Good Reads & Views

The Searcher by Tana French
Fiction 

What it’s about: Retired Chicago cop Cal Hooper is looking to start a new life in a small Irish village, spending his days fishing and fixing up an old house. Then he is talked into helping find the missing brother of a local kid and by doing so finds dark secrets among an insular community.

Want a taste? “The wind combs the heather and gorse with a low ceaseless rustle. Its smell has a sweetness almost too cold to catch. The sky is a fine-grained gray, and from somewhere in its heights a bird sends down a pure wild whistling.”

Reviewers say: Delivers “plenty of twists, shocking revelations, and truly chilling moments. Slow moving and richly layered” (Kirkus Reviews); a “slow-burn stunner that will keep readers turning the pages late into the night” (Library Journal).

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The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart
Fiction

What it's about: Lovers of historical mysteries will enjoy this tale set in 1703 London. Cecily Kay has come to the home of Barnaby Mayne, pre-eminent collector of everything under the sun, to try to identify her collection of plants. While on a tour of the home with several guests, Mayne breaks off and goes to his study, where he is later found murdered. His curator seems implicated, but Cecily is unconvinced. With her childhood friend, illustrator Meacan Barlow, she resolves to uncover the truth, putting them on a path fraught with peril for them both.

Why you might like it: This is twisty, atmospheric classic mystery at its best.

Reviewers say: "Hart is bound to become a household name for readers who love clever and fair whodunits" (Publishers Weekly).  "[A] solid choice for historical mystery readers who want to see women with intelligence and agency navigate a time and place not meant for them, but where they thrive nonetheless while solving a delightfully twisty murder” (Library Journal).

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Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith 
Fiction 

What it’s about: Private Investigators Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott are looking into the cold case of Dr. Margot Bamborough whose disappearance has some similarities to serial killings committed by Dennis Creed, who is serving a life sentence.

Series info: This is the fifth installment in the series which starts with The Cuckoo’s Calling, and continues with The Silkworm, Career of Evil, and Lethal White.

Reviewers say: “After wading through a barrel of red herrings, … Galbraith delivers the real killer, the least obvious of the lot, and it's a masterful, perfectly thought-through revelation … skillfully told, with a constantly gleeful interest in human awfulness” (Kirkus Reviews).

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The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen
Fiction

What it’s about: In 1930s England, perpetually broke Lady Georgiana lands a position as hostess for a house party at Christmastime. Everyone comes expecting to have a good old fashioned English Christmas celebration, but every day, someone in the surrounding countryside dies.  Are they accidents or murders? Is it the Lovey Curse or something more sinister? 

Why you might like it: The author draws a winning picture of the quaint village of Tiddleton-under-Lovey, perfect for cozy mystery fans, and Lady Georgiana narrates the story with plenty of humor.

Reviewers say: “Lady Georgiana's sixth outing (after Naughty in Nice) offers another witty and thoroughly enjoyable mystery with a dash of  romance" (Library Journal).  “Bowen blends zany humor with fair-play detection as well as any author of traditional mysteries” (Publishers Weekly).

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Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson
Fiction

What it's about: Bookseller and blogger Malcolm is contacted by the FBI, seeking his help. Years ago he created a list of literature's most perfect murders, and now someone seems to be using Malcolm's list as a playbook for unsolved killings. Twists and turns galore, and if you actually figure out the killer early on (I did not), then kudos to you.

Reviewers say: "Swanson will keep most readers guessing until the end. Classic whodunit fans will be in heaven" (Publishers Weekly); "The perfect gift for well-read mystery mavens who complain that they don't write them like they used to" (Kirkus).

Author Notes: Swanson is the author of six novels including The Kind Worth Killing for which he won the New England Society Book Award and Her Every Fear, which was an NPR book of the year.

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Murder Past Due by Miranda James
Fiction

What it's about: Charlie Harris, librarian, and his lovable cat, Diesel, put aside their quiet life to find who murdered a famous author before the wrong person is arrested. The trouble is, it seems every last one of Charlie's friends and coworkers had a score to settle with the novelist.

Why you might like it: If you like cozy mysteries or Southern settings, give this series opener a try.

Reviewers say: "Sympathetic characters, including the intuitive Diesel; a lovingly described home life with his faithful housekeeper...all add to the appeal, as do the details of library work and academic life in small-town Mississippi" (Booklist).

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Me for You by Lolly Winston
Fiction

Reviewer’s say:  "The story uses quiet prose and unexpected moments of gentle humor to illustrate the importance of human connection during trying times. … [A] poignant story about loss, unexpected connections, and the circuitous path toward healing” (Kirkus Reviews).

About the author: Lolly Winston was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut. She has an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College and is the author of New York Times bestselling novels Good Grief and Happiness Sold Separately, the latter of which is being developed as a film.

You might also like: One Summer by David Baldacci or Rescue by Anita Shreve     

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The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
Fiction

What it’s about: When her immigrant father is killed by a speeding car, composer Nora returns home to her grieving family, where she struggles to relate to her more traditional mother and sister. As Nora learns more about her father’s death, she becomes suspicious that it was more than a simple hit-and-run. This blend of mystery, family saga, and love story is told by multiple voices representing the schisms and alienation of American community, but also their many connections.

Reviewers say: "An eloquent reminder that frame of reference is everything when defining the 'other'” (Booklist). “Lalami captures the complex ways humans can be strangers not just outside their “tribes” but within them, as well as to themselves” (Publishers Weekly).

You might also like: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid is another own voices novel that offers an authentic perspective of the immigrant experience. For a more character-driven, literary mystery, try Miracle Creek by Angie Kim.

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Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
Fiction

What it’s about: First one of her neighbors turns up dead, then other bodies follow. Janina, or Duszejko, as she prefers to be called, is of an advanced age and lives in a remote Polish village. She does not eat meat, prefers the company of animals over humans, and quotes William Blake. She is absolutely sure she knows who is behind the deaths and inserts herself into the investigation.

Want a taste? “The best conversations are with yourself. At least there's no risk of a misunderstanding.” “Being healthy is an insecure state and does not bode well. It's better to be ill in a quiet way, then at least we know what we're going to die of.”

Reviewers say: “Tokarczuk's novel succeeds as both a suspenseful murder mystery and a powerful and profound meditation on human existence and how a life fits into the world around it. Novels this thrilling don't come along very often” (Publishers Weekly). “In her depictions of her characters and their worlds both internal and external Tokarczuk has created something entirely new” (Kirkus Reviews).

Author info: in 2018 Tokarczuk won the Man Booker Prize International for her novel Flights and in 2019 she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

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Twisted Twenty-Six by Janet Evanovich
Fiction

What it’s about: Stephanie Plum’s Grandma Mazur is a widow...again. This time her marriage lasted a whole 45 minutes. The unlucky groom was one Jimmy Rosolli, local gangster, lothario (senior division) and heart attack waiting to happen.  As a result, she’s got unwelcome attention from his former “business partners” who think she’s keeping information.

Starring:  Stephanie Plum, a New Jersey bounty hunter.

About the Author: Over the course of the last 25 years, Janet Evanovich has written a staggering 23 #1 New York Times bestsellers in the Stephanie Plum series. In addition to the Plum novels, Janet has co-written the New York Times bestselling Fox and O'Hare novels (including The Big Kahuna with Peter Evanovich), the Knight and Moon novels, the Lizzy and Diesel series, the Alexandra Barnaby novels, and she also coauthored a graphic novel, Troublemaker, with her daughter, Alex.

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