Auntie M has been back to reading up a storm this summer and over the next posts, I’ll give you a my top picks for readers who won’t be disappointed in any of these choices. Each of these authors are a joy to read and these top four are all highly recommended.
Any novel by Elly Griffiths is a cause for celebration, whether it’s from her series with Det. Harbinder Kaur, her Brighton Mysteries, or her Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries (which I live in hope she will resurrect at some point in the future).
But as a writer I understand the desire to explore new characters and situations, and The Frozen People is as unexpected as it is suspenseful. She introduced cold case officer Ali Dawson, whose new assignment is to literally head back to the Victorian era to clear the name of an ancestor of a Tory MP.
Ali soon becomes involved seeking a group called The Collectors, whose membership required killing a woman. Under Griffiths skillful pen, 1850 London comes alive, and as a new body is found, Ali finds her cover almost blown and her life in danger. And just how is she meant to return to the present?
It’s a neat concept carried out to perfection, filled with Griffiths trademark eccentric characters and sly humor, as creative as it is imaginative.
Billingham’s much-awarded series featuring Tom Thorne is always chock full of surprises and no more so than in his newest offering, What the Night Brings.
Always a master at plotting, Thorne and DI Nicola Tanner are thrust into a nightmare of epic proportions, when a box of donuts given to four officers at a crime scene by a “thankful” member of the public poisons them all. Three die soon after, with the fourth hanging on to life.
Who is the intended victim? Or is it a swipe at all police? Thorne and his team must delve into each of the officer’s lives, treading a fine line with the grieving families of the officers involved.
But this soon turns out to be only the first the attacks on police, leaving everyone scrambling to make connections that don’t seem to be there. Could the reason lie deeper in a betrayal?
Thorne’s partner, Helen, makes an appearance, as does his pathologist friend saddled with the post mortem, Phil Hendricks, bringing a feel of normalcy to this completely shocking tale.
Billingham is a master of twists but even seasoned reader Auntie M was shocked at the turn of events. You won’t be able to put this one down.
Every Michael Robotham novel Auntie M has read has surprised and moved me in unexpected ways, and I’ve read and recommend them all: The wonderful Joe O’Loughlin series, The Cyrus Haven series, ad several standalone. So it’s no surprise that his newest series featuring London PC Phil McCarthy is an instant favorite. Debuted in When You Are Mine, the daughter of a crime boss is constantly fighting preconceptions of her team against that of her family.
When Phil discovers a child wandering alone at night in her PJs, she will uncover that tough realization that the child has been a witness to a deadly home invasion. At the same time a jeweler found in his store, strapped to a an explosive vest, is found to be tied to the child.
And soon ties are also discovered to Phil’s family, setting up a tense situation that will test her loyalties and her career. It’s a tight plot with plenty of action as things turn and unravel, with Phil at the center of it all.
One of the hallmarks of Robotham’s book is his ability to create characters readers will care about, and this is no exception. Grab yourself a copy.
Who isn’t a fan of the creative Anthony Horowitz? His Susan Ryland series has been adapted into a wonderful television series he also writes, and Marble Hall Murders is the third in that series, rumored regrettably to be the last.
Susan has decided England is where she must be planted and is working as a freelance editor for a publisher when she’s handed her worst editing nightmare: someone has written a continued of the Atticus Pund series that got her into her prior troubles.
It doesn’t help that the author, Eliot Crace, quickly annoys Susan, but she concedes his book has merit–until she realizes he’s hiding clues in it about the death of his grandmother, who he is convinced was poisoned.
As Eliot’s behavior becomes more and more unstable, a murder makes Susan the prime suspect.
Please welcome Melissa Westemeier, whose second mystery in her Nun the Wiser Mysteries, DROPPED LIKE A BAD HABIT, debuts today!
Millennial women have crept into the cozy crime scene (we see you, Mabel Mora and Lila Macapagal), but what of their male counterparts? MIA for the most part, but you CAN find one in the Nun the Wiser Mysteries! Detective AJ Lewis gives Sister Bernadette Ohlson the assist—and occasional redirection—as they work together to solve murders in Old Habits Die Hard and Dropped Like a Bad Habit. When I started writing the series, I decided to base AJ’s character on my oldest son, which meant creating a man considerably younger than the male characters populating most modern mysteries.
