by Elizabeth Hand ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2016
A must for fans of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy and Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike novels.
Hand explores the darker side of the human psyche in this gripping urban suspense novel, a sequel to Available Dark (2013).
Ex-punk photographer Cass Neary alights in Heathrow with a stolen passport and a single cryptic clue about where she might meet her erstwhile and unpredictable lover, Quinn O’Boyle. While waiting for Quinn to surface from whatever has sent him underground, Cass becomes involved with a cluster of beautiful, wounded people: Krishna, a troubled singer; Adrian, a top-hat–wearing mystery man who lives in a shabby Victorian squat; Mallo and Morven, movers of illegal antiquities; and Poppy Teasel, a former famous groupie who is dying of cancer. All of these people, strangely, prove to be closely connected by a terrifying experimental film, a burned-down castle, ancient Paleolithic artifacts, and some rather nontraditional ideas of family, so when some of them turn up murdered, Cass has to figure out whether their deaths are a result of past secrets—or some more recent threat. One of the strengths of Hand’s mystery is her incredible rendering of the dark side of London. Masked in snow, as it is here, the city itself seems to become a character of great menace as Hand describes its troubling punk-era history, its shady corners filled with drugs, and its labyrinthine streets. The novel loses a bit of steam when the setting relocates to barren Cornwall. The other great strength is Cass herself. Addicted to drugs and alcohol, she nevertheless has great street smarts and an even better artistic eye. She will do what she has to do to get by, and she’s seen the worst side of humanity, but she still maintains a sense of compassion that elevates the mystery and increases its resonance.
A must for fans of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy and Robert Galbraith’s Cormoran Strike novels.Pub Date: April 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-250-03038-2
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
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by Lorna Barrett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2019
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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by Agatha Christie ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 28, 1934
A murder is committed in a stalled transcontinental train in the Balkans, and every passenger has a watertight alibi. But Hercule Poirot finds a way.
**Note: This classic Agatha Christie mystery was originally published in England as Murder on the Orient Express, but in the United States as Murder in the Calais Coach. Kirkus reviewed the book in 1934 under the original US title, but we changed the title in our database to the now recognizable title Murder on the Orient Express. This is the only name now known for the book. The reason the US publisher, Dodd Mead, did not use the UK title in 1934 was to avoid confusion with the 1932 Graham Greene novel, Orient Express.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1934
ISBN: 978-0062073495
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1934
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