The Last Sister by Kendra Elliot

 

from the blurb:  Twenty years ago Emily Mills’s father was murdered, and she found his body hanging in the backyard. Her younger sister, Madison, claims she was asleep in her room. Her older sister, Tara, claims she was out with friends. The tragedy drove their mother to suicide and Tara to leave town forever. The killer was caught. The case closed.

Ever since, Emily and Madison have tried to forget what happened that night—until an eerily similar murder brings it all back. It also brings FBI special agent Zander Wells to the Oregon logging town. As eager as he is to solve the brutal double slaying, he is just as intrigued with the mystery of Emily’s and her sisters’ past.

my thoughts:  I've read many of Elliot's mysteries, but somehow missed this one. And it's a good one. I really liked Agent Zander Wells and his partner, Agent Ava McLane; they worked well together, even when the local sheriff  wasn't very cooperative. I also liked Emily and her three elderly aunts. They are an eccentric bunch and made me laugh. I thought Elliot did a great job of weaving together the past and present mysteries. And she always brings life to her Oregon setting, which is another thing I like about her books. This is a compelling and well-written novel. 

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Fighting Edge by Margaret Mizushima

 

Deputy Mattie Walker and her K-9 partner, Robo, have their hands full when a simple welfare check leads to murder, and a routine traffic stop reveals drugs and a possible link to a human trafficking ring. 

Once again Margaret Mizushima has crafted a tightly plotted and dynamic mystery. This is the 11th book in her Timber Creek K-9 series, and it's every bit as good as all her previous books. This is one of my favorite series. The mysteries are always interesting and the characters entertaining. I really like Mattie and her veterinarian husband, Cole, and how well they deal with their demanding jobs, his two daughters, and their ever-deepening relationship. And I love Robo! He's such a cute and engaging character. Dogs make every book better imo. And Robo is the best.

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Other books in this series that I've reviewed:

Killing Time (#1)

Stalking Ground (#2)

Hunting Hour (#3)

Burning Ridge (#4)

Tracking Game (#5) 

Hanging Falls (#6) 

Striking Range (#7)

Gathering Mist (#9) 

Dying Cry (#10) 

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

 

The plot:  Needing a quiet place to recuperate after an airplane crash, Jerry Burton and his sister, Joanna, rent a cottage called Little Furze in Lymstock. They're not expecting to receive an anonymous letter soon after full of hateful, untruthful accusations. While it makes Joanna laugh, Jerry finds it a little unsettling. Especially when he learns several other people in Lymstock have received similar "poison pen" missives. Then one of the recipients dies by suicide. The police are called in to investigate. And Jerry realizes the culprit must be one of his own neighbors. But who? And why? 

My thoughts: This clever and fun mystery is billed as a Miss Marple mystery, but she doesn't even show up until page 167. And she only makes two other appearances after that. It would have been better, in my opinion, if Christie had just had Jerry solve the murder instead of bringing in Miss Marple for so few scenes at the end. Because Jerry is a personable and engaging narrator. I liked both him and his sister. And I enjoyed this mystery overall, too. I had two ideas of who might be behind it all....but I ended up being wrong on both accounts. Once again, Christie's plot twists were too clever for me. It's not a long book, and it reads fast. And while it's not my favorite Agatha Christie novel, I thought it was an entertaining read. And I never once thought about DNFing it.  😉

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Who is DS George Cross?

 "He was Marmite to most of his colleagues at the MCU. They either liked him or loathed him. There was no in-between. He often came across as rude, difficult or plain obtuse. But it wasn't intentional. George Cross was on the spectrum, which sometimes made him a little challenging to work with. But it was what made him an extraordinary detective."

"...Cross would never give up, particularly when he was told to. He was like a terrier snapping at your heels; once he'd got hold of your trouser leg, he would stubbornly refuse to let go, even if you spun him round in circles."

"It was a full twelve months since she'd become his partner and although it had taken some time to get used to him she had come to respect and understand him. ...In many ways she had become Cross's apologist in the department; his interpreter. She confessed to friends that she might have been less understanding had he not been such an irritatingly brilliant cop. He had the highest conviction rate in the force. By far. Having said that, there were times when she would happily have thrown him off Clifton suspension bridge." 

 The Patient by Tim Sullivan is another excellent mystery in this fun British police procedural series that stars DS George Cross. He's the best kind of character. And I am loving these books. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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The Inklings Detective Agency by John R. Kelly

 

Oxford, England. 1936.

J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. "Jack" Lewis, his brother, Warren, and the other members of the literary society known as the Inklings, are called upon to help solve the murders of two members of a secret society headed by Aleistor Crowley before the next full moon. These amateur sleuths take on the case, even though their investigation puts them on a dangerous collision course with a murderer.