Bernie’s former student, Andrew John Lewis, is 28 and he bears the characteristics of his generation’s counterparts. Tech-savvy? Check. Like everyone else his age, he’s got a smart phone and knows his way around the office computer system. AJ’s also an avid gamer and technology dominates his lifestyle. A typical weeknight involves ordering dinner delivered through the app on his phone before settling on his couch to play Red Dead Redemption II or Cyberpunk 2077 on his Xbox. He uses technology at work, for commerce, to stay connected with people, and to get his information.
Sensitive to female (and other) counterparts? Indeed! AJ’s partner, Taylor Jones, is a woman, as are many of his colleagues. Women in AJ’s world aren’t relegated to secretary-getting-coffee or femme fatales. Older generations engaged in intersex battles, but millennials view each other through a lens of greater cooperation. AJ’s not quite as prone to making snap judgements about people’s character based on gender stereotypes…or other stereotypes for that matter. His partnership with Bernie develops with huge respect for each other’s skill sets and appreciation for what it takes to work intergenerationally, which involves enormous amounts of patience and a sense of humor on AJ’s end!
Socially engaged and health-conscious? You betcha! By the end of Old Habits Die Hard, AJ’s ready to lace up a pair of running shoes and get himself in better physical shape. In Dropped Like a Bad Habit, he’s gained speed, endurance, and an improved resting heart rate through his dedication to eating healthier and getting regular cardio workouts. AJ’s social life is a mashup of family time with his parents and sisters, gaming online with his college roommates, and listening to local bands and catching a couple beers after work with colleagues. He’s single (typical), but not quite ready to rely on dating apps to find love (atypical).
Our star detective is a budget-savvy single man living in a one-bedroom apartment. He prefers investing in a little fun over home ownership. He’s also nostalgic. His soft spot for the past is common among millennials, and AJ steeps himself in fantasy worlds like Star Wars and Marvel comics to escape the turbulence of everyday life. Since childhood he’s enjoyed the heroic tales of superheroes and fantasy worlds and continues to as an adult. There’s always a new Marvel or DC movie coming out, endless spin-offs to stream, and new twists on beloved universes to keep him entertained.
A few faces come to mind as I generate a dream cast for the Nun the Wiser Mysteries. Ironically, my first picks to play AJ Lewis both played Spider-Man on the big screen, which is pretty cool since AJ LOVES Spider-Man. I can picture Tom Holland or Andrew Garfield taking the role, both have a lean, lanky build and gorgeous thick brown hair. Joseph Gordon Levitt would also fit the bill nicely. I can picture him sitting at a desk in the Eugene Police Station and giving the Boba Fett bobblehead a tap before logging into their laptop. To a man, Tom, Andrew, and Joseph are as wholesome and good-hearted as AJ, our millennial detective thoughtfully considering the evidence to solve murder cases with Bernie in the Nun the Wiser Mysteries.
Millennial women have crept into the cozy crime scene (we see you, Mabel Mora and Lila Macapagal), but what of their male counterparts? MIA for the most part, but you CAN find one in the Nun the Wiser Mysteries! Detective AJ Lewis gives Sister Bernadette Ohlson the assist—and occasional redirection—as they work together to solve murders in Old Habits Die Hard and Dropped Like a Bad Habit. When I started writing the series, I decided to base AJ’s character on my oldest son, which meant creating a man considerably younger than the male characters populating most modern mysteries.
Bernie’s former student, Andrew John Lewis, is 28 and he bears the characteristics of his generation’s counterparts. Tech-savvy? Check. Like everyone else his age, he’s got a smart phone and knows his way around the office computer system. AJ’s also an avid gamer and technology dominates his lifestyle. A typical weeknight involves ordering dinner delivered through the app on his phone before settling on his couch to play Red Dead Redemption II or Cyberpunk 2077 on his Xbox. He uses technology at work, for commerce, to stay connected with people, and to get his information.
