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.
Carson’s feud with a local crime reporter continues, and then suddenly the husband of his client is brutally murdered – a husband he’s been hired to investigate. Mysterious characters weave a web of blackmail and suspense, while leaving Carson with more clients than he can handle. The Memphis police have warned Carson to back off, but an employee of a friend is missing from a […]
Murder and More, a Mystery by Gerald W. Darnell READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: A hugely satisfying tale that is simultaneously funny, suspenseful and subversive. For fans of comic mysteries, the Jurassic Jim Fleetwood series is a must read. When a small town girl dies in a mysterious car accident, eccentric retro DJ Jurassic Jim Fleetwood becomes the unlikely investigator. Fleetwood typically spends his evenings spinning oldies in Michigan dive bar The Swizzle Stick, then heads
Book Review: The Museum of Sudden Disappearances, a Hilarious Mystery by Thomas Davidson READ MORE >
Eighteen years ago, Simone Porter’s six-month-old daughter, Helena, was abducted. Simone and husband, Matt, have slowly rebuilt their shattered lives, but the pain at losing their child has never left them. Then a young woman, Grace, appears out of the blue and tells Simone she has information about her stolen baby. But just who is Grace – and can Simone trust her? When Grace herself
The Girl You Lost, a Psychological Thriller by Kathryn Croft READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: Mysterious, sexy and laugh-out-loud funny. Among female sleuths, Kate McCall is near the top. Is it even possible to be too beautiful, seductive and rich? That’s what New York private detective Kate McCall thinks of her newest client, Brooke Barrington, who is suffering from a case of identity theft. With a net worth of four billion dollars and cover girl looks, it’s
Book Review: Swollen Identity, a Hilarious Mystery by Rich Leder READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: A thoroughly absorbing and masterfully crafted mystery about stolen art, family and greed. After a failed sting operation to nab Russian art smugglers in SoHo, a collection of curiously marked art catalogs is discovered. Julian Peale, the budding art sleuth at the heart of Gallery Pieces, finds himself immersed in a historically significant investigation that has gone unsolved for decades. As sleuths go, author
Book Review – Gallery Pieces: An Art Mystery, by Larry Witham READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: An honest-to-goodness charmer about a reluctant female detective trying to solve her father’s murder. You’ll fall in love with the whimsical, scrappy PI at the heart of this hilarious mystery. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Janet Evanovich. Rule #1: Don’t do murder. It doesn’t pay, and somebody’s already dead. Murder leads to more murder. Maybe yours. So begins a series of
Book Review: Workman’s Complication, a Mystery by Rich Leder READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: This cozy mystery about a family of psychically gifted amateur sleuths possesses enough magic to keep you hooked from the first page until the last. When Amazing Grace and her granddaughter travel to Miami for a family visit, they quickly learn that crime never takes a vacation. In this second installment of Lisa Brunette’s Dreamslippers series, Grace’s younger brother, Mick, becomes the
Book Review: Framed and Burning, a Cozy Mystery by Lisa Brunette READ MORE >
Gillian Flynn’s short story is about a canny young woman is struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud. On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama
The Grownup: A Story by the Author of Gone Girl READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: A riveting whodunit set against the breathtakingly beautiful and perilous Alaskan landscape. A must for your winter reading list. When a floatplane goes down in the vicinity of Kodiak, Alaska, it appears that the tragedy will be most notable for ending the life of a U.S. senator. But for research biologist Jane Marcus, the crash hits much closer to home. Among the
Murder Over Kodiak, a Crime Thriller by Robin Barefield READ MORE >
The Bottom Line: After completely slaying us with the greatness of Cop Town, Karen Slaughter manages to top herself with Pretty Girls. Prepare to have thy sleep disturbed by this chilling police procedural. Highly recommended. More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is
Book Review: Pretty Girls, a new Crime Thriller by Karen Slaughter READ MORE >
