Silent Bones by Val McDermid

 

First Line: New Year's Eve, 2013. She'd never imagined a Hogmanay thrash like this, never mind that she'd be invited to it.

When a landslide on a motorway uncovers a skeleton, DCI Karen Pirie, head of Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit, finds herself and her team investigating the death of investigative journalist Sam Nimmo.

Nimmo had been the prime suspect in the murder of his girlfriend when he disappeared. Was his death revenge for killing his girlfriend? Or was he investigating something worth killing over? In the meantime, the supposedly accidental death of a hotel manager has raised an allegation of murder. 

Now Karen and her team have a series of puzzles that will test them to their limits.

~

Val McDermid's Karen Pirie series is right at the top of my list of favorites. I've consistently rated these books highly-- either as Best Reads of the Year or as "A's." Although I do have to say that this latest entry, Silent Bones, felt a bit lackluster, a lackluster McDermid novel is still better than most writers' best. 

One of the reasons why McDermid's writing is so strong is due to the cast of characters she creates. Karen and her team of Daisy and Jason are interesting people, and not only do I enjoy keeping up with their private lives, but the way the team has come together is fascinating. Jason, in particular, was originally treated as if he were a joke, but with Karen's guidance, he's become much stronger and is a valuable member of the team. 

The plot of Silent Bones centers on a group of the well-heeled and entitled who think the rules do not apply to them. My patience wears thin with those types of people, and the only new character in this book that I took a shine to was Folasade Cusack. Her comment about an industrial hoover made me snort tea up my nose. Yes, I definitely wouldn't mind seeing her again!

As I said earlier, the plot of Silent Bones didn't really grab me, but any time spent with Karen, Daisy, and Jason is time well spent indeed. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Silent Bones by Val McDermid

eISBN: 9780802164407

Atlantic Crime © 2025

eBook, 432 pages

Police Procedural, #8 Karen Pirie

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley

Past Lying by Val McDermid

 

First Lines: He really believed it was a madcap game. A joke. A dare, played out between old friends. Why would anyone imagine otherwise?

It's April 2020, and Edinburgh is in lockdown. You'd think crime-- especially cold cases-- would take a holiday. Still, when a source at the National Library contacts DCI Karen Pirie's team about some archived documents of a recently deceased crime novelist, Karen welcomes the chance to investigate. 

At the center of the investigation is a novel: two crime novelists playing a game of chess, but it soon becomes clear that their real-life competition is deadly serious. Bit by bit, Karen and her team uncover a very twisted game of betrayal and revenge, made even more complicated by the pandemic.

~

When anyone asks about my favorite mystery series, Val McDermid's Karen Pirie books are right up at the top of the list. With its lovely twisty plot, Past Lying is an excellent addition. The story is made even more engrossing by showing readers policing in the time of Covid. There are rules that must be obeyed, or there will be consequences, and Karen and her team have to be very careful (and quick-witted) about how they conduct themselves.

Speaking of Karen and her team, there is a lot in Past Lying to further the lives of the main characters. There's Karen's relationship with Hamish, the entrepreneur, which is complicated by the fact that he's miles away while Karen is in his apartment in Edinburgh with team member, Daisy, during the lockdown. And Daisy? She shows a lot of talent as a police officer, but I'm not sure how much I can trust her. After all, Daisy herself says, it's "... always handy to have something on your boss."  This doubt makes the back of my mind itch as I watch Karen work hard to make both Daisy and Jason stronger members of the team. 

There's even more going on in the characters' lives, which makes sense due to the personal nature of lockdown; however, there is also an insider's look at the craft of writing, manuscripts, publishing, author events, and workshops, as well as the plight of refugees. Past Lying is a densely layered, completely satisfying mystery, and I don't want to wait until December for the next book in the series. 

Past Lying by Val McDermid

eISBN: 9780802161505

Atlantic Monthly Press © 2023

eBook, 412 pages

Police Procedural, #7 Karen Pirie

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

A Reading Round-Up

 

 

This is a busy week here at Casa Kittling. The usual-- groceries, laundry, nurse visits, bill paying, blah blah blah-- as well as the procedure on my leg and two followups. (I guess they want to make sure my leg doesn't fall off.) Since it is so busy, I don't have time to sit here and compile lists of links. You'll just have to make do with my thoughts on what I've been reading lately.

If you want to know more about each book, click on the link to Amazon US in the title. I have read more books than this, but some of them aren't available until next month. Here we go!

 

 

Still Life by Val McDermid

413 pages

Rating: A

 

My Thoughts: This is the sixth book in McDermid's Karen Pirie series set in Scotland, and I love it. Karen runs Police Scotland's cold case squad, and she simply will not give up until she finds the truth-- even if it costs her her job. 

McDermid had me worried about one of the main characters-- and when you're worrying about a fictional character while you're taking out the trash, you know that's a good thing. There's also a new face in the group, and I'm looking forward to learning more about Daisy Mortimer. Karen's even got some thinking to do about her relationship with the handsome Hamish.

 

There's a nice twisty mystery in this one that ends with the country going into lockdown due to the pandemic... and this really puts Karen's future in doubt.

Weyward by Emilia Hart

336 pages

Rating: A 

My Thoughts: After reading Dorothy's review on her blog, The Nature of Things, I had to get this book. 

 

Three separate timelines (1619, 1942, 2019), three separate women linked by blood and by the common sanctuary that each of them found in an English cottage called Weyward. Each timeline, each character kept me turning the pages. I wanted to know more about them. I wanted to know more about the cottage. 

This was a very enjoyable reading experience, and an amazing debut novel. I'll be looking for more of Hart's writing.

Devil's Garden by Aline Templeton

329 pages

Rating: A

 

My Thoughts: I've found myself wanting to spend quite a bit of time in Scotland, and Aline Templeton is one of the best writers to dive right into when I'm in this sort of mood. 

 

This is the third DI Kelso Strang mystery, and it's set in the Scottish Borders. Strang is the head of the Serious Rural Crime Squad, and I really like following him around from place to place (many of which I've at least driven through).  

This installment had Strang and his impulsive partner Livvy Murray trying to solve crimes surrounding a world famous author-- an author who has so many secrets she wants kept hidden that it makes the investigation that much harder.  

I did have to smile at the name of the weather phenomenon this time: the Beast from the East. It reminded me of a day spent in Cambridge when the lashing winds were straight out of Russia. (*laughing* I just just goosebumps remembering it!)

