Justice, San Francisco Style

No Justice for the Deceived by Nancy Herriman

A high-society engagement, a masquerade ball, a poisoning, and the death of an innocent young woman are the building blocks upon which Nancy Herriman has constructed her new historical mystery, No Justice for the Deceived (book 6 in the Mysteries of Old San Francisco). And what a mystery it is!

Two wealthy families are about to be joined in matrimony, and it’s the type of engagement that engenders the juiciest gossip in town. One reason for all the gossip? The groom. He’s a philanderer. And worse than that, he’s been accused of being behind a vicious assault on one of his many former amours.

The bride-to-be is a beautiful young woman with a substantial fortune—a fortune that will belong entirely to her husband as soon as they are man and wife. Her dream is to open a women’s clinic similar to Celia’s, but her betrothed has indicated his strong disdain for the project and has no intention of using the money to pay for it.

So it comes as no surprise when someone tries to poison the groom. Unfortunately, the poisoning goes awry and an innocent woman dies instead. Suspects abound.

No Justice for the Deceived brings Celia and Nick, everyone’s favorite San Francisco detective, together again, this time to figure out who wanted the groom dead. As always in this series, it’s a delight to watch Celia and Nick interact. Their banter is witty and sharp and despite Nick’s frequent annoyance with Celia’s attempts to investigate the crime, their deep feelings for each other are clear.

Besides the relationship between Celia and Nick, this book has plenty of twists to keep the reader engaged. And I’m always amazed at the amount of research that the author must put into each book in this series, and I learn something new and fascinating about San Francisco’s history with each successive mystery.

One puzzle remains unsolved at the end of the book—Nick has been receiving strange and disturbing packages in the mail, and he doesn’t know who they’re from or why he’s receiving them. I guess we’ll have to wait until book 7 to get an answer!

I would highly recommend No Justice for the Deceived to anyone who loves historical mysteries, old San Francisco, and great tension between characters.

***

And speaking of historical mysteries, Cape Menace, book 1 in the Cape May Historical Mystery Collection, is on sale for $1.99 through April 15, 2024! Don’t forget—you can always gift someone an ebook. Here are the links to each retailer, so pick your favorite … you know what to do.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Apple

Google Play

See you next time!

Amy

Black River, Black Deeds

Black River by Matthew Spencer

Two murders of young women in an upscale area of Sydney (Australia) have local residents on edge. The crimes bear significant ritualistic similarities, enough to classify the perpetrator as a serial killer. BMK, he’s called. The Blue Moon Killer.

When a third young woman’s body is found on the grounds of an elite private school during the summer break, there are some indications it could be the work of BMK. But there are differences, too. What do those differences mean? Is BMK toying with the police? Is there a copycat killer out there? Is he altering his modus operandi?

Detective Sergeant Rose Riley, a member of the task force trying to find BMK, is on edge. She’s got this case on her mind night and day. More than anything, she wants justice for the victims. Her quest to do right by the murdered women and their families not only leads her to the hallowed halls of power and money, but also to the sickening depths of human depravity and straight into the sights of a killer.

She and her team need help, and they find it—more or less—in the form of Adam Bowman, a reporter who likes his booze and has a murky connection to the school where the third body was found. Rose and her team feed Adam exclusive but limited information, and his stories serve to rile up certain persons of interest.

The question is this: can Rose and the task force, with Adam’s help, figure out who BMK is before he strikes again?

If you’re looking for a page-turning thriller, this book should be in the running. The action moves at a fast clip and there’s always a lead that needs to be investigated. Rose’s boss is a hard-driving Detective Chief Inspector who lives and breathes the work of the task force. He trusts Rose and gives her the support and freedom she needs to pursue leads and theories. It’s a great working partnership, and that was one of my favorite things about the book.

For the most part, the book alternates between two points of view: Rose’s and Adam’s. I liked getting to know each character in more depth, but at the same time I felt like I knew all the other characters pretty well, too (which is not to say I liked them all—some of them are despicable). Many readers don’t like books that oscillate between points of view, but I find it exciting and a great way to get inside characters’ heads.

The author of this story, Matthew Spencer, is a former journalist who clearly knows his way around a newsroom as well as the ins and outs of working with police and other authorities. His experience shines in the book and gives it an overall aura of authenticity. He’s Australian, too, and readers from elsewhere in the world have an opportunity to learn some Aussie phrases and culture.

