Ernest Cunningham, hero and narrator of three previous mystery novels, is an author looking to expand his repertoire. He wants to open a private investigation service. After solving three cases (see: previous novels), he thinks he can trade on his reputation and experience to get paid to put the pieces together.

Yet, banks don’t seem to be as convinced of his business plan as he does. He has been turned down for loans across the city and was starting to give up on the idea when he receives a letter from a bank a couple hours away asking him to stop by for a meeting. He’s pleasantly surprised, if confused, as he and his fiancee jump in the car for a road trip to Huxley. The meeting with the president starts off normal enough–then someone chooses just that minute to rob the bank.

The doors are chained shut and nine people are trapped inside the bank with the robber, who is cleverly disguised with a mask, voice changer, and a hooded cloak. Ernest and Juliette are among those stuck in the bank, along with a grandmother and her ailing granddaughter, a priest maintaining a code of silence, an underemployed security guard, a sketchy film producer, and a kid who turns out to be the son of a cop on the outside. And every single person there wants to steal something. Figuring out what that is will be key to getting everyone out safely.

Under the jumper, I could see fabric matching their pants poking out at the wrists: a navy-blue boilersuit, like a mechanic might wear. With the layers of clothing, it was hard to guess their body shape: man or woman, heavy set or lithe, Edward or Not-Edward (as I’m sure you’re thinking). Yellow canvas gardening gloves that looks well soiled, and stiff army-surplus boots completed the outfit. This heist was clearly planned, but not far enough in advance to get the costuming down. It reeked of hasty solution to a forgotten dress-up day at school. ~Pg. 60-1

As with all the books in this series, the set-up seems impossible yet somehow it all works in the end. The locked room (or more precisely, closed circle) mystery gets plenty tangled as connections are made, before slowly getting unraveled through Ernest’s deductions. In typical Cunningham fashion, he telegraphs clues (on purpose), making sure the reader can’t miss anything that might help them solve the puzzle. And just for fun, this one has a talking parrot.

The signature humor is still present and is by far the most entertaining aspect of these novels. The mysteries are perfectly fun but it’s the clever banter with reader that makes me keep coming back.

My thanks to Mariner for the advance review copy.

Publisher: ‎Mariner Books
Publication date: ‎March 17, 2026
Print length: ‎368 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎0063434385

Clare Wright isn’t a Harvey Girl, though. She’s only pretending. Her real job is with the Pinkerton Agency, and she will have to work undercover to catch whoever is robbing trains and stealing supplies bound for Fort Union.

Smart and observant, Clare lives the life of a kitchen assistant and waiter at the busy Harvey House. Like the other girls, she spends 12 hours, or more, on her feet each day, rushing to and fro across the dining room. She also makes considerable notes about the townspeople and traveling businessmen who come through. A drunk sheriff, who is reluctant to interrupt a crime in progress. A ridiculously wealthy founder with a new mansion outside of town. A ne’er-do-well gunslinger. A ingratiating supervisor. And good ol’ Bat Masterson and Mark Twain put in a couple of amusing appearances.

The Mexican grandee Clare had waited on at Gowan’s table stalked in and surveyed the company down a nose that seemed to elongate in the process. He strode over to Gowan and tried to engage him in conversation. Gowan raised a hand, forestalling him, as he continued to talk to a matron in an eye-stinging chartreuse dress with an enormous bustle and what looked like an entire stuffed great blue heron on her hat. ~Loc. 1684

The film The Harvey Girls, and its famous song “Atchinson, Topeka, and Santa Fe” makes a lot more sense to me now. This is a great addition to the new Western genre with a female heroine, perfect for fans of the Kopp Sisters books. It brings together Pinkerton lore, an interesting investigation, American expansionism, Gilded Age robber barons, and legends of literature.

My thanks to Rachel at Bloomsbury for the review copy.

Publisher: ‎Head of Zeus — an Aries Book
Publication date: ‎March 3, 2026
Print length: ‎272 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1035916665

Elizabeth Bathory’s claim to fame was as a 16th century Hungarian noblewoman who preserved her youth by bathing in the blood of hundreds virgins. Some say she, alongside Vlad the Impaler, helped spur the story of Dracula and vampires. But even if the truth is less salacious, surely there must be something to it. Perhaps she bathed in some kind of special oil to stay young, and at the same time there were a number of young women who died unexpectedly — and the two things were conflated?

Shelley Puhak makes the case that Elizabeth Bathory deserves no such derision. She maintains that Bathory was a victim of a successful smear campaign during a volatile time in Eastern Europe. Puhak finds primary documents — deeds, letters, court transcripts — to prove that Bathory was not only innocent of sanguine witchery, but that she was targeted by political enemies.

Elizabeth had, at this point, accomplished the end goal of any aristocrat: She had defended and preserved her estates and ensured the continuation of the family line. She had done so alone, despite two wars, the pillage of her lands, and living under constant suspicion of treason. And so that year she allowed herself a little brag:

I, as a widow, with many sacrifices, and with the gracious help of my God, have honestly cared for my three dear children–my two unmarried daughters and my little son. I took care of our goods, provided for the care and education of my children with motherly love… ~Pg. 106

Bathory was a savvy, powerful, wealthy widow. She controlled multiple castles and dozens of towns. She owned things that rivals wanted and had failed to capture by force. They turned to more nefarious means — false accusations, outrageous assertions, and outright libel.

The book is exceedingly well-researched and she makes an excellent argument for her theory. While it’s impossible to prove a negative, but Puhak also shows that there is nothing in the public record to sustain the claims of serial murder on Bathory’s part. No missing girls, no disappearing townsfolk, no suspicious parents seeking help finding their kidnapped children. And she follows with plenty of evidence to string together a case of deceit. It’s compelling, and all too overdue.

My thanks to Rosie at Bloomsbury for the review copy.

Publisher: ‎Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date: ‎February 17, 2026
Print length: ‎304 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1639732152

Beast of the North Woods by Annelise Ryan

from the publisher: An ice fisherman is savagely mauled to death in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, and an eyewitness claims the man was attacked by a hodag. There’s just one problem with that: it’s well known that the creature is not real and was created by a local hoaxer. So how could an imaginary creature be chomping on local sportsmen? 

This series is really good fun. The mysteries are complex enough to be compelling and there is also an element of outdoorsy wonder. This was an excellent addition to the series.

Read via Netgalley.

Publisher: ‎Berkley
Publication date: ‎January 28, 2025
Print length: 320 pages (English)
ISBN-10: 0593816056

The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon

from the publisher: Late at night in a small seaside town, not a single light is on, and everyone is asleep. Or almost everyone: a man, drunk, departs for home after another evening at a hotel bar, where he and a few others regularly gather. Suddenly, he collapses―struck by a gunshot. The victim turns out to be the town’s most successful wine dealer, and the event soon leads to a series of other curiosities: poisoned drinks at the bar, another man found missing, and a dirty yellow dog haunting the neighborhood. Detective Chief Inspector Maigret, who happens to be nearby heading up a mobile unit, arrives swiftly to resolve the growing confusion.

I have only read one other Maigret novel, which I enjoyed quite a lot. I found this one harder to relax into, especially with the innocent dog in peril. The ‘mystery’ is decent enough, but I would not recommend as a reader’s first (or second) encounter with the great detective.

Read via Netgalley.