Shotgun Saturday Night by Bill Crider

185 pages

Rating: B+ 

My Thoughts: This is the second in the long-running Sheriff Dan Rhodes series set in Texas. Originally published in 1987, it mentions Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels a few times-- usually to mention that Rhodes' small bailiwick doesn't have near the amount of "high tech" that the 87th has. (And just imagine how the tech has changed since 1987!)

Rhodes has to sort out his feelings for his girlfriend while he tries to unravel all the knots in this mystery, and I enjoyed following along. Sometimes it's just plain relaxing to have a mystery with no cell phones or forensics, you know?

All the resting I've been forcing myself to do has been paying off, so I'm hopeful that the procedure will go ahead. In the meantime, I'll share a goody from my virtual closet and then head off to my book. Enjoy the weekend, y'all!

Broken Ground by Val McDermid

 

First Line: The slap of spades in dense peat was an unmistakable sound.

 

It's just another day at the office for Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie. She's been saddled with Detective Sergeant Gerry McCartney, a man who has no understanding of the Historic Cases Unit-- or even the desire to work there. In addition, Pirie's boss ACC Ann Markie (called "the dog biscuit" behind her back) seems to have upped her game in an attempt to finally get rid of her. 

 

But it's not all fun and personality clashes. Karen is assigned to a case in the Highlands. A woman finds the location of treasure that her grandfather had hidden when he was there during World War II, but when she digs it up, she finds the corpse of a man who'd been shot. Karen is also working a domestic violence case, and as she gets closer to the truth, it becomes obvious that not everyone shares her desire for justice.

~

Val McDermid's Karen Pirie series continues to be one of my favorites. Pirie is a bastion in the Harry Bosch School of Policing. In Broken Ground, she says "My ambition is to clear cases that everybody else has given up on. To give answers to people that have been waiting way too long to find out who blew a hole in their lives and why." That makes her just the type of character most crime fiction fans love.

 

Karen Pirie will succeed, no matter what it takes, and if it means she'll lose her job... so be it. This makes her a bitter pill to swallow for those above her who pay more attention to spreadsheets and the bottom line cost of things, and her boss is determined to get rid of her no matter how high her clearance rate is.

 

There are only two people in the Historic Cases Unit (HCU): Karen and a young Detective Constable known as The Mint. The Mint isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but Karen prefers to work with him as a known entity rather than deal with the unknown... who joins the unit as DS Gerry McCartney, a man who doesn't understand the mission of such a unit nor does he want to. One of the things I like so much about this series is that The Mint isn't mere comic relief. He's a good-natured young man who wants to do a good job, and he is getting better. How? He's "channeling" Karen's deceased partner and Karen herself-- and it's working. Good role models do make a difference.

There's enough going on with the characters to keep readers occupied, but the two cases the HCU is working on are compelling, too. And that's par for the course in this series. Strong characters and strong mysteries. If you haven't made the acquaintance of Karen Pirie, I strongly recommend that you do so. Start at the beginning with the award-winning The Distant Echo.

Broken Ground by Val McDermid

eISBN: 9780802146939

Grove Atlantic © 2018

eBook, 432 pages

 

Police Procedural, #5 DCI Karen Pirie

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

May 2024 New Mystery Releases!

 

I don't know why, but I'm having a hard time realizing that May is here. At least I've had some fun (Daisy and Suzanne's visit) lately instead of a boring round of nothing but weekly medical appointments. It's been almost a year since I was sent to the wound care clinic, and I think it's time for me to admit that my legs might never heal. Nothing I (or the doctor and nurses) do seems to work, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying!

Time may fly, but I will always keep my eyes peeled for new reading material. (You knew that already, didn't you?)  The following list contains my picks for the best new crime fiction being released during the month of May. I've grouped them according to their release dates, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon.

Let's see how many of my choices are on your own Need to Read lists!

=== May 2 ===

Title: A Nest of Vipers

Author: Harini Nagendra

Series: #3 in the Bangalore Detectives Club historical series set in 1920s India.

352 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "This latest novel in the Bangalore Detectives Club mystery series takes the reader deep into the historical era surrounding the visit by Edward, Prince of Wales, to Bangalore in 1921. When the prince begins a tour of a number of Indian cities, he encounters passionate crowds demanding independence from Britain, with rioting on the streets of Bombay in November 1921.

The mood of the prince's subsequent trip to Bangalore and Mysore in January 1922 appears, at first glance, very different and is made to large, welcoming crowds. But perhaps all is not what it seems to be. While exploring another (seemingly unrelated) crime scene, Kaveri and Ramu become tangled in a complex web of intrigue, getting pulled into a potentially dangerous plan that could endanger the life of the visiting prince.

This new novel also takes us into the world of jadoo—Indian street magic—with sleight-of-hand magicians, snake charmers, and rope tricks. Kaveri and Ramu continue their sleuthing, with help from the Bangalore Detectives Club, amidst the growing rumblings of Indian independence and the backdrop of female emancipation." 

 

 

Title: Queen Macbeth

Author: Val McDermid

Series: #5 in the Darkland Tales set in ancient Scotland.

152 pages

 

*UK release

 

Synopsis: "Shakespeare fed us the myth of the Macbeths as murderous conspirators. But now Val McDermid drags the truth out of the shadows, exposing the patriarchal prejudices of history. Expect the unexpected . . .

A thousand years ago in an ancient Scottish landscape, a woman is on the run with her three companions – a healer, a weaver and a seer. The men hunting her will kill her – because she is the only one who stands between them and their violent ambition. She is no lady: she is the first queen of Scotland, married to a king called Macbeth.

As the net closes in, we discover a tale of passion, forced marriage, bloody massacre and the harsh realities of medieval Scotland. At the heart of it is one strong, charismatic woman, who survived loss and jeopardy to outwit the endless plotting of a string of ruthless and power-hungry men. Her struggle won her a country. But now it could cost her life." 

=== May 7 ===

Title: Dodge and Burn

Author: Ellen Crosby

Series: #4 in the Sophie Medina photojournalist series set in present-day Washington, DC.

299 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "When billionaire philanthropist and art collector Robson Blake hires Sophie Medina to take photographs for him, she doesn't expect to show up and find her client dead. It seems he was the victim of a burglary gone wrong. But why was his state-of-the-art security system turned off . . . and why, in a house full of priceless Old Masters, is the only thing missing a beautiful but insignificant Ukrainian religious icon?

Before long, Sophie finds herself in the crosshairs of a D.C. homicide detective who suspects she knows more than she is saying about Blake's murder - and he's not wrong. To Sophie's mixed delight and horror, she's recently learned she has a half-brother . . . who might also be an international art thief, with eyes on Blake's collection.