I highly recommend this thriller to anyone looking for a book with well-developed characters, a fast pace, and an alternative to the more ubiquitous American or British police procedural.

***

House of the Hanging Jade is on sale for $1.99 this week only! The sale ends at midnight EDT on Friday, 3/15/24, so if you haven’t read it, grab your copy now! Click HERE to go to my website, where you can be redirected to your favorite online bookseller.

My publisher owned the rights to the book until last year, when the rights reverted to me. So I revised the story and had a new cover designed for it (I LOVE the new cover). The new version currently has no reviews on Amazon, so I’d love to see some reviews! Thanks!

See you next time!

Amy

Where They Lie…and lie

Where They Lie by Joe Hart

When a private plane carrying the family of Kaylee Volk, vlogger* and social media influencer, plummets into the ocean, Nora McTavish is the one trying to figure out how it all happened. The only survivor of the crash has a story to tell, but Nora isn’t so sure she’s getting the whole truth.

*vlogger: one who blogs via video

Nora is a case worker with the state child protective services agency and she’s familiar with the Volk family: Kaylee and her husband Justin, along with their three foster children. Nora has even had occasion to investigate the family—someone at school has reported that one of the siblings has bruising around the neck, and that child has confirmed that another sibling is responsible.

Nora is devasted by the loss of the three foster children in the plane crash. Her compulsion to continue investigating the case after the children’s deaths has as much to do with her feeling of unease about the whole situation as it does with her personal history of familial abuse and the foster care system. She is a survivor, and it’s her mission to help other kids survive, too.

What I liked most about this book was Nora’s tenacity. She continues to look for answers on behalf of the three kids despite being suspended from her job, a violent personal assault, and a horrifying attack on her home.

The book is told from Nora’s point of view, though occasionally chapters are interspersed with snippets of Kaylee’s vlog, both on-screen and off. There have been reviewers who believe the snippets are extraneous, but I think they serve an important purpose—they show Kaylee’s family as the rest of the world sees them, but they also show a bit of behind-the-scenes tension between family members as Kaylee shoots her videos.

This book is a thriller, no doubt about it. It moves at a rapid pace, unfurling twist after twist as Nora rushes to find answers in the face of increasing risks and soaring stakes.

Where They Lie isn’t just a thriller—it also offers a commentary on the foster care system and the positives and significant negatives of child protective service laws and related state agencies. There’s also a dark, albeit fictional, look at the culture of social media influencers and how society interacts with them.

One thing that’s important to note: if you’re triggered by child abuse, this might not be the book for you. It deals with some pretty heavy topics. But it’s a good read, and one that I recommend if you’re looking for a thriller to keep you up at night.

***

A Traitor Among Us: A Mystery of Revolutionary America, is on sale for 99¢/99p this week only! The sale ends at midnight EST on Friday, 2/16/24, so if you haven’t read it, grab your copy now! Click HERE to go to my website, where you can be redirected to your favorite online bookseller.

See you next time!

Amy

But First, a Word from Me

Hello there! It’s good to be back. Last year I really dropped the ball with respect to my blog and my newsletter, in large part because I couldn’t think of things to say and I was buried in work. My reading pace slowed considerably and I wasn’t able to continue reviewing mysteries as I had been doing.

With that in mind, this year has brought with it a new focus in my business. And at the very heart of that focus is the mystery-loving community: you. Perhaps in future blogs I will tell you more about it, but that’s really the domain of my newsletter. I’ll let you know below how to sign up for it if you’d like to get more information.

But for now, here’s my plan: twelve months, twelve mysteries, twelve blog posts with reviews. If I can get to it, I’ll review more often and blog more often. But if I can’t, at least by the end of the year I will have provided you with recommendations for twelve terrific mysteries.

Have you signed up for the Goodreads 2024 Reading Challenge? I’ve pledged (to myself) to read 52 books this year. I didn’t meet last year’s challenge, but I stopped logging books at one point and never got back to it. Last year I pledged to read 65 books. I don’t know how many books I actually read, but it wasn’t quite 65, so this year I took it down a notch. To join the challenge, go to goodreads.com and click on the banner at the tippy-top of the page.

And now for the January book which, like January, was chilling…

THE SHADOW BOX by Luanne Rice

This domestic thriller is the first book I’ve read by Luanne Rice, and I’ve promised myself I’m going to read more of her stuff. Lots more.

Set against the old-money, seaside backdrop of Connecticut politics, the book is about Griffin Chase and the inner circle of family and friends working to get him elected as the next governor of Connecticut. It’s also about the lengths they’ll go to in order to achieve that goal.

