Favorite books of 2023 - Mysteries

Andrews, Donna.  Birder, she wrote (Meg Lanslow #33).

Bowen, Rhys.  The proof of the pudding (Royal Spyness  #17).

Carlisle, Kate.  The twelve books of Christmas (Bibliophile Mystery #17).

Crombie, Deborah.  A killing of innocents (Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James #19).

Kelly, Sofie.  Paws to remember (Magical Cats #15).

Page, Katherine Hall.  The body in the web (Faith Fairchild #26).

Simon, Nina.  Mother-daughter murder night.

Mysteries coming in April

There are several mystery books scheduled to be released in April, but these are the ones I'm most excited about.  (Listed alphabetically by author; summaries are from the publisher's website.)


Murder in the Storybook Cottage (Book Retreat #3) by Ellery Adams (Kensington paperback, 28 April 2020).


Storyton Hall, Virginia, is a top travel destination for book lovers and the perfect spot for literary events. But as a children’s book publisher hosts a gathering there, some folks aren’t going to live—happier ever after or otherwise . . .

Jane Steward’s resort is hopping—not only is Peppermint Press’s conference in full swing, there are also lots of families staying on the premises, bringing their kids to events like a scavenger hunt through the Fairy Tale Forest.

Then a woman dressed like Little Red Riding Hood is found dead from a plot device straight out of a fairy tale—with a rare and valuable copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales in her basket. Not long after, a second victim is killed, with yet another treasure—a volume by Hans Christian Andersen worth thousands of dollars—nearby. It looks like a big bad wolf may be lurking among the guests, and Jane can’t just wait for a handsome prince to come to the rescue . . .

Sugar and Vice (Cookie House #2) by Eve Calder (St. Martin's paperback, 28 April 2020).

Lately, Kate has a lot on her dessert plate. She’s launching a cookie-of-the-day challenge in the heart of Coral Cay, providing sweet treats for the reception of the town’s handsome new veterinarian—not to mention dealing with tourists in town for a pirate festival and the surprise arrival of her former fiancé, Evan, who seems determined to win her back.

And if that’s not enough, a skeleton has been found—in the backyard behind her best friend Maxi’s floral shop. Kate knows Maxi could never hurt a fly. Maybe the remains belong to Sir George Bly, a long-dead pirate whose name has become urban legend—until now? It’s time for Kate to use every trick in the recipe book to prove Maxi’s innocence, and find the truth about the skeleton, before the last of the cookies crumble…

Murder in Galway (Home to Ireland #1) by Carlene O'Connor (Kensington paperback, 28 April 2020).

Tara never imagined her introduction to Ireland like this—carrying her mam’s ashes to honor her final request: “Tell Johnny I’m sorry . . . Take me home.” She’s never met her mam's estranged brother, Johnny Meehan, who owns an architectural salvage business in Galway. Although Tara is immediately charmed by the medieval city, the locals seem wary of strangers and a gypsy warns her that death is all around.

When Tara arrives at her uncle’s stone cottage, the prophesy seems true. A dead man lies sprawled over the threshold in a pool of blood. The victim turns out to be Johnny’s wealthiest client, and her missing uncle is the garda’s number-one suspect. In trying to find Johnny and solve the crime, Tara uncovers her mam and uncle’s troubled past. But with a desperate killer about, she had better mind herself, or they’ll be tossing her ashes in Galway Bay . . .

The Stolen Letter (Scottish Bookshop #5) by Paige Shelton (Minotaur hardcover, 7 April 2020).

Delaney Nichols is confident she’s doing what she loves—case in point, just one day after returning from her fabulous European honeymoon, she’s eager to get back to the Cracked Spine, the bookstore where she works. But as she disembarks her bus and hurries toward the shop she and another woman collide, sending a stack of books the woman is carrying to the ground.

Delaney’s hapless victim’s name is Mary, and the two women can’t help but notice that they bear an uncanny resemblance to one another. According to Mary, they both also look like the long-beheaded Mary Queen of Scots. Even stranger, Mary believes she is the reincarnation of the Scottish queen. But peculiar as Delaney’s doppelganger is, she doesn’t have time to dwell on it: on her arrival to the bookshop, she learns the Edinburgh city council wants to close the Cracked Spine, citing code violations, and she’s determined to stop them.

But when Mary’s husband dies in a car explosion—and Delaney learns he was the very member of city council who proposed that the city take a closer look at the bookshop’s construction—she starts to wonder if her meeting with Mary wasn’t an accident.