Sensitive to female (and other) counterparts? Indeed! AJ’s partner, Taylor Jones, is a woman, as are many of his colleagues. Women in AJ’s world aren’t relegated to secretary-getting-coffee or femme fatales. Older generations engaged in intersex battles, but millennials view each other through a lens of greater cooperation. AJ’s not quite as prone to making snap judgements about people’s character based on gender stereotypes…or other stereotypes for that matter. His partnership with Bernie develops with huge respect for each other’s skill sets and appreciation for what it takes to work intergenerationally, which involves enormous amounts of patience and a sense of humor on AJ’s end!
Socially engaged and health-conscious? You betcha! By the end of Old Habits Die Hard, AJ’s ready to lace up a pair of running shoes and get himself in better physical shape. In Dropped Like a Bad Habit, he’s gained speed, endurance, and an improved resting heart rate through his dedication to eating healthier and getting regular cardio workouts. AJ’s social life is a mashup of family time with his parents and sisters, gaming online with his college roommates, and listening to local bands and catching a couple beers after work with colleagues. He’s single (typical), but not quite ready to rely on dating apps to find love (atypical).
Our star detective is a budget-savvy single man living in a one-bedroom apartment. He prefers investing in a little fun over home ownership. He’s also nostalgic. His soft spot for the past is common among millennials, and AJ steeps himself in fantasy worlds like Star Wars and Marvel comics to escape the turbulence of everyday life. Since childhood he’s enjoyed the heroic tales of superheroes and fantasy worlds and continues to as an adult. There’s always a new Marvel or DC movie coming out, endless spin-offs to stream, and new twists on beloved universes to keep him entertained.
A few faces come to mind as I generate a dream cast for the Nun the Wiser Mysteries. Ironically, my first picks to play AJ Lewis both played Spider-Man on the big screen, which is pretty cool since AJ LOVES Spider-Man. I can picture Tom Holland or Andrew Garfield taking the role, both have a lean, lanky build and gorgeous thick brown hair.
Joseph Gordon Levitt would also fit the bill nicely. I can picture him sitting at a desk in the Eugene Police Station and giving the Boba Fett bobblehead a tap before logging into their laptop. To a man, Tom, Andrew, and Josepsh are as wholesome and good-hearted as AJ, our millennial detective thoughtfully considering the evidence to solve murder cases with Bernie in the Nun the Wiser Mysteries.
Melissa Westemeier is a Sister in Crime and teacher from Wisconsin. She uses humor to explore serious subjects, and her published books include murder mysteries, rom-cons, and a trilogy loosely based on her years tending bar on the Wolf River. She likes her coffee and protagonists strong and prefers to work barefoot with natural lighting.
Founder Clay Stafford of the Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference is pleased to announce this year’s Silver Falchion Award Finalists. The Silver Falchion Award is given for the Best Book in each category for the previous year (2024). Winners in each category will be announced at the annual Killer Nashville Awards Dinner taking place on August 23rd at the Embassy Suites Nashville South/Cool Springs Hotel in Franklin, TN.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the conference which hosts aspiring and established writers from all over the world to network and develop their writing skills in fiction and nonfiction that incorporate elements of mystery, thriller and suspense.
