Category Archives: detective fiction

The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2025, by John Grisham and Otto Penzler*****

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John Grisham and Otto Penzler have teamed up and compiled a delightful, high-quality collection of short mystery stories to entertain you. My thanks go to NetGalley, High Bridge Audio, and Penzler Publishers for the review copies. You can buy this book now.

All told, there are 20 stories that made the cut, plus a “bonus” story at the end. This mystifies me; why not just say there are 21 stories? Maybe there’s a tradition of only selecting 20. At any rate, I liked all of them except one, which I’ll explain in a moment. They are all well written, and they encompass a wide variety of subgenres. My favorites are “Home Game,” by Craig Faustus Buck; “Only a Story,” by Kai Lovelace; and “Effie’s Oasis,” by Casey Stegman. I had never even heard of any of these writers, so now I have three new authors to watch for. I was not as fond of “Dream Stuff,” by Lou Manfredo, but that’s because I dislike noir mysteries for the way that women are disrespected. Here’s an example: “Mary Lou, my previously noted overpaid secretary, poked her cute little head into my office…” and it goes on in that vein. I haven’t deducted anything from my rating, because I know that the aspects that I find problematic are part and parcel of noir mysteries, and so I can’t see penalizing this one author in the collection, or Grisham and Penzler, when I know that there are a considerable number of readers that love these stories, and not all of them are men.

One other minor irritation is that I was provided with both the digital and audio versions of the galley, but the stories aren’t in the same order in both books, which led to a fair amount of panicked flipping around my digital copy to try to match up with the story being read. If they’re going to edit the order in one format, I’d appreciate it if they would do it in both so that they match; hopefully this is straightened out in the finished copies.

 But while I’m talking about the audio version, I should also mention that the readers, Marnye Young and Jamie Renell, are top notch. There’s a great deal of dialogue in most of these stories, and they are both pitch perfect in reading the characters’ voices.

Whether you prefer a print or digital copy to read with your eyes, or an audio book that can follow you around while you do other things, you can’t go wrong with this collection. Highly recommended to all that enjoy the genre, and perfect for Halloween.

In the Time of Five Pumpkins, by Alexander McCall Smith*****

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In the Time of Five Pumpkins is the 26th installment of the #1 Ladies’ Detective Agency mysteries by Alexander McCall Smith. This is hands down my favorite cozy series, and it may very well be my favorite series, period. Precious Ramotswe is our chief protagonist and owner of the business, and her easy-going manner with others and her capacity to smooth over a difficult situation are a breath of fresh air. Of course, Precious is fictional, but she feels real to me. I feel as if I have known her for decades, which in the literary sense, I have. My thanks go to NetGalley and Random House for the invitation to read and review. This book is for sale now.

As with all of my best loved, long-running mystery series, the joy of reading is only partly to do with the mystery. In fact, I almost think Smith could forget to include a mystery and I might take a good long while to notice; I enjoy greeting the continuing characters that I haven’t seen in some time. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, who is married to Precious and runs a garage in the same building where Precious has her office; Mma Potokwane, Precious’s “traditionally built” best friend, who runs an orphanage and always has fruitcake ready when Precious visits; Charlie, the formerly bumbling mechanic who is shaping up nicely as a part time detective trainee; and of course, Mma Makutsi:

Employees who leave it to their employers to promote them may have a long time to wait, but this was not the fate of Mma Makutsi. She had somehow managed to promote herself, first to the role of senior secretary, then without discussing the matter with Mma Ramotswe, to assistant detective, associate detective, associate director, co-director and so on, to the position she had most recently chosen for herself—executive president for development. This was a novel description and had rather puzzled Mma Ramotswe.

Passages such as this one leave me gasping! How many of us, in a similar situation, would allow someone that we had hired to give herself such exalted titles? It’s both bizarre and preposterous. But there’s never a question of salary; no matter what she calls herself, Mma Makutsi makes the same money as before, and no one here is making very much.

