murder msytery – Cannonball Read 17

When the map matters more than the people there will be murder

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

May 6, 2023 by CoffeeShopReader Leave a Comment

I really like the premise and general scenario of The Cartographers; you’ve got a good dose of real historical and practical map-making details along with a dose of “magical realism”. I also didn’t realize that this author was relevant to AAIPI month which May is. The general premise is that former whiz kid map scholar Nell Young who was dismissed from the famed NYPL (New York Public Library) in disgrace by her own father must now solve the mystery of her father’s murder which turns […]

High Society, Murder, Romance, Bicycles, and a Haunted House, what could go wrong

Betrayal in the Bowery by Kate Belli

October 29, 2022 by CoffeeShopReader Leave a Comment

Bingo 24: Gaslight Betrayal in the Bowery is set in 1889 NYC, meaning gas lights are very literally part of the setting. This is mostly a cozy murder mystery with sassy lady journalist Genvieve and her friend (probably romance partner in a volume or two) Daniel having to look into the mysterious death of a man who seems crazy running into the room on a steamship belonging to their just married friends and collapsing. It turns out Marcus (the dead man) has some connection to […]

Grammar Fixing Magic

January 14, 2018 by CoffeeShopReader Leave a Comment

Imagine fantasy and historical fiction are fused into a mystery, like what you’d get with a mash-up of Umberto Eco’s Name of the Rose, anything by Terry Brooks, and Harry Potter. The result, if it’s decently done, would be Ironfoot (Book 1 of the Enchanter General). There’s a touch of historical reality in the social divisions between the native Saxons and the ruling Normans, which is probably accurate given the setting in 1164 England. The brief cameos by Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry II, and a […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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