Claire Beaudry Chase is Griffin’s second wife, an artist trapped inside a marriage marked by terrifying psychological abuse where her every move is like walking on eggshells.

But Claire has discovered one of her husband’s deepest, darkest secrets, one she’s suspected for a long time. And he knows it.

And they both know she holds his future in her hands—that is, if she lives long enough to tell anyone about the secret.

This book grabbed me from the first sentence and never let go until I hit the last one. The entire story moved at a fast clip, which kept me turning pages well after my bedtime.

The story is told from multiple points of view, so if you’re not a fan of head-hopping, be aware of that (and there are a lot of characters, though not all of them get chapters to themselves). It’s also told along a jagged timeline, meaning chapters don’t necessarily go in chronological order. It adds a layer of complexity to the story, but could also be a bit confusing for some readers. It’s up to the reader to keep things straight, but I believe the author does an excellent job of telling the reader exactly what day it is and who’s talking or thinking.

At its heart, the story is about the horrors of physical and psychological domestic abuse and it shines a light on the issue in a manner that held me rapt. It examines the issue from many angles—victim, family, friends, the authorities, and, importantly, children.

The author does a brilliant job with the setting, making the reader feel as if she’s right there in the thick of things. Rice also delves deeply into several of the characters’ psyches, helping the reader to understand what drives them to act and make certain decisions.

There is a superficial storyline of class and politics, but I believe the point of it is really to hold up the main plot. These characters move in a world most of us will never be a part of, and to be dropped into a story involving great wealth and status is fascinating. Is it cliché? Maybe. But I don’t care. I loved the book. It’s got an important lesson to teach and it does so thrillingly. I give it 5 enthusiastic stars.

---

---

I mentioned above that I would tell you how to sign up for my newsletter to get more from me, including exclusive content and special access to things like cover reveals and special deals on books. It’s easy: go to www.amymreade.com and right there on the home page, click the link that says “Join my VIP lsit,” and it’ll take you to the sign-up page. As I said, there’s a new website waiting in the wings and it’s got some cool stuff on it. More to come!

Two FREE Juniper Junction Books!

For a limited time, you can get the first two ebooks in the Juniper Junction Cozy Holiday Mystery Series FREE! Just click here to grab yours!

Need a refresher? Here’s what they’re all about:

The Worst Noel

On the busiest shopping day of the year, Lilly opens her jewelry store to discover it’s been burgled. Then she trips over a body. Talk about a Black Friday.

When a second victim is murdered, Lilly finds herself squarely in the crosshairs of suspicion. The clock is ticking as Lilly tries to unwrap the mystery of the real killer’s identity.

As the bodies pile up like so much snow, Lilly is shocked to discover her ex-husband has returned to town after a fifteen-year absence. Could his reappearance have anything to do with the murders? One thing is sure: Lilly doesn’t want him anywhere near their two teenage kids, neither of whom remember him, or her mom, whose mental health is declining.

Can she figure out who killed the victims before she becomes one herself?

Find out if Lilly is about to have herself a merry or scary little Christmas in this cozy, small-town mystery. Recipes included!

***

Dead, White, and Blue

It’s bad enough when the owner of the new bistro in town drops dead at the Independence Day celebration, but when Noley, Lilly’s best friend, is charged with the murder, things start to heat up.

And speaking of heat, there’s a firebug on the loose in Juniper Junction. Houses in town are going up in smoke and when the fires hit a little too close to home, Lilly is pulled into the investigation to uncover the identity of the arsonist.

Can Lilly clear Noley’s name and figure out who’s starting the fires before she becomes a victim herself?

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire in this cozy holiday mystery. Find out if Lilly gets burned as she deals with murder, mayhem, her mother’s dementia, and a coming-of-age issue under her own roof.

Recipes included!

***

I am trying to spread the word FAR AND WIDE for this sale! Please help by forwarding this to anyone who might enjoy reading the books! Thanks in advance for your support.

One more time—here’s the link! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SV5593Q

P.S. It was Murder

The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths

The Postscript Murders, Book 2 in the Harbinder Kaur mystery series, is not only a great whodunit, but the author’s love letter to books.

