|
| Now | 2024 | Previous | Articles | Road Essays | Road Reviews | Author | Black Authors | Title | Source | Age | Genre | Series | Format | Inclusivity | LGBTA+ | Artwork | WIP |
|
|
Favorite mysteries of 2019: 12/19/19
On Wednesdays I feature a mystery. These are my favorite reads for this year. Many of them are backlist titles. Booking the Crook by Laurie Cass
Booking the Crook by Laurie Cass is the seventh book in the Bookmobile Cat mystery series. It's midwinter and the weather has been fierce. The Chilson library has a new director and a new library board chair. While Minnie is worried about the future of her bookmobile, she also has the misfortune of finding one of her regular patrons dead in her driveway. To Brie or Not To Brie by Avery Aames (aka Daryl Wood Gerber)
To Brie or Not To Brie by Avery Aames is the fourth in the Cheese Shop mystery series. Charlotte is busy with catering her cousin's upcoming wedding as well as feeding the actors in her grandmother's production of Hamlet. She's created a blueberry brie ice cream for the wedding but everything is put on hold when a stranger ends up dead in the ice cream freezer. The Cat of the Baskervilles by Vicki Delany
The Cat of the Baskervilles by Vicki Delany is the third of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mysteries. It's set in West London, Massachusetts. That puts it in the middle of the fictional Cape Cod also mapped and populated by Joseph C. Lincoln's novels a hundred years ago. Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower
Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower is the first of the Magical Bookshop Mysteries, set in a magical pocket space along the Niagara River. Violet has returned home expecting to find her grandmother near death after an urgent call. A Deadly Grind by Victoria Hamilton (aka Donna Lea Simpson)
The series is set in fictional Queensville, Michigan. There, is, however, a very real Queensville, Ontario. While the location is probably close to Detroit, from the proximity of the Ontario landmarks mentioned throughout, I picture the village being up near the top of the mitten near Sault St. Marie because of personal family history; it was the area where my Canadian relatives made the move back to the United States in the late 1880s. The Great Shelby Holmes and the Haunted Hound by Elizabeth Eulberg
The Great Shelby Holmes and the Haunted Hound by Elizabeth Eulberg is inspired by the Hound of the Baskervilles. John Bryant, a friend of John Watson, invites him over to help with a problem. Kneaded to Death by Winnie Archer (aka Melissa Bourbon Ramirez)
TKneaded to Death by Winnie Archer is the first in the Bread Shop mysteries. Set in fictional Santa Linda, California — a seaside town very similar to real world Santa Cruz — it's the tale of a photographer who helps solve a murder associated with the Yeast of Eden bread shop where she has been taking baking lessons. Murder Lo Mein by Vivien Chien
Murder Lo Mein by Vivien Chien is the third in the Noodle Shop Mystery series. Lana has settled into her role as manager of Ho-Lee while her mother deals with her mother coming for a visit from Taiwan. Meanwhile, the noodle shop is participating in an annual Asian restaurant competition, this time being hosted at the mall and run by Ian, the mall manager and owner. The Poisoned House by Michael Ford
The Poisoned House by Michael Ford is set in Victorian London, primarily in an old house. Abi works as a servant for an ailing lord and his uptight housekeeper. Shelved Under Murder by Victoria Gilbert
Shelved Under Murder by Victoria Gilbert is the second of the Blue Ridge Library mystery series. While the library is preparing for the annual Heritage Festival, library director Amy Webber finds the body of a local artist in her studio, killed with her own pallet knife. Trouble on the Books by Essie Lang
Trouble on the Books by Essie Lang is the start of a new cozy mystery series, Castle Bookshop. It's set on an island in the Thousand Islands of Upstate New York. Shelby Cox has taken over the bookshop for her aunt as she is recovering from an injury. On her first full day she finds the castle's volunteer coordinator murdered in the island's grotto. You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook
You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook is a YA retelling of Strangers on the Train. While Patricia Highsmith wrote the novel, this retelling is more a nod to Alfred Hitchcock's film adaptation. Comments (0)
1997-2024 Sarah Sammis |
