Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too!

Anyone who has read a book by Elly Griffiths and who then sees a new title by her will immediately snatch it up (as I did). Those who have never read books by her are missing out. Griffiths’ series featuring Ruth Galloway is one of my favorite ever. I have also enjoyed her stories featuring Harbinder and the ones set in Brighton.

So…I was very excited to see that Griffiths had a first book out in what will be a new series. I loved it.

This title does require some suspension of disbelief as it includes time travel (a much more common trope these days). However, I enjoyed spending time in each of the time periods while waiting to see how the stories would come together.

Much like Ruth, Ali is an idiosyncratic and highly likeable protagonist who solves murders. Griffiths has many characters surrounding her in both the Victorian and modern eras.

I think that the author researched the historical period well. Many details bring that time to life.

This atmospheric read is highly recommended to mystery lovers. I will be reading the next book soon.

By the way, the top cover is for the U.S. edition. I prefer the second which is the British one and that is the one that I purchased.

Post first published on 8 May 2026

Description:

from the publisher

“A pleasure from finish to start.” —Anthony Horowitz

“Fresh and exciting, with both humor and thrills, Griffiths’ first book in her new series knocks it out of the park!” —Shari Lapena

Some murders can’t be solved in just one lifetime.

Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old, they’re frozen—or so their inside joke goes. Nobody knows that her team has a secret: they can travel back in time to look for evidence.

The latest assignment sees Ali venture back farther than they have dared before: to 1850s London to clear the name of Cain Templeton, an eccentric patron of the arts. Rumor has it that Cain is part of a sinister group called The Collectors. Ali arrives in the Victorian era to another dead woman at her feet and far too many unanswered questions.

As the clock counts down, Ali becomes more entangled in the mystery, yet danger lurks around every corner. She soon finds herself trapped, unable to make her way back to her beloved son, Finn, who is battling his own accusations in the present day.

Could the two cases be connected? In a race through and against time, Ali must find out before it’s too late.

Next in the series:

This book has been published in the U.K. and releases later this year in the U.S.

It has been a long time since Stedman wrote The Light Between Oceans. I highly recommend that book and was very eager to read this new novel.

A Far Flung Life includes some beautiful prose. Here are a few examples.

-In the end, we’re all looking for a place to ride out the storms of life. Among all these husks of houses and fossils of trees, we are like hermit crabs, borrowing a shelter for a time and moving on. (64)

-We think we know who we are: that each day, we’ll wake up more or less the same person. But just as rocks are weathered, we are perpetually formed and changed by time and experience until we leave this world… (65-66)

-There are some events you can’t come back from. Some gates close off every other path you could possibly take. A single moment in your past denies you a future…(164)

As can be seen, this novel was extremely well written. The sense of what life is like on a sheep ranch in an isolated community came through very strongly as did the challenges of that life. The characters are similarly described in ways that make the reader see and know them. That sense of the characters and caring for them did, for me, make the book hard to read at times. I wanted so much for them or even just some happiness. There were many tragedies and moments where the menace was palpable in these pages.

Readers will remember Matt, Bonnie, Rosie, Andy, Peachy and others long after they turn the last page. I do highly recommend this novel but with the caveat that it is not always an easy read.

Have you read this one? If so, I would love to know your thoughts.

Description:

from the publisher

From the author of the acclaimed bestseller The Light Between Oceans comes a breathtaking and epic novel set in the vast outback of Australia—about tragedy, family secrets, and the enduring power of love.

When we do something that can’t be undone or mended, how do we go on living? How do we find our North Star when there is no right answer? These are the questions at the center of M. L. Stedman’s unforgettable and magisterial new novel, A Far-flung Life. From the author of the beloved and bestselling The Light Between Oceans, this is a sweeping and epic story of a family, a tragedy, and the aftermath that reverberates for decades.

Remote Western Australia, 1958: here, for generations, the MacBrides have lived on a vast sheep station, Meredith Downs. It is a million acres, an ocean of arid land. On an ordinary day, on a lonely road, under the unending blue sky, patriarch Phil MacBride swerves to avoid a kangaroo. In seconds the lives of the entire MacBride family are shattered. And then, tragedy revisits when a twist of consequences claims the life of one sibling, and leads another to give up everything for the sake of an innocent child. Matt, the youngest MacBride, is plunged into a moral and emotional journey for which there is no map, no guide. The secrets at the heart of this gutting and beautiful story force him to choose between love and duty, sacrifice and happiness.

