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A mysterious app on her phone seems to have all of the answers she needs--but Lai isn't sure what the excited to read this final installment in Freya Marske's Last Binding trilogy, a queer historical fiction fantasy-mystery through unexpected attractions and the uncovering of weighty secrets, the group works to unravel the mysterious

Six Great Bossy Mystery Reads I didn't read as many mysteries last year as I typically do, but here are I'm hoping to up my mystery and suspense reading this year. What are some of your favorite mystery or suspense reads? 01 The God of the Woods by Liz Moore I loved this summer-camp setting, the slow build of mystery in two I was intrigued by the mysteries and their layers, which are continually revealed, and while I usually

Alternative Arthurian legends twist through this first in a young adult fantasy series, but what hooked Along the way, they face deathly threats, mysterious magic, a tangled web of lore and superstition, and

Only a few Antari have been born in a generation, and they have long been the only ones with the power If you've read the Shades of Magic books, you'll already be acquainted with the fantastic characters Now Kosika, a young, impressionable, fervor-driven young Antari, is taking up the mantle of the deceased

I listened to the first installment in Shannon Chakraborty's Amina al-Sirafi fantasy series, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi as an audiobook, narrated by the fantastic Lameece Issaq and Amin El Gamal. Then a mysterious, wealthy matriarch preys upon Amina's need for funds--and her desire for one final, irresistible main protagonist in the feminist Muslim character of Amina; and the sea adventure with various fantastical

installment involves technology of the time, ancient Egyptian artifacts, revelations about Alexia's mysterious

I could have listed so many fantastic young adult titles here, but I picked these varied, wonderful six The story celebrates true friendship, loyalty, and fantastic, clever, clever ladies overcoming obstacles

Novik is also the author of other fantasy novels featuring main protagonists I love: Uprooted and Spinning battles within the books' alternate history, and the human protagonists are wonderfully faulted and fantastic

Gwynne's epic, Norse-inspired saga tracks three fascinating main protagonists through battles, shifting alliances, strengthened resolve, and revenge journeys. I loved this. In John Gwynne's Norse-inspired saga The Shadow of the Gods , it's been a century since the gods battled themselves into extinction. Only their bones hold power now--for those brave enough to seek them out. There is talk of war's return, and three warriors will shape the future of the land of Vigrid: Elvar, a noblewoman searching for fame through battle; Orka, a huntress on a quest filled with danger; and Varg, a servant who joins the mercenaries called the Bloodsworn so that he may seek revenge. The three stories run along with plenty of steam, centered around violent battles, brutal revenge, extended searches for loved ones, and the carving out of new futures by our main protagonists. The story is always shifting--shaped by betrayals and the flipped script when fate and destiny aren't what the characters thought and they must come into their own. This is epic but never melodramatic, and I was hooked on the Viking-esque elements, the badass women who find their strength, and the perfect balance of resolution and cliffhanger to build anticipation for book two. Spoiler: a dragon appears at the very end of the book, laying the groundwork for more dragon page time in subsequent books. I loved this. I listened to The Shadow of the Gods  as an audiobook. More from John Gwynne: Gwynne is also the author of book two in this series, The Hunger of the Gods , the series Of Blood and Bone, and The Faithful and the Fallen series. Gwynne is also a Viking reenactor.

I wished for more of a focus on the character of Tess and her personal story--and less on political strategies, power plays, and the many other broad issues Hartman explores over the course of this almost-500-page sequel to Tess of the Road. In Rachel Hartman's Tess of the Road, we followed irresistible, hardheaded, wonderfully faulted Tess as she broke from rigid medieval gender roles in favor of adventure and discovery. That book was captivating, sometimes weighty, and often playful. I loved it. In the Serpent's Wake picks up where Tess of the Road left off. We're reintroduced to the story with an introductory poem written in verse that is funny, poignant--and also extremely helpful in its recap. It's the perfect reentry to the wonderfully cheeky, strong, faulted character of Tess as she tries yet again to be a loyal friend, refrain from punching people in the nose, and save the world. But the scope of In the Serpent's Wake is far broader than that of the first book. This second installation departs from a focus on Tess and her personal growth. Instead, the almost 500 pages of In the Serpent's Wake explores enormous, broad issues: colonization, persecuted indigenous people, human rights, racism, fights for autonomy, misogyny, and more. I was more eager to read more about Tess as a character than the extensive political machinations in the book and the shifting loyalties related to control of lands and attempted control of peoples and creatures. The sharing of stories and folklore through generations and cultures was a small-scale highlight. Hartman's sabanewts are fascinating creatures--and they also demand of the book's characters a new understanding of ownership, freedom, resources, and more. I loved the feminism, the complicated but steadfast friendships, and the dogged independence that various characters exhibit against all odds. I also enjoyed Tess's recognizing shades of gray where she once saw black-and-white right and wrong. But I wanted far more of a focus on Tess and for her to play a more key role in the book's events, as she did in book one. The rest of this book felt like a distraction from the character I love, and ultimately I wasn't particularly engaged with the broader story. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? Click here to check out my review of the first book in this series, Tess of the Road. Hartman is also the author of Seraphina and Shadow Scale.

