Japanese Gothic

Japanese Gothic 

By Kylie Lee Baker 

Hanover Square Press, 2026. 344 pages. Fiction 

 Lee Turner doesn't remember how or why he killed his college roommate. The details are blurred and bloody. All he knows is he has to flee New York and go to the one place that might offer refuge--his father's new home in Japan. But something is terribly wrong with the house: no animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn't always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls. 

 October, 1877: Sen is a young samurai in exile, hiding from the imperial soldiers in a house behind the sword ferns. A monster came home from war wearing her father's face, but Sen would do anything to please him. She knows the soldiers will soon slaughter her whole family when she sees a terrible omen: a young foreign man who appears outside her window. One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie. Something is hiding beneath the house of sword ferns, and Lee and Sen will soon wish they never unburied it. 

‘Tis the season for spooky, summer reads and Japanese Gothic rings it in with aplomb. This deeply atmospheric novel had me looking over my shoulder and hearing whispers in the wind. The parallel stories are driven by compelling characters that had me invested, but absolutely did not trust. This book was mysterious, gothic, and a little out there and I just couldn’t get enough. 

 If you like Japanese Gothic, you might also like: 

 

Nothing but Blackened Teeth 

By Cassandra Khaw 

Nightfire, 2021. 125 pages. Fiction 

 A Heian-era mansion stands abandoned, its foundations resting on the bones of a bride and its walls packed with the remains of the girls sacrificed to keep her company. It's the perfect venue for a group of thrill-seeking friends, brought back together to celebrate a wedding. A night of food, drinks, and games quickly spirals into a nightmare as secrets get dragged out and relationships are tested. But the house has secrets too. Lurking in the shadows is the ghost bride with a black smile and a hungry heart. And she gets lonely down there in the dirt. Effortlessly taking the classic haunted house story and turning it on its head, Nothing but Blackened Teeth is a sharp and devastating exploration of grief, the parasitic nature of relationships, and the consequences of our actions. 

The Hacienda 

By Isabel Cañas 

Berkley, 2022. 345 pages. Fiction 

In the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz's father is executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife's sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security his estate in the countryside provides. She will have her own home again, no matter the cost. But Hacienda San Isidro is not the sanctuary she imagined. When Rodolfo returns to work in the capital, visions and voices invade Beatriz's sleep. The weight of invisible eyes follows her every move. Rodolfo's sister, Juana, scoffs at Beatriz's fears--but why does she refuse to enter the house at night? What really happened to the first Doña Solórzano? Beatriz only knows two things for certain. Something is wrong with the hacienda. And no one there will help her. Desperate for help, she clings to the young priest, Padre Andrés, as an ally. No ordinary priest, it will take Andrés's skills as a witch to battle the malevolent presence haunting the hacienda. 

 

The Children 

By Melissa Albert William 

Morrow, 2026. 398 pages. Fiction 

Guinevere Sharpe has two childhoods. In one, she lives in the wooded shadow of her family's isolated Vermont farmhouse; in the other, the pages of her mother's world-famous Ninth City books, where her magical adventures have made her a household name. In reality, Guinevere's childhood isn't the enchanted idyll her mother's readers imagine: she and her older brother are growing up near-feral, unwashed and underfed, escaping each day to the lichen-clotted woods they've made their playland. As Edith Sharpe's books explode into epic popularity, the threats of a rural childhood give way to the escalating perils of fame--until the night it all goes up in flames, leaving Edith's series unfinished and her children the sole survivors. Now an adult coasting on her mother's name, Guinevere is mid-promotion for a ghostwritten memoir when her estranged brother, an artist who has until now spurned his family's legacy, announces an upcoming installation titled Mother. As rumors swirl around a death connected to his last show, unsettling recollections from Guinevere's childhood begin to surface

CB

A Good Person

A Good Person

by Kirsten King

G.P Putnam's Sons, 2026. 291 pages. Fiction.

Lillian and Henry have been enjoying each other’s company, especially in bed. Even though Lillian’s best friend calls it “situationship,” Lillian is determined to lock Henry down—and she has a plan. She’ll be the best, most accommodating version of herself until he falls in love with her. But when Henry blindsides Lillian with a breakup, Lillian exacts revenge by performing a drunken hex on him.

Lillian expects Henry to come crawling back to her. What she doesn’t quite anticipate is becoming a prime suspect in his murder case when he’s found dead. As Lillian grapples with the loss of her sort-of-boyfriend, she’s hit with another reckoning: That Henry had a long-term girlfriend he also left behind. Desperate to control the narrative, clear her name, and assume her rightful place as Henry’s mourning girlfriend, Lillian’s pursuit of the truth will throw her into a dangerous tailspin. A deliciously addictive novel that explores our darkest, most human impulses, A Good Person heralds Kirsten King as a striking new voice in the canon of celebrated fiction.