A Far-flung Life is a tale about family and belonging, fate and time. It is about people trying to do their best, and each, for private reasons, seeking shelter from the storm of life.

Can a fleeting moment unravel a whole life, mar it indelibly and irrevocably? Can compassion, resilience and forgiveness allow us to come to terms with our human imperfections? These are the questions Stedman asks in A Far-flung Life, her profoundly moving, uplifting, and luminous new novel about what the heart can endure for the sake of love.

I have loved Natasha Lester’s historical fiction starting when I read The Paris Secret. Since then, I have read every new book as it has been published and also look forward to a few earlier ones that I still need to catch up on.

Lester always tells a great story with a mix of fashion and history. This book is no exception although I think that it is the author’s most ambitious book yet.

Here readers meet three generations of strong women who are related and share a commitment to fashion. The oldest of these is Mizza Bricard. She was a real person and one who was described as a muse to Christian Dior. Living through several world wars was just one of her challenges.

Next is Mizza’s daughter Astrid. Why did Mizza not raise her? Astrid grows up in the seventies. She attends fashion/design school and meets the mesmerizing Hawk Jones. How will their relationship ebb and flow and how will their fashion stories and accomplishments continue to cross? And, importantly, how and why did Astrid disappear? What does/did Hawk know?

The daughter of Astrid and Hawk is Blythe. Blythe is also trying to establish her fashion line. She is divorced with two children. Does she want to try again with the (sometimes) charming Jake? Will her fashion business be successful?

This book has an excellent plot, good settings, interesting characters and a real eye on the fashion scene. In addition, I think that Lester wants to bring women out of the shadows and for them to be recognized for their accomplishments. Bravo for that.

I recommend this book very highly. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction, fashion and/or stories about women, family and career should give this title a look. I already can’t wait for Lester’s next novel.

Many thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this title. All opinions are my own.

Five stars *****

#TheDictionaryofLostWords #NetGalley

402 pages

Published in 2021

Historical fiction

Four stars****

My thoughts:

The Dictionary of Lost Words tells a complex story with skill. Readers meet and follow Esme and those around her. Esme is motherless and is being raised by a caring father, godmother and the servants of the historical founder of the OED.

In some ways this is a bildungsroman as it details Esme’s early life and growing up. It is equally a story about words-words that are included in the OED at the time of its authoring and words that Esme discovers that were not included. (Why? Readers can guess).

There is also the backdrop of the vote for women’s rites and observation of women’s roles and enough background of the historical period to bring it to life. Readers meet an actress for example who influences Esme.

The Dictionary of Lost Words was Pip Williams’ first novel. However, I read her second book first (The Bookbinder) and absolutely adored it. I very much liked The Dictionary but would still say that I liked The Bookbinder more. Still, it was quite evident from The Dictionary that Pip Williams would be an author to reckon with. Note that she has a third title coming out in the fall of 2026.

Many thanks to Random House and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.

Description:

from the publisher

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • “Delightful . . . [a] captivating and slyly subversive fictional paean to the real women whose work on the Oxford English Dictionary went largely unheralded.”—The New York Times Book Review

“A marvelous fiction about the power of language to elevate or repress.”—Geraldine Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of People of the Book

Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, an Oxford garden shed in which her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Young Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word bondmaid flutters beneath the table. She rescues the slip and, learning that the word means “slave girl,” begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men.

As she grows up, Esme realizes that words and meanings relating to women’s and common folks’ experiences often go unrecorded. And so she begins in earnest to search out words for her own dictionary: the Dictionary of Lost Words. To do so she must leave the sheltered world of the university and venture out to meet the people whose words will fill those pages.

Set during the height of the women’s suffrage movement and with the Great War looming, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. Inspired by actual events, author Pip Williams has delved into the archives of the Oxford English Dictionary to tell this highly original story. The Dictionary of Lost Words is a delightful, lyrical, and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words and the power of language to shape the world.

Editorial Reviews:

From Library Journal

Though this sweeping effort takes some time to build momentum, the payoff is deeply satisfying. Williams’s feminist take on language will move readers.

From Kirkus Reviews

Williams provides readers with detailed background and biographical information pointing to extensive research about the OED and its editors, many of whom appear as characters in Esme’s life. The result is a satisfying amalgam of truth and historical fiction.