The stories usually have more than one thread, and so it is with this one. A woman arrives from the States to meet someone that turned up in her ancestry search, and the agency is hired to help her find them. At the same time, another case involving marital problems, though not the usual sort, is presented. And a third thread has to do with a shady character that has befriended Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. Before all is said and done, Charlie has a “Clovis Anderson moment,” which has been a long time coming, and J.L.B. Matekoni saves his creepy new friend from a “government crocodile.”

This is a series that never gets old, and perhaps because the excitement is ramped up just a tick in this one—not too much, we do want to keep it cozy, after all—it may be my favorite so far. Highly recommended to all that love the genre.

Clete, by James Lee Burke*****

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Mortality is mortality. It comes to you when it’s ready. We don’t set the clock.

The Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke is one of the finest ever written. As the faithful know, Clete Purcel is Dave’s partner in whatever he does. Once they were cops that called themselves “The Bobbsey Twins from Homicide.” (You probably need to be a boomer to get the reference.) Now they are on their own, but they are still like family to one another. This is the 24th in the series, and it’s the first to be told from Clete’s point of view. It’s a brilliant idea for two reasons: first, because Clete is a well written and wildly popular character, and also because it gives us a chance to see Dave through someone else’s eyes, someone that loves him, but isn’t him.

My thanks go to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the invitation to read and review, along with my profound apology for being so very late. This book is for sale now.

In this installment, a new drug ring has come to Louisiana, and it’s creating still more violence, more death, and more crime in general. Clete, who is now a private detective, is hired by a woman named Clara Bow. (If the name rings bells, it’s because the real Clara Bow was a famous movie star from the silent film era.) The Clara that hires Clete wants him to look into the activities of her skeevy ex-husband. Once he begins, we hardly have enough time to breathe. Clete hits the ground running, and there are no slow passages till the book concludes.

My favorite passages are the ones in which a woman named Chen, whom Clete rescues, then falls for, tells him how he appears to her. Here’s one: “You always gentleman, Mr. Clete. Your cats sleep on your face and you no mind. The world kill men like you because you brave and you kind.”

Later, Chen promises him that she won’t go back to taking drugs. “That because I go to a meeting every day with the Work the Steps or Die Motherfucker group. The Motherfuckers are very nice.” He advises her not to use that term in public. Don’t you love it?

Like every book in the series, this one moves seamlessly from scenes with quirky characters and dark humor, to glorious literary passages that I have to read more than once just to admire the writing, to passages that are gritty and violent and occasionally terrifying. Let me put it this way: you will never be bored.

Can you dive in mid-series? I did; then I became so enamored that I went back and read all the rest of them.

Highly recommended.

Apostle’s Cove, by William Kent Krueger****-*****

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Apostle’s Cove is the 20th novel in the Cork O’Connor mystery series by William Kent Krueger. The series takes place in a fictional town of Aurora, Minnesota near an Indian Reservation. Most of the characters are all or partly Ojibwe (also known as Chippewa, or Shinnob). Apostle’s Cove is an area with spectacular views, and it is home to the malign widow of an enormously wealthy man, who built a mansion there.

My thanks go to NetGalley and Atria Books for the review copy. This book is available to the public now.

This story commences with Cork receiving a call from his son, Stephen, who’s working with The Great North Innocence Project, an organization that helps people that have been wrongly convicted. Cork is a restauranteur and private detective now, but Stephen tells him that during his time as sheriff, Cork sent an innocent man to prison. For 25 years, Axel Boshey has been serving out a lifetime term for a murder he didn’t commit. He confessed to it in order to shield the person he thought to be the actual killer. Now Stephen wants Cork to go back, untangle the mess, and get Axel out of lockup.

The story—and the series—is helped considerably by its appealing recurring characters. The two most compelling ones are the very oldest—Henry Meloux, an ancient wise man that lives in the forest and counsels those that seek his help—and the very youngest, the seven-year-old grandson affectionately known as Waaboo, a child with supernatural powers to whom the spirits speak.

