Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs Mysteries Series Book 1)
If you need a completely bingeable mystery series right now, I highly recommend this one. With 15 books and counting, Maisie Dobbs remains a compelling heroine. The first book introduces Maisie as she trades wartime nursing for her own private investigation practice at the end of WWI. Her first case appears to be run-of-the-mill infidelity, but something tells her to look deeper. When she finds disturbing secrets connected to the Great War, she is forced to confront her own trauma in order to solve the case. Maisie’s strong empathy and nurse’s training make her uniquely suited to detective work, and learning more about her is just as delightful as following the mystery. The narration on this series is stellar. I highly recommend it on audio.
More info →You Will Know Me
A nail-biter from Thriller Award winner Abbott, best known for The Fever, a book I've been meaning to read for ages. I know her by reputation, though I haven't yet read her work, and was surprised to hear this novel is focused on an elite teen gymnast, a tragedy that rocks her training facility, and the subsequent unraveling of everything the characters thought they knew about each other.
More info →A Trick of the Light (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache Mysteries, No. 7)
Penny's mysteries are alternately centered in the cozy village of Three Pines and the wider world. For this excellent follow-up to the game-changing Bury Your Dead, Inspector Gamache returns to Three Pines to solve a murder that's intimately tied to the world of fine art. The story is built around the concept of chiaroscuro—the contrast between dark and light that's significant in some artists' works, and in all our natures. It may sound obtuse, but Penny probes with a light hand. It works.
More info →The Girls in the Garden
The action in this new suspenseful novel centers around a beautiful private communal garden in London. Most of the neighbors have lived there for years and trust each other implicitly; one family felt lucky to find their new flat when they were displaced from their home after a tragic fire. In the prologue, one of these new neighbors, 12-year-old Grace, is found in a corner of this supposedly idyllic garden, injured and unconscious after a neighborhood party. Jewell flashes back in time to introduce us to all the neighbors, and we discover much to mistrust as we try to figure out what happened to Grace. I read this as a Summer Reading Guide contender, and while it held my attention, it wasn't a favorite. Published June 7, 2016.
More info →Gaudy Night: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery with Harriet Vane
Part campus novel, part intricately-plotted mystery: this is Sayers’ tenth Lord Peter novel, the first told from the perspective of Harriet Vane, and undoubtedly one of her finest. (They needn’t be read in order.) When Ms. Vane returns to Oxford for her college’s reunion (the “gaudy” of the title), the festive mood on campus is threatened by an alarming outbreak of murderous threats. Sayers makes this much more than a crime novel, though it's a good one—Harriet grapples with questions of love and friendship, life and work, gender and class, and the writing life.
More info →The Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries: Whose Body?, Clouds of Witness, and Unnatural Death
A special edition of the first three classic mysteries featuring British aristocrat and sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. I'm a big fan of this series.
More info →Murder Must Advertise
I just love Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey novels. In this installment, Wimsey goes undercover at a post London ad agency to investigate a suspicious accident.
More info →The Woman in Cabin 10
I was intrigued by the premise of this twisty thriller: a travel writer takes an assignment aboard an exclusive luxury cruise ship. Shortly after arriving, she wakes in the middle of the night to the sound of something heavy being thrown overboard. She's sure it's a body ... and yet no one is missing from the boat. She's compelled to figure out what really happened, which puts more than her own life in danger. Strongly reminiscent of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.
More info →Bury Your Dead (A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery)
There was never a question I'd continue with the Inspector Gamache series (although I will say that book 3 wasn't my favorite) but the series moves to the next level in this sixth installment, in which Penny finally brings a plotline she's only hinted at in previous books front and center, and it is riveting.
More info →A Great Reckoning (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel)
The Washington Post called this, "Deep and grand and altogether extraordinary....Miraculous."
More info →Pretending to Dance: A Novel
Chamberlain is known for writing contemporary Southern fiction featuring strong female characters and not shying away from sensitive subjects. In this novel, her thirtysomething heroine's adoption process forces her to confront secrets she's been keeping for twenty years about her family of origin. Chamberlain uses two narrative voices—that of 14-year-old Molly and 20-years-older Molly, to explore the power of the secrets we keep out of fear and shame and the pretending that can actually make us strong. This is the first book I've read by Diane Chamberlain; The Silent Sister is next on my list.