I love reading about weird, deeply flawed women, and that's exactly the kind of character Lillian is. She's narcissistic, delusional, and is not "A Good Person". Yet, despite her general awfulness, she's also somehow entirely likeable as a protagonist- with her dark sense of humor and her relatable desire to feel loved and seen, which is something I think most of us can empathize with. Would I want to know her in real life? Absolutely not. Is she delightful and hilarious to read about? Absolutely. I flew through this book; its pacing is perfect and makes it so easy to read quickly. It's a well-written literary novel with a dash of mystery/thriller elements and, of course, a very dark, very clever humor to it that had me laughing out loud several times while reading. If you, too, like reading about weird, unstable girls who perpetually make the worst decisions possible, you will love this debut novel from Kirsten King.

If you like A Good Person, you might also like:

Big Swiss

by Jen Beagin

Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, 2023. 325 pages.

Greta lives with her friend Sabine in an ancient Dutch farmhouse in Hudson, New York. The house, built in 1737, is unrenovated, uninsulated, and full of bees. Greta spends her days transcribing therapy sessions for a sex coach who calls himself Om. She becomes infatuated with his newest client, a repressed married woman she affectionately refers to as Big Swiss, since she's tall, stoic, and originally from Switzerland. Greta is fascinated by Big Swiss's refreshing attitude toward trauma. They both have dark histories, but Big Swiss chooses to remain unattached to her suffering while Greta continues to be tortured by her past. One day, Greta recognizes Big Swiss's voice at the dog park. In a panic, she introduces herself with a fake name and they quickly become enmeshed. Although Big Swiss is unaware of Greta's true identity, Greta has never been more herself with anyone. Her attraction to Big Swiss overrides her guilt, and she'll do anything to sustain the relationship 

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead

by Emily Austin

Atria Books, 2021. 243 pages.

Gilda, a twenty-something, atheist, animal-loving lesbian, cannot stop ruminating about death. Desperate for relief from her panicky mind and alienated from her repressive family, she responds to a flyer for free therapy at a local Catholic church, and finds herself being greeted by Father Jeff, who assumes she's there for a job interview. Too embarrassed to correct him, Gilda is abruptly hired to replace the recently deceased receptionist Grace. In between trying to memorize the lines to Catholic mass, hiding the fact that she has a new girlfriend, and erecting a dirty dish tower in her crumbling apartment, Gilda strikes up an email correspondence with Grace's old friend. She can't bear to ignore the kindly old woman, who has been trying to reach her friend through the church inbox, but she also can't bring herself to break the bad news. Desperate, she begins impersonating Grace via email. But when the police discover suspicious circumstances surrounding Grace's death, Gilda may have to finally reveal the truth of her mortifying existence.

Bunny

by Mona Awad

Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2019. 305 pages.

Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program at New England's Warren University. A scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort--a clique of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other "Bunny," and are often found entangled in a group hug so tight they become one. But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the Bunnies' fabled "Smut Salon," and finds herself inexplicably drawn to their front door--ditching her only friend, Ava, a caustic art school dropout, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the sinister yet saccharine world of the Bunny cult and starts to take part in their ritualistic off-campus "Workshop" where they magically conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur, and her friendships with Ava and the Bunnies are brought into deadly collision.

ND

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax

By Dorothy Gilman 

Doubleday, 1966. 216 pages 

Mystery 

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax a lighthearted spy adventure that follows Emily Pollifax, a widowed grandmother from New Jersey who feels restless and overlooked after her children are grown. Tired of ordinary routines and wanting to do something meaningful and exciting, she impulsively walks into the offices of the CIA and volunteers to become a spy. 

To everyone’s surprise — including her own — Mrs. Pollifax is accidentally recruited for a simple courier mission to Mexico City. The agency assumes that no one would suspect a cheerful older woman carrying secret information. What begins as a harmless assignment quickly spirals into genuine danger when the mission goes wrong and Mrs. Pollifax finds herself caught in an international conspiracy involving smugglers, political prisoners, and foreign agents. 

Despite having no formal training, Mrs. Pollifax proves resourceful, observant, and unexpectedly brave. Her kindness and grandmotherly appearance allow her to move through situations unnoticed, but beneath her polite exterior is a woman with sharp instincts and quiet courage. Along the way she forms unlikely friendships, survives kidnapping attempts, and discovers that adventure — and personal purpose — can arrive at any stage of life. 