From Library Journal

Enchanting, sorrowful, and wonderfully written, the book is a one-of-a-kind celebration of language and its importance in our lives. A must-have for every library collection.

From Booklist

“A lexicographer’s dream of a novel, this is a lovely book to get lost in, an imaginative love letter to dictionaries.”

Awards:

WINNER OF THE AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARD

From the Publisher

An e book bargain

I’ve been thinking about how to best write about this book by first time author Jess Montgomery. First time author! Wow, Ms. Montgomery writes like an experienced novelist as she effectively creates a place, characters and narrative tension. She has written what I consider to be a truly excellent debut novel.

The Widows are Lily and Marvena, each of whom has children, has lost a husband and is trying not to lose her way. Life in Bronwyn County, Ohio for them and those they love, following WWI is full of hardship. Coal is king and a harsh master. Poverty and company scrip rule many lives.

In this world, Marvena and her common law husband John have worked to organize the miners. This is a freighted and difficult task given the strong arm tactics of the mine owners. Pinkertons are brought in to quell resistance. Other outsiders try to dominate illegal moonshine businesses.

On the surface, Lily’s life looks better. She is married to Sheriff Daniel Ross, a former boxer and half brother to the mine owner. However, early in the novel, Daniel is killed. The circumstances surrounding his death are a central mystery in the novel.

Both Marvena and Lily have relationship history with Daniel. Each realizes that she did not fully know him. As they come to know one another, Lily and Marvena come to also know themselves.

Peopled with many additional characters that come vividly to life, this novel is engaging, realistic and compelling. Put it on your TBR pile for January when it will be released. I recommend this one very highly.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Minotaur for this fantastic read!

#TheWidows #NetGalley

I have enjoyed other novels by Eliza Knight including The Mayfair Bookshop and The Queen’s Faithful Companion. So, when I see her name on a book cover, I am excited.

This time, Knight explores the world of publishing in the early 1960s. To say that women were not highly valued for their skills is an understatement.

As this story opens, Bernadette is working on editorial tasks but is not respected for this. Rather, she is asked to bring her boss’s dirty laundry to the cleaner. Understandably, Bernadette does not appreciate this and wants more. Will she succeed? Will friends that she makes at the New York Public Library help her? Find out in this enjoyable read that also features a likeable editor who has fallen for Bernadette. I recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks-Landmark for this title. All thoughts are my own.

Pub date:10 June 2025

From the Publisher

NOTE: ON 2 SEPTEMBER 2026, THIS BOOK IS $2.99

From the publisher:

A Boston Globe Best Book of the Summer

“A delectably fun murder mystery set against the sumptuous backdrop of Paris.” —Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid series

In Paris, murder is a dish best served with chocolate éclairs.

Starting over in Paris was supposed to be the opportunity of a lifetime for American sommelier Olivia Beech—until her dream job ends in murder.

Once a rising star in the wine world, Olivia was one of a handful of women in the world to hold the distinction of being a Master Sommelier before COVID stole her sense of taste—and her career. Adrift and depressed, she gets a second chance when beloved celebrity chef Jacques de Bizet invites her to Paris for a job interview. But as the interview begins, he collapses, poisoned, making Olivia the prime suspect.

Olivia is in trouble, but she has an advantage: her extraordinary nose is still sharp enough to detect the subtlest of scents, including the poison that killed Jacques. Olivia knows she’s innocent, but how can she prove it?

Enter the Paris Neighborhood Watch, an eccentric circle of locals determined to protect their quartier. At the helm is the mysterious Augusta Dupin, a brilliant but agoraphobic detective, aided by her intuitive British shorthair cat, Chateaubriand. Olivia and Augusta join forces with a group of neighborhood amateur sleuths—a pâtissier, a café owner, a part-time librarian, a florist and a kind-hearted cop who may be falling for Olivia—to solve the crime, a search that helps them find not only the killer but fresh purpose in their lives.

Warm, witty, and brimming with food, friendship, and intrigue, Murder Most Delicious transports you to a cozy Parisian neighborhood where the comforts of French daily life soothe the soul even in the darkest times.

My thoughts:

This was simply a delightful read. The virtual visit to a lovely Paris neighborhood, the food, the smells, the characters, the plot all joined to make this a most enjoyable and escapists read. I truly hope that this is the start of a series.

