The unearthed tale of revenge served cold is more satisfying than the story of its discovery.
Private eye Annalisa Vega and her on-again husband, Det. Nick Carelli, go up against the vigilante who’s evidently hellbent on eliminating every abusive man in Chicago.
Joe Green, a fellow inmate of Annalisa’s brother Alex, the Lovelorn Killer she put away, was convicted of murdering attorney Cyrus Merriman 13 years ago on the testimony of Gwen Beaufort, who saw him at the crime scene while she was walking her dog. But he still swears he’s innocent, and Alex wants his pregnant sister to help him. Even though Annalisa is skeptical, she works so efficiently to poke holes in the story of Gwen, who’s never even owned a dog, and to connect Cyrus’ death to that of several other victims found with the same Berkanan rune stabbed into their bodies, that he’s released with an apology. Evidently somebody isn’t satisfied, though, for three days later Joe’s body is found in Lake Michigan, just like the others before him—but this time without that telltale rune. Further investigation links the murders to Ruby’s Place, a shelter for abused women, and the kidnapping of Eve Collier, a child who disappeared from the 1986 Chicago Christmas parade. Annalisa and Nick work tirelessly, sometimes together, sometimes at odds with each other, to figure out which of the staunch-hearted stalwarts associated with Ruby’s Place is actually a serial killer. Annalisa will have to solve both this compellingly complex mystery and the unrelated and much less interesting case of the valuable engagement ring that elderly widow Effie Christos has reported missing before she’ll be free to deliver that baby.
The unearthed tale of revenge served cold is more satisfying than the story of its discovery.Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2025
ISBN: 9781250904171
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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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