As the police get closer to finding Blake's killer, Sophie is certain someone is trying to frame her for his murder. Can she find the real killer in time - even if it means turning in her own brother to prove her innocence?" 

Title: Hunted

Author: Abir Mukherjee

Standalone thriller set in the UK and US.

400 pages

 

Synopsis: "In London, the police storm Heathrow Airport to bring in a father for questioning about his missing daughter.
 
In Florida, a mother makes a connection between her son and the bomber, fearing he has been radicalized.
 
And in Oregon, an unknown organization’s conspiracy to bring America to its knees unfolds…
 
On the run from the authorities, the two parents are thrown together in a race against time to stop a catastrophe that will derail the country’s future forever.

But can they find their kids before it’s too late? "

 

 

=== May 14 ===

 

 

Title: Locked in Pursuit

Author: Ashley Weaver

Series: #4 in the Electra McDonnell historical series set in World War II England.

272 pages

Synopsis: "Safecracker Ellie McDonnell hasn’t seen Major Ramsey―her handsome but aloof handler in the British government―since their tumultuous mission together three months before, but when she hears about a suspicious robbery in London she feels compelled to contact him. Together they discover that a rash of burglaries leads back to a hotbed of spies in the neutral city Lisbon, Portugal, and an unknown object brought to London by a mysterious courier.

As the thieves become more desperate and their crimes escalate, it becomes imperative that Ellie and Ramsey must beat them at their own game. Fighting shadowy assailants, enemy agents, and the mutual attraction they’ve agreed not to acknowledge, Ellie and Ramsey work together to learn if it truly takes a thief to catch a thief."

Title: Knot Dead Again

Author: Betty Hechtman

Series: #10 in the Yarn Retreat cozy series set in California.

238 pages

 

Synopsis: "When the perennially cloudy skies of Cadbury unleash a torrential downpour, yarn retreat host Casey Feldstein watches in dismay as the streets surrounding Vista Del Mar become flooded and she and her retreat guests are trapped there. But the storm is the least of their worries when a man is found dead in his room, and the guests begin to speculate that he may have been murdered. With the police unable to reach them, Casey is forced to fill their soggy shoes and investigate. 

She's quick to discover evidence pointing to foul play, but with the guests growing restless and suspicious, it's everything Casey and the staff can do to keep them fed, distracted-and safe. Then another body is found, and as the weather finally begins to clear, Casey realizes she has to act fast before the killer makes a clean getaway. Because the culprit has tampered with the evidence and is tying up loose ends, and Casey fears she may be left high and dry-or drenched and dead . . ." 

=== May 21 ===

Title: The Last Hope

Author: Susan Elia MacNeal

Series: #11 in the Maggie Hope historical series set in World War II Europe.

304 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "Maggie Hope has come a long way since she was Mr. Churchill’s secretary. In the face of tremendous danger, she’s learned espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. But things are different now that she has so much to lose, including the possibility of a family with John Sterling, the man who’s long held her heart.

British Intelligence has ordered Maggie to assassinate Werner Heisenberg, the physicist who may deliver a world-ending fission bomb for Germany. She’s shaken. An assassination is unlike anything she has ever done. How can the Allies even be sure Nazi Germany has a bomb? Determined to gather more information, Maggie travels to Madrid, where Heisenberg is visiting for a lecture.

At the same time, couturier Coco Chanel, a spy in her own right with ambiguous loyalties, has requested a mysterious meeting with the British ambassador in Madrid—and has requested Maggie join them. As the two play a dangerous game of cat and mouse, Maggie tries to get a better understanding of Heisenberg, but is faced with betrayal and a threat more terrifying than losing her own life.

Maggie desperately wants to find her happily-ever-after, but as the war reaches a fever pitch, the stakes keep rising. Now, more than ever, the choices she makes will reverberate around the globe, touching everyone she loves—with fateful implications for the future of the free world." 

Title: The Last Murder at the End of the World

Author: Stuart Turton

Standalone thriller set on an island in a dystopian world.

368 pages

Synopsis: "Solve the murder to save what's left of the world.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island―and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer―and they don't even know it.

And the clock is ticking."

 

 

Title: Return to Blood

Author: Michael Bennett

Series: #2 in the Hana Westerman police procedural series set in New Zealand.

336 pages

 

Synopsis: "After the perils of a case that landed much too close to home, Hana Westerman turned in her badge and abandoned her career as a detective in the Auckland CIB. Hoping that civilian life will offer her the opportunity to rest and recalibrate, she returns to her hometown of Tātā Bay, where she moves back in with her beloved father, Eru. Yet the memories of the past are everywhere, and as she goes for her daily run on the beach, Hana passes a local monument to Paige, a high school classmate who was murdered more than twenty years ago and hidden in the dunes overlooking the sea. A Māori man with a previous record was convicted of the crime, although Eru never believed he was guilty.

When her daughter finds another young woman’s skeleton in the sands, Hana soon finds herself awkwardly involved. Investigators suspect that this is Kiri Thomas, a young Māori woman who disappeared four years earlier, after battling years of drug addiction. Hana and her daughter Addison are increasingly captivated by the story behind this unsolved crime, but without the official police force behind her, Hana must risk compromising her own peace and relationships if justice is to be served.

Expanding the range of vivid characters who made Michael Bennett’s first book, Better the Blood, so appealing, and offering a shocking twist at the end, Return to Blood takes readers further into Māori culture and traditions as it engages us more deeply into the story of Hana Westerman." 

 

 

Title: An Assassination on the Agenda

Author: T.E. Kinsey

Series: #11 in the humorous Lady Hardcastle historical series set in 1912 England.

320 pages

 

Synopsis: "July 1912. Lady Hardcastle and her tenacious lady’s maid, Florence Armstrong, are enjoying a convivial gathering at the home of their dear friends, the Farley-Strouds. The only fly in the idyllic ointment seems to be the lack of musical entertainment for the forthcoming summer party―until, that is, Lady Hardcastle’s brother Harry calls with news of a murder.

Harry dispatches them to Bristol on behalf of the Secret Service Bureau, with instructions to prevent the local police from uncovering too much about the victim. It seems an intriguing mystery―all the more so when they find a connection between the killer and an impending visit from an Austrian trade delegation, set to feature a very important guest…

Summoned to London to help with some very important security arrangements, the intrepid duo will have to navigate sceptical bureaucrats, Cockney gangsters and shadowy men in distinctive hats in their attempts to foil an explosive―and internationally significant―threat."