And here is the complete listing of all of the Finalists. Congratulations to the nominees:
2025 KILLER NASHVILLE SILVER FALCHION AWARD FINALISTS
(for best books of 2024)
Best Action Adventure
JERICHO BURNING
T.G. Brown
THE GENERAL’S GOLD
Bruce Robert Coffin and LynDee Walker
DESPERATE MEASURES
Ley Esses
WHERE LOVE MEANS NOTHING
Howard Gimple
THE NORTH LINE
Matt Riordan
Best Comedy (includes comedic P.I. and crime caper)
THE PRINCESS SHOPPE
Kerry Blaisdell
SWIPED
L.M. Chilton
GET GRIBNITZ
Howard Gimple
MODEL GHOST
TK Sheffield
SORRY, KNOT SORRY
Lois Winston
Best Cozy
BEESWAX BEWITCHMENT
S.E. Babin
ELIZABETH SAILS
Kristin Owens
STUDY GUIDE FOR MURDER
Lori Robbins
FRAMED FOR MURDER
Marla White
WHEELING AND DEALING
Becki Willis
Best Historical
EMPOWERED BY THE DREAM: A JOURNEY OF RESILIENCE
Gladys A. Barrio
THE PARIS MISTRESS
Mally Becker
A KILLING ON THE HILL
Robert Dugoni
FIND YOUR WAY TO MY GRAVE
Chris Keefer
WHAT ONCE WAS PROMISED
Louis Trubiano
Best Investigator (includes procedural, serious P.I., detective, and noir)
THE THINGS THAT CANNOT BE FORGOTTEN
Peter W.J. Hayes
LAST DOG OUT
Candace Irving
BLACK & WHITE
Justin M. Kiska
TIGER CLAW
Michael Allan Mallory
MURDER OUTSIDE THE BOX
Saralyn Richard
Best Juvenile / Y.A.
BEYOND THE CEMETERY GATE: THE SECRET KEEPER’S DAUGHTER
Valerie Biel
DEAD GIRL
Kerrie Faye
STEALING TIME
Norman Birnbach and Tilia Klebenov Jacobs
SNOWED
Twist Phelan
STAR BROTHER
Maxine Rose Schur
Best Literary
SHE RUINED OUR LIVES
Chris Chan
AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY
Dan Flanigan
Best Mainstream / Commercial
THOSE THAT DID NOT DIE
Penny Fletcher
ON THE MAD RIVER
Lucrecia Guerrero
PEOPLE WILL TALK
Kieran Scott
BETWEEN LIES AND REVENGE
Hannah Sharpe
BLINDSPOT
Maggie Smith
Best Mystery
DROP DEAD SISTERS
Amelia Diane Coombs
OBEY ALL LAWS
Cindy Goyette
AT FIRST I WAS AFRAID
Marty Ludlum
A WORLD OF HURT
Mindy Mejia
SCORCHED: BURN ME ONCE…
Cam Torrens
Best Nonfiction
THERE IS NO ETHAN
Anna Akbari
LOVERS IN AUSCHWITZ: A TRUE STORY
Keren Blankfeld
ASK NOT: THE KENNEDYS AND THE WOMEN THEY DESTROYED
Maureen Callahan
TILGHMAN: THE LEGENDARY LAWMAN AND THE WOMAN WHO INSPIRED HIM
Chris Enss
SEEDS OF LEADERSHIP
Wilson Lukang
Best Sci-Fi / Fantasy
OCEAN’S GODORI
Elaine Cho
THE CANOPY KEEPERS
Veronica G. Henry
MASTER VERSION 1.1
Antanas Marcelionis
HOUSE OF FIRE & MAGIC
Sherrilyn McQueen
THE BUILDING THAT WASN’T
Abigail Miles
Best Short Story Collection / Anthology
NEVER TELL COLLECTION
Kjersti Egerdahl, ed.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD / Andrea Bartz (author)
EVERYWHERE WE LOOK / Liv Constantine (author)
SCORPIONS / Rachel Howzell Hall (author)
THE BAD FRIEND / Caroline Kepnes (author)
JACKRABBIT SKIN / Ivy Pochoda (author)
THE GHOST WRITER / Loreth Anne White (author)
DAY
Patrick Kitson (author)
DEEDS OF DARKNESS
William Burton McCormick (author)
6-LANE HIGHWAY
Sean Mitchell (author)
LARCENY & LAST CHANCES: 22 STORIES OF MYSTERY & SUSPENSE
Judy Penz Sheluk, ed.