Sleuthing Women

by guest blogger Lois Winston.

So many books for readers to choose from! How do you get them to choose your book? Authors are always trying to find ways to break through and get noticed by readers. Recently I had an idea. I’d gather together ten mystery authors who had the rights back to the first books in their series and package them all into one boxed ebook set at a price that was too good to pass up. My hope was that readers would be introduced to authors and series they were unfamiliar with and become fans.

The result was Sleuthing Women: 10 First-in-Series Mysteries, a collection of full-length mysteries featuring murder and assorted mayhem by ten critically acclaimed, award-winning, and bestselling authors. Each novel in the set is the first book in an established multi-book series—a total of over 3,000 pages of reading pleasure for lovers of amateur sleuth, caper, and cozy mysteries, with a combined total of over 1700 reviews on Amazon, averaging 4 stars. Titles include:

Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery by Lois Winston—Working mom Anastasia is clueless about her husband’s gambling addiction until he permanently cashes in his chips and her comfortable middle-class life craps out. He leaves her with staggering debt, his communist mother, and a loan shark demanding $50,000. Then she’s accused of murder…

Murder Among Neighbors, a Kate Austen Suburban Mystery by Jonnie Jacobs — When Kate Austen’s socialite neighbor, Pepper Livingston, is murdered, Kate becomes involved in a sea of steamy secrets that bring her face to face with shocking truths—and handsome detective Michael Stone.

Skeleton in a Dead Space, a Kelly O’Connell Mystery by Judy Alter—Real estate isn’t a dangerous profession until Kelly O’Connell stumbles over a skeleton and runs into serial killers and cold-blooded murderers in a home being renovated in Fort Worth. Kelly barges through life trying to keep from angering her policeman boyfriend Mike and protect her two young daughters.

In for a Penny, a Cleopatra Jones Mystery by Maggie Toussaint—Accountant Cleo faces an unwanted hazard when her golf ball lands on a dead banker. The cops think her BFF shot him, so Cleo sets out to prove them wrong. She ventures into the dating world, wrangles her teens, adopts the victim’s dog, and tries to rein in her mom…until the killer puts a target on Cleo’s back.

The Hydrogen Murder, a Periodic Table Mystery by Camille Minichino—A retired physicist returns to her hometown of Revere, Massachusetts and moves into an apartment above her friends' funeral home. When she signs on to help the Police Department with a science-related homicide, she doesn't realize she may have hundreds of cases ahead of her.

Retirement Can Be Murder, A Baby Boomer Mystery by Susan Santangelo—Carol Andrews dreads her husband Jim’s upcoming retirement more than a root canal without Novocain. She can’t imagine anything worse than having an at-home husband with time on his hands and nothing to fill it—until Jim is suspected of murdering his retirement coach.

Dead Air, A Talk Radio Mystery by Mary Kennedy—Psychologist Maggie Walsh moves from NY to Florida to become the host of WYME's On the Couch with Maggie Walsh. When her guest, New Age prophet Guru Sanjay Gingii, turns up dead, her new roommate Lark becomes the prime suspect. Maggie must prove Lark innocent while dealing with a killer who needs more than just therapy.

A Dead Red Cadillac, A Dead Red Mystery by RP Dahlke—When her vintage Cadillac is found tail-fins up in a nearby lake, the police ask aero-ag pilot Lalla Bains why an elderly widowed piano teacher is found strapped in the driver’s seat. Lalla confronts suspects, informants, cross-dressers, drug-running crop dusters, and a crazy Chihuahua on her quest to find the killer.

Murder is a Family Business, an Alvarez Family Murder Mystery by Heather Haven—Just because a man cheats on his wife and makes Danny DeVito look tall, dark and handsome, is that any reason to kill him? The reluctant and quirky PI, Lee Alvarez, has her work cut out for her when the man is murdered on her watch. Of all the nerve.

Murder, Honey, a Carol Sabala Mystery by Vinnie Hansen—When the head chef collapses into baker Carol Sabala’s cookie dough, she is thrust into her first murder investigation. Suspects abound at Archibald’s, the swanky Santa Cruz restaurant where Carol works. The head chef cut a swath of people who wanted him dead from ex-lovers to bitter rivals to greedy relatives.