 

 

=== May 23 ===

 

 

Title: The Wild Swimmers

Author: William Shaw

Series: #6 in the Alexandra Cupidi police procedural series set in southeastern England.

384 pages

 

*UK release

 

Synopsis: "If only Alexandra Cupidi had turned south instead of north, she would have found the dead woman.

Instead it is her vulnerable daughter Zoë who stumbles across Mimi Greene's lifeless body on the shoreline. A regular wild swimmer with a group of close friends, it's out of character for Mimi to have been swimming alone, especially in bad weather. DS Cupidi starts to suspect this is more than just an accidental drowning.

Meanwhile, her friend and colleague Jill Ferriter receives a mysterious letter from a man who claims to be her father. Stephen Dowles has been in prison for the last twenty years, convicted of two brutal and senseless murders.

With Cupidi obsessed by the death of Mimi Greene, Ferriter must lean on Bill South to uncover the facts around Dowles' conviction, revisiting old colleagues and criminals.

The Wild Swimmers is an explosive return to the DS Alexandra Cupidi Series, where the shores of the south Kent coastline expose deadly secrets."

 

 

Title: The Blood Promise

Author: Liz Mistry

Series: #1 in the Solanki and McQueen police procedural series set in Scotland.

394 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "A deadly gift

Imogen Clark wakes up on her 16th birthday to find her parents dead at the breakfast table, along with a message from their killer.

A twist of fate

Detectives Jazzy Solanki and Annie McQueen join the investigation, but the more they discover, the more Jazzy suspects that the killing is a twisted message for her. Jazzy shares the same birthday as Imogen, and believes that this is more than a coincidence.

A race to catch a killer

When Jazzy discovers the connection between the killer and the stalker who has been following her for years, she is forced to confront the dark past she was desperate to keep hidden. She must stop at nothing to solve the case, before she becomes the next victim…

Don't miss the first book in the Solanki and McQueen Crime Series, perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride, Val McDermid and Marion Todd." 

=== May 28 ===

Title: First Frost

Author: Craig Johnson

Series: #20 in the Sheriff Walt Longmire series set in Wyoming.

336 pages

 

Synopsis: "It’s the summer of 1964, and recent college graduates Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear read the writing on the wall and enlist to serve in the Vietnam War. As they catch a few final waves in California before reporting for duty, a sudden storm assaults the shores and capsizes a nearby cargo boat. Walt and Henry jump to action, but it’s soon revealed by the police who greet them ashore that the sunken boat carried valuable contraband from underground sources.

The boys, in their early twenties and in the peak of their physical prowess from playing college football for the last four years, head out on Route 66. The question, of course, is how far they will get before the consequences of their actions catch up to them—the answer being, not very.

Back in the present day, Walt is forced to speak before a Judge following the fatal events of The Longmire Defense. With powerful enemies lurking behind the scenes, the sheriff of Absaroka County must consider his options if he wishes to finish the fight he started.

Going back and forth between 1964 and the present day, Craig Johnson brings us a propulsive dual timeline as Walt Longmire stands between the crossfire of good and evil, law and anarchy, and compassion and cruelty at two pivotal stages in his life." 

As my niece Suzanne would say, "Oh, my giddy aunt!" Just look at all the marvelous books being released in May! An "embarrassment of riches" doesn't even begin to cover it!

Which of my picks were already on your Need to Read lists? Or... did I manage to add a few more that you hadn't heard of? Which ones? Inquiring minds need to know!

November 2023 New Mystery Releases!

 

Although a brutal summer and health problems kept me cooped inside for a few months and made time drag, I'm still shocked to see that November is almost here. One good thing about that? Temperatures are now in the 80° range and below-- absolutely perfect for going to the Desert Botanical Garden and the Phoenix Zoo.

 

Denis's medical procedure went very well, and his range of movement is greatly improved-- another reason to get out and about. And speaking of out and about, we're going to go to The Poisoned Pen tomorrow night to see Steve Hockensmith, the author of the Holmes on the Range historical mysteries. It's been almost a year since the last time I visited my favorite bookstore, and I can't wait!

 

But while I wait, let me tempt you with my picks for the best new crime fiction being released in the month of November. I've grouped them according to their release dates, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon.

 

 

=== November 2 ===

 

 

Title: Dagger of Death at Honeychurch Hall

Author: Hannah Dennison

Series: #10 in the cozy Honeychurch Hall series set in rural England.

320 pages

 

Synopsis: "At last St Mary's church is going to have its own vicar! Not only that, the gorgeous Reverend Pritchard is sixty, single... and in need of a wife.

But when he spearheads a campaign to restore a derelict chapel - rumoured to be haunted by a German Luftwaffe pilot- in a far-flung corner of the Honeychurch estate, the Dowager Countess puts her foot down. But nobody quite understands why...

Meanwhile, a fierce bidding war at an auction of military memorabilia ends in Kat's female adversary being murdered and Kat being held as the prime suspect. And then it turns out that several of the auctioned items are connected to Operation Tiger, a doomed rehearsal for the D-Day landings that took place in nearby Slapton Sands all those years ago. And Kat begins to realise that the vicar, the Luftwaffe ghost and all the World War II weaponry may all somehow be related..." 

=== November 7 ===

Title: Forgotten Trail

Author: Claire Kells 

Series: #3 in the National Parks series set in Pinnacles National Park, California

272 pages

 

Synopsis: "When a guest turns up dead at the newly opened Pinnacles Grand Hotel, ISB agent Felicity Harland finds herself summoned to a peculiar scene. A gentle breeze blows in from the balcony window, belying the violence of a man stabbed to death in his hotel room. It’s clear to Harland that this murder was personal, especially when the victim’s wife admits that she wanted him dead.

But Harland isn’t so sure that this was a domestic dispute gone bad. When she hears about the Park Service searching for a missing person out on the trails, she sets out with her partner, Ferdinand “Hux” Huxley, to see if the two cases are connected.

As Harland and Hux take on the rocky, exposed terrain of California’s ancient volcanic wonderland, they soon realize that the mystery at the Pinnacles Grand is not at all what it seems—and that a predator may be closing in." 

Title: The Proof of the Pudding

Author: Rhys Bowen

Series: #17 in the Royal Spyness historical series set in Great Britain.