John R. Kelly brings these famous authors and the city of Oxford to life in this entertaining mystery. I loved Tolkien's and Lewis's interactions. Jack ends up being the main detective, but it was a lot of fun to 'meet' all the other historical figures in it like Warren Lewis, Hugo Dyson, Charles Williams, Dorothy Sayers, and even Agatha Christie. Their discussion about the rules of writing mysteries made me smile. I also really liked the secret society aspect of this mystery; that's always been a big draw for me. Plus, there are great quotes heading each chapter. And you know how much I like bookish quotes. I really enjoyed reading this one, and I very much hope Kelly writes a sequel to it.   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Similar read:

What Rough Beast by H.R. Knight 

The Labyrinth House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

Honkaku mystery:  A Japanese subgenre focusing on intricate "fair play" puzzle-solving designed to challenge readers with logical deduction, locked-room scenarios, and complex mechanical tricks. Inspired by Western Golden Age authors like Agatha Christie, these novels typically provide all necessary clues, diagrams, and maps prioritizing the puzzle over literary prose.

Four mystery authors, a critic, an editor and his pregnant wife, and an amateur sleuth have all been invited to a famed mystery writer's isolated home to celebrate his 60th birthday. But when their weekend begins with a shocking death, they find themselves locked inside the Labyrinth House with a murderer. 

This was an entertaining 'locked-room' mystery. It was a little hard at first to keep all the characters straight, but I soon got them figured out. And I really liked Utayama Hideyuki, the editor, and Shimada Kiyoshi, a fan of mystery novels and amateur sleuth. They worked together on solving the puzzles within the Labyrinth House. I guessed one of the twists early on, but there was another twist at the very end I was not expecting. Which added a layer of fun. As did the map of the Labyrinth House included at the beginning of the book and all the allusions to the Greek myth about Minos and the minotaur. I did think the dialogue felt a little stilted at times, but that might have been because of the translation, or just a difference between Japanese and American fiction. Overall, though, I really liked this one. It's definitely made me a fan of Honkaku mysteries. 

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A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers

 

First line:  "It's good you've finally summoned me," I said. "There's no doubt a spirit torments this house."

Setting:  Victorian London, 1852

The what:  A dead bride. A charlatan. A Gothic mystery. Secrets. Ghostly rumors. And a fake seance meant to find a murderer.

The who:  Genevieve Timmons, a young woman not quite 19, who learned how to perform seances to swindle the rich from her mother; she's got the threat of the noose hanging over her head if she can't get this last seance right.

Gareth Pemberton, the new earl of Somerset Park; he wants justice for Audra Linton, the young woman he was supposed to marry. He's not sure he can trust Genevieve, but he needs her help to flush out a murderer.

The why:  This is an entertaining mystery with atmosphere, a tangled web of secrets and suspects, interesting characters, and a few good twists. Genevieve was spunky, suspicious, stubborn, vulnerable and very alone in the world; I liked her and how she held her own even though everything was stacked against her. She and Pemberton made an interesting team. I would have liked a little more of them together at the end, but all in all I enjoyed this one.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Similar reads:

Mist of Midnight by Sandra Byrd

Dragonwyck by Anya Seton

The Gilded Cage by Lucinda Gray

Whispers Beyond the Veil by Jessica Estevao

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Her Last Breath by Taylor Adams

 Two women. 

A remote cave system.

One stranger.

A struggle for survival. 

Secrets...and a lie.

The plot:  As kids, Tess and Allie were best friends. Now, Allie travels the world as a successful travel influencer and Tess works as her part-time assistant. Allie is adventurous and fearless. Tess is more of an introvert. But she's also a survivor. Going caving together is supposed to help them reconnect. But then a stranger follows them into the cave, threatening them. And when Allie gets shot, Tess finds herself alone and on the run, going deeper and deeper underground, with the man following close behind. 

My thoughts:  This book is part survival story, part psychological thriller. And it's very entertaining. The chapters alternate between Tess's harrowing experiences underground, and her time in the hospital where she recounts what happened to her and Allie to a police detective. Which lessened the suspense a little, because you know right from page 40 that she survives her ordeal. But the cave scenes are intense. And there are several surprises along the way. I guessed one of the big plot twists early on, though there were moments later on that I started to doubt my suspicions. I liked that Adams kept me guessing. And the ending was great! 

