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Mark
(new)
Jul 04, 2025 01:47PM
I'm closing out the week with
Mistaken Identity Crisis by James J. Cudney https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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I released my debut crime novel 'Pigs Get Slaughtered' last year and it's received excellent reviews. Things have gone a little quiet recently, so to encourage fresh interest, I'm offering the download version for free for just three days. Please take a look and I'd be very grateful for reviews. https://mybook.to/PigsGetSlaughtered
My review of Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief by Dorothy Gilman
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I enjoyed a second cruise this week thanks to
The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper by Sally Carpenter https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
If you love cozy mysteries that blend cultural richness, strong female leads, and a dash of humor, then Detective Aunty
by Uzma Jalaluddin is a must-read!👉 Read the full review on https://viewsshewrites.wordpress.com/
📚 Recently read A Most Puzzling Murder
by Bianca Marais and I need to talk about it!I’m a sucker for mysteries that do something a little different, and this one hit the sweet spot between cozy, clever, and completely unputdownable.
If you love solving clues alongside the characters, this might just be your next obsession. It’s smart, funny, and even a little interactive — yes, you can actually email for clues and unlock bonus stories. How fun is that?
I’ve shared more of my thoughts (and strong opinions!) in my full review here:
👉 https://viewsshewrites.wordpress.com/...
Anyone else read this one yet? Did you solve the puzzles or peek at the answers? 👀 Let’s chat!
My second book for the week was
Murder in the Tattoo Parlor, the return of Elizabeth Perona's Bucket List Mysteries.https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
⭐⭐⭐⭐.7 for #19 in the Tom Thorne series by Mark Billingham,
What the Night Brings. Easily able to be read as a stand-alone. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...💖📚
Devi wrote: "📚 Recently read A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais and I need to talk about it!I’m a sucker for mysteries that ..."
Thanks for sharing this, Devi! I had definitely seen the cover of this before, but you've made me even more intrigued!
Mark wrote: "I'm closing out the week with Mistaken Identity Crisis by James J. Cudney https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Thanks for sharing! I love the title, and the reviews are promising. I've added it to my list.
Rollicking good fun, think Knives Out but set in wintry Australia. The dry humor kept the book buoyant, but this was a lighter murder mystery on the whole, with medaled pigeons, a kooky surfer dude proprietor, bumbling village cops, and the...
full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
me @ benjamin stevenson:
Even better than the first in series! Told with his signature humor, Stevenson takes the murderous hijinks on the road, with a new cast of potential victims to pick off. I liked the backdrop of the Australian outback, the variation of which I had no idea about prior to reading this book. The exotic and isolated location adds to the atmosphere in a unique way; no misty, shadowy mysterious moors, but bright, unforgiving sun and desert, eventually laying bare all the secrets of each suspect. It’s not all just stupid fun either; Stevenson touched upon...
full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I made it all the way to 75% before admitting to myself that I don't care who the culprit is. The surly male detective trope is overdone. Just because you're naturally gifted at something like detective work doesn't give you an excuse to be a rude person. Also, the tinge of...
full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This was my first foray into Margaret Atwood's work and oh my goodness, I was hypnotized and drawn in by her writing just as much as I was by our mysterious titular character. Her description of a young, developing Richmond Hill, Ontario in the 1850s (which is where I grew up btw), caught between the bucolic and burgeoning industry, modern science and spirituality, old world customs and the new, it all felt so lived in and real. Grace is a...
full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This was my first Agatha Christie book, and I picked one of the most popular ones hoping to fall in love...I was underwhelmed. Was the mystery and reveal twisty at the time it was written, maybe? I found the methods of deduction too simple/assuming too many things, and the solution convoluted. There also wasn't much...
full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Do NOT be fooled by the serious and somber cover, this book is so fun!! I was expecting a moody, classic 19th century whodunnit, which sure, it delivers that, but it also maintains an air of levity throughout, thanks to the cast of characters, who are like the Scooby gang if they existed in 1896. They range from an idiosyncratic alienist, to a pair of hilarious Jewish brothers/forensic pathologists, to a badass gun-toting female secretary, to our narrator, the unseasoned but enthusiastic sidekick. They had great chemistry and I enjoyed following them race around NYC and contributing to the burgeoning field of criminal psychology. Needless to say this book is chalk full of...
full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
⭐⭐⭐⭐.1 for #2 in the Philomena McCarthy series from Michael Robotham
The White Crow https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I was on vacation this last week, so here are a couple of books to catch me up:
Killer Kung Poa by Vivien Chien https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Murder at Rough Point by Alyssa Maxwell https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Got three more cozies coming this week. Starting things off with
Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm closing out the month with
Resort to Murder by Annie McEwen https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of A Ghostwriter's Guide to Murder by Melinda Mullet
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Popular Aussie author Michael Robotham doesn't write Aussie mysteries (yet...) and he doesn't write cosies, either. But he does write some great English thrillers about people I've grown fond of. Close Your Eyes is the next-to-the-last in this series, and I'm not at all happy about where he's left Professor Joe O'Loughlin this time.
My review of Close Your Eyes
My first review of the month is
Edam and Weep by Linda Reilly https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Next up for me this month was
Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've got one more book review this week -
The Cardinal's Curse by LynDee Walker and Bruce Robert Coffin https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I would like you to read my review. I'm rather chuffed with it....
Ben Carlylehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers
Books mentioned in this topic
How to Talk to Your Dog About Murder (other topics)An Inquiry Into Love and Death (other topics)
Witch and Tell (other topics)
The Marlow Murder Club (other topics)
The Marlow Murder Club (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Emily Soderberg (other topics)Angela M. Sanders (other topics)
Robert Thorogood (other topics)
Robert Thorogood (other topics)
Lucy Connelly (other topics)
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