Buy Links

Kindle-- http://amzn.to/260z0T6

Nook-- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sleuthing-women-lois-winston/1123663544?ean=2940153179940

Kobo-- https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/sleuthing-women-10-first-in-series-mysteries

iTunes-- https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/sleuthing-women-10-first-in/id1103428642?mt=11

Bio: USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Visit Lois/Emma at www.loiswinston.com and Anastasia at the Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers blog, www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com. Follow her on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/anasleuth, and onTwitter at https://twitter.com/Anasleuth. Sign up for her newsletter at https://www.MyAuthorBiz.com/ENewsletter.php?acct=LW2467152513

Mystery Monday - 2015 Favorites

(Alphabetically by author.)

Burt, Alexandra.  Remember Mia.  Berkley trade paperback, July 2015.

Casey, Jane.  The Kill (Maeve Kerrigan #5).  Minotaur hardcover, June 2015.  

Freydont, Shelley.  A Gilded Grave (Newport Gilded Age #1). Berkley Prime Crime trade paperback, August 2015).

Lippman, Laura.  Hush, Hush (Tess Monaghan #12).  William Morrow hardcover, February 2015.

MacDonald, Janice.  Another Margaret (Randy Craig #6).  Ravenstone trade paperback,  August 2015).

McCreight, Kimberly.  Where They Found Her.  HarperCollins hardcover, April 2015.

Milchman, Jenny.  As Night Falls.  Ballantine hardcover, June 2015.

Perry, Thomas.  A String of Beads.  Mysterious Press hardcover, January 2016.

Raybourn, Deanna.  A Curious Beginning (Veronica Speedwell #1).  NAL hardcover, September 2015).

Scottoline, Lisa.  Corrupted (Rosato & Associates #14). St, Martin’s Press hardcover, October 2015.

Gifts for Mystery Lovers ...

... if you don't want to get them a book they might already have read (click on item name to go to purchase site)...

For Agatha Christie fans:

Earrings, $28.00

Evil Under the Sun computer game, $25.00

Trivia Game, $15.00

For Nancy Drew fans:

The Secret of the Old Clock sweatshirt (also available as a t-shirt), $42.00













OWL Recycled Taxi Wallet, $35.00

Smartphone case, $20.00

For Sherlock Holmes fans:

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes book t-shirt, $34.00

Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Game, $32.00

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House (Nintendo), $16.00

Mysteries I'm Excited About - Coming Soon!

The Haunted Season (Max Tudor #5) by G.M. Malliet (Minotaur hardcover, 6 October 2015).

Something sinister is stirring at Totleigh Hall, the showcase of the English village of Nether Monkslip.

Usually, the Lord and Lady of the manor are absent--high tax rates, it is murmured with more than a trace of envy, force them to live on the continent for most of the year. But Lord and Lady Baaden-Boomethistle have been in residence for some weeks now, and the villagers are hoping for a return to the good old days, when the lord of the manor sprinkled benefits across the village like fairy dust.

Father Max Tudor's invitation to dinner at the Hall comes as a welcome novelty; it will be his first time meeting the famous family that once held sway in the area. But before he has time to starch his clerical collar and organize a babysitter, a sudden and suspicious death intervenes, and the handsome vicar's talent for sorting through clues to a murder is once again called into play.


What You See (Jane Ryland #4) by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge hardcover, 20 October 2015).

Why would a father abduct his own child? A wedding is planned in Jane Ryland's family, but there's a disaster instead. Nine-year-old Gracie-supposed to be the flower girl-has been taken by her stepdad. Where are they? Is the girl in danger? Reporter Jane Ryland learns there's a limit to the bonds of family-and learns to her peril what happens when loved ones are pushed too far.

Meanwhile, Detective Jake Brogan's got a doozy of a case. At Boston's historic Faneuil Hall, a man is stabbed to death in front of a crowd of tourists snapping photos of the murder on their cell phones. Solving the case should be easy, but the pictures and surveillance video lead him to a dark conspiracy of extortion and stolen lives.

Jane and Jake must explore where their loyalties lie-to each other? To their families? To their careers? If they make the wrong decision, the consequences could be fatal.

Corrupted (Rosato & DiNunzio #3) by Lisa Scottoline (St. Martin's Press hardcover, 27 October 2015).

Bennie Rosato, the founder of the Rosato & DiNunzio law firm, hides her big heart beneath her tough-as-nails exterior and she doesn't like to fail.