Publisher: ‎Picador
Publication date: June 3, 2025
Print length: ‎144 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1250391024

Can You Solve the Murder? by Anthony Johnston

from the publisher: One murder. Six suspects. One truth for YOU to uncover.
YOU are the lead detective and it’s your job to investigate the most mysterious crime of your career. There’s been a murder at Elysium, a wellness retreat set in an English country manor. You arrive to find the body of a local businessman on the lawn – with a rose placed in his mouth. It appears he was stabbed with a gardening fork and fell to his death from the balcony above. You quickly realize that balcony can only be accessed through a locked door, the key is missing, and everyone in Elysium is now a suspect… Who did it and why? It’s up to you to figure it out.

It’s part murder mystery and part detective’s workbook. The story is interjected with clues and stopping points to consider. I really liked the idea of it, but I didn’t get very far as the prompts made it feel a bit disjointed to me. I probably wasn’t in the right mindset for it, but I can see if being perfect for the right reader.

Read via Netgalley.

Publisher: ‎Penguin Books
Publication date: ‎July 1, 2025
Print length: ‎304 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎014313888X

The Hidden City by Charles Finch

from the publisher: It’s 1879, and Lenox is convalescing from the violent events of his last investigation. But a desperate letter from an old servant forces him to pick up the trail of a cold case: the murder of an apothecary seven years before, whose only clue is an odd emblem carved into the doorway of the building where the man was killed. When Lenox finds a similar mark at the site of another murder, he begins to piece together a hidden pattern which leads him into the corridors of Parliament, the slums of East London, and ultimately the very heart of the British upper class.

Another beloved series with a new installment. While the setting was rich (as always), the mystery was not as engaging as some. Still, it highlights yet another aspect of a multi-layered and complicated city in a very particular era.

Read via Netgalley.

Publisher: ‎Minotaur Books
Publication date: ‎November 4, 2025
Print length: ‎288 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1250767164

Atlas of Unknowable Things by McCormick Templeman

from the publisher: High in the Rocky Mountains on a secluded campus, sits Hildegard College, a celebrated institution known for its scientific innovation and its sprawling, botanical gardens. Historian Robin Quain has been awarded a residency to examine Hildegard’s impressive collection of ancient manuscripts, but she has a secret. She’s actually on the hunt for an artifact—one she must find before her former best friend turned professional rival gets his hands on it first.

Based on the description, this should be something I devour in a couple of days, but I found myself having a hard time getting hooked. But, I blame my own mindset and not the writing, and I plan to give it another try shortly. Still, I didn’t want it to languish on the list without giving it a shoutout. Perhaps I’ll manage to review it fully in time for the paperback.

Read via Netgalley.

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication date: ‎October 7, 2025
Print length: ‎320 pages
ISBN-10: ‎1250393493

The Killer Question by Janice Hallett

from the publisher: Sue and Mal Eastwood run an isolated rural pub called The Case is Altered where a weekly trivia game has revived its flagging fortunes—that is, until a body is found in the nearby river. Soon after, a mysterious new team arrives and shakes up the diverse field of regulars by scoring top marks in every round…every week. Five years later, the pub lies derelict, and their nephew Dominic is determined to make a documentary about their story. What happened at this unassuming pub? And can a single question really kill?

I’m hardly the only person who is always up for whatever madcap adventure Hallett has planned. Her imaginative plots, revealed in text messages, letters, and transcripts is always fun to read. I do think this was her most convoluted ‘solution’ to date and lacked some of the genuine warmth of her previous novels.

Read via Netgalley.

Publisher: ‎Atria Books
Publication date: ‎September 23, 2025
Print length: ‎448 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1668083531

A spate of new gothic novels, with haunted shipwrecks, frightening hospitals, strange cliff homes and more…

The Salvage by Anbara Salam

Marta is a salvage diver and marine archaeologist, a rare profession in the early 1960s. She has been hired to dive and search a wreck off the coast of Scotland, and assess the feasibility of bringing up some artifacts. The captain was a local hero and his ship was lost as he was returning from an expedition. The small town wants to create a museum and perhaps invite some tourism to their rocky outcropping.

But Marta is being harassed by shadowy figures and her own dark past. Her mission is endangered by townspeople who don’t want the captain’s remains disturbed, by ghosts that haunt her dives, and by the memory of someone she couldn’t save.

Set against the backdrop of Soviet threat and a burgeoning space age, the town finds itself stuck between a thousand years of heritage and the promise of a changed future. It’s murky and slow and deliciously creepy.

My thanks to Tin House Books for the advanced copy. Read via NetGalley.

Publisher: ‎Tin House
Publication date: ‎October 7, 2025
Print length: ‎384 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1963108477

The Graceview Patient by Caitlin Starling

The discomfort in a gothic tale often stems from our inability to escape our bodies. The mind is stuck and has to endure whatever our flesh and bone is subjected to. Margaret is a smart, vibrant person until she is struck by a rare, destructive autoimmune disease. There are only a handful of people ever known to have it. After her diagnosis, she presumes she will see herself deteriorate, painfully, with little ability to slow it.

Then, she is offered a chance to enter a radical clinical trial. It’s incredibly experimental, but she has no other medical options. She is required to live in a residential wing of the hospital, where a special crew of doctors, nurses, and experts will essential destroy her immune system, then rebuild it.

For the first time since her symptoms began, she is believed–and taken care of. Soon, though, she will be gaslit in new ways while in their care.

It’s tense and unnerving–and a bit frustrating to see the protagonist sort of give in. But in that way, it sort of mirrors an infection. Slowly at first, then all at once.

My thanks for St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy. Read via NetGalley.

Publisher: ‎St. Martin’s Press
Publication date: ‎October 14, 2025
Print length: ‎304 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1250340756

The Haunting of Emily Grace by Elena Taylor

Emily Grace is not one to be trifled with. She is an incredibly competent carpenter and historic restoration expert. She can wield a power tool or an antique hand tool with equal expertise. Yet she finds herself on a windswept rocky outcropping of an island, restoring the midcentury modern mansion of a eccentric billionaire with a missing wife.

But with most aspects of her personal life in tatters, she doesn’t have many options. A chance to really put her skills to use, in a quiet location with no distractions would probably help her clear her head. She can add private home of super rich guy to her resume, maybe even earn back a little self-confidence.

Unsurprisingly, odd things begin happening around the house. Wet footprints appear, items disappear, figures appear in windows, lights glow from empty rooms, and townsfolk warn Emily Grace about the missing wife. Still, she tries to keep her head down, to the work bench, and complete the job. Then things get too wild to ignore.

My thanks to Severn House for the advanced copy. Read via NetGalley.

Publisher: ‎Severn House
Publication date: ‎May 21, 2026
Print length: ‎288 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1448318882

World War II is juttered to an end, but deprivations are still palpable. Servicemen are still abroad, rations are still enforced, and supplies are very limited. Yet the New England summer set attempt to keep up appearances, opening their cottages for the season, albeit with a skeleton crew and fewer cocktail parties.

Carol Spencer, at the behest of her Newport-based mother, agrees to open the Maine summer home ahead of the rest of the family’s arrival. Expecting to find some harried housekeepers looking for clean sheets and an overgrown garden, Carol is shocked to discover the dead body of a stranger. She soon learns the hired housekeeper is in the hospital with a broken bone–acquired when she fell down the staircase trying to escape from an unknown intruder. Suddenly the empty mansion is filled with suspicious characters, accusations, snobby relatives, and nosy neighbors.

