A charming read for fans of the occult.
Following their launch in Bell’s debut, Grave Expectations (2023), dynamic duo Claire (human) and Sophie (ghost) have returned to solve crimes in their own bumbling, endearing way.
When true-crime-loving Claire Hendricks is invited/coerced by her friend Basher to join him and Alex, his 19-year-old nonbinary nibling, on a getaway at a wellness resort on Spike Island off the coast of Ireland, she expects a relaxing break for her and her supernatural bestie, whom only she can see and talk to. Claire’s life is usually far from relaxing. Not only is she tethered for life to Sophie, who died as a teenager, but she also has the power to communicate with other ghosts—a power that’s often frustrating since ghosts can be pretty needy. Unfortunately for Claire, this vacation is not the relaxing sojourn she’d hoped for. First, the resort is accidentally overbooked, and the other guests are a group of annoying university friends of the owner, Minnie. Then, Claire stumbles upon a ghost pirate, Cole Tovey, who wants her help figuring out who stole his treasure. And finally, to add even more drama, one of the guests turns up dead. Claire must deal with the somewhat unwanted advances of resort guest George Lyons, Sophie’s newfound independence, and suspicions that she may actually be the murderer (that’s just what happens when you have the habit of, to the untrained eye, walking around talking to yourself all the time), all the while trying to catch the murderer. Bell does little to add depth to any of the characters, and Basher and Alex in particular are given an unfortunate back seat. If you’re looking for chilling twists and layered plotlines, look elsewhere. But if you’re up for a joyful romp (despite the abundance of murder) and goofy characters, this is the mystery for you.
A charming read for fans of the occult.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780593470657
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Vintage
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
A satisfying thriller that will warm the hearts of fans who already take comfort in hating the forces of evil.
Lt. Eve Dallas’ 63rd futuristic case is less a whodunit than a manhunt for an unusually sympathetic killer.
Thirteen years ago, way back in 2048, scientific genius Steve Redman—father of the Banner-Wyst corporation’s Rainmaker Project—narrowly escaped death in a gas explosion that killed his pregnant wife and infant son and 200 other residents of their New York City apartment building the night before he planned to report his suspicions about the company to the FBI. Now the bill is coming due for Banner-Wyst. The first death to be discovered is that of Lawrence Chu, Redman’s colleague and trusted friend, whose tenure as director of bioengineering science ends when he’s beaten to death. For quite a while, Dallas and her partner, Det. Delia Peabody, know less about this mystery than their readers do. But when Ezra Dent, a consultant to Banner-Wyst who worked with Redman and Chu back in the day, is murdered in exactly the same ferocious way, Dallas and Peabody, with help from Roarke, Dallas’ tech-billionaire husband, promptly put the pieces together and determine who they’re looking for. The search for Redman, who went AWOL from his hospital bed without a trace six years ago, has its own challenges. So does Dallas’ attempt to get cooperation from partners Calvin Banner and Jacob Wyst, who are clearly in the crosshairs of a killer who seems a lot less monstrous than they are. If the breaks in the case are suspiciously convenient in arriving, readers can pride themselves on taking sides against a mega-corporation whose self-avowed ecological saintliness is undermined by its leaders’ underhanded dealing.
A satisfying thriller that will warm the hearts of fans who already take comfort in hating the forces of evil.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9781250414564
Page Count: 368
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
The delightful debut of a classic, prolific detective.
It takes a quirky sleuth to solve a baffling closed-door murder.
The author himself or, more accurately, some version of him, walks the reader through a “gruesome murder” that occurred in a rural farming village. At the center of the crime is the wealthy Ichiyanagi family, including the widow Itoko and her five children. The “heinous crime” occurs in the evening after the festive wedding of eldest son Kenzo to schoolteacher Katsuko. Yokomizo, part narrator and part raconteur, liberally shares digressions such as the fact that his favorite British author is A.A. Milne, who wrote The Red House Mystery as well as the books about Winnie-the-Pooh. Written in 1946 but set in 1937 before the devastation of World War II, this is the first novel featuring Kosuke Kindaichi, the legendary detective who appeared in more than 70 stories by Yokomizo. If Yokomizo is the Japanese Agatha Christie, Kindaichi may seem the Japanese Hercule Poirot—although actually, given his unkempt hair and apparently distracted manner, he’s more a cross between Poirot and Columbo. Shrewdly, his entrance is delayed until midway through the novel, after the police have stalled and both the family and the reader are anxious for a solution. The narrator’s garrulous charm, in a mystery long on logistics and forensic clues but short on detailed character portraits or extended interactions, is a key to the novel’s success, leavening the more intricate pieces of the puzzle. Armchair detectives will welcome the helpful character list that precedes the story.
The delightful debut of a classic, prolific detective.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781805336549
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
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