A master of Icelandic noir, with several popular series and many awards to his credit, Indridason bring a new Detective Konrad mystery to readers. And if you have read some of his others, there are a few brief references that canny readers will catch.
Now retired, the detective continues to pursue his father’s killer. This cold case of the murdered man, not a pleasant person, has occupied Konrad over several years but readers will be quick to understand his background if this is their first read in the series.
It’s not just this case that takes up his time. When a Reykjavik woman is found murdered in her home, Konrad’s phone number is on her desk and he’s notified by the current detective on the case. Valborg had approached him recently, asking for his help in finding the child she gave up for adoption many years ago, over fifty in fact, and faced with that kind of time lag, Konrad hadn’t acquiesced.
But now that she’s dead he feels compelled to figure out what happened to her child, despite having very little knowledge, not even the sex of the child.
This is where Indridason shines, in following Konrad’s private investigation as he ferrets out leads and information from almost thin air as he digs into the woman’s past. It’s a complicated route but one that leads to an unexpected resolution, with surprising stops and starts along the way.
As the tension rises, crimes from the past are unearthed. This is an absorbing story of the echoes of old crimes that last through the years.
Peter James’s long-running DCI Grace series, now on BritBox in a grand adaptation as Grace, has just published his 22nd in this series, The Hawk is Dead.
The backstory to this novel is fascinating: Her Majesty Queen Camilla, a huge Grace fan, asked him when she was Duchess of Cornwall in 2019 if he couldn’t see a way to bring Sussex-based Grace to London. After kicking the idea around for four years as he worked on other projects already under construction, James figured out a plot what would allow him to bring Grace and a few members of his team to the Palace.
And that kernel of an idea started when James read that the 775 rooms in Buckingham Palace were to undergo a major renovation, which would take place over the course of several years, not just for updating and modernization but for safety reasons. The Royal Collection consists of over a million very valuable art and objects held by The Crown, many in Buckingham Palace.
From that grew the idea for the entire novel, and the beginning of exhaustive research, which included James being given inside tours of the palace, and even learning how to drive a train! Always giving his realistic police procedurals a grand plot, James knocks it out of the park with this one, literally, by taking Grace from his Brighton territory to Buckingham Palace.
His team becomes involved when the Queen is traveling by train to visit hospices along the south coast. Her train must be evacuated after being derailed inside a tunnel. A harrowing scene from the train driver’s point of view brings the accident to life, and as the Queen and a trusted advisor exit the tunnel, shots ring out. While the Queen narrowly misses being assassinated, Sir Peregrine Greaves, Private Secretary to Their Majesties and one of the most senior members of their household, is killed.
Grace has a nagging feeling the Queen might not have been the intended target, and readers are treated to insights into the workings of the Royal Household, and its pecking order, as well as an extensive treatment of the glories contained within the huge building as the investigation ensues.
With attention turned to the household, when a diary Sir Peregrine kept in code, more matters come to light and soon Grace and his team, especially his long-term bagman DI Branson, must sift through Not-My-King protestors; territorial tiffs with the Met, who want to take over his investigation; and missing artifacts. Then a second body is found…
This was one of the most enjoyable Grace novels to date, and as usual, gives us a window into his home life, too. But James’s intricate plotting with its exploration of life within the royal household make this a gripping story.
I almost did after reading the opening pages of this terrific novel. That’s how strong the opener is, and explains why I kept flipping pages long after the light should have gone out…
I’ve been a huge fan of the Poe and Bradshaw series from Day 1 and follow them avidly. Each of the previous books have genius plotting, really well-done characterizations, and an ironic humor that contrasts nicely to some of the darker bits. Because there are darker bits.
But the stakes are raised in this one. A sniper had been shooting individuals with no apparent pattern. Then a bride is killed on her wedding day, and her influential father aids Poe’s investigation in a rare way, desperate to find his daughter’s killer.