Harbinder Kaur is an officer with the West Sussex police department, and she’s got a doozy of a murder investigation on her hands. Peggy Smith, an elderly woman with a penchant for thinking up ways to kill people, has been instrumental in helping a number of authors craft unique ways to murder characters in their books. Those authors, grateful for her assistance, have dedicated books to her and thanked her countless times in back-of-the-book acknowledgements.

But now Peggy is dead, and the question is this: was hers a natural death, or was it murder? When her demise is followed rather quickly by the deaths of authors who have used her “murder consultant” services, signs begin to point toward murder.

Harbinder is drawn into the mystery when a trio of Peggy’s friends reach out to her with their suspicions about Peggy’s demise. Natalka, Peggy’s nurse, found Peggy’s body. Her friends Benedict, a former monk who owns a seaside coffee shop, and Edwin, a retired BBC radio presenter who lives in the same sheltered living facility as Peggy, are convinced that Peggy did not die by natural means and they are determined to figure out who killed her and why.

Harbinder Kaur is a fabulous main character. She’s thirty-something, gay (but single), Sikh, and still lives with her parents. She has the complexity to carry a series, and though she was not as major a character in the first book in the series (The Stranger Diaries, see my review here), I hope readers will see more of her as the series progresses.

The story is told from the point of view of Harbinder and her three new friends, all of whom fancy themselves amateur sleuths and have backstories of their own which unfold gradually throughout the book. The relationships among all the characters are compelling and intricate, and I enjoyed getting to know each of them.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but I delighted at the literary festival in Aberdeen, the friends’ stay at a safe house, Harbinder’s partner (and the hilarious ways he is described), and the easy pace of the plot. There are plenty of juicy turns, and I loved the conclusion, which came as a series of shocking twists at the very end of the book. Each and every thread in the story is tied up neatly, and left me eager for the next book in the series.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a great crime mystery, a book about books, and a companionable group of friends who team up to solve a puzzle.

Christmas in August?

Christmas Cow Bells by Mollie Cox Bryan

I know Christmas is in December and July, but I wanted to make sure I share this with you before the holiday season starts in earnest because this is one book I think you’re going to want to read.

I’ve read most, if not all, of Mollie Cox Bryan’s books, and I’ve loved them. But this…this is the best one yet. Not only does it involve my favorite holiday, Christmas, but it also involves three of my other favorite things: cows and cheese and mysteries.

Brynn has recently moved to the small, insular community of Shenandoah Springs, Virginia, with dreams of a bucolic life centered on her three beloved cows and her new cheesemaking business. She’s reeling from the blow of a failed relationship, and what she needs is a friend.

She finds one, but something awful happens and Brynn realizes quickly that small-town life is not the idyll she had first thought. With suspects galore, a pastoral setting, rapidly-evolving relationships among the residents of Shenandoah Springs, and even recipes, this books is a treat for the mind and the senses. I highly recommend it.

***

What I’m reading:

Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

#Follow Me for Murder by Sarah E. Burr

***

If you’re interested in joining me for fun content, a free downloadable cookbook, quizzes and games, and behind-the-scenes looks at writing books, click here to join my newsletter! I look forward to welcoming you.

Do You Know what BSP Means?

A Traitor Among Us by A.M. Reade

BSP means Blatant Self-Promotion and I am not above doing it.

It’s not often I highlight my own books on my blog, but because A Traitor Among Us was released two weeks ago, I thought I’d share one of the reviews with you. I’d also like to remind everyone how important reviews are to authors—they figure prominently in the algorithms used by book retailers in advertising and in choosing the books which those retailers promote to their legions of readers. If you’ve read A Traitor Among Us and haven’t left a review, I encourage and ask you to do that. It’s easy! Just a few lines about why you liked the book is enough. Thank you in advance!

I hope you enjoy this review as much as I did:

“A beautifully written Revolutionary War era mystery, told from the point of view of a young woman, which really sets this novel apart from others. The story unfolds through thoughts and narration as if the characters were speaking to us from the 1770s. Etta Rutledge, the main character, is a strong and capable young woman with quite a lot of responsibilities helping her family run an inn. Her words and thoughts completely immerse us in the Colonial era, and give us a fresh voice and a new perspective on life in Cape May County, NJ. I truly loved this main character, Etta, and how she interacts with her sweet and vulnerable sister Prissy, who has a disability (I am happy to read more disabled characters in books), and it’s clear there’s a strong protective bond between the sisters. The brothers are also well portrayed, and we immediately care about Etta and her family and friends. The Rutledge family owns the tavern and inn, the central place in the story, and what a fascinating place it is. Ms. Reade [sic] describes it well from the ambiance to the drink, food, and talk. The dialogue is plain style, as befits the times, and the author clearly researched everything and makes us feel as if we are right there in the 1770’s. The Rutledge inn is where Loyalists and Revolutionaries gather, and as the war looms, the suspense builds when a body is found, and then another. Etta’s courage during a turbulent time is amazing as she tries to find the murderer as the war threatens to break apart her family. We care about Etta and are drawn into her life and the lives of those close to her. A wonderful story, and I look forward to continuing to read many more books in this wonderful new series!”