HIT-AND-RUN / Christina Boufis (Author)
WHEEL OF FORTUNE / John Bukowski (Author)
THE POOL / Brenda Chapman (Author)
HAIL MARY BLUES / Susan Daly (Author)
INCIDENTS AND INTENTIONS / Wil A. Emerson (Author)
THE CRIMSON SALAMANDER / Tracy Falenwolfe (Author)
NO GOOD DEEDS / Kate Fellowes (Author)
NOT THIS TIME / Molly Wills Fraser (Author)
THE CASE OF THE PILFERED PARKA / Gina X. Grant (Author)
A PROMISE KEPT / Karen Grose (Author)
RED INK / Wendy Harrison (Author)
SKEETER’S BAR AND GRILL / Julie Hastrup (Author)
A TIGHT SQUEEZE / Lary M. Keeton (Author)
UNCLE RANDY’S MONEY / Charlie Kondek (Author)
THE PURLOINED PARCHMENT / Edward Lodi (Author)
THE RAGE CAGE / Bethany Maines (Author)
ONCE A THIEF / Gregory Meece (Author)
ROBBERY AT THE BIRDCAGE / Cate Moyle (Author)
THE CONSTELLATION NECKLACE / KM Rockwood (Author)
THE LAST CHANCE COALITION / Judy Penz Sheluk (Author)
THE HOSPITAL BOOMERANG / Kevin R. Tipple (Author)
ARTIFACT / Robert Weibezahl (Author)
Best Southern Gothic
POCKET FULL OF TEETH
Aimee Hardy
KENTUCKY BLOOD (BOOK I OF THE KENTUCKY BLOOD SERIES)
Mandy Morton’s 14th mystery in her No. 2 Feline Detective Agency brings readers into her delightful world of cats, which Publishers Weekly notes: “The world that Morton has created is irresistible.”
In this outing, Hettie and Tilly have decided to have a seaside vacation. Booked into the Sandscratchers Villa in Felixtoe, Suffolk, their hotel is right on the beach, and with a fairground to entertain them, their good friend Bruiser drives them there on his motorbike and sidecar, Miss Scarlet, and stays over.
They soon find that Minnie, the owner of their Villa is, part of the large Meakin family, who own and run the Mewsment fairgrounds. A Sandscratcher is a showcat who stops traveling and runs a permanent fair. There are rides, games of chance, and dodgems among the stalls. Further down the beach, Wilt Dinsney runs the Wild West Show and romances Minnie.
But after only a few days of fun and ice lollies, their relaxation is cut short when several of the Meakin family go missing. Hettie and Tilly, along with Bruiser, are pressed into service to find the missing cats, fearing they are searching for bodies.
There are tons of Minnie’s malapropisms that add to the wry humor. Auntie M has read each book in this charming series, and she is always struck my how realistic the cats are, imbued by Morton with human emotions and frailties with her nuanced eye. After a while readers won’t notice the lack of humans and will become used to Tilly licking her paws clean and keeping notes as Hettie forges the investigation ahead, with Bruiser helping, too, as they unravel what has happened to half the Meakin cat.
Auntie M promises readers will become totally absorbed in this magical world Morton has created, which PD James called “original and intriguing.”
Sally Smith calls on her barrister background and intimate knowledge of the Inner Temple to debut a mystery series set in 1901 that introduces reluctant sleuth Sir Gabriel Ward KC. Rich in historical details of the insulated Inner Temple and its workings, Smith also gives readers a cogent look at Edwardian London with its class and societal workings and restrictions of the era.
Gabriel is so preoccupied with his case, a dispute over the authorship of a children’s book with a mouse as protagonist and set in Temple Church that has taken readers by storm, that he almost doesn’t notice the body on his doorstep. This turns out to be the Lord Chief Justice of England, who currently has a silver carving knife stuck in his chest. And several candidates longing to replace him . . .
Soon Gabriel finds himself pushed into investigating the murder while still researching his case. His OCD tendencies make this even more difficult, as does the fact he wants nothing to do with the investigation, but has been threatened with losing his lovely set of rooms where he’s lived for entire career—and thus, a reluctant but completely charming amateur sleuth is born.
It’s an absorbing story with both plots cleverly wound together. Told in prose that sounds lifted off pages from the time period, with the setting lovingly described, I highly recommend this to readers for the complex character of Gabriel alone, but also for the nicely twisted plot Smith created.