Fun fact: Danielle is a name being used by Danielle Trussoni who has written other titles under that name.

#TheGlassKey #NetGalley

I had never read a title by this author but was quite interested in The Glass Key, based on both the book description and the cover. It was a terrific read and I have already purchased Geard’s two earlier novels.

This is a bit of a tough review to write because I don’t want to give too much away. There is just so much for the reader to discover.

Here is an over 400 page book with a plot that is complex, twisty and involving. There are also many characters and relationships to track in two timelines, one during WWII (Norway) and the other in the 2000s (Ireland). Readers will want to know how these come together. In addition, pay attention to the title of the book and learn about the significance of The Glass Key.

This is a book that will appeal to readers who enjoy The Seven Sisters series and the recent Sea Stone Sisters. As is true of the books just cited, The Glass Key offers a most immersive read. I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Headline for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 18 June 2026

Description:

from the publisher

The breathtaking new novel from the bestselling author of the Richard and Judy Book Club pick The Midnight House.

‘I just loved this sweeping and deeply moving book of dark secrets’ SANTA MONTEFIORE
‘A page-turning mystery, richly layered and irresistible’ CARMEL HARRINGTON
‘A gorgeous novel. Beautifully written and twisty. I loved it’ EVE CHASE

In Ireland, Maggie has grown up hearing her mother tell her the bedtime story of The Glass Key. It’s a Nordic fairytale passed down by Maggie’s grandmother Anna Swan, who mysteriously left her home one stormy night years ago, never to return. Now Maggie’s grandfather has died and going through his things, Maggie is shocked to discover a faded wartime letter, asking him to take in a baby. In that moment she realises that Anna Swan was a woman of many secrets.

Only by travelling to Norway and discovering the story of four brave young women whose lives were forever changed by the occupation of their tiny islands, can Maggie uncover the shocking truth about her family – and finally unlock the mystery of the glass key…

‘You can taste the salt air and bathe in the glow of the Northern Lights’ KATE QUINN
‘A captivating story that unlocks an emotional doorway to the past’ EVIE WOODS
‘Epic, emotional and immersive. One of those books I wanted to savour’LOUISE DOUGLAS
‘Brimming with mystery, family secrets and heart’ MADELINE MARTIN
‘An old school epic that will have readers turning the pages long into the night’ SINÉAD CROWLEY

370 pages

Fashion & Photography

Four stars****

Pub date: 01 August 2026

My thoughts:

This book offers a brief introduction to each of fifty fashion designers. Readers can look for their favorites (Chanel, Dior, Balenciaga, Quant-to name a few) or page through this title in order. Readers may also discover some creators who are new to them.

For each designer, find out when they lived and what they looked like, learn a bit of their biography, understand something about their fashion ethos and see examples of their work. If anything, readers will just wish for more on their favorites.

This book is currently only ninety-nine cents of Amazon. Take a look and think about buying it today.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Arcturus Publishing for this title. All thoughts are my own.

Pub date: 01 August 2026

Description:

from the publisher

Fashion writer Emma Baxter-Wright introduces 50 of the world’s most influential fashion designers and a selection of their most celebrated pieces, showcased with full-colour photography.

Starting with the foundation of the 19th century House of Worth, perhaps the first real fashion house, through the designs of the hugely influential Coco Chanel, Christian Dior and Yves St Laurent, to Japanese designers such as Rei Kawakubo and Issey Miyake whose designs ‘deconstructed’ fashion in the 1980s and 1990s and the emerging stars of the present day, this stunning book is a fascinating history of how fashion has developed over the past 160 years. Two double-page spreads are dedicated to each designer, outlining their influences, the legacy of their ideas and revealing the beautiful designs that have made them famous.

A Novel

by Nina de Gramont

Avid readers of Agatha Christie’s novels may well know that the famous author herself was the star/subject of one of her greatest mysteries. Why did Mrs. Christie disappear for all those days? It is not really a spoiler to say that she learned that Archie was having an affair. Still, where did she go? What made Archie seem so appealing to two very different women?

In addition to that mystery, who was the other woman? What was her story? Can readers empathize with her?

Learn more about both women in this historical fiction title. Nina de Gramont tells her story well. She makes Nan’s story believable and this is more her story than Agatha’s.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub Date 01 Feb 2022

From the Publisher