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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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Sleeping Murder, Part 2: How to ruin a Miss Marple story
In my read through of Sleeping Murder, I noted that my initial impression of this story was not a great one. I also noted my surprise at this fact on re-read, as Sleeping Murder is, in so many ways, Peak Marple. But, having watched through the adaptations, I think I can confidently blame it on…
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Sleeping Murder, Part 1: The Epitome of Marple
We made it to the very end of the series! I’ll be honest – when I first started this journey, I had no idea it would take me this long. And I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy Sleeping Murder, in particular. In my memory, it was a little silly. And to be fair,…
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Nemesis, Part 2: A mess of Marple mistakes
I’m so sorry I’ve been so late to post – the holiday season got a bit away from me… But I am determined to get through this series this year – so expect some catch-up posts! As we get towards the end of our review of Miss Marple adaptations, I feel comfortable listing some of…
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Nemesis, Part 1: Let Justice roll down like waters…
Back to my favorite sleuth in one of her most famous adventures – Nemesis. Nemesis sticks out in the Miss Marple canon for a few reasons: it leans hard into series status, and it involves an interesting and unique collaboration from beyond the grave. Thematically, the story emphasizes Justice and Choice, with character choices and…