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Dark Objects by Simon Toyne

 

From the blurb:  "A glamorous woman is murdered in her ultra-luxurious and highly secure London mansion, and her husband goes missing. But according to public records, neither of them exists. The only leads police have are several items arranged around the woman's body, including a set of keys and a book called How to Process a Murder by Laughton Rees, an academic and forensic expert who does not work live cases. But the presence of her book at the scene draws her into this high-profile investigation working alongside DCI Tannahill Khan. As the dark objects found beside the body lead them closer to the victim's identity, a dangerous threat to Laughton and her daughter emerges." 

My thoughts:  Tantalizing and compelling. This mystery is a nice blend of police procedural and psychological thriller. And I really like DCI Tannahill Khan and Dr. Laughton Rees; it was fun seeing how they met and connected. Rees is a nicely complicated character who is still dealing with the traumatic death of her mother when she was younger. She's very smart and has some interesting quirks and OCD tendencies centering around the number three. And the mystery itself has some nice twists. I hope Toyne writes many more books with her and Khan. This is the first book in the series; I previously read the second book, The Clearing, last month, which is an equally good read.

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier

 

I have a few favorite series that I religiously keep up with--reading the latest book as soon as it comes out--and Paula Munier's Mercy Carr series is one of them. I love Mercy and her Belgian Malinois, Elvis, and her husband, Vermont Game Warden Troy Warner and his Newfoundland, Suzie Bear. In this one, their daughter, Felicity, is nine months old and about to celebrate her very first Christmas. Too bad Mercy's "Uncle" Lazlo just got murdered. 

Christmas abounds in this book from yule log traditions to a ceremonial Winter Solstice bonfire (complete with Druids), a town sing-along, Christmas Eve dinner, and "more is more" decorations. The author even works in that Russian fairy tale, The Snow Maiden. There are a lot of characters to juggle, too, with Mercy's extended family and all her friends, which Munier handles well. But I felt like the mystery itself got a bit overshadowed by it all. And their murder investigation didn't feel as tautly plotted or as compelling as in her earlier novels. That's not to say I didn't enjoy this one, because I did. Mercy and Troy and their dogs are engaging characters and I like the quirks and charms of their small Vermont community. I just didn't love the mystery as much as I usually do. (Though I'd still give it 4 stars.) And if you want that Christmas-in-Vermont setting, this is the book! 

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Other Munier books I've reviewed:

A Borrowing of Bones (#1) 

Blind Search (#2) 

The Hiding Place (#3) 

The Wedding Plot (#4) 

Home At Night (#5) 

The Night Woods (#6) 

Dying Cry by Margaret Mizushima

 

The plot:  This is the 10th novel in one of my favorite K-9 mystery series. Newlyweds Mattie and Cole Walker, and Cole's two daughters, Sophie and Angie, and their three dogs are out snowshoeing when they hear a terrified scream. Mattie, who is a deputy and K-9 handler with Timber Creek's Sheriff's Department, goes to investigate with her dog, Robo. What they discover is the body of someone they know. And he didn't die from an accidental fall; he was pushed. Once again, Mattie finds herself involved in a puzzling murder investigation. 

My thoughts: I love Mattie and Cole; they have such a supportive and respectful partnership. And Mattie's German Shepherd, Robo, is full of personality. He's one of the main reasons I love this series so much. I also like that Colorado setting. The mystery was good, too. But it's these characters and their development over the course of this series that makes these books so memorable and appealing. (And also why I recommend starting with the first book, Killing Trail.)    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Other books in this series I've reviewed:

Stalking Ground #2

Hunting Hour #3

Burning Ridge #4

Tracking Game #5

Hanging Falls #6

Striking Range #7

Gathering Mist #9

Runner 13 by Amy McCulloch

 "An exhilarating thriller set against a 250-mile footrace in the Sahara Desert, where more than one ultramarathoner will be running for their lives."

What I loved:  The extreme setting. The extreme sport. And all the twists along the way. McCulloch, who herself completed the Marathon des Sables in the Sahara Desert, writes with such compelling authenticity. I loved the tension she creates among the different elite runners and the race director; the weather and the harsh terrain also play an important role in this story. I also liked how McCulloch weaves in the past with the present in a way that added to the mystery and the suspense. And I admired the resilience of her main character, Adrienne Wendell, as she navigates the tough race and the mysterious murders happening around her. This is a fabulous and fun thriller.   ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Exposure by Ramona Emerson

 

The plot:  Rita Todacheene is a forensic photographer with the Albuquerque police department. She can also see the ghosts of murder victims. And since her last case, when she almost died, the ghosts won't leave her alone. It's making her sick. She heads to her grandmother's house in Tohatchi hoping to find some healing on the Navajo reservation. But she gets drawn back into a murder investigation in Gallup, where a detective suspects that a serial killer is stalking and killing indigent Native Americans.

