Category: Reviews

Translated by Marlaine Delargy
Soho
Published October 6, 2026
Reviewed by Barbara Fister

Helene Tursten, Swedish crime writer, has for many years had two series characters – detectives Irene Huss and Embla Nyström – solve murders in classic Scandi Noir police procedurals. But she has also won dark hearts with a character who plots and carries out murders: an elderly lady named Maud. She may be in her eighties, but she’s very good at dealing with the frustrations of life by meticulously planning solutions and getting away with it by appearing a bit addled and infirm. Soho has now republished all of the Maud stories, translated by the talented Marlaine Delargy, adding a new one to round things out on a suitably off-kilter and unsettling note.

Continue reading “Up to No Good: The Complete Elderly Lady Stories by Helene Tursten”

Little, Brown
Published October 6, 2026
Reviewed by Mary-Jane Oltarzewski

It’s no secret: in an eloquent comment following the conclusion of his 15th Hap and Leonard novel, Petrified Dreams, Joe R. Lansdale assures readers that Hap and Leonard are signing off. The mismatched pair of crimefighters from East Texas has had “a hell of a career… But now is the time to zip it up.” In all likelihood, this will be the final adventure for these characters – the white, politically progressive good ol’ boy Hap Collins, and his unlikely best friend, the gay, Black, conservative Leonard Pine – but that doesn’t mean they’ll go quietly.

Continue reading “Petrified Dreams by Joe R. Lansdale”

Harper Muse
Published October 6, 2026
Reviewed by Meredith Frazier

It’s the winter of 1949, and Gemma Brown has just arrived in the Oxfordshire village of Great Rollright, lured there by the promise of her own bedsit. There’s the job at the general store that goes with the bedsit, of course, that is also appealing, but it’s the room of her own that is the real enticement, along with the chance to escape post-war London and live in an idyllic village much like those she finds in the Golden Age mysteries she loves. Fitting in and making friends is harder than Gemma anticipates, though, but she does make an effort, and slowly she gathers a small group of friends, including Peggy, Charlie, and, surprisingly, the enigmatic Ursula who agrees—after a disastrous cake mishap—to teach Gemma to bake. This last friendship comes as a surprise to Gemma’s other friends because Ursula has very little interaction with the other villagers and is, therefore, the subject of much speculation. When Gemma notices a large antenna on Ursula’s roof, along with a few other unexplained things, the village gossip about Ursula’s husband being a Soviet spy begins to make sense, and Gemma, Peggy, and Charlie get caught up in an investigation fueled a much by imagination and mystery-novel plots as it is by facts. Maybe. As Gemma digs deeper into Ursula’s mysterious actions, she uncovers a tale of international intrigue that will change her life forever.

Continue reading “The Undercover Bookshop by Katherine Reay”

Sourcebooks Landmark
Published October 6, 2026
Reviewed by Barbara Fister

At sixty-six, Elena Altieri has left behind the New York punk scene where, in her youth, she photographed the musicians who were central to a short-lived but energetic creative movement. Now she lives quietly in Vermont where she has a bad case of tinnitus and a gap in her memory. She doesn’t know what led to her fleeing to Vermont decades ago. Her placid life, teaching a few community college courses and scraping up barely enough money to keep her modest home, is disrupted when a punk musician’s obituary runs in Rolling Stone accompanied by one of her vivid photos. It has gone viral, and with the sudden fame comes a surprising offer from her agent: the Guggenheim is doing a punk exhibit and her photos will be a major part of it. She dreads returning to the city where her best friend Sin died, but needs funds to maintain her home, so agrees to go. Among the exhibits is a recreation of a famous toilet from a storied club. When she steps into it and touches the wall, she hears a woman in her death throes, screaming.

Continue reading “Hear the Dead by Ann Dávila Cardinal”

As the days grow shorter and fall is in the air, we hope to share some mysteries that may be right up your dark alley (or might hit the cozy spot on a chilly evening, if that’s your preference). Here’s what we reviewed in the past month – some books by familiar authors, some who may be new to you, one that’s a debut…and some that we hope will hit the spot.

Kate Westbury, The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies – “Westbury’s debut takes readers to a time and place where adventures can happen…It’s the kind of book where you imagine the author has enjoyed every moment of writing it.” Barbara Fister

Emiko Jean, Before You Were Anne – “This engrossing and emotionally-charged story is often challenging thanks to its depiction of abusive relationships. But it’s hard to put down, as a well-plotted multi-vocal mystery with compelling characters.” Barbara Fister

Don MacDonald, The Faithful – “While murder isn’t completely uncommon in Winnipeg, the identity of the body confronting Detective Michael Shelter is unusual. The victim, found with his throat slit in an upscale vacation rental, must be a Hutterite, to go by his traditional clothing.” Barbara Fister

Laurie R. King, Those Who Are Gone – ” This is a complex, slow-moving novel with two time-frames that requires readers to follow several cases with multiple players that are eventually braided together.” Barbara Fister

James Sallis, Backwater – “Reading James Sallis is like reading poetry, or having a dream that is vivid and tactile but yet somehow elusive. That’s the feeling evoked in his last, posthumous novel…” Barbara Fister