More info →When No One is Watching
This new thriller, described as Rear Window meets Get Out starts with a bang and never lets up; her familiar voice is put to good use in this shocking tale of history, lies, and gentrification. Sydney’s Brooklyn neighborhood is turning over fast, with longtime older tenants moving out and upstart young couples moving in. But when she accidentally discovers a sinister connection, these moves suddenly begin to look threatening. Add in a tortured past, present family challenges, a budding romance with a hot new neighbor (and heads up, f-bombs galore), and you’ve got a thrilling read.
More info →The Travelers
Pavone's international thriller follows travel journalist Will Rhodes. When a beautiful Australian woman makes him an offer he can’t refuse while traveling in Argentina, he becomes embroiled in espionage and conspiracy. Who is he working for and who can he trust? Before he knows it, he’s an undercover agent taking missions all across Europe, from a mansion in Paris to an isolated cabin in Iceland, all while doing his best to stay alive and discover the truth behind his deadly employer.
More info →And Now She’s Gone
Alternating between past and present, this twisty mystery weaves two women's stories together. We follow private investigator Grayson Sykes as she searches for missing woman Isabel Lincoln. With every new clue Grayson picks up, she realizes that this isn't a simple missing persons case—and she and Isabel might have a lot in common. This thriller is full of jaw-dropping moments, and the format gripped me from the beginning. In addition to the page-turning investigation, this is a story of survival. Do be aware that this story involves domestic abuse and heavy themes.
More info →Flight of Dreams
I loved Lawhon's historical fiction debut The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress and was eager to read her next work. Her second novel puts an interesting spin on a tragic historical event: the 1937 Hindenburg disaster. This entertaining, suspenseful tale is told from multiple points of view and is based on the lives of real characters. The enigmatic setting—aboard the luxurious yet claustrophobic airship—captures your imagination. My husband surprised me by loving this. For fans of Agatha Christie and Kate Morton.
More info →The Mystery of Henri Pick
The bestselling 2016 French novel, now available in English. Imagine a library filled with unpublished manuscripts, countless novels that never came to be. In the tiny village of Crozon, a small town librarian collects and cares for these unloved manuscripts. While on holiday, a renowned French editor visits the library and stumbles upon an undiscovered masterpiece, which she and her author boyfriend soon discover was written by a small-town French pizza chef. She champions its publication and turns it into an instant bestseller. Readers everywhere swoon for the book and the story behind its publication, but one snobby literary critic questions the book’s origins, and resolves to get the real story. (Is it weird to say this plot thread reminds me of Ratatoille?) Funny and endearing, a quirky mystery for book lovers, and a great read for anyone who fancies a peek into the publishing industry. A highly discussable novel for book clubs, especially because of the sure-to-be-controversial epilogue.
More info →The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
Fans adore this series, and in each book they accompany Mma Ramotswe as she meets her interesting clients, always with very interesting problems. Readers can't help rooting for Mma Ramtoswe as she solves her mysteries; she's funny, smart, and loves to buck convention—very, very tactfully. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel: the tone of this novel wasn't quite like anything I'd ever read, and it was easy to read, in the best sense. I'm looking forward to getting to know these characters better in the series' subsequent installments.
More info →City of the Lost
As a homicide detective, Casey Duncan knows her secret is going to catch up with her someday. Diana, her best friend, is also on the run from an abusive husband. When he catches up with Diana and Casey is attacked soon after, Casey knows it's time for both of them to leave again. There's a town in the Canadian wilderness called Rockton. Those who are on the run from their pasts can apply for solace and residency there. Rockton is picky about its residents, and with no phones, internet, or a way to get in or out without permission, it doesn't seem like a place that would accept Casey's past deeds. And yet, Rockton just had its first murder case. They need a detective to investigate, making Casey the perfect candidate. As she investigates, she starts to wonder if Rockton is the safest place for herself and Diana after all.
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