My thoughts:  I loved Emerson's first novel about Rita Todacheene; Shutter was a magical mix of Navajo myth and culture, mystery, suspense and ghostly hauntings. Rita is a fascinating character. This novel picks up where Shutter left off. It's more character-driven, with chapters alternating between Rita with all her current struggles and the serial killer's own story, which was more sad than creepy/scary. It also focuses on the plight of Native Americans in places like Gallup. It's both heartbreaking and enraging. This was a different mystery than what I was expecting, but it's a compelling read and I continue to be a fan of Rita Todacheene.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Broken Fields by Marcie R. Rendon

 

From the blurb:  

"1970s Minnesota. It's spring in the Red River Valley and Cash Blackbear is plowing a field for a local farmer when she discovers a dead man on the kitchen floor of the property's rented farmhouse. The only possible witness to the murder is the young daughter of a Native laborer. The girl, Shawnee, is too terrified to speak about what she’s witnessed, and her parents seem to have vanished. 

"In the wake of the murder, Cash can't deny her suspicions of the dead man's grieving widow. While Cash scours the county and White Earth reservation trying to find the missing mother before Shawnee is placed in foster care, another body turns up. Concerned about the girl and her mother's fate, and with the help of local Sheriff Wheaton, Cash races against the clock to figure out the truth of what happened in the farmhouse."

My thoughts:  Cash Blackbear is young, guarded, and doesn't always make the best decisions. And her intuitive gift, those dreams and impressions that often lead her to the truth, seems to be on the fritz. But she's stubborn and tough and refuses to give up on Shawnee and her mom. And I liked that about her. I hope someday she'll learn to let in the people who care about her, and connect with them on a deeper level. I'm obviously invested in her journey! And these mysteries do such a good job of immersing you in that 1970s time period and Red River Valley setting, with all its injustices towards women and Native Americans. It's another reason I find them so compelling and interesting. This is another 4-star read from Rendon. All four of her Cash Blackbear mysteries are worth checking out. 

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Other book from this series that I've read and reviewed:

Murder on the Red River (#1)

Sinister Graves (#3)

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

 

The plot:  A recovering addict who's been clean for eighteen months, Mallory Quinn, just got a job as a nanny for Caroline and Ted Maxwell's five-year-old son, Teddy, for the summer. She's desperate to prove herself, and they're willing to give her a chance despite her past drug use. And it's all because of Teddy. He's a sweet, shy boy who likes to wear purple and draw pictures of rabbits. He also draws pictures of his imaginary friend, Anya; those aren't as cute. Then his pictures get even darker, showing a man dragging a woman into the forest and then burying her. And Mallory begins to suspect that Teddy is being haunted by something sinister. Was Anya murdered? Mallory gets drawn into solving the mystery in order to protect Teddy, but his parents start to question her honesty...and her sanity. 

My thoughts:  I loved Teddy and how cute he is with Mallory; I also really loved getting to see his artwork throughout the book...and the eerie story his pictures start to tell. And a mystery with a touch of the supernatural like this one has is one of my favorite kinds of books to read. I appreciated the atmosphere and suspense Rekulak creates and how he keeps you guessing about the truth behind the haunting until the very end. This is such a compelling read. I loved it.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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In the Hour of Crows by Dana Elmendorf

 "Papaw gave me his death-talking gift when I was only nine. He  told me what he could do, then he told me how to use the secret Bible verses to do it. The gift jumped out of him and into me."

"There are only a few rules for death-talking. If you tell someone the secret scriptures, your gift is gone. You can only pass it to someone of the opposite sex. If you die with your gift, it disappears forever. And you can't talk the death out of someone twice."

"What Papaw didn't tell me is how you shoulder a lifetime of guilt for all the souls you can't save. That I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for it."

 

 My thoughts: I liked the combination of mystery and magical realism in this book. And I always love that small town Appalachia setting with its deep-rooted families (and all their secrets), their strange superstitions, and their herbal folk magic. And I really liked Weatherly Wilder with her eerie gift of saving lives with her death-talking, and her vulnerability, especially as she tries to prove who murdered her cousin, Adaire. There's also a mysterious Soul Walker named Rook, who is sometimes a boy, more often a crow; I loved his connection to Weatherly. There's great Southern atmosphere, a compelling voice, and several good twists. Poignant, gritty, and beautifully written, In the Hour of Crows is a captivating novel.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie

 

The plot:  A man falls from the top of a cliff in Wales. His last words: Why didn't they ask Evans? Bobby Jones is the only one to hear him. In the dead man's pocket is the photograph of a hauntingly lovely young woman. But at the inquest, the dead man's sister looks nothing like the photograph. And then an attempt is made on Bobby's life. And he and his childhood friend, Lady Frances "Frankie" Derwent, start to think that the dead man might have been murdered. So they come up with a scheme to look into the matter themselves.

