Whew! It’s been a hot one for most of us mystery readers. It’s also been a busy month for publishing. We have quite a few reviews this month for you to browse through to see if any of these books tickle your fancy.
(The image this month is another illustration by our friend Edward Penfield for an 1890 issue of Lippincott’s magazine. That outfit looks rather warm.)
Karen Oden, An Artful Dodge – “It’s 1879 and Londoner Kit Jimeson is one of the most skillful “dodgers” in an all-woman ring of thieves…Odden has done a brilliant job of evoking Victorian Britain without making the past seem distant.” Barbara Fister
Peter Grainger, Some Sort of Justice – “…the seventeenth entry in the DC Smith / Kings Lake series… To go by the two volumes published in the US so far, Peter Grainger is a talented writer with a knack for depicting a workplace where the police are all (perhaps a bit unrealistically) dedicated, smart, and dogged. They are often up against an unhelpful bureaucracy, but complement each others’ skills to carry out complex investigations against the headwinds.”
Craig Johnson, The Brothers McKay – “This entry in the Longmire series is almost two stories in one: solving the murder of Pepper McKay, and that of a second death; man against man, if you will, and the other man against nature. As he has done in previous books with blizzards and deserts, Johnson brings the readers as close to the experience of an out-of-control wildfire as it is possible to get from reading a book.” Julie Campbell
Danielle Postel-Vinay, Murder Most Delicious – “If you’re ready for a quick trip to a charming neighborhood in Paris, Danielle Postel-Vinay’s Murder Most Delicious will take you there—and add a couple of murders just for a little excitement.” Meredith Frazier
Melissa Albert, The Children – “This is a strange, compelling, and often astonishingly poetic story that peers behind the glossiness of fame and the innocence of fairy tales to show something darker, examining the power of the imagination to take us to unexpected places, and the ways that popular parasocial relationships with books can become a mass desire to enter a fantasy world.” Barbara Fister
Caitlin Mullen, Heather – “In addition to a nicely-convoluted plot, the setting plays a major role in the story. While the Jersey Devil doesn’t make an appearance, the legend behind it concerning the thirteenth child of an exhausted mother who didn’t want yet another baby to care for plays a thematic role. The dense pine woods, too, are a brooding, mysterious presence, shaping the isolation and rural decay of the town …” Barbara Fister
Sarah Vaughn, Based on a True Story – “Sarah Vaughan has a good time developing the main characters with their various crises on the boil… It’s all tied up neatly in the end, with a not-too-surprising villain revealed along with the dark secret.” Barbara Fister
Martin Edwards, Hemlock Bay – “This story, the fifth featuring Rachel Savernake, is told very much in the style of a between-the-wars mystery. It may not satisfy the modern reader who expects propulsive pacing or deep psychological analysis of the characters. But for those who cherish the fair-play puzzles of the Golden Age, it may be exactly what you’re looking for.” Barbara Fister
David Housewright, Fear the Reaper – “McKenzie, his foster parents, Patty and Dave, and the sheriff are such great characters that I thoroughly enjoyed this read.” Julie Campbell
Craig Johnson, The Brothers McKay (audiobook) – “The book is a terrific addition to the Longmire series, with excellent characterization, solid literary background, tension that escalates as the plot plays out, and gorgeous writing about the setting. I enjoyed all aspects of this book, but was particularly drawn in as a massive forest fire takes an increasingly prominent role in the complicated plot.” Sharon Mensing
Christina Dodd, Teach the Torches to Burn – “To great extent, Teach the Torches to Burn lands more in the comedy and romance camp than historical murder mystery, but particularly in the second half of the book, the mystery does propel the plot, and the means is particularly intriguing.” Meredith Frazier
Hemlock
Minotaur
Soho
Harper Perennial
Grand Central
Soho
Ecco
Bloomsbury 
Minotaur