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

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/09/05/books/thriller-book-quiz.html

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/09/08/books/review/cartoons-comics-quiz.html

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/books/review/new-thrillers-fiction.html

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/books/review/the-secret-of-secrets-dan-brown.html

I had been curious about this book for a while. I am always intrigued by books about books.

Three young women who need to figure out their lives are eager to visit the area where a favorite book/movie took place. Like the characters in that story, each is thinking about next steps.

Emily has a talent for sewing. She is unsure about whether she should abandon a safe job to risk starting her own business. Rachel is about to move in with her (controlling) boyfriend. Will she change her mind? And Tori, at the last minute cannot go on this trip, because her father is upset with her reckless spending. Will she mature and find a job?

Into the story, also comes Alex. Alex is a last minute addition to replace Tori. What will this character add to the lives of the others?

This was an enjoyable but not amazing book for me. It was predictable but that was okay for me because I chose it as a comfort read. I would have liked to know more about the book that inspired the characters. Readers learn that it is about three friends but not much more. Given that the book is based on reactions of the characters to it, a bit more would have been welcome.

This was the first book that I read by the author. It ties up neatly.

I am pretty sure that I will pick up something else that Swain has written. Sometimes escape is what I want.

From the publisher:

Two feuding co-stars in a Jane Austen film adaptation accidentally travel back in time to the Regency Era in this delightfully clever and riotously funny debut

Tess Bright just scored her dream role starring in an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. It’s not just the role of a lifetime, but it’s also her last chance to prove herself as a serious actress (no easy feat after being fired from her last TV gig) and more importantly, it’s her opportunity to honor her mom, who was the biggest fan of Jane Austen ever. But one thing is standing in Tess’s way—well, one very tall, annoyingly handsome person, actually: Hugh Balfour.

A serious British method actor, Hugh wants nothing to do with Tess (whose Teen Choice Awards somehow don’t quite compare to his BAFTA nominations). Hugh is a type-A, no-nonsense, Royal Academy prodigy, whereas Tess is big-hearted, a little reckless, and admittedly, kind of a mess. But the film needs chemistry—and Tess’s career depends on it.

Sparks fly, but not in the way Tess hoped, when an electrical accident sends the two feuding co-stars back in time to Jane Austen’s era. 200 years in the past with only each other to rely on, Tess and Hugh need to ad-lib their way through the Regency period in order to make it back home, and hopefully not screw up history along the way. But if a certain someone looks particularly dashing in those 19th century breeches…well, Tess won’t be complaining.

A wickedly funny, delightfully charming story, The Austen Affair is a tribute to Jane Austen, second chances, and love across the space-time continuum.

My thoughts:

Having just spent a semester reading all six of Austen’s major novels, I loved the experience of entering her world. I have also enjoyed a number of Austen spinoffs so was curious about this title. It offers a fun and entertaining read.

Northanger Abbey was the final Austen book that I read so it was fresh in my mind when I picked up this novel. It was entertaining to think about what the protagonists, feuding though they may be, would do with an Austen adaptation.

When Tess and Hugh are sent back in time due re to an accident, readers are given immersion in Austen’s time. How will the two from times manage there? And, how will they get back to the modern world? Readers will enjoy finding out as they watch the relationship between Tess and Hugh evolve.

The Austen Affair is an entertaining enemies to lovers story. It offers a nice escape. Kirkus Reviews agrees, giving this title one of its coveted stars.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press-St. Martin’s Griffin for this title. All opinions are my own. Also thanks to Macmillan for the audio of this title. I went back and forth, reading when I could and listening while on the go. The narration was engaging and enhanced my experience with this title.

Pub date: 16 September 2025

A True Story of Four Moms, Two Bodies, and One Mysterious Cold Case

by Chuck Hogan

#TheCarpoolDetectives #NetGalley

I confess that I do not really read true crime although I would list crime and mystery fiction as a great love. I find the world way too full of bad things already so choose fictional murders for my pleasure reading. Still, I felt a prickle of curiosity when I received an invitation to read this one. It certainly turned out to be interesting.

The Publisher’s Description:

A lot of us like to think we could solve a mystery. Can these four moms actually do it?

In 2020, Marissa, Jeannie, Samira, and Nicole find themselves at a familiar crossroads: when motherhood takes charge of their lives, they begin grappling with their own identities. Their thriving careers seem like a lifetime ago, and as their children become more independent, they struggle to find purpose. But when they meet at a bowling night fundraiser for their kids’ school, they discover a shared interest in true crime that crystalizes around a mysterious double homicide that took place in their hometown a decade earlier: A couple in their 60s vanished overnight from their home and mysteriously shuttered their family business, leaving millions of dollars unaccounted for. Initially believed to have absconded with the money, they went from suspects to victims when their bodies were discovered in their car at the bottom of a steep ravine. And then the case turned cold.

