Category Archives: Detective novel

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

Posted on August 4, 2023 by bseat

Books can transport us to other worlds and this book by Brendan Slocumb, a classical musician himself, takes us inside the cutthroat world of classical music competitions. Here, it is not only how you play, but how good your instrument … Continue reading →

Posted in An Antiracist Education, Detective novel, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

Posted on July 21, 2023 by bseat

There are times when I long for a classic mystery by Agatha Christie or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The trouble is I used to read those books over and over growing up in Japan, since my access to English books … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Series, Suspense, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Exiles by Jane Harper

Posted on June 16, 2023 by bseat

Jane Harper is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. An Australian writer, Harper, uses the geography and weather of her homeland almost as if it is another character, building suspense and tension from the wild, uncertainty of the Outback. … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Mystery, Series, Suspense | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Verifiers by Jane Pek

Posted on June 2, 2023 by bseat

When you are on a dating app, how do you know that the “person” you are talking to or matched with is an actual person rather than a bot that helps increase the match numbers for the dating site?  Enter … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Suspense | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley

Posted on May 5, 2023 by bseat

Jane Smiley is a Pulitzer Prize winning author who keeps surprising her readers with the depth and breadth of her writing abilities. In this novel Smiley takes on the murder mystery genre, sets her story in California during the Gold … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Suspense, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Shutter by Ramona Emerson

Posted on April 7, 2023 by bseat

Some of you have asked how I choose what to read. I tend to look at book reviews from various sources like NPR, the Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Economist or best seller lists and sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Mystery, Series, Suspense | 1 Comment

The Maid by Nita Prose

Posted on January 6, 2023 by bseat

Happy New Year! I’m so glad that I can share a delightful book as my first post for 2023! Molly Gray is a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. She is fastidious and meticulous and a stickler for proper etiquette. … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Mystery, Romance, Suspense | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Five Decembers by James Kestrel

Posted on December 9, 2022 by bseat

This book was the winner of the 2022 Edgar Awards, and it certainly deserves that honor. Set in Hawaii in 1941, this is a hard knuckle thriller that takes you all across the Pacific on the trail of a brutal … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery/Detective, Thriller | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Change by Kirsten Miller

Posted on September 2, 2022 by bseat

There aren’t many novels that celebrate menopause, but this one sure does! Recently, more books have older women as main characters, but they seem to be mostly about woman trying to fight for recognition despite their age, or a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Read, Books to take on vacation, Detective novel, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense | Tagged , | 1 Comment

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Posted on August 12, 2022 by bseat

Five years ago, Andie Bell, a pretty, popular high school senior was murdered. Her boyfriend, Sal Singh, was a prime suspect and when he committed suicide everyone felt that confirmed their suspicions and the town and the police moved on. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Read, Books to take on vacation, Detective novel, Fiction, Mystery, Series, Suspense, YA | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment