Historical mysteries and thrillers ranging from pre-history to the mid 1900s (plus or minus); includes Golden Age
Holmes and Watson in Egypt – what a treat… Nicholas Meyer has been “editing” the posthumous memoirs of John H Watson, MD, for decades, albeit rather sporadically, starting with The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, which came out in 1974, and won a Gold Dagger Award. Now he’s come out with a fifth rip-roaring Holmes and Watson tale, […]
Review of The Return of the Pharaoh by Nicholas Meyer – coming soon Read More »
What a fun, fun book… The Sherlock Holmes stories were some of the first mysteries I graduated to after Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew, and I loved them. But I’ve always felt that a lot of Holmes pastiches (Laurie R King’s Mary Russell series aside) fall a little flat. So I was very pleasantly surprised
Review of Mrs Hudson and the Blue Daisy Affair by Martin Davies – coming soon Read More »
Elena visits Washington DC… A Darker Reality is the third book in Anne Perry’s still young Elena Standish series, and I hope there are many more to come. Elena is the child of a British diplomat and his American wife, whose parents, Wyatt and Dorothy Baylor, are a wealthy and connected couple with a large
A review of A Darker Reality by Anne Perry – out today Read More »
Billy Boyle is still doing well… James R Benn has one of the best premises for a mystery series that I’ve seen in a long time. Billy Boyle is an Irish-American cop from South Boston who’s not exactly thrilled at the idea of fighting on behalf of England. His family isn’t thrilled either, so his
Review of Road of Bones by James R Benn – coming soon Read More »
A thoroughly enjoyable new series from Anne Perry… I’ve long enjoyed Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt books, so I was thrilled to be offered a chance to read a review copy of the second title in her new Elena Standish series, A Question of Betrayal. Betrayal has a different feel than the Charlotte and
Review of A Question of Betrayal by Anne Perry Read More »
Light and fun… In my last review of a Henrietta Hamilton book, I expressed hope that Agora Books would continue re-issuing her books. And not only have they done so, they’ve even managed to acquire the rights to some of her previously unpublished books, including this one, The Man Who Wasn’t There, which is part
Review of The Man Who Wasn’t There by Henrietta Hamilton – just published Read More »
An enjoyable classic British mystery… Agora Books makes a business of re-issuing older British mysteries, such as Answer in the Negative, which was originally published in 1959. Although I had never heard of Henrietta Hamilton before being offered an ARC of this title, I tend to like the sort of mysteries where the detectives, whether
Review of Answer in the Negative by Henrietta Hamilton – recently republished Read More »
More Jazz Age mayhem in the UK… A Baffling Murder at the Midsummer Ball is the second in TE Kinsey’s historical mystery series featuring the Dizzy Heights, an eight-piece jazz band based in London. In the first book, the band’s founders, Skins Maloney and Barty Dunn, together with Skins’ American wife, Ellie, tracked down a
A review of A Baffling Murder at the Midsummer Ball by TE Kinsey – coming soon Read More »
High-placed shenanigans during World War II Burying the Crown is the second in TP Fielden’s historical mystery series featuring Guy Harford as a courtier at Buckingham Palace, serving King George VI and the royal family during World War II. Harford, who would rather be a painter in Tangier, where he lived before the war, is
A review of Burying the Crown by TP Fielden, just out Read More »
Crime and mayhem in post-Civil-War Chicago… I have read and enjoyed most (all?) of the books in Jeanne Matthews’ Dinah Pelerin series, but haven’t seen a new title in that series for several years. So I was a little surprised to see that Matthews had a brand-new book in a brand-new series coming out in
Review of Devil by the Tail by Jeanne Matthews – just out Read More »
