Book Review: The Librarians

In the leafy suburbs of Austin, Texas, a small branch library welcomes the public every day of the week. But the patrons who love the helpful, unobtrusive staff and leave rave reviews on Yelp don’t always realize that their librarians are human, too.

Hazel flees halfway across the world for what she hopes will be a new beginning. Jonathan, a six-foot-four former college football player, has never fit in anywhere else. Astrid tries to forget her heartbreak by immersing herself in work, but the man who ghosted her six months ago is back, promising trouble. And Sophie, who has the most to lose, maintains a careful and respectful distance from her coworkers, but soon that won't be enough anymore.

Book Review: Robert B. Parker's Showdown

Vic Hale isn’t anyone’s idea of a father figure. He is one of the biggest (and loudest) podcasters in the nation and got there by spewing overheated rhetoric that’s reviled by some but loved by even more. His particular brand of “entertainment” is so successful, he’s about to sign the biggest contract in the history of online broadcasting. Vic’s riding high until he gets a visit from Spenser, who specializes in bringing guys like Hale back down to Earth.

Spenser is there on behalf of Daniel Lopez, a young man who believes Hale may be his father. It’s a potentially explosive revelation for a man in the podcaster’s position and it might even be enough to blow up his massive new deal. That could explain the bodies that start popping up – bodies connected in one way or another with the mystery surrounding Daniel’s birth. There are a lot of questions remaining, and Spenser’s going to have to find the answers before someone shuts Hale or Daniel up for good.

Book Review: Murder at the Wham Bam Club

After the death of her brave Harlem Hellfighter husband during the First World War, young widow Nola Ann Jackson returned to her hometown of Agate, Illinois, to live with her Aunt Sarah, a known local psychic. Under her aunt’s care and tutelage, Nola has been learning how to tap into her own intuitive gifts and communicate with the spirits. And she will rely on their insightful guidance when she’s asked to help investigate a woman’s disappearance.

Lilly Davidson, the missing woman, was living at the Phyllis Wheatley Institute for Colored Girls where young ladies are educated and prepared to follow bright futures. But she vanished after a night at the Wham Bam Club where jazz music swings, prohibition is defied, and other vices are encouraged.

Book Review: The Impossible Fortune

It’s been a quiet year for the Thursday Murder Club. Joyce is busy with table plans and first dances. Elizabeth is grieving. Ron is dealing with family troubles, and Ibrahim is still providing therapy to his favorite criminal.

But when Elizabeth meets Nick, a wedding guest asking for her help, she finds her old instincts are ready to be put to the test again. And when Nick disappears without a trace, his cagey business partner becomes the gang’s next stop. It seems the duo have something valuable—something worth killing for.

Joyce’s daughter Joanna jumps into the fray to help the gang as they seek answers: Has someone kidnapped Nick, and what’s this uncrackable code they keep hearing about? Plunged back into action once more, can the four friends solve the puzzle and a murder in time?

Book Review: Like a Bullet

When Erik Make Loud, retired rock star and a major World War Two nut, hires Cordelia, the Paperback Sleuth, to track down a series of lurid paperbacks about his favourite global conflict (the “Commando” novels by the blatantly pseudonymous Butch Raider) it seems like a routine job. But Cordelia soon discovers the final novel in the series, the incredibly rare Commando Gold, is all but impossible to track down.

The books’ creator (real name Monty Harrington, once a promising young poet and now a depraved drunk) proves easier to find. Writing pulp war stories didn’t come naturally to Monty. Until he met someone who knew all about such stuff during a pub crawl; a genuine ex-commando who, for the price of a pint or two, was willing to provide Monty with authentic anecdotes.

Too authentic, it turns out. Because Commando Gold reveals the details of a real-life commando mission. At the time the mission was top secret. And all these years later, someone is quite prepared to kill to keep it so.

Book Review: Death of an Ex

Queenstown, New Jersey, feels big when you need help and tiny when you want privacy. For Vandy Myrick, that’s both a blessing and a curse. Now that Vandy’s back in “Q-Town,” her services as her hometown’s only Black woman private investigator have earned her more celebrity—or notoriety—than she figured.

Keeping busy with work helps Vandy deal with the grief of losing her daughter, stitching the seams, cementing the gaps. The memories will always remain, and they come crashing back to the surface when her ex-husband, Phil Bolden, walks back into her life. Promising everything, returning home, restoring family. Until she answers her door to the news that Phil has been murdered. And Vandy decides Phil is now her client.

Book Review: Writers and Liars

Fifteen years ago, Maia Gold attended a prestigious (and very exclusive) writers retreat hosted by billionaire Argos Alexander on the Greek island of Eris. It’s where she wrote her first book, the one that should have launched a brilliant career. But something dark happened on that island, a betrayal that has hung over Maia ever since.

