Detective and Mystery
Mystery novels, also called detective fiction, follow a detective solving a case from start to finish. They drop clues and slowly reveal information, turning the reader into a detective trying to solve the case, too. Mystery novels start with an exciting hook, keep readers interested with suspenseful pacing, and end with a satisfying conclusion that answers all of the reader’s outstanding questions.
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Book Review: Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes
I love a cozy mystery, especially when they are food-centric. Of course I couldn't resist one set in a soul food cafe in Chicago.
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Book Review: Killing Me Soufflé
It's almost as if Ellie Alexander decided to write a book just for me. After all, I love a good mystery. I'm from the Pacific Northwest. I'm a foodie. The beach is my…
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Book Review: Designer Dirty Laundry
I needed a change from heavier fantasy and sci-fi novels, and Designer Dirty Laundry by Diane Vallere (aka DiVa) was just the thing. The story is sassy, breezy, a little silly, but with…
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Book Review: Dexter & Sinister: Detecting Agents
Fun True Fact: When looking at a coat of arms, the right side is the Dexter, and the left side is the Sinister. The Dexter side is considered to be more honorable than…
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Book Review: The Dispatcher #2, Murder by Other Means
I love how Scalzi created a concept and then explores all its possibilities. I was darkly amused by the entertainment possibilities of experiencing death just for the thrill of it.
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Book Review: The Dispatcher
A big concept in a small story. That ratio is perfect, since we the readers are expected to not only accept an absurd phenomenon, but embrace it. We're not alone though, as the…
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Book Review: Riddles and Riches
This is book two in the Vegas Chantly Mystery series. I didn't deliberately skip the first book, but my love of puzzle solving pulled me directly into this one first. The blurb tempted…
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Book Review: Lucy Burdette’s Kitchen
I enjoy reading and using cookbooks based on favorite movies, TV shows, and books. It's a fun and practical way to expand my enjoyment of fictional worlds. Lucy Burdette's Kitchen does almost everything…
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Book Review: Death in the English Countryside
In the first book of the "Murder on Location" series, Kate leaves her Los Angeles based office, bound for the little village of Nether Woodsmoor, in England. Seems her boss has gone missing…
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Book Review: Nine Lives and Alibis
As if I'm not already a pushover for cozy mysteries, all you really need to do is include a cat as one of the characters, and I'm in.
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Book Review: The Secret of the Old Clock
When I was eight, I discovered a secret at my Gramma's house. Behind her huge console television, there was a bookcase built into the living room wall. I had to squeeze my way…
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Book Review: No Whisk, No Reward
This short prequel is a nice little read that cleverly accomplishes four important jobs.
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Book Review: A Most Agreeable Murder
A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales My rating: 5 of 5 stars A wickedly witty sendup of Regency and Victorian era novels, with a splash of Clue (the movie) thrown in for…
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Book Review: The Dresden Files #5: Death Masks
Someday I'm going to figure out exactly *why* I'm compelled to read The Dresden Files.
- Action and Adventure, Book Reviews, Coming of Age, Detective and Mystery, Dystopian, Historical Fiction, Realist Fiction, Suspense and Thriller, Young Adult
Book Review: Back in the USSR
The back-cover synopsis had me lunging for this book, which I easily read in just a couple of evenings. It's quite the page-turner! Now, I'm not going to write a book report describing…
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Book Review: Dead and Gondola
I do love finding a new cozy mystery. They make a refreshing change from the heavier stuff I tend to read a lot of. When I see a cozy that's the first in…
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Book Review: All Dressed Up
All Dressed Up by Jilly Gagnon My rating: 3 of 5 stars I’m a huge fan of murder mysteries, and have been ever since discovering the Nancy Drew mystery series in grade school.…
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Book Review: Gone But Not Furgotten
I cannot, and never will, resist a book that celebrates cats! I pounced like a kitten on Gone but Not Furgotten.
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Book Review: Mastering Your Mystery: Write, Publish, and Profit with Your Mysteries & Thrillers
One of my goals as an author is to write a murder mystery someday. Knowing me, it'll probably be a foodie-cozy-comedy caper, but even with that lighthearted notion, I'd like to do it…
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Book Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Rosetta Stone Mystery
Sherlock Holmes and the Rosetta Stone Mystery by Linda Stratmann My rating: 5 of 5 stars Author Linda Stratmann places Sherlock Holmes in 1876, during his days as a student at St. Bartholomew’s…
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Book Review: A Calculated Whisk
The tenth installment in the Vintage Kitchen Mystery series finds Jaymie Leighton determined to solve not just one, but two murders - and one of those was five years ago.
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Book Review: The Maid: A Novel
The Maid by Nita Prose My rating: 5 of 5 stars At first glance, Molly Grey’s world seems just like the rooms she cleans at the Regency Grand Hotel—in a state of perfection.…
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Book Review: The Cluttered Corpse
The Cluttered Corpse by Mary Jane MaffiniMy rating: 4 of 5 stars My interest was piqued by the promise of a story about a professional organizer turned amateur murder investigator. I got what…
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Book Review: Tia Lugo Speaks No Evil
Tia Lugo Speaks No Evil by Danette Vigilante My rating: 4 of 5 stars Tia is a thirteen-year-old Latino girl growing up in a close-knit family in Brooklyn. Her best friend lives close…
- Black Authors, Book Reviews, Detective and Mystery, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Romance, This Writer's Life
Book Review: Dead Dead Girls
Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa AfiaMy rating: 5 of 5 stars This can’t-put-it-down novel gives a vintage twist to the ‘ordinary citizen teams up with police to fight crime’ trope. But while that…
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Book Review: Johannes Cabal the Necromancer
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard My rating: 5 of 5 stars I suspect that author Jonathan L. Howard has never painted himself into a corner. Or if he has, he…
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Book Review: Mint Condition Murder
Mint Condition Murder by Ellery AdamsMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Molly Appleby is a New England reporter for an antique collector’s magazine. But when she finds her next interview subject dead, she’s…
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Book Review: From Port to Rigor Morte
From Port to Rigor Morte by J.C. Eaton My rating: 3 of 5 stars Screenplay writer Norrie Ellington is babysitting her sister and brother-in-law’s business, the Two Witches Winery, while they travel the…
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Book Review: Wining and Dying
Author Daryl Wood Gerber deftly juggles red herrings while weaving together complex plot threads into a rich story of romance, revenge, and murder, while treating us to scrumptious food, tasty wine and breathtaking…
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Book Review: Blood of the Pride
Blood of the Pride by Sheryl Nantus My rating: 5 of 5 stars It’s easy to believe that this story is real, thanks to well thought out worldbuilding, fully developed characters, engrossing conversations…
