Slow, plodding, and flat
What on earth has happened to Stephanie Laurens? She seems to have largely abandoned writing romances and turned to mystery. The problem is, she’s not always good at it, especially when she omits the passion, emotion, and spirited characters that epitomized her best romances. The Curse of Ill-Gotten Gains is a case in point.
The Verity Kent series gets off to a good start with This Side of Murder. Huber revisits the classic “trapped on an island with a killer” trope, but gives it tension and immediacy… Huber is skilled at plotting, characterization, and atmosphere. I found all three here, plus a believable, complex heroine.
I was very excited to read The Lantern’s Dance, the first new Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes mystery since 2021’s Castle Shade. Once started, I could hardly put it down, staying up until 2:30 in the morning to reach the denouement. Like The Murder of Mary Russell, the novel alternates between past and present narratives, slowly revealing hidden connections that surprised and enchanted me.
The Mystery Woman by Amanda Quick Series: Ladies of Lantern Street #2 Published by Putnam on April 23, 2013 Genres: Romantic suspense, Paranormal romantic suspense, Historical Romance Pages: 357 Format: Hardcover Source: the library Add to Goodreads Also in this series: Crystal Gardens, Otherwise Engaged Also by this author: Crystal… Read more »
Susan Elia MacNeal just keeps getting better! Her newest novel, His Majesty’s Hope, is the strongest entry in the Maggie Hope series so far. It kept me reading far into the night. In His Majesty’s Hope, Maggie is sent undercover behind enemy lines into Germany itself. Her assignment: to bug… Read more »
If you are a lover of mysteries, particularly the “cozy” type, no doubt you have noticed the recent and rapid proliferation of themed mystery series. There are series featuring bookshops, catering or cooking, inns or hotels, gardening, scrapbooking, reading groups, ghosts, needlecrafts in general and knitting in particular, and even… Read more »
