A Rule Against Murder
The New York Times – Marilyn Stasio: Louise Penny applies her magic touch to A Rule Against Murder, giving the village mystery an elegance and depth not often seen in this traditional genre. Although Penny is no slouch at constructing a whodunit puzzle, her great skill is her ability to create a charming mise-en-scene and […]
The Brutal Telling
The New York Times – Marilyn Stasio: There's always a log fire burning and it's always story time in the charming mysteries Louise Penny sets in sleepy Three Pines?While constant readers may think they know all there is to know about its eccentric villagers, Penny is a great one for springing surprises.
There Goes the Bride : an Agatha Raisin Mystery
Library Journal: In Beaton's 20th Agatha Raisin mystery, trouble comes with an invitation to ex-husband James's engagement party. Agatha is reluctant to attend but can't stand appearing jealous of the young bride. The party is a disaster, with angry words for everyone from the bride, barely dressed waiters, and a beleaguered groom. But when the […]
Evil At Heart
Library Journal: Just two months after serial killer Gretchen Lowell, aka the "Beauty Killer," escapes from police custody (see Sweetheart), body parts begin showing up in random Portland, OR, locales. Meanwhile, devastated Det. Archie Sheridan continues to languish in a mental hospital, while irrepressible journalist Susan Hunt longs to save him and her story. Her […]
Sworn to Silence
Jane Jorgenson – Library Journal: This debut mystery introduces Police Chief Kate Burkholder of Painters Mill, OH. Kate grew up in that Amish community but abandoned her heritage after a traumatic event in her teen years. Now she's back, using her Amish background to navigate between the two factions in the community. Her hard-won equanimity […]
The Innocent Spy
Jo Ann Vicarel – Library Journal As the Nazi bombing of London begins in 1940, Detective Inspector Stratton is investigating the death of a silent screen star when he meets undercover agent Diana Calthrop, a new addition to the staff of Colonel Forbes-James, an important member of MI5. Soon their probes lead to Fascist sympathizers […]
In the Shadow of Gotham
Kirkus Reviews: A detective and several criminologists track a madman from the Palisades to the Bowery in a debut set in 1905. After the tragic loss of his fiancee, Detective Simon Ziele heads north from New York City for the village calm of Dobson. That calm is suddenly shattered by a vicious murder in one […]
The Baker Street Letters
Kirkus Reviews: A transatlantic mystery draws two brothers into a web of murder. When attorney Reggie Heath rents office space on Baker Street in 1997, he begins receiving letters from various places addressed to Sherlock Holmes and appealing, naturally, for his detective help. Reggie considers the letters an amusing nuisance. But his mentally fragile younger […]
The Cold Light of Mourning
Jo Ann Vicarel – Library Journal: On her wedding day, Meg Wynne Thompson disappears between having a manicure and getting her hair done. The quiet Welsh town of Llanelen is stunned by a full police investigation, the arrest of Meg's fianc?, and the death of his father. But manicurist Penny Brannigan, an expatriate Canadian, realizes […]
The Poacher's Son
Publishers Weekly: Down East editor-in-chief Doiron takes a provocative look at the ties between fathers and sons, unconditional love, and Maine?s changing landscape in his outstanding debut. Game warden Mike Bowditch, who hasn?t heard from his dad, Jack Bowditch, in two years, wonders what the man wants from him after he comes home late one […]