I was at Temple Church years ago for the memorial service held there for my mentor, PD James, and delighted in walking the lovely area, so I really enjoyed taking a trip back to the cloistered legal world it services. And to my delight, Sally Smith agreed to be interviewed for Auntie M!
Auntie M: Knowing the Inner Temple setting as well as you do really helped the setting come alive as I read. Did you find using an area you loved made it easier for you to describe to readers? Were there any parts you deliberately left out? (Auntie M notes that for those who’ve never visited, there is a very helpful plan of the area in the front of the book.)
Sally Smith: I love the Temple and so of course I enjoy describing it. My book is set in 1901 and the Temple sustained severe bombing during the Second World War. So now some of it is as it has been for centuries and some of it has been rebuilt post war.
It was fun to knit together what I see with my own eyes every day with what I know (from maps and pictures) it looked like in Edwardian times. I did not leave anything out but I did add in a few fictional doors and windows!
AM: I once attended a memorial service in the chapel, an important place in your book, and you brought me right back to that day. Did you have to obtain any permissions to use the site?
SS: You are right, there are some detailed and loving descriptions of the church in the book. It has an amazing history, built by the Knights Templar in 1185. I happen to have a flat in the Temple and I am a member of the Inner Temple, but anyone can visit the church during visitor hours and write about it. Many tourists do so, particularly from the USA, and they are more than welcome.
AM: Your prose is lovely and fits the era well. Did you read books set in your time period to acclimate that voice as if you were there?
SS: I am delighted you think the prose fits the era. It may be that I chose the Edwardian era because I know I write in a fairly formal way but I do not really do it on purpose; a lifetime as a lawyer meant it just developed naturally. The only thing I did consciously was not to use actual words and phrases that were not used in 1901. Other than that it just comes naturally to me.
AM: How difficult was it for you to design such interesting yet realistic characters? Are any based on people you know?
SS: Everyone wants to know that! There is no one in the book completely modelled on anyone I know but the characters are all amalgams of many personalities I have met.
AM: Now that’s a barrister’s careful answer if I ever heard one! Please tell readers Sir Gabriel Ward will return soon with another mystery to solve.
SS: Sir Gabriel Ward is returning with another mystery to solve in A Case of Life and Limb, published in the UK in July and a bit later in the USA.
AM: When you’re not plotting or promoting, who do you like to read for relaxation?
SS: I am a real Golden Age detective reader; my favourite of that period is any of Dorothy L. Sayers; I also like PD James. One of my desert island books is Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, which I think is wonderful, and I find something new in it every time I read it. Coming forward, I loved Janice Hallett’s The Appeal.
I read huge amounts of nonfiction; I love biographies, and don’t care who they are about. Real lives are more fascinating than anything made up!
Sally, thank you for a very interesting interview. Sally’s book is available from Bloomsbury Publishing or Amazon, in ebook, hardcover, and on Audible as of today! Don’t miss it~
Edgar Award Finalist Nev March brings readers her fourth mystery revolving around Captain Jim Agnihotri and Lady Diana Framjii as the married couple travel back to India for the first time since their marriage.
All is not well in the Framjii family with financial difficulties and Diana’s brother Adi accused of murdering his business partner. Found over the dead man shortly after his murder, Adi is the likely suspect, as their business making surgical instruments was floundering. Upon their return, Jim, who is mixed race, is not well received by the strict Parsi community, and as Diana grapples with being shunned, Jim investigates the murder.
The police seem content with arresting Adi, who protests his innocence. As Jim tries to unravel the silversmith’s life, he is hit with a perplexing trail that doesn’t make sense, from owed bills, to downright lies. Who and what was Satya Rastogi protecting?
He must go undercover at some point, and visit brothels before the truth emerges. And he soon finds Diana by his side helping him. This unlikely duo give this the air of a late Victorian Nick and Nora Charles.
1894 Colonial India springs to life under March’s talented pen. Rich in period details, coupled with the sights and sounds of Bombay, March bring the traditions of caste to the forefront as the mystery unfolds in this multilayered tale. Recommended read, especially for those who enjoy history.
