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Considerations – and charts! – on the challenges of 2024
As we prepare to send 2024 out with a bang, I wanted to reflect on my reading journey this year. Personally, 2024 has been a year of immense growth and intense change. I hit a milestone birthday, and a major educational moment. I got a big promotion. And I did a big International trip (and…
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Mystery, music, and everything in between: My Top 5 Epistolary Reads of 2024
We’ve made it through mystery and fantasy to arrive at my favorite epistolary reads of 2024. I’ll be honest – this was not a great year for epistolary releases… but that doesn’t mean I didn’t get to read new material. Instead, I got to dig through some extant epistolaries to blend with the newer stuff.…
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Tales of Magic, Mystery, and Other Marvels: My Top 5 Fantasy Reads of 2024
Yesterday was mystery, and today we’re moving to my favorite fantasy reads of the year… It was an interesting year for my fantasy TBR. I started the year expecting to read a hefty list of new releases… And while I read some on that list, I found a lot of joy in books published earlier,…
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Wit, Intrigue, and Warmth: My Favorite Mysteries in 2024
It’s the time of year for reading roundups and top-n lists, and this blog is no exception. I’ve read 180(!) books this year, some better than others, and I Have Some Thoughts on those I loved best and why. We’ll start with the mysteries, which were far and away the genre I spent the most…
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Advent of Mystery, 2024: Some thoughts on the Christmas crime genre
Merry Christmas, my reading friends! I hope you have enjoyed this year’s Advent of Mystery at least as much as I have. I’ve certainly learned a ton about what it takes to manage a Christmas mystery story that still feels festive. As usual, we’ll keep it quick – starting with a roundup of all the…
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Advent of Mystery, Day 10: A Lively Midwinter Murder
Our last day of book reviews brings us to A Lively Midwinter Murder, a continuation of the cozy Dahlia Lively series. For those unfamiliar, this series follows three actresses who have played three generations of the same female detective. They’re drawn together by this commonality – and when murders occur around them, of course they…
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Advent of Mystery 2024, Day 9: Murder at the Christmas Emporium
On our penultimate day of Christmas crime reads, we’ve got the return of one my favorite authors from last year. Andreina Cordani’s The Twelve Days of Murder was somehow both creepy and Christmassy, delivering a satisfying thriller. I don’t personally enjoy thrillers very much, but loved Cordani’s writing style, her story’s structure, and her characters.…
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Advent of Mystery 2024, Day 8: Death Comes at Christmas
Continuing the theme of short and sweet, next on our list is Death Comes at Christmas. This collection of short stories aggregates new writing by some of the most exciting modern crime writers. The promise is a compendium of Christmas crime stories that explores the spirit of the season, while providing intriguing puzzles from today’s…
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Advent of Mystery 2024, Day 7: Murder Under the Mistletoe
Sometimes, you’re looking for something short and sweet that immerses you in the familiar traditions of the holiday season. The Reverend Richard Coles’s Murder Under the Mistletoe does just that, taking the readers to an English country parish. This novella continues the story of Canon Clement and his family in the days leading up to…
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Advent of Mystery 2024, Day 6: The Christmas Eve Murders
For today, we’ve got a British import: The Christmas Eve Murders by Noelle Albright releases June 2025 stateside. (This strikes me as strange timing for a Christmas mystery… But who am I to dictate to Big Publishing?) When Maddie Marlowe’s car breaks down on Christmas Eve, she takes shelter in a tiny pub in Yorkshire.…