Homages in the arts can be tricky undertakings. When a musical act, author, filmmaker, etc., produces a work that is largely derivative of a previous creative effort from the same medium, how should critics and the general public view their output? Should it be taken at face value, experienced and… Read more

After the divorce, it was settled that my little sister would live mostly with my mother, while my two older brothers and I would live mostly with our father. A lawyer himself, our father—tasked all at once with the rearing of three unruly boys—naturally fell back on what he knew…. Read more

Cozy up with these six winter mysteries by entering for a chance to win below! * Country Select oneUnited StatesOtherSorry, you cannot enter at this time. * E-mail Official Rules OFFICIAL RULES NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS SWEEPSTAKES. OPEN ONLY TO LEGAL RESIDENTS… Read more

Track a stalker. Catch a killer. The Death Messenger is a tense police procedural following The Silent Room in the thrilling Matthew Ryan series by Mari Hannah. In the Acknowledgements section at the end of the novel, author Mari Hannah indicates that the two lead protagonists in The Death Messenger — Matthew… Read more

Today, January 19th, is Edgar Allan Poe’s birthday. To celebrate his would-be 210th name day, we’re taking a look back at “The Purloined Puzzle,” C. Auguste Dupin, and the villain who’s been right in front of our eyes this whole time. It’s what he would have wanted. You don’t hear… Read more

In Back Door to Hell by Paul Gadsby, boy meets girl. Girl has a plan. A plan that’ll change everything. If only they didn’t steal from the wrong person… Nate Stokes, the most central character of Paul Gadsby’s new novel, Back Door to Hell (published by Fahrenheit 13, an imprint of… Read more

The Burglar from New York Times bestselling author Thomas Perry is a new thriller about an unlikely burglar―a young woman in her 20s―who realizes she must solve a string of murders, or else become the next victim. This is the first book I’ve read by Thomas Perry. He’s an award-winning author with… Read more

In the vein of The Dry and Before the Fall, a town’s dark secrets come to light in the aftermath of a young priest’s unthinkable last act in this arresting and searing debut thriller. You’re going to want to put journalist Chris Hammer’s debut thriller (he’s also the author of Rivers, a nonfiction… Read more

Beast in View by Margaret Millar won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1956. Helen Clarvoe is a 30-year-old shut-in. She lives alone and starts to feel that her life and fortune are threatened after receiving a frightening phone call. Helen recruits her family’s attorney, Paul Blackshear, to help… Read more

Darling by Rachel Edwards is a psychological thriller where a teenage girl clashes with her new stepmother. Darling takes the classic and dramatic plotline of teenager vs. stepmother and adds a sinister twist. This enigmatic thriller by Rachel Edwards delves into the trials and tribulations of Darling, a Jamaican single… Read more

I loved this book so much that it got me to start taking up yarncraft again! Unfortunately, not the crochet that our heroine’s competitive co-worker Adele Abrams Humphries evangelizes for—though, once I’m done with my current project, I absolutely plan on re-learning that skill. Betty Hechtman describes crafting so lovingly… Read more

In Emma Rous’ debut novel The Au Pair, Seraphine Mayes discovers a troubling photograph her family’s Norfolk estate while attending her father’s funeral. She tracks down the family’s au pair to further investigate, and a decades-old family secret begins to unravel. A family mourns the sudden death of their father. Seraphine… Read more