304 pages

Synopsis: "Georgie, back home at her estate in Eynsleigh, impatiently awaits the birth of her baby. But she has plenty to occupy her: her new chef, Pierre, has arrived from Paris, and Sir Hubert, who owns Eynsleigh, is back from his latest expedition. It's time for Georgie to throw her first house party to celebrate his return and show off her new chef. The dinner party is a smashing success. Sir Mortimer Mordred—famous author of creepy Gothic horror novels—is one of the guests. He recently purchased a nearby Elizabethan manor nearby because it has a famous poison garden. After the dinner, Sir Mortimer approaches Georgie and asks to borrow her new chef for his upcoming party, and Georgie and Darcy, her dashing husband, are invited!

The tour of the poison garden is fascinating, as is Sir Mortimer’s laboratory. Shockingly, just after the banquet several of the guests become sick. And one dies, apparently poisoned by berries from the garden. But how could this be when they all ate the same meal and the same delectable dessert? Georgie has to find the culprit to save her new chef and her own reputation—all before her bundle of joy arrives!"

Title: Blood Betrayal

Author: Ausma Zehanat Khan 

Series: #2 in the Blackwater Falls police procedural series set in Colorado.

304 pages

Synopsis: "In Blackwater Falls, Colorado, veteran police officer Harry Cooper is hot on the heels of some local vandals when the situation turns deadly: believing one of them has a gun, Harry opens fire and Duante Reed, a young Black man, is killed. The "gun" in his hands was a bottle of spray paint. Meanwhile, in nearby Denver, a drug raid goes south and a Latino teen, Mateo Ruiz, is also killed.

Detective Inaya Rahman is all too familiar with the name of the young cop who has seemingly killed Mateo: Kelly Broda. Kelly is the son of the police officer John Broda, who led a violent attack on her when they were both in Denver. No one is more surprised than Inaya when John turns up on her doorstep, pleading for her help in proving the innocence of his son.

With the Denver Police force spread thin between the two cases, protests on both sides of the cases begin. Inaya and her boss Lieutenant Waqas Seif have their work cut out for them to consider the guilt of the perpetrators and their victims. Harry was by all accounts an officer dedicated to the communities he served: was this shooting truly a terrible mistake? Duante was, to some, a street artist with no prior record, but to others, he was a vandal. Mateo was either in the wrong place at the wrong time, or a dangerous drug dealer. In either case, was lethal force truly necessary?

Forced to reckon with her own prejudices and work through those of her colleagues around her, Inaya must discover the truth of what really happened on one fateful night in Blackwater Falls."

Title: Resurrection Walk

Author: Michael Connelly

Series: #7 in the Lincoln Lawyer legal thriller series set in California.

416 pages

Synopsis: "Defense attorney Mickey Haller is back, taking the long shot cases, where the chances of winning are one in a million. After getting a wrongfully convicted man out of prison, he is inundated with pleas from incarcerated people claiming innocence. He enlists his half brother, retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, to weed through the letters, knowing most claims will be false.
 
Bosch pulls a needle from the haystack: a woman in prison for killing her husband, a sheriff’s deputy, but who still maintains her innocence. Bosch reviews the case and sees elements that don’t add up, and a sheriff’s department intent on bringing quick justice in the killing of one of its own.
 
Now Haller has an uphill battle in court, a David fighting Goliaths to vindicate his client. The path for both lawyer and investigator is fraught with danger from those who don’t want the case reopened and will stop at nothing to keep the Haller-Bosch dream team from finding the truth. "

=== November 14 ===

Title: Past Lying

Author: Val McDermid

Series: #7 in the Karen Pirie police procedural series set in Scotland.

439 pages

 

Synopsis: "Britain’s reigning “Queen of Crime” (The Scotsman), Val McDermid is the award-winning, internationally bestselling author of over thirty novels. The long-awaited seventh novel in the acclaimed series that has captivated audiences for twenty years, both on the page and now in the Edgar Award–nominated ITV/BritBox show, Past Lying is a full tilt novel of ego, retribution, deceit, and just how far one will go to settle the score.

 

It’s April 2020 and Edinburgh is in lockdown. It would seem like a strange time for a cold case to go hot—the streets all but empty, an hour’s outdoor exercise the maximum allowed—but a mere pandemic doesn’t mean crime takes a holiday. When a source at the National Library contacts DCI Karen Pirie’s team about documents in the archive of a recently deceased crime novelist, it seems it’s game on again. At the center of it, a novel: two crime novelists facing off over a chessboard. But it quickly emerges that their real-life competition is drawing blood. What unspools is a twisted game of betrayal and revenge, and as Karen and her team attempt to disentangle fact from fiction, it becomes clear that their investigation is more complicated than they ever imagined." 

 

 

Title: Play of Shadows

Author: Barbara Nickless

Series: #3 in the Dr. Evan Wilding series set in Illinois.

447 pages

 

Synopsis: "On a stormy Chicago night, renowned semiotician Dr. Evan Wilding and his brother, River, who’s back from an archaeological dig, reunite in a mystery. A package addressed to both of them contains a hand-drawn maze, an ancient Cretan coin, and a cryptic greeting: Let the game begin.

The opening move is murder.

In a downtown alley, a man has been found nearly cleaved in two, a symbol drawn on his forehead and a savage rip in his throat. Given the clues, Evan sees a parallel to a fearsome Greek myth. Which means his friend Detective Addie Bisset is on the trail of a legendary flesh-eating monster―one terrifyingly human and tumbling a panicked city toward chaos.

Evan, Addie, and River scramble to discover who’s behind the appalling crimes and decipher the baffling motives. The body count is rising. The endgame is nowhere in sight. And the stakes are nothing less than life and death."

 

 

=== November 28 ===

 

 

Title: Knitmare on Beech Street

Author: Peggy Ehrhart

Series: #10 in the Knit & Nibble cozy series set in New Jersey

280 pages

 

Synopsis: "When Pamela, Bettina, and their friends show up at the Voorhees House to greet its new owner, they’re met with a most unwelcome sight: a dead body on the kitchen floor. Tassie Hunt just inherited the old Victorian, which had been occupied by a reclusive widow for many years and had a reputation for being haunted. But Tassie would have been unlikely to be spooked since her career involved debunking such paranormal phenomena.
 
Her demise sets off a new flurry of gossip and ghostly speculation in the New Jersey town, of course—and it’s tempting to think spirits were indeed involved considering there’s zero evidence so far of foul play. A nosy neighbor reports strange lights and sounds, and a man obsessed with the Victorian era starts photographing the place from the street. But it won’t take long before Pamela and Bettina are moving in on a killer . . ." 

Title: The Mystery Guest

Author: Nita Prose

Series: #2 in the series featuring Molly, a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel in an unnamed city.

