Name: Mysterious Reviews
Dateline: San Diego
Weblog: www.mysteriousreviews.com [RSS]
Articles: 59
First Published: Monday, August 28, 2006
Last Published: Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Currently listing articles 59-1:
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Book Review: Acts of Violets by Kate Collins— Harmless reading and mildly entertaining but there are better choices in this genre.
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Book Review: Ladykiller by Lawrence Light and Meredith Anthony— The ending will have the reader thumbing back through the pages to see how they missed anticipating what happens.
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Book Review: Hades by Russell Andrews— As an action-adventure thriller, Hades works, and works well. As a novel of suspense, it falls short.
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Book Review: Death Pans Out by Ashna Graves— A quiet, absorbing mystery that complements the engaging characters and a decidedly chilling plot.
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Book Review: Murder... Suicide... Whatever... by Gwen Freeman— There's often a fine line between the reasonable and the ridiculous. Murder... Suicide... Whatever... falls into the latter category.
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Book Review: Christine Falls by Benjamin Black— A stylish, atmospheric thriller that is both beautifully written and solidly plotted.
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Book Review: The Dollmaker by Amanda Stevens— A terrifying thriller that works equally well as an investigative detective story.
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Book Review: Amen Corner by Rick Shefchik— Shefchik takes a Columbo-like approach to his story yet this in no way lessens the appeal of the mystery.
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Book Review: No Safe Place by JoAnn Ross— Fans of the author's previous novels will forgive lapses in editing, plot, and character development; new readers may not.
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Book Review: Final Paradox by Mary E. Martin— One doesn't so much read Final Paradox as be drawn into it...
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Book Review: Flesh and Bone by Jefferson Bass— Despite a less than satisfactory storyline, it's likely readers will enjoy Flesh and Bone.
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Book Review: Death of a Maid by M. C. Beaton— This Scottish village mystery is an amusing entry in this long-running series.
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Book Review: By the Time You Read This by Giles Blunt— That the reader is drawn so completely into the story and its characters is just one measure of how splendidly it is written.
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Book Review: The Arsenic Labyrinth by Martin Edwards— The startling conclusion more than compensates for a slow start to this reflective mystery.
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Book Review: Snowman by Dave Saari— Keep reading: a plot develops that is far better than the opening chapters may initially suggest.
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Book Review: The Watchman by Robert Crais— An outstanding example of a thriller that will certainly be remembered as one of the year's best novels.
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Book Review: The Commission by Michael Norman— A few stylistic flaws mar this otherwise strong debut.
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Book Review: How to Marry a Ghost by Hope McIntyre— A complex mystery that has a promising start but will likely lose some readers along the way.
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Book Review: The Picasso Flop by Vince Van Patten— An entertaining mystery that will likely appeal to anyone who plays Texas Hold 'Em or enjoys watching the players on television.
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Book Review: Trouble by Jesse Kellerman— It's disappointing that a writer with a talent for composition couldn't trouble himself to come up with something original to write about.
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Book Review: Gravewriter by Mark Arsenault— A mystery that will have even the most jaded reader turning the pages to find out what happens next.
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Book Review: Triple Cross by Kit Ehrman— In the end it all comes down to the stretch run, and in this regard, Triple Cross is a winner.
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Gumshoes and Sleuths: Scrub-a-Dub Dead by Barbara Colley— Definitely a cut above the average book in the cozy genre.
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Gumshoes and Sleuths: A Hard Bargain by Jane Tesh— Probably not the best choice for that inclement afternoon, but it won't disappoint either.
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Gumshoes and Sleuths: Rumpole and the Reign of Terror by John Mortimer— Rumpole and the Reign of Terror is only the second full-length novel dedicated to one of the London barrister's cases.
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Gumshoes and Sleuths: Motor Mouth by Janet Evanovich— An enjoyable through completely forgettable mystery by the author of the Stephanie Plum series.
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Gumshoes and Sleuths: The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez— An intellectual mystery that is reminiscent of a Sherlock Holmes pastiche in both character and style.
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Gumshoes and Sleuths: Exile by Richard North Patterson— An international legal thriller that is at its best in the courtroom.