The novel blends cozy mystery charm with Cold War espionage, offering suspense without becoming overly dark. Much of the appeal comes from Mrs. Pollifax herself: she is practical, witty, compassionate, and delightfully underestimated. The story balances humor, danger, and heart, making it both an entertaining spy caper and an uplifting story about reinvention and confidence later in life. 

Fans of classic mysteries, gentle humor, and character-driven adventures often enjoy the Mrs. Pollifax series for its clean content, fast pacing, and charming protagonist. 

I love Mrs. Pollifax! She decides she wants to be a spy and by golly she becomes a top-secret spy for the CIA. She's a quirky "old lady" who knows her own mind and just sees what needs to be done. Definitely channeling Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher. A fun, fast-paced read that I would recommend to anyone! 

If you like The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, you might also like: 

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind

By Ann B. Ross

W. Morrow, 1999. 273 pages 

Fiction

Miss Julia, a recently bereaved and newly wealthy widow, is only slightly bemused when one Hazel Marie Puckett appears at her door with a youngster in tow and unceremoniously announces that the child is the illegitimate son of Miss Julia's late husband. Suddenly, this longtime church member and pillar of her small Southern community finds herself in the center of an unseemly scandal--and the guardian of a nine-year-old whose mere presence turns her life upside down. 

With razor-sharp wit and perfect "Steel Magnolia" poise, Miss Julia speaks her mind indeed--about a robbery, a kidnapping, and the other disgraceful events precipitated by her husband's death. Fast-paced and charming, with a sure sense of comic drama, a cast of crazy characters, and a strong Southern cadence, Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind will delight listeners from start to end. 

Murder on a Girls' Night Out: a Southern Sisters Mystery

By Anne George

Avon Books, 1996. 244 pages

Mystery

Patricia Anne -- "Mouse" -- is respectful, respectable, and demure, a perfect example of genteel Southern womanhood. Mary Alice -- "Sister" -- is big, brassy, flamboyant, and bold. Together they have a knack for finding themselves in the center of some of Birmingham's most unfortunate unpleasantness. 

Country Western is red hot these days, so over impulsive Mary Alice thinks it makes perfect sense to buy the Skoot 'n' Boot bar -- since that's where the many-times-divorced "Sister" and her boyfriend du jour like to hang out anyway. Sensible retired schoolteacher Patricia Anne is inclined to disagree -- especially when they find a strangled and stabbed dead body dangling in the pub's wishing well. The sheriff has some questions for Mouse and her sister Sister, who were the last people, besides the murderer, of course, to see the ill-fated victim alive. And they had better come up with some answers soon -- because a killer with unfinished business has begun sending them some mighty threatening messages...

- EJW

The Man in Black

The Man in Black

By Elly Griffiths

Mariner Books, 2024. 310 pages. Mystery

From the internationally bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries, an eclectic, thrilling collection of short stories, featuring many characters that readers have come to know and love. Elly Griffiths has always written short stories to experiment with different voices and genres as well as to explore what some of her fictional creations such as Ruth Galloway, Harbinder Kaur, and Max Mephisto might have done outside of the novels. The Man in Black gathers these bite-sized tales all together in one splendid volume. There are ghost stories, cozy mysteries, tales of psychological suspense, and poignant vignettes of love and loss.

I don't always like short stories, so I approached this collection with caution, even though I love author Elly Griffiths and her Ruth Galloway mystery series. A few stories in, I knew I had nothing to fear. I found this collection really charming, thought-provoking and spooky. There's a beautiful tribute to "Little Women", and I think my favorite story was told from the point of view of a cat! She does revisit characters from her series (yay!), but I don't think you need to be familiar with those to enjoy this book. For example, some of the stories featured characters from her Magic Men mysteries, which I haven't read yet. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who loves short stories, mysteries, and charming, odd British tales. 

If you liked The Man in Black, you might also like: 

The Mistletoe Murder: and other stories

By P.D. James

Alfred A. Knopf, 2016. 152 pages. Mystery

Four previously uncollected stories from one of the great mystery writers of our time--swift, cunning murder mysteries (two of which feature the young Adam Dalgliesh) that together, to borrow the author's own word, add up to a delightful "entertainment." The newly appointed Sgt. Dalgliesh is drawn into a case that is "pure Agatha Christie." . . . A "pedantic, respectable, censorious" clerk's secret taste for pornography is only the first reason he finds for not coming forward as a witness to a murder . . . A best-selling crime novelist describes the crime she herself was involved in fifty years earlier . . . Dalgliesh's godfather implores him to reinvestigate a notorious murder that might ease the godfather's mind about an inheritance, but which will reveal a truth that even the supremely upstanding Adam Dalgliesh will keep to himself. Each of these stories is as playful as it is ingeniously plotted, the author's sly humor as evident as her hallmark narrative elegance and shrewd understanding of some of the most complex--not to say the most damning--aspects of human nature.

