and her best friend Brittany. The original bookstore ownerβs reasons for leaving the bookstore to Jen also helped to develop her backstory and motivation. This is the first in a proposed series and Iβd like to read more of the authorβs work. Itβs generally a fast read and a cozy that not only solves a murder but also introduces the reader to families in differing economic situations. All and all, Iβm happy that I read the novel. And Jen starts writing again!
Lady Rample and the Winter FΓͺte by Shea Macleod was published December, 2025. Itβs simply fun. The main relative is named Butty. Isnβt that a fun name? Aunt Butty unknowingly includes a priceless heirloom with her donations to the winter fΓͺte in her village. Her niece, Ophelia -- Lady Rampole -- has to retrieve it before Aunt Buttyβs mistake becomes a fait accompli. But thereβs a cat burglar among their set who complicates the entire enterprise. The story takes place during the 1930βs and seems to have avoided the global recession. Since itβs a cozy mystery and each of the characters wears pretty clothing, lives in a village which sounds quite quaint, and has an appellation that speaks of royalty, I loved it. That it was a novella made it even better. I could read it in a quick minute and move onto more complicated mysteries! Thank you Ms. Macleod.
Book Reviews for February 2026
Iβm sitting at my computer near my window with a warm cup of Lady Grey tea watching the grey clouds multiply. Itβs going to rain and Barnaby feels edgy. Heβs circling the table and asking for love. Writing is secondary to him. In the background Poirot episodes play on BBC giving my day a nice British Belgian accent. Itβs all cozy and Iβve read some interesting cozies as well.
Death by Bingo: A Senior Sleuths Mystery Series is by Cathlyn Sweets. Itβs a short mystery and a cute novella. The story takes place in a retirement/rehabilitation facility. The usual Bingo caller is a curmudgeon named Harold who thinks that heβs a comedian. Thus, he uses his so called comic routine for calling the numbers at the weekly Bingo game. Each of the Bingo participants use dabbers to show their cardβs winning numbers and when oneβs card is filled the winner calls βBingo.β Of course Harold also uses a dabber to show what has been called. Poor Harold ends up dead and the mystery begins. How, why, and who are the questions. To answer them the group solicits the newest member of the community, Violet. Sheβs considered the best detective because sheβs βa retired principal β¦. βSame skill set,β Dolores observed. βDealing with troublemakers, investigating suspicious behavior, maintaining order in chaosβ¦ββ is the observation that persuades Violet to lead the investigation in Sunset Manor. Itβs the first novella in a proposed series and was recently published. Ms. Sweets doesnβt treat her senior citizen characters as if theyβre fragile. Each character has strengths and is cognitively intact. For those of us older than 70 β we thank you! Itβs an enjoyable novella at any age.
Gloria Chaoβs The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club is a cozy romance mystery. The community (village) is the group of ex-girlfriends that form when each finds out that Tucker, the love interest, has been lying to each of them. They band together and decide to take revenge on Tucker by messing with his favorite lotions, attire, and humidifier. The funniest scene is when Tucker is about to propose to Liv while Kat is hiding in the bathroom. Kat, not realizing that Liv is in the condo, thinks Tucker has realized that Kat is there and is actually beginning to propose to her. She jumps out of the bathroom half naked and is shocked to see Liv. Liv is equally shocked to see Kat. Liv and Kat are not nearly as shocked as Tucker who attempts to propose to Kat when Liv turns on her heels to walk away. The third member of the group, Elle, pops up when Liv and Kat meet to discuss their plans to take revenge on Tucker. The book is funny, a bit sad in that each of the three really lhought that this was going to be the βreal thingβ with Tucker. But Tucker turns up dead. Who did it? Why? Is there another woman fooled by Tuckerβs charm? There is a massive twist at the end which makes the novel all the more a most recommended novel. Youβll enjoy it.
The novel was published in June of last year and is part of a planned series. Itβs book 1 of 2 published already.
Every month I read at least one Agatha Christie novel. Iβm an addict and have no apologies about it. This past month I read A Pocket Full Of Rye. There are two adaptations on film available on Britbox. The more recent is the better script and more closely resembles the book. Although, the actress who plays Gladys in the adaptation from the β80βsmore easily fits the woman described in the book. Watch both and pick your favorite. Reading the book is my favorite. There are the usual Christie characters, the maid, the housekeeper, the cook, the wealthy parent with the ungrateful children, then thereβs the manor, the office with attractive secretaries, the necessary horses and stable, the other man, and the mysterious find in a country in Africa. These are all seen in many of Christieβs novels. How she handles the ingredients makes the so-called cake. The novelβs wealthy family is the Fortescue clan, and this time Christieβs ending has Miss Marple teary-eyed. Miss Marple had trained Gladys after taking her in from an orphanage. Gladys was one of the Fortescue victims. She was found with a clothespin on her nose amidst the clotheslines. Rex Fortescue was found dead in his office with grains of rye in his pocket. It is this murder that gives the novel its name and the tie in with the nursery rhyme that starts with four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. Rexβs second wife was found dead in the drawing room having been eating a scone with honey. There are, of course, the red herrings, the older aunt who lives in her room and doesnβt come out to eat with the others, the insinuation of Miss Marple to investigate and solve the crime, and the detective that doesnβt want to, but finally has to, give Miss Marple credit for her perspicacity. Itβs a real Christie novel that is so fun to read while tucked up in an easy chair with soft music in the background and a hot cup of tea.