Paper & Blood is a quirky, lighthearted fantasy featuring copious Scottish lingo, magical creatures in , although Al developed a peaceful attitude about the ongoing mystery.

I was captivated by Lim's fairy tale of a fantasy novel, particularly the vivid magical realism, Shiori's Meanwhile there are odd creatures doling out questionable advice, a mysterious stepmother, a land struggling

You can click here for other mysteries I've reviewed on Bossy Bookworm. What are some of your favorite mystery reads? This is a character-driven mystery with a twist. This is a character-driven mystery with an interesting twist. Exiles was the right mystery at the right time for me.

In Thistlefoot, estranged siblings Bellatine, a woodworker with mysterious powers, and Isaac, a con artist and street performer with his own magic, are reunited to claim a mysterious, bizarre inheritance: a and Isaac find their way back to each other, bonded by trying to untangle the dangerous, sentimental, mysterious

In The Awakening, the first book in Nora Roberts's Dragon Heart Legacy series, she set up a romantic fantasy Why not take this fantasy all the way, after all?).

Riley has crafted a middle-grade fantasy book with humor, adventure, characters to root for, and heart In James Riley's middle-grade fantasy book Story Thieves, young introvert Bethany and impulsive Owen I was surprised by the heart and depth in this fantasy book. and their allies, and loved the twists and turns and realizations--as well as the resolutions and the fantastic

I loved the twist, double-twist of my first Cavanagh mystery, and the story's revenge and renegade justice In Steve Cavanagh's twisty mystery Kill for Me, Kill for You , two strangers, women bearing the brunt This is the first mystery I've read by Steve Cavanagh. More Mystery Novels You might also want to check out my Bossy reviews of other mysteries .

Atkinson's cozy, Agatha Christie-style novel features former lawman Jackson Brodie, a mystery within a mystery, a real-life killer who becomes mixed up in a trite murder-mystery play, and a reunion between string of unsolved art thefts--and he's led to Burton Makepeace, an old hotel that also hosts Murder Mystery The descriptions of her--as well as her fondness for old-fashioned mystery novels--begin to sound similar performance, and you've got yourself an entertaining mystery with enough sweet connections between characters

The Robin-Strike tension is finally spoken aloud, although not resolved, and the mystery twists to involve The Hallmarked Man is the newest in the Cormoran Strike mystery series, and in the story, a dismembered Regarding the mystery: The dismembered corpse mystery leads to a whole host of even more dark, disturbing This and Other Mystery Series You can click here to check out my reviews of Cormoran Strike books 1 through You can also find many other mystery series I've enjoyed here or by searching this site.

abandoned airplane are found in his quiet, coastal North Carolina town, Winston must try to unravel the mystery underbelly of their rural North Carolina town, and basically everything about this intricate literary mystery-thriller The Last Child appears in the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year.