Lord Peter: the complete Lord Peter Wimsey stories

By Dorothy L. Sayers

Perennial, 2001. 474 pages. Mystery

One of the founding mothers of mystery, Dorothy Sayers first introduced the popular character Lord Peter Wimsey in 1923 with the publication of Whose Body? Over the next twenty years, more novels and short stories about the aristocratic amateur sleuth appeared, each one as cunningly written as the next. Now in single volume, here are all the Lord Peter Wimsey stories, a treasure for any mystery lover. From "The Fantastic Horror of the Cat in the Bag" to "The Image in the Mirror" and "Talboys," this collection is Lord Peter at his best -- and a true testament to the art of detective fiction.

MGB

Murder at Gulls Nest

 

Murder at Gulls Nest
by Jess Kidd
Atria Books, 2025. 324 pages. Mystery

1954: When her former novice's dependable letters stop, Nora Breen asks to be released from her vows. Haunted by a line in Frieda's letter, Nora arrives at Gulls Nest, a charming hotel in Gore-on-Sea in Kent. A seaside town, a place of fresh air and relaxed constraints, is the perfect place for a new start. Nora hides her identity and pries into the lives of her fellow guests. But when a series of bizarre murders rattles the occupants of Gulls Nest it's time to ask if a dark past can ever really be left behind.

If you love cozy mysteries with quirky characters and mysterious pasts, this is the book for you. Nora Breen is an unexpected amateur sleuth who solves crimes mostly by brazenly asking questions others don't dare to ask. I fell in love with her the moment she winks at a guy who catcalls her! While at first Nora is only investigating the disappearance of her friend, the more she gets to know about the residents at Gulls Nest, the more mysteries appear. Setting the book in 1950s England also adds an interesting element to the story, since characters are still dealing with the after-effects of World War II in subtle and not-so subtle ways. All in all, this is a great cozy mystery readers are sure to enjoy.

If you like Murder at Gulls Nest you might also like:

The Marlow Murder Club
by Robert Thorogood
Poisoned Pen Press, 2021. 282 pages. Mystery

Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and blissfully happy. One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. The local police don't believe her story, so she decides to investigate for herself, and is soon joined in her quest by Suzie, a salt-of-the-earth dog-walker, and Becks, the prim and proper wife of the local vicar. Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club. When another body turns up, they realize they have a real-life serial killer on their hands.

Lavender House
by Lev AC Rosen
Forge, 2022. 274 pages. Mystery

While investigating the mysterious death of matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of a famous soap empire, Andy Mills is seduced by the safety and freedom found in Lavender House, where a queer family lives honestly and openly, until he becomes a pawn in their deadly game.

 

MB 

The Last Murder at the End of the World

The Last Murder at the End of the World
by Stuart Turton
Sourcebooks Landmark, 2024. 354 pages. Science Fiction, Mystery.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed many years ago by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched. On the island, it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three long-lived scientists (the only ones who remember what life was like before), living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, and to do what they're told, including obeying a strict nightly curfew. One morning, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. To make matters worse, the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island--the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 92 hours, the fog will smother the island-and everyone on it. But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer--and they don't even know it. The clock is ticking…

I recently enjoyed Stuart Turton’s mind-bending mystery novel, The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, in which the protagonist is compelled to solve a murder by reliving the days leading up to it, in the bodies of various participants and witnesses. It was a nifty premise, but to my delight it took an even deeper turn, becoming a thoughtful meditation on remorse, forgiveness, and the worth of a soul by the end. I love a book that takes what could just be a clever gimmick and turns it into something more. That’s a long way of saying that when The Last Murder at the End of the World came along, I had some high expectations. Could this author surprise me again?

I’m pleased to report that Turton is an author worth watching. He has taken another high concept idea and done the most interesting things with it. The narrator, Abi, being a nigh-omniscient artificial intelligence is both a delightful surprise and an intriguing complication, as while her entire purpose is to serve and protect the remnant of the human race on the island, her perspective is utterly inhuman. Most of the time, The Last Murder feels like a traditional third-person limited narrative. The residents of the island have to piece the clues together as best they can, based on their understanding of themselves and their relationships, both with the scientists and one another. It is easy to get drawn into the thoughts and struggles of Emory, Thea, and the other islanders, only for Abi to make a comment at just the right moment to bring the reader crashing back to earth with the realization that we're getting all our information from a narrator who can't even tell us if she knows more than she's saying. I can’t say more lest I spoil the big revelations; all I can say is that my sci-fi-loving heart was quite satisfied by the ending which proves, again, to be more than originally promised. Stuart Turton has said that he wants to try something different with every book he writes; I will be waiting to see what he writes next!

