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The Pie & Mash Detective Agency, by J.D. Brinkworth (REVIEW) — Detective Dreams and Millennial Mishaps

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Millennials: The demographic cohort born between 1981 and 1996, they were the first generation to grow up with internet technology and digital literacy, and are typically described as tech-savvy, socially-connected, and civic-minded.  Also, Millennials: The Snowflake Generation (derogatory). Often used to imply members of this generation are fragile, oversensitive, and entitled.  It is the (untaught, though clearly passed-down through the ages) duty of every generation to mock the generations that follow. [Not convinced? Ask yourself if you’ve ever heard a parent, grandparent, or elderly neighbor starting a sentence with, “When I was your age,” then end it with something like, “...walked three miles in the snow, uphill, to go to school,” and you’ll likely understand.]  Anyway, all of that was firmly in the back of my mind during my read of J.D. Brinkworth’s amusing detective mystery, The Pie & Mash Detective Agency .  Thoroughly-Millennial Jane Pye and Simon Ma...
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Wolf Hour, by Jo Nesbø (REVIEW) -- When a Lone Wolf is Out for Blood

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We toss around the phrase “lone wolf”, often romanticizing it far more than we probably should. The definition, of course, is right there in the words. “Lone”, as in loner... something or someone who prefers to do, well,  whatever,  on their own. It’s the second part we usually glance over—“wolf”. An intelligent and savage predator, in the animal kingdom... but nearly as admirable or romantic, when applied to humankind.  In his latest thriller,  Wolf Hour , bestselling Norwegian author Jo Nesbø pits a pair of lone wolves against each other... forcing the reader to look beneath the surface, to find the humanity and reason in scenes of savagery.     In 2016, Minneapolis, Minnesota has more than its share of serious crime... including the case of a gun dealer, seriously wounded—though not killed—by a shot from above. No one saw—or knows—anything, but the police eventually settle on a former gang member, Tomas Gomez, as the probable sniper wanna-be. Gomez is no...
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I'm Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home, by Fergus Craig (REVIEW) -- A Darkly-Comic Seniors' Home Murder Mystery

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I’ve never been one of those people who say they can’t wait to “grow old”. I couldn’t wait to “grow up”, but  old ? No way. And yet, as I suspect most of my fellow Gen Xers—and probably  all  Boomers, out there—have gradually come to realize, is that doing so beats the alternative. So maybe it’s time to reframe how we look at aging. If we do our best to maintain our health, stay as fit as possible, keep our brains active, and hang onto our friends, then getting old... er ... doesn’t sound like such a scary and dreadful future, right ? Not convinced? (I’m still trying to convince myself, here; this is a work in progress.) Do yourself a solid and pick up a copy of Fergus Craig’s delightful  I’m Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home , and see if reading that doesn’t put your mind at ease a bit.     After spending too many decades in prison, just-released ex-serial killer Carol feels like she’s suddenly landed in the middle of a dream, getting to live out...
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Atlas of Unknowable Things, by McCormick Templeman (REVIEW) -- Modern Gothic Tale of Witches & Werewolves Needs Less Words, More Bite

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The cut-throat, “publish-or-perish” world of academia.   Ancient manuscripts.  An historian with a secret side quest. An ex-bestie turned bitter rival. A tiny, elite college, nestled high in the stunning peaks of the Rocky Mountains... where winter is always coming. These are the bones of McCormick Templeman’s gothic-leaning thriller,  Atlas of Unknowable Things .     Ever since Robin Quain and her best friend, a fellow historian, fell out, it seems like nothing’s been going right. Her beloved dog crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Her boyfriend unceremoniously dumped her. And, she hasn't experienced a breakthrough in her dissertation—arguing the European witch hunts were as much about getting rid of powerful women as eradicating suspected practitioners of witchcraft—leaving her PhD more pipe dream than reality. Until, that is, she runs across a letter mentioning correspondence between Joan of Arc and the infamous French knight, Gilles de Rais, which sparks new avenues...
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Made You Look, by Tanya Grant (REVIEW) -- When Being an Influencer is Murder

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Jetting off for cool photoshoots in exotic places.  Being the instantly-recognizable face of high-end luxury products and fantasy experiences. Enjoying the rush from seeing “likes” numbering in the hundreds of thousands on your last Instagram post or TikTok video. Ah, the glamorous life of the Influencer... Or so it’s easy to think.  But, like the old saying goes, “all that glitters is not gold”, there’s a less-shiny, less-sexy side to being a social media darling. Tanya Grant peels back the curtain to give us a peek at what being an internet sensation is  really  like in her debut thriller,  Made You Look .      A week-long, all-expenses-paid trip to Reverie Retreat, a posh, not-yet-open-to-the-public ecolodge nestled deep in the Catskills. For mega-Influencer Sydney Kent—along with her little entourage of fellow influencers, stylist, photog, and publicity manager—it’s a sweet gig, posting content hyping the new retreat prior to its grand opening...
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No Rest for the Wicked, by Rachel Louise Adams (REVIEW) -- Halloween Town or Murder Town? Sometimes it's the same thing...

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Small towns. Unless you’ve lived in been a regular visitor to one, they’re kinda hard to wrap your head around. Like realizing your neighbors know  so much  about you... stuff which  everyone   else in town eventually winds up knowing, too. (Small towns, they do love to talk.)   But gossip is rarely truth—at least, not the full truth—which means all sorts of misunderstandings can happen.   And, when the veracity of such isn’t questioned (or refuted)? Hurt feelings, disappointments, and resentments can linger for  years ... as in Rachel Louise Adams’s debut thriller,  No Rest for the Wicked .     Dolores Hawthorne fled Little Horton, Wisconsin (aka “Halloween Town”, thanks to its lavish celebration of the seasonally-macabre) nearly two decades ago... and didn’t plan on returning.   Ever.   But, when someone from the FBI calls her in L.A., saying her father, ex-mayor of Little Horton and former U.S. Senator, has gone missing—and ...
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The Librarians, by Sherry Thomas (REVIEW) -- There's More to Your Local Librarian than Meets the Eye...

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Some jobs just lend themselves to stereotypes.   Take librarians. Say the word, and almost everyone envisions  something .   For most people, that probably looks like an older female—matronly, with grey hair, a cardigan over her buttoned-up dress, high-Rx glasses, sensible shoes, and a stern expression. (Lots of “shushing” with this one.)   The rest go straight into fantasyland, with the “Sexy Librarian” trope—beautiful younger woman, long hair in a messy bun, buxom chest straining at the buttons of her shirt, snug pencil skirt, not-really-necessary glasses, and impractical high heels. (The secret dominatrix just waiting to get her freak on.)    So it’s like a breath of fresh air, that Sherry Thomas offers up not one, but  four , stereotype-busting librarians in her latest mystery novel,  The Librarians ... and tosses in a murder or two for them to solve, as well.     A cozy, suburban branch of the Austin, Texas public library system....
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