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Modern(ish) mystery: First impressions of Cover Her Face
New year, new… murder mystery series, I guess. This year’s holiday reading binge introduce me to P.D. James, and I enjoyed her writing enough to try and explore it further. The short stories I read had flavors of the classic English mysteries I love, but with a little more darkness. There was something about the
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TCO Reviews: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
Man oh man do I feel lucky about my January ARC lineup. It’s been a minute since I’ve really indulged in fantasy stories, but by fair my favorite sub-genre is hard fantasy. If the book has complex political intrigue and (ideally) a good dose of economic speculation, I will munch it right up. And perhaps
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The “bookish” bar: Mislabeling The Library of the Unwritten
The Library of Hell. A mysterious and powerful book. At least three librarians characters. A book combining mystery, action, and fantasy – sounds like a recipe for literary fun, right? That’s what I was hoping for when I picked up A. J. Hackwith’s The Library of the Unwritten. Specifically, I wanted a new series that
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TCO Reviews: Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
One of my very first ARC reviews was Benjamin Stevenson’s Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. I still remember inhaling it on the plane last year, amazed at every new twist and turn. It had been so long since a modern mystery excited me, and I felt so lucky to be reading it. And
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A matter of perspective: Ensemble intros and finales in The Murder Game
Happy New Year! It’s Monday the first and that means we are BACK to more typical TCO fare. And what better way to ring in the New Year than with a closed-circle murder mystery that takes place on New Year’s Eve? Tom Hindle’s The Murder Game promises all of the above, with a fun twist:
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2023: A year of reading, writing, and growth
…and that’s it, I suppose, for 2023! It’s the last day of the year and, looking back, I can’t help but be amazed at how far I’ve come. This time last year, I was very much just starting out. I was rushing to write blog posts, find challenges to give myself some structure, and figure
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From mystery to epistolary: my best reads in 2023
As we enter the final days of 2023, it’s time to recount my favorite books (and reviews) of the year. I’ve found that (in large part due to my challenges) my reading has been split into 3 major categories: little-old-lady cozies, adventurous epistolaries, and modern updates to traditional mysteries. The following list are my personal
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Advent of Mystery 2023: Some wrapping up
Merry Christmas, my reading friends! Thank you for following along on this seasonal murder mystery ride. I hope you’ve had as much fun as I have – it’s great to be able to read and share thoughts on books with so many lovely people. I’ve got a couple of thoughts on how to wrap this
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Advent of Mystery, Day 12: The Christmas Appeal
It’s Christmas Eve and we’ve got a real treat for today. Long-time readers will know I am an avid fan of Janice Hallett and have been since she first wrote The Appeal. So when I heard about The Christmas Appeal, a holiday spin-off of that novel, I knew I had to read it. The Christmas
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Advent of Mystery, Day 11: The Last Devil to Die
I will admit outright that I am stretching to the limit the definition of a Christmas story. Technically, Richard Osman’s latest in the Thursday Murder Club series takes place immediately after Christmas, spanning dead week and beyond. But I love The Last Devil to Die, and I think it perfectly encapsulates what I want from