 If you like The Last Murder at the End of the World, you might also like:

Ghost Station
by S.A. Barnes
Nightfire, Tor Publishing, 2024. 377 pages. Science fiction, Horror.

Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of Eckhart-Reiser syndrome (ERS), a psychological condition that can affect long-time space travelers--the most famous case of which resulted in the brutal murders of twenty-nine people. Ophelia is assigned to a small exploration crew on an abandoned planet who recently suffered the tragic death of a colleague. She wants to help, but as the tight-knit crew works to solve the mystery of what happened to the previous inhabitants of the planet, it becomes clear that they are not eager to open up. In fact, they are definitely hiding something. The gruesome murder of their pilot sparks terror that history is about to repeat itself. Is this simply the terrible effects of another case of ERS, or something more sinister?

 

The Deep
by Nick Cutter
Gallery Books, 2015. 394 pages. Horror, Suspense.

A strange plague called the 'Gets is decimating humanity on a global scale. It causes forgetfulness – first in small things like the location of one’s car keys, but getting progressively worse to the point that the human body “forgets” how to function at all – and there is no cure. Far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, deep in the Mariana Trench, a heretofore-unknown substance hailed as a “universal healer” has been discovered, and it may just be the key to eradicating the ‘Gets. A special research lab, the Trieste, has been built eight miles under the sea to study this phenomenon. But when the station goes incommunicado, a brave few descend through the lightless fathoms in hopes of unraveling the mysteries lurking at those crushing depths...and perhaps to encounter an evil blacker than anything one could possibly imagine.

-LAH

The Night of Baba Yaga

The Night of Baba Yaga
By Akira Otani
Soho Press, 2024. 206 pages. Mystery.

Tokyo, 1979. Yoriko Shindo, a workhorse of a woman who has been an outcast her whole life, is kidnapped and dragged to the lair of the Naiki-kai, a branch of the yakuza. After she savagely fends off a throng of henchmen in an attempt to escape, Shindo is only permitted to live under one condition: that she will become the bodyguard and driver for Shoko Naiki, the obsessively sheltered daughter of the gang's boss. Eighteen-year-old Shoko, pretty and silent as a doll, has no friends, wears strangely old-fashioned clothes, and is completely naive in all matters of life. Originally disdaining her ward, Shindo soon finds herself far more invested in Shoko's well-being than she ever expected. But every man around them is bloodthirsty and trigger-happy. Shindo doubts she and Shoko will survive much longer if nothing changes. Could there ever be a different life for two women like them? Akira Otani's English-language debut moves boldly through time and across gender, stretching the definitions and possibilities of each concept. Rendered in a gorgeous translation by International Booker-shortlisted Sam Bett, this lean, mean thriller proves that bonds forged in fire are unbreakable.

This is another bite-sized read, which makes it a great introduction to mystery or translated novels.  The characters were a bit surface-level due to the length, but I still found myself rooting for them and found their inner dialogue humorous.  The story was fast paced with an atmosphere of sweetness that I associate with sapphic novels even among the violence and gore of the yakuza aspect.  I read this book in one sitting and at first it felt a little off (possibly due to the nature of translation), but the ending came together in a way that was unexpected and lovely.  

If you like The Night of Baba Yaga, you might also like: 

The Plotters

By Un-Su Kim

Doubleday, 2019. 291 pages. Fiction.

Behind every assassination, there is an anonymous mastermind--a plotter--working in the shadows. Plotters quietly dictate the moves of the city's most dangerous criminals, but their existence is little more than legend. Just who are the plotters? And more important, what do they want? Reseng is an assassin. Raised by a cantankerous killer named Old Raccoon in the crime headquarters "The Library," Reseng never questioned anything: where to go, who to kill, or why his home was filled with books that no one ever read. But one day, Reseng steps out of line on a job, toppling a set of carefully calibrated plans. And when he uncovers an extraordinary scheme set into motion by an eccentric trio of young women--a convenience store clerk, her wheelchair-bound sister, and a cross-eyed librarian--Reseng will have to decide if he will remain a pawn or finally take control of the plot.

Fortune Favors the Dead

By Stephen Spotswood

Doubleday, 2020. 321 pages. Mystery.

New York, 1942: Willowjean "Will" Parker is a scrappy circus runaway whose knife-throwing skills have just saved the life of private investigator, Lillian Pentecost. Lillian's multiple sclerosis means she can't keep up with her old case load alone, so she wants to hire Will to be her right-hand woman. In return, Will is to receive a salary, room and board, and training in Lillian's very particular art of investigation. Three years later: Will and Lillian are on a case: Abigail Collins was found bludgeoned to death with a crystal ball following a big, boozy Halloween party at her home; her body in the same chair where her steel magnate husband shot himself the year before - in a locked room. The case involves messages from the dead, a seductive spiritualist, and Becca Collins - daughter of the deceased. When Will and Becca start a relationship, Will discovers she may have become the murderer's next target.

