Mostly Mysteries

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears is £0.99 in the UK right now

I am really quite fond of the Jonathan Argyll/Flavia di Stefano series by Iain Pears, which is one of my top ten or fifteen favorite series. (And I wish he’d write more in the series…) But Pears is, I think, much better known for his first non-series title, An Instance of the Fingerpost, which is […]

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Dozens of Ellery Queen books are on sale in the US

Blood of a Gladiator by Jennifer Ashley is free right now in the US

3 Comments / Price Drops / By Sue

When I first noticed Blood of a Gladiator in my eReaderIQ feed, I figured it had to be a Simon Scarrow title. Imagine my surprise (!!!), when it turned out to be the first book in a new historical series by Jennifer Ashley, whose Captain Gabriel Lacey series, written using the pen name Ashley Gardner,

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Review of The Last Scoop by RL Belsky

Leave a Comment / Contemporary Mysteries and Thrillers / By Sue

An investigative journalist goes back to her roots…. I have read and enjoyed a few other books by RL Belsky, so I was happy to be offered a review copy of The Last Scoop, which is the most recent in his newest Clare Carlson series. (The most recent at least until May, when the next

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Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews is $0.99 at Kindle US right now

8 Comments / Price Drops / By Sue

Clean Sweep is the first in the Innkeeper Chronicles series by Ilona Andrews. Although I like (very much) all of their series, this one is my favorite. Somehow the idea of the Inns as gateways between worlds is really fun, and the galactic scope gives the duo of authors a chance to let their imaginations

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The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler is on sale in the US for $1.99

21 Comments / Price Drops / By Sue

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler probably doesn’t need any explanation or description if you’re already hanging out on a site called Mostly Mysteries. But just in case, suffice it to say that (per SYKM) it won the 1955 Edgar Award for Best Mystery. And The Long Goodbye hasn’t looked back since. It’s on sale

The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler is on sale in the US for $1.99 Read More »

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien is on sale today in the US and UK

3 Comments / Price Drops / By Sue

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien probably doesn’t need any explanation, but just in case (!!!), here’s a link to its Wikipedia page. Although I actually have to disagree with Wikipedia, which calls it a children’s classic – I think it’s just a classic. But in any case, The Hobbit is on sale today (March 25,

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Hook or Crook by Gerald Hammond is free right now at Kindle US and Kindle UK

1 Comment / Price Drops / By Sue

Hook or Crook is the 20th in the Keith Calder series by Gerald Hammond. It is free right now at Kindle US and Kindle UK. Free at Kindle US | Kindle UK

Hook or Crook by Gerald Hammond is free right now at Kindle US and Kindle UK Read More »

Some random price drops on mysteries in the US

Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday is £0.99 at Kindle UK

Leave a Comment / Price Drops / By Sue

Lady Sings the Blues is Billie Holiday’s autobiography. It’s £0.99 at Kindle UK today (March 24, 2021) as part of the Daily Deal. Buy at Kindle UK

Lady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday is £0.99 at Kindle UK Read More »

About Mostly Mysteries

Whether you are a non-stop reader looking for your next series to binge-read, or someone without much spare time, wanting to make sure the next book you read is great, I hope my reviews will help you out. I hate reading reviews that just say “five stars” or “I loved the book, it was great”, and I’m sure you do too. So you won’t find any of those here! Instead, I take the time to read and think about a book, and then write a review that (1) doesn’t just parrot the blurb, (2) talks about what I liked and didn’t like, and (3) has some additional info to help you decide if the book might be right for you.

I’ve been a huge fan of mysteries since my earliest days of reading, cutting my teeth on Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew, and quickly moving on to Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. From there, I bounced around a bit, trying some thrillers, like Alistair MacLean, and some romantic suspense, mainly Mary Stewart. And then I started branching out. I discovered historical mysteries, and British mysteries (Sarah Caudwell is my idol), and cozy mysteries, and police procedurals, and mysteries set in foreign climes, and noir, and…well, you get the idea! Just about the only mysteries I’ve never quite gotten into are psychological thrillers.

This blog reflects my own personal tastes, so, as you might guess, you’ll mostly find reviews of mysteries here. But, over the decades, I’ve also picked up some other reading habits. I read a fair amount of history, especially books about the Great Game rivalry between Britain and Russia. I’ve gone through all the Asterix comics (a big thank-you to my middle-school French teacher), and I even read a bunch of them out loud to my son when he was young. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read and re-read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and those books have led me into a little bit of fantasy and science fiction as well. Oh yeah, and recently, I’ve been reading some social and political science books too. So check out the Science Fiction/Fantasy, Nonfiction, Romance and Other Stuff tabs up in the menu as well!

Finally I’d love to hear from you too, so please make use of the comments sections available for most of my posts, or use the contact form, down at the bottom of the page.

Reviewing and Rating Info

I rate books on a scale from 1 to 5 stars, with occasional half-stars when a full star just won’t do.

Many of the books I review are provided to me by the publisher or author as a reading copy – in other words, at no cost to me. In other cases, usually for older books, I’m reviewing books I borrowed from the library or bought myself. My rating and review do not depend on whether I was provided a free reading copy. However if I did receive a free reading copy, I will disclose this in the review.

I do not post reviews of every book I read – not even close. It takes a lot of time and effort to craft a good review, and so I tend to be biased towards reviewing books that I enjoy or that excite me. As a result, you’ll find mostly 4- and 5-star reviews on my blog. Also, I do not post 1- or 2-star reviews on my blog unless the author or publisher asks me to.