Walker offers an unreliable main protagonist, her dedicated new psychiatrist, increasingly inexplicable and complicated occurrences, and speculation about unfathomable possibilities in this novel about memory, connection, love, and wonder. Jane is a young single mother and a librarian at the New York Public Library. She has a perfect memory: she's able to recall events, surroundings, and information down to the finest detail. But just after she visits a psychiatrist, Dr. Byrd, Jane goes missing. She is found face down and unconscious in Prospect Park, with no memory of what has occurred. She experiences other instances of activity and agency without then having any memory of such; she has vivid visions of long-dead figures from her life; and she experiences severe agitation around her erratic behavior. Dr. Byrd begins to believe Jane is suffering from dissociative fugue, a rare condition that could account for her ability to act and function but recall no memory of doing so. Dr. Byrd and Jane form a bond, even as past traumas resurface for both of them and they cope with issues of memory, truth, and unthinkable possibility. The novel alternates between the points of view of Jane and Dr. Byrd, and neither is aware of the full set of circumstances--Dr. Byrd because of Jane's select sharing of the facts with him, and Jane because of the gaps in her recollections. The circumstances around Jane's unexplained visions become more concerning as she seems to encounter a long-dead friend and has an extensive conversation with him; as she becomes convinced that a medical pandemic is occurring--the name of which Dr. Byrd has never heard--and will take the lives of millions; as she recalls details of Dr. Byrd's personal and professional life on dates she could not possibly have encountered him; and as she believes her own beloved child is dead and has been replaced with an impostor. The detail of the delusions and the passion with which Jane believes them seem to indicate that her ability to live on her own and care for her child may be ending. (Her parents' concern and panic is heartbreaking.) But as the book winds to a close, Dr. Byrd is the key to offering an alternate explanation that is posed (but not extensively explored), one in which Jane is sane and the alternate realities may also exist. The novel builds to almost the very end before this mindboggling plausibility is somewhat cursorily presented, leaving me both intrigued and somewhat dissatisfied. The Dr. Byrd-Jane chaste yet deep connection made me feel uncomfortable because of their doctor-client relationship and even more so because of the complications of her intensely acted-out perceived mental illness. Yet the promise of their ongoing link is one of the only ways in which the novel's characters are satisfactorily "settled" for a future by the end of the novel. More Novels about Memory Karen Thompson Walker is also the author of The Age of Miracles . I listened to The Strange Case of Jane O.  as an audiobook. Please click here for more Bossy reviews of books about memory.

I listened to this romantic fantasy about a chosen one, a long-lost family, portals to a magical world But possibly the most fantastical aspect of the story is the ease with which she secures an agent and

ICYMI: My recent review of Natalie Haynes's entertaining A Thousand Ships brought to mind this wonderful title by Madeline Miller that I adored. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or the mortals she has come to love. Circe, daughter of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, is an odd child. She's not striking and in fact, she's seemingly without power. But she grows into her glorious witchy wonder, and her abilities to transform her foes are revealed--along with her dangerous potential to threaten the gods. When Zeus, fearful of what she might be capable of, banishes her to a deserted island, Circe perfects her witchy powers, tames beasts, considers the world and her place in it, simmers and plans, and entertains well-known figures from mythology, including Icarus, the Minotaur, Medea, and Odysseus. We are sorry, we are sorry. Sorry you were caught, I said. Sorry that you thought I was weak, but you were wrong. Circe is a wonderfully faulted, curious, powerful witch. I was in for this book hook, line, and sinker. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I mentioned Circe in the Greedy Reading List Six Wonderfully Witchy Stories to Charm You, and I recently mentioned it again in my review of Natalie Haynes's A Thousand Ships, a woman-centered retelling of events surrounding the Trojan War.

The master plan executed at the end of the book has a few twisty moments I liked, and while the story potentially intriguing aspects of Lu's world--the history of the split between the Republic and Colonies; the mystery Check out this Bossy Greedy Reading List for Six Fantastic Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Novels I loved

Historical Fiction Mysteries I adore historical fiction and mystery books, and I love the intersection Something about detailed settings from the past just sets off a mystery beautifully for me. Here's a greedy reading question: What other historical fiction mysteries should I read? I’m glad the circumstances of what led to the mystery—yikes! The Jackaby story is dark, mysterious, and feels Gothic, yet there's humor too.

It always seemed clear that we would have clean resolutions to the mystery; the sometimes-gruesome aspects In this mystery by Allen Eskens, Joe Talbert is busy trying to build a life apart from his mother, who's The Life We Bury offers a slow start focused on Joe's personal situation, and when the mystery ramped More mystery novels to check out This is the first in a series of three books about Joe Talbert. If you like reading mysteries, you might enjoy some of my Bossy reviews of other mystery novels .

as she explores her own heritage, flexes her newfound power, and digs into the story of her mother's mysterious Was her mother connected to all of these mysterious goings-on?

There aren't significant subplots, so this is a straightforward-feeling story, a sort of "mystery light

I like a story driven by a female investigaor of a main protagonist, and in this small-town mystery and More Slaughter and More Bossy Mysteries I listened to this story as an audiobook. For other mysteries I've read and Bossily reviewed, please check out the titles at this link .