Auntie M has long been a fan of this well-researched Victorian-era series, and of the two main characters: Private enquiry agent Cyrus Barker, a traveled man with an interesting past and deep connections in London and the world; and his young partner, Thomas Llewelyn, whose Welsh roots rear their head from time to time in his pithy thoughts.
As SEASON OF DEATH opens, Thomas is dealing with lack of sleep from his teething infant daughter, whose mother Rebecca has figured prominently in several episodes and is a recurring character. Several other recurring characters have become part of the fabric of this intelligent and highly readable series. It’s intriguing how issues like communication, when there were no cell phones, and information, with no computers yet, are handled.
The Dawn Gang has reared its ugly head, only to be properly dispatched by Barker and Llewelyn in spectacular fashion as they threatened a poor beggar who dragged her leg, known as Dutch, and is brought to a mission to be bathed and treated.
Then the influential MP Lord Danvers and his wife visit and ask the enquiry agents help in finding Lady Danvers missing sister, who is thought to have tried to elope to Rome. But before they get started in their search for the missing woman, an enormous sinkhole opens in an area called Calcutta. Built over old railway tunnels, the devastation is enormous in terms of loss of life. It was also the known meeting place for the criminal underworld, and it is assumed and soon proven that a massive bomb caused the sinkhole, with buildings atop it falling into the crater to kill not only those families living above it but the criminals meeting behind it.
The race is one to find out who caused the explosion, where Lady Danvers sister, May, is living, and what has become of Dutch, who disappeared from the mission. With the leaders of local gangs dead, who will take over the criminal land? And where is May hiding and why?
What is an added pleasure amidst the complicated cases and action is Thomas’s commentary on the social classes and political issues of the day. A delightful read all around~
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.”
Fair Haven: A picturesque riverside town. A safe, friendly place. And then, one summer afternoon in 1994, Sally Ann Shaffer is electrocuted in her hot tub. Who did it? One of her many lovers? Her husband? A thief? A jealous colleague at her tennis club? The town is suddenly embroiled in suspicion, interpersonal conflict, blackmail, fraud, and murder.
Fair Haven shares sympathies with the British crime drama, Midsomer Murders, because of its small-town setting and diverse cast, any of whom could be the killer (except Cagney, the beagle). The characters include Chris Clarke, who is hired to photograph the crime scene and is involved with Kate Morgan, a woman fighting for custody of her son (Kate has a past history with Sally Ann Shaffer); the police chief, Ray Mackie, who steps aside in the investigation in favor of Vincent Rivera from the Major Crimes Bureau. Other players are Detective David De-Marco, charged with coordinating the local police effort; Harry Fallon, Kate Morgan’s drunken ex-husband and a long-time lover of Sally Ann; and R.J. Baines, a realtor hiding her lesbianism and her affair with the deceased. The relationships between these characters, as well as with a tennis pro, husband, priest, and a financial fraudster, provide rich opportunities for intrigue.
“When is a murder mystery more than a who-done-it? Answer: When it is written by Laury Egan. This wonderful mystery kept me entranced, as her characters drug me around the town of Fair Haven and through their inter-woven lives. In an ever more complex web of intrigue, jealousy, hatred and lust the plot was revealed. Though its difficult to write a review of a murder mystery without giving away too much, I couldn’t figure it out, even with some well-placed clues, until the end and then I was amazed by the reveal. You will be too.”
—CA Farlow, author of The Paris Contagion
“The pace never lagged, and I was as invested in the character dramas as I was in the murder mystery itself. Which is great, given how much the story is really about those people and their community and their ties to one another…a delightfully messy tangle of motives and reason-able suspects. Classic murder mystery shenanigans. Fair Haven [is] a very worthy entry in the genre.”
—Jennica Dotson, author of “A Reaper’s Folly”
342 pages, $16.95 in paperback and $6.99 eBook. ISBN: 978-1-915905-14-7
Published by Enigma Books, an imprint of Spectrum Books, London.
Fair Haven is Laury A. Egan’s 15th novel. In addition, she’s published a collection, Fog and Other Stories, soon to be joined in May 2025 by a second collection, Contrary. Four volumes of poetry have also appeared. Her website: www.lauryaegan.com
Cover photograph: Mark Schwartz. Design: Laury A. Egan.
