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Cosimano's mystery has a wonderfully quirky setup and campy tone, and Finlay's missteps add to the darkly The woman mistakenly interprets what's happening and leaves Finlay with a mysterious note implying that Cosimano's mystery has a wonderfully quirky setup and campy tone. Cosimano perfectly sets the scene for the next book in the series. Cosimano is also the author of the young adult mystery series Nearly Gone, the young adult fantasy series

The premise of Missing Sam was a slam dunk for me, and I appreciated the couple's strengthened bonds after unimaginable trauma. But the story jumped around and told more than it showed, and I didn't feel an emotional connection. After married couple Sam and Ali have a silly jealousy-spawned fight after a party, Sam wakes up for a solo morning run instead of inviting along Ali, as she normally would. One unlucky circumstance leads to another for Sam, and when Ali wakes up, Sam is missing. As Sam's disappearance stretches on, Ali, a gay culturally Muslim woman, is excoriated in the press for perceptions about her lack of sorrow, her failed attempts to locate her wife, and her sexuality, religion, and culture. While she reels emotionally, her interior design clients drop her due to the attention of the press, and she desperately reconnects with her estranged father for support. Meanwhile, Sam is in her own personal hell, with dwindling hopes of ever being reunited with her love. Most of the book's initial page time is spent with Ali, and I was surprised by how many outings and out-of-house distractions Ali took part in while Sam was missing. It might not be compelling for a character to spend extended page time obsessing over where her partner may have vanished to and what horrors may be taking place, or in anguish about whether Sam is even still alive. Yet I found it jarring that we weren't subjected to what I would expect to be more anguish andAli's temporary nightmare of existence, which seemed likely to include a wild drama of worrying, excruciating periods of waiting, and irrational searches and spiritual bargains, or other illustrations of her desperation for Sam's safe return. Ali wasn't coming to terms with a divorce or even a death, leaning on friends and getting out of the house to move on with her life. Ali's going to the movies and to see fireworks just didn't ring true to me. I kept panicking over Ali's lack of panic, wondering: BUT WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHERE IS SAM? When the story turns to Sam and her captivity, we are entrenched in a ghastly scene of horrified anticipation and delusion, abuse and violence. This section of the story was difficult to read, as felt appropriate, and this aspect took up relatively little page time. The aftermath of the kidnaping and abuse is fraught with what feel like Sam's realistic trauma, nightmares, hesitance toward intimacy, and outsized reactions to everyday events. But Missing Sam  often perplexed me with its structure and focus. Much of the novel feels told instead of shown, which left me without emotional connection to aspects like Ali's temporary dip into Islam; Sam's inexplicable mentoring of a mentally ill grad student who appropriates her trauma and exploits it; and the couple's rejuvenated closeness and commitment. The heart of the story is not, after all, Sam's sensational disappearance, Sam and Ali's unspeakable terror, and Sam's victorious return home. Much of the energy of the story centers around the women's reconciliation with each of their estranged parents, and, eventually, their cleaving to each other within their marriage in a way that they hadn't before Sam's abduction. The story felt jumpy, moving from topic to topic without fully diving in. Umrigar touches on but doesn't dig deeply into heavy issues such as religious discrimination, hateful attitudes toward members of the LGBTQ community, and the looming doom of Covid-19. The resolution of identifying Sam's abductor and abuser was satisfying, yet the key to pinpointing the monster was the result of heavily laid detail groundwork earlier in the story; it felt inevitable that that particular element would turn out to be essential. I received an electronic edition of this title courtesy of Algonquin Books and NetGalley. More Missing Persons Stories Thrity Umrigar is also the author of Honor . For Bossy reviews of other stories that involve missing persons, please click here .

got these books going at the moment: recently published fantasy-historical fiction, the second in a mystery series set in Maine, a novel about an unconventional family in late 20th century Manhattan, Victorian-England-set

The first book in Marske's duology is full of Edwardian England detail, gay love, mystery, magic, wonderful Robin and Edwin's love is romantic and sweet and heartbreaking and sexy; the mystery at the heart of

