The fourth HOA mystery debuts next week and it’s already garnering great reviews!
Here’s a few words from Linda on her launch party, and if you follow the link to the great review from Kings River Life, you’ll see a way to enter to win an ebook~ Happy Book Birthday, Linda!
On Thursday, May 1st, I’m celebrating the launch of Beyond the Gates, my 4th HOA Mystery, with First Chapter Bookshop, Ram Cat Alley, Seneca, SC.
If you’re in the area, drop by anytime from 4-8 p.m. Enjoy soft drinks, mimosas, cookies & more. Come early to beat Jazz on the Alley crowds or later to enjoy a side of music with your bookshop visit.
I was surprised and delighted when Kings River Life, an online California magazine, emailed me this terrific review of Beyond the Gates. Here’s the link.
Carla Damron, award-winning author of The Orchid Tattoo, says, “Beyond the Gates is the perfect cozy mystery for readers who crave Southern charm, suspense, and more than a little danger.”
The 9th DI Clare Mackay is a tightly-plotted winner, chockfull of Todd’s twists and page-turning events.
Intelligence indicates a serial killer known as the Choker, who targets gay men, is heading for Clare’s corner of Scotland, St. Andrews. Clare’s team swings into action, with covert actions, undercover work, and long surveillances.
Then a young man is murdered near a nightclub with all the hallmarks of this serial killer. Could Theo Glancy’s murder be connected to the nightclub as his family run it, or is this the newest case of the Choker?
Even worse than catching a new murder case, Clare finds the nightclub is attached to her nemesis, Val Docherty, who has shrugged off previous charges like a duck sheds water. Will this be the time Clare finally gets to see Val behind bars, and if so, at what cost?
This is a tight police procedural, with Clare’s team functioning well under her lead. Her personal life is on smooth sailing, too, until her sister brings her attention to her aging father’s issues. It’s time for Clare to have a few moments of personal reflection, all while searching to stop a serial killer before he strikes again.
Auntie M is a huge fan of Todd’s atmospheric series, gobbling up each installment. If you haven’t found this series yet, reach for it now. Better yet, start with the first, See Them Run, to follow Clare’s personal life. And now I have to wait for the next one…
Auntie M’s 2025 gift to you readers. Happy New Year! And three greats to read:
Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce Mysteries, set in the 1950s, are currently in production in the UK, based on the first in this wonderful series, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. The books are a revelation, and when Bradley created his young genius sleuth, 11 in the first book, he hit on a magnificent creature, at turns smart and wily.
So Auntie M was delighted to find a new adventure for Flavia, now 15, and her prodigious brain growing in leaps and bounds, in What Time the Sextion’s Spade doth Rust. Mentoring her live-in cousin, Undine, described as “odious” and “moonfaced,” Flavia attempts to channel Undine’s potential for trickery to her own uses in her investigations.
This time a former hangman dies after eating poisonous mushrooms, and the de Luce’s own cook is suspected. With her chemistry expertise (something Auntie M admires add wonders how Bradley gets his information), Flavia sets out to clear dear Mrs. Mullet and uncovers some surprising and disturbing truths about her own family along the way. Clever humor balances the darker bits. Terrific.
I recommend Doug Johnstone’s Skelf series all the time and often give one for gifts. This family of three generations of strong Edinburgh women have been through the wringer and keep chugging along, and that is at the forefront of Living is a Problem.
Running a funeral home and private investigation agency from their home, their personal lives become entwined in the stories. Matriarch Dorothy, a skilled drummer, too, tries to help her boyfriend who is suffering from PTSD, when a Ukrainian member of the refugee choir that Dorothy’s band plays with goes missing.
Her daughter, Jenny, is conducting a funeral when it’s attacked by a drone, and Jenny sees gangland interference. She and Archie, their funeral home helper, are becoming closer, despite their differences. And her daughter, Hannah, a scientist, finds her interests changing, while supported by her wife.
This series is consistent, with an uplifting story that doesn’t shrug away from life–and death–yet leaves the reader uplifted and wanting more Skelfs.