Now, a case from her past shows her how differently things might have turned out. Thirteen years ago, Bennie Rosato took on Jason Leftavick, a twelve-year-old boy who was sent to a juvenile
detention center after fighting a class bully. Bennie couldn't free Jason, and to this day it's the case that haunts her.

Jason has grown up in and out of juvenile prison, and his adulthood hasn't been any easier. Bennie no longer represents those accused of murder, but when Jason is indicted for killing the same bully he fought with as a kid, she sees no choice but to represent him. She doesn't know whether or not to believe his claims of innocence, but she knows she owes him for past failures-of the law, of the juvenile justice system, and of herself.

Forced to relive the darkest period of her life, Bennie will do everything in her power to get the truth, and justice.


In Bitter Chill by Sarah Ward (Minotaur hardcover, 29 September 2015).

Derbyshire, 1978: a small town in the idyllic English countryside is traumatized by the kidnapping of two young schoolgirls, Rachel Jones and Sophie Jenkins. Within hours, Rachel is found wandering alone near the roadside, unharmed yet unable to remember anything, except that her abductor was a woman. No trace of Sophie is ever discovered.

Present day: over thirty years later, Sophie's mother commits suicide. Detective Inspector Francis Sadler and detective constable Connie Childs are assigned to look at the kidnapping again to see if modern police methods can discover something that the original team missed.

Rachel, with the help of her formidable mother and grandmother, recovered from the kidnapping and has become a family genealogist. She wants nothing more than to continue living quietly beneath the radar, but the discovery of the strangled body of one of her former teachers days after the suicide brings the national media back to her doorstep. 

Desperate to stop a modern killer from striking again, Rachel and the police must unpick the clues to uncover what really happened all those years ago as the past threatens to engulf the present.


The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone (Redhook hardcover, 20 October 2015).

The odds of Dahlia successfully navigating adulthood are 3,720 to 1. But never tell her the odds.

Meet Dahlia Moss, the reigning queen of unfortunate decision-making in the St. Louis area. Unemployed broke, and on her last bowl of ramen, she's not living her best life. But that's all about to change.

Before Dahlia can make her life any messier on her own she's offered a job. A job that she's woefully under-qualified for. A job that will lead her to a murder, an MMORPG, and possibly a fella (or two?).

Turns out unfortunate decisions abound, and she's just the girl to deal with them.

Thriller Thursday

Remember Mia by Alexandra Burt (Berkley trade paperback, 7 July 2015).


What a riveting book!  Alexandra Burt's debut novel is a stunner.

When Estelle Paradise wakes up in hospital after her car crashes into the bottom of a ravine, and no memory of what happened, the first thing she remembers is Mia.

Mia is her seven-month-old daughter, who disappeared overnight while Estelle was asleep.  Not only did the baby disappear, but so did all her belongings -- diapers, bottles, clothes, and toys.  Since Mia's father, Jack, was travelling for work, Estelle has no one to support her.

As she recovers, and no more evidence appears, her story seems more and more questionable to the police, the media, and even Jack.

The story does have a lot of flashbacks and flash-forwards, which can be a bit confusing if the reader isn't paying strict attention, or happens to put the book down for a few hours (the latter may be necessary, because this is a very dramatic and affecting story.

And don't start it at bedtime, because it will definitely keep you awake.



FTC Full Disclosure:  Many thanks to the publisher for the Advance Reading Copy.

What I read on my summer vacation

Disappointingly, I only completed six books during the ten days of my trip this year.  And while that may seem like a lot, I would like to point out that I'm quite a fast reader, and really wasn't doing much else.  

Oh, and I must mention the wonderfulness of being able to download e-books from the library no matter where I am!

In any case, here they are, in the order I read them, with mini-reviews.


Hooked on Ewe (Scottish Highlands Mystery #2) by Hannah Reed (Berkley Prime Crime mass market paperback, 7  July 2015).

Eden Elliott never thought she'd be so busy living in the "quiet" highlands of Scotland.  Apart from trying to finish her romance novel, and assisting her friend Vicki with her skein-of-the-month club, she's volunteered to help out with the annual sheepdog trials. On top of that, the local police inspector recruits her as a special constable.  

Based in a place I'd love to visit, this charming story is perfect airplane reading.



FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy  of the book.



As Night Falls by Jenny Milchman (Ballantine Books hardcover, 30 June 2015).


Sandy Tremont has built a good life with her family.  Even though her daughter is exhibiting the classic signs of being a difficult teenager, her marriage is happy and her career is successful.  