304 pages

 

Synopsis: "Molly Gray is not like anyone else. With her flair for cleaning and proper etiquette, she has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. But just as her life reaches a pinnacle state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when J. D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead—very dead—on the hotel’s tearoom floor.
 
When Detective Stark, Molly’s old foe, investigates the author’s unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know: Who killed J. D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author’s secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems?
 
As the high-profile death threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer’s identity. But that key is buried deep in her past, as long ago, she knew J. D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery posthaste. Because if there’s one thing she knows for sure, it’s that secrets don’t stay buried forever." 

There's definitely a little something for everyone during the month of November. Whether you like cozy mysteries like Hannah Dennison's Honeychurch Hall series or police procedurals like Val McDermid's Karen Pirie or legal thrillers like Michael Connelly's Mickey Haller, November has some excellent reading in store.

How did I do? Are any of my picks already on your own Need to Read lists? Did I manage to add a title or two? Which ones? You know inquiring minds just have to know! 

Out of Bounds by Val McDermid

 

First Line: "Some night, eh, boys?"

 

A teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and winds up in a coma. When a routine DNA test is done, it reveals a link to a twenty-two-year-old cold case. Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie is looking forward to a quick conclusion that brings closure to the families of the victims of the older crime. What she gets is even more twisted than the DNA helix itself.

 

Pirie is also drawn to another case that she really has no business sticking her nose into. The twenty-year-old mystery has a terrorist bombing at its heart, and-- just like the case involving the joyrider-- nothing is as it seems.

Both cases will show Police Scotland's two-person Historic Crime Unit at its most determined because once DCI Karen Pirie is on trail of a killer, she will never give up until that person has been brought to justice.

~

I don't know why, but it's been a while since I've sunk deep down into a Karen Pirie investigation. Pirie is such an indomitable character. Author Val McDermid tells readers that "Women never felt threatened by her and men treated her like a wee sister or a favourite auntie," and many characters in Out of Bounds come to rue misjudging her. How good is this fictional head of Scotland's Historic Crime Unit? I rank her right up there with two other personal favorites, Dr. Ruth Galloway and DCI Vera Stanhope. (I'll bet that made some of you perk up.)

In Out of Bounds, Pirie is still mired deep in the aftermath of a personal tragedy. Unable to sleep, she finds herself walking the streets of Edinburgh in the wee hours of the morning. This is how she becomes acquainted with Syrian refugees, and how she takes this acquaintance further is another mark of her character. 

When Karen Pirie knows she's in the right, she's like a steamroller. Fortunately, she knows her "superior" officer's Achilles heel and uses that knowledge to bring villains to justice. And woe betide any lazy cop who stands in her way because she's exceptional at finding ways to work around slothful impediments, too. 

While I'm talking about this woman's character, I also need to mention her relationship with her partner, young Jason. The Historic Crime Unit of Police Scotland is a two-person operation-- an indication of how Pirie's "superior" officer really wants her to fail. Young Jason isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she feels that it's better to stick with a known numpty (Scots slang for a stupid or ineffectual person) than to bring in a new one. But Jason isn't as useless as Pirie thinks, and his evolving character and her relationship to him is one of the best parts of this book.

Another strength of Out of Bounds is its depiction of Scotland itself. McDermid shows us that, thirty years after Thatcher, parts of Scotland are still reverberating from the damage caused by the closure of its coalfields. Readers learn that, in Scotland, children cannot be disinherited, as well as how other points of Scottish law affect investigations. 

 

The plot is luxurious, and I sank down into it right up to my lower eyelids. With all its seriousness, Out of Bounds still made me bark with laughter at unexpected bits of humor, and Karen Pirie is one of those characters who will always bring me back for more. Why on earth did I wait so long to read this book?

 

Out of Bounds by Val McDermid

eISBN: 9780802190154

Atlantic Monthly Press © 2016

eBook, 419 pages

 

Police Procedural, #4 DCI Karen Pirie mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

October 2022 New Mystery Releases!

 

Another month, another crop of new mysteries. There's always something to look forward to!

 

As I write this in mid-September, the temperatures are still right around 100°, and I have to admit that, summer lover or not, I am looking forward to October when things finally begin cooling off.

 

My reading pace may have fallen off in the past couple of months, but that doesn't keep me from looking for new books to read. Just call me a literate magpie.

 

I've grouped my picks of October's best new crime fiction by their release dates, and the book covers and synopses are courtesy of my favorite showroom, Amazon.

 

Now it's time to see if I've chosen anything that tickles your fancy just as much as it tickles mine. October is a good blend of tried, true, and new. Let's check my list!

 

 

=== October 4 ===

 

 

Title: Funeral Train

Author: Laurie Loewenstein

Series: #2 in the Dust Bowl historical series set in 1930s Oklahoma.

320 pages

 

Synopsis: "Already suffering the privations of the 1930s Dust Bowl, an Oklahoma town is further devastated when a passenger train derails—flooding its hospital with the dead and maimed. Among the seriously wounded is Etha, wife of Sheriff Temple Jennings. Overwhelmed by worry for her, the sheriff must regain his footing to investigate the derailment, which rapidly develops into a case of sabotage.

The following night, a local recluse is murdered. Temple has a hunch that this death is connected to the train wreck. But as he dissects the victim’s life with help from the recuperating and resourceful Etha, he discovers a tangle of records that make a number of townsfolk suspects in the murder.

Temple’s investigations take place against the backdrop of the Great Depression—where bootlegging, petty extortion, courage, and bravado play out in equal measure."

 

 

=== October 11 ===

 

 

Title: Sinister Graves

Author: Marcie R. Rendon

Series: #3 in the Cash Blackbear series set in 1970s Minnesota and North Dakota.

240 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "Set in 1970s Minnesota on the White Earth Reservation, Pinckley Prize–winner Marcie R. Rendon’s gripping new mystery follows Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman, as she attempts to discover the truth about the disappearances of Native girls and their newborns.

A snowmelt has sent floodwaters down to the fields of the Red River Valley, dragging the body of an unidentified Native woman into the town of Ada. The only evidence the medical examiner recovers is a torn piece of paper inside her bra: a hymnal written in English and Ojibwe.

Cash Blackbear, a 19-year-old Ojibwe woman, sometimes helps Sheriff Wheaton, her guardian, on his investigations. Now she knows her search for justice for this anonymous victim will take her to the White Earth Reservation, a place she once called home.

When Cash happens upon two small graves in the yard of a rural, “speak-in-tongues kinda church,” Cash is pulled into the lives of the malevolent pastor and his troubled wife while yet another Native woman dies in a mysterious manner."

