Anatomy of an Alibi pits privileged greed against savvy morally gray characters, and the women caught in the middle are left sorting out the truth. The bad guys are truly bad, and outsiders pay the price when those in power preserve outward appearances at any cost. I loved Ashley Elston's mystery First Lie Wins  (it was on my December favorites list ; it was one of my Bossy Fiction Ideas for Your Holiday Gift List ; and it was on my recent list of Four-Star Mysteries I Loved

Six More Favorite Bossy Mystery Reads I love looking over my favorite reads from the past twelve months in every genre. Something about the post-holiday cold gray of January lends itself to stories that chug along and keep me guessing. I've been in a mystery-reading mood lately, and I thought you might be too, so I'm sharing more mystery reads I've enjoyed for you to check out. You can explore the twelve titles on My Very Favorite Bossy 2025 Reads to find out about my overal

The corruption and dark underbellies throughout, the lurking folklore figure that seems to signal death and destruction, and the despairing community history of missing women set a brooding, ominous tone, yet Salt Bones often felt like a young-adult mystery. The reveal is immensely disturbing and makes various characters' sinister suspicions feel more than warranted. Jennifer Givhan's mystery-thriller-horror novel Salt Bones  made it onto multiple best-of lists for 2025, and

The past and present storms added thrills and chills to the dual-timeline coastal Alabama story. Predicting a few elements of the mystery didn't diminish my enjoyment of the fast-paced tale in which a young woman digs to understand a suspicious death and ends up coming to terms with her legacy and her future. St. Medard's Bay, Alabama, seems to attract the strongest of hurricanes, and the only building that's withstood every storm for a century is the charming Rosalie Inn. Bu

Book two of the series sees our septuagenarian characters each trekking their own paths while working cooperatively to solve a new mystery. They show vulnerability and strength, use their instincts and smarts to outsmart criminals, and grow. I laughed while listening to this one; Osman's series has me hooked. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim are septuagenarians feeling let down after the thrills, danger, and success of their first solved mystery (related in The Thursday Murd

Elston's first adult novel ticked all of my mystery-reading boxes: a con artist, fake identity, dangerous boss, complicated mark, trusty sidekick, clever maneuvering, and non-manipulative twists. I can't wait to read her next mystery. Evie Porter is embracing her current fake identity and getting closer to her mark Ryan--who she's lured into being her boyfriend. Now she awaits her mysterious boss Mr. Smith's instructions about the information he needs her to obtain to take do

I like a story driven by a female investigaor of a main protagonist, and in this small-town mystery and tragedy, officer Emmy Clifton...

I feel compelled to see this series through to its end. The Robin-Strike tension is finally spoken aloud, although not resolved, and the...

I was delighted by the poignancy, humor, and layers in the first installment of this series of stories about sharp, disparate...

Smith was inspired by the real-life Victorian England case of a cockney impostor attempting to wrest an inheritance from the nobility,...

The Briar Club employs nine points of view to tell the story of life in a female-only boarding house in 1950s, McCarthy-era Washington,...

I loved the twist, double-twist of my first Cavanagh mystery, and the story's revenge and renegade justice are layered with unexpected...

Amity Gaige's Appalachian Trail-set novel offers several of my favorite elements: a Maine setting, a missing-person storyline, an...

Norlin draws the reader into the eerie heart of a small group living sequestered in the Swedish forest as they gradually fall into...

In the second installment of the series, retired CIA agents build stronger bonds with each other in rural Maine while assisting (and...

While Veronica and Stoker stay close to home while entering into danger and solving the mysteries in book six of this series, Raybourn...

The first in the author's young adult steampunk Finishing School series offers wonderful, typically strong Carriger women with unique...

I was taken with the premise of conflicts and mystery in a post-colonial West African city, but I didn't feel very connected to or...

Walker offers an unreliable main protagonist, her dedicated new psychiatrist, increasingly inexplicable and complicated occurrences, and...

Harpman's slim novel poses a mysterious situation without promising concrete explanations. Our main protagonist knows little about her...