Strong female characters and engaging historical nuggets result in a satisfying read.
A young widow fights her late husband’s family and social convention to retain control of his struggling San Francisco newspaper in Blanton-Stroud’s historical novel.
When Edward Zimmer died suddenly of a heart attack, he left his 29-year-old wife Sandy his 35% share of the San Francisco Prospect, as well as his position as the twice-daily newspaper’s publisher. But in the three years since, it is her father-in-law Wyatt Zimmer and the board of directors who have assumed the roles of decision-makers. Now, Wyatt wants to sell the paper, a business venture he had always opposed. However, today, VJ day, is a time to celebrate: The Second World War has finally ended with the unconditional surrender of Japan. The streets of San Francisco are filled with revelry, but the abundance of alcohol is resulting in dangerously drunken crowds that are causing mayhem. When Wyatt denigrates her ability to run the paper in front of the board, she decides to investigate for herself what is happening on the streets. Sandy observes that the police are outnumbered and the hospitals are overrun—the city’s powers-that-be have been caught flatfooted. At least six rape victims are treated at the hospital, and there are 13 deaths. What she experiences and learns during this night of violence transforms her. Blanton-Stroud’s engaging narrative is a follow-up to her earlier Jane Benjamin novels about a hard-nosed, intrepid reporter at the Prospect, and Jane returns here to play a pivotal role in Sandy’s development from an insecure people-pleaser into a dynamic force in the male-dominated publishing industry. Determined to get justice for the rape victims and accountability from government officials (“all of them should face consequences for their actions or inactions”), Sandy compellingly finds her voice and her backbone as she battles Wyatt and the board for control of the paper. Inspired by oft-ignored historical details from the 1945 riots, Blanton-Stroud has composed a well-paced, edgy tale that is a salute to solid, honest journalism.
Strong female characters and engaging historical nuggets result in a satisfying read.Pub Date: yesterday
ISBN: 9781647429461
Page Count: 256
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A fresh and clever whodunit with an engaging twist.
A 16-year-old savant uses his Groundhog Day gift to solve his grandfather’s murder.
Nishizawa’s compulsively readable puzzle opens with the discovery of the victim, patriarch Reijiro Fuchigami, sprawled on a futon in the attic of his elegant mansion, where his family has gathered for a consequential announcement about his estate. The weapon seems to be a copper vase lying nearby. Given this setup, the novel might have proceeded as a traditional whodunit but for two delightful features. The first is the ebullient narration of Fuchigami’s youngest grandson, Hisataro, thrust into the role of an investigator with more dedication than finesse. The second is Nishizawa’s clever premise: The 16-year-old Hisataro has lived ever since birth with a condition that occasionally has him falling into a time loop that he calls "the Trap," replaying the same 24 hours of his life exactly nine times before moving on. And, of course, the murder takes place on the first day of one of these loops. Can he solve the murder before the cycle is played out? His initial strategies—never leaving his grandfather’s side, focusing on specific suspects, hiding in order to observe them all—fall frustratingly short. Hisataro’s comical anxiety rises with every failed attempt to identify the culprit. It’s only when he steps back and examines all the evidence that he discovers the solution. First published in 1995, this is the first of Nishizawa’s novels to be translated into English. As for Hisataro, he ultimately concludes that his condition is not a burden but a gift: “Time’s spiral never ends.”
A fresh and clever whodunit with an engaging twist.Pub Date: July 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781805335436
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please.
Four residents of Coopers Chase, a British retirement village, compete with the police to solve a murder in this debut novel.
The Thursday Murder Club started out with a group of septuagenarians working on old murder cases culled from the files of club founder Elizabeth Best’s friend Penny Gray, a former police officer who's now comatose in the village's nursing home. Elizabeth used to have an unspecified job, possibly as a spy, that has left her with a large network of helpful sources. Joyce Meadowcroft is a former nurse who chronicles their deeds. Psychiatrist Ibrahim Arif and well-known political firebrand Ron Ritchie complete the group. They charm Police Constable Donna De Freitas, who, visiting to give a talk on safety at Coopers Chase, finds the residents sharp as tacks. Built with drug money on the grounds of a convent, Coopers Chase is a high-end development conceived by loathsome Ian Ventham and maintained by dangerous crook Tony Curran, who’s about to be fired and replaced with wary but willing Bogdan Jankowski. Ventham has big plans for the future—as soon as he’s removed the nuns' bodies from the cemetery. When Curran is murdered, DCI Chris Hudson gets the case, but Elizabeth uses her influence to get the ambitious De Freitas included, giving the Thursday Club a police source. What follows is a fascinating primer in detection as British TV personality Osman allows the members to use their diverse skills to solve a series of interconnected crimes.
A top-class cozy infused with dry wit and charming characters who draw you in and leave you wanting more, please.Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-98-488096-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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