Reviews
The Legacy – The BOLO Books Review
Readers of series crime fiction know that typically the linkage between books resides with the characters, so when an author tries something different, it does tend to get noticed. In her new series debut, Yrsa Sigurdardóttir centers the series around an institution –...
Sherlock Holmes and the Clocktower Mystery – A BOLO Books Guest Post
From the Booking Desk: When I heard that the Fleet Science Center in San Diego was opening an exhibit called Sherlock Holmes and the Clocktower Mystery, I knew that I wanted coverage of it here on BOLO Books. So I reached out to my good friend Erin Labonte-McKay and...
Six Stories – The BOLO Books Review
Everyone recognizes that different people going through the same experience can – and likely will – tell very different versions of that shared incident. Matt Wesolowski is well aware of this and uses this knowledge to create a cunningly plotted mystery in his first...
Quieter Than Killing – The BOLO Books Review
Across three novels, Sarah Hilary has slowly peeled back the layers on the complex relationship between DI Marnie Rome and her foster-brother (who at the age of fourteen killed their parents). Now with Quieter Than Killing, the dynamic between these two clash to such...
Wildcat – A BOLO Books Short Story Review
In any discussion of the living legends of crime fiction, the name Sara Paretsky will quickly be mentioned. Sara Paretsky became a champion for women writers when in 1986 she was instrumental in the founding of Sisters in Crime, but over the years she has proven that...
The Art of Vanishing – The BOLO Books Review
The Semester of Our Discontent, the debut novel in Cynthia Kuhn’s academic mystery series, is currently nominated for an Agatha Award for best first novel, so you can imagine that anticipation of book two is running high. Fortunately, The Art of Vanishing is almost...
Behind Her Eyes – The BOLO Books Review
Some novels arrive with a media buzz attached and one never knows if the reality will live up to the hype. In the case of Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough, regardless of what readers might think of the unusual genre-hopping, there is no denying that the payoff at...
Willow Walk – The BOLO Books Review
When SJI Holliday’s debut novel, Black Wood, appeared in 2015, it was immediately clear that she was not going to follow standard genre conventions. Just as she did with that novel, the second in the series – Willow Walk – defies expectations while still telling a...
My Sister’s Bones – The BOLO Books Review
One of the most powerful things about fiction is that at times it can allow us to experience in a tangible way situations that are foreign to us. Some novels allow us to travel to a distant time or place, walk in the footsteps of another, or see events through...
The Lost Woman – The BOLO Books Review
Sara Blaedel is the Denmark-based author of the Louise Rick mystery series. Next week, the sixth book to be translated into English will be released. Like its predecessors, The Lost Woman uses the tropes of the crime fiction genre in order to tackle topical and...
Garden of Lamentations – The BOLO Books Review
With Garden of Lamentations, Deborah Crombie has tended to her skills as a nuanced crime writer to cultivate her multiple plot-lines into what ultimately resembles a lush word bouquet. In Garden of Lamentations, help from Gemma James is solicited in the case of a...
Riverdale – A BOLO Books Television Review
Who Killed Jason Blossom? This appears to be the lingering question that will propel viewers through the first season of Riverdale. Oh, in case you hadn’t heard, Riverdale is the new television show (airing on The CW) based on characters from the Archie comics. The...
Dark Entries – A BOLO Books Comic Review
From the Booking Desk: Hopefully by now you have heard that Ian Rankin will be participating in a rare US book tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his first John Rebus novel. He will be making several stops local to me - in Baltimore, Washington DC, and...
Rupture – The BOLO Books Review
Rupture begins with a very unsettling and creepy set piece: Róbert – loving husband and devoted stepfather – is awoken by an unusual noise in another room. Going to investigate, Róbert finds the outside door to their home is open and there are wet footprints on the...
Lie With Me –
The BOLO Books Review
When the likes of Alex Marwood, Sarah Hilary, and Clare Mackintosh sing the praises of a novel, people listen – or at least this reader does. The most recent UK release from Sabine Durrant – Lie With Me – is just such a book, garnering positive critical responses from...
Peepland (Issue Two) – The BOLO Books Comic Review
Christa Faust and Gary Phillips return to the vintage Time Square setting for the second issue in their gritty, noir comic. When readers last left Roxanne Bell at the end of Issue One, she was watching the VHS tape that resulted in the death of her friend. Issue Two...
Her Every Fear – The BOLO Books Review
It is always nice when the new year begins with a book which is likely to stay in your mind for the remainder of the calendar days ahead. Her Every Fear, the third stand-alone from Peter Swanson, is just such a book. Swanson’s star has been on the rise since his debut...
Everything You Want Me To Be – The BOLO Books Review
The question of whether it is possible to really know another human being is not original or ground-breaking in any way, but with Everything You Want Me To Be, Mindy Mejia has taken this theme which recurs in many psychological suspense novels and turned it into a...
Stalked – The BOLO Books Review
Stalked, the latest in Elizabeth Heiter’s series featuring FBI profiler Evelyn Baine, continues an impressive run of books for the author. Evelyn is a character worthy of a series and each novel features a unique plot, while also extending the overall mythos of Evelyn...
Forgotten City – The BOLO Books Review
Readers love a character they can root for. Someone they can relate to, respect, and learn from – and Claire Codella is just such a character. First appearing last year in Carrie Smith’s vastly underappreciated debut, Silent City, Codella returns this month in the...