Carol felt completely confused as she went back to the library. There were things she would have to do. She would have to call Elinor at Newport and ask her to break the news to her mother as carefully as she could. But she dreaded doing it. She could see Elinor’s lifted eyebrows and her angry reaction, as though she–Carol–was responsible. ~Pg. 47

Like an Agatha Christie novel, this has the American equivalent of minor aristocracy attempting to keep their crumbling country estates viable, and ignore the erosion of their once sparkling lifestyle. Carol herself is a sympathetic character, often at the mercy of her snappish, cosmopolitan sister or her intractable mother. Naive, for certain, but also a product of a world that no longer exists, Carol is seen to at least be trying to adapt to reality, rather than fight against it.

As with so many of the mystery novels in this era, the solution is a little bit convoluted (and I’m not sure this one meets the Ronald Knox definition of fair play) but it is a good romp nonetheless. Most interesting to me was how Rinehart really allowed the effects of WWII to seep into the story. No character is untouched–injuries, loss, separation, lack all play a part in their backstories and their motives.

As I write this, I’m just watching the end of The Bat (1959) on Turner Classic Movies, an adaptation of another of Mary Roberts Rinehart’s novels. Reinhart was an immensely popular American author. As Otto Penzler notes in the introduction, in “the years between the two World Wars one of a handful of of the best-selling writers in America. Not a bestselling mystery writer–a bestselling writer. … The only mystery titles that outsold her in those years were Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and two titles by S.S. Van Dine… .”

I’ve enjoyed every Rinehart book I’ve read, for various reasons. They are each an adventure and they deserve rediscovery by literary and classic mystery audiences.

My thanks to Penzler Publishers for the review copy.

Publisher: ‎American Mystery Classics
Publication date: ‎December 2, 2025
Print length: ‎360 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1613167547

But the guests aren’t the only ones at the retreat. There are also six staff members with varied backgrounds and motives (and secrets). Frankie the chauffeur picks up each guest at the train station and starts up into the remote mountain roads as fat snowflakes begin to fall. As their ride gets more precarious, it becomes clear no one is getting in–or out–of the gettogether for a few days.

As I watched the flames leap in the fireplace, listened to the crackle of the burning logs, I reminded myself that nobody had forced me to spend Christmas here. I was a volunteer, not a conscript. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. ~Loc. 1107

The perfect setting for a few people to start dying under mysterious circumstances–and certain suspicious behavior to muddy the waters.

The more I read the descriptions of the fictional Midwinter Trust, the more I wondered if author Martin Edwards visited the same place I did last Christmas. A small rural village, owned and managed by a trust, with amazing food and incredible history. The location mirrors the real Lord Crewe Arms in so many ways (minus the murder and intrigue). I couldn’t help by picture my getaway while reading.

Lord Crewe Arms, near River Derwent

Edwards has taken his considerable experience writing and researching Golden Age of Crime novels to construct one for modern readers. He sets out the game for the reader and lays out plenty of clues. It almost acts as a guide for beginners. The practiced reader probably won’t find much of a challenge in solving the intermediary puzzles. It’s a great way for a new locked room puzzle mystery fan to practice their observation skills.

My thanks to Hartley at Poisoned Pen Press for the review copy.

Publisher: ‎Poisoned Pen Press
Publication date: ‎October 7, 2025
Print length: ‎432 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1464252963

The author has scoured arcane dictionaries, language guides, and encyclopedias to find interesting idioms and items. The entries range from grammatical quirks to the historical usages. He also solves more modern mysteries like how IKEA comes up with item names and lingo used in pizza parlors.

But it is not all nonsensical or silly. It highlights the history of the Cherokee written dictionary, lesser-known weights and measures, and important figures in language arts.

Anne Fisher was the first female English grammarian and one of the most influential of the eighteenth century. She was a teacher, an author, an entrepreneur and an all-round remarkable woman. Her most famous work, A New Grammar, was the fourth-most-published grammar book of the eighteenth century, with over eighteen editions, thirty print runs, and numerous pirated copies. She also published at least six other works and was the first woman to write a dictionary, An Accurate New Spelling Dictionary (1773). Were this not enough, Fisher co-founded the Newcastle Chronicle newspaper, co-ran a printing business and established a girls’ school, which she ran for five years. ~ Pg. 161

Importantly, the format is one that is visually interesting. The pages have small references to other entries as well as vintage-style illustrations. It all hearkens back to an earlier era of reference books. This book is pure joy. Anyone who loves words or weird trivia about language needs to check it out.

Publisher: ‎Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
Publication date: ‎October 14, 2025
Print length: ‎240 pages (English)
ISBN-10: 1668098849

We are one again given a peek at the secret sanctum of the inns of court with capable Gabriel Ward as our guide. Just a few months after Ward solved the Case of Mice and Murder, he is called on once again to investigate mysterious happenings at Inner Temple. As December snows soften the clatter of cobblestones and edges of brickworks, the residents should be getting ready for cosy winter evenings next to the fire. Instead, select members of the bar are the unlucky recipients of horrendous gifts.

First, a severed human hand arrives on the desk of Sir William Waring on Christmas Eve. Then Sir Edward Hopkins receives a foot on the Monday after Christmas. And a toe for Sir Vivian Barton just before the new year. Each is in a plain, brown paper box and delivered directly to the homes of the barristers. The porters recall no unknown couriers or visitors, and a more careful inspection leads Ward to suspect the remains are not new.

Meanwhile, Ward is still working the unusual libel case brought by music hall star Topsy Tillotson. She is determined to sue editors of The Nation’s Voice for printing untrue rumors about her. But finding the man who can prove her case is going to be tricky.

Do the threatening ‘gifts’ have something to do with the accused newspaper reporters? Or are they being sent by someone who wants the man’s true identity kept secret? Or do they have anything to do with the Tillison case at all?

The ancient buildings of the Inner Temple were cauldrons of ambition and dashed hopes and very public successes and humiliations, of resignation and aspiration, of vicious competition and covert kindnesses. Young men came and sometimes left. Gabriel, serenely at the top of his profession for many years now, shielded by Chapman from any administrative demands, resolutely uninvolved with the running of the Inner Temple committees, was not disturbed by these comings and goings and they had made little impression on him. Over the years he could recall none in which there had been any lingering sense of mystery save one. But that one had lingered long in the consciousness of the Temple. Once of their most promising young men. ~Pg. 67

I love the character of Gabriel Ward and have come to find him very endearing. He prefers books and reading and quiet to anything else. He is awkward, though kind, and so has few real friends. His mentorship–and reliance upon–Constable Wright is a lovely thing to watch. The parallel mysteries are well-plotted and well-solved.

This is a very worthy case to add to the series and a perfect cosy Christmas mystery.

My thanks to Maria at Bloomsbury for the review copy.

Publisher: ‎Raven Books
Publication date: November 18, 2025
Print length: ‎320 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1639737170

In the early 1900s, many very smart people were convinced there was life on Mars. Not just some bacteria or algae — actual intelligent creatures that built civilizations on the face of the Red Planet. For a time, Mars and Martians  became all the rage in science, culture, fashion, and literature. The most fascinating part of this mania is that it’s not as crazy as it sounds.

There were dozens of respected scientists scanning the heavens, making notes, and focusing their telescopes. They trained their view on Mars and the scrapes across its face. Percival Lowell, of the Boston Lowells, was a diplomat, mathematician, and Harvard-trained astronomer. He founded the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, prized for its dry, clear air and low light pollution. Inspired by the writings of Camille Flammarion and the drawings of Giovanni Schiaparelli, Lowell sought to make his own stunning discoveries. 

As better instruments allowed for clearing views of Mars, Lowell became more and more convinced that the shadowed lines on the surface were not only canals, but constructed on purpose by an advanced intelligence. Other scientists began to suggest these canals distributed melt water from the polar icecaps and irrigated orchards and crop fields. Philosophers posited a Utopian society lived on Mars. Nicola Tesla himself picked up radio signals from the universe and claimed they were Martian in origin.