Now, Maia finds a familiar envelope in the mail. It’s an invitation to return to Eris, and according to social media, she’s not the only one from that first retreat who’s been invited back. Almost all of the writers from fifteen years before have returned to Eris, bringing unresolved resentments with them. This could be the second chance Maia needs to jump-start her dreams. A chance for reconciliation… or revenge.

Book Review: A Novel Murder

In the quaint English town of Hoslewit, the biggest names in crime writing have congregated to celebrate all things bookish and murderous. Author Jane Hepburn is determined to make her time at the Killer Lines festival worthwhile. This is her chance to change her fortunes and make her fictional Private Detective Baker a household name. And if she has to resort to sneaking into the book tent after hours to rearrange some books so hers are front and center, so be it.

But when Jane encounters the dead body of renowned (and reviled) literary agent Carrie Marks, the festival takes on a decidedly different tone. Joined by Carrie's newest client, debut novelist Natasha Martez, and the agency's hapless intern, Daniel Thurston, Jane decides to put her fictional sleuthing skills to use in the real world—she's going to solve the murder. But the list of suspects is long: seemingly everyone at the festival has a motive to kill Carrie, and the more Jane and her new friends investigate, the closer they come to a dangerous truth—one that’s stranger than fiction.

Book Review: A Willing Murder

Sara Medlar is a household name in romance, with millions of books sold. But lately, retirement has been boring her and she’s found herself back in her hometown of Lachlan, Florida, remodeling the grand old mansion she’d admired as a child. Then Sara’s niece Kate comes to town for a job in real estate; she approaches her estranged yet incredibly famous aunt for a place to stay while she gets herself settled. But when she arrives, she finds she’s not the only long-term houseguest. Jackson Wyatt, with his deniable good looks and charm, already has his own room and clearly has got her aunt wrapped around his finger.

Book Review: Toil and Trouble

A relative newcomer to Lily Dale, the quirky New York lakeside village populated by spiritual mediums, young widow Bella Jordan doesn’t have time to believe in supernatural entities. She has enough to tackle, what with running Valley View guesthouse, wrangling her seven-year-old son Max and their growing army of pets, and dealing with her lovable but meddlesome neighbors.

So when Pandora Feeney, Valley View’s highly eccentric – and reputedly highly psychic – owner, portentously predicts that something wicked this way comes, Bella’s more worried about the fact that Pandora’s announced she plans to move back into the guesthouse than about approaching danger. Besides, the local theatre is putting on a performance of Macbeth, so it’s no wonder that sorcery and black magic are in the air.

Lily Dale is safe. Bella’s sure of it. Even if one of her female guests at Valley View is setting her oddly on edge and Max is seeing witches behind every corner. Little does Bella know that a storm is coming, with the power to blow her life, and Max’s, right off course... or far, far worse.

Book Review: Etiquette for Lovers and Killers

It’s 1964 in the tiny town of Eastport, Maine, and Billie McCadie is bored to death. She’s surrounded by dull people with more manners than sense, and no sign of the intrigue or romance that fills her beloved novels. That is, until an engagement ring and cryptic love letter turn up, addressed to 'Gertrude'. Until she meets yacht-club handsome Avery Webster. Until the unsettling phone calls and visits from a man in a fedora begin. Until she's one of the last people to see Gertrude alive... and the first to see her dead.

Book Review: Kill Your Darlings

Thom and Wendy Graves have been married for over twenty-five years. They live in a beautiful Victorian on the north shore of Massachusetts. Wendy is a published poet and Thom teaches English literature at a nearby university. Their son, Jason, is all grown up. All is well…except that Wendy wants to murder her husband. What happens next has everything to do with what happened before.

The story of Wendy and Thom’s marriage is told in reverse, moving backward through time to witness key moments from the couple’s lives—their fiftieth birthday party, buying their home, Jason’s birth, the mysterious death of a work colleague—all painting a portrait of a marriage defined by a single terrible act they plotted together many years ago. The secret, that has kept them bound together, has each wondering if they would be better off making sure their spouse carries it to the grave.

Book Review: Killer Deals at Mayview Mall

For childhood actor turned private eye Paul Washington, investigating a theft at his childhood mall was a dream come true. But when a body turns up the second day on the job, the case turns into a whodunnit. With his dream girl as the prime suspect, can the pop-culture-obsessed detective crack the case and clear her name before it's too late?

80s and 90s kids unite - this cozy mystery is ready to take your Gen X and Millennial hearts on a fast paced adventure through your childhood.

Killer Deals at Mayview Mall by Steven Templar will be published June 3, 2025. Mysterious Ink Publishing / Victory Editing provided an early galley for review.

Book Review: Underscore (The Vinyl Detective #8)

Italy is known for some of the greatest (and grooviest) music ever committed to vinyl, including a rich diversity of soundtracks. One of the composers of these was Valerius Passeri. No one disputes that Passeri was a genius. The argument is whether or not he was a murderer.

Passeri’s granddaughter Chloe has come to England to hire the Vinyl Detective. The mastertapes of the albums have been destroyed and she needs immaculate vinyl copies to provide the source for a series of reissues. She wants to preserve her grandfather’s heritage and also to clear his name.