The pressure on Poe and Tilly is sharp and relentless, and it doesn’t help that Poe is due to be married shortly. There will be sleight of hand, psychological reasonings, and above all, Tilly’s uncanny ability with maths to bring them closer to an invisible killer.
A thrilling read, this is an extraordinary book, perhaps Craven’s finest, from someone who’s loved them all.
From time to time, Auntie M likes to let you in what she’s been reading, not for review, but for her own personal choice. These are some of my favorites, the ones I reach for again and again for a satisfying read:
Steve Cavanagh knocks it out of the park with his new Eddie Flynn legal thriller, Two Kinds of Stranger, which may be his most perfectly twisted plot yet, and he’s a master at it. Eddie is a conman turned lawyer who won’t hesitate to step outside the law to bring justice.
This case comes too close to home when a stalker client threatens his daughter, ex-wife and her new lawyer husband. At the same time, he and his team have taken on the case of a young woman whose life had been about espousing random acts of kindness. In an ironic twist, that same instinct has led to her being poisoned, while her cheating husband and his lover are also poisoned. While the duo die, Ellie Parker manages to survive but is soon charged with their murders, as no one can find the stranger she says she helped who poisoned her, a sociopath working behind the scenes to manipulate her life.
No one except Eddie Flynn. And then his ex-wife’s stalker is killed, and his daughter’s mother and her husband are on trial for that murder. His team is managing two serious trials at the same time, and lines will be crossed with life-changing outcomes. At times you can’t see how he can pull this one off, and Eddie isn’t certain he can, either.
There’s a final extra ending twist that makes it all come full circle—you won’t be able to put this one down. Cavanagh gets NYC and its environs perfectly, which is all the more surprising when you learn he and his family live in Belfast, Ireland. Don’t miss this brilliantly layered novel.
The Marlow Murder Club is currently showing on my Masterpiece Mystery, and Auntie M snapped up the newest installment, a locked room (boat) mystery that weaves a killing around the Marlow Amateur Dramatic Society in Murder on the Marlow Belle.
Verity Beresford enlists Judith Potts and her friends to track down her missing husband after the drama society had hired The Marlow Belle for an evening on the river. But no one remembers seeing Oliver Beresford leave the boat.
Then Oliver’s body, complete with bullet holes, washes up downriver, and the three women amateur sleuths are on the hunt. Soon they are knee-deep in the personal lives of the main players, whose secrets they must unearth, as it seems Oliver had a host of enemies.
Cosy mystery crime at its finest with a returning ensemble we’ve grown to love.
Queen Camilla let it be known that Peter James is her favorite author, and so his October book, The Hawk is Dead, has scenes at Buckingham Palace. But One of Us is Dead is out now, so readers who follow Brighton Superintendent Roy Grace can gratefully indulge.
Grace and his familiar team are investigating a series of murders that appear unrelated, but Grace has a that twitch of instinct that tells him they are, despite mushroom poisoning and accidents that may not be what they seem.
At a local funeral, a man enters the church late to see a fellow a few rows ahead of him he knows to be dead–because he gave that man’s eulogy. What these disparate incidents have in common becomes the latest chase to find a canny killer.
Grace’s respect and detail of police procedures is at full mast here, as is his frustration at being behind the desk too much. Another great installment in a long-running series that never disappoints.
I had fears that SJ Bennett’s series featuring Queen Elizabeth would come to an end with the passing of the monarch, but Bennett’s Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series continues with A Death in Diamonds by heading back in time to 1957 with a young Queen finding her voice. And now she’s opened up a host of years to pull from as the series continues.
When two people are murdered and the Queen finds herself used as the alibi for one of the murders, all the while trying to learn her job and her nation’s place in a modern world, it seems that the very advisors she must trust may not always have her best interests at heart.