Peter Lovesey closes his long-running Peter Diamond series with Against the Grain. The stubborn Diamond has solved more than his share of cases using his wiles and wit, with some surprises along the way.
In Against the Grain, Diamond travels to the country for a holiday with his partner, Paloma, at the invitation of his former colleague Julie Hargreaves. It’s no secret that Diamond is contemplating life after detecting, and he must decide to retire or solider on.
But he’s no sooner in the lovely village of Baskerville when Julie’s ulterior motive is revealed: a horrific accident at a grain silo has resulted in a manslaughter conviction for the dairy farm’s owner, and Julie is convinced that not only was there a miscarriage of justice, but that the real killer is still at large. He soon finds unfamiliar village customs come to the forefront of his days.
Diamond finds himself up to his elbows, literally, in things he couldn’t begin to imagine, that delight readers and perhaps Diamond himself. And uses his experience and his knowledge of human nature to a stunning climax.
It’s always sad to say goodbye to beloved characters, and readers can only hope Lovesey will keep Diamond going in a story or two. A wonderful series amongst Lovesey’s other fiction, Diamond is but one of Lovesey’s creations who linger with readers and deserve to be investigated.
Elly Griffiths has a treat for fans of her all of her series: a collection of stories that feature some of her favorite characters for readers to gobble up.
And what a collection this is! By turns heartwarming (St. Lucy’s Day), to the wry humor of Ruth’s First Christmas Tree, to a modernized Little Women in Castles in the Air. There are stand alones, too, such as Turning Traitor, What I Saw from the Sky, and others.
And we are treated to seeing Ruth Galloway and her Nelson together again for those readers who miss that series (hint, hint Elly!).
Many have tidbits of the history Griffiths sprinkles into her stories that add to them. And there’s even one from the viewpoint of Ruth’s cat, Flint (Flint’s Fireside Tale; A Christmas Story)
Best of all, the final story, Ruth Galloway and the Ghost of Max Mephisto, brings Ruth across the path of DI Harbinder Kaur, her protagonist from a different series, with the ghost of magician Max Mephisto from yet another of her series. It ties them all together, however briefly, for a delightful moment for readers.
Crombie’s 19th Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James was worth waiting for, with The Killing of Innocentsthe new case that starts in a Bloomsbury pub.
Sitting with his DS, Doug Cullen, Duncan notices a young woman wearing scrubs, obviously waiting for someone who never arrives. She leaves, and he is shocked to be called shortly after to a murder scene. The victim is the young trainee doctor he’s just seen, stabbed to death in Russell Square.
With Gemma working on a task force on rising knife crimes, she and her DS, Melody Talbot, aid their investigation, Soon all the familiar characters are in force, and the case takes an unlikely turn with relationships to people Duncan and Gemma know.
At first glance, Sasha Johnson looks like an unlikely victim: career-driven, single, without any history that would connect her to crime. Digging deeper reveals her secrets, but did they lead to her murder?
Then a colleague of Sasha’s is found dead, and the teams scramble to find a connection other than their work site. Could they have a serial killer on their hands? It’s all hands on deck as the pieces are gathered to form a picture of a murderer working in plain sight.
One of the many delights of Crombie’s novels is the way she investigates her setting and brings it to life for readers. Another is her inclusion of the family travails of two working detectives. It all adds to the realistic atmosphere of everyday stresses that must be handled even while investigating a murder.
At its heart, this is a very fine mystery, peppered with human-like characters you’ll want to return to, set within a complex plot that will have readers scratching their heads along with the detectives until the stunning climax.
Kate Rhodes has been a favorite author of Auntie M’s, starting with her compelling Alice Quentin series. Now that’s she’s branched out to her Locked-Island Mysteries, set in the Scilly Isles, Auntie M caught up with the series that features local detective DI Ben Kitto, with the 5th and 6th in this compelling series.
Devil’s Table centers on the island of St. Martin’s, where young Jade and her twin brother, Ethan, are attacked after leaving their shared bedroom at night. Ethan escapes but Jade is nowhere to be seen, and an island-wide search starts with residents and police battling the incessant fog that permeates the island.
