A winning mystery featuring complex discussions of sexuality and feminist history.
In the sixth book of Wilson’s mystery series, amateur sleuth Cassandra Reilly must figure out who killed a gay activist editor before she becomes a victim herself.
Cassandra, a busy professional translator of novels from Spanish into English, reluctantly attends an academic lecture in London at the behest of Avery Armstrong, a literary agent of her acquaintance. Avery is worried that well-known lesbian writer Vonn Henley will accost Fiona Craig, who’s written a biography about her sister-in-law, beloved mystery writer Stella Terwicker. Fiona’s book explores Stella’s literary greatness but fails to mention the same-sex relationships in her past. Vonn causes no stir but later winds up suspiciously drowned. Cassandra starts investigating, traveling throughout England and to the medieval city of Bruges, Belgium, where most of Stella’s mysteries are set. She discovers a web of secret entanglements dating back to Vonn’s involvement with a feminist publishing collective in the 1980s. In her youth, Vonn made plenty of enemies with her philandering ways and cutting editorial remarks; Vonn’s ex-lover Gayle,the acerbic Vida Carrasco, and Vonn’s dodgy neighbor Kristi all have secrets, as do Fiona and Avery. As Cassandra gets closer to the truth, she also finds danger. With faithful friend Nicky Gibbons’ help, can she expose the culprit? Wilson’s latest Reilly mystery is the second after a two-decade break in the series. Although this installment’s plot doesn’t lead to a huge surprise, the characterization is excellent. As one would expect from a Lambda Literary Award winner, Wilson’s characters are well rounded with multiple strengths and weaknesses, including the highly self-aware Cassandra, who often doubts then reaffirms herself. The vibrant principals are all over 60 and lead refreshingly passionate lives. The author’s senses of place and history, particularly regarding the Beguine community at Bruges, are masterful, and her discussion of the nuances of love is well rendered.
A winning mystery featuring complex discussions of sexuality and feminist history.Pub Date: May 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-9883567-8-8
Page Count: 290
Publisher: Cedar Street Editions
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2022
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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