Highly atmospheric and evocative, with steadily mounting suspense, The Darkness, the first in a new series by Icelandic author Ragnar Jonasson, has all of the grim, bleak moodiness typically associated with Nordic Noir, yet leaves the reader with the contented feeling of having read a work of fiction by a crime writer who has matured, and honed his craft. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Read moreMINM Book Review: The Craftsman by Sharon Bolton
Are you looking for a crime novel that is devilishly dark, brooding, and gothic, tinged with horror and more than a little of the supernatural, with an antagonist who employs a most ghoulish method of dispatching victims? Then curl up in your favorite reading chair with your preferred, piping hot “cuppa”, and dig into this deeply personal story by British author, Sharon Bolton. The Craftsman screams out to be read in front of a crackling fire, or during an electrical storm, with lightning flashes periodically illuminating the windows! Ms. Bolton’s latest, hauntingly atmospheric offering, the first in a new trilogy, is tailor-made for the Halloween season!
Read moreMINM Book Review: The Wife by Alafair Burke
This layered, well-plotted, richly-characterized story sucked me in from the beginning, and called my name whenever I was unable to listen to Xe Sands’ engrossing audio book narration! The Wife ramps up to a twist-upon-twist crescendo, and, ultimately, finishes with an ending that will haunt readers, long after the final sentence. The Wife has been added to my list of Mystery in Minutes favorites for 2018! Author Alafair Burke has a new fan!
Read moreA Quick Note To Authors, Publishers, And To My Readers:
Shortly after meeting so many of you at the World Mystery Convention in St. Petersburg, Florida, I was called to care for a loved one who was recently hospitalized. One of my long range goals for Mystery in Minutes has always been to have other contributors to the site, in part, to avoid any disruption of content. I appreciate the patience of authors, publishers, and my readers who have counted on Mystery in Minutes to review crime fiction titles often before, or at, publication. I now hope to be returning to weekly, or near-weekly, content!
Thank you for your understanding,
Laura, Mystery in Minutes
MINM Book Review: Button Man by Andrew Gross
Andrew Gross’s homage to his grandfather is a period piece with heart-tugging emotion, gripping suspense, a surprising twist, and a wonderful sense of place (even if the place at that time wasn’t always so wonderful for everyone). Button Man reminds us that acts of courage by even just “a few good men”, and standing up for what is right, can often make a difference of lasting and positive change for many.
Read moreYOU by Caroline Kepnes Book Review and Video Trailer of the Series Adaptation
Season Two of the totally binge-worthy, series adaptation of the debut that generated, arguably, the most crime fiction buzz the year that it was originally published, coming soon!
Daring, captivating, and with a taboo quality that has readers that love it declaring it a guilty pleasure, and others being equally offended by it, YOU by Caroline Kepnes is, still, one of the freshest, most original novels I have read in years!
Read moreBook Review: The Other Woman by Sandie Jones
A deliciously devious, psychological suspense novel that would be a great choice to have at the ready as you prepare yourself for the autumn and winter family holidays, British novelist Sandie Jones's crime fiction debut is not about what you might think……..
Read moreMINM Book Review: Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
Two thumbs up! Way up!! Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman hit all the sweet spots for this reviewer, and is a Mystery in Minutes 2018 favorite! If, like me, you love to "shout" at book characters during highly suspenseful scenes, then get those vocal cords warmed up and buckle your seat belts, because Something in the Water becomes an increasingly tense, immersive, and utterly gripping ride, as it taps into primal fears that many of us share! Ms. Steadman’s novel also takes the amateur detective plot device, and turns it on its head!
Read moreMINM Review: A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay
A twisty-turny mystery that includes a jaw-dropping about-face, new-to-Mystery in Minutes author Linwood Barclay's latest standalone novel, A Noise Downstairs, manages to be about so much more than its eye-catching cover image and title would imply.
Read moreMINM Book Review: NEED TO KNOW by Karen Cleveland
Espionage spy fiction meets domestic suspense in former CIA analyst Karen Cleveland's debut crime novel! Published in over twenty languages, and optioned for the screen by Universal Pictures, with Charlize Theron to develop, produce, and star in the adaptation, Need to Know is a story of how one choice can have a devastating ripple effect. Ms. Cleveland's book asks two crucial questions of the reader: first, if faced with the choice between loyalty to country, or personal loyalty, which would you choose? And second, would your patriotism be great enough to risk any potential consequences to yourself, or to your loved ones?
Read moreMINM Review: A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo
Suspenseful, chilling, and thought-provoking, A Gathering of Secrets by American writer Linda Castillo is number ten in her Kate Burkholder series, but can easily be read as a standalone. With this installment, Ms. Castillo has, once again, authored a winner!
Read moreBook Review: THE LAST TIME I LIED by Riley Sager
Wonderfully haunting and atmospheric, The Last Time I Lied, by American author Riley Sager, is a Mystery in Minutes favorite of 2018, in a year of great, crime fiction reading! From its eye-catching, blue cover, to its breath-holdingly suspenseful, climactic action sequence, and its absolute zinger of a final twist, The Last Time I Lied just may be the quintessential summer psychological suspense!
Read moreMINM Review: Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
Winner and nominee of multiple awards, including the 2018 Edgar award for Best Novel, the 2018 Anthony award for Best Novel, and the 2017 Los Angeles Times book prize for mystery/thriller, Bluebird, Bluebird by American author Attica Locke is a mystery novel dripping with southern, blues atmosphere, one that digs deep, and often suspensefully, into interpersonal relationships and family sagas. It is the author's heartfelt love letter to the land of her grandparents, and an unapologetic portrait of race relations in rural, East Texas.
Read moreOn MINM: Jar of Hearts Video and Excerpt!
Happy Summer, crime fiction readers! Last month, Mystery in Minutes read, and LOVED, Jar of Hearts by Canadian crime writer, Jennifer Hillier. Jar of Hearts became available to the public on June 12th, and in celebration, Mystery in Minutes is sharing a video of the author discussing Jar of Hearts, plus, a three-chapter excerpt of this buzz-worthy novel!!
Read moreMINM Book Review: SHARP OBJECTS by Gillian Flynn
Sharp Objects is the multi-award winning and nominated, 2006 debut by Gillian Flynn, the American author of a little book that you may have heard of, called "Gone Girl". So why is Mystery in Minutes reviewing this in 2018, you might ask? First, because Sharp Objects was the only full length novel of Ms. Flynn's that I had not yet read, and second, because the crime fiction world is all atwitter about the highly anticipated, July 8th premiere of HBO’s Sharp Objects mini-series, starring Amy Adams as Camille Preaker, and Patricia Clarkson as her mother, Adora.
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