Nick is an appealing character, I adored the detailed setting, and the mystery's resolution makes sense I'm eagerly awaiting the third book in the series. I hoped this was going to be the perfect cozy book for reading over a long weekend: an Elizabethan mystery This is the second in Wolfe's Elizabethan Spy Mystery series; the first was A Murder by Any Name. Greedy Reading List Six Historical Fiction Mysteries to Intrigue You.

a mystery that hooks you with its twists and turns? Robin and Edwin's love is romantic and sweet and heartbreaking and sexy; the mystery at the heart of in Johnson's Truly Devious series delivers more smart, creative sleuthing from Stevie Bell and the gang This allows for the cooperative problem-solving that I adore in the rest of the series. I was so happy to realize this is the first in a planned series. Sign me up for every bit of this!

. 03 A Curious Beginning ​ This fantastic book is the first in Deanna Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell series I’m glad the circumstances of what led to the mystery—yikes! I thought this was lovely. 05 Jackaby ​ Jackaby is the first in a young adult supernatural mystery series The story is dark, mysterious, and feels Gothic, yet there's humor too. What are your favorite historical fiction mysteries?

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

This second book in Raybourn's historical fiction mystery series, set in Victorian London, hooked me loved listening to A Curious Beginning, the first book in Deanna Raybourn's sassy Veronica Speedwell series of historical fiction mysteries. I'm already listening to the audiobook of the next in this series, A Treacherous Curse. Deanna Raybourn is the author of A Curious Beginning and the rest of the Veronica Speedwell series, as

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 what's possibly my favorite book yet of the seven in the Cormoran Strike series, we see some emotional I listened to The Running Grave, the newest in the mystery series by Robert Galbraith (J. K. In the newest doorstop of a book (960 pages; the audiobook is 34 hours and 14 minutes) in the series,

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 Chona is one link between the two groups, serving as the key nonjudgmental middle-woman in the story. 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

This is a great, character-driven sequel to McManus’s young adult mystery One of Us Is Lying. Last year, in McManus's great young adult mystery One of Us Is Lying, the Bayview Four cut through the destructive gossip app taking down reputations and revealing secrets, and they managed to trace a mysterious Bronwyn, and Knox from book one--along with other old favorites and new faces--in a set of intertwined, mysterious

ICYMI: The second in Johnson's young adult mystery series offers growing friendships, determined sleuthing This is the second in Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious series (the first is Truly Devious). Stevie Bell solved one mystery last year--the mystery of her murdered classmate. Maureen Johnson is also the author of Truly Devious, The Hand on the Wall, and the fourth book in the series Johnson also wrote the young adult Shades of London series, which is based on Jack the Ripper's crimes

I didn't feel drawn into this novel of the horrifying serial killing of children of color in a small community and the emotionally closed-off former FBI agent and current police chief trying to solve the mystery Titus Crown, former FBI agent, has returned to his hometown in Charon County, Virginia, to serve as the The crimes at hand here are horrifying, truly the stuff nightmares are made of: serial killing and graphic Titus's past is alluded to, but this is shared in a drunken moment and not delved into very deeply.

She's been cobbling together enough to get by, but when a mysterious draw to the spooky Starling House tell Arthur that she's been dreaming of the decrepit, rambling house for years, and that she has some eerie well-meaning and ineffectual passersby; and dreams of darkness, belonging, and taking up the mantle of an eerie

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

The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby is a historical fiction art-focused mystery told in two timelines wife writing team of Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos) offers a gorgeously wrought historical fiction mystery The mysterious appearance of what seems to be a Juliette Willoughby original, followed by a tragic death You can click here for lists of more historical fiction novels and historical fiction mysteries I've

In this first book of Kevin Hearne's new (published last week) Ink & Sigil series, patterns and inks This title was recently listed in the Greedy Reading List Three Offbeat Series I Just Started and Love #mystery, #fantasyscifi, #series, #LGBTQ, #fourstarbookreview

a growing lack of connection to the characters as the tales melded into another: young friendship, serial killer, outlaw search, small-town intrigue, and longtime mysteries revealed. A kidnaper and serial killer intrudes on the quiet community and directly impacts Patch and Saint. And I was intrigued by the disparate-seeming story that soon emerges, beginning with the premise of a serial There are deep betrayals, long-term mysteries, and, finally, many revealed truths (some of which you