Razorblade Tears

By S.A. Cosby
Flatiron Books, 2021. 319 pages. Fiction.

A Black father. A white father. Two murdered sons. A quest for vengeance. Ike Randolph has been out of jail for fifteen years, with not so much as a speeding ticket in all that time. But a Black man with cops at the door knows to be afraid. The last thing he expects to hear is that his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah's white husband, Derek. Ike had never fully accepted his son but is devastated by his loss. Derek's father Buddy Lee was almost as ashamed of Derek for being gay as Derek was ashamed his father was a criminal. Buddy Lee still has contacts in the underworld, though, and he wants to know who killed his boy. Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge. In their quest to do better for their sons in death than they did in life, hardened men Ike and Buddy Lee will confront their own prejudices about their sons and each other, as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys.

KJ

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies 

by Alison Goodman

New York: Berkley Prime Crime 2023. 336 pages. Mystery 

A high society amateur detective at the heart of Regency London uses her wits and invisibility as an 'old maid' to protect other women in a new historical mystery series. Lady Augusta Colebrook, "Gus," is determinedly unmarried, bored by society life, and tired of being dismissed at the age of forty-two. She and her twin sister, Julia, who is grieving her dead betrothed, need a distraction. One soon presents itself: to rescue their friend's goddaughter, Caroline, from her violent husband. The sisters set out to Caroline's country estate with a plan, but their carriage is accosted by a highwayman. In the scuffle, Gus accidentally shoots the ruffian, only to discover he is Lord Evan Belford, an acquaintance from their past who was charged with murder and exiled to Australia twenty years ago. With Lord Evan injured and unconscious, the sisters have no choice but to bring him on their mission to save Caroline. What follows is a high adventure full of danger, clever improvisation, heart-racing near misses, and a little help from a revived and rather charming Lord Evan. 

This book is a breath of fresh air amongst other Regency-era fiction, which typically focuses on romance between two young characters. This story features two women in their 40s whose goals in life have nothing to do with finding love (although there is a little sprinkling of that in this book too). It’s a fast-paced story with the main characters getting wrapped up into schemes to help other women out of dangerous situations. The characters in this book are well-developed, and throughout the story they struggle with things like loss of faith and health issues, including breast cancer and an interesting look into early treatments for it. This book is recommended for anyone who loves women supporting women, period dramas, or Jane Austen. 

If you like The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies, you might also like:

Of Manners and Murder 

by Anastasia Hastings New York: Minotaur Books 2023. 304 pages. Mystery 

Of Manners and Murder is the first in the delightful new Dear Miss Hermione mystery series from Anastasia Hastings. 1885: London, England. When Violet's Aunt Adelia decides to abscond with her newest paramour, she leaves behind her role as the most popular Agony Aunt in London, "Miss Hermione," in Violet's hands. And of course, the first letter Violet receives is full, not of prissy pondering, but of portent. Ivy Armstrong is in need of help and fears for her life. But when Violet visits the village where the letters were posted, she find that Ivy is already dead. She'll quickly discover that when you represent the best-loved Agony Aunt in Britain, both marauding husbands and murder are par for the course. 

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord 

by Celeste Connally New York: Minotaur Books 2023. 304 pages. Mystery 

London, 1815. Lady Petra Forsyth, daughter of the Earl of Holbrook, has made a shocking proclamation. After losing her beloved fiancé in an accident three years earlier, she announces in front of London's loosest lips that she will never marry. A woman of independent means--and rather independent ways--Petra sees no reason to cede her wealth and freedom to any man now that the love of her life is gone. Instead, she plans to continue enjoying the best of society without any expectations. But when ballroom gossip suggests that a longtime friend has died of a fit due to her "melancholia" while in the care of a questionable physician, Petra vows to use her status to dig deeper--uncovering a private asylum where men pay to have their wives and daughters locked away, or worse. Just as Petra has reason to believe her friend is alive, a shocking murder proves more danger is afoot than she thought. And the more determined Lady Petra becomes in uncovering the truth, the more her own headstrong actions and desire for independence are used against her, putting her own freedom--and possibly her life--in jeopardy. 