The Mysterious Case of the Missing Motive is by Michele Pariza Wacek and was published in 2024. The cozy mystery centers around a new detective agency that was started by Emilyβs Aunt Tilde in a town named Redemption in Wisconsin. Oh, to live in a place that has a name thatβs a prime choice for a novel! Anyway, poor Emily was fired from her job in the big city when she discovered who had embezzled money from the firm. Emilyβs discovery had touched a sensitive nerve. At the same time, Emily lost her boyfriend, the apartment in which they were living (he had lied to her when he said her name was on the lease), and many of her belongings. Most importantly, naΓ―ve Emily had been depositing her money in an account that actually didnβt have her name as an account holder. It was in her boyfriendβs name. Thus, Emily had no money and no job. Fortunately, although her mother and sister were sympathetic they didnβt have the room for her, her aunt took her in, gave her an apartment above her garage, and a job. The job was to be an investigator in this new detective agency that was housed in an office at the edge of a shopping center and had no signage. Emilyβs first question was βhow will anyone find you?β But, as luck would have it, the phone rang and they were off and running with a mystery. Itβs true the author uses the trope of a cold case thatβs about a wrongly convicted killer. But itβs done with good humor. Meanwhile, Aunt Tilde is sure that the Redemption Detective Agency is up for the job. Aunt Tilde is funny, dear, and very intuitive. Emily is hurt, lonely, confused, and very organized and smart. She doesnβt seem to like pets. By the end of the book thereβs the possibility of a romance ready to become more complicated in the next novel and perhaps Emily will grow to like a dog and Aunt Tildeβs cats. The writing has a light touch and the story flows. Since the author set the novel in the 1990βs thereβs room for many more books in the series. Iβm looking forward to them.
For those of you who are looking for more cozies to read this week and beyond, hereβs a link to a website that will give you free cozies written by some notable authors:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/luckyleadscozyreads2026/gjbjm22cvc
MY TBR
1. Murder Most Bookish by Anthea Fraser
2. Embroidered Lies and Alibis by Lois Winston
3. The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
4. Chanukah Guilt by Rabbi Ilene Schneider
5. Dead Manβs Folly by Agatha Christie
6. The Devilβs Foot by Arthur Conan Doyle
Book Reviews for January 2026
This was a good month for reading as well as putting books up on my TBR list. The list gets ever longer, so Iβll just mention the new ones as I go along.
π The Right Sort of Man is not a self-help book! Allison Montclair sets his mystery in post World War II London during which women were supposed to go back to the home and again be happy housewives. The two women protagonists of the novel are not willing to give up their independence, but each woman has a different reason. Iris had been in special forces during the war and liked the excitement of making snap decisions and having to assume different personas. Gwenβs husband had been tragically killed during the war and she was left with a baby boy to bring up. Unfortunately, she had to be hospitalized for her grief during which time her mother-in-law got custody of the little boy. When Gwen was finally declared well enough to leave the hospital she realized that the only way she would be able to get back custody of her little one was to have a source of independent means. This is the background for the bond the two women formed and the mystery begins. Youβll like this book. Itβs a βtake me to your worldβ kind of mystery and the first of a series called the Sparks and Bainbridge Mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
π« Sophie Hannahβs (a la Agatha Christie) Closed Casket (pub. 2016) does not disappoint. Itβs not quite Agatha Christie, but oh so close. Hercule Poirot and Hastings are invited to Lady Playfordβs home in Ireland. Truthfully, Poirot is not sure why the two have been invited to the house party. When they get there they discover that Lady Playford has once again changed her will, this time disinheriting her two adult children to leave her sizable estate to an invalid. Of course thereβs a surprise, several red herrings, and the addition of Inspector Catchpool to try to solve the murder before Poirot and Hastings. Just as a small giveaway -- Poirot wins the solution contest! Itβs one of Hannahβs first βin the style ofβ Agatha Christie books, and itβs quite a good addition to your Christie collection. Read it!
π° I chose to read Murder at the Falls by Stefanie Matteson because it had the most pleasant pale blue bookcover. It reminded me of a bedroom I once had. Fortunately, it was a fun book to read despite my silliness. When I looked at the back of the book I was smitten. The mystery takes place in New Jersey, and not Niagara Falls in New York. Iβm originally from New Jersey -- not NYC as most people believe -- and this book hones in on Paterson which is a stoneβs throw from Teaneck where I went to elementary school (mostly, until we moved to Macon, Georgia). Also, itβs about an artist and his peccadillos and eventual murder. The protagonists are Tom and his older friend Charlotte who witness an artist plunge into the falls in Paterson. Tom and Charlotte had been enjoying their hobby of eating in old time diners constructed out of trailers. I had never thought about that, but do remember being in Baltimore and eating at a White Castle that was a trailer made into a diner. I was too young (11) to make it into a hobby, The novel was written in 1993 so the references to current events are long ago stories, but the descriptions of scenery, the difficulty of supporting oneself as an artist, the art trends, and the ups and downs of sleuthing are all wonderful. If you enjoy a tour guide of the tri state area, this is the mystery for you!
TBR
These are on my nightstand, the floor, and various other places that are too embarrassing to share:
Agatha Christieβs A Pocket Full of Rye
ShΓ©a MacLeodβs Lady Rampole and the Winter FΔte.
Margot Douaihyβs Divine Ruin
Andrew Ross Sorkinβs 1929
E. B. Woods
Podcasts Yelling
at Me
Rachel Madddowβs Ultra, Season 2
Nicole Wallaceβs The Best People
Amy Poehlerβs Good Hang