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Book Review: The Dirt-Brown Derby by Ed Lynskey— Ed Lynskey's debut mystery is sure to please fans of hard-boiled detective fiction.
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Book Review: Chameleon by Richard Hains— Hains has tried to combine a financial thriller with a novel of international intrigue with mixed results.
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Book Review: The Testament by Eric Van Lustbader— It's hard not to enjoy a book by Lustbader, but disappointing that The Testament was so conventional.
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Book Review: False Harbor by Michael Donnelly— Seek out False Harbor; it's one of the year's best mysteries.
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Book Review: High Heels are Murder by Elaine Viets— Typical of this genre, reasonably well written and plotted.
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Book Review: Effigies by Mary Anna Evans— Evans is masterful at weaving a historical thread through her mysteries, with this being no exception.
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Book Review: High Heels and Holidays by Kasey Michaels— New readers are better served to read one of the previous books to appreciate the unique twist to this series.
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Book Review: The Only Pure Thing by Patrick Hyde— This is not a typical legal mystery - and the better for it.
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Book Review: The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen— A solid, effective, fast-paced plot with a number of unusual features that make it an above average thriller.
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Book Review: A Fatal Appraisal by J. B. Stanley— Starts off strong, but towards the middle tends to meander, never quite finding its way back to its promising premise.
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Book Review: Caribbean Calling by J. D. Gordon— An ambitious effort that fails to deliver on its promise.
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Book Review: A Trout in the Sea of Cortez by John Salter— It might not be categorized as a murder mystery, but it is an interesting if somewhat over-long work of fiction.
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Book Review: McMansion by Justin Scott— A rather loosely constructed mystery populated with characters that seem more contrived than real.
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Book Review: The Second Mouse by Archer Mayor— Mayor manages to keep this series as fresh as new fallen Vermont snow. Highly recommended.
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Book Review: The River Killings by Merry Jones— Descriptive yet disruptive and disjointed, the plot doesn't thicken so much as become too complex and inferential.
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Book Review: Family Business by Janet LaPierre— Politics aside, and it's hard to avoid the author's bias, this is a terrific mystery.
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Book Review: Death at Victoria Dock by Kerry Greenwood— Phyrne Fisher is well worth knowing, and it is little wonder this series is so popular with readers.
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Book Review: Dying Light by Stuart MacBride— What elevates this above similar books is the author's willingness to take risks in style, tempo, and characterization.
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Book Review: Love, Lies and Liquor by M. C. Beaton— More about Agatha lamenting the sad state of her love life than about discovering the circumstances surrounding a mysterious death.
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Book Review: Nip, Tuck, Dead by Lori Avocato— Those who have enjoyed the previous perils of this particular Pauline will no doubt be pleased with this one.
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Book Review: Extraordinary People by Peter May— An intriguing first book in a series of thrillers set in modern France.
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Book Review: Cactus Island by William Manchee— What a story it is: a silly plot with holes large enough to fly a spaceship through.
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Book Review: Deadline: Stiff by J. M. Burns— A debut mystery that begins as a locked room puzzle and ends as a first-rate thriller.
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Book Review: Calculated Loss by Linda L. Richards— Calculated Loss is an intriguing mystery that effectively combines high finance with haute cuisine and is highly recommended.
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Book Review: The Geographer's Library by Jon Fasman— The wonder, confusion, and fear experienced by a small-town reporter during his investigation of the professor's death is convincingly conveyed
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Book Review: Shooting Gallery by Hailey Lind— With its insider references to great art, artists, and "restorers", this is a very entertaining mystery.
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Book Review: Scoop by Kit Frazier— Frazier has created a smart, independent woman in a solid mystery that should appeal to a wide range of readers.
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Book Review: Moonblind by Laura Crum— A simple, yet effective, mystery of how one's actions in the past have unintended, and deadly, consequences in the present.
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Book Review: South Beach Shakedown by Don Bruns— Though a mystery set in the world of rock and roll, this book never develops a rhythm of its own.
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Book Review: Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear— This will almost certainly be remembered as one of the best mysteries of the year.
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Book Review: The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld— A clever murder mystery, but flaws in style and editing prevent it from being a memorable novel of suspense fiction.
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