Please welcome Melissa Westemeier, whose new Nun the Wiser series debuts TODAY with Old Habits Die Hard. She’ll describe how she came to create her protagonist, Sister Bernadette, and why she loves nuns!
Sister B: An Un Conventional Heroine
My fascination with nuns started with The Sound of Music. While other girls played “house,” I played “convent.” Living in a sisterhood, always in a gorgeous pastoral setting, with a communal approach to sharing chores and responsibilities, appealed to me.
Plus, nuns were bad asses. They fought against Nazis but accepted everyone else. If you didn’t want to marry and have kids or were just too unconventional, you could knock on the heavy wooden door, and a nice nun would escort you over to plead your case to the Mother Superior. As long as you were willing to work hard and prove your mettle, the nuns had to take you in. What girl doesn’t dream of acceptance like that? In my imagination, being a nun also meant wearing a super cool outfit and having sleepovers with your besties every night. I can’t remember how old I was when I learned becoming a nun wasn’t in the cards for me because I was a Protestant and that nuns weren’t exactly as portrayed in The Sound of Music.
My romanticized view of nuns remained intact for a very long time. Lucky for me, before I tackled writing Old Habits Die Hard, I’d sent my sons to Catholic school and exponentially increased my understanding of Catholicism. When Mariana, part of my writing group, suggested the protagonist in Old Habits Die Hard should be a retired nun who wears a cross necklace, black pants, and sensible shoes—“still in uniform,” I was charmed. Even better that she was a retired middle school English teacher with a bossy attitude. Sister Bernadette entered the story fully formed in my imagination.
There aren’t many retired nuns solving crimes. Sister Boniface comes to mind, but she’s of a different era and British. Sister Bernadette Ohlson, AKA “Sister B” to her students and “Bernie” to her neighbors and friends, hasn’t worn her full habit in ages, but she’s not above grabbing her veil and rosary if it gets her special treatment. Her faith gives her serene confidence in the face of danger, and she’ll argue her case for disobedience because in her mind not all sins are created (or punished) equally. Yet as a woman of an order, she likes to keep things in order.
We first meet Bernie leading the residents of The Abbey: Senior Living off their bus after a night at the theater. She waits in the lobby to make sure everyone gets safely to their first-floor apartments before leading the rest upstairs. Bernie’s the first to notice the body in the hallway, and when former student Detective AJ Lewis arrives, Bernie acts as spokesperson for the group.
Bernie leads, but she also meddles to make sure things work out the way she wants. She’s insatiably curious, poking into everyone’s business because how can you be in charge if you don’t know what’s going on? Her neighbors come to her for advice, too, which puts her in the center of their drama, and her impulse to solve a murder that happened under their collective roof comes from her concern for their safety.
Older, wiser, and experienced, Sister B lends insight to her former student as he investigates the murder at The Abbey. She’s not above snooping or eavesdropping, nor is she opposed to using some healthy Catholic guilt to manipulate people. What’s fun in the Nun the Wiser Mysteries is the dynamic between her and AJ, her former student who is 50 years her junior. As a millennial, AJ has a different sensibility where authority is concerned, and he stands up to her. They frustrate each other and don’t always see eye to eye, but deep down they respect one another. Where other cozies involve romance between sleuths, Bernie and AJ cultivate an affectionate friendship and each book ends with a sweet scene featuring them together.
It’s funny to think I’m all grown up and my obsession with nuns never fully faded. I haven’t run away to join a convent, but I’ve invented a nun of my own to solve murders with her former student, so in a way I’m still pretending to be a nun. I guess maybe old habits DO die hard!
Melissa Westemeier is a Sister in Crime and teacher from Wisconsin. She uses humor to explore serious subjects, and her published books include murder mysteries, rom-coms, and a trilogy loosely based on her years tending bar on the Wolf River. She likes her coffee and protagonists strong and prefers to work barefoot with natural lighting.
Auntiemwrites Crime-Mystery Author M K Graff 