The Murder of Mr. Wickham 

by Claudia Gray New York: Vintage Books 2022. 336 pages. Mystery 

After many years of happy marriage, Emma Knightley and her husband are throwing a house party, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances-not all of whom are well known to the Knightleys but are certainly beloved by every Jane Austen fan: Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, Marianne and Colonel Brandon, Anne and Captain Wentworth, and Fanny and Edmund Bertram. Very much not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him newfound wealth-and a broadening array of enemies. With his unexpected arrival, tempers flare and secrets are revealed, making it clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet the Knightleys and their guests are all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered-except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst. With everyone a suspect, it falls to the house party's two youngest guests to solve the mystery of who finally delivered to Wickham his just deserts: Juliet Tilney, the smart and resourceful daughter of Catherine and Henry Tilney, eager for adventure outside Northanger Abbey; and Jonathan Darcy, Elizabeth and Darcy's eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem relaxed.

EP

Never Saw Me Coming

Never Saw Me Coming

By Vera Kurian

Park Row Books, 2021. 389 pages. Mystery

It would be easy to underestimate Chloe Sevre. She's a freshman honor student, a legging-wearing hot girl next door, who also happens to be a psychopath. She spends her time on yogalates, frat parties and plotting to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her. Chloe is one of seven students at her college who are part of an unusual clinical study of psychopaths. The study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements. When one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and Chloe goes from hunter to prey. As she races to identify the killer and put her own plan for revenge into action, she'll be forced to decide if she can trust her fellow psychopaths -- and everybody knows you should never trust a psychopath.

Kurian has done the unthinkable and had me rooting for a psychopath which is truly a feat since Chloe, at times, is highly unlikeable. For a rather dark thriller, I was surprised by how much fun I had following Chloe’s hijinks in her plot to kill her childhood friend while also trying to avoid being killed herself. The book excelled at depicting the unlikely friendship among psychopathic students as they work together to figure out who is killing them. Their dynamic was both difficult to wrap my brain around and highly entertaining which goes to show Kurian’s skill in writing rich, dimensional characters. I also appreciate a mystery that I can’t solve and when I say I didn’t see the end coming, I truly mean it. If you enjoy the television show Dexter or love a thriller with a dark academia vibe, then Never Saw Me Coming is for you!

If you like Never Saw Me Coming, you might also like:

Everyone is Watching

By Heather Gudenkauf

Park Row Books, 2024. 297 pages. Fiction

The Best Friend. The Confidant. The Senator. The Boyfriend. The Executive. Five contestants have been chosen to compete for ten million dollars on the game show One Lucky Winner. The catch? None of them knows what (or who) to expect and it will be live streamed all over the world. Completely secluded in an estate in Northern California, with strict instructions not to leave the property and zero contact with the outside world, the competitors start to feel a little too isolated. When long-kept secrets begin to rise to the surface, the contestants realize this is no longer just a reality show--someone is out for blood. And the game can't end until the world knows who the contestants really are.

They Never Learn

By Layne Fargo

Scout Press, 2020. 342 pages. Fiction

Scarlett Clark is an exceptional English professor, but she's even better at getting away with murder. Every year, Dr. Clark searches for the worst man at Gorman University and plots his well-deserved demise. Thanks to her meticulous planning, she's avoided drawing attention to herself, but as she's preparing for her biggest kill yet, the school starts probing into the growing body count on campus. Determined to keep her enemies close, Dr. Clark insinuates herself into the investigation. Everything's going according to her master plan until she loses control with her latest victim. Meanwhile, Gorman student Carly Schiller is just trying to survive her freshman year. Finally free of her emotionally abusive father, all Carly wants is to focus on her studies. Her new roommate has other ideas. Allison Hadley is cool and confident, and the two girls quickly form an intense friendship. So when Allison is assaulted at a party, Carly becomes obsessed with making the attacker pay and turning her fantasies about revenge into a reality.

BW

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
Ally Carter
Avon, 2024. 293 pages. Mystery.

Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt: She's the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery. He's Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy. She hates his guts. He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she's told him otherwise.) But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself. That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone. She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust? As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth--and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor. Assuming they don't kill each other first. 

I very much enjoyed this enemies to lovers mystery novel and would read it any time of the year. Maggie and Ethan have a chemistry and witty banter that I found charming. Overall, a feel good, festive locked room mystery that I would be comfortable recommending to my mother in law’s book group and a book group of my own. I found it interesting that author Ally Carter was inspired by the disappearance of Agatha Christie on Dec 3, 1926 and her reappearance 11 days later on Dec 14th. 

If you like The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, you might also like:

The Merriest Misters
Timothy Janovsky
St. Martin’s Griffin, 2024. 305 pages. Romance.