Flammarion needed no convincing that Mars might well be inhabited, but even he approached the new theory, and new map, with caution. The planet had a history of planing tricks on astronomers, including Cassini, the famous Italian whose name sat affixed to the street outside. In 1666, Cassini had carefully observed Mars and noted distinct shapes on its surface, then measured how long these features took to rotate out of view and back around into position. This enabled him to calculate the length of the Martian day: twenty-four hours and forty minutes, an estimate that proved remarkably accurate. Remarkably inaccurate, however, were Cassini’s sketches. ~Pg. 71

We know now there are no canals, and certainly no little creatures building them, but there was a time in the early 1900s when America was convinced that it was more than possible. And even as science began to show that these “canals” were something else, the seed was planted in the world’s imagination. The possibility inspired The War of the Worlds, the stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Martian Chronicles, even the cheeky cartoon Marvin the Martian. The genre of science fiction has never stopped traveling to Mars.

This book is a riveting overview of a time when very smart people were spectacularly — and delightfully — very, very wrong.

My thanks to Liveright/W.W. Norton for the review copy. I also reviewed David Baron’s previous book, American Eclipse.

Publisher: Liveright
Publication date: August 26, 2025
Print length: ‎336 pages (English)
ISBN-10: 1324090669

But her anonymous writing retreat is quickly interrupted by her fellow travelers. A man slumps over dead for no obvious reason, and then the train is caught in the snow. What should be a short delay while they clear the tracks becomes an lengthy snowed in stay with no end in sight–and a dead body. Everyone’s fear, suspicions, and panic ratchets up the tension. Weirdly, it feeds Agatha’s inner muse, making her an less-than-sympathetic person to her fellow prisoners.

So many times this year I’d assumed the best would happen and been rewarded with the worst, and you’d think a streak like that would have taught me a lesson. It’s not like I hadn’t been watching the snow for hours, it’s not like I didn’t know what winter could do to best laid plans, but through it all I’d been sure that it wouldn’t impact me, that my plans were important enough that I’d be spared. I thought the tempest was most ferocious right before it waned. Either I was wrong about the order of events of about what I consider ferocity from a storm. The sideways scream blowing snow meant that the windows along my side of the train were soon sheeted in ice and the close quarters we were trapped in got even darker. ~Loc. 968

The book is written entirely from Agatha’s point-of-view, with her impressions and flashbacks embedded. Throughout the reader is expected to consider the reliability of this narrator, all while tracking the unfolding action. The plot takes on the style of a thriller film as it tumbles toward the conclusion. By and large, it hangs together well, and though it makes a close approach, it never makes a jump over the shark.

6:40 to Montreal is a great read for a stormy afternoon–or even a train trip.

My thanks to Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press for the review copy. Read via NetGalley.

Publisher: ‎Poisoned Pen Press
Publication date: ‎October 28, 2025
Print length: ‎352 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1728295726

When Richard Glead is found dead by his wife Linda, no one is particularly sad. It was a known secret that he abused Linda and he was very disagreeable as a neighbor. But Celeste is concerned that her other residents aren’t safe so she hires two of them to act as private sleuths, both for her own satisfaction and to make sure the cops are following up on the leads she thinks are important.

Audrey is a housekeeper, and roommate to a young, hungry criminal attorney. Audrey is quiet but fastidious. She notices things out of place, part of why clean houses brings her satisfaction. Lewis is a grumpy author who rarely leaves his apartment. In fact, he doesn’t even know the names of most of his neighbors–and doesn’t care to. But ever since he has been unable to follow up his bestselling murder mystery novel, he doesn’t feel like showing his face.

it was dark now, and the Victorian street lamps lit the courtyard in circles of orange light. … Today was the first time she’d ever seen Flat 5 Guy up close, and he was behaving oddly. Taller than average, with dark curly hair and brown eyes, she’d have put him in his mid-thirties, yet he was behaving like a child at a theme park. He seemed interested to the point of excitement in everything going on, and kept his phone in his hands the entire time, typing furiously the minute the police weren’t looking. Probably posting about it on social media, or acting the big man on some lads’ text group. He looked the type, in his junior-stockbroker suit and too-shiny shoes. ~Pg. 12

Despite bristling at their differences, the two learn how to work together and understand their strengths while they follow clues, give hints to the police, and try to trap the murderer. The result is a smart, funny procedural. The unlikely detectives are full of earnestness and the neighborhood busybodies are hilarious. Even as the solution becomes clear, the story hangs together and the pieces fit together.

Fans of sharp cozy mysteries with a layer of humor will greatly enjoy this one.

My thanks to Union Square for the review copy.

Publisher: ‎Union Square & Co.
Publication date: ‎April 1, 2025
Print length: 400 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1454958413

Lina has never been one to catch the eye of men. She is, by her own admission, rather plain and disinterested. Her sister is happily married to vibrant author, who she loves to visit and discuss the psychology employed in his murder mysteries. But Lina returns to her home with her patient parents. She had resigned herself to the life of an old maid until she is charmed by a suave and handsome Johnnie Aysgarth.

The two have a whirlwind romance and marry soon after. Lina can hardly believe the erudite Johnny is interested in a plain girl like her. He insists he adores her lack of refined airs that make all the other women the same. But Johnnie’s happy-go-lucky veneer is hiding some dark elements. He is a gambler–who loses more often than he wins. When valuable household items go missing, Lina slowly realizes Johnnie is selling things to cover debts. Worse, she begins to question his loyalty and whether he only married her for her family money.

Not until she had been back at home for over three months did Lina discover that Johnnie was a murdered.
They had been three very excellent months.
Johnnie had been charming to her, completely devoted. Lina, very suspicious at first and fighting instinctively against his charm, had become convinced: Johnnie did love her. He could not possibly have pretended like that. ~Pg. 215

Johnnie’s deceptions deepen–more trips to the racetrack after promises not to, pretending to go to work, and possibly some philandering. Lina struggles with her desire to be a happily married wife (to a charming, handsome man) despite his unsavory behavior. Every time she resolves herself to leave him or cut off his allowance, he somehow convinces her to do otherwise.

The novel is written from Lina’s point-of-view–not in the first person but all the action takes place in her presence and the thoughts are hers. Her suspicions of Johnnie build until she becomes convinced he murdered a business partner and is going to murder her next. Her inability to stick to any game plan, especially once she truly does believe that Johnnie has been lying to her about a number of things, can be a bit frustrating. In the introduction, editor Martin Edwards warns the reader of this: “Before the Fact  is not without its flaws, especially in its portrayal of female characters and behavior… Iles later admitted that he hadn’t quite captured Lina’s personality in the way that he’d hoped…”.

Yet, as frustrating as Lina can be, she is not implausible. She is trusting to a fault, but she is not helpless. She has multiple ways out if she wants them. In this way, the novel is much more of a domestic suspense than a crime or murder mystery. It builds a slow tension that will snap by the end — one way or another.

And though it predates its publishing by 7 years, I couldn’t help but notice the many literary similarities to du Maurier’s Rebecca, not least because of Joan Fontaine’s portrayal of the female lead under the direction of Alfred Hitchcock. Hitch adapted Before The Fact into the film Suspicion (1941) with Fontaine and Cary Grant as the wayward Johnnie. It was a brilliant piece of casting. Who could stay mad at a charmer like Grant? He couldn’t really be plotting to kill his beautiful wife. The film earned Hitch an Oscar nomination and it won Fontaine the award for Best Actress. It is striking to see the similarities and differences in the adaptation. It’s clear which elements of the novel attracted Hitch to bring it to film. Of course the Hays Code limited what could be included in the screenplay, meaning there are significant plot differences in the two.