The Vinyl Detective’s real job will be to find out who actually committed a murder, over half a century ago, in Swinging London. But the real killer is not enchanted with the notion of being exposed. And, having killed once before, they see no problem in doing so again.

Book Review: Marble Hall Murders

Editor Susan Ryeland has left her Greek island, her hotel and her Greek boyfriend, Andreas, in search of a new life back in England. Freelancing for a London publisher, she's given the last job she wants: working on an Atticus Pünd continuation novel called Pünd’s Last Case. Worse still, she knows the new writer. Eliot Crace is the troubled grandson of legendary children’s author Miriam Crace who died twenty years ago. Eliot is convinced she was murdered—by poison.

To her surprise, Susan enjoys reading the manuscript which is set in the South of France and revolves around the mysterious death of Lady Margaret Chalfont, days before she was about to change her will. But when it is revealed that Lady Margaret was also poisoned, alarm bells begin to ring. The more Susan reads, the clearer it becomes that Eliot has deliberately concealed clues about his grandmother’s death inside the book.

Book Review: Dark Maestro

Curtis Wilson is a cello prodigy, growing up in the Southeast D.C. projects with a drug dealer for a father. But through determination and talent, and the loving support of his father’s girlfriend, Larissa, Curtis claws his way out of his challenging circumstances and rises to unimagined heights in the classical music world—even soloing with the New York Philharmonic.

And then, suddenly, his life disintegrates. His father, Zippy, turns state evidence, implicating his old bosses to the FBI. Now the family, Curtis included, must enter the witness protection program if they want to survive. This means Curtis must give up the very thing he loves most: sharing his extraordinary musical talents with the world. When Zippy’s bosses prove too elusive for law enforcement to convict them, Curtis, Zippy, and Larissa realize that their only chance of survival is to take on the cartel themselves. They must create new identities and draw on their unique talents, including Curtis’s musical ability, to go after the people who want them dead. But will it be enough to keep Curtis and his family alive?

Book Review: The Memory Collectors

Elizabeth aches for one more precious hour with her son who died in a senseless accident. Andy is desperate to find his first love who vanished after a whirlwind romance. Logan craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing, yearning to reclaim the freedom he lost after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair. Brooke is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake.

Enter Aeon Expeditions, the groundbreaking time travel invention of Mark Saunders, which allows some lucky clients the chance to spend an hour in their past. Even though Aeon’s technology ensures time travel can’t alter the future, all four clients, including Mark’s ex-wife Elizabeth, yearn to revisit the hour that changed their lives forever.

Book Review: Murder by Cheesecake

Things are heating up, and not just because of Blanche’s hot flashes. Rose’s cousin is eloping to Miami, and Rose is playing host. If she can't balance the groom’s family’s snobbery against the traditional St. Olaf wedding week guidelines, her hometown may never accept her cousin again! Dorothy quickly realizes she needs a date with whom she can exchange wedding-related wisecracks. Turning to a newfangled VHS dating service, she believes she’s found the ideal conversationalist. Unfortunately, what looks good on TV can actually be a total jerk in real life. It seems she’ll just have to enjoy the company of Sophia, Blanche, and whomever Blanche has targeted for a hookup.

Book Review: Lying Next to Me

Adam and Sophie Warner and their three-year-old daughter are vacationing in Washington State’s Hood Canal for Memorial Day weekend. It’s the perfect getaway to relax—and to calm an uneasy marriage. But on Adam’s first day out on the water, he sees Sophie abducted by a stranger. A hundred yards from shore, Adam can’t save her. And Sophie disappears.

In a nearby cabin is another couple, Kristen and Connor Moss. Unfortunately, beyond what they’ve heard in the news, they’re in the dark when it comes to Sophie’s disappearance. For Adam, at least there’s comfort in knowing that Mason County detective Lee Husemann is an old friend of his. She’ll do everything she can to help. She must.

But as Adam’s paranoia about his missing wife escalates, Lee puts together the pieces of a puzzle. The lives of the two couples are converging in unpredictable ways, and the picture is unsettling. Lee suspects that not everyone is telling the truth about what they know—or they have yet to reveal all the lies they’ve hidden from the strangers they married.

Book Review: Playing Dead

A long-married crime-writing couple plot murder most horrid, with a jaw-dropping twist. A group of school friends dig up a long-buried dark secret. A widower joins a local amdram society, with surprisingly dramatic results. A deranged fan stalks a celebrated TV personality. An online romance turns sour. And much, much more.

From police procedurals to the sharpest satire, from historical mystery to dark and twisted chillers, these twenty-two original tales, written by some of Britain’s most remarkable bestselling authors, are essential reading for crime and mystery fans. Members of the Detection Club, the most prestigious group of crime writers in the world, celebrate the eightieth birthday of their former president, the original king of cozy crime - Simon Brett, with this stunning collection of all-new short stories.