But what if the moms could solve it? What if they could bring a killer to justice and give closure to a grieving family?

The four women have no connection to the case and no law-enforcement background, but the determined group find themselves in incredible and often dangerous situations–digging for evidence in prohibited ravines, scouring potential crime scenes for blood splatter, and sifting through pages and pages of dense police files. As they get more and more entangled in this complex investigation, they also find themselves in real danger—and with information that could blow the case wide open.

An emotional and often terrifying odyssey through a DIY criminal investigation, The Carpool Detectives is the ultimate wish fulfillment for any true crime fanatic, an absolutely thrilling read for armchair sleuths and mystery fans alike.

My thoughts:

This book read quite a bit like fiction. The four women did something remarkable in investigating this case, beginning with a somewhat naive Marissa (not her real name) wanting to explore the events and drawing in some other moms as well. I don’t think that I want to be a real investigator but this book will, I think, appeal to many who long for exactly this.

Kirkus Reviews describes this book as a “Riveting read about real-life Nancy Drews that seems destined for the big or small screen.”

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

Pub date: 29 July 2025

352 pages

True Crime

From the Publisher

A Novel

by Laura Imai Messina-an e book bargain

#TheHeartbeatLibrary #NetGalley

I absolutely adored Messina’s first novel, The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World. It was tender and heartfelt. It did not look away from tragedy and, at the same time, showed such faith in humanity.

Once again, Messina writes with her unique voice and moves the reader. Readers should know that there really is a heartbeat library. What a thing to contemplate and to make one think about one’s life and those of others.

As was true in the first book, the cover and design of the novel are beautiful. There are some interior illustrations that are simple and engaging. The novel is constructed uniquely with narrative and other sections of thoughts and revelations.

The story is about a man, Shuichi, and a child Kenta. Part of their connection came through Shuichi’s mother. She is no longer alive. Shuichi is clearing out her belongings and thinking about their relationship and his life. When he notices some things are being taken, he comes to see and know Kenta, a boy who has had struggles. Both Kenta and Shuichi have their stories and they are well told here.

Here is another moving and emotionally resonant novel by a talented author.

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

Pub date: 22 October 2024

The first book

It is only for the most special of calls: The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World

A Novel

by Susan Wiggs

#WaywardGirls #NetGalley

Wayward Girls tells the stories of six young women who, for various reasons, were sent to an institution in Buffalo, New York that was much like Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries. These were places were vulnerable young girls, many times the victims of others, were sent when they became pregnant when they were single or otherwise were not conforming to society’s rules. Even worse, one character was sent to this hell, when it was her stepfather who was the offending party. The men often seemed to be able to continue as they had been with little consequence for their mistreatment of their victims.

Anyone who wonders about the historic (lack of) rights for young women will be justifiably appalled by what happened to these girls who were further victimized and judged by those who should have helped them. Readers will very much hope that somehow these six young women will be able to go on to better lives post institution. Their friendships should help.

Disclosure: I have worked with birth mothers from this time and know many of their stories. This made a book, that was excellent, very difficult for me to read.

One note: The story begins with a girl who says that she needs a pre-adoption certificate to get a passport. I have never heard of that requirement.

Kudos to Wiggs for bravely showing readers what life was like for some young women. I believe that she hopes that a time like this will not come again.

This is definitely a worthwhile read. It is not all depressing.

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

Pub date: 15 July 2025

400 pages

From the Publisher

by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau

From the publisher:

The Paris Apartment meets A Simple Favor in an unputdownable thriller about a honeymoon gone horribly wrong.

Sometimes, Paris is a terrible idea.

This is not how she imagined it, any of it. Taylor Quinn arrives at her honeymoon suite in the City of Love alone, sans suitcase, but with wads of stolen cash. When she catches a glimpse of newlyweds Cassie and Olivier enjoying their happily ever, she can’t tear her eyes away. And Cassie makes their antics easy to follow as she reveals every detail of their picture-perfect trip on social media. Taylor’s obsession builds as she tracks their every move. This was the kind of life she was supposed to be living, this was the marriage she should have had, this was the honeymoon she dreamed of.

The illusion is shattered when she overhears a heated argument between Cassie and Olivier, which reveals that they’re not the lovestruck couple they pretend to be. But Cassie and Olivier have agendas of their own and Taylor can’t see the danger in getting in the middle of this until it’s too late. And now, no one will get out of Paris unscathed.

My thoughts:

Wow! I was drawn in by the first sentence: “Sometimes Paris is a terrible idea.” Hard to imagine but definitely true here.

Readers will wait to see how this plot comes together and who among, and how, the characters will survive. They are an interesting, not always likeable, group of people.

Pick this one up if you would like to read a suspenseful story set in the City of Lights. The author is French which adds some verisimilitude to the settings.

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

Pub date: 15 April 2025

From the Publisher