Gary Disher, Sanctuary – “…a wonderfully knotty bundle of double-crosses and pursuits, all rendered in confident, spare, and graceful prose.” Barbara Fister

Michelle L. Cullen, A Field Guide to Death & Deceit – “The plot and the crime have a lot of moving parts, and Cullen neatly weaves together all the loose threads to create an exciting, satisfying conclusion. Not only Harry and Emma, but any of their supporting cast, are subjects worth studying, in field guides yet to come.” Mary-Jane Oltarzewski

Tom Hindle, A Fatal Crossing – “Taking place in five days in November of 1924, A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle harks back in many ways to Golden Age mysteries. It’s set onboard the Endeavour as she sails from England to New York, and when a man is found dead at the foot of a staircase, the scene is set for a “closed room” sort of mystery.” Meredith Frazier

Ann Cleeves, The Dying Light – “This is a deeply satisfying mystery that offers enough red herrings to fill the Bristol Channel…Ann Cleeves is a pro, and The Dying Light is further proof that she may be prolific but she’s not taking her readers for granted.” Barbara Fister

 

 

 

 

Minotaur
Published September 29, 2026
Reviewed by Barbara Fister

Matthew Venn is not your typical hard-charging detective. He’s a quiet, thoughtful leader of a team who is good at getting results but, as a gay man estranged from the religious cult he was raised in, deeply insecure. In this case, he needs to solve a double murder of two girls who came to spend a celebratory weekend at a country home before the parents arrive for a holiday. Lottie, a rising internet influencer, is found first, in a swimming pool with a fatal blunt force wound to her head. Hannah, whose parents own the country home, is found later, similarly bludgeoned and drowned in a tidal pool. The fact that Lottie is both famous and has wealthy parents, one of whom is a film star, and that Hannah’s father is a Labour politician who might be the next prime minister adds urgency to a completely mystifying double murder.

Continue reading “The Dying Light by Ann Cleeves”

Dutton
Published July 28, 2026
Reviewed by Meredith Frazier

Taking place in five days in November of 1924, A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle harks back in many ways to Golden Age mysteries. It’s set onboard the Endeavour as she sails from England to New York, and when a man is found dead at the foot of a staircase, the scene is set for a “closed room” sort of mystery. At first, it seems the death might be accidental, and the soon-to-retire ship’s captain wants that to be the case. However, James Temple, a Scotland Yard detective who happens to be onboard thinks differently. Paired with ship’s officer Timothy Birch who is tasked with being sure Temple doesn’t disturb the passengers, Temple begins an investigation that leads to stolen paintings, dodgy art-world dealings, possible organized crime connections, and, of course, more murders.

Continue reading “A Fatal Crossing by Tom Hindle”

Crooked Lane
Published September 15, 2026
Reviewed by Mary-Jane Oltarzewski

A Field Guide to Death and Deceit is an entertaining, character-driven novel, the second outing for Harry, a widowed seventy-something anthropologist, and his caregiver-turned research assistant-turned fellow amateur sleuth, Emma. They met in the previous novel, after Harry broke his hip and – with some reluctance – employed Emma, a former ICU nurse, to look after him. By the time he’d healed from his injury, the insightful yet cranky old Boomer and the relentlessly cheerful Zoomer had solved the murder of one of Harry’s neighbors, in the process becoming minor local celebrities and fast friends, who engage in a lot of fond intergenerational bickering.

Continue reading “A Field Guide to Death & Deceit by Michelle L. Cullen”

Penzler / Mysterious
Published September 15, 2026
Reviewed by Barbara Fister

Before we get to the details, a quick note: you can count on anything Gary Disher writes. You’d think given the dozens of crime novels he’s written, he might start phoning it in, but no. He continues to surprise. As for Sanctuary…

Grace (one of her many names) has been a skilled thief for most of her young life. Raised in foster homes, she started her life of crime in her teens along with Adam, an older foster brother, then got connected to a crooked cop who controlled her life until he was out of the picture. Now she’s on her own, moving around Australia looking for her next score. At a convention for collectors of rare stamps, she’s hoping to nab something valuable enough to fence, but when she sees Adam is also there, she has to bolt. He’s been looking for her ever since she not only dumped him, she stole a valuable watch from him, and he’s out for revenge.

Continue reading “Sanctuary by Gary Disher”

Soho
Published September 1, 2026
Reviewed by Barbara Fister

Reading James Sallis is like reading poetry, or having a dream that is vivid and tactile but yet somehow elusive. That’s the feeling evoked in his last, posthumous novel, Backwater. Though it is ostensibly a police procedural set in a small southern community – a backwater – it is really a series of ruminations about life, death, and music from the perspective of the narrator, a retired cop turned jazz musician named Bishop. He has reluctantly returned to his hometown, Anne’s Ferry, after his old partner tracked him down playing music in a bar and asked him to consult on a puzzling case. He now runs the cop shop in Anne’s Ferry and they have an odd one, an abandoned car, full of blood, but no body. Can he give their small police force a hand? He agrees, but once he gets to Anne’s Ferry, there’s another mystery: his partner has left town, and it’s clear he isn’t coming back.

Continue reading “Backwater by James Sallis”