Gilded Newport

Murder at the Elms

by Alyssa Maxwell

In the latest Gilded Newport Mystery, Emma is adapting to married life but still using her maiden name professionally. She also finds that her marriage to wealthy Derrick Andrews has created a barrier between her and the working-class Newporters she grew up with; this distance is evident when she covers a strike by servants at The Elms, one of the new “cottages” in town. In one of their first social engagements as a married couple, Derrick and Emma attend a musicale at The Elms and have a front-row seat to the theft of a fabulous necklace rumored to have belonged to Marie Antoinette and the death of the only maid who didn’t strike. In her typical fashion, Alyssa Maxwell crafts an excellent period mystery with an engaging heroine and many twists and turns.

Thanks to Kensington Books for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.

Science and mystery for the win!

A Generation of Vipers

by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett

To paraphrase Indiana Jones, “Why did it have to be snakes?” Nell is working overtime to complete an ecological survey on time and within budget when she stumbles over a dead body. The corpse calls to mind several cold cases that are a high priority for her ex James’ team to solve. There’s no lack of potential suspects as the new employees at Neil’s firm are all behaving suspiciously. The last thing Nell wants to do is track down a murderer–the only advantage to the job was its proximity to Rav’s hospital–but she must join forces with James to winnow the pool down before the killer strikes again! Another engaging read in this series from, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, filled with realistic details about the work of ecologists.

Thanks to Embla Books for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.

The Finders

The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Finders is a the first book in a new series by Jeffrey Burton. Mace Reid, the dog whisperer, is a dog trainer who maintains a group of cadaver dogs with song-inspired names. He adopts a golden retriever puppy who proves to be exceptionally talented at sniffing out bad guys. In a story with twists and turns, Mace and Vira (the retriever) get mixed up with a serial killer or two, while Mace tries to figure out how to romance the attractive police officer who initially rescued Vira (or, Honey Bear as she calls her). Great start to what I hope is an ongoing series. Recommended for fans of Paula Munier and Margaret Mizushima.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for access to a digital ARC.

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The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It’s not often that I find a new approach to murder mysteries, but The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne was a definitely unique offering. Set in London in 1703, the book centers on the untimely death of a renowned collector. In perhaps the forerunner of “citizen science,” the collectors accumulated and cataloged specimens from around the world in curiosity cabinets. Lady Cecily Kay, a woman possessed of a most “unfeminine” interest in questions, has been sent home from Smyrna after expressing too much interest in her husband’s business affairs; she has traveled to Sir Barnaby’s home to identify her plant samples and is on the scene when he is murdered shortly after leading a tour of his collection.

Lady Kay joins forces with a childhood friend–a gifted illustrator who happens to also be staying at Sir Barnaby’s–and the two women track down lead after lead in an attempt to save an innocent man from the gallows. This is a nice addition to the historical mystery genre.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for access to a digital ARC.



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Proof of Murder by Lauren Elliott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


With Proof of Murder, I have read all 4 books in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery Series. While I enjoyed the first two, I admit that I found the third a bit of a slog. I’m happy to say that this fourth book has brought the series back on track. In her personal life, Addie has made a choice (and no more love triangle nonsense to deal with), and professionally her bookstore is flourishing. In this outing, Addie is confronted with a locked-room murder mystery and the disappearance of some rare Sherlock Holmes books–that she may be the only one to have seen.

Addie is quickly named as the prime suspect in the untimely death of an unlikable appraiser, and must use her sleuthing skills to clear her name and identify the real culprit. Good, engaging read; I finished it in a day and was satisfied with the outcome. Recommended for all fans of cozies.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for a digital ARC.



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Thin Ice

Thin Ice by Paige Shelton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


As a best-selling author of thrillers, Beth Rivers knows a little something about how to hide, and she runs to Alaska to heal after a harrowing escape from an obsessive fan leaves her with a brain injury. Beth arrives on the heels of the suspicious death of one of the residents, and ends up renting a room at a half-way house for female felons. Before she knows it, she’s taking over the town’s newspaper and helping the sheriff investigate. I enjoyed the book and read it quickly in one day, and am looking forward to future entries in this new series.

I received a digital ARC via NetGalley.

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Now You See Them

Now You See Them by Elly Griffiths

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Now You See Them revisits the “Magic Men” in 1960s Brighton–over 10 years since we last saw DI Stephens, his detective sergeants Bob and Emma, Max Mephisto, and Ruby. While this is billed as as a Mephisto and Stephens novel, poor Edgar seems relegated to a supporting role in this case as Max takes the lead. I liked the direction this series appears to be moving in, and hope that the next book in the series continues the thread begun here (and perhaps it is time for a new series designation!). As expected, Elly Griffiths has spun an engrossing tale., and everyone should put this one on their Christmas list (as it comes out in early December).

I received a digital ARC via NetGalley.



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Crisis at the Cathedral

I have read all 19 of the Dorothy Martin mysteries from Jeanne Dams and was happy to receive a digital ARC for the new book in the series–Crisis at the Cathedral.

I first met Dorothy Martin–an American living in Shrewsbury, England–in The Body in the Transept and Trouble in the Town Hall back in the 1990s, but then life intervened and didn’t have much time for reading.  I re-discovered the series recently through my public library’s Hoopla app and spent several hours enjoying her investigations.  As she often says, she doesn’t look for trouble but often seems to end up in the thick of things anyway.

Much to my surprise, I was unable to get into the new book.  I read the first few chapters, and it took me time to pick the book back up.  The story centers around a missing Muslim couple who disappeared suddenly from Shrewsbury, living their children asleep at the local inn.  The resulting to-and-fro from Shrewsbury to London while Dorothy and crew search was drawn-out and didn’t do much to move the story forward, and the final third of the book strained credibility.

I’m hoping that this is an anomaly and that Dorothy returns to form in her next outing.

 

Lady Helena Investigates

I enjoy discovering new series to read, and think I’ve run across a good one.  Unfortunately, only the first book has been published, but I’m hoping for more.

A young widow in Victorian England is confronted with the untimely death of her husband and a French doctor who is convinced the death was no accident.  Lady Helena has a meddling family and a tragic history in love, but also possesses a stubborn independence that leads her to investigate her family history.  The sixth of seven children, Helena has the unfortunate nickname “Baby”, and is frequently treated as such by her much older siblings.  Helena realizes that, due to her age, she knows little about her parents (her father died when she was 19 and her mother has been slipping into dementia since his death).  As a widow in mourning, her social options are limited, and she begins reading her mother’s journals to re-kindle an interest in herbology and to discover her mother.  Of course, some things are better left in the past.

This is a well-written book with engaging characters (though perhaps Helena didn’t need quite so many older siblings).  I look forward to the promised future books in the series.

I received access to this book from NetGalley.

The Island of the Mad

I’m a fan of Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell (and of Mary’s biographer, Laurie King), but was disappointed in the last episode (The Murder of Mary Russell), which seemed to me to be very dark. I’m happy to say that the joy has returned in the latest adventure The Island of the Mad.

I received access to a copy from NetGalley on Monday, and finished reading it on Tuesday (luckily for me that I was on spring break and had no pressing obligations that I was ignoring). This is clearly Mary’s investigation and story as Sherlock plays only a supporting role. It was interesting to see some cracks in his stoic facade as he wonders if Mary had any regrets about their marriage.

While the mystery seemed somewhat contrived (and I quickly, unlike Mary, deduced the reason behind Lady Vivian’s madness), I enjoyed the story and the details of Venice during the onset of facism. All in all, a great addition to the Mary Russell canon, and I recommend “The Island of the Mad”.