Harpman's slim novel poses a mysterious situation without promising concrete explanations. My friend Amy suggested that I read this one, and Harpman's slim novel is mysterious, eerie, and strange

playful tone and clever main protagonist in Olivia Waite's science-fiction novella make for an appealing mystery In Olivia Waite's slim science-fiction mystery, Dorothy wakes up...in a body that's not her own. In this outer-space-set mystery, Dorothy must figure out who's behind the destruction and how to save

It's nominally a mystery, but it's mainly a heartwarming story about determination and honoring old loyalties We track back in time to her youth as pieces of the mystery are revealed. The story is nominally a mystery, but more so a tale of a pony who is thwarted at nearly all of its headstrong

The author of the fantastic Wrong Place, Wrong Time is back with a smart, twisty mystery that's wonderfully Famous Last Words  is another smart, twisty mystery from Gillian McAllister. I loved this smart mystery that relies heavily on character development and mental agility for our narrator

sometimes running over) the local police chief to try to find a missing teen and untangle past unsolved mysteries In book two of the Martini Club, the mystery at hand--a missing teen--draws in local citizens as well

I hope you'll also check out the books on my first Greedy Reading List of Six Fantastic Dystopian and The tone of Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth was unlike any fantasy novel I’ve read, and the friendships

He's a fantastic character I loved. This great book by C.A. also want to read Carey's The Boy on the Bridge, which is a standalone book in the same series, is fantastic

Solid Mystery and Suspense Reads These six four-star mysteries are all so good and so different--they I'd love to hear about your favorite mystery reads! 01 The Witch Elm by Tana French A Tana French mystery is usually a pretty good bet for me, and I plowed settings are exquisitely wrought, with stark, rugged, lush landscapes serving as the backdrop for a mystery It isn't a police procedural; this is a starkly beautiful book that happens to be a mystery.

A mystery surrounds a deadly moment, and the book ends with a hopeful, imperfect, heartbreaking way forward story of young love blossoming, then shriveling under the first pressures of the outside world; it's a mystery

#youngadult, #mystery 02 The Last Confession of Autumn Casterly ​ In Meredith Tate's newest book, Ivy #youngadult, #mystery, #siblings 03 A Good Girl's Guide to Murder ​ It's been years since a local young As Khayyam eagerly discovers more of Leila's mysterious history, she begins to grow and change in this #youngadult, #mystery, #series Any young adult mysteries you've enjoyed lately? Where was this embarrassment of young-adult-mystery riches when I was actually a young adult?

Historical Fiction Mysteries I adore historical fiction and mystery books, and I love the intersection Something about detailed settings from the past just sets off a mystery beautifully for me. Here's a greedy reading question: What other historical fiction mysteries should I read? I’m glad the circumstances of what led to the mystery—yikes! The Jackaby story is dark, mysterious, and feels Gothic, yet there's humor too.

Angie Kim's sophomore novel is a mystery, but Happiness Falls is primarily an exploration of a complicated Kim's missing-person novel is a mystery and is structured around the discovery and exploration of what I was totally hooked on the mystery aspect and the delving into Eugene's potential communication.

In the first book of Blake Crouch's haunting mystery trilogy, secret agent Ethan Burke tries to grasp plans for Wayward Pines--while trying to avoid being killed by murderous small-town vigilantes or by mysterious reeling--was to locate two missing federal agents who were dispatched a month earlier to investigate a mysterious Theresa's mysterious encounter with an odd man makes it even more clear that time is not passing in a

The mystery bookends feel largely unimportant to the story, the cast of characters sometimes feels endless overlap, and their challenges intersect when a young boy is taken from the community, culminating in a mysterious The mystery that bookends the story is not essential to the novel. By the time the story ended, I had forgotten about the mystery's brief introduction at the beginning

community and the emotionally closed-off former FBI agent and current police chief trying to solve the mystery