Then a body is found in a dramatic, posed fashion, and Ben and his small team scramble to redouble their efforts to find the missing girl, while at the same time searching for a killer amidst the seemingly innocent narcissi harvest. The juxtaposition between the fields of fragrant bulbs, to be picked and flown to the mainland for Christmas and New Years clashes with the tiny community burdened by suspicion.
Having grown up on nearby Bryher, Ben knows most of the people on St. Martin’s, who suddenly become suspects in this baffling murder of a man who is seen differently by people. Grudges held from long ago surface, and he must question everyone, regardless of his history with them.
A tense and gripping plot combine with an atmospheric mystery that make this an instant classic.
The Brutal Tide has Ben looking for clues to a set of old bones found during the excavation for a new outdoor activities center on Bryher, spearheaded by two locals who married and have returned home to complete this project.
Not everyone is a fan of the new center, and as Ben tries to find the identity of these bones, they suddenly disappear, and one of the loudest critics of the project is found dead.
At the same time, a young woman whose father has been a crime kingpin sets up a plot to take out the officers whose information sent her father to prison. Now dying, Craig Travis has constructed this plan for his daughter Ruby with a devious way to take his revenge on those he hates, all from his prison hospital bed.
Ben Kitto, whose undercover past has returned to haunt him with a vengeance, must search for a killer on his home island while he avoids being Ruby’s last victim—all while his partner reaches the end of her difficult pregnancy.
A taut, clever mystery, with a very real protagonist at the heart of this series, makes this a tense and beautifully written mystery.
Rhodes abilities as a poet surface in her lyrical prose and beautifully constructed descriptions and prose; her talents at creating tension have Elly Griffiths calling her “An absolute master of pace.”
Do yourself a favor if you haven’t already discovered the wildly talented Kate Rhodes, and immerse yourself in her wonderful sense of place and character, wrapped in stunningly good crime stories.
Khan’s first in a dynamic new series, BLACKWATER FALLS, is set in Colorado and introduces readers to a fresh new protagonist, Detective Inaya Rahman, and her lieutenant, Waqas Seif.
Young girls from immigrant communities in the area have disappeared over the past months, but the sheriff seems disinterested in pursuing any real exploration of the situation. Then the body of a good student and Syrian refugee is found outside a mosque, hanging in a horrific crucifixion-like manner.
A right-wing evangelical biker group called The Disciples displays open hostility to any newcomer with their threatening attitudes, yet when Inaya and her team try to investigate, their efforts seem thwarted by the sheriff.
When their investigation uncovers links to the other missing girls, Inaya feels that Seif is obstructing their own case. It becomes difficult for her to understand his motives when she’s drawn to him, but she keeps her distance, instead gathering strength and help from her female colleagues. It’s a delicate balance when she doesn’t understand his true motives, which are revealed to the reader as the detectives race against time before another young girl is killed.
There will be connections to art, a layering of different interpretations of justice, with moments of terror balanced by poignancy. It’s a tour-de-force of timely fiction that teaches and educates, as it reflects how easily fears can escalate.
Khan gives us a clear picture of Inaya’s home life, and brings readers a deep perspective to cultural conflicts. She explores different expressions of faith contrasted with prejudices, all wrapped up in a strong and complex mystery.
With a PhD in international human rights law, Khan is the author of the Khattak/Getty series and also the Khorasan Archives fantasies. She has a clear talent for bringing a nuanced sensitivity to complex issues, including racial tension and police corruption.
Readers will be glued to the action and surprising twists, with deep characterizations that add to the tension. This reader is already waiting for the next in this evocative and insightful series. Highly recommended.
Margaret Murphy has a strong history in writing chilling psychological novels. Known for the Clara Pascal, and Rickman and Foster series, Murphy has also written as AD Garrett, and with a partner as Ashley Dyer. All of her books feature realistic characters and chilling plots that will have readers leaving the lights on long after they should have been asleep.
Now she brings DC Cassie Rowan to the page in a complex psychological novel that is tightly woven in Before He Kills Again.
