An investigator who’s an acquired taste softens during this intense thriller.
A fledgling detective discovers the hard way that being overconfident could land her in deep trouble in this engrossing mystery.
Author Diamond’s investigator is Claire Chastain, back for a second outing following The Friday Cage (2020). Claire formerly examined hidden risks for corporate buyouts, a dull sort of detective work. But after the traumatizing events of the first volume, she is taking criminal justice courses at American University. Now, she’s game for something more challenging. Well, be careful what you wish for. Claire receives a call from appliance magnate Roscoe Lehmann, who has a case for her, though she’s not yet a licensed PI. He wants her to check out Jacob Reisman, a squirrelly employee who might be stealing. Posing as an insurance investigator, Claire soon determines that Jacob is far too nervous to be a thief. Doing the proper legwork, Claire even visits Jacob at his apartment. When he’s brutally murdered, Claire becomes a suspect, with a security camera capturing an image of a woman who looks like Claire around the time of the crime. She had ignored her doubts about the case, and now she is framed as a result. Ignoring the sensible advice of her attorney, Anton Durant, Claire stubbornly sets out to prove her innocence. As Anton notes throughout, Claire suffers from “resting bitch face,” which makes her appear guilty despite being innocent. She came by her demeanor honestly; her overbearing grandmother taught her to distrust everybody. Perhaps she can learn to trust a bit more? While the novel does have likable supporting characters, like Anton and the victim, the narrative is primarily a battle of wits between Claire and the real killer, who set her up. The action swiftly moves along as Claire races around the country following leads, too impatient to wait for Anton’s investigator and the police to clear her. The real question that remains is what has the hotheaded detective learned that will serve her better down the road.
An investigator who’s an acquired taste softens during this intense thriller.Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73413-924-2
Page Count: 286
Publisher: Stolen Time Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2021
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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