 

 

Title: The Plot and the Pendulum

Author: Jenn McKinlay

Series: #13 in the Library Lovers cozy series set in Connecticut.

304 pages

 

Synopsis: "Library director Lindsey Norris is happy to learn the Briar Creek Public Library is the beneficiary of the Dorchester family’s vast book collection. However, when Lindsey and the library staff arrive at the old Victorian estate to gather the books, things take a sinister turn. One of the bookcases reveals a secret passage, leading to a room where a skeleton is found, clutching an old copy of The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe.
 
Lindsey does a quick check of missing persons, using the distinctive 80s era clothing worn by the deceased to determine a time frame, and discovers that Briar Creek has an unsolved missing person’s case from 1989. A runaway bride went missing just weeks after her wedding. No suspects were ever arrested and the cold case remains unsolved. Lindsey and the crafternoon crew decide that justice is overdue and set about solving the old murder mystery, using some novel ideas to crack the case." 

 

 

Title: Secret Lives

Author: Mark de Castrique

Series: #1 in the Ethel Fiona Crestwater series set in Washington, DC.

288 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "For fans of unexpected-yet-badass female sleuths, meet former FBI agent-turned-boardinghouse landlady Ethel Fiona Crestwater. Her age affords her precious invisibility. She can outthink and outshoot most men―and women―half her age.

When someone murders one of her boarders, Ethel springs into action―much to the surprise of her double-first-cousin-twice-removed, Jesse, who has recently come to stay with her while he attends university. As he watches her photograph the crime scene, conceal evidence, and speed-dial the Secret Service Director, Jesse realizes that there's much more to Ethel than appearances suggest.

When Jesse is assaulted and the gym bag full of cash Ethel had hidden is stolen from the basement, the pair decides it's time to launch their own unofficial investigation. With no one to trust but each other, this unlikely duo learns that the only thing truly worth risking your life for is family." 

 

 

Title: 1989

Author: Val McDermid

Series: #2 in the Allie Burns journalist series set in 1980s Scotland.

416 pages

 

Synopsis: "Hailed as Britain’s Queen of Crime, Val McDermid’s award-winning, internationally bestselling novels have captivated readers for more than thirty years. In her Allie Burns series, she returns to the past—both ours and in some ways her own—with the story of a female journalist whose stories lead her into world of corruption, terror, and murder.

It’s 1989 and Allie Burns is back. Older and maybe wiser, she’s running the northern news operation of the Sunday Globe, chafing at losing her role in investigative journalism and at the descent into the gutter of the UK tabloid media. But there’s plenty to keep her occupied. The year begins with the memorial service for the victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, but Allie has barely filed her copy when she stumbles over a story about HIV/AIDS that will shock her into a major change of direction. The world of newspapers is undergoing a revolution, there’s skullduggery in the medical research labs and there are seismic rumblings behind the Iron Curtain. When murder is added to this potent mix, Allie is forced to question all her old certainties. 

Readers are having a great time time-traveling with Val, and 1989 is a seamless, riveting novel that brings us once again face to face with how very much past is prologue, and how history’s sins stay with us." 

Title: Santa's Little Yelpers

Author: David Rosenfelt

Series: #26 in the Andy Carpenter series set in New Jersey.

304 pages

 

Synopsis: "'Tis the season in Paterson, New Jersey: Lawyer Andy Carpenter and his golden retriever, Tara, are surrounded by holiday cheer. It’s even spread to the Tara Foundation. The dog rescue organization, not used to having puppies, has their hands full with a recent litter. Eight puppies are a lot to handle, and Andy is relieved when his co-worker Chris Myers agrees to foster them.

Myers, a newer employee at the Tara Foundation, did time for a crime he swears he didn’t commit. When Myers discovers a key witness against him lied on the stand, he goes to Andy to ask for representation in getting the conviction overturned. Myers thinks they can have this wrapped up by Christmas, no problem.

But when the witness is murdered, and Myers is arrested for the crime, things go from bad to worse. Suddenly, it’s all elves on deck to make a list and check it twice, so they can prove Myers is innocent." 

 

 

Title: Under a Veiled Moon

Author: Karen Odden

Series: #2 in the DI Michael Corravan historical series set in 1870s England.

336 pages

 

Synopsis: "September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat the Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600 passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who believe violence is the path to restoring Irish Home Rule. 
 
For Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, born in Ireland and adopted by the Irish Doyle family, the case presents a challenge. Accused by the Home Office of willfully disregarding the obvious conclusion, and berated by his Irish friends for bowing to prejudice, Corravan doggedly pursues the truth, knowing that if the Princess Alice disaster is pinned on the IRB, hopes for Home Rule could be dashed forever.

Corrovan’s dilemma is compounded by Colin, the youngest Doyle, who has joined James McCabe’s Irish gang. As violence in Whitechapel rises, Corravan strikes a deal with McCabe to get Colin out of harm’s way. But unbeknownst to Corravan, Colin bears longstanding resentments against his adopted brother and scorns his help.
 
As the newspapers link the IRB to further accidents, London threatens to devolve into terror and chaos. With the help of his young colleague, the loyal Mr. Stiles, and his friend Belinda Gale, Corravan uncovers the harrowing truth—one that will shake his faith in his countrymen, the law, and himself." 

Title: Death at Paradise Palms

Author: Steph Broadribb

Series: #2 in the Retired Detectives Club series set in Florida.

316 pages

 

Synopsis: "When movie producer Cody Ziegler goes missing from The Homestead’s Millionaires’ Row, his wife, retired actress Olivia, immediately claims there’s foul play afoot. A million-dollar ransom demand soon follows, with clear instructions not to involve the cops. In desperation she enlists the help of Moira, Rick, Philip and Lizzie, aka the Retired Detectives Club.

Racing against the clock, the four retirees set to work. Sure, Cody had enemies―there’s a disgruntled employee, a jilted film-maker and a hundred other people who know how much he’s worth. But when it emerges that Cody’s apparently perfect marriage isn’t what it seems, even Olivia isn’t above suspicion.

When Cody’s car turns up in a nearby lake with a shocking surprise inside, the case becomes even more complicated. But with Philip and Lizzie’s marriage on the rocks, and threatening notes sending Moira into a spin, the Retired Detectives Club risks falling apart before getting any closer to the truth.

Can Moira and the gang find Cody before it’s too late? Or will this case see them lose in more ways than one?"

 

 

Title: Murder on the Spanish Seas

Author: Wendy Church

Debut thriller set on a cruise ship featuring down-on-her-luck Jesse O'Hara.

