by Barbara the Bibliophage | Nov 26, 2022 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
Red London, the newest Red Widow mystery from Alma Katsu, is set in a world that is both post-Putin and post-Ukrainian war. It focuses on the relationship of Russia’s new (and fictional) government with its oligarchs. And, of course, on Russia’s relationship...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jul 18, 2022 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
Ruth Ware set her mystery, The Woman in Cabin 10, primarily aboard a small luxury cruise ship traveling into the fjords of Norway. Our main character is Lo Blacklock, a socially awkward London-based journalist. She scored a trip on the ship’s inaugural journey from...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jul 2, 2022 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
Upgrade is Blake Crouch’s latest thriller and it focuses on using genetics for good or evil. Main character Logan Ramsay experiences both in the course of the story. As the son of a famous geneticist, he was a tangential part of an apocalyptic genetic failure. As a...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jun 26, 2022 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
Sometimes mysteries are whodunit stories—relatively straightforward missing person or homicide with some thrilling moments and twisty endings. But I read two mysteries lately with just a little more. In both cases, the authors included relevant issues from our...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jun 5, 2022 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
Alan Drew creates a thoughtful mystery with multiple viewpoints in The Recruit. It’s set in 1987 and happens around a small city in Orange County, California. Drew uses a smart approach to his suspenseful story. He’s unafraid to confront the big issues of the day,...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | May 16, 2022 | RELAX: Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, RELAX: Historical Fiction, RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
In A Rip Through Time, Kelley Armstrong creates Vancouver police detective Mallory Atkinson. Mallory is visiting her gravely ill grandmother in Edinburgh, Scotland. The year is 2019. Until one evening when Mallory goes jogging and unexpectedly finds herself waking up...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Mar 5, 2022 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
John Searles creates a captivating and genre-defying story in his upcoming book, Her Last Affair. Skyla Hull is a widowed former nurse who’s losing her eyesight, and might just be losing her mind as well. Her property includes two small houses, and as the book opens...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Sep 9, 2021 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
Steve Robinson taps into the genealogy craze in the first book of his Jefferson Tayte series, called In the Blood. The tracking of family trees is an inherently nerdy hobby. But, especially with the advent of DNA testing, more people are investigating than ever. And...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jul 26, 2021 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
S.A. Cosby is a master of suspense and thrills in his 2020 novel, Blacktop Wasteland. He combines intensity, rapid pacing, and a command of the sentence that boggles my mind. This is a heist thriller, and its action sequences sizzle like hot metal on pavement at 120...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jul 8, 2021 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
Summer is a time to escape, even if you don’t vacation at that time. Around the July 4th holiday, I chose two mysteries as summer escape reading. One is formulaic and the other has some twists at the end that turn typical formulas on their head. Because the author...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jun 15, 2021 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
Viveca Sten starts a new mystery series in Still Waters. Sten is Swedish and thus her story is too. First published there in 2008 and then translated to English in 2015, the Sandhamm Murders series is a sensation. Nine books are available in English, and there’s even...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jun 6, 2021 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
The Maidens from Alex Michaelides is an erudite, binge-worthy mystery. Set in Cambridge, England among ivy-covered buildings many centuries old, it draws from Greek tragedy and mythology. But the murders at the story’s heart are definitely in the here and now. It’s...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Jun 5, 2021 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
Debut author Mia P. Manansala starts a cozy foodie AAPI mystery series with Arsenic and Adobo. Set in small town Shady Palms, main character Lila Macapagal works for her auntie, Tita Rosie. Lila left Shady Palms to attend college in nearby Chicago, but recently...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | May 11, 2021 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
Liz Moore writes a tribute to unconventional motherhood in her 2020 novel Long Bright River. Or maybe my mind is just on that topic with the recent Mothers’ Day holiday. Either way, the story here centers around two sisters, Kacey and Michaela (Mickey) Fitzpatrick....
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 26, 2021 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
When the new book from Jean Hanff Korelitz, called The Plot, arrived on my doorstep, I dove right in. Even though it isn’t due to publish until May 2021, I just couldn’t wait. I have a thing for books about authors and the craft of writing. Especially when, like this...
by Barbara the Bibliophage | Feb 6, 2021 | RELAX: Mystery-Thriller
Danielle Girard introduces readers to Dr. Annabelle Schwartzman, Medical Examiner in a new series. This first book is called Exhume and it includes a variety of themes. First, of course is the world of morgues and autopsies. Second, is the way her role of gathering...
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