Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




Mystery & Crime Book Reviews Available Now (page 9)


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Cover art for DEATH OF A SECOND WIFE
FICTION
Released: June 15, 2012

"To the series' usual attractive locations seasoned with a dash of history, Hudgins adds a mystery with an intriguing group of suspects. "
A wedding party gathers on a remote Swiss mountaintop, where the uninvited guest is murder. Read full book review >
Cover art for A CLASS ON MURDER
FICTION
Released: June 15, 2012

"Gibson creates a mystery as laid-back and mellow as her heroine. "
An academic cozy about murder. Read full book review >
Cover art for OUTERBOROUGH BLUES
FICTION
Released: June 12, 2012

"First-time novelist Cotto's shaggy, dreamlike saga begins with a curse and ends with a redemption of sorts. What's in between is a lot less clear. "
A highly unlikely detective pursues the even more unlikely trail of a missing man during Holy Week in Brooklyn. Read full book review >
Cover art for COP TO CORPSE
FICTION
Released: June 12, 2012

"Nobody but Lovesey could thump out a gritty procedural yet instill Bath with so much charm and history that readers will have to put it on their bucket lists."
How many mistakes can Detective Superintendent Diamond make and still catch the Somerset Sniper? Read full book review >
Cover art for HIDE AND SNAKE MURDER
FICTION
Released: June 8, 2012

"Fans of Chandler (Bingo Barge Murder, 2011) will appreciate the character development and sense of humor, though newbies may wonder why anyone would help hapless Baz."
A misfit crew band together in an antic misadventure. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE LOST ARTIST
FICTION
Released: June 6, 2012

"In a departure from her Leigh Girard mysteries (Death's Door, 2009, etc.), Lukasik has crafted a highly intriguing tale loaded with suspense and historic interest."
Rose Caffrey's sister is dead. And that's only the beginning of Rose's problems. Read full book review >
Cover art for SUNSET
FICTION
Released: June 6, 2012

"The latest from Lamanda (Running Homeless, 2011, etc.) is an exciting thriller filled with tough but sympathetic characters who drag you breathlessly along to the final scene."
A former police officer sunk in the depths of despair is rescued by the mob boss he thinks had his wife killed. Read full book review >
Cover art for SECRETS AND LIES
FICTION
Released: June 6, 2012

"The information on the ill-fated Jamestown colony is the best feature of this follow-up to Clay's first Jamestown novel (Deceptions, 2010), which is otherwise a run-of-the-mill historical romance with very little mystery."
A group of young women are sent from England to the Jamestown colony in 1620 to become wives of the settlers. Read full book review >
Cover art for BREAKING THE RULES
FICTION
Released: June 6, 2012

"A cozy with a fun and flirty edge, the latest from Ebisch (When the Last Dance is Over, 2012, etc.) is a deft balance of mystery and romantic comedy."
An advice columnist learns the hard way that sometimes it's easier to mind your own business. Read full book review >
Cover art for BLIND GODDESS
FICTION
Released: June 5, 2012
translated by Tom Geddes, by Anne Holt

"Fans of Henning Mankell's majestically lumbering police procedurals will relish every twist in the long road to resolution. Less patient readers should look to Hanne's later adventures."
Politics and drugs make uneasy bedfellows in this first case for Hanne Wilhelmsen, the Oslo police inspector most recently seen on these shores in 1222 (2011). Read full book review >
Cover art for WHAT COMES NEXT
FICTION
Released: June 5, 2012

"So sadistically measured in its pace that readers will have plenty of time to ask themselves how different they really are from the perverts tuned in to Number 4's sufferings. "
Katzenbach (The Madman's Tale, 2004, etc.) sets an amateur sleuth living on borrowed time to hunt a kidnapped teenager whose time is even shorter in this pulp-ish re-imagining of "The Pit and the Pendulum" for the digital age. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE LAST KIND WORDS
FICTION
Released: June 5, 2012

"Consigning most of the violence to the past allows Piccirilli (The Fever Kill, 2007, etc.) to dial down the gore while imparting a soulful, shivery edge to this tale of an unhappy family that's assuredly unhappy in its own special way."
Summoned home by an urgent plea from his kid sister, a runaway brother finds his family of thieves just as dysfunctional and even more criminal. Read full book review >