Book Review: Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

Five years ago, beautiful, glamorous Lucy Chase was accused of murdering her best friend, Savvy Harper. There was never really any proof beyond circumstantial evidence – and definitely not enough to make a case strong enough to stand up in court – but the entire town of Plumpton, Texas, believed that she did it. With…

Book Review: Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa

Growing up as the daughter and apprentice of a demon-priest, or Capuwa, was never going to make Amara the most popular girl in her village. But with the British consolidating their power on 19th-century Sri Lanka, her family’s position grows ever more tenuous in the face of the almost militant Christianity the British have brought…

Book Review: Ghost Island by Max Seeck

Helsinki Police Violent Crimes Unit Detective Jessica Niemi is feeling more out of sorts than usual. Since the death of her mentor, she’s started to feel less in control of the schizophrenic hallucinations that have been her subconscious mind’s way of signaling that she’s overlooked something: a disconcerting if surprisingly helpful trait in an investigator.…

A Spoonful of Sugar…

…Makes the medicine go down, according to Mary Poppins in the classic 1964 Disney film. She’s got a literal and figurative point in relation to both life and fiction (though she can keep the pigeons).  In life, we often lean into laughter when we want to cry but fear we won’t stop if we start—in…

Cooking the Books: Murder at the Blarney Bash by Darci Hannah

Four months ago, the tragic events of a Halloween gone awry caused baker and amateur sleuth Lindsey Bakewell’s best friend, Kennedy Kapoor, to leave their small town of Beacon Harbor, Michigan. Kennedy had needed to lick her wounds back in her hometown of London, England, and had regretfully broken up with her boyfriend, Beacon Harbor’s…

Book Review: The Split by Kit Frick

Jane Connor has always felt like the plain Jane of her family, especially given the way that life has always seemed to revolve around her beautiful, magnetic younger sister Esme. Not that Jane begrudges her little sister much; after all, their sibling bond was what kept the girls going in the wake of their parents’…

Book Review: The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

In an assuming shopfront down a Kyoto back alley lies not only a very special restaurant, but an attached detective agency that specializes in recreating meals from their clienteles’ memories. The Kamogawa Diner itself is a marvel, a place of seemingly simple, inexpensive food that still manages to knock the socks off of all of…

Book Review: Keep Your Friends Close by Leah Konen

It’s taken years, but Mary has finally realized that her marriage to handsome, wealthy George Haywood is not only bad for her, but for their toddler son Alex as well. At first, George’s riches were so seductive that his controlling tendencies just seemed like a genuine interest in helping her better herself. Once she realizes…

Featured Excerpt: The Father She Went to Find by Carter Wilson

ONE July 13, 1987 Eau Claire, Wisconsin Monday I remember everything. This isn’t an exaggeration. As the few who know me would confirm, I’m not prone to hyperbole. And when I say I remember everything, I’m not talking about the events of this morning. Or yesterday. Or the whole of last week. I remember everything…