Her ally becomes Joan McGraw, an ex-Bletchley Park code breaker, discreet and loyal to the Queen, and soon this dynamic duo are running their own investigation. A clever and intriguing way to continue this series, Bennett gets the personalities of the royals involved down pat with nice asides we can well imagine might really have been said. A jewel~
Skelton’s well-plotted series featuring investigative reporter Rebecca Connolly continues with The Hollow Mountain.
Filled with the kind of ironic humor Auntie M enjoys, Rebecca is challenged by Alice Larkin, a dying millionaire and former reporter, to unearth what really happened when her lover died while working as a tunnel tiger on the Hollow Mountain project years ago.
With Alice parsing out her story, Rebecca must use her talents and those of her colleagues to unearth the truth of the hazardous construction as the workers blasted through mountains, under rivers, to create a pass, but she soon finds herself in jeopardy when the secrets she is finding threaten the reputations of those left behind.
Skelton’s series at highly atmospheric in their Scottish settings and the entire series comprise great reads.
Nita Prose’s maid Molly Gray is a wonderful character with a unique take on life whom Prose first debuted in The Maid. Now planing her wedding to chef Juan Manual, she’s been promoted to Head Maid and Special Events Manager at the Regency Grand Hotel, a delightful setting for much of the action of the series.
In The Maid’s Secret, the antiquities show Hidden Treasures is filming an episode at the Regency Grand when a decorated egg Molly brings in to be valued is found to be an antique treasure. At the same time as the television world and Molly’s life is turned upside down, excerpts from her grandmother’s diary explain how the egg came to be in her possession. And then the egg goes missing . . .
It’s a nice device that alternates with the madcap part of the auction process and gives a glimpse–and surprising information–to Molly. As usual, there is a sense of a heartfelt lesson being told.
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.
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.
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 had known actor Marilyn Chris since the days of One Life to Live, where Marilyn’s long-running role as Wanda Wolek was a fan favorite. A veteran of theatre and more, (see her bio below) she’s returning this January with a one-woman show written for her and plays real-life serial killer known as Nannie Doss.
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY TO PRESENT MARILYN CHRIS IN “THE GIGGLING GRANNY” BY MARSHA LEE SHEINESS JANUARY 9 TO 26, 2025
WHERE AND WHEN: January 9 to 26, 2025 Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. (at E. 10th Street) Presented by Theater for the New City Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM, Sundays at 3:00 PM Tickets $18 gen. adm., $15 seniors & students www.theaterforthenewcity.net, (212) 254-1109 Photos are available at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kffLtzFMsjcHrphi8 Runs :90. Critics are invited on or after January 9. Opens January 9.
DETAILS:
Nannie Doss was an American serial killer responsible for the deaths of four husbands in Alabama, North Carolina, Kansas and Oklahoma between 1927 and 1954. She died in prison in 1965, but will be brought to life again by Marilyn Chris in the world premiere of “The Giggling Granny,” a solo play written for her by Marsha Lee Sheiness, presented by Theater for the New City, Crystal Field Artistic Director, from January 9 to 25, 2025. Ms. Chris, a veteran actress of soaps, Broadway and Off-Broadway, is a winner of many awards in her varied career. Jim Semmelman directs.
The play is a true story about a mesmerizing, innocent and likable serial killer who was looking for true love. Known as the “Giggling Granny,” she was a paradoxical mix of grandmotherly warmth and chilling malevolence. Her life has not been examined in theater to-date, giving Ms. Chris the opportunity to define the character for present and future audiences with an exploration of Doss’s charm, wit, and horror.
Marilyn Chris is well known for her 18 years on ABC’s “One Life To Live” playing Wanda Webb Wolek, for which she received the best supporting actress Award from The TV Magazine Writers and Editors. Her Broadway appearances include “Brighton Beach Memoirs” (as Aunt Kate), “Lenny” (as Sally) and “The Birthday Party” (directed by Alan Schneider). She was an original member of the Living Theater, appearing in its productions of “Jungle of Cities,” “Tonight We Improvise,” “Good Soldier Schweik” and “Many Loves” and participating in two of the company’s European tours. She was also a member of Robert Kalfin’s Chelsea Theatre Center, where she created the role of Naomi, the paranoid mother of Allen Ginsberg, in the famed multimedia production of “Kaddish” directed by Mr. Kalfin. Ms. Chris won an Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award and the Variety Critics Poll for this performance. She appeared with The Jewish Repertory Theatre in “Elephants,” “Yard Sale,” “God of Vengeance” and many others. Her TV credits also include “Oz,” “Third Watch,” many episodes of “Law and Order” and “Blessings.”
