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The Man of Dangerous Secrets Margery Allingham writing as Maxwell March By Maxwell March Ipso Books General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 11 Aug 2017 Review This book shows exactly why Margery Allingham is one of the most loved and remembered writers of the Golden Age of Mystery. Before reading The Man of Dangerous Secrets, I didn’t realize that Margery Allingham sometimes used a pseudonym. The Man of Dangerous Secrets has it all, a thrilling mystery, murder

Smoke and Mirrors by Casey Daniels Severn House Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 01 Nov 2017 Review To some degree we are all fascinated by the rare, the unusual and the grotesque. PT Barnum made his name and fortune satisfying our craving for the bizarre. Casey Daniels has taken history and put her own stamp creating a heroine as unusual for her time as one of Barnum’s oddities. Evangeline acts as Phin’s assistant and aide de camp running the American Museum. Quick witted

The Witches' Tree An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M. C. Beaton St. Martin's Press Minotaur Books Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 03 Oct 2017 Review The Witches’ Tree is a terrific addition to the Agatha Raisin series. It is clever, funny, and has a wonderful cast of quirky characters- both series favourites and new additions. The Witches Tree begins with a village Vicar and his wife discovering the body of one of the church volunteers hanging on The Witches’ Tree in the center

The Dead Shall be Raised and The Murder of a Quack A British Library Crime Classic by George Bellairs Poisoned Pen Press Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 03 Oct 2017 Review George Bellairs is often forgotten, but his career as a mystery writer was long and moderately successful. Like his lead, Detective Inspector Littlejohn, Bellairs was a man content with his craft with a skill founded on observation of human nature. Detective Inspector Littlejohn does not have the Herculea

If My Dogs Were a Pair of Middle-Aged Men by The Oatmeal, Matthew Inman Andrews McMeel Publishing Comics & Graphic Novels Pub Date 26 Sep 2017 Review This book is hilarious, definitely one of the Oatmeal’s best. Whether or not you love dogs, this book will have you laughing. Like all of the Oatmeal’s comics, the humor comes both from the drawings and the truth inherent in the situations. If you have dogs, I can guarantee they’ve behaved like the two middle aged men on m

Rubies in the Roses by Vivian Conroy HQ Digital Humor , Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 30 Aug 2017 Review Rubies in the Roses is the second Cornisea island cosy by Vivian Conroy. It is a charming mystery set on a fictional island on the Cornish coast. The mysteries are not very complex, and the cast of characters is relatively small, but they are enjoyable light novels perfect for whiling away an afternoon. Guinevere is a charming, demure lead and her dachshund, Dolly’s a

Death at the Seaside A Kate Shackleton Mystery by Frances Brody St. Martin's Press Minotaur Books Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 12 Sep 2017 Review The Kate Shackleton historical mysteries are a delightful escape from the everyday. Set in a changing post WWI Britain, the novels draw readers in with their complex characters and well designed plots. Death at the Seaside drew me in from the beginning. Can you imagine beginning your holiday, stepping into a shop and finding

I Love My Bread Machine More Than 100 Recipes for Delicious Home Baking By Anne Sheasby Nourish Cooking, Food & Wine, Nonfiction (Adult) Pub Date 19 Sep 2017 Review I Love My Bread Machine has recipes taken from the 2009 Bread Machine Bible. There are of course plenty of updates and additions that make this book worthwhile. There are a variety of whole grain recipes using specialty grains as well as a number of gluten free recipes. I liked that it has a section specificall

The Seagull A Vera Stanhope Mystery by Ann Cleeves St. Martin's Press Minotaur Books Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 05 Sep 2017 Review Once again Anne Cleeves has given readers and her heroine Vera exactly what they want - a challenge. When an inmate, a former superintendent and colleague of her father, offers Vera the whereabouts of the body of a long missing man in exchange for checking in on his troubled daughter, she has doubts. Instead, not one body but two are disc

A Catered Costume Party by Isis Crawford Kensington Books Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date 29 Aug 2017 Review I had high expectations for A Catered Costume Party. The introductory chapter where Darius murders his wife has just the right dash of humor. After reading it, I was eager to discover what comes next. On the whole A Catered Costume Party is a fun fresh mystery. Many of the passages are cleverly written and the dialogue is excellent. I was disappointed, however, by