Category Archives: Mysteries/Crime

Having lived a (very very) long life, Brenda, the narrator of this novel by Paul Magrs, has settled in Whitby to run her own B&B. Her best friend Effie has a junk shop next door, and the two ladies enjoy … Continue reading →

The Secret Place of Tana French’s fifth novel is a bulletin board at St. Kilda’s School, where girls can leave notes, sharing their secrets anonymously. When Holly Mackey, daughter of Frank Mackey from The Likeness and Faithful Place, finds a note about … Continue reading →

Katherena Vermette’s novel, The Break, is the story of an Indian community and a crime that connects them. It begins with Stella, a Métis woman, who sees a woman being raped in the area by her house that she calls “The … Continue reading →

As an avid reader of crime fiction, I’m not easily rattled by dark content. I have my limits — I avoid reading about torture when I can, for instance — but I don’t mind violence when it’s intelligently used in … Continue reading →

I continue to love Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series, and Broken Harbor, the fourth book, may be my favorite yet. It felt a little leaner than previous books, and the murder at its heart is particularly disturbing. Plus, it explores … Continue reading →

Frank Mackey was far from my favorite character in The Likeness. He caused all sorts of trouble for Cassie and Sam, largely because of his own arrogance. So I wasn’t sure that I wanted to spend a whole book with him. … Continue reading →

I almost gave up on this contemporary noir novel by Laura Lippman after just a couple of pages because of passages like this, describing one of the main characters: He’s a Ken doll kind of guy, if Ken had a … Continue reading →

After thoroughly enjoying In the Woods as much as I did, I decided not to let that enjoyment subside before going right out and getting Tana French’s second Dublin Murder Squad book from the library. And, as I hoped, I … Continue reading →

This 1965 Ruth Rendell novel is more of a whodunit than I’m used to from her. It’s set in a neighborhood called Linchester, built on the site of what was once a large manor house and park. The families that … Continue reading →