But one dark, cold winter's night, her safe home is invaded by two escaped prisoners who terrorize her family and expose a past she'd thought was buried forever.  

Milchman is a gifted storyteller, and the story was so absorbing I found myself shivering from the cold while sitting near a beach in July.   

FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for the digital galley.



Still Alice by Lisa Genova (Pocket Books mass market paperback, 16 December 2014).


The story of a linguistics professor who suffers from rapidly progressing early-onset Alzheimer's disease, this was perhaps not the best choice for a vacation read, because it's so heart-wrenching.   

This book affected me deeply.  Not only did I not want to put it down, it through me into a moody funk for the day-and-a-half I was reading it.  All the praise it's received is well-deserved. 



FTC Full Disclosure: I purchased this book.


Cold Mourning (Stonechild & Rouleau #1) by Brenda Chapman (Dundurn Press trade paperback, 10 February 2014).

The first book in a series about a police officer who leaves an isolated northern Ontario village to join a special crimes unit in Ottawa.  Kala Stonechild's first task is to find vanished businessman Tom Underwood in time for him to spend Christmas with his family.  
She must deal with not only with being the only the only female in the unit, but being of First Nations descent, but she's smart and resourceful.

Her supervisor, Jacques Rouleau has to deal with a tough investigation as well as his own boss who wants to get rid of the unit.  

This is a compelling, well-constructed mystery that was perfect for the Canadian part of me.

FTC Full Disclosure: I purchased this book.


A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (HMH BFYR hardcover, 3 April 2003).


I found this on a recommended list of books about strong young women.  This young adult story about 16-year-old Mattie Gokey, who helps support her poverty-stricken family upstate New York.

Mattie befriends a young woman who is a guest at the Adirondack hotel where she works. Grace leaves a bundle of letters with her before going on boating trip with her fiancé, asking Mattie to burn them. When Grace's body is found in the lake, Mattie reads the letters to try to determine what happened.  

Based on a true story, this is not just an intriguing mystery but a realistic portrayal about life and feminism in the early 20th Century.

FTC Full Disclosure: I borrowed this e-book from my local library.



The Missing Place by Sophie Littlefield (Gallery Books trade paperback, 14 October 2014).

My admiration of Sophie Littlefield's skill as a storyteller grows with every book of hers that I read.  

Here, we meet two mothers whose sons have disappeared from an oil rig they are working on in North Dakota.  Colleen is a well-to-do Bostonian, and Shay is a working class woman from California, but they are both certain that there is something fishy going on.  Nobody from the oil company will speak to them, and the local police say their hands are tied.  

Not just a great mystery, this is a fascinating exploration of the relationship between two very different women.  

(Like As Night Falls and Cold Mourning, this also takes place in the winter, which to me, made it a perfect summer read.)

FTC Full Disclosure: I purchased this book.

Back to Noir

City of Ghosts (Miranda Corbie Mystery #3) by Kelli Stanley (Minotaur hardcover, 5 August 2014).


So much is going on in Miranda's life!

Returned from nursing in the Spanish Civil War, she works hard to forget the loss there of the love of her life. She finally has a P.I. license, and enough cases to get by, thanks to some unwelcome publicity.

But when her "old friend"  from the State Department, James MacLeod, drops by and asks her to help her country by tailing a possible art smuggler.  Upon learning that the remuneration for this job will be $5,000, plus passage to England on a luxury liner.

It's the trip to England that seals the deal; Miranda has received a postcard purporting to be from her mother, whom she had assumed was long dead, and Miranda wants badly to find her.

Then two of her clients die violent deaths, and she's suddenly working three cases instead of two.  Or could they possibly be linked?

Stanley allows the reader to see and identify with the sensitive, wounded woman beneath Miranda's public hard-as-glass exterior through language and settings reminiscent of the great classic noir authors.

Settle down comfortably, as you won't want to move until you've reached the last page.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________



Kelli Stanley is the author of the
Miranda Corbie Mysteries, and
the Roman Noir Mysteries as
well as a number of short stories
and essays on the craft of writing.
Some of her major literary influences
are Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett,
Tennessee Williams, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
She lives in Dashiell Hammett's
(and Miranda Corbie's) San Francisco.



__________________________________________________________________________________________________


FTC Full Disclosure:  Many thanks to the author and the publisher for the Advance Reading Copy of the book.