I am thankful for the many books that have changed and entertained me through the year. And, I am thrilled to share them.
Parts Miss Jane Marple, Jessica Fletcher, and Mrs. Emily Pollifax, a fresh-faced, stylish, feisty new female sleuth, is in town solving crimes. Rob Osler’s fun-filled, queer-lit, progressive-era historical mystery, “The Case of the Missing Maid,” is a must-read, charming whodunit.
Harriet Morrow is a protagonist bristling with color, adventure, bravery, and snappy one-liners. She is hired by Theodore Prescott, owner of Chicago’s Prescott Detective Agency, to help find a missing woman, Agnes Wozniak.
Unbeknownst to her employer, Pearl Bartlett, uncommonly tall and rough-around-the-edges, Agnes was snatched from her bedroom.
When Harriet interviews Ms. Bartlett, she suspects something is afoot from the woman’s dodgy mannerisms and odd testimony of her missing maid. Ms. Bartlett tells Harriet that she knew her housemaid was gone when she called up the staircase for Ms. Wozniak one day and never received a response. Ms. Bartlett explained that she had not attempted to climb the steep stairs daily, so she never bothered to inspect the maid’s room; she just took the young woman’s silence as evidence she had been missing for two days.
Something in Ms. Bartlett’s statement reinforces Ms. Morrow’s suspicions and fears that her employee may be in serious trouble. With permission to search the grounds, the inquisitive Ms. Morrow investigates the maid’s living quarters on the third floor to find an overturned lamp and an open window, suggesting the point of entrance for Ms. Wozniak’s kidnapping.
Ms. Morrow sets out on her trusty bicycle to find the missing maid, putting her analytical skills to the test. Along the way, she finds herself in dangerous territory across the city, filling her days and nights with evil men and circumstances.
Her investigation yields answers, but at what personal cost?
Osler delivers an innovative, creative, and appealing mystery. For a thoroughly engaging and rewarding reading experience, schedule a few uninterrupted hours for “The Case of the Missing Maid,” a deftly plotted narrative chockful of mischievous characters and spectacular settings.
The first in a series of Irish murder mysteries, Carlene O’Connor’s “Murder in an Irish Village” begins a white-knuckle adventure.
When Siobhan O’Sullivan’s parents died in an automobile accident, Siobhan took over the reins of running the pub business in the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland.
Amid the quintessential, stunning views and slow-paced life in Emerald Isle, a murder ceases business when a regular patron dining at the pub dies unexpectedly, a pair of pink barber scissors protruding from his chest.
In danger of having her business closed for an indefinite amount of time during a thorough police investigation, it is Siobhan’s need to help local police help solve the crime, bring a killer to justice, and save her beloved family business.
The long list of local suspects stumps the police and Siobhan as they navigate a community of familiar and unfamiliar faces. They interview friends, family, and a drove of regular customers, following a slew of red herrings and false leads.
O’Connor paints a warm and welcoming, atmospheric countryside teeming with idyllic locales and dialects, and populated with delicious, delightful, and devilish characters, most of whom you would like to meet.
“Murder in an Irish Village” is a solid start in this long-running series.
“Scars and Secrets,” is a contemporary mystery novel about love, loss, murder, and redemption. The main character, Ralph Ashton, struggles to watch his mother dying slowly from cancer in a hospital bed.
He is in therapy to help quell the demons raging inside him and manage a future without a mom. Ralph’s life takes an immediate detour when his ex-boyfriend, Eli Ray, whom Ralph has not seen or heard from since they separated two months ago, shows up at his apartment.
Eli is back, but the scars, lies, and secrets he carries threaten Ralph’s life and safety. Eli goes missing the following day. As Ralph pursues a dangerous investigation, he discovers upsetting details about Eli he did not know while they were together.
Is learning the truth of Eli’s death worth jeopardizing his safety?
Books are magical gateways to happier times. Pencil in some time this holiday season for a few good reads.
Thomas Grant Bruso is a Plattsburgh resident who writes fiction and has been an avid reader of genre fiction since he was a kid. Readers and writers are invited to connect and discuss books and writing at www.facebook.com/thomasgrantbruso