Janice Hallett's The Twyford Code explores a mysterious potential connection between a teacher's disappearance But he's got a hunch that the mystery of the code in deceased author Edith Twyford's largely condemned You can find reviews of mysteries I've read and enjoyed here.

the main players at one point or another and couldn't wait for the big reveal for this young adult mystery , the first in a series. In this first book in the One of Us Is Lying series, McManus takes us through each of the suspects' experiences One of Us Is Next is the second book in the series, published last year. Jackson, which is part of an in-progress series.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to The Running Grave, the newest in the mystery series by Robert Grave (Cormoran Strike #7) by Robert Galbraith I'm listening to The Running Grave, the newest in the mystery series by Robert Galbraith (J. In the newest doorstop of a book in the series, Cormoran Strike is cursorily on a health kick, he and

ICYMI: Morton offers a strong historical fiction mystery, with assumed identities, dual timelines, twists A hundred and fifty years later, a young archivist, Elodie Winslow, is drawn to the mystery. I’m glad the circumstances of what led to the mystery—yikes! I mentioned this book in the Greedy Reading List Six Historical Fiction Mysteries Sure to Intrigue You

two timelines, a decades-old tragedy, and a modern-day descendant's discovery of her family's link to mysterious reporter in London who is summoned to Sydney to care for her beloved grandmother Nora, who has sustained a serious There are two mysteries surrounding the Turner Tragedy: the whodunit aspect and the unexplained disappearance This is a long (it's almost 550 pages), winding story with complicated connections and mysterious motivations Morton's story explores secrets, loyalties, mysteries, and the complicated matter of family--those you

Nell has left her a book of dark fairy tales by the reclusive Victorian author Eliza Makepeace, who mysteriously Morton is masterful at weaving together several timelines, rich family history, intriguing discoveries , an overarching mystery, and a female protagonist who discovers she's made of stronger stuff than she felt like a Secret Garden (a book I was obsessed with as a child) for grown-ups, with intertwined, mysterious

This is another whodunit winner from Wendy Walker: a character-driven mystery with a neurodivergent main But it becomes clear that Clay was in deep with some seedy characters, and key elements of the mystery Charlie is whip-smart intelligent in her evaluation of the facts of the complicated series of events. wonderful, character-driven suspense that keeps me hooked as she guides the reader through a twisty mystery

The gothic story King Nyx offers haunting imagery, sinister mysteries, unreliable memories, resurfacing imagery of King Nyx is striking, with (oddly specific and elaborate) automatons, gas masks, looming, mysterious until she realizes that all of the events on the island seem to be the mastermind of an unhinged puppet master Meanwhile mysteries from Anna's experiences in the Fort household seem held together by crucial gaps

I was delighted by the poignancy, humor, and layers in the first installment of this series of stories The fifth book in the series is about to be published--and now there's a movie based upon the first book In this first installment in Osman's mystery series, the story begins in medias res , as the reader witnesses More Aging Amateur Detectives Deanna Raybourn's Killers of a Certain Age is another series about capable And you can find Bossy reviews of many other mysteries here .

comes into a financial windfall, she dispenses with it in an unorthodox, secret, wonderful fashion that serves

and warring kingdoms; Fugitive Telemetry, the newest book in Martha Wells's science fiction Murderbot series Meanwhile she's desperate to solve the mystery of her fellow soldiers and friends who keep disappearing Was it when I reviewed books 1 through 3 of the series? In Fugitive Telemetry, Murderbot attempts to solve the mystery of a murder--while generally annoyed and

I'm all in for the Cormoran Strike series. In the fifth installment of the mystery series by Robert Galbraith (J.K. A woman recognizes him and impulsively spills the story of her mother Margot Bamborough's mysterious I'm all in for this series. For my reviews of books one through four, check out Review of the Cormoran Strike Series books 1-4.

