The best funny mystery book reviews. Funny mysteries, also known as crime capers or humorous mysteries, are intended to entertain readers with light suspense while also delivering ample doses of amusement.
Since the 1996 novel One For the Money, Janet Evanovich has been the gold standard among humorous mystery novelists. The book featured Stephanie Plum, a former lingerie buyer who becomes a bounty hunter to make ends meet after losing her job. Plum often finds herself in hilarious conundrums as she goes about her business. There have been 26 Plum novels in total, with the last …
The Bottom Line: Devastatingly funny, dark and unputdownable. One of the Year’s Best Thrillers. As Cooking for Cannibals opens, 35-year-old gerontologist Carrie Cromer is committing her first crime. Carrie works in a lab that seems to have created nothing less than the fountain of youth. The miraculous drug has reversed aging in her lab rats, seems destined for further testing, and one day, FDA approval. …
Cooking for Cannibals, One of the Year’s Best Thrillers READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: A witty whodunnit that fans of Janet Evanovich will love. Saving Grace opens with a bang as hacker Joe “Hack” Hackford is on the phone with his sister, novelist Lynn Andrews. Both are mixed up in a wacky extortion scheme with paranoid heiress Grace Pierrepoint Rendell, who has recently gone off a cocktail of strong psychotropic medication. During a critical point in …
The Bottom Line: Janet Evanovich fans should flock to this hilarious small town mystery. Set in the mountains of upstate New York, Blues of Autumn is the story of Police Chief Norris Tanager, who moved to tiny Glen Echo to avoid the headaches of big city crime fighting. When not moonlighting as a bar band bass player, he keeps busy curbing jay-walkers, graffiti taggers and …
Blues of Autumn, a Hilarious Small Town Mystery by Richard Adamson READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: A deftly-plotted, highly entertaining island murder mystery that is sure to broaden author Ronald S. Barak’s burgeoning fan base. Eloise Brooks, the wife of retired Superior Court Judge Cyrus Brooks, surprises her husband with an island adventure to celebrate their 55th anniversary. Her intentions, however, are far from romantic. In Cyrus Brooks’ quest for justice, he often finds himself in life-threatening situations, …
Payback, a Highly Entertaining Murder Mystery by Ronald S. Barak READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: A thriller about greed, gluttony and murder that is destined for the big screen. The promise of inheritance has divided families since the beginning of time, and from time to time has ended in murder. But novelist Jill Hand’s White Oaks has introduced an ingenious new twist on the time-old tale, as three siblings hoping to get a cut of their father’s …
White Oaks, an Ingeniously Dark Comic Thriller by Jill Hand READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: T.K. Ambers is a fresh, fun voice in the mystery genre, and her sophomore effort is a must-read for fans of the Runway Dreams series. Count us among fans hoping that T.K. Ambers would return the cast of her addictive mystery Runway Dreams for a sequel, and we’re delighted to find that our wish has been granted. Picking up right where Runway Dreams left off, siblings Bernie, Alex, Bell …
A Fox in the Fold, a Fun-Loving Crime Thriller by T.K. Ambers READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: This cozy mystery has it all – romance, suspense, comedy and a detective you’ll fall hard for. The latest installment in Heather Haven’s Silicon Valley murder series begins as Liana Alverez – better known as Lee, a private investigator for Discretionary Inquiries – takes a call from her distraught uncle. Like every great fictional detective, Lee is just one degree of separation …
The Culinary Art of Murder, a Humorous Mystery by Heather Haven READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: A truly hilarious mystery in the tradition of Janet Evanovich, Thomas Davidson and Rich Leder. In Len Boswell’s Grave Misunderstanding, small town Crab Cove is the focal point of a clever satire on the murder mystery genre. For a small town, Crab Cove has seen far more than its fair share of crime. Approximately eight-seven of the town’s many unsolved murders are …
Grave Misunderstanding, a Hilarious Whodunit by Len Boswell READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: A clever small town cozy mystery. Fans of Susan Breen, Edie Claire and Janet Evanovich may find a new favorite author in Connie Chappell. For 29-year-old historian Wrenn Grayson, her new career is more than just a passion. As Grayson puts it, her work consists of “enchantment with echoes calling me to the past—other people’s pasts, their history, for I am not …
Deadly Homecoming at Rosemont, a Clever Cozy Mystery by Connie Chappell READ MORE >
