Category: Mystery

The Hangman (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #6.5) by Louise Penny

I reviewed the entire series for work a few months back so you can imagine how startled I was to discover that I’d not only never read this but hadn’t the slightest notion of its existence till I was scrolling through my library website for the latest in the series. Given that it doesn’t really …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2017/08/26/the-hangman-chief-inspector-armand-gamache-6-5-by-louise-penny/

Love Me to Death (Lucy Kincaid #1) by Allison Brennan

Due diligence for work! I didn’t like this quite as much as I enjoyed the Max Revere books I’ve read so far, most likely because there is So Much Backstory alluded to here that it doesn’t feel like the start of a series but the continuation of some other book I can’t quite figure out. …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2017/07/09/love-me-to-death-lucy-kincaid-1-by-allison-brennan/

Notorious (Max Revere Novels, #1) by Allison Brennan

Honestly, I picked this up for due diligence for work but if it’s anything to go by, this will be an assignment I absolutely adore! I had so many Veronica Mars flashbacks when reading this book: smart, sassy lead investigates the death of her high school best friend and discovers secrets and lies amidst her …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2017/07/05/notorious-max-revere-novels-1-by-allison-brennan/

Celine: A Novel by Peter Heller

I always love an older female crime solver, and Celine is hopefully the first in a series featuring such a heroine, loosely based on the author’s mother, who was also a blue blood debutante turned private investigator, handling primarily cases of family reunion. Hired by a beautiful middle-aged woman to investigate the disappearance of her …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2017/06/22/celine-a-novel-by-peter-heller/

The Hanging Tree (Peter Grant/Rivers Of London #6) by Ben Aaronovitch

This series just gets better with each book! The depth and complexity of Ben Aaronovitch’s mystical London really comes into its own here, as we delve deeper into the overarching plot with the reveal of The Faceless Man’s true identity (whom I figured out perhaps half a beat before Mr Aaronovitch intended for the reader …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2017/03/12/the-hanging-tree-peter-grantrivers-of-london-6-by-ben-aaronovitch/

Witness In Death (In Death #10) by J. D. Robb

It’s weird, I feel like this should have been a more powerful story for me. All the plot points are there, plus it’s set in The Theatre, so this is exactly the kind of mystery I should love. But there was something about it that was a little too overwrought, IMO. The killer’s little asides, …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/12/24/witness-in-death-in-death-10-by-j-d-robb/

Conspiracy In Death (In Death #8) by J. D. Robb

Undoubtedly the weakest of the first nine books. I’m v glad I read this only after the ninth, as I would have strongly suspected the dreaded 8th-book slump and written off the rest of the series (well, excepting for the fact that I’m being paid to review the ninth, so would have read that anyway.) …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/12/18/conspiracy-in-death-in-death-8-by-j-d-robb/

Holiday In Death (In Death #7) by J. D. Robb

Another solid installment to the series. Loved the Christmas murder angle, even if I thought it was obvious, the way it usually is in Law & Order episodes, whodunnit. I also really enjoyed the exploration into Eve’s psyche: it’s nice that she’s kind of a horrible person but is working really hard at not being …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/12/09/holiday-in-death-in-death-7-by-j-d-robb/

Naked In Death (In Death #1) by J. D. Robb

(Hunh, I thought I’d posted this when I’d originally reviewed it. Apologies.) There is so much about this book to like, from the fully realized near-future setting to the compelling, scandalous murder mystery to the damaged protagonist (and victims) to the clear moral and political stance J. D. Robb has on women’s rights and crime …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/12/05/naked-in-death-in-death-1-by-j-d-robb/

Glory In Death (In Death #2) by J. D. Robb

A solid near-future police procedural, with a fully realized setting that falls firmly on the side of feminism and social justice. It isn’t the most inspired mystery — I figured out whodunnit 56% of the way in — but the world building and the cop talk more than made up for it. The thing that …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/11/08/glory-in-death-in-death-2-by-j-d-robb/