Smith was inspired by the real-life Victorian England case of a cockney impostor attempting to wrest an inheritance from the nobility, but I was most captivated by the unmarried, aging, complex character of Eliza and how she found unorthodox avenues by which to find fulfillment. What really interested her in it all was the presumption. Of recognition, of respect, of attention itself. Why did he assume such things as his due? Was this what men assumed? My friend John convinced me to read this, my first Zadie Smith novel, and I'm so glad he did. In her first historical fiction novel, Smith offers a Victorian England tableau featuring a wonderfully complex female character in Eliza Touchet, the unmarried, aging housekeeper, cousin, and confidante to the terrible but prolific, well-to-do novelist William Harrison Ainsworth. Smith builds a subplot from the real-life, much-publicized case of the Tichborne Claimant, in which Arthur Orton, a cockney butcher, returned from an extended stay in Australia and attempted to lay claim to the Tichborne family fortune, insisting that he was a long-lost noble son much changed by his time away--and with the actual Tichborne heir's former slave as his key witness. Along with the nation (which in real life was captivated and divided by the case), the novel's disparate characters become obsessed with the court proceedings and whether the man professing to be the heir to a title and fortune might possibly be the actual man after all--or whether the former slave standing up for him has been coerced or convinced of a falsehood. But I was far more interested in the character of Eliza and the shape of her life. Her voice and point of view are sometimes testy, often incisive, and at other times diminished--a product of the limitations of single women in that time. She becomes intent upon advancing racial equality, but is hamstrung by her sex, her financial dependence, and her unmarried state. She plays housekeeper and is a mother figure to her cousin's children--while he behaves as an unencumbered, silly, selfish fool producing work that is only coherent when Eliza is able to edit it into something workable. When she comes into a financial windfall, she dispenses with it in an unorthodox, secret, wonderful fashion that serves to advance her cause for two specific young children of color--a limited but effective measure for a woman with few freedoms and little agency. I found Eliza irresistible. In The Fraud , characters lie to themselves. Men drink and show themselves to be privileged fools. Women pick up the pieces, creatively fashioning avenues in which they may achieve what they wish within the significant confines of Victorian expectations. The title refers to the impostor butcher Arthur Orton, but also applies to the failed, grasping author, Eliza's cousin William. In the story, much of the populace lines up with the pretend heir, against all known facts and likelihood, clamoring for his recognition and wailing about injustices and being wronged by the snobbery of the elite. The situation parallels in haunting fashion with the modern-day rejection by factions of our society of facts, sense, and reality; of negating science and evidence; and of dismissing educated, indispensable, trained experts and their knowledge. More from Zadie Smith Zadie Smith is also the author of the novels White Teeth , The Autograph Man , On Beauty , NW , and Swing Time , as well as essays and short stories.

Six Four-Star (and Up) Bossy Mystery Reads If you want more favorite-mystery lists, check out round 1 Reads I Loved Last Year and Six More Four-Star Mysteries I Loved Last Year. You can click here for other mysteries I've reviewed on Bossy Bookworm. And here's a link to my Greedy Reading Lists featuring mystery titles. What are some of your favorite mystery reads?

This third book in McManus's young-adult mystery series keeps the surprises coming, ties new twists into I listened to this third installment in Karen McManus's young adult One of Us Is Lying mystery series Over the course of the past two books, the Bayview Four solved mysteries and established their own innocence Knox from book one--along with other old favorites and some fresh faces--in a new set of intertwined, mysterious someone unexpected comes to town, our sleuths realize that not everyone is who they say they are; old mysteries

Solid Mystery and Suspense Reads These six four-star mysteries are all so good and so different--they I'd love to hear about your favorite mystery reads! 01 The Witch Elm by Tana French A Tana French mystery is usually a pretty good bet for me, and I plowed settings are exquisitely wrought, with stark, rugged, lush landscapes serving as the backdrop for a mystery It isn't a police procedural; this is a starkly beautiful book that happens to be a mystery.

When his sister tries to solve the mystery of his death, she and her own unlikely companion unravel secrets neat fashion at the close of the story, but I didn't mind because of the justice being served and the mysteries

I love a frigid setting, and Rene Denfeld's The Child Finder immerses the reader in an icy, wild forest as instinctive, savvy, and haunted private investigator Naomi Cottle seeks the truth about a young girl's disappearance. This book is dark and beautiful, with such expansive descriptions of the mountains, the closed-in forests, and the traps and dangers of the winter and the wild that I could almost feel the cold. The elements that feel potentially familiar or could have felt overused from use in other stories (a tough, closed-off investigator, broken by her past; a strong, kind man’s singular, devoted but unrequited love for her; the general outline of the disturbing situation at the heart of the book’s main case) are cushioned by Denfeld’s skillful setting of the scene and lovely shaping of the story. This was a fast and engrossing read. There's a second book in this Naomi Cottle series, The Butterfly Girl , which I haven't yet read, and Denfeld also wrote The Enchanted , which I found haunting and arresting, as well as Sleeping Giants . I mentioned The Child Finder in the Greedy Reading List Six Chilly Books to Read in the Heat of Summer . More missing-person stories If you like unlikely heroines and missing-person plots, you might also like Before She Disappeared . And check out this link for more Bossy reviews of novels with missing-persons plots.