Tracy Reviews: Before the Fall – Noah Hawley

“On a foggy summer night, eleven people–ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter–depart Martha’s Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs–the painter–and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and…

Tracy Reviews: The Forgetting Time – Sharon Guskin

I can’t recall how I first heard about this book, but I will admit that one of my favorite authors, Jodi Picoult’s quoted recommendation on the front cover, calling the book, “Provocative, evocative, fresh, Guskin’s book is an explosive debut,” may have played a part in my decision to check it out. The beginning chapters…

Fall Reading: A Few of My Favorite Mysteries

Quieter Than Sleep by Joanne Dobson “Karen Pelletier abandoned her life in New York for a professorship at Massachusetts’s elite Enfield College. But she quickly learns that New England is not the peaceful enclave she had imagined–and that not even the privileged world of academia is immune to murder….Professor Karen Pelletier’s prime literary passion is…

Patron Review: Resistant – Michael Palmer

Reviewed by Kim Although he was one of my favorite authors, I didn’t realize that Michael Palmer had died last Fall. He will be truly missed. As far as Resistant is concerned, it’s classic Palmer: He takes something that’s been in the news, in this case flesh eating bacteria, and gives it a unique twist…

The Crossing Places ~ Elly Griffiths

The Crossing Places is the first in a series featuring forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway. Ruth lives on a desolated saltmarsh on the Norfolk Coast in England. Most people wonder why she lives there, but Ruth worked on a dig in the saltmarsh where they found a henge (like Stonehenge but made of wood) and she…

Syndrome E ~ Franck Thilliez

Film enthusiast, Ludovic, purchases a number of films at an estate sale. One of the films is unmarked and Ludovic hopes that it will be a rare find. After watching the film in his home theater, Ludovic finds that he has gone blind. He grabs his phone and calls the first person he can and…

Celebrity In Death – J.D. Robb

Reviewed by Kim Celebrity in Death picks up right where the previous book New York to Dallas left off. Eve, with the help of Rourke is still recovering from those events, and she is now the subject of a “vid”, (movie) based on the Icove case written by her friend Nadine. They along with the…

Copper Beach – Jayne Ann Krentz

Reviewed by Kim Abby Radwell has an unusual psychic talent. She’s able to find, unlock and channel psychic energy from so called “hot books” and use it to disable people. After a near deadly incident in a client’s library, Abby receives a blackmail threat, and decides to hire an investigator and bodyguard named Sam Coppersmith…

Death Comes to Pemberley – P.D. James

Reviewed by Kim In P. D. James’ latest novel it’s 1803, six years after where Jane Austen ended Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Darcy are blissfully ensconced in Pemberley with their two young sons. As they prepare for the annual Autumn Ball, what could possibly happen to shatter their happiness? Of course, more drama from…

Elmore Leonard on Raylan

It’s no secret ’round these parts that I love the show Justified, which is based on a character, namely one US Marshall Raylan Givens, who appears in several of Elmore Leonard’s short stories/novels. Apparently, Lenoard became re-enamoured with his creation after seeing what Timothy Olyphant did with him, and decided to resuscitate the the shoot-first-ask-later…

Gone With A Handsomer Man – Michael Lee West

Teeny Templeton is having a pretty bad week. 1) She’s cancelled her wedding – having just discovered the skanky pastimes of her philandering fiance. 2) She’s just been bailed out of the slammer – having been arrested for assaulting said fiance and his naked paramourS with unripe peaches.   And… 3) She’s now a prime murder…

Staff Recommendation ~ The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Publisher’s Summary: “An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel. Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues…

Excerpts from Jeaniene Frost & J.D. Robb

Publisher’s summary: “Having narrowly averted an (under)world war, Cat Crawfield wants nothing more than a little downtime with her vampire husband, Bones. Unfortunately, her gift from New Orleans’ voodoo queen just keeps on giving-leading to a personal favor that sends them into battle once again, this time against a villainous spirit.” Jeaniene Frost has posted…

The Dark Enquiry – Deanna Raybourn

Reviewed by Kim Brisbane to Julia: “We simply must do something about your penchant for blowing things up, my Lady.” Yes, The Dark Enquiry starts off with a bang. Literally as well as figuratively. Having been married now for fifteen months, Lady Julia and her fascinating husband Nicholas Brisbane continue to clash even though their…

Roast Mortem – Cleo Coyle

Publisher’s Summary: “After local firefighters pull Clare out of a blazing café, she happily comes to their rescue by teaching them the finer points of operating their newly donated espresso machine. But matters really heat up when somebody is torching cafes around the city and firefighters begin to die in suspicious ways… Believing the two…

Treachery In Death – J.D. Robb

After Lieutenant Eve Dallas suggests that her partner Detective Delia Peabody could use some practice on her footwork, Peabody decides to work out out in the NYPD’s old, rarely used gym as opposed to the new state of the art one which many of her well- toned colleagues avail themselves of. She has the place…