Starting from its powerful opening, readers will be hooked immediately with the powerful image Murphy creates.
There’s a sadist on the loose named the Furman, who targets prostitutes and pretty young woman, terrorizing them then raping and beating them before leaving the victims to be found. DC Cassie Rowan spends her evenings undercover, trying to get picked up by this maniac.
And one night she almost succeeds in catching him, where it not for the incompetence of two of her team members. All the while, she juggles being the responsible adult for her teenaged brother after the death of their parents.
Then someone who’s become a friend is savaged by the Furman. Frustrated, Cassie becomes even more determined to bring this maniac to justice, despite at times feeling sabotaged by her own team.
Alan Palmer is a psychologist with his own fraught home situation. Separated from his wife, trying to mend fences to have access to his young daughter, he has private and NHS patients he’s trying to help, but one in particular has caught his attention. Could this young man be the Furman?
Then someone dies, and all bets are off for Rowan and Palmer, all the while bringing the danger closer to home than they would like to believe. The incidents ratchet up in intensity; someone is losing it, and Cassie and Alan are at the heart of it all.
How these two professionals lives intersect forms the basis for a quick-paced psychological thriller, part police-procedural, all parts skillfully written, that heralds the start of a complex new series from this accomplished author.
James Oswald’s tenth Inspector McLean novel, Bury Them Deep, reinforces why he’s one of Auntie M’s favorites, whether its the newest McLean or in his equally well-written, yet vastly different series featuring detective Constance Fairchild (No Time to Cry; Nothing to Hide).
This time the Scottish detective mixes with a highly politicized operation when he sets out to find a missing administrative member of the Police Scotland team who’s not shown up for work. It doesn’t help that the woman’s mother is a retired Detective Superintendent Grace Ramsey, recovering from a broken hip, but still as intimidating as McLean remembers.
Assigned to the team working on an huge anti-corruption scheme, Anya Renfrew’s disappearance sets off alarm bells. With her access to many of the systems in place that unlock the secrets of Edinburgh’s most powerful businessmen, none of the possibilities look good. With fears Anya may have been bought off for the information she could share, another possibility is that she been silenced to keep her knowledge quiet.
Last seen in ancient hills where the maps are difficult to follow and the stories from folklore imbue the atmosphere, McLean and his team set out to find out all they can about Anya Renfrew, her current life, and her past.
At the same time, just to muddy the waters, an old foe of McLean’s at a long-term psychiatric hospital claims to have information about the missing woman.
It’s a race against time to find Anya as the team investigates a disturbing pattern of other women having disappeared from the same area where Anya is last seen.
One thing about Oswald’s plots: they are consistently creative and bring a new level of knowledge to the reader, as he explores areas most readers won’t be familiar with.
This ability to hit on unique stories, inhabited by a familiar cast of characters led by McLean, all set in the city and surrounding area of Edinburgh, make this a Highly Recommended read.
Within Plain Sight, Bruce Robert Coffin’s newest Detective Bryon novel takes the best of police procedurals and adds an element of reality that others miss in his Portland-set series.
The opening scene is packs a wallop that is explained later but sets this up in a way that lets the reader know this is not your usual killing. The mutilated body of a young woman is found inside an abandoned lumber yard, and soon enough the suspect list is growing.
Det. Byron has his personal struggles but his dedication to his job is unquestionable. He’s acclimating to the first female police Chief Portland has had, stepping through the political hoops of the job he tries to avoid, when he catches a new murder case.
For Byron, this means interviews, footwork, relying on his team members to gather more information, and trying to see the pattern through the evidence. With his instincts for the job highly developed, Bryon often sees threads others miss, and this will lead him to figure out the subterfuge that’s at hand.
The city of Portland comes to life under Coffin’s talented pen. An accomplished realism painter, he applies that same technique to his writing, allowing readers will feel they’re in on the investigation. This is a series that keeps getting stronger and more satisfying. Highly recommended.
@BruceRobertCoffin
Auntiemwrites Crime-Mystery Author M K Graff 