Halloween is fast approaching, and there is great excitement as the small community prepares for it. Waaboo is excited, yet also troubled. The Windigo, a cannibalistic spirit, is nearby, and it’s hungry. It isn’t here for Waaboo, but nevertheless, he is disturbed by it.

The story is complex and, in most regards, believable. I read multiple books at a time, but while I read this one, the others became sidelined much of the time. This series is reliably well written and entertaining, and so it is with Apostle’s Cove.

Can you jump in mid-series? I did. I began reading it with the 18th in the series. Whereas it’s more fun once you recognize the characters, there’s nothing that will confuse a new reader.

Highly recommended to those that enjoy the genre.

Overkill, by J.A. Jance*****

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Overkill is the 18th book in the Ali Reynolds series. Ali and her husband, B. Simpson, run a cybersecurity firm. This mystery features two parallel problems. The first is when B’s first wife, Clarice, is accused of a murder that she didn’t commit. B. wants nothing to do with the problem—or Clarice—but Ali is convinced that she should look into it. The second problem is that Cami, the young woman that works for Ali and B., is being stalked while on a business trip. Both problems create a tremendous amount of suspense for the reader, and Jance is an expert at juggling many threads and details without dropping anything, while making the story clear enough that the reader can keep track. I enjoyed this book a great deal, and it’s for sale now.

My thanks go to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the review copy.

One of the things I love most about reading a J.A. Jance mystery is the feminist mojo she brings to every book. It’s subtle and built into the plot, rather than reading like a manifesto, but her sympathies toward working women, both professionals like Ali, and humble housekeepers such as the woman accused here, is manifest. It’s not an unusual mindset to encounter in a novel these days, but Jance has been doing it since long before it was common. In addition, her pacing never flags, and I don’t get confused by her plot lines, even when there are a good number of characters to track.

This is the first time I’ve used an audio version to read any of Jance’s books; I had fallen behind a bit, so I checked out the audio to keep me company on a road trip. Karen Ziemba does a fine job with the narration. I highly recommend this book to those that love the genre; you can read it as a stand alone if desired.

May the Wolf Die, by Elizabeth Heider***-****

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“Sometimes, killing is necessary.”

Elizabeth Heider is a scientist with a long, impressive track record. Now she has published her first mystery, May the Wolf Die, as well, proving that some of us can wear multiple hats very well indeed. My thanks go to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the invitation to read and review. This book is for sale now.

Our protagonist is Nikki Serafino, an investigator living in Italy. She’s out in her boat one day when she finds a man’s corpse, and from there we venture into local organized crime.

The mystery itself wasn’t as engaging as I had anticipated, given the buzz, but there are a few laudatory aspects nonetheless. First, Heider is a scientist, and often when someone is a specialist in some other field, they info-dump so much data into their novel that it loses its sheen. Heider’s restraint here is admirable. The unusual characteristic of the corpse, which I won’t disclose, appeared to be a gimmick that would take over the story, but it wasn’t and didn’t. The ending was solid. But the best and most important feature, the thing that elevates this mystery from three stars to four, is the punchy yet tasteful manner in which Heider deals with sexism and violence against women in the military. There are a couple of stand up and cheer moments that made me sit up and take notice.

This is a debut novel, and a promising start for Heider. I wish her well in her new career.

The Children of Eve, by John Connolly*****

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If Stephen King and James Lee Burke had a baby—an unnatural one, of course—it would probably look a lot like John Connolly. Connolly has a genius for creating tales that take place on Earth, and are in most regards realistic, while adding elements of the supernatural that go well beyond magical realism. There’s the mystery, and there’s the horror, and if we’re reading a Charlie Parker mystery, we cannot have one without the other, nor should we.

My tremendous thanks go to NetGalley and Atria Books for the review copy of The Children of Eve, the 22nd Charlie Parker mystery. This book is for sale now.

