The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Title: The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

Author: Stuart Turton

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evenlyn Hardcastle is a fast-paced murder mystery with a lot of twists. Written in first person, our protagonist finds himself as a guest at a large party at a secluded mansion. When he first wakes up, he doesn't know who he is or what is going on. The next day, he wakes up and discovers that he is a different guest at the party, and it's still the same day as yesterday. He soon learns that Evelyn Hardcastle, the person for whom the party is thrown, was murdered at 11 PM, and if he wants to get out of this house and return home (to whoever he really is - he doesn't quite remember) then he needs to solve the murder by the end of the night and he only has a total of 8 "days" to do so. There is an intriguing time travel element involved (but not typical sci fi time travel, so don't let that deter you)! There is also a lot of murder (which sometimes is a bit scary, but I'm no horror fan so if I can handle it, so can you!). I'd recommend picking it up!

- Sarah P.

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The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

Title: The Widows of Malabar Hill

Author: Sujata Massey

Genre: Historical Mystery

The historical mystery The Widows of Malabar Hill  by award winning author Sujata Massey takes in place in British colonial India. This is a first in a series with the first female attorney, Parveen Mistry, to practice in the 1920’s Bombay. The story switches between a murder mystery involving Mistry’s clients that are Muslim who practice purdah, total seclusion, and Mistry’s backstory of becoming an attorney in her father’s practice and her first marriage.  The historical and cultural details are fascinating. It’s also a great murder mystery! This book can be recommended to fans of historical fiction and murder mysteries that enjoy  a strong and intelligent heroine. 

- Mary

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The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott are back in a new mystery!  Approximately nine months after solving the Lula Landry case, things are looking slightly better for gritty private investigator Cormoran Strike.   He’s now sleeping in the flat above his office (instead of *in* the office itself) and has a steady stream of rich socialites who have hired Strike to spy on their wives/husbands/girlfriends.  But Strike is bored.  Soon, a shabby, mousy woman arrives at the office saying that her husband has gone missing.  Leonora Quine insists that though Owen may be an unfaithful husband who often disappears for days at a time, he would never leave for too long because of their daughter.  Owen Quine is a has-been writer known for novels of a very graphic nature.  The newest book that he’s just finished and is ready to publish, Bombyx Mori, is more of the same or so it first appears.  Cormoran’s gut tells him that this is no ordinary case and is soon on the hunt for the missing Quine.

After a visit to Quine’s agent, Strike learns that the new novel is more than it seems.  Apparently Quine has based the characters in his book on many of his friends and coworkers in the publishing industry.  After being told that his book was unpublishable due to possible libel lawsuits, the author threatens to publish it himself as an ebook, gathers up every last scrap of the manuscript and disappears.  When Quine is discovered murdered in a way that mirrors that of the main character in Bombyx Mori, even more questions arise.  Who had a chance to read the manuscript?  Quine had dirt of a lot of people, but who would go so far as to commit murder?

Like The Cuckoo’s Calling, the first book in the Strike series written under J.K. Rowling’s pseudonym, The Silkworm jumps right back into the middle of Cormoran and Robin’s world of mystery and crime.  There is more character development: Robin’s fiancée Matthew still hasn’t come around to Robin’s career choice and Stike is still struggling with his latest breakup with Charlotte.  And yes, there is still a lot of unvoiced tension ala “Why don’t Robin and Strike just date each other?  Then they wouldn’t be so darn miserable!” which is half the fun of these books.  Readers who enjoyed The Cuckoos Calling will not be disappointed by The Silkworm and the fact that Galbraith has left plenty of room for more Cormoran Strike novels in the future.

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So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell

An older book and a well-written classic, So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell paints a picture of life in the Midwest in the 1920s. It is the story of two thirteen-year old boys who become friends when each is drawn to spend time at a home-construction site after school. Each boy is experiencing upheaval in his life and seeks a release from family distress at the half-built home.  The house is to be the home of the story’s narrator, a middle-class town boy.  He had lost his mother to the flu epidemic of 1919. His father, after remarrying, wanted a new home for his new wife and so contracts for the building of the new house. The other boy, Cletus, is the son of a tenant farmer. He spends time at the house to escape the palpable tension between his mother and father. Every afternoon the boys meet and climb on the frame of the house. They become friends although they scarcely exchange a word. Then Cletus’s world is destroyed by a murder and he disappears from the narrator’s life. The power of this book lies in the author’s ability to create a sympathetic inner life for each of his characters. Although the book is peopled with stoic, taciturn Midwesterners, the reader is easily able to empathize with everyone in this book as they deal with pain, confusion and loss, even the family dog. 

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Quiet Dell by Jayne Anne Phillips

In 1931, a widow from suburban Chicago, Asta Eicher, began to correspond with a man she met through a lonely hearts club advertisement. Deceived by his promises of marriage and financial security, she agreed to accompany him on a trip to his farm in West Virginia. He later returned without her to fetch her three children. None of them were seen again. But Asta was not as alone as the other victims of this serial killer, Harry Powers. Friends and neighbors became alarmed and alerted the police and press to their disappearance. Emily Thornhill, a journalist for the Chicago Tribune, traveled to Quiet Dell in West Virginia, where the Eichers’ bodies had been found. A woman in what was then considered a man’s profession, she used her intelligence, skill, fortitude and intuition to track down Powers’ true identity as well as report the story for her newspaper. Quiet Dell is based on a true crime, one that author Jayne Anne Phillips heard about from her mother who grew up in the Quiet Dell area. Despite its subject matter, this book is neither a mystery nor thriller. It is rather an examination of the human condition, of love, hate, fear, hope, greed, generosity and loneliness. And as Phillips tells the story, some good comes out of unspeakable evil.

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Her Last Breath by Linda Castillo

An Amish father and his children are run down in their buggy on a quiet country road in the heart of Amish country.  It appears at first glance to be an accident but on further investigation it may be a purposeful hit and run.  Kate Burkholder, police chief in Painters Mill, Ohio, must find out who did this before the murderer comes back for the rest of the family.  This series has great character development, suspense, and twists that you won’t see coming.  On her fifth Amish thriller, Linda Castillo is only getting better. 

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Death of a Dyer by Eleanor Kuhns

The sequel to A Simple Murder finds the main character, Will Rees, back on his farm in Maine. From the previous novel, Will is still working on reconciling with his son, David, and sorting out his feelings for Lydia, a woman from a Shaker community.  Will also has to deal with his need to travel and was born under “a traveling quilt.” His farm and hometown hold good and bad memories for him. When he is back, his boyhood friend is murdered. The son of the murdered man is under suspicion and the widow asks Will to investigate the matter. The author evokes the setting of post-Revolutionary War America and the hardships and joys of that time. Will Rees is a strong, morally upright man trying to navigate his time and character that I hope will continue. Though it is a sequel, this novel can also be enjoyed without reading the prior book.

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