280 pages

Synopsis: "Jesse O'Hara is profane, introverted, and not frequently sober – and has just lost another job. “A million-dollar brain and a ten-cent personality,” her last employer said. With nothing better to do, Jesse reluctantly accepts the gift of a luxury cruise around the Iberian Peninsula. She’s not sure she can drink enough to keep her boredom at bay, but that's the least of her problems. From the very first moment of the cruise, it's clear to Jesse that something is very wrong.

Aided by her near-photographic memory, Jesse investigates a series of strange incidents on the ship and uncovers what looks like a terrorist plot in the works. But with each new layer uncovered, her perception shifts and broadens-- and someone doesn’t want her poking around. For Jesse, bruised and concussed is preferable to tan and relaxed, so she ignores the mounting danger even as she closes in on the villains, who have perfectly timed their grand finale...

Murder on the Spanish Seas is a riveting, whip-smart, and smart-aleck debut thriller that will keep you on your toes just as frequently as it keeps you in stitches. A perfect read for fans of Ruth Ware and Janet Evanovich."

 

 

=== October 18 ===

 

 

Title: The Boys from Biloxi

Author: John Grisham

Standalone legal thriller set in Mississippi

464 pages

 

Synopsis: "For most of the last hundred years, Biloxi was known for its beaches, resorts, and seafood industry. But it had a darker side. It was also notorious for corruption and vice, everything from gambling, prostitution, bootleg liquor, and drugs to contract killings. The vice was controlled by small cabal of mobsters, many of them rumored to be members of the Dixie Mafia.
 
Keith Rudy and Hugh Malco grew up in Biloxi in the sixties and were childhood friends, as well as Little League all-stars. But as teenagers, their lives took them in different directions. Keith’s father became a legendary prosecutor, determined to “clean up the Coast.” Hugh’s father became the “Boss” of Biloxi’s criminal underground. Keith went to law school and followed in his father’s footsteps. Hugh preferred the nightlife and worked in his father’s clubs. The two families were headed for a showdown, one that would happen in a courtroom.
 
Life itself hangs in the balance in The Boys from Biloxi, a sweeping saga rich with history and with a large cast of unforgettable characters." 

Title: Must Read Well

Author: Ellen Pall 

Standalone thriller set in New York City.

284 pages

 

Synopsis: "Ellen Pall's Must Read Well immerses the reader in an escalating game of cat-and-mouse between two women: a millennial scholar driven to deceit to reach her goals and a frail octogenarian no less capable of deception.

Narrated by Liz Miller, a penniless Ph.D. candidate desperate to finish her dissertation, the novel begins when Liz's boyfriend abruptly ditches her, rendering Liz homeless and reduced to couch-surfing at best friend Petra's tiny Manhattan studio apartment. Trying to find an affordable living space, she stumbles across a Craigslist posting that will change her life: a room with a view in a pre-war Greenwich Village apartment. The rent is a pittance, but in exchange, the tenant must be willing to read aloud daily to the apartment's sight-impaired landlady.

Liz quickly figures out that the sight-impaired landlady is none other than Anne Taussig Weil, author of the 1965 international blockbuster The Vengeance of Catherine Clark and the very woman whose refusal to cooperate for the past four years has held up Liz's dissertation on the feminist works of mid-century women novelists. Access to Weil is the key to completing her doctorate at Columbia and finally getting her academic career back on track.

Liz sets scruples aside and presents herself as a quiet young woman still finding her way in life. Once settled in, Liz learns from Weil that her need for a reader stems from a desire to revisit a key episode in her life. That episode, recorded in the scrawled journals Weil kept since she was a young girl, turns out to be the story of her passionate, disastrous, secret love affair with a celebrated pianist-the affair, in fact, which gave rise to the plot of Vengeance.

The novel, which builds from there to a double-twist climax, is fast-paced women's fiction, perfect for book club members everywhere." 

 

 

=== October 25 ===

 

 

Title: A Trace of Poison

Author: Colleen Cambridge

Series: #2 in the Phyllida Bright historical series set in England.

272 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "In England’s stately manor houses, murder is not generally a topic for polite conversation. Mallowan Hall, home to Agatha Christie and her husband, Max, is the exception. And housekeeper Phyllida Bright delights in discussing gory plot details with her friend and employer . . .
 
The neighboring village of Listleigh has also become a hub of grisly goings-on, thanks to a Murder Fête organized to benefit a local orphanage. Members of The Detection Club—a group of celebrated authors such as G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Agatha herself—will congregate for charitable events, including a writing contest for aspiring authors. The winner gets an international publishing contract, and entrants have gathered for a cocktail party—managed by the inimitable Phyllida—when murder strikes too close even for her comfort.
 
It seems the victim imbibed a poisoned cocktail intended for Alastair Whittlesby, president of the local writers’ club. The insufferable Whittlesby is thought to be a shoo-in for the prize, and ambition is certainly a worthy motive. But narrowing down these suspects could leave even Phyllida’s favorite fictional detective, M. Poirot, twirling his mustache in frustration.
 
It’s a mystery too intriguing for Phyllida to resist, but one fraught with duplicity and danger, for every guest is an expert in murder—and how to get away with it . . ." 

Title: Love Me or Grieve Me

Author: Diane Vallere

Series: #10 in the Madison Night cozy series set in Texas. 

280 pages

 

Synopsis: "When a junior copy editor at the local newspaper mistakenly uses interior decorator Madison Night’s life story in the obituary of a recently deceased woman with a similar name, Madison’s live turns upside down. Addison Nigh, a once in-demand jazz vocalist, had fallen into obscurity, and her death notice surprises only those who thought she died decades ago.

Canceled lines of credit and a swarm of condolences to Madison’s loved ones are just the tip of the iceberg, but when the decorator discovers evidence that the real dead woman played a part in an unsolved murder, their identity mix-up gives Madison backstage access to a life of secrets. As parallels between the singer’s life and her own become impossible to ignore, Madison questions the true price of fame. But Madison isn’t the only one to discover the singer’s buried secrets, and if she’s not careful, the next obituary might be her own.

Can Madison protect a mysterious past with similar notes to her own, or will exposing the truth be her swan song?" 

 

 

Another rich reading offering in October, eh? I'm very excited about several of the books this month, but I have to admit that I'm most anticipating Laurie Loewenstein's Funeral Train. I loved her first Dust Bowl mystery, Death of a Rainmaker, and I've waited a long time for this one... but there are so many others to savor!

 

Which ones are you most looking forward to? Are there any new-to-you titles in my list that intrigue you? Which ones? You know inquiring minds want to know!