The story commences when Charlie is contracted to find and protect a man named Wyatt Riggins, who has disappeared. Riggins has thrown in his lot with some baddies, and may have bitten off more than he can chew. As Charlie—and we—pursue Riggins, we learn of some seriously nasty skullduggery that’s afoot involving international art thieves. Added to the mix are four missing children, believed to have been kidnapped. There’s not a single slow moment as Charlie tracks Riggins, and we see, through the third person omnipotent, the manner in which these thieves have fallen out, and the trail of bodies that are left in their wake. This is grisly business, and not for the squeamish, although I will say that some horror and hardcore detective novels do go places that I can’t, but Parker novels always manage to stay just inside my own boundaries.

Recurring characters Angel and Louis, perennial favorites, return briefly. At one point, Parker has been roughed up and is in the hospital. Angel and Louis have been listed as his next of kin, and they seem unlikely nurturers. While guarding Parker’s room, for instance, Louis amuses himself by making those that pass by him nervous. And when he is discharged on the condition that he not be alone for the next 24 hours, Angel and Louis make the doctor uneasy as well. She asks Parker whether he has “any other friends? Any at all?” I would have loved to see more of these two, but perhaps Connolly is keeping them in the shadows, lest they grow stale. That’s hard to imagine, but no other reason makes sense. I also enjoyed the brief glimpse of the Fulci Brothers, hired (but not brilliant) muscle men that resemble “bears in green leisure suits.”

Perhaps the most disquieting aspect of this novel—scratch that, not “perhaps”—is the development of Connolly’s dead daughter, Jennifer, who has come to him periodically and watches over him. I won’t say anymore about that, but I finished this book 2 days ago, have been reading several other books, and yet I can’t get Jennifer out of my head. For those that love gritty detective novels, and for those that are drawn to things that go bump in the night, this book, and this series is strongly recommended.

Murder in an English Garden, by Carlene O’Connor***-****

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Murder in an Irish Garden is the eleventh in the Irish Village mystery series by Carlene O’Connor, but I haven’t read any of the earlier books. My thanks go to Kensington Books, RB Media, and NetGalley for the review copies; this book is for sale now.

I was drawn to this book because it features three of my interests: mysteries, Ireland, and gardening. On the downside, it’s definitely a cozy mystery, and I am generally not a fan of cozies, except for the ones that have a bit of an edge, the sort that make true cozy readers complain. I mention the latter because for me, this felt too sedate; on the other hand, true cozy fans may find it is just about right for them.

The premise is that the annual gardening contest, which features a significant cash prize and a great deal of prestige, is about to take place. The village’s most serious gardeners have spent considerable time, effort, and money preparing their gardens for the event, but then one of the displays turns out to have a corpse inside it; the body is that of an entrant who isn’t from the village, an outsider who’s using the competition as a stepping stone to get her admitted to another contest that has a massive cash prize. Cassidy Ryan, the outsider, has been murdered. Village cops Siobhan and Macdara, who are a married couple, are tasked with solving the crime.

As the story opens, we find the two cops—called garda—in a marital dispute, and our protagonist, Siobhan, has an internal monologue that switches back and forth between murder and her pique at Macdara. I felt the latter was overdone, but I also wonder if I had read some of the earlier books, whether I would be more invested in their romance. Of course, they eventually resolve their dispute, and they crack the case.

I was lucky enough to have access to both the digital and audio versions. This proved to be even more helpful than usual, as I was able to hear the story through the delightful Irish brogue of reader Caroline Lennon, and at the same time, I learned the pronunciation of a few common Irish names that I’d only seen in print until now. Between these things and the fact that the narrative is linear and lends itself to the audio format so beautifully, I recommend that interested readers select either the audio alone, or a combination of both. I read multiple books at a time, and because it is easily followed, it’s the story I have chosen to hear while driving.

The characters felt poorly developed to me, with external qualities—this gardener loves goats, that gardener is formal and rather picky—serving as the only development that I found. I would have liked to see some dynamics, and some agreeable qualities for the deceased included. There was almost nothing about gardening, which would have been fine, had there been character development, but alas.  For this reason, I rate the digital version 3 stars, but for the reasons mentioned earlier, the audio version is elevated to 4 stars.