Before the Fact is a compulsively readable and I’m not ashamed to say I finished it in the wee hours of the morning, anxious to learn the ending. Anthony Berkeley Cox founded the famed Detection Club and I’m glad to have the chance to read one of the masterpieces of the important literary figure.

My thanks to Hartley at Sourcebooks for the review copy.

Publisher: ‎Poisoned Pen Press
Publication date: ‎July 15, 2025
Print length: ‎364 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1464237611

Carolyn has everything set up, laid out in front of her. An approved beau, a supportive father, an expected hefty inheritance, and the dream of a sparkling house on the banks of the Great Lakes. A life fit for a respected socialite and wife. But something doesn’t feel quite right–or maybe it is too right. Before he can officially propose, Carolyn tells her boyfriend that she needs to make a trip to New York City to see an aging aunt. She wants to clear her head and, importantly speak to someone who knew her mother, before she takes the path laid out for her.

In the year 1956, the face of New York City was changing rapidly. Gilded Age mansions made way for skyscrapers. The neighborhoods of townhouses and brownstones grew hemmed in by office towers with reflective glass. One of the proud homes, disappearing into obscurity, is Carolyn’s family’s. It will be listed for sale soon, but as her aunt explains, a Madison Avenue firm has rented it out for a house party–hosted by none other than Alfred Hitchcock.

Images from “Life” Magazine

Carolyn agrees to act as the family representative while the place is being set up and make sure guests don’t make off with the silverware. She is amused to learn they want everything left in its charmingly cobwebby condition–and they want to be visited by a ghost. Much to her surprise, one does oblige. It turns out to be an ancestor.

 Hitchcock was tracking the blue light. He’d seen the glowing girl once more. She’d drifted toward the second-floor stairs, then zoomed right up them, as if carried in a stiff breeze. How was this possible? He followed her lead, pausing to peer behind some drapes. … A plate of cake balanced in one hand, his brain afire with speculation, his was a tippy ship traversing a rocky bay. ~Pg. 158

The party is peopled with special guests like Henry Fonda and Charles Addams (the cartoonist who created the Addams Family) as well as important network executives and sponsor companies for Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Hitch laments that Grace Kelly cannot attend as she leaves in the morning to marry her prince in Monaco. As the evening continues, Carolyn realizes the guest list is expanding to include more ghosts–not all of them related to her. Somehow the party is making the spirits come alive again and they are attracted to the celebration.

Images from “Life” Magazine

The novel somehow balances nostalgic romance, slapstick comedy, family drama, and domestic suspense. There are moments that are genuinely hilarious when the reader can see a mile away what is about to collide. There are also touching memories shared by the ghosts who are still struggling to understand their place in a world that can no longer see them. It’s a perfectly lighthearted Halloween read.

My thanks to Simon & Schuster/Atria for the advanced review copy.

Publisher: ‎Atria Books
Publication date: ‎ October 14, 2025
Print length: ‎ 336 pages (English)
ISBN-10:‎ 1668058731

Ghost hunting has taken a few forms but it has never been far from humanity’s efforts. most civilizations, as far as we can work out, had some version of honoring their dead and coaxing the spirits to a new realm–or to revisit ours. In the modern era, spooks donned white shrouds and appeared at dim séances bringing warnings or messages from beyond. They stumbled around creaky homes and bare ruins, perpetually in search of a missing life.

Alice Vernon looks at our history of ghosts through a social lens: why do we keep looking for spirits, and what does our curiosity say about the living?

What has always struck me is the stubborn inability of early investigators and skeptics to find middle ground. This is so well exemplified by the close friendship, then falling out, of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini. In our digital age, it is simpler to hear stories of theatrical trickery and candlelit dinner parties and decide it was foolishness. But outside of this veneer of slick performance was a dedicated and under-recognized cadre of scientists and philosophers attempting to apply rigorous research techniques to ghost hunting. They saw no reason why it should be treated any differently than the search for a new element or the discovery of a new creature. And they have a point.

The problem is ghosts are inherently unpredictable, making reproducible results (a hallmark of a sound scientific experiment) nearly impossible. Early photography hoped to solve that, at least partially, by creating a permanent record of occurrences, assuming they could be caught at all. 

Vernon decides to research this history as well as pursue some ghosts in our time. She joins hunts, gets certified, and talks to spirit hunters. She admits she starts with a bit of cheekiness, in it for the fun but not expecting much. But the longer she spends with hunters, the more she realizes that is about the living, not the dead.

Ghost hunting, I’ve found, is very much about yearning. It’s a physical, tangible action towards something inherently metaphysical and intangible; it allows us to lessen the gap between the living and the dead, to bring us closer to the loved ones we’ve lost. ~Pg. 111

Vernon uses key points in parapsychological history and research as a jumping off point for each chapter. She uses these topics–haunted houses, séances, poltergeists, ghost labs–to explore their place in the realm of spirit studies and how they contribute to (or degrade) to discourse of ghost hunting.

I absolutely devoured this book in an afternoon and evening. It struck the right balance of academic research, history, and reflection. It doesn’t seek to prove the (non)existence of ghosts. It doesn’t try to convince the reader of anything, other than to show that ghost hunting is more varied and complicated than you ever thought.

My thanks to Bloomsbury for the early reader copy.

Publisher: ‎Bloomsbury Sigma
Publication date: ‎September 2, 2025
Print length: 304 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎139941870X

Before Grantchester, there was Father Brown. And before Miss Marple’s poison pen letter, there was Ethel Lina White. Joan Brook, a lady’s companion, is finally happy. Her friend, a novelist from London, comes to visit the quiet idyllic English country village. Then someone begins sending anonymous letters to its inhabitants, threatening to expose long-buried secrets.

The Rector picked up the letter briskly. It was printed in block letters, on paper of excellent quality, and was correctly composed and spelt. it began with the sentence—“You presumed to sit in judgment on unfortunate women whom you dragged out of the gutter, probably against their own wish, but are you, yourself better than the lowest of these?” It continued in the same strain, each line covered with the slime of insinuation, as though a slug had crawled over the pages.

Central to the intrigue is the Rector, entrusted with so many of the embarrassing confessions of his flock. Many of the unlucky recipients share their letters in hopes he can find commonality as well as offer some assurances that he doesn’t for a minute think the accusations are true. But as the embarrassment becomes fear, and then outright distrust, the Rector asks his friend and amateur sleuth to join him and perhaps solve this mystery for the townspeople.

For me, the fun of this book is less about discovering the identity or motive of the letter writer, and more about watching how the fear and guilt wormed its way through the small town. Characters are worried about receiving a letter, even if they never do, and they become paranoid about the what others will think of them. Of course, everyone is too busy thinking about themselves to truly mount an attack of suspicions against anyone else.

The narrative choice to bring in Ignatius the Rector’s friend, an outsider, is a smart one. He acts as the reader’s guide, learning the villagers and their picadillos. As he himself notes, “I’m in the position of a water-diviner. I hold my twig over buried human nature. And I never know when it is going to twitch.” As are we all in Ethel Lina White’s novel of misgivings.

Thanks to Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced review copy. Read via NetGalley.

Publisher: ‎Poisoned Pen Press
Publication date: March 11, 2025
Print length: ‎352 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1464230498

A writers’ retreat in the French countryside. An adorably shabby manor house with a pool. An amazing chef. And a dead keynote speaker.

