This week Darcie Wilde released the first in her Young Queen Victoria mystery series, The Heir. Set in 1835, it follows 16-year-old Princess Victoria when she stumbles upon a dead body. Who was this man, and why is his death being covered up? Was it truly an accident, or is something more sinister afoot? As... Continue Reading →
Big, old buildings are always the best places to set a scary story, so when I heard about Juliet Blackwell's new mystery, Asylum Hotel, I was intrigued. Aubrey Spencer likes to photograph abandoned buildings, and that leads her to the little-known Seabrink Hotel, closed for over 50 years and mired in murmurings of past murders... Continue Reading →
My first time reading Emily Sullivan was last fall with Duchess Material. I loved that series opener, so I was excited to read another book—also the first in a new series!—A Death on Corfu. Set on the Greek island of Corfu in 1898, it opens with Minnie Harper, the widowed mother of two. Despite her... Continue Reading →
I've been loving Claudia Gray's Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney Mystery series, so I could hardly wait for the fourth installment, The Rushworth Family Plot. Now that Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney have a reputation for solving murders, it's no wonder the London police immediately give them free rein to investigate the latest crime: Mr.... Continue Reading →
I haven't read nearly enough romantic mysteries, and the ones I have read are usually historical. But there have been some exciting contemporary romantic mysteries lately, including He's to Die For by Erin Dunn. It just came out earlier this week and I loved it! What I Liked: Music-industry mystery. If you've read many of... Continue Reading →
A new thriller I've been looking forward to for months is out today: The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark. This dual-timeline story explores how a horrific trauma can haunt a family for decades. Vincent Taylor was one of three teenaged siblings growing up in 1970s Ojai, California. But both his older brother and younger sister were... Continue Reading →
Following Brendan Slocumb's first two books, he's become one of my favorite authors, especially for his unique blend of music, discussions of race, and crime fiction. His newest book, The Dark Maestro, came out earlier this week. While it has his trademarks—here, a Black cellist from a low class background—this one focuses more on the... Continue Reading →
Alex North has become one of my favorite authors in the past few years, so I was excited to read his brand new book, The Man Made of Smoke. Following several characters and a few timelines, it starts when young Dan has a brief encounter with a serial killer and one of the boys he'd abducted. Decades... Continue Reading →
One of my most anticipated books out today is Bailey Seybolt's debut, Coram House. Inspired by true events, this novel follows an investigative journalist as she delves into a decades-old crime at a Vermont orphanage. Back in 1968, a boy named Tommy drowned under suspicious circumstances. In 2016, Alex Kelley is working on a book... Continue Reading →
Alex North has become one of my favorite authors in the past few years, so I was excited to read his forthcoming book, The Man Made of Smoke. It's due out in May, but I was lucky to receive a physical arc this month. The Man Made of Smoke has many of the themes that... Continue Reading →
Last weekend, Syrie James released her new Gothic novel, The Mysteries of Pendowar Hall. This is the first in her series, The Audacious Sisterhood of Smoke & Fire. Blending suspense with a love story, this novel follows Diana Taylor as she begins working as governess for fifteen-year-old Emma... and investigates the circumstances around Emma's father's... Continue Reading →
Two months ago, Gemma Liviero's new novel An Age of Winters was released. It had been on my radar for some months, and I was excited to get it as an Amazon First Reads selection. I also was lucky to get the audiobook version from NetGalley, and with winter now upon us here in the... Continue Reading →
As soon as I heard about Duchess Material by Emily Sullivan, I was intrigued. A historical romance with a healthy dose of mystery? Love it! And that it takes place in the 1890s is also appealing, partly because I've read so few books set in this decade. I loved seeing how different things were, especially... Continue Reading →
As a kid, I absolutely loved horses. From my numerous Breyer horses to the book series I read (The Black Stallion; Phantom Stallion; Pony Pals; many more!), I was a horse girl through and through (minus the budget for riding lessons, sadly). To this day, I love horses and am drawn to anything involving them.... Continue Reading →
Fans of Jane Austen and historical mysteries won’t want to miss Murder in Highbury, the first in Vanessa Kelly's new Emma Knightley Mystery series. Now married to George Knightley, Emma is off of matchmaking and on to... solving crimes! When she and Harriet Martin stumble across the body of Mrs. Elton, it's immediately clear to Emma... Continue Reading →
One of my most anticipated books this fall was The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley. Set in the Seattle grunge scenes of the 1990s, this dual-timeline novel is about star-crossed lovers—Elijah Hart and Jane Pyre—torn apart by fame and addiction. But when Elijah goes missing in Iceland in late 1994, Jane is forced to carry... Continue Reading →
One of my most anticipated novels this summer was The Naturalist's Daughter by Tea Cooper. Though it was first published in Australia in 2017, this is its first release in the United States. What initially drew me to this book is its focus on the platypus. In New South Wales, Australia in the early 1800s,... Continue Reading →
There are so many books by Alyssa Palombo that I'm excited to read, but I was happy to start with her newest work of historical fiction: The Assassin of Venice, set in Renaissance Italy. With courtesans, assassins, and cruel schemes in the name of political power, this is an engrossing and memorable novel. Special thanks... Continue Reading →
In the past couple of years, I've been loving the Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney Mystery series by Claudia Gray. The third installment, The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, just came out, and it is as engrossing as the first two. This time, instead of solving a murder, Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney are... Continue Reading →
In the past few years, I've been a big fan of Lucy Foley's thrillers. Her latest is The Midnight Feast, set at the opening of a luxury resort in Dorset, a southwestern county of England. With a dual timeline between 2009 and now, a clash between classes, and four characters with their own secrets and... Continue Reading →
Nisha Sharma is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I've read two of her books—Dating Dr. Dil and Tastes Like Shakkar, the first two in her If Shakespeare Was an Auntie trilogy—and have many more on my TBR. Her latest release is her first New Adult romance: The Letters We Keep, about two rival... Continue Reading →
Between her first two novels, I’ve become a big fan of Yangsze Choo. Now she’s back with her third novel, The Fox Wife, and I was thrilled to get an early read of it. Like her previous two books, this one combines historical fiction, fantasy, and mystery together, along with Asian settings and mythologies. This... Continue Reading →
Over the past several years, I've collected a few books by Jennifer McMahon, and there are so many more on my 'wanted' list! Now felt like the right time to finally dive into some of her books, and I decided to start with the novel I've had the longest: The Winter People. It's also perfect... Continue Reading →
One year ago, I enjoyed reading Miss Aldridge Regrets, the first in Louise Hare’s Canary Club Mystery series. Now the series continues with Harlem After Midnight, set immediately after the previous book’s events. Told in three timelines, it combines two different mysteries, both set in New York City in the first half of the 20th... Continue Reading →
Amanda's Book Corner 