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Reading adventures, Pt. 2: Digging into the Cemetery of Forgotten Books in Barcelona
I left Madrid in love with Spain – and with the experience of reading location-specific novels while traveling. Reading The Familiar and experiencing a dark, historical angle of Madrid left me craving a similar experience over the rest of my travel. As we hopped on the train to Barcelona, I pulled out The Shadow of…
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Reading adventures, Pt. 1: Stories familiar and novel in Madrid
When I was little, summer meant one thing: travel. Whether we were packing our car for a road trip through the Appalachian Mountains or buckling in for a long-haul flight to Kolkata, my family was lucky enough to spend our summers adventuring. And that meant I got to take my reading to the most wonderful…
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When murder meets music: Gethsemane Brown’s paranormal Irish adventures
It’s a bit of a leap from the past to the present in mystery novels, but this next entry should help bridge the gap. Alexia Gordon’s Gethsemane Brown Mysteries have been popping up on my radar for a while, but I’ve been reluctant to engage. The series follows Gethsemane Brown, a violinist who finds herself…
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Murder aboard! Drama and race in Miss Aldridge Regrets
Black Mystery Month continues, and this time we’re keeping things cozy – and going back in time. I’ve mentioned my love of train mysteries in the past, and that magic extends to boat settings. So as I was researching reads for this month’s posts, I was delighted to come across Miss Aldridge Regrets, a 1930s…
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Abby Collette’s cozy, culinary delights
I’ll start Black Mystery Month off with some of my favorite cozy mysteries, period. There’s so much to love in Abby Collette’s Ice Cream Parlor and Books & Biscuits mysteries. These are the books I turn to when I want peak cozy mystery – mostly shenanigans, with a heap of family interactions. Reading these got…
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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…