Category Archives: 1st in series

“Red Means Run” by Brad Smith – Book Review

Posted on July 16, 2020 by

I originally reviewed this title on January 2nd, 2012. Back then, I didn’t have many followers so the book didn’t get any attention. I thought that since Lume Books have taken over the Endeavor Press catalog, I would try to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, Lume Books, Mystery fiction, Reblogged | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“A Bad, Bad, Thing” by Elena Forbes – Book Review

Posted on June 8, 2020 by

Eve West is a beautiful, petite, Detective Inspector working for London’s Metropolitan Police.  She is a very private person whose past holds many secrets.  She suffers from insomnia. Though she doesn’t have a serious relationship with anyone, she is having … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, 20 Books of Summer, Backlist 2020, Book Reviews, NetGalley | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

“Death Deserved” by Thomas Enger and Jørn Lier Horst – Book Review

Posted on May 24, 2020 by

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, … translated from the Norwegian by Anne Bruce This police procedural, set in Oslo, Norway, is the first to feature policeman Alexander Blix and blogger/journalist Emma Ramm. Blix is a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, Nordic noir, novels in translation, Orenda Books, Scandinavian | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

“The Creak on the Stairs” by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir – Book Review

Posted on May 5, 2020 by

The Creak on the Stairs is the first in the electrifying FORBIDDEN ICELAND series The Icelandic Police team of criminal investigators include: Hörður Höskuldsson – leader of the Akranes Criminal Investigation Division. With many local connections, he is in charge … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Blog Tour, Book Reviews, novels in translation, Orenda Books | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

“The Tenant” by Katrine Engberg – Book Review

Posted on April 8, 2020 by

Esther de Laurenti is a newly retired academic living in the house where she grew up. She lives on the top floor and rents out the three lower floors.  She fancies herself a novelist and is working on a murder … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, Mystery fiction, NetGalley, novels in translation, Scandinavian | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

“Firewatching” by Russ Thomas – Book Review

Posted on March 29, 2020 by

Set in and around Sheffield, England, this debut novel introduces a unique and somewhat unusual team of police officers. D.S. Adam Tyler – keenly observant and very sharp witted, a taciturn loner, gay, conflicted, and emotionally damaged. The son of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, Edelweiss, Mystery fiction | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

“Silent Cry” by Jenny O’Brien – Book Review

Posted on March 25, 2020 by

DC Gaby Darin has just moved to Pembrokeshire, Wales after a difficult work-related experience in Swansea. She is teamed up with DCI Rhys Walker, a man who seems to have hidden secrets but is a copper that she respects. Izzy … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, Mystery fiction, NetGalley | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

“A Dark Matter” by Doug Johnstone – Book Review

Posted on March 22, 2020 by

We meet the Skelfs on the day that they are saying goodbye to their patriarch, Jim. They are doing this in a somewhat bizarre way. Though they run a funeral home, they are having an illegal funeral pyre in their … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, Favorite books, Orenda Books | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

“The Birds That Stay” by Ann Lambert – Book Review

Posted on February 22, 2020 by

Anna Newman, a woman in her eighties is found dead outside her home in rural Quebec. An accomplished artist, the woman has lived almost like a recluse. The police department don’t seem overly interested in finding out about her death, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, Canadian fiction, Edelweiss, Mystery fiction | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

“River Bodies” by Karen Katchur – Book Review

Posted on January 10, 2020 by

Autumn in small town America. The leaves on the trees are showing off their best colors, but the people perhaps are not… There has been a brutal murder on the banks of the Delaware River, and the people of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, Mystery fiction, NetGalley | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

“Death by Dark Waters” by Jo Allen – Book Review

Posted on November 24, 2019 by

“Meet DCI Jude Satterthwaite, the protagonist in a crime series set in the English Lake District. Serious, sharp and impatient, he’s a hero to some and Judas to others. Jude’s doing a job he loves in the county where he … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, Mystery fiction, NetGalley | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

“The Long Call” by Ann Cleeves – Book Review

Posted on November 21, 2019 by

The first novel in a new series which introduces Detective Matthew Venn. Two Rivers book one. “Now he could hear the surf on the beach and the cry of a herring gull, the sound naturalists named the long call, the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, Mystery fiction, NetGalley | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

“Retriever of Souls” by Lorraine Mace – Book Review

Posted on November 12, 2019 by

Published by Accent Press    ISBN: 9781786156792    294 pages The killer in this novel gets sexual satisfaction from mortally harming prostitutes. A real ‘sicko’, his extremely unhealthy relationship with his mother has marred his life forevermore. He believes that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Blog Tour, Book Reviews, Damppebbles Blog Tours, Page turners | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

“She Lies in Wait” by Gytha Lodge – Book Review @randomhouse

Posted on November 9, 2019 by

“Seven kids had bedded down thirty years ago but only six of them had got up in the morning”. When a rebellious young girl hides from her parents at a camping site in the Brinken Wood of the New Forest, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, debut novels, Mystery fiction, NetGalley | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

“Trace of Evil” by Alice Blanchard – Book Review

Posted on October 26, 2019 by

A small town in Upstate New York idyllic to the casual observer. Beautiful autumn foliage, stunning scenery, and an interesting history of witchcraft. Now the witchcraft is a tourist industry but the town still holds many dark secrets beneath the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1st in series, Book Reviews, Edelweiss, Mystery fiction | Tagged , , | 5 Comments