After the oddly successful murder and crime festival Berit Gardner helped her Cotswolds village put on, she is looking forward to a quiet getaway. Her dear friend and bookstore owner Emma has concocted this retreat in a French chateau. She invited authors, agents, and publishers in hopes that representatives of various states of the process can connect. To sweeten the deal, she has convinced airport paperback bestseller (and notoriously unpleasant person) John Wright to be the keynote speaker to open the conference. The gambit works, the slate is full. Now she just needs the next ten days to go smoothly.

It was like they were attached by an asymmetrical link where only one of them knew they were connected. She wondered if this was what being a stalker felt like. An intoxicating feeling of power and an all-seeing knowledge. Almost…almost like when you were writing, the few times when it flowed freely. ~Loc. 4150

When Wright dies, slumped in his chair while Berit is speaking, it naturally throws a wrench in the plans. No one is going to miss the guy, but they do need to make sure there isn’t a murderer in their midst. Berit, her trusty editorial assistant Sally, local cops, and even an appearance from Det. Ian Ahmed, try to figure out how Wright died, while still trying to keep the conference on track.

I was eager to read this after Bivald’s Murders in Great Diddling, which I found to be a refreshing take on the English cozy village classic. This outing for Berit was less compelling. It was outlandish and yet somehow less believable. I enjoyed it well enough, but I missed the sharpness that she had at home.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks for the advanced reader copy. Read via NetGalley.

Just Another Dead Author
Publisher: ‎Poisoned Pen Press
Publication date: August 12, 2025
Print length: ‎384 pages (English)
ISBN-10: 1728295793

What fan of crime fiction hasn’t dreamt about a luxury trip on the Orient Express? It turns out it still runs from Paris to Istanbul and it is the setting for Sulari Gentill’s latest mystery novel.

Joe Penvale, successful mystery writer, has just finished his cancer treatment. As a celebration, he and his sister Meredith decide to get a sleeper suite aboard the Orient Express. They also hope it will inspire him to start on his next novel. Steeped in tradition and vintage details, they sip champagne and enjoy five-star service.

A plush upholstered seat takes up one wall. On the opposite wall are curved doors that open to reveal a wash basin, complete with complimentary toiletries. The Art Nouveau veneer in the cabin is a pattern of flowers and swagging at picture-rail height. On the table under the window, a lamp, a platter of hors d’oeuvres, and a silver bucket containing a bottle of champagne chilling in ice. ~Loc. 127

They also get acquainted with fellow travellers. Staying in the next cabin is a French-speaking detective named Napoleon Duplantier with more than a passing resemblance to M. Poirot. On the other side is an unfriendly man that no one seems to have had a conversation with.

The next morning somewhere in the French Alps, the taciturn passenger is missing and his cabin is covered in blood. Presumed dead, a search turns up nothing suggesting he may have jumped (or been thrown) out of the train. The ever-professional crew organize an unofficial task force of passengers with law enforcement or legal backgrounds — which includes Joe and Meredith.

The mystery unfolds well and keeps you reading. The final climax is a little messy but the solution is ultimately satisfactory. The best part is the amateur detecting and the nods to classic train mysteries. Astute readers will recognize hints of The Wheel Spins, in addition to the clear references to Agatha Christie, Patricia Highsmith, and Alfred Hitchcock.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks for the advanced review copy. Read via NetGalley.

Five Found Dead
Publisher: ‎Poisoned Pen Press
Publication date: ‎August 19, 2025
Print length: ‎320 pages (English)
ISBN-10: ‎1464219710

In Georgian London, a widowed Hannah Cole is determined to keep her business afloat. She became sole owner of the confectioner’s shop in Piccadilly after her husband was found murdered. Magistrate Henry Fielding (yes, that Henry Fielding) is investigating his death, and has withheld the proceeds of his estate in probate. She is less concerned with solving the murder and more focused on meeting demands of her suppliers and customers.

Meanwhile, William Devereux introduces himself to Hannah as a friend of her husband. When he learns of her predicament, Devereux dedicates himself to solving the crime, thus releasing the inherited funds. He even shares a recipe for Italian iced cream, making her shop wildly popular, especially among the aristocracy.

The narrative alternates (in long sections) between Hannah and William’s points of view and the character’s voice could not be any more different. While they share the goal of getting her inheritance released from probate, it becomes clear their motives are not entirely the same.

I was still frowning at his presumption when Theo returned. “Mr. Brunsden is come to settle his bill.” She set down a tray of lemon jellies and smiled at Mr. Devereux.

Restraining a sigh, I excused myself. As I passed through the shop, my little jewel box of gilt-edged mirrors and pistachio paneling, I exchanged a few words with my regular customers. Entering the hot, sweet hell of my kitchen, I found Oscar sweating over the pastry table, stamping out almond hearts. Not quite trusting Theo with the shop’s money yet, I told Oscar to watch the counter and to send in Felix to take the goods down to the cellar. Then I smoothed my apron, and walked out into the yard.

Roger Brunsden was resting upon his cane in the shade of the old vine that had colonized my back wall and those of the neighboring yards. His boys trooped in and out of the alley, grunting under the weight of sacks of flour and salt, sugar loaves wrapped in blue paper, boxes of dried figs and currants.

Author Laura Shepherd-Robinson sprinkles these bright gems throughout the novel full of tricks and twists.

I was surprised by some of the outcomes for the characters, which is unusual for me. By the time a novel is winding down, I can generally see where everything is heading.

The story takes the reader to the underground rivers of London, pleasure gardens, a magistrate’s office before the days of a police force. Like the protagonist, she chooses perfect, scrumptious bites and wraps them in beautiful paper and ribbons for the reader’s enjoyment.

My thanks to Atria Books for the review copy. Read via NetGalley.

Publisher: ‎Atria Books
Publication date: ‎August 5, 2025
Print length: ‎304 pages (English)
ISBN-13: ‎978-1668083093

It’s a searingly hot summer in an unnamed year in the English countryside. There’s been no rain for weeks and the river through Little Nettlebed keeps thinning. Nerves are already frayed when a strange water creature is pulled from the dwindling river. The ferryman’s nervousness ratchets up each day as he sees his livelihood creak toward futility. If people can walk across the dry creek bed, they’ll have no use for his ferry.

And then people start hearing the howling, and someone claims to see something unnatural. Superstitions bake and crack in the summer sun as odd happenings continue.

The Mansfields are in mourning. The young women were raised by their grandparents, but now it’s only five girls and an indulgent grandfather with failing eyesight. They’re a bit different, a bit untamed, but harmless. Until one of them is seen transforming into a dog — or was she?

As tensions mount and rumors fly, the villagers attempt to cling to normalcy, but haymaking is dusty and deathly hot, and evenings at the tavern are poisoned by seditious accusations. There’s no doubt the things are about to boil over and the Mansfield girls are going to get scorched.

He had come from up the road where the girls had been walking, but Robin didn’t want to connect the two things. He wanted to exist in murkiness, in the uncertain summer dusk. In that moment, certainty appalled him… . ~Loc. 691

Author Xenobe Purvis pulls from classic stories of witchcraft, morality, and manners. With a characters named Hester (like Prynne), Cassandra (who tries to warn the villagers to tamp down their fears), Anne (like the sensible Bronte sister), and Grace (like the long-suffering servant of the madwoman in the attic), the novel has shades of allegory.

Yet, importantly, it is foremost a well-written story that builds tension through the points-of-view of multiple characters. It is immensely enjoyable in is own right and a reader needn’t catch any of the references to delight in it. The reader sees the accusations ricochet and facts change as they are filtered by varying perspectives. As the inevitable climax inches nearer, the unlikely truth becomes more than possible.