>> Nanny Doss’s chilling story taps into the public’s curiosity about the psychology of serial killers, especially when the killer defies stereotypes—Doss was a grandmother with a cheery demeanor. Her crimes occurred over decades, largely unnoticed because of her manipulative charm and society’s tendency to overlook women as potential perpetrators. This raises timeless questions about trust, perception, and how evil can hide in plain sight. In the play, Doss’s actions are examined through a feminist lens, exploring the constraints of mid-20th-century gender roles and the impact of societal pressures on women’s lives. >> Author Marsha Lee Sheiness, who died in 2022, was an original playwright-in-residence at Playwrights Horizons, where nine productions of her work were presented. Her work was also presented by the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, PBS’s “Theater in America” and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Her musical adaptation of “Great Expectations” with Robert Bendorff was a finalist for the Richard Rodgers award. Her “Becoming Eleanor,” developed in collaboration with Robert Kalfin, explored the early life of Eleanor of Aquitaine. She mentored individual playwrights and taught playwriting at The New School and other universities.
Director Jim Semmelman (AEA, DGA, Dramatists’ Guild) is a director, producer and author with more than 30 years’ experience in theater, TV and film. His three-character musical, “Brush Strokes,” premiered in New York this past October. His children’s Christmas musical, “Mooseltoe,” has toured during the holiday season for almost 20 years and can now be streamed. He has directed and choreographed the national tour of “SRO Standing Room Only” and regional productions of “Grease,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Working” and “Side by Side by Sondheim.” Recently he conceived and co-produced “30 Years of Stephen,” a tribute to Broadway composer Stephen Flaherty, at Carnegie Hall.
Set and costume design are by Frances Kohn. Lighting design is by David Abb. Sound design is by Gary Ljungquist. Stage Manager is Debora Porazzi. Assistant lighting designer is Andy Moreta. Producer is Roseanne Kirk.
Marilyn Chris writes, “I have known Crystal Field for a very long time. She has made Theater for the New City a welcoming place for artists of all stripes to have an artistic home. I am glad to be here and to be a part of such a valuable community resource. Over fifty years and stronger than ever! How wonderful!”
If you’re anywhere in the NY area, don’t miss this chance to see a master actor bring a serial killer to life!
Auntie M is a huge fan of Taylor’s Sweeney St. George and Maggie D’arcy mysteries, so I was excited to plunge in to AGONY HILL, the first in her new series set in 1960s Vermont.
Former homicide detective Franklin Warren, barely coping with a painful past, moves from Boston to the small rural town of Bethany, Vermont to work with the state police during a time of upheaval in the nation and in this small corner of the world.
He hasn’t settled in when he’s thrust into his first case, a death on a remote farm where a barn has burned with the owner, Hugh Weber, locked inside. Was this suicide from the hermit who wanted to live off the land, and whose family, including his pregnant wife, are now set adrift?
Warren tackles the investigation using all of the skills he’s brought with him, stumbling across the many secrets his neighbors and even the widow try to hide. It’s a jumbled dance as he put the pieces of the puzzle together in a highly satisfying read.
Taylor is skilled at using her settings, whether it’s Ireland in the Maggie D’arcy series or this rural corner of Vermont. Setting the book at the time of the Viet Nam war brings the outside world in to this cloistered area, too. Her cast of characters, some of whom we hope to see again, shine.
Auntiemwrites Crime-Mystery Author M K Graff 