Good Reads & Views

A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert
Fiction

What it’s about: After a disastrous end to her last romance, librarian Amy Webber fled to her aunt’s home in Taylorsford, VA, and took a job as the library director. When handsome professional dancer Richard Muir shows up at the library, wanting to research his late uncle Paul’s history, Amy tells herself it’s just the research that she finds interesting. They go to the archives where they find dementia patient Doris Virts shot dead. Though deeply shaken, Amy and Richard decide to dig into the town’s history, where they find the tragic story of Eleanora Cooper, accused of murdering her husband. Eleanora was acquitted, but disappeared without a trace. Richard says his uncle Paul was in love with Eleanora, and he wants Amy to help clear her name. Amy digs deeper into both present and past mysteries, and soon finds that someone wants her to leave both alone.

Reviewers say: “This debut mystery and series launch by a former librarian is an intriguing cozy that combines historical tidbits, a taste of the supernatural, a budding romance, and humor” (Library Journal); “Gilbert's series kickoff offers an intricate mystery, an interesting look at the past, and a clever and determined heroine” (Kirkus Reviews).

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Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Fiction

What it’s about: Frank Drum looks back on the summer of 1961, when he was twelve. Events during this fateful summer greatly affected his family and other denizens of the small community of New Bremen, Minnesota.

Reviewers say: “The small-town milieu is rendered in picturesque detail, accurate down to period-appropriate TV programs, for what becomes a resonant tale of fury, guilt, and redemption” (Publishers Weekly); “A novel that transforms narrator and reader alike” (Kirkus Review)

Good to know: This coming-of-age novel is also excellent on audio. For more from this award-winning author, try his Cork O’Connor mystery series, which is highly recommended.

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Death at Wentwater Court by Carola Dunn
Fiction

What it’s about: Daisy Dalrymple, though the daughter of a Viscount, has taken a position as a writer for a magazine, quite a step in the 1920s. Daisy is sent to write about the history and family of Wentwater Court. She joins a group of guests including the cold, suave, “absolute cad” Lord Stephen Astwick. When his body turns up in the frozen lake, at first it is thought he fell through the ice by accident. Daisy takes photos of the scene, however, and when handsome Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Alec Fletcher arrives, he uses the photos to determine that it was murder.

Why you might like it: If you like classic cozy mysteries, you’ll find this spritely mystery is a delight to read. Daisy is a sympathetic character whom people want to confide in, even the Chief Inspector!

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The Ludwig Conspiracy by Oliver Pötzsch
Fiction

What it's about: A rare books dealer and an art detective are forced to go on the run when they start investigating a diary, written in code, about Ludwig, the fairytale king of Bavaria, who was declared insane, disposed, and found dead the next day.

Reviewers say: "While readers will find broad parallels with Dan Brown's thrillers, Pötzsch's sophisticated plotting and good use of a real-life historical puzzle place this far ahead of most Da Vinci Code wannabes" (Publishers Weekly).

Good to know: This is very enjoyable on audio, read by the excellent Simon Vance, British accent included. Available from hoopla.

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Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood
Fiction 

What it’s about:  Flapper Phryne Fisher agrees to go from 1920s England to Melbourne, Australia, to investigate a suspected wife-poisoning. While there she becomes enmeshed in uncovering the “king of snow” who has taken over the local cocaine trade and an illegal, butcher-like abortionist. Phryne takes it all in stride, gathering an entourage of human rescue cases as she breezes along. 

Why you might like it: If you like your cozy mysteries mixed with strong local color and some tasteful but erotic scenes, give the Hon. Phryne Fisher’s first mystery a try. 

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Back to the Garden by Laurie R. King
Fiction 

What it’s about: While obsessively investigating a 1970s serial killer case, a current-day cold case police detective learns of a body found at a former commune—and goes down the rabbit hole of investigating the possible connections. The story of the 2020s murder investigation interweaves with the 1970s story of the grand estate that became a haven for flower children. 

Why you might like it: Atmospheric and suspenseful, this novel is brimming with complex characters, red herrings, and some significant moral conundrums.  

Reviewers say: “King skillfully misdirects the reader as the action builds to a surprising resolution” (Publishers Weekly).  

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The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves
Fiction

What’s it about: For fifty years a group of friends has met for reunions on the island where they all originally met during a school retreat. This time, one of them ends up hanged and DI Vera Stanhope and her team must find out what led up to the murder. Are secrets from the past to blame or are the motives for the murder of a more recent variety?

Reviewers say: "Cleeves crafts a clever central puzzle, then confers remarkable emotional complexity using her keenly drawn characters' advancing age, wistful nostalgia, and thorny shared history. A pinwheeling third-person narrative drives the pace, while Vera's candor tempers the plot's darker elements. Fair-play mystery fans will delight.” (Publishers Weekly).

Good to know:  The great Brenda Blethyn portrays the cantankerous but brilliant detective in a series of TV movies, available on dvd.

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Fiction 

What it’s about: For a totally madcap read, Dial A for Aunties! Meddelin Chan is a daughter and niece of an Indonesian-Chinese family and the photographer for the family business: planning weddings. She loves her aunties and mother even though they drive her crazy. They want to see Meddelin married and set her up online, but the guy tries to date rape her. In defending herself, she kills him! That’s when the aunties step in – they don’t call the police, they just hide the body in a cooler. Trouble is, they have a big wedding to cater to, and the corpse takes on a life of its own. 

Reviewers say: “Readers will die for the delightfully absurd hijinks in this dark comedy” (Kirkus); “Dial A for Aunties, indeed, as they navigate a high-profile wedding with a corpse in tow. Sound preposterous? Perhaps, but you'll be glad you went along for the yacht ride” (Booklist). 

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Marked Man by Archer Mayor
Fiction

What happens: A medical student working on a body that was donated to science discovers that the assumed “natural” death attributed to the cadaver might have actually been murder. Turns out the dead local philanthropist and millionaire wasn’t actually who he pretended to be and Joe Gunther and his team at the Vermont Bureau of Investigation look into the murder and others that follow.

Reviewers say: “it's been clear for quite awhile that Mayor's series--a perfect mix of character, setting, and story--is one of the best American police procedurals going” (Booklist Review); “Mayor matches vivid characters with clever plot twists. This is a perfect jumping-on point for newcomers” (Publishers Weekly).

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The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill
Fiction

What’s it about: DCI Serrailler has two murder cases to solve when torrential rainstorms unearth two bodies dating back 16 years. One was a missing girl, but who was the other and are their deaths connected? Quality-of-life issues also feature prominently in this sixth outing of the series.

Reviewers say: “Fully realized characters and efficient prose” (Publishers Weekly); "Fans and newcomers to Hill's series … will appreciate the characters' deep humanity” (Kirkus).

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