Ultimately, Purvis creates a world where the slightly uncanny makes the most sense.

My thanks to Henry Holt (Macmillan) for the review copy. Read via NetGalley.

Publisher: ‎Henry Holt and Co.
Publication date: ‎August 5, 2025
Print length: ‎240 pages (English)
ISBN-13: ‎978-1250366382

Estella grew up in a mansion on a rocky cliff overlooking the Hudson, but her childhood was hardly a fairytale. Her father was an arrogant man with a violent temper and a habit of discouraging his daughter from following her creative streak. As soon as she is able, she leaves home for college and an academic career that allow her to focus on the literature she loved so much. She ultimately earns a Ph.D. and finds a position teaching high school in Boston. She has carved a small life for herself, but is unexpectedly called back to Rockfell House. When she answers that phone call, she knows her life is going to take a strange new path.

After a short train ride home, she arrives to learn her parents had some kind of argument. Her mother is missing, presumed dead. Her father collapsed soon after their mysterious fight and is unable to speak. When he passes away two weeks later, Estella (E, as she prefers to be called) has just two connections to her old life remaining–the imposing Rockfell House and her beloved nanny-turned-housekeeper Annie. E moves home, takes a position at the local college, and does her best to earn enough money to keep house and home together. With her mother still missing, what little inheritance she might receive is tied up. As E puts together the pieces of that last evening when her parents fought, she finds clues to how her father spent more money than he earned and what might have happened to her mother.

You don’t spend eleven years convincing lions of literature at Yale that you deserve a doctorate, despite your unfortunate femininity, without being dogged. And now I had amused myself by smashing together the images of literary lions and a yappy dog into one sentences, so I was ready to face Annie with a smile. …

The terraces had been spectacular until Annie and I gave up on keeping it all weeded. Like all my father’s accomplishments, his fantastical gardens had started to decay as soon as he wasn’t around to prop it up with money and megalomania. ~Pg. 70-1

She enlists the help of her friends — a librarian, a fellow scholar, a dressmaker, and a young man who just might be worthy — to hunt for clues. The result is a grown up Nancy Drew adventure. It makes for a very fun read. The WWII homefront setting adds another layer of interest.

When your battlefield is a library, paper and ink are your weapons. ~Pg. 140

If there are any weaknesses, it is the author’s habit to rush through pivotal scenes. When we first learn how E’s father is earning dirty funds, the discovery takes place over a handful of lines, with no lead up. It just sort of…happens. This is a pattern throughout the book — important moments not being given enough context, seeming to come out of nowhere.

The mystery is different enough to hold the reader’s attention, but reasonable enough to be believable. The characters are individual enough to make for an interesting story and most importantly (for me, anyway), none of them makes dumb decisions or is useless just to serve the plot. All in all, The Dark Library is a refreshing read.

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for the review copy.

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (June 24, 2025)
Language: ‎English
Paperback: ‎384 pages
ISBN-10: ‎1728293677

Nanami is a 13-year old girl who has found a whole world in books. She has serious asthma and can’t partake in school sports or other activities a normal teenager might. Her father is incredibly protective–it is only the two of them these days. But she is allowed to go to the library after school and it is a wonderful sanctuary for her. There, she discovers adventures like The Three Musketeers and heroes like Arsene Lupin.

One snowy afternoon, Nanami spots a grey figure in the library stacks. He is behaving suspiciously and she determines to follow him to protect her precious library. She notices he is stealing volumes off the shelves but before she can confront him, she has an asthma attack and he disappears into a shimmering portal. But she’s not the only one tracking the thief–Tiger the talking tabby cat appears and the two team up to rescue the stolen books.

As far as she was concerned, there was nothing wrong with a library and cat combination. It was just that when it came to talking cats, it was a whole other story. ~Loc. 274

Tiger leads Nanami to the strange grey land where the stolen books are being destroyed so they can plan an rescue operation. Tiger also brings Nanami to meet Rintaro in his bookshop, familiar to readers of The Cat Who Saved Books. Rintaro hosts them as a base of operations, but as Nanami learns, this battle is only for her to fight.

Tiger shows Nanami how to find confidence in herself, even in the face of immense odds. She finds the strength to defend that which she loves–the books–not just for herself but for civilization. She fights to make sure the books she loves will be there for future readers that might find comfort and enjoyment in them, like she did. Most importantly, she learns that anyone can be a hero, even a lonely, asthmatic kid.

I don’t know how to explain. I guess the best way is to say it is that if I ignore everything that’s happening, I’m going to regret it later. I’ve given up on so many things in my life so far, but I’m not going to give up on this, the thing that matters most. ~Loc. 968

The Cat Who Saved The Library is a worthy volume in this delightful series. The language is simple yet magical. The author creates vibrant, cozy tableaus and adventurous stages for the action to play out in. And though the stakes are high, there is no violence or fatal peril, meaning these stories are great for avid readers of any age. I eagerly await the next installment, and until then, I will be watching for a tabby cat to ask for my help in saving some books.

My thanks to HarperCollins for the review copy. Read via NetGalley

Publisher: HarperVia
Publication date: ‎April 8, 2025
Print length: ‎224 pages
ISBN-10: ‎0063419246

Max Nohl might not quite be a household name, but he is certainly well-known in the diving community. He was a pioneer in underwater apparatus, an adventurer, a treasure-hunter, an inventor, and thrill-seeker. Thankfully, he wrote a memoir that made its way to the Milwaukee Public Library after his death. Luckily, a few determined folks there and at the Wisconsin Historical Society made sure it was published and brought his stories out of the murky depths for readers today.

Nohl sounds like the kind of kid who must have been getting into trouble, but because he wanted play pirates after dark or climbed too high into a tree. As a child, he nearly drowned in a lake (he couldn’t swim yet) and he promised himself he would never be afraid of drowning — because he would invent a way to breathe underwater. He left the Great Lakes and the upper midwest for MIT where he studied the properties of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, pressure, and more, all in effort to understand deep level diving. While there, he befriended another student who had a rudimentary suit and the two went to a frozen Walden Pond to test it. Nohl was hooked.

With the line in my hand, I slid down and hit the wreck in fifty seconds. The water was almost slack and as clear as it had ever been. …It was early in the dive–I had my full time–and I looked over the slime-covered edge into the black hold below and realized with a swelling of excitement that within this hour, God and air compressor willing, I would touch our pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. … The water darkened rapidly as I climbed down the slippery rungs, my six-foot radius of visibility decreasing decidedly. And then, I struck something solid and soon was standing on a firm base. Bending down, I found it was not a ‘tween deck. It was not the bottom. It was not wreckage. I was standing on a huge pile of bottles. ~Pg. 162

Nohl and his friends dove a few wrecks, looking for valuable cargo or safes rumored to be full of cash. But Nohl’s most remarkable contributions to diving were his innovations and experiments. He worked scientists to find possible preventions for the bends (a painful, sometimes fatal, condition when a deep diver surfaces too quickly). He sat in pressurized rooms for days, allowing his body to be a test subject for various methods of depressurization. It was here that they learned mixing gases, like helium, in a diver’s air supply, prevents the bends. 

Nohl also developed an early scuba tank that allowed divers to move freely underwater. Having had his air hose get hung up on wreckage more than once, he knew the importance of this as both an exploratory freedom and a vital safety measure.

He even crossed paths with Newt Perry (of Weeki Wachee and Wakulla Springs fame) and invented some underwater viewing platforms, clear bottom boats, and developed underwater photography equipment. Watch his films online at the Wisconsin HIstorical Society.

