A truly exceptional detective and a first-rate supporting cast kindle this straightforward mystery.
An amateur sleuth’s latest case unfolds aboard a Caribbean cruise in this installment of Dieker’s mystery series.
Part-time theater director Larkin Day needs a vacation from solving murders. She joins a weeklong, nerd-themed cruise that her best friend, freelance writer Anni Morgan, made possible with her cruise loyalty points. They bring along their boyfriends; Larkin’s mother and her mother’s girlfriend book their own tickets for a cheaper, porthole-less cabin. This is a cruise designed to allow passengers to revel in their nerdiness, be it cosplay or a love of mathematics. Famous fantasy author Adamantine Darcy, on the cruise as a special guest, apparently divines what Larkin does best; the writer wants her sleuthing advice on a murder-related subject. (“It’s for a book,” Adamantine’s assistant says.) Later, when Adamantine seemingly vanishes and a body turns up, Larkin may get another opportunity to put her skillset to use and again unmask a killer. Dieker does an impressive job of further developing the mostly established cast, introducing new and returning characters and easing series newcomers into the story. (Eirwen, a trans woman, is brutally but refreshingly honest, and Anni’s magician boyfriend, Elliott Fox, makes a handy sidekick for Larkin in detective mode.) The gumshoe herself possesses a yearning to understand people and things and a tireless charm, both of which belie her self-professed plainness. The book has plentiful nerdish (mostly technical) details on offer, from “networked sex toys” to the topical concern of reliance on artificial intelligence. These elements pair well with the witty dialogue (Larkin’s epiphany: “Wait. Maybe I’m the smartest person I know, at least for today”), though the characters’ habit of earmarking their own puns wears thin. The fun is in the rich characterizations; the whodunit aspect of the story is somewhat lacking and predictable.
A truly exceptional detective and a first-rate supporting cast kindle this straightforward mystery.Pub Date: July 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781959565239
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Shortwave Media
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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