Older Reviews
An archive of past book reviews in mystery, thriller, crime, horror, and other suspense-related genres.
Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping
She wishes more dead bodies would pop up in her shop
A Drop of Corruption
They are investigating not a disappearance but a murder
Within the Circle
She is reluctant to disclose her suspicions regarding her old boss
Written in Stone
The police are dragging their feet in the investigation
Murder at Gulls Nest
A series of bizarre murders rattles the occupants of Gulls Nest
This Book Will Bury Me
She becomes obsessed with true crime
Gothictown
She’s starting to wonder how, and if, they’ll ever leave
The Summer Guests
Her neighbor becomes the prime suspect
The Unlucky Ones
The killer left what appears to be a calling card
I Would Die for You
A collision course that could tear their family apart
Wild Dark Shore
A mysterious woman washes ashore
All the Other Mothers Hate Me
She has no discernible skills, let alone detective ones
The Library Game
The library’s owner hosts a murder mystery dinner
Too Old for This
Getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young
Silent as the Grave
She believes these malfunctions are sabotage
White King
She must solve three crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice
Ambush
His betrayal years ago cost her everything
The Impossible Thing
They find themselves on the trail of a priceless collection of eggs
Galway’s Edge
The Vatican is not pleased when rumors start swirling
The Vanishing Kind
Strange holes keep appearing on the preserve
A Slash of Emerald
A young woman turns up dead
Kills Well with Others
They receive a summons from an elite assassin organization
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave
The investigation widens to include her ex-husband
Mr. Whisper
Under his influence they did as they were told
The Last Hamilton
She was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself
Penitence
They must navigate their own culpability
Blood on the Vine
She revisits the site of the nightmarish past she left behind
I Died for Beauty
There may be more to the fire than meets the eye
Dead Man’s List
Their sources of information are dropping like flies
A Dead Draw
After a critical mistake during a shooting exercise, she breaks
Not Who We Expected
Two crime experts are enlisted by a legendary rock star
White King
A challenge: solve three crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice
Eternal Magic
She’s been betrayed before
The Bookseller
The body of a bookseller is discovered, lying in a pool of blood
Hidden Angels
The victim has been perfectly preserved
Hang on St. Christopher
A murder case falls into his lap
Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave
The focus of the investigation widens
The Museum Detective
Her quest for the truth puts her in the throes of a conspiracy
Nemesis
He has left town in order to help a dead friend’s son
A Haunting in the Arctic
The wreck has washed up on the remote coast of Iceland
Blood and the Badge
The Lucchese boss called the two detectives his crystal ball
Cross My Heart
She’s convinced that now that she has his wife’s heart
Robert B. Parker’s Buried Secrets
He finds a trail leading to an aging mobster
Battle Mountain
The governor’s son-in-law has gone missing in the mountains
Cold as Hell
One of the town’s residents is drugged
The Volunteer
The Failure of the Death Penalty in America
Bonded in Death
She’s got an elderly victim who’d just arrived from Rome
The Lamb
Mama’s want is stronger than her hunger sometimes
Saint of the Narrows Street
She strikes him with a frying pan, killing him on the spot
Head Cases
DNA links a murder victim to a serial killer long presumed dead
Invisible Helix
The body of a young man is found floating in Tokyo Bay
A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage
They had it all, until she got pregnant
Dead Money
Silicon Valley’s most ruthless venture capitalist
Shattering Dawn
She is uneasy about the nightmarish paintings on the walls of his home
The Inheritance
They’ve gathered on a luxury island off the coast of Scotland
Track Her Down
it’s clear the killer isn’t finished―and she’s the next target
A Killer’s Code
Her team must follow cryptic clues on a cross-country hunt for justice
The Big Empty
He’s shadowed by a gang of vicious criminals
Blood Ties
A new highway to be built nearby will leave the town cutoff
She’s Always Hungry
A woman welcomes a parasite into her body
Chain Reaction
He finds himself in the midst of a terrorist attack
Havoc
She has let in an enemy much stronger than she bargained for
Murder in the Dressing Room
By night, donned in sequins, they take to the stage
Alter Ego
She’s never been able to tackle her longtime favorite superhero
Dark Hope
Their enemy has laid a trap that pushes him closer to turning
Queen of Diamonds
the pair are making headlines, known for their daring heists
Threads of Deception
She moves back to her hometown to cater for a fashion TV show
Nobody’s Hero
Three of the people on the list are dead
Dirty Little War
He is involved in the death of a gangster in his hometown
Perfect Storm
They bring back the widow of a recently murdered man
The Silent Watcher
Their hunt for the truth leads to a serial killer
Locked In
His police colleagues turn their backs on him
The Collaborators
He’s thrown into a crisis by the death of his best asset
Stuart Woods’ Golden Hour
