Today I'm reviewing a play rather than a movie, and a spy play based on a true story!  It's a brand new play I saw in Denver at it's world premier.  That's right, it's new and I wanted to share it with all of you.   There are books about Elizabeth (Betty) Pack--nee Thorpe ("The Last Goodnight: A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal" by Howard Blum and "Cast No Shadow" by Mary S. Lovell), but no splashy movies.  That's why this play felt important to me.  FYI: No nudity, I'd rate it PG13 Play Blurb:"Starting in the years leading ..read more

I am a fan of Jeffrey Deaver, I just have sooo many books to read that his tend to get pushed aside.  I have been watching the new TV show "Tracker" and I wanted to read at least the first in the series that inspired the show.  I've only reviewed two prior books of his, although I've read more of the Lincoln Rhyme books than shown here.    The Burning Wire: Lincoln Rhyme (click here)  XO: Kathryn Dance (click here)   Author: Jeffery Deaver Copyright: Mar 2019 (G.P. Putnam's Sons) 413 pgs Series: 1st in Colter Shaw Mysteries Sensuality: Adult topics, int ..read more

 It's National Library Week, so it seems fitting to take a look at the Library of Congress. What the heck is it?   It is the U.S. National Library, but it's primary mission is research inquiries made by members of Congress.    It also houses and oversees the United States Copyright Office.  Additionally, the library also administers the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, an audio book and braille library program provided to more than 766,000 Americans.  The sheer size and variety of it's total collection makes it the ..read more

 This series and characters started with Berkley as the Rosalind Thorne Mysteries.  But Berkley suddenly discontinued many of their mysteries, so author Darcie Wilde went to Kensington and they continued the books with the same characters as the Useful Woman Mysteries.  Here are my prior reviews of the Berkley books. 1) A Useful Woman (click here)   2)  A Purely Private Matter (click here)   3)  And Dangerous to Know (click here)  5)  A Counterfeit Suitor (click here)   Guest post 2016  (click here)  Guest post 2017&nbs ..read more

 Amanda Flower is the author of "An Amish Candy Shop" mysteries, "An Amish Matchmaker" mysteries, "Farm to Table" mysteries, "Emily Dickinson" mysteries, and "Magical Bookshop" plus "Magic Garden" mysteries which I've reviewed.  She is a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author of over thirty-five mystery novels. She currently writes for Penguin-Random House (Berkley), Kensington, Hallmark Publishing, Crooked Lane Books, and Sourcebooks.   Of course using an actual historical figure is a high wire act but practically nobody remembers the sister of the Wright Br ..read more

  The Templar Knights are a fascinating rabbit hole and there exist a multitude of theories about what happened to all their wealth after they were sytematically hunted down and eliminated by the French king. There are as many theories about why this militant monastic order of the Catholic Church seemed to wield so much power/sway over the Vatican.  Most think they held something over the church as blackmail.  This book presents an idea I hadn't ever considered as to what the leverage they held could be.   I read one prior book by Raymound Khoury featuring a character also ..read more

 This is one of my favorite historical mystery series and even though I have missed two books out of the nine, I always come back to this series. 1. A Curious Beginning (click here)  3. A Treacherous Curse (click here)  4. A Dangerous Collaboration (click here)  5. A Murderous Relation (click here)  6. An Unexpected Peril (click here)  7. An Impossible Imposter (click here)  Author: Deanna Rayburn Copyright: Mar 2024 (Berkley) 334 pgs Series: 9th in Veronica Speedwell Mysteries Sensuality: Adult topics, no gore Mystery Sub-genre: Historical Amateur Sleuth Ma ..read more

 Argylle (pronounced Are-Gile). As part of the marketing for this movie, an espionage book series has begun under the pen name Elly Conway (the author in the movie).  I reviewed the book (click here).  In July 2021, it was announced that Argylle was intended to be first of a series of at least three films. Movie Blurb: "Elly Conway, an introverted spy novelist who seldom leaves her home, is drawn into the real world of espionage when the plots of her books get a little too close to the activities of a sinister underground syndicate. When Aiden, a spy, shows up to save her (he c ..read more

I did a prior post on the differences between Cozy, Traditional, and Amateur Sleuth novels (click here). Now we will tackle the difference between the detective fiction, police procedurals, thrillers, and intrigue sub-categories of the mystery genre. Some believe that all mysteries started with detective fiction in mid 1800s and everything from police procedural and thrillers to cozy mysteries has evolved from it.  Whether that is true or not, these categories have developed a lot, particularly in the last few decades.   This isn't an exhaustive breakdown and analysis bu ..read more

Traci Hall is the USA Today bestselling author of over fifty books across an array of genres, from cozy mysteries to contemporary seaside romances, YA, and nonfiction. She is also the co-author of the Salem B&B Mystery series as Traci Wilton which I have reviewed a few of those.   This is my first book of hers and I will have to go back to the beginning of this series because I love books based in the UK. Although this isn't the first book in the series, I had no problem jumping in and feeling at home with the story, characters, and setting.  Author: Traci Hall Copyright: J ..read more