Royalty, Intrigue, and Magically Wonderful Stories It's tough to fall in love with the first book in a series What other series that have to do with court, queens, and royalty would you include on this list? Saga series, has cover art that to me evokes fantasy, but the series is actually captivating historical the first in LaFevers's five-book His Fair Assassin series. If you haven't read this series yet, consider me envious.

AI, starships, and revenge, Ancillary Justice ; and I'm listening to Maureen Johnson's young adult mystery Justice of Toren, the AI running an enormous starship with the ability to connect thousands of soldiers serving 03 Nine Liars (Truly Devious #5) by Maureen Johnson In the fifth in Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious series But everything is upended when a decades-old mystery seems to be the cause of a new friend's aunt's disappearance Maureen Johnson is the author of the six-book Truly Devious young adult mystery series: Truly Devious

, the Victorian-England-set historical fiction The Fraud ; and I'm reading Richard Osman's charming mystery considerable talent for bringing history to life by tackling the McCarthy era--in what feels like a very In the first installment in Osman's mystery series, four septuagenarians meet each week to discuss unsolved Deanna Raybourn's Killers of a Certain Age is another series about older protagonists who use their wits

The mystery of what happened to the man is a subplot that winds through the story.

fiction novel The Secret Book Society , and I'm listening to the first in John McMahon's FBI-focused mystery series, Head Cases . #1) by John McMahon I'm not sure where I heard about this book, but I believe it was in a roundup of mystery A murder victim's DNA matches a long-dead serial killer, and a string of bodies hold clues that seem

justice, Heart, Be at Peace ; I'm listening to the 31-hour audiobook of the latest Cormoran Strike mystery Rowling (Robert Galbraith is her pen name for the Cormoran Strike series). I'm reading the newest in the Cormoran Strike mystery series, in which a dismembered body and Freemason

01 Ink & Sigil: Ink & Sigil Series In this first book of Kevin Hearne's new Ink & Sigil series, patterns #mystery, #fantasyscifi, #series, #fourstarbookreview 02 My Lady Jane: The Lady Janies Series ​ I'd had #historicalfiction, #fantasyscifi, #series, #fourstarbookreview 03 Soulless: The Parasol Protectorate Series ​ This series takes place in 1870s London, and the immensely appealing, practical, fearless character series you love?

The fourth mystery in Johnson's Truly Devious series delivers more smart, creative sleuthing from Stevie The Box in the Woods is another smart, funny, intriguing young adult mystery from Maureen Johnson. Johnson's Truly Devious series offers dark scenes, wicked mysteries, blossoming attractions, loyal and This allows for the cooperative problem-solving that I adore in the rest of the series. Maureen Johnson also wrote the young adult Shades of London series, which is based on Jack the Ripper's

The murder mystery stories were written decades before the book's present-day events take place and are I like a mystery that makes me care about the characters and doesn't foreshadow too much. Which mysteries hooked you this year? This is a pretty eclectic group of mysteries. If you like mysteries, you might also like titles from the Greedy Reading Lists The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year and Six Historical Fiction Mysteries to Intrigue You.

Atkinson's newest mystery is set in vivid Roaring Twenties London as Nellie Coker struggles to hold on to her empire of clubs while mysterious dark undercurrents threaten stability throughout the city. by the intersection of Gwendolyn and Ma Coker's golden child, her eldest son Niven--along with the mystery If you like historical fiction mysteries, you might like the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Historical Fiction Mysteries Sure to Intrigue You.

In Eason's science fiction mystery, an unlikely pair who get on each other's nerves work together to Eason's science fiction mystery Nightwatch on the Hinterlands, a templar, Iari, and a spy, Gaer, have And I was wholly charmed by the rievs (former battle robots) who mysteriously show sentience and surprising Eason is also the author of the On the Bones of Gods fantasy series. This is the first book in The Weep series.

