Mystery Book Reviews

The best mystery book reviews. Mysteries are typically crime stories in which readers follows a detective or amateur sleuth attempting to solve a criminal puzzle. Compared with “crime thrillers,” mysteries often feature less graphic violence and shocking subject matter.

Camino Winds, a New Island Murder Mystery by John Grisham

The Bottom Line: Only Grisham fans hoping for a new legal thriller will be disappointed. For everyone else, Camino Winds is paradise. In John Grisham’s latest, a hurricane devastates Camino Island. As hurricanes go, they don’t get much worse than this. Homes, hotels and stores are ruined. The tiny island suffers its fair share of death, too. Among the dead is Nelson Kerr, a thriller […]

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Blues of Autumn, a Hilarious Small Town Mystery by Richard Adamson

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

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The Newton Code, an Irresistible Religious Conspiracy Thriller by Liam Fialkov

The Bottom Line: A must-read for fans of Dan Brown and Steve Berry. While Sir Isaac Newton’s scientific legacy is well-established, novelist Liam Fialkov uses Newton’s lesser known obsessions with Christianity and metaphysics as the core of a spellbinding religious conspiracy thriller. As The Newton Code opens, computers around the world are held captive. For 13 minutes, frustrated users are met with a cryptic message and an

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Payback, a Highly Entertaining Murder Mystery by Ronald S. Barak

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,

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The Will to Die, an Edge-of-Your Seat Thriller by Joe Pulizzi

The Bottom Line: A small town conspiracy thriller that is anything but small. Joe Pulizzi’s debut novel delivers edge-of-your-seat intrigue with a huge heart. Desperate entrepreneur and gambling addict Will Pollitt is on the verge of winning a much-needed contract. Will is out of cash, deep in debt, and if he doesn’t pay his daughter’s college tuition, her academic career at Penn State will be

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West of Sin, an Explosive Crime Thriller by Wesley S. Lewis

The Bottom Line: A nail-biting mob thriller featuring a truly memorable hero you’ll want to read again and again. When desperate commercial real estate agent Jennifer Williams stumbles into a robbery at a truck stop an hour outside of Vegas, her odds of survival don’t look good. The most menacing of the three thieves reveals his colleagues’ name right in front of her, and a glimpse of her designer panties is enough to distract him

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The Bullhead Murders, a Spectacular Crime Thriller by Michael Allan Scott

The Bottom Line: A cinematic tour de force with a spectacular payoff. Jena Halpern is a psychic heroine that you’ll want to spend a lot of time with. When psychic Jena Halpern gets a voicemail from police Lieutenant Daniel R. Kropp, it goes without saying that she’s been expecting his call. News headlines about a rash of grisly murders in Bullhead City, Arizona – a

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Hercule Poirot's Christmas

Cozy Mystery Classic: Hercule Poirot’s Christmas

This one is hardly new, but would could be more perfect for the holiday season? I for one, will be spending several hours with the legendary sleuth! Sometimes, you just want a classic. Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and

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The Secrets We Kept, an Electrifying Spy Novel by Lara Prescott

The Bottom Line: Did the world need another spy novel pitting the CIA against Russia? The answer is a resounding yes. Part historical fiction, part spy fiction, Prescott’s highly original novel begins in 1956 as Pasternak Boris is writing his future masterpiece, Doctor Zhivago. The Kremlin decides to ban it. The CIA has other plans. Why not use the subversive novel to create civil unrest in the

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Bionic Bug, One of the Year’s Best Thrillers

The Bottom Line: A funny, vibrant, high-tech detective novel. One of the year’s best thrillers. Set nearly a decade in the future, Bionic Bug begins as struggling private investigator Lara Kingsley and her partner and best friend, Sully, are hanging out at their favorite local haunt. Lara notices something odd about his appearance, but he doesn’t want to talk about it. Days later, the pair

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