Thanks to “Mondi” for the review! I appreciate it so much!

As usual, I’ll close this post with a recommendation. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes historical mysteries, mysteries set in the American colonies, or tales set during the Revolutionary War.

Book Blogs to Follow…

…because we don’t have enough to do.

This week I’m going to keep it short because we’re all busy. But I do want to share four bookish blogs that I think you’ll love. My advice? Bookmark them and come back to them when things aren’t so hectic, because it’s fun to browse through their pages and find all kinds of great books and great authors.

And so here they are, in alphabetical order:

***

A Blue Million Books

This is author Amy Metz’s blog. She doesn’t do book reviews, but she features tons of interviews, guest blogs, book spotlights, excerpts, and more from a huge number of authors. You’re very likely to find something to tickle your fancy on this blog. Amy is the author of the Goose Pimple Junction mysteries, and I can tell you they’re excellent. So while you’re looking for your next favorite author at A Blue Million Books, check out Amy’s books, too!

***

2. Aunt Sairy’s Book Reviews

I came across this fairly new blog recently when Sarah, the owner of the blog, reviewed my book The Worst Noel in such a way that brought tears to my eyes. It’s that beautiful (click here to read the review for yourself). All of Sarah’s reviews are heartfelt, honest, and thorough without containing any spoilers. Sarah reads and reviews mostly cozy mysteries, so if you’re looking for a good cozy to read, you’re bound to find one on her blog. And bonus: you get a behind-the-scenes look at life with her dog, Havoc, who sounds like a big, cuddly bear.

***

3. Discovery

A treasure trove of bookish delights begun by the folks at Reedsy, this site includes a blog (under the
“Blog” tab) with such posts as “45 Best True Crime Books of All Time,” “30 Best Memoirs of the Last Century,” and “The Essential Guide to Reading the Sherlock Holmes Books,” among many other topics. But it also includes (under the “Discover” tab) a gazillion books that you can search by genre, keyword, and/or date added to the site.

***

4. Dru’s Book Musings

Dru Ann Love, as her name suggests, is a beloved member of the mystery community. She’s an avid reader who also quilts, writes poetry, and works full-time. How she manages to blog the way she does, I have no idea. But I’m glad she does, because there’s always something new to discover on her site. She features new releases, cover reveals, her own reviews, and the “Day in the Life” series of guest posts (written by the characters in upcoming books!!).

I hope you’ll take some time to peruse all these blogs. They’re great fun for me to browse, and I always come away from them with a list of new books and authors I’d love to learn more about.

Do you have a favorite book blog you’d like to share? I’d love to hear your suggestions!

Until next time, wishing all of you a merry Christmas,

Amy

A Hidden Gem

As many of you know, I have been working (forever, it feels like) on Book 2 in the Libraries of the World Mystery Series. In the first book, Trudy’s Diary, protagonist Daisy Carruthers uses collections from the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, to solve the mysteries. In Book 2, Dutch Treat, Daisy has taken a sabbatical from Global Human Rights Journal in Washington to work for one semester as an associate professor at a small college in New York City. As you might expect, the New York Public Library collections play a key role in this book.

I’ve done a great deal of research for Dutch Treat and a lot of that research has been about the main branch of the New York Public Library (the one on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street).

But the New York Public Library has more than just the main branch. In fact, it has 88 branches. And many of these are old—old enough to have been heated with coal in the early part of the twentieth century.

And how do you think the heating system worked when the library was closed?

Easy. Custodians were employed to keep the heating systems running overnight and on weekends. Those custodians and their families lived in apartments on the top floor of each library.

How cool would it be to live in a library??

This week, I’m sharing an article from Atlas Obscura that highlights one of the old custodian apartments: the one from Fort Washington. There are some interesting photos and some anecdotes from people who remember the custodians who took care of the libraries.

Enjoy!

Click here to be redirected to the article.

Until next time,

Amy