Tag: mystery

• Book Review: Death on the Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood

  In Death on the Marlow Belle (Poisoned Pen Press, September, 2025) this fourth installment of The Marlow Murder Club, a cozy murder mystery series, author Robert Thorogood has returned us to Marlow, a very real town located on the Thames River thirty miles from London. This is brilliant news for all of Thorogood’s fans, as…

  michardillo

  June 16, 2025

  books

  Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None, book-review, books, British, Columbia Theatre Players, community theatre, cozy mystery, death, Death Comes to Marlow, Death in Paradise, Death on the Marlow Belle, Downton Abbey, England, English, fiction, Goodreads, James Bond, Kindle, Lady Rosalind, London, Lord Grantham, Marlow, Miss Moneypenny, mystery, NetGalley, novel, Oscar Wilde, PBS Masterpiece, Poisoned Pen Press, reading, Richard Osman, River Thames, Samantha Bond, Ten Little Indians, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Marlow Murder Club, The Queen of Poisons, The Thursday Murder Club, theater, theatre, writer, writing

• Book Review: Dear Miss Lake by AJ Pearce

  I have a love-hate relationship with book series. Part of me loves the continuity, the bond established between the reader and the characters from book to book, the story taking me on a journey and coming back full-circle. But, I also hate when the series ends. To me, after I’ve invested so much time with…

  michardillo

  June 11, 2025

  books

  AJ Pearce, Blitz, book series, book-review, books, British, Dear Miss Lake, Dear Mrs. Bird, Edelweiss, England, English, fiction, Kate Messner, Kindle, library, literature, London, Maryland, Mrs. Porter Calling, mystery, novel, reading, Scholastic Press, Scribner, Silver Jaguar, social media, teacher, teaching, writer, writing, WWII, Yours Cheerfully

• Book Review: Through an Open Window by Pamela Terry

  First, thank you to NetGalley and Pamela Terry, through her publisher Penguin Random House, for the ARC of this new novel, to be published on August 19, 2025. This is Pamela Terry’s third novel, and I feel that her work becomes stronger and stronger with each new book. She is a true Southerner, and her…

  michardillo

  May 13, 2025

  books

  book-review, books, chihuahua, Clumber Spaniel, death, debut, dog, fiction, Georgia, Goodreads, grief, Kindle, literature, loss, Louisiana, magical realism, mystery, NetGalley, novel, Pamela Terry, Penguin, Random House, reading, Scotland, sophomore, Sweet Taste of Muscadines, Through an Open Window, When the Moon Turns Blue, writer, writing

• Book Review: Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping [On a Dead Man] by Jesse Q. Sutanto

  After a brief hiatus of flying through books and writing reviews, I am back from a family trip and just finished this book. I absolutely loved Jesse Q. Sutanto’s first book in this newish series, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Berkley, 2023). It was a five-star read for me. I thought it was fresh…

  michardillo

  May 3, 2025

  books, Essay

  Berkley Publishing, book-review, books, fiction, Goodreads, Jesse Q. Sutanto, literature, murder mystery, mystery, novel, Paris, reading, social media, Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man), Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

• Book Review: The Wedding People by Alison Espach

  Yes, I am late to the party. Yes, the rest of the world of book reviewers read this book and reviewed it already. Tons of people have read this book for their book clubs. Somehow, I got behind on this one. Last night, well after midnight, I finished The Wedding People by Alison Espach (Henry…

  michardillo

  March 27, 2025

  books

  Alfred Hitchcock, Alison Espach, book clubs, book hangover, book-review, books, Daphne du Maurier, depression, fiction, Goodreads, Henry Holt and Co., Joan Fontaine, Kindle, Laurence Olivier, literature, Manderley, Mrs. Dalloway, mystery, Newport, novel, reading, Rebecca, Rhode Island, Romance, romcom, The Wedding People, Victorian, Virginia Woolf, writing

• Book Review: The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

  In a familiar refrain—if you have been reading my book reviews—once again, I am not sure how I feel about this book. Did I hate it? No. Did I love it? No. Yet, somehow, I’ve given it FIVE STARS. I’ll get to the why a bit later. The Christie Affair (St. Martin’s Press, 2022) by…

  michardillo

  March 5, 2025

  books, Essay

  Agatha Christie, book-review, books, British, England, fiction, Goodreads, literature, Marie Benedict, mystery, Nina de Gramont, novel, reading, Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, St. Martin’s Press, The Christie Affair, The Queens of Crime, writer, writing

• Book Review: Murder by the Book by Lauren Elliott

  Murder by the Book (the novel, Kensington Cozies, 2018) by Lauren Elliott is the first in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series. I checked this book out to read on my Kindle via Libby through my local MCPL mostly because of the title and the cover. Many years ago, I directed a play by…

  michardillo

  January 29, 2025

  books, Essay

  Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series, book-review, books, cozy mystery, Craig Sodaro, death, education, fiction, Hamlet, Kensington Cozies, Kindle, Lauren Elliott, Libby, literature, middle school, Murder by the Book, mystery, New England, novel, Pioneer Drama Pulbishers, reading, teacher, theatre, writer, writing

• Book Review: Southern by Design by Grace Helena Walz

  The title of this ARC, graciously provided to me by NetGalley and HarperCollins, called to me on many levels, and I immediately requested this debut novel by Grace Helena Walz. As a dyed-in-the-wool, card-carrying Southerner (born and raised in southeast Louisiana), I just knew instinctively that I would enjoy this book, and I did. I…

  michardillo

  November 14, 2024

  books, Essay

  Beaufort, book-review, books, Charleston, fiction, food, Grace Helena Walz, HarperCollins, HGTV, interior design, literature, Louisiana, mystery, NetGalley, New Orleans, novel, Port Sulphur, reading, South Carolina, Southern by Design

• Book Review: A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder by Dianne Freeman (Book #1 in the Countess of Harleigh Mystery Series)

  I recently grabbed a book off of the new mysteries shelf at my local library and knew almost immediately that I was missing quite a bit of backstory, only to realize I was starting with book #7 of a series. I enjoyed An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder – albeit without the backstory…

  michardillo

  November 5, 2024

  books, Essay

  A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, An Art Lover’s Guide to Paris and Murder, book-review, books, British, Countess of Harleigh, cozy mystery, death, Dianne Freeman, Downton Abbey, England, English, family, fiction, Libby, library, literature, MCPL, mystery, novel, parenting, reading, social media, vacation, Victorian Era

• Book Review: Mystery in the Title (Miranda Abbott Mystery #2) by Ian Ferguson and Will Ferguson

  In a previous post, I reviewed I Only Read Murder by the Canadian Ferguson brothers, and made a not so subtle request for the sequel to read and review – albeit on its very publication date. The Fates (as in NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, lol) smiled upon me, and I’ve just finished Mystery in…

  michardillo

  October 31, 2024

  books, Essay

  book-review, books, cozy mystery, death, fiction, Hollywood, I Only Read Murder, Ian Ferguson, indie bookstore, literature, movie of the week, MOW, mystery, Mystery in the Title, NetGalley, novel, Oregon, Pacific Ocean, reading, Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles, vacation, Will Ferguson