Murder at Gull’s Nest, by Jess Kidd*****

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Nora Breen has sprung the coop, run away from her home of the past thirty years and come to Gull’s Nest, a rooming house near the sea. “Gull’s nest is that sort of place, isn’t it? Where the dreamers and schemers wash up.” And indeed, that’s our Nora. “A washed up nun…An abandoned friend. Flotsam and jetsam.”

Murder at Gull’s Nest is the first mystery in a series by one of my favorite novelists, Jess Kidd. I’m grateful to NetGalley and Atria Books for the review copy. This singular story will be available to buy in the U.S. April 8, 2025.

Nora is indeed a former nun; she’s shed her holy orders along with her tunic and scapular; she’s asked Christ for a divorce. Now she’s middle aged, and dressed in whatever castoffs were available when she departed. She has very little money, and is appalled at what inflation has done to prices between the time that she entered the monastery and the present day. Her first order of business now is clear, regardless: she must find her beloved friend Frieda, who left the order, came to live at Gull’s Nest, corresponded faithfully, then apparently dropped off the surface of the earth. If she’s alive, Nora will find her; if not, Nora will find her anyway.

She settles into the rooming house, and as she gets to know the other boarders, we get to know them along with her. The owner is a stickler for rules, and the cook and housekeeper—one person—is a tyrant. The food is dreadful! Nora resolves to float along beneath the radar for a bit, get the lay of the land before she does any obvious snooping about. However, since this is a murder mystery, someone dies while she’s still getting her bearings. And in time honored tradition, she irritates the very bejesus out of the local law man, Inspector Rideout, who is still deciding whether this death is due to murder at all.

“’I am not yet investigating a murder, Miss Breen.’

“’Are we not?’

“’No, I am not.’”

Don’t ask me to give away anything else about what happens here, because I won’t. I will tell you, however, that it crackles. Jess Kidd writes everything well: internal monologue? Check! Dialogue? Check! Denouement? Check, check, check!

Get this book and read it. You won’t be sorry.

The Maid’s Secret, by Nita Prose****-******

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Molly the Maid is back for the third installment of Nita Prose’s excellent and wildly successful series. My thanks go to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the review copy. This book will be available to the public April 8, 2025.

As in the first two books, we find Molly employed at The Regency Grand Hotel; she’s been promoted to Head Maid as well as Special Events Manager. She is engaged to chef Juan Manuel, a lovely fellow that helped fill the void in her life when her beloved Gran died. But everything changes when Brown and Beagle, art appraisers famed for their reality television program, come to do a show at The Regency Grand. Along with all of the “polishing to perfection” that is necessary for such a massive event, Molly decides to bring a few of her late grandmother’s trinkets along; you never know, maybe one of them will be worth something.

Oh, it most certainly is!

Once her rare and valuable object becomes public knowledge, Molly’s life changes completely. She no longer has privacy, which she holds dear; strangers are constantly in her face seeking autographs, and the press won’t leave her alone. Meanwhile, we are apprised of the circumstances leading up to this startling discovery. Gran comes to us from beyond the grave—so to speak—in the form of a diary that Molly didn’t know she kept. Chapters in this book alternate between the present day in Molly’s life, and the past, as told in epistolary fashion by Gran.

I wasn’t a big fan of this method, and I’m still a bit ambivalent, which is where the half star off the rating went. It seems like a lazy way to go about telling a story. However, if an author must use this method, it’s hard to imagine it being done better.

Of course things don’t go smoothly following the discovery of the heirloom; if they did, then there would be no novel. But I will leave the conflicts and resolution to the reader to discover.  As for me, I found the series of events, and the ending, believable enough for our purposes, and I enjoyed the story greatly, despite my misgivings about Gran’s storytelling method.

Recommended to those that enjoy the series; this book may be read as a stand-alone, but will be better enjoyed if you can read the first, second, or both earlier books first.