As it controverts stereotypes regarding the formidability of villains and the fragility of senior citizens, Caroline B. Cooney’s mystery novel "Before She Was Helen" is a... Read More

A film producer finds herself embroiled in international conspiracies, in this mystery with Snowdenesque twists. With "Jump Cut", Libby Fischer Hellmann unreels her fifth Ellie... Read More

By narrating the tale in the first person, an evocative and powerful writing choice, Bommersbach brings her real-life subject to life. An ambitious young woman who defied the... Read More

Our protagonist must discover the connection between Tiffany windows and the death of a Russian night guard, in this deftly-paced murder mystery. Erica Donato is a single mother... Read More

The constant presence of the past adds intrigue to this part travelogue, part detective novel, set in Italy. Posing as an American buyer of antiquities to help the Italian... Read More

Green chiles might be red herrings—the heat’s on in Havill’s latest Posadas County mystery as Bill Gastner, former sheriff, learns there’s more to an old friend’s... Read More

This is one hilarious yarn even though bloodshed begins with the first sentence. The initial spurt of gore emanates from Ed Lowry a loathsome San Francisco landlord who has... Read More

Music is written in layers—bass, baritone, alto, and soprano—one upon the other. Like music, author Richard A. Thompson has layered beautiful language, charismatic... Read More

In the author’s Phryne Fisher mysteries, the chaser is infinitely more engaging than the chase. For the benefit of those not yet acquainted with her charms, Fisher is a rich,... Read More

A cutthroat family secret isn’t enough to hide the dead in this author’s newest novel, the first installment of an anticipated new mystery series set in the tropics. Best... Read More

Readers are familiar with private eyes, retired police, and charming old ladies who knit as detectives, but an undertaker as detective opens up new possibilities for crime... Read More

What starts out as a grisly case of serial killing quickly turns personal for Li Yan, head of the Beijing serious crime squad. As the bodies pile up, clues prove nearly... Read More