My thoughts:  I never know how much to say about a mystery like this. But I do think that the less you know going in the better. And Agatha Christie's mysteries are always full of hidden clues and unexpected surprises. I've been working my way through her books and quite enjoy them. There's no Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple to solve the murder in this one, but Bobby and Frankie make for two delightful amateur sleuths. They get into several entertaining escapades along the way, and their interactions are pretty funny. I liked them. And the mystery itself kept me guessing. Though I thought it got a little too convoluted. And I didn't love the long letter at the end explaining all the reasons and details of the crime. But it was still a fun read.  3.5/5 stars.

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A Whisper of Death by Darcy Burke

 

Setting: Victorian London, 1868

Main characters:

HADRIAN BECKET. The intelligent and curious Earl of Ravenhurst is determined to find the man who stabbed him and left him for dead. The attack left him with something else--psychic visions of past events when he touches certain objects; visions that he thinks might be others' memories. And some of those memories are from the man who tried to murder him.

TILDA WREN. 25 and a self-proclaimed spinster. She lives with her grandmother and works as a private investigator with the skills she learned from her father who worked for Scotland Yard. Hadrian hires her to help him find his attacker; she's even more invested in their investigation when they discover the same man might have also murdered her grandmother's cousin.

My thoughts: Despite their different backgrounds, these two characters work really well together. (Something that probably would not have happened in real life.) Hadrian is deferential to and respectful of Tilda and her investigative ablilies while he struggles to understand and make use of his own new psychic gifts...or curse, as he calls them. And Tilda is down-to-earth, clever, and unshirking. I liked them both. I also really like that Victorian time period! Burke includes fun historical details, and her novel is well-paced and suspenseful. It's an entertaining mystery and I look forward to reading the next book.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Head Cases by John McMahon

 

First lines:  Riddles. Those are my specialty. That is, when I'm not studying patterns. Or decoding enigmas. Some might say that solving puzzles is all I'm good for. That leaving my desk in the Jacksonville office of the FBI to interact with real people is not the best use of my time or talent. And I would agree with them. 

The plot:  FBI agent Gardner Camden is a genius, except when it comes to his social skills. And he's just one of the quirky agents that make up the FBI's Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit. They get called in when a recently murdered man is discovered to be a serial killer the FBI thought died years ago. The death of a second serial killer who was just paroled makes Camden realize they have a unique killer on their hands:  a serial killer of serial killers. And one who leaves behind a trail of enigmatic clues and riddles. Let the cat-and-mouse game begin.

My thoughts: When I check out a book like this I'm always hoping for a thriller that's both riveting and unexpected. And this book blew me away! I loved Gardner Camden with all his quirks and amazing analytical abilities. The other members of PAR were also engaging and likable. I was drawn in with those first lines and could not put this one down. It reads so fast, and the mystery is so compelling! I loved how McMahon wove all the threads together...and how Camden figures it out. This will definitely be on my favorite reads list at the end of the year. And I really hope McMahon writes a sequel.

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

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The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan

A popular sorority girl.

An unsolved murder.

A campus podcast with chilling repercussions. 

From the blurb: 

"Lucas Vega is obsessed with the death of Candace Swain, who left a sorority party one night and never came back. Her body was found after two weeks, but the case has grown cold. Three years later, while interning at the medical examiner's, Lucas discovers new information, but the police are not interested.

"Lucas knows he has several credible pieces of the puzzle. He just isn't sure how they fit together. So he creates a podcast to revisit Candace's last hours. Then he encourages listeners to crowdsource what they remember and invites guest lecturer Regan Merritt, a former US marshal, to come on and share her expertise.

"New tips come in that convince Lucas and Regan they are onto something. Then shockingly one of the podcast callers turns up dead. The pressure is on to solve the murder, but first Lucas must come clean about his real motives in pursuing this podcast—before the killer silences him forever."

My thoughts:  This mystery is well-written and compelling. I liked both Lucas, who's young and naive but well-intentioned and determined, and Regan, who's tough and smart; and I quickly got drawn into Lucas's podcast and subsequent murder investigation. The who and why of Candace's disappearance and death did not come as a total surprise, but there was good suspense right up to the end. I enjoy Brennan's mysteries and this one is no exception. She does an excellent job of weaving together all the various elements. And I also really liked the Flagstaff, AZ, and college campus setting. Altogether, a very fun read.

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!