Scoop to Kill – Wendy Lyn Watson

Publisher’s summary: “During the local college’s annual Honor’s Day festivities, a graduate student is killed. When the English professor suspected of his murder also meets an untimely end, Tallulah Jones steps out from behind the counter of Remember the a-la-Mode to clear the professor’s name-before anyone else gets put on ice…” Scoop to Kill is…

Dark Road to Darjeeling – Deanna Raybourn

This review contains minor spoilers for previous books in the series. Dark Road To Darjeeling is Deanna Raybourn’s fourth book in her Lady Julia Grey series after Silent On the Moor. Set in 1989 the novel begins with Lady Julia and her husband Inquiry Agent Nicholas Brisbane on their honeymoon in the Himalayas, attempting to…

Alexandria ~ Lindsey Davis

In the 19th book in this series, Roman detective Marcus Didius Falco travels to Alexandria with his family so that his pregnant wife can see the pyramids. This menagerie which includes, Falco and his wife, two young daughters, an adopted teenage daughter and Falco’s brother-in-law stays with Falco’s outcast uncle and his partner. As one…

Still Life – Louise Penny

Life in Three Pines, a small, tight-knit town on the outskirts of Montréal, is quiet. Residents pass time in the company of friends, art, and various other clubs. Until the morning that Jane Neal, a beloved member of the community, is found dead in the woods. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec…

The Man with a Load of Mischief – Martha Grimes

Martha Grimes’ mystery series has one thing I can’t resist: A charming, fallible detective. There are many other words that describe Chief Inspector Detective Richard Jury – personable, smart, unassuming – but those terms barely does him justice. Grimes excels at characterization; the inhabitants of the little villages Jury visits are fully realized, quirky, and…

A Witch in Time – Madelyn Alt

Fans of Alt’s Bewitching Mystery series will  no doubt tell you that, despite the transparent mystery, this sixth installment is well worth reading for its relationship-centric plot. What that means? More Marcus! And that’s always a good thing. So, this time around, Maggie gets an urgent call from her composed but worried mother; Maggie’s sister…

Local Connection

If you like books that take place close to home, we’ll give you a heads-up on titles you may want to check out with Read This’ new Local Connection feature. This time we’ve found one for all of you horror/police procedural fans: Alexandra Sokoloff’s June release, Book of Shadows, features two Boston homicide detectives and…

Escapade ~ Walter Satterthwait

In the summer of 1921, English society is fascinated by the spiritual world – perhaps no one more than the great mystery writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, one of thirteen eager guests at a weekend party and seance in a stately Devon manor house steeped in history and tradition. But, as Sir Arthur puts it,…

Mystery with Hallie Ephron

The staff here at the Peabody Institute Library had the pleasure of hearing author and Boston Globe mystery reviewer, Hallie Ephron, hold forth on the mystery genre last week. She talked about the origin of mysteries and major authors in some of the many subgenres. She was a terrific speaker and many of us were…

Holiday Grind – Cleo Coyle

In the eighth installment of the Coffeehouse Mystery series, Clare Cosi, manager of the Village Blend in Greenwich, NY, has her hands full trying to get her team of baristas to join in on the holiday spirit. When Clare finds Alfred Glockner, a traveling Santa and frequent customer at the blend, shot dead in an…

Finding Nouf ~ Zoe Ferraris

Originally from Palestine, Nayir is something of an outsider in Saudi Arabia. As a desert guide, he has become familiar with the bedouin customs, but the bedouins do not welcome him into their social circles and the Saudi’s think he is too much like a bedouin to be a Saudi. Yet he is highly regarded…

O Jerusalem ~ Laurie R. King

Inkonvellum got me hooked on the Mary Russell series. If you aren’t familiar with these and you are a fan of historical mysteries, you are in for a real treat. This series follows the exploits of Mary Russell a young ex-patriot living on the Sussex Downs with her aunt. Russell literally stumbles on a semi-retired…

Songs for the missing by Stewart O’Nan

It’s the last gasp of summer for Kim Larsen and her friends before they head off to college. They go for one last swim before heading home. Kim never arrives.Reminiscent of the Molly Bish and Natalee Holloway cases, the Larsens, their family and friends organize search parties, fundraisers, and online websites to help find their…

What I Saw and How I Lied ~ Judy Blundell

When Evie’s father returned home from World War II, the family fell back into its normal life pretty quickly.  But Joe Spooner brought more back with him than just good war stories.  When movie-star handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served in Joe’s company in postwar Austria, shows up, Evie is suddenly caught in…

The Study Series ~ Maria V Snyder

I’ve put off this post for weeks upon weeks now for two reasons: I love Maria V. Snyder’s Study series; we’re talking serious love here. I can never write about books/series I love because I can never adequately express just why it is that I do love them. (Who am I kidding? Sometimes I can’t…

Biting the Bullet ~ Jennifer Rardin

This is a mission unlike anything my vampire boss, Vayl, and I have ever been on. It’s not our usual take them out and run; it’s an undercover mission that needs the whole gang: a psychic, an interpreter, and a weapons specialist. We’re joining a Special Ops team to nail the Wizard, a major terrorist…