His identity—and life—might just be the next target
Killing Time
An Agatha Raisin Mystery
Bellevue
He has always had a secret sixth sense
Pony Confidential
She is accused of murder and whisked to the place she grew up
Jan Gangsei
The YA detective novelist on Dead Below Deck
The Witch Is Back
The body of the reverend’s son is discovered at the bottom of the cliff
Catherine Lloyd
The cozy historical mystery author on her Miss Morton series
Summit’s Edge
The hijacker has fled into the wilderness
The Pretender
He will either become king or die in battle
Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property
There’s no short list of suspects who might want revenge
A Long Time Gone
He meets resistance from friends and foes who want him to stand down
Tooth and Claw
Their co-workers are after treasure and will stop at nothing to get it
The Crash
She comes to realize she is in grave danger
Please Tell Me
Playtime takes a grim turn
Mask of the Deer Woman
A local college student is missing
The Specimen
Missing persons cases are all too common in Edinburgh
This Girl’s a Killer
She culls South Louisiana of unscrupulous men
Midnight and Blue
A convict is brutally murdered in his locked cell
Death by Misadventure
He knows that their bliss cannot last forever
One of Us Is Dead
He spots a familiar face in the church
In Too Deep
He wakes up alone, in the dark, handcuffed to a makeshift bed
Identity Unknown
Her deceased friend seems to have deliberately left her a clue
The Waiting
They encounter a baffling web of secrets and legal hurdles
Frozen Lives
The eleven-year-old turns up days later, alive and unharmed
The More the Terrier
An extra dog eagerly awaits them at home
The Valley
She discovers the victim is a close blood relative
The Mirror
She has visions of an antique mirror
The Trap
She faces the most perilous mission of her career
I’ll Be Waiting
She has been hounded by spiritualists promising closure
The Swimmer
She witnesses the murder of a swimmer
High Wire
They are forced to commit a series of increasingly murderous missions
The Inhabitants
She also begins to suspect that her neighbor isn’t what he seems
Out in the Cold
Someone is waging a ruthless campaign of attacks against Finland
Disturbing the Bones
They soon find themselves in the middle of a wild military conspiracy
The Boyfriend
She can’t shake her own suspicions that the perfect man may not be
Dear Hanna
She is determined to manipulate the events and people around her
Spirit Crossing
The tribal officers dig into the circumstances of a grim discovery
This Cursed House
She receives an unexpected job offer
Schemes & Scandals
She has until Hogmanay to uncover the blackmailer
Two Good Men
He develops a formula able to predict those most likely strike again
Precipice
A sexual intrigue becomes a matter of national security
The Solstice
Rumors that he was sacrificed in a midsummer ritual resurface
The Hushed
She can’t escape her curiosity—or her growing attraction
The Colony Club
The Trial of the Century discloses the architect’s scandalous personal life
The Black Loch
The body of eighteen-year-old TV personality is found abandoned
The Lightning Bottles
She’s perhaps the most hated—and least understood—woman in music
Bad Liar
She swears her son was turning his life around
William
His fixation on his project keeps him up in the attic
Passiontide
A woman is brutally murdered, and still in her costume
Cinnamon Girl
His beloved former piano teacher makes a deathbed request
Red River Road
No witnesses, no leads, and no DNA evidence
Dominoes, Danzón, and Death
Bones start popping up in unexpected places
Cold Trail
An explosion at a nearby natural gas plant injures several workers
For Your Benefit
He fights to save the people he loves
We Solve Murders
A thrilling race around the world begins
Deeper Than the Dead
Deep beneath the surface, there are more bodies than you’d think
What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust
She sets out to find the real killer
French Quarter Fright Night
Everyone has skeletons in their closets
The Broken Truth
He uncovers a ring of organized crime, well beyond cattle rustling
Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret
A suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there
City of Secrets
His partner’s wife is abducted
Eruption
A volcanic eruption that could wipe out a city, or all life on Earth
Maureen Johnson
The NYT and USA Today bestselling author on Death at Morning House
You Will Never Be Me
She doesn’t understand why her perfectly filtered life is falling apart
Hollow Bones
It’s the worst possible time for her partner to be arrested
Buried Too Deep
The body of her father, murdered 23 years ago, has just been discovered
Negative Girl
He cleaned up his life, and became a private investigator
All the Way Gone
A woman in the doctor’s apartment building plunged to her death
The Cracked Mirror
Their worlds are about to collide
Death at the Sign of the Rook
By night’s end, a murderer will be revealed
Dying for Monet
They find themselves at odds with the elite of fine arts commerce
The Best Lies
He might be the FBI’s only shot at taking down the syndicate
Echo Road
Two bodies stuffed inside the luggage
The Blind Devotion of Imogene
Pay up or get firebombed
House of Glass
Her past and present are set on a collision course
Wordhunter
The daughter of a local mayor is abducted
Talking to Strangers
Getting a scoop in the murder would do a lot for her career