When one gets to a “certain age,” it’s a kick to read novels, especially murder mysteries, in which the main character is also a person of a “certain age.” And in Leonie Swann’s very clever “Miss Sharp Investigates” series, Agnes Sharp and her fellow pensioners, who all live together in Sunset Hall, her large home, prove that age is no deterrent to fighting crime.
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How can you not love a book narrated by a dog who understands a lot of what’s going on, but also — in true, believable doggy style — misses so much? Spencer Quinn has an almost supernatural ability to write like a dog. Or at least what we think our dogs really might be thinking as they go through life with us. And in his (and Chet and Bernie’s) latest story, “Cat on a Hot Tin Woof,” there’s finally a cat! Actually, as Chet might put it, “There might be two cats, but I can’t count past two.”
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Alice Henderson’s thrilling and fascinating series about Alex Carter, a wildlife biologist whose past adventures have taken her to study jaguars, wolverines, polar bears, and caribou, now takes her to Hawai’i. In “Storm Warning,” Alex has been asked to monitor a beach where hawksbill turtles are laying their eggs. The timing is perfect as she was just coming off of another job and had the time. Also, returning to the island where she lived with her parents for a while brings back fond memories.
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In Sandra Brown’s new novel “Bloodlust,” the action is set in the same Louisiana town as her previous novel with “blood” in the title, “Blood Moon.” And while the main characters from “Blood Moon” appear in this novel, it’s not a sequel. The similarities, though, are hard to ignore. In the new novel, it’s Detective Mitch Haskell who sits stage center, with therapist Dylan Reede taking an important, but secondary, role. The main characters from “Blood Moon” are supporting characters, and it definitely helps to have read “Blood Moon” first, but this is certainly a stand alone novel as well.
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“The Hospital at the End of the World” is as much a warning to the world as it is a medical/mystery novel. Justin C. Key implies (or sometimes says boldly and unequivocally) that Artificial Intelligence presents a potential danger to humanity that we ignore at our own very real peril. Though the book deals specifically with the effects of a future AI on our medical systems and beliefs, we can see all too clearly the frightening effects that the technology poses for all of us.
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John Grisham’s novels usually involve legal thrillers, and the attorneys who star in them are usually heroes. They are out for justice and righting wrongs. In his latest novel, “The Widow,” Grisham presents an attorney who is neither hero nor fighter for justice.
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Kate White’s newest thriller, “I Came Back for You,” is truly an edge-of-your-seat mystery because she keeps the lid on tight over the killing that is at the center of the story. Bree Winter lives in Uruguay with her partner Sebastian on a chacra, an idyllic farm, nestled near the ocean. But in spite of her happiness with Sebastian, she’s kept a part of her past life hidden. She’s never completely shared what happened when her daughter was murdered during her junior year of college. Now, information surfaces that perhaps the serial killer whom they thought had killed Melanie didn’t do it.
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Well-written historical fiction immerses us into the past as surely as a movie might pictorially show us a scene. In “The Fourth Princess,” author Janie Chang takes us to China in 1911, and we learn about the Boxer Rebellion and the endangered Imperial dynasty. The action is set in Shanghai, and the story is cleverly told through two points of view. Liu Lisan (first names are second in China) is an orphan taken in by a wealthy bachelor from a very important family. She was educated at private schools, but wants to make her own way in the world. The other main character, Caroline Stanton, is a newly arrived wealthy American who wants to hire a secretary to help her with her social obligations. Instead of hiring an American, she decides that a Chinese secretary might be more useful.
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One of the big draws of Kelley Armstrong’s two mystery series that take place in the frigid Yukon is the setting. Both her Rockton series and the current Haven’s Rock series are set in small settlements that were created as sanctuaries for those desperate to hide from their “normal” lives for a few years. Some of those fleeing to safety in the Yukon include financial victims, those who testified against cartels and can’t be kept safe, and those fleeing abusive spouses.
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In the very first chapter of “It’s Not Her,” Mary Kubica describes in detail a violent double murder. One of the main characters and narrators, Courtney, witnesses the brutal slaying of her best friend Emily and Emily’s husband, Courtney’s brother. The other main character is Courtney’s niece, Reese. Cleverly, while both narratives are in first person, Courtney narrates what is happening in the now, while Reese’s narrative explains the events of the preceding week.
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The latest Robert Dugoni novel is the third in the Keera Duggan series, and in “Her Cold Justice,” Keera Duggan faces another murder trial in which she must defend the accused. This time Michael, the accused, is a young man who also happens to be her private investigator, J.P. Harrison’s nephew. Michael insists he didn’t do it.
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All married couples have arguments. But what happens when shortly after that spat, your spouse disappears? That’s the beginning of acclaimed author Thrity Umrigar’s newest novel, “Missing Sam.” Aliya and Sam (short for Samantha) have been married for years and live a comfortable life in their Cleveland suburb. But after a party brings past irritations to the surface, they argue. And the next morning, Sam goes for a run and doesn’t come back.
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