Patrick Hargrave and Quinn Muller have been married for less than a year, but their passionate romance is cracking under the pressures of domestic life and a cumbersome mortgage. That's until Christmas Eve when Patrick wakes Quinn up with: "I think I've killed a man." Quinn realizes the "burglar" Patrick knocked out is none other than Mr. Claus himself. Instructed by a harried elf to don the red suit and take the reins of the reindeer-guided sleigh up on the roof, Quinn and Patrick work together to save Christmas. But as the sun rises on Christmas morning, the sleigh brings them back to the North Pole instead of New Jersey, and they're in for a massive shock. The couple must assume the roles of Santa Claus and the first ever Merriest Mister or Christmas will be canceled ... permanently. With Christmas-and their marriage-on the line, Patrick and Quinn agree to stay together for one year. But can running a toy shop together save their relationship, or will Patrick and Quinn be stuffing coal in each other's stockings come next Christmas? 

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories
Stephanie Perkins, Editor
St. Martin’s Griffin, 2014. 321 pages. Short Stories.

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you're going to fall in love with My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by the international bestselling Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or New Years, there's something here for everyone. So, curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love. 

 JK

Where They Last Saw Her

Where They Last Saw Her
By Marcie R. Rendon
Bantam Books, 2024. 315 pages. Mystery.

All they heard was her scream. Quill has lived on the Red Pine reservation in Minnesota her whole life. She knows what happens to people who look like her. Just a girl when Jimmy Sky jumped off the railway bridge and she ran for help, Quill realizes now that she hasn't ever stopped running. As she trains for the Boston Marathon early one morning out in the woods, she hears a scream. When she investigates, she finds tire tracks and a lone, beaded earring. Things are different now for Quill than when she was a lonely girl. Her friends Punk and Gaylyn are two women who don't know what it means to quit; she has her loving husband, Crow, and two beautiful children who challenge her to be better every day. So when she realizes another woman has been stolen, she is determined to do something-and her first stop is the group of men working the pipeline construction just north of their homes. As Quill closes in on the truth behind the missing woman in the woods, someone else disappears. In her quest to find justice for the women of the reservation, she is confronted with the hard truths of their home and the people who purport to serve them.

The content of the story is not what I would consider a "fun" mystery as it focuses on the very real and prevalent issue of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women. As a member of the White Earth Nation, Rendon clearly understands this and wrote with an expected amount of solemnity. The writing was emotionally intense with fleshed out characters that were easy to connect to.  I appreciated that the mystery had aspects of reality mixed in, like a mother putting her investigation on hold to get her children to their appointments on time.  As sad, tired, and angry as this book made me I am glad that I read it. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a deeper understanding of the multi-faceted and intersectional challenges that Indigenous women face in their daily lives.  

If you like Where They Last Saw Her, you might also like: 

Sisters of the Lost Nation

By Nick Medina

Berkley, 2023. 338 pages. Fiction.

Anna Horn is always looking over her shoulder. For the bullies who torment her, for the entitled visitors at the reservation's casino . . . and for the nameless, disembodied entity that stalks her every step -- an ancient tribal myth come to life, one that's intent on devouring her whole. With strange and sinister happenings occurring around the casino, Anna starts to suspect that not all the horrors on the reservation are old. As girls begin to go missing and the tribe scrambles to find answers, Anna struggles with her place on the rez, desperately searching for the key she's sure lies in the legends of her tribe's past. When Anna's own little sister also disappears, she'll do anything to bring Grace home. But the demons plaguing the reservation -- both old and new -- are strong, and sometimes, it's the stories that never get told that are the most important.

The Seed Keeper

By Diane Wilson

Milkweed Editions, 2021. eBook. Fiction.

A haunting novel spanning several generations, The Seed Keeper follows a Dakhóta family's struggle to preserve their way of life, and their sacrifices to protect what matters most. Rosalie Iron Wing has grown up in the woods with her father, Ray, a former science teacher who tells her stories of plants, of the stars, of the origins of the Dakhóta people. Until, one morning, Ray doesn't return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato—where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they've inherited. On a winter's day many years later, Rosalie returns to her childhood home. A widow and mother, she has spent the previous two decades on her white husband's farm, finding solace in her garden even as the farm is threatened first by drought and then by a predatory chemical company. Now, grieving, Rosalie begins to confront the past, on a search for family, identity, and a community where she can finally belong. In the process, she learns what it means to be descended from women with souls of iron—women who have protected their families, their traditions, and a precious cache of seeds through generations of hardship and loss, through war and the insidious trauma of boarding schools. Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors.

Wandering Stars

By Tommy Orange
Alfred A. Knopf, 2024. 315 pages. Fiction.

Colorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion prison castle, where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture, and identity. A generation later, Star's son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father's jailer. Under Pratt's harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines.

KJ