#Berkley Archives - Mostly Mysteries

The Cat Who Sniffed Glue by Lilian Jackson Braun is on sale in the US

Review of A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

1 Comment / Contemporary Mysteries and Thrillers / By Sue

A new direction for paranormal romance author Nalini Singh… I participate in the Mobile Read forums and many of the folks in the romance subforum rave about Nalini Singh’s paranormal romance books. So I was excited when I got a chance to review an advance copy of one of her titles. Then I found out

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What the Devil Knows by CS Harris – Coming April 6, 2021 (review)

15 Comments / Historical Mysteries and Thrillers / By Sue

A thought-provoking and enjoyable historical mystery… I had read and enjoyed a few of the early Sebastian St. Cyr books, back in the days when “book” pretty much meant “paper”. But somehow in my transition to reading almost exclusively e-books, I lost track of the series – until recently, that is, when I became aware

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Who Speaks for the Damned by CS Harris – review

1 Comment / Historical Mysteries and Thrillers / By Sue

Thoroughly enjoyable! I had read a few early titles in the Sebastian St. Cyr series by CS Harris, and liked them. So I was happy to receive an advance review copy of the latest title in the series, Who Speaks for the Damned, in exchange for my honest review. And, it turns out that I

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A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn (review)

8 Comments / Historical Mysteries and Thrillers / By Sue

I’ve read and enjoyed several books in Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey series, but have never read any titles in her Veronica Speedwell series. So I was glad to have a chance to read a review copy of the fifth and most recent title in the series, A Murderous Relation. A Murderous Relation is an

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Review of Singapore Sapphire by AM Stuart

2 Comments / Historical Mysteries and Thrillers / By Sue

A series starter that makes me want to read the rest of the series… I’m a huge fan of historical mysteries, and I’m not too picky about either the when or the where. So I was very happy to find a new author (new to me, at least), AM Stuart, with a new series, set

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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.