A Patricia Briggs Double Feature

Technically, Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series has been on my radar for some time; those who know me kept insisting I read them. And, wouldn’t you know, when I finally got around to it I ended up devouring the first two (with the third in progress) in a matter of days. Moon Called 1st in…

Duma Key – Stephen King

The “Master” is back!!!! A terrible construction accident takes Edgar Freemantle’s arm and scrambles his memory and mind, leaving him with little but rage as he begins the ordeal of rehabilitation. His marriage that produced two lovely daughters suddenly ends, and Edgar begins to wish that he hadn’t survived. His psychologist suggest a “geographic cure”,…

Silent in the Sanctuary ~ Deanna Raybourn

Fresh from a six-month sojourn in Italy, Lady Julia returns home to Sussex to find her father’s estate crowded with family and friends— but dark deeds are afoot at the deconsecrated abbey, and a murderer roams the ancient cloisters. Much to her surprise, the one man she had hoped to forget—the enigmatic and compelling Nicholas…

Silent in the Grave ~ Deanna Raybourn

“Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.” These ominous words, slashed from the pages of a book of Psalms, are the last threat that the darling of London society, Sir Edward Grey, receives from his killer. Before he can show them to Nicholas Brisbane, the private inquiry agent he…

Hex Marks the Spot ~ Madelyn Alt

While her boss becomes entranced with a beautiful armoire at the countywide craft bazaar, Maggie can’t help noticing the Amish craftsman who made it. Though his clothes may be plain, he himself is more handsome than a man sporting a jawline-only beard has any right to be. And he seems pretty aware that the ladies…

Two mysteries

Holly Winter and Kinsey Millhone are back again in their latest. Both deal with the issue of identity theft. ALL SHOTS by Susan Conant finds dog owner/trainer Holly Winter in search of the murderer of the “other” Holly Winter in town. While investigating, she learns of the existence of a third Holly Winter. Her advice…

Why Mermaids Sing ~ C.S. Harris

In 1811, murder has jarred London’s elite. The sons of prominent families have been found at dawn in public places, their bodies mutilated and strange objects stuffed into their mouths. Although Sebastian St. Cyr is distracted by his seemingly doomed relationship with actress Kat Boleyn, the oddness of these murders nags at him-and he becomes…

Creation in Death ~ J.D. Robb

NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas keeps the streets of a near-future New York City safe in this extraordinary series. But even she makes mistakes, and is haunted by those she couldn’t save-and the killers she couldn’t capture. When the body of a young brunette is found in East River Park, artfully positioned and marked by signs…

Laura Lippman’s Baltimore

” Laura Lippman writes mostly about private investigator Tess Monaghan. Monaghan is a made-up name and what she does is a matter of fiction. But when Lippman puts Baltimore on the page, she’s got to get it right.” Fans of Lippman’s novels will want to read or listen to this piece on the setting for…

Mr. Dixon Disappears ~ Ian Sansom

In Sansom’s second Mobile Library Mystery, we find our hero, Israel Armstrong, BA (Hons), in another ridiculous predicament. Our beloved underachiever has just finished his mobile-library-sponsored five-panel display on the history of the Dixon and Pickering’s department store, when he is apprehended for the robbery and kidnapping of Mr. Dixon. Sansom’s characters are wonderful and…

The Case of the Missing Books – Ian Sansom

I don’t normally read mysteries, but how could I pass up a book about a Jewish, vegetarian, bookmobile librarian in Northern Ireland? Israel Armstrong spends countless hours travelling to Tumdrum and District, Co. Antrim, to start his new position as librarian only to find that the library has been “shut.” He later learns that his…

Innocent in Death ~ J.D. Robb

“The death of history teacher Craig Foster devastated his young wife, who’d sent him off to work that morning with a lovingly packed lunch. It shocked his colleagues at the Upper West Side private school. And as for the ten-year-old girls who found him in his classroom in a pool of bodily fluids, they may…

White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz

If you’re looking for a pleasant distraction, try Krentz’s White Lies. The publisher has apparently decided to name the books that involve parasensitives as Arcane Society Novels, so while the series name may be newish, the themes are not. White Lies was a very enjoyable romantic suspense novel with paranormal tendencies. Here’s a synopsis from…

Award season isn’t just for the movies!

The Mystery Writers of America have announced the 2007 nominees for the Edgar award. (See them all here!) Aren’t familiar with the Edgar’s? The MWA has a whole page dedicated to explaining the award and the judging process (and here it is.) They also have a list of past winners on the site. How about…

The Dresden Files

Jim Butcher’s highly entertaining wizard P.I. series was optioned by the SciFi channel to become a t.v. series. In fact, it premiered last night, and as an avid reader/fan of the books, I have to say, they did an excellent job. (Even though it didn’t stay true to Butcher’s story.)   However, the books are…

The Cabinet of Curiosities

A patron recommends Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child’s The Cabinet of Curiosities. She got so wrapped up in it, she finished it in two days! “In an ancient tunnel underneath New York City a charnel house is discovered. Inside are thirty-six bodies — all murdered and mutilated more than a century ago. While FBI agent…