Category Archives: Mystery/Detective

Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow

Posted on April 18, 2025 by bseat

Turow has written a superb novel about the complicated process of defending someone accused of murder. How much do we really know about another person? How much do our past experiences of betrayal, or misjudgments about someone color the way … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Legal Procedural, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Mystery/Detective, Series, Suspense, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Posted on June 23, 2023 by bseat

I loved watching True Blood on TV. It had all the things I loved- romance, thrills, chills and great dialogue! There was also a sense that even has the plot lines got more and more outrageous, the show runners would often … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Mystery/Detective, Thriller | 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

Prince of Darkness by Sharon Kay Penman

Posted on August 26, 2022 by bseat

Sharon Kay Penman is an impressive historical novelist. Her books are well researched, steeped in historic details, but are never dry or stagnant. She alway fills out the historic figures in her books so that you feel like they are … Continue reading →

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

The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 63)

Posted on June 11, 2021 by bseat

Mary Jekyl is strangely unaffected when her guardian dies. When her parents died when she was a child, she was left in the care of her guardian  for whom she felt very little affection. Now in her twenties, with her … Continue reading →

Posted in Books to Read During a Pandemic, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery/Detective, Prize winner, Series, Suspense, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James (Books to Read During a Pandemic, Part 54

Posted on April 2, 2021 by bseat

If you are a fan of Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, you will be intrigued by this riff on a theme by P. D. James. This is definitely “fan fiction”  and P. D. James’ homage to this literary gem contains … Continue reading →

Posted in book to movie, Books to Read During a Pandemic, Detective novel, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Mystery/Detective, Romance, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Widow by Fiona Barton

Posted on November 2, 2018 by bseat

I always wonder what it must be like to be close to someone under suspicion or investigation for a heinous crime. First there must be the shock of it all, the constant news cycle and the glare of publicity. At … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Mystery/Detective, Psychological Mystery, Suspense | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Ambassador’s Wife by Jake Needham

Posted on August 19, 2016 by bseat

There was no doubt that the woman on the bed in the Marriott Hotel in Singapore was dead.  It would take awhile to make any identification, however, since her face had been beaten so badly she was unrecognizable. She was … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery/Detective, Series | Leave a comment

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

Posted on January 22, 2016 by bseat

On July 20, 1910, two suspects wanted for murder, boarded the SS Montrose in Antwerp.  The ship was bound for Quebec City, Canada and   three hours into the voyage, as Captain Henry George Kendall was making his rounds, he … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Mystery/Detective, Non Fiction | 1 Comment