Category: Reviews

Soho
Published June 2, 2026
Reviewed by Barbara Fister

It’s 1879 and Londoner Kit Jimeson is one of the most skillful “dodgers” in an all-woman ring of thieves. Based south of the river near the Elephant and Castle, the women go to shops and public events in pairs to distract their marks from their nimble extraction of watches, jewelry, and shop goods. They have to be cautious: getting caught can mean a prison sentence, transportation to an Australian penal colony, or death. Kit’s younger sister urges her to find another way to make a living, and she’s considering her options when the leadership of the group abruptly changes. Maggie O’Connell, whose mother started the ring, was a talented and beautiful thief before she was betrayed and sent to Australia. Now she’s back to take over the ring and seek her revenge. The heist she plans requires Kit to undertake a role so risky she will likely be caught – unless she can find a way out.

Continue reading “An Artful Dodge by Karen Odden”

Why is summer meant to be the time for beach reading? We think books are for all seasons. That said, a lot of books are published in the spring, just in time to stock up. Put on your sunscreen and mosquito spray and enjoy a good book wherever you are. Maybe one of these that we reviewed in May will be just what you’re looking for.

The poster included here, created by someone named Brubaker in the 1920s, promoted Book Week, and came courtesy of Literary Hub which featured a nice selection of “book propaganda.”

Matt Goldman, Liar’s Creek – “I have read, and loved, all of the Nils Shapiro books so I approached this book with a tiny bit of trepidation. No Nils. No Nils’ snarky humor. I needn’t have worried. What I hope is the first book in a new series was different, but every bit as good.” Julie Campbell

Sinéad Nolan, The Counting Game – “The Counting Game  is full of beautiful imagery, as spooky and atmospheric as the woods, and the relationship between Jack and Freya, as she coaxes him out of his silence, is the heart of the book.” Barbara Fister

Uzma Jalaludin, Moonlight Murder – “Some read for plot, some for characters, others for the way it all is woven together with stylish writing; here there’s something for all kinds of readers, a well-balanced mix of all of the ingredients that make for a good mystery.” Barbara Fister

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, Deadly Force – “For those who enjoy traditional mysteries with a familiar cast of likeable characters, this series is a treat that continues to deliver.” Barbara Fister

Diane Josefowicz, The Great Houses of Pill Hill – “The author can really write, and Cookie is a fascinating character. But with so much thrown into the narrative mix … it doesn’t all come together.” Barbara Fister

L. M. Kemp, I, Spy – “This isn’t James Bond (though there are plenty of gadgets); it isn’t the cynical post-colonial exhaustion of LeCarre, either (though the government is not to be trusted). The true center of the drama is Rosie and her mother’s desperate attempts to do what is best for her.” Barbara Fister

Nicola Whyte, Murder Like Clockwork –  “These are quirky, likable, believable characters who all have nice depth to them. Whyte’s evocation of present-day London is an added bonus for the armchair traveler. The plot itself gets rather convoluted, but everything gets untangled in the end, and along the way, the main characters and their relationships continue to develop.” Meredith Frazier

Mary Logue, A Wasp in the Beehive – “This compact story, only 200 pages long, is told in a voice that is as no-nonsense as its protagonist, who combines curiosity with common sense and personal courage… For armchair travelers who favor time machines, this historical series is a lot of fun.” Barbara Fister

Mark Pryor, The Most Mysterious Bookshop in Paris – “This is great escapist literature. Add to that a complex and nuanced plot with a strong procedural bent, and the book begs to be read in one sitting even though a part of me wanted it to drag out and provide a longer vacation from daily life.” Sharon Mensing

Marcus Kliewer, The Caretaker – “it is compelling in its confusion. Most of the time the pace of the plot is blistering and the story line disturbing… if you like everything explained in the end, this is not the book for you.” Sharon Mensing

Emylia Hall, The Lone Island Mystery – “The descriptions are transportative… The plot and characters are distinct enough for the book to not seem derivative, although it is a cozy novel that avoids gruesome and gory details.” Sharon Mensing

Andrey Kurkov, The Lost Soldiers – “These are unusual mysteries, not bound by genre expectations. The pacing is peripatetic, there’s a touch of magical realism, and the setting contributes to the sense that nothing makes sense and anything could happen.” Barbara Fister

Joshua Moehling, Beneath a Broken Sky – “The plot is quite complex as alternating chapters deal with the two central plot lines. The author masterfully weaves all the various details together without dropping the pieces. If anything, the conclusion is so tightly woven that it felt a bit like a bow being tied with the final threads.” Sharon Mensing

Jean-Luc Bannalec, The Secrets of the Abbey – “Being immersed in the setting is almost reason enough to enjoy The Secrets of the Abbey (and is definitely enough to encourage thoughts of planning a trip to the region), but the mystery itself is also interesting and includes enough red herrings and lines of enquiry to keep the reader guessing to the end…” Meredith Frazier

Natalie Lemle, Artifacts – “Mixed in with a great deal of well-presented ancient Italian and European history is Lena’s own troubled past and the present complications that past has engendered. In the end, Lena finds some answers—both personal and professional—but this is not a traditional whodunit, and justice, solutions, and explanations are slippery.” Meredith Frazier

Simon & Schuster
Published May 19, 2026
Reviewed by Meredith Frazier

In 2004, student Lena Connolly goes on an archaeological dig in Italy, and her professor/dig leader disappears. In 2022, Lena is a lawyer, and because she speaks Italian, she is recruited to work on a case involving a museum curator, a fabulous artifact with questionable provenance, and the Italian government’s request to repatriate a number of items in the museum’s collection. When Lena realizes that many of the people involved are connected to her summer in Italy, she begins to suspect her assignment to the case is more than a coincidence. When two of the people involved tell her to be careful and lie low, Lena realizes that events of the past have begun to add up to real danger in the present.

Continue reading “Artifacts by Natalie Lemle”

Poisoned Pen
Published May 26, 2026
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing

This is the fourth book in the series, although it is the first I’ve read. It reads just fine as a standalone in terms of plot, but I wasn’t able to tell if my difficulties connecting with the main character, Ben Packard, were because series readers will have already developed a relationship with him or if it came down to his actual personality. In this book, at least, he is very straightforward and non-emotional. Some of this may also come down to his being a part of the gay community with its own cultural characteristics. I will have to continue with the series, or go back to earlier books, to find out. This will not be a hardship since I very much enjoyed this book.

Continue reading “Beneath a Broken Sky by Joshua Moehling”

Narrated by Kristin Atherton
Thomas & Mercer
Published April 28, 2026
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing

I jumped into the Shell House Detectives series with this, book seven, and had very little difficulty with not starting at the beginning. This book could easily be read as a standalone, although I will be on the lookout for future books in the series and may go back and read the prior books. I listened to the book, and found that the narrator gave an almost transparent performance. By that I mean that she did not get in the way of the story or characters in any way, but allowed the book to speak fairly directly to the reader. The only exception to that was her voicing of the two police department characters, which I found a bit abrasive.

Continue reading “The Lone Island Mystery by Emylia Hall”

Atria / Emily Bestler / 12:01
Published April 21, 2026
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing

Wow, what did I just read? Either it’s a supernatural horror story, or it’s an exploration of grief and mental illness…or both? Seen as a former, I’d give it a rating of 3 stars because Macy, the main character, was so annoying in her “I can’t do anything right” attitude. If it’s the latter, I’d give it 4 stars because the illness would provide a framework for that attitude. One thing I will say about this is that it is compelling in its confusion.

Continue reading “The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer”

Kensington
Published March 31, 2026
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing

I generally reserve 5 star reviews for literary novels with gorgeous, poetic writing, but in this case I am over the moon with Pryor’s move to resurrect Hugo Marsten after some attempts at other directions. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good writer, no matter what story he tells, but his Hugo series captured me from the beginning, and I was sad to see it fade away and am so pleased it’s back. Well done, Mr. Pryor!

Continue reading “The Most Mysterious Bookshop in Paris by Mark Pryor”