Wolfe Going into Thanksgiving weekend with an Elizabethan mystery in hand, complete with intrigue, plotting loyalists looming over Elizabeth's court, Nicholas Holt, a spy for Sir Francis Walsingham, must unravel the mystery This is the second in Wolfe's Elizabethan Spy Mystery series; the first was A Murder by Any Name. 03 Light fiction, historical fiction mystery, and celebrity memoir.

The mystery of why June left a past timeline is intriguing and keeps the story going.

I was most intrigued by Kurczy's exploration of the National Radio Quiet Zone and the nearby military facility, but the book felt a little disjointed to me when he delved into some of the regional goings-on that weren't seemingly related to the main topic. Around the country, the tourism bureau had begun distributing a new brochure that read: "Welcome to the National Radio Quiet Zone. 13,000 square miles of land, federally protected from artificial radio wave interference, where the secrets of the universe can be revealed by the world's largest steerable radio telescope at the Green Bank Observatory. Meaning no cell service. No Wi-Fi. Just you, your family, and our grand outdoors. Find your peace." Technology in Green Bank, West Virginia, is not allowed by law--unless you're working in the Green Bank Observatory. Astronomers there use cutting-edge technology to search the stars--while everyone in the area is barred from using devices whose radio frequencies might interfere with scientific study. That means no cell phones, no iPads, and no constant connectivity. At least on paper. "You do have a cellphone that works, correct?" Linda asked. I shook my head. "You don't have a fucking cellphone?" Thompson said. Even he had a cellphone, just no data plan because money was tight. "Really?" By exploring an area of rural Appalachia where cell phone signals and Wi-Fi are banned, journalist Stephen Kurczy considers one of the few places in the United States where technology purportedly does not rule society. But not everyone who comes to Green Bank finds the quiet they're searching for. And many Green Bank locals don't want to abide by the Quiet Zone rules at all--and don't. In fact, Kurczy finds that he seems to be one of a distinct minority in the region who is not carrying a cell phone and hooked up to Wi-Fi. I had to come to Green Bank on the presumption that the less connected life was richer--which seemed to be bearing itself out. But I was also staring down a rabbit hole of alien hunters, government spies, and Wi-Fi refugees. I was interested in the various links and synergistic relationship between the observatory and a nearby military facility, and I was most hooked on the way The Quiet Zone illustrates the contradictions and complications of the seemingly idyllic, forced radio silence in the area. But by the time Kurczy dug into some of the most alarming real-life characters from the Green Bank community (including the doctor who once dressed as a clown--the person the Robin Williams-starring movie Patch Adams was based upon--and members of a well-known hate group that has taken root on a mountaintop in the area), the book began to feel a little disjointed. Yet Kurczy's nonfiction explores the treasure of a promise of quiet in a world largely filled with noise, stimulation, information, images, and constant input, and I found the early sections of the book particularly compelling. Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? If you like nonfiction books, you might like the titles on the Greedy Reading List Six Compelling Nonfiction Reads.

David Joy's mystery, Those We Thought We Knew, set in the North Carolina mountains, explores issues of The evil at the center of the mystery was a surprise because of the varied points of view, so while I bit manipulated, I was also glad to not have been certain of the disturbing truth behind the deadly mystery But the book was driven by plot, multiple mysteries, the North Carolina mountain setting, and the story's

ICYMI: North Carolina author Rash offers a fascinating, Appalachian-set mystery told from various points This makes the book feel like a series of character studies with a mystery underlying it all.

But in Vera Wong, while Vera is pushy she is also deeply caring, helpful, and serves as a connector-- The New Girl, Well, That Was Unexpected, The Obsession, I'm Not Done with You Yet, and the Theo Tan series

listening to the fourth installment in Deanna Raybourn's irresistible Veronica Speedwell Victorian-era mystery series, A Dangerous Collaboration. Emma Makepeace returns in the second book in the series, The Traitor, and when one thing leads to another Raybourn I loved A Curious Beginning, the first book in Deanna Raybourn's feisty Veronica Speedwell series In this fourth book of the series, Veronica is lured by the promise of an elusive butterfly and an invitation