A conservative cozy whodunit that’s most likely to appeal to those who share the protagonist’s complaints about younger...
In Hanafee’s latest series mystery, a Florida amateur investigator and aspiring novelist gets entangled in another murder investigation—this time one with ties to her local church.
This fourth outing featuring former public relations executive Leslie Elliott relocates her to Anibonie Island, Florida, where she teams up with her friend and local reporter Wes Avery to solve mysteries involving members of the small island community. After an unseasonable windstorm apparently results in a church bell falling onto and killing elderly church member Alice Gerkin, the amateur detective starts to wonder if foul play may have been involved. Specifically, she launches an investigation into the church’s pastor and the leaders of an expensive church-renovation project, which Alice opposed. Meanwhile, Leslie’s mother, Ruth, expedites her planned wedding to Gale Gammon; Leslie’s daughter, Meredith, and Gale’s son, Val (whom Gale mysteriously calls “unusual”), are pulled into the wedding planning as well, resulting in family drama. As things become more complicated at home, additional deaths appear to be connected to the renovation project. Leslie’s investigation causes her to run afoul of the church board and the island police. At the same time, Wes heads to Panama to investigate a strange, cultlike retreat that comes up in the investigation. Over the course of this complex novel, Hanafee presents Leslie’s primary interests as solving mysteries, watching her weight, and bemoaning the choices of young people. Indeed, many readers of this novel are likely to have some trouble relating to the younger characters, as they mostly seem to be included only so that older characters can criticize “needy” vegan millennials who don’t go to church. However, readers who share the opinions of the latter will find clear representation in these pages.
A conservative cozy whodunit that’s most likely to appeal to those who share the protagonist’s complaints about younger generations.Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2023
ISBN: 9781732489431
Page Count: 256
Publisher: BookBaby
Review Posted Online: Dec. 30, 2022
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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