Nohl was a very good writer. His stories are vibrant and funny as well as tense. The reader knows he lived to tell the tale but even so, many of the adventures are startling to read about. His composure is astounding but it was also his reliance on science and experience that got him through the crises. After all, he had decided he would never be afraid of drowning ever again.

This book is just so good. It reveals a specific era in American history, when innovation came from the Everyman. Nohl was a character and we are lucky to have his stories, told in his own words. It is a treasure, and one I am thankful the Wisconsin Historical Society decided to share.

My sincere thanks to Wisconsin Historical Society Press for the review copy.

Publisher: ‎Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Publication date: ‎May 20, 2025
Print length: ‎424 pages
ISBN-10: 1976600286

It’s another submission in Kathryn Harkup’s collection of the science behind Agatha Christie. Many of Christie’s devotees are aware that she worked in a chemist’s shop during WWI. They might not realize she was a quick study and learned a great deal about the chemistry and compounding of different medicines. She also grasped the truth of many extracts acting as curatives in small doses, but becoming deadly in larger ones.

from the publisher: Fourteen stories. Fourteen more poisons. Just because it’s fiction doesn’t mean it’s all made-up … Agatha Christie is renowned for her captivating plots and creative ways of killing off ill-fated victims. And what better way to add intrigue to a story than poison? The surreptitious ways they can be administered and the characteristic symptoms they produce make these killer chemicals the ideal method of murder in a ‘whodunit’. Christie perfected the use of poisons in her plots; her deft and varied use of toxic substances is one of her great strengths as a writer.  Combining Christie’s murder mysteries, chemical science and true crime, V is for Venom is a celebration of the use of science by the undisputed Queen of Crime.

Christie’s penchant for poisons would also appear to be ideal for theatre. There is not need to risk accidents with daggers or embarrassment with guns misfiring. … All the action in Black Coffee takes place in the library of the celebrated inventor Sir Claud Amory’s country house. His family and a few visitors have gathered there for their after-dinner coffee. When one character complains of a headache, a box is brought down from the top of one of the bookcases. The box belonged to Edna, a former resident and hospital dispenser (like Christie). ~Pg. 236

Harkup tackles each poisonous substance one by one by choosing a story and explaining its function in the plot. She then gives detailed, scientific explanations of how each chemical works within the body. Harkup also includes examples of real crimes that used the poison that either inspired Christie, or in one known case, saved a patient because the doctor had read Christie’s latest book and recognized the symptoms.

Each chapter is a new chemical, meaning it’s easy to leave and come back to the book. Small doses, remember? Either way, it’s a handy reference for Christie history and stories-as well as poisonous medicine.

My thanks for Bloomsbury for the review copy.

Publisher: Bloomsbury Sigma (June 24, 2025)
Language:‎ English
Hardcover: ‎320 pages
ISBN-10: ‎1399413074

A word of explanation: In London, “inns of court” are professional organizations of barristers (lawyers) and judges. To practice as a barrister in England or Wales, one has to belong to one of these four inns. These are also physical places, with offices, chapels, libraries, dining halls, gardens, and in the past, accomodations. Inner Temple is one of the four inns. 

The odd and particular Gabriel Ward is a fastidious barrister at Inner Temple. He is currently working on a strange case of ownership and provenance for a wildly popular children’s book, Millie the Temple Church Mouse. It imagines a meek mouse that attends services at the inn’s church and practices good deeds. Edwardian parents of a certain class are all too glad to have their children read this instructive book. Of course, it has also greatly increased the number of celebrants at the Temple Church, gaggles of restive kids look for a glimpse of a mouse. Now that there are stuffed mouse toys and merchandising everywhere, a woman has come forward to claim authorship of the book that had been published anonymously.

At the end of his work day, Gabriel is so focused on his case (and what book he will be enjoying that evening) that he nearly trips over the dead body of the Lord Chief Justice of England. In life, he never would have been overlooked. Now, he is stabbed dead, on the floor, and without his shoes – decidedly plebeian. Owing to its ancient rules, and the fact that Inner Temple is even older than London itself, police authorities need permission to enter the grounds. Gabriel’s superiors decide he is the man for the job and give him the task of investigating the crime himself.

Day in, day out, winter and summer, three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, the Temple porters guarded the Inn from the outside world and all its wickedness and manifestations, as set out in the Regulations. Ensconced in their small gatehouse a short way down the lane from the Great Gate, or strolling around the precincts of the Temple, their vigilance disguised by an elaborate show of deference, the porters reigned supreme.

Accordingly, no street music was ever allowed to play there. The muffin man could not ply his trade within the Temple gates, welcome though his wares may have been on a cold winter Sundays. … All idle wanderers and suspicious persons must be barred from entrance and all unknown women must be excluded after six o’clock in the evening. The enforcement of the Temple’s sacrosanct peace prevailed over all other demands. ~Pg. 89

Author Sally Smith, herself a barrister and King’s Counsel, is able to bring a level of verisimilitude around daily life at Inner Temple by researching real figures and cases in the inn’s archives. She recalls in an interview, “When I turn off Fleet Street at night and the gate at the top of Middle Temple Lane closes behind me, I feel I am home in every sense of the word.” 

A few photos I took at Lincoln’s Inn, London, October 2023. The chapel undercroft had recently been renovated and reopened. 

It’s a world that few will ever experience, let alone understand, so this glimpse for the curious readers like myself is very welcome, fictional though it may be. Smith has managed to write a cozy mystery that is still sophisticated. The plotlines are clever and thoughtful. The character of Gabriel Ward is particularly ingenious and I was thrilled to learn this is only the first in a series with Ward at the bar. I can’t wait to visit Inner Temple again.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury/Raven Books for the review copy.

Publisher: ‎Raven Books (June 17, 2025)
Language: ‎English
Hardcover: ‎336 pages
ISBN-10: ‎1639736921

After Emily’s mother dies, she and her husband decide it is time to finally leave the city and make a true life change. They both have good jobs that allow them to work remotely and the pressures of life have really taken a toll recently. It’s time for something completely different-a farmhouse in rural Nebraska.

Neither of them have any farming knowledge, but they won’t need it. It’s only the house and immediate yard that are for sale. The barns and the farm ground will still be managed by the original family, and they are promised they will hardly see them except for an occasional tractor going by.

Emily starts running again, allowing the clear blue midwestern sky and endless horizon envelop her. She starts to learn the dusty roads, rural scenes, and countryside sounds. But then little things stop making sense. She begins using her run tracker to check the distance from the house to the barn, and every time it changes-significantly. At night, she hears music coming from the barn hayloft but when she investigates no one is there. Then she hears the farmers talking about a young woman who disappeared. Voices whisper in her ear, warning her to hide. Whether it’s real or imagined, she sees her chance for a peaceful life slipping away.

The barn was outside my window. not looming in the distance. The haggard wood walls, the peeling paint, they were pressed against the glass pane above my kitchen sink. There was no sky. There was no garden. No sunlight. Only the decrepit edifice. Silence squeezed my skull. ~Loc. 2769

This is a much better than average thriller, with strong storytelling that holds together from beginning to end. The mystery is solid, her unraveling of it is realistic, and if one chooses to believe in spirits, their assistance is unwavering. It’s a creepy and compelling novel that I highly recommend.

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press (Sourcebooks) for the early review copy. Read via NetGalley.

Publisher: ‎Poisoned Pen Press (June 17, 2025)
Language: ‎English
Paperback: ‎432 pages
ISBN-10: ‎1464229163