Reviews 
Whether it be a book, movie, or something else, here’s a critique.
Blog Tour II: Mystery Author Maia Chance
“No job is too trivial” for the Discreet Retrieval Agency, if only they didn’t tend to end in murder… “After her philandering husband died and left her penniless in Prohibition-era New York, Lola Woodby escaped with her Swedish cook to the only place she could—her deceased husband’s secret love nest in the middle of Manhattan.”… Read More ›
Two Ravens and One Crow
What a strange interlude. Unlike his earlier novella, Grimoire of the Lamb, Hearne’s second novella, Two Ravens and One Crow, is less an adventure story and more of an interlude between books that fills in some interesting backstory along with a side dish of excitement. It begins with Atticus wishing he could train his druid… Read More ›
Live Read: Grimoire of the Lamb
Today, The Poisoned Martini is reading Kevin Hearne’s novella, Grimoire of the Lamb. Atticus O’Sullivan looks twenty-one years old, but he is the centuries old druid Siodhachan Ó Suileabháin lying low in the desert clime of Tempe, Arizona. When an evil sorcerer steals the titular grimoire, Atticus travels to Egypt to get it back, but… Read More ›
Catherine Coulter’s Insidious
Missy Devereaux had hoped to escape her stalker, but somehow he’d followed her to Vegas. Having had enough, Missy takes the fight to him and chases John ‘Blinker’ Bayley down, confronting him in a casino parking lot with an able assist from a security guard. Later, jewel thief Marty Sallas has tracked down Molly Harbinger,… Read More ›
It’s a Wonderful Knife
“It’s a wonderful time of year”… until murder strikes in the latest Comfort Food Mystery. But first it’s off to the hospital for Trixie Matkowski after a tumble down the stairs. Taking her there is, Trixie’s BFF, Antoinette Chloe Brown, who drives “like the road is a giant pinball machine.” Unfortunately, Trixie has broken her… Read More ›
The Four Just Men
A most unusual crime novel begins at the Cafe of the Nations on the High Street of Cadiz, where four men sat about one table and talked business. “Leon Gonsalez was one, Poiccart was another, George Manfred was a notable third, and one, Thery, or Saimont, was the fourth.” Of these the narrator notes that Thery… Read More ›
By Its Cover: Hostile Witness
Photographic covers, especially stunning ones of familiar places, attract attention. There’s something about a photograph that makes one wonder more about what is seen. Here we have a nighttime view of Washington, D.C. The lone figure of a woman in the foreground looks toward familiar monuments of the city. The lit landmarks, the light reflected… Read More ›
By Its Cover: Code Grey
Pets, particularly cats, often feature in mystery stories. This one’s a bit unusual in that it features a ghost cat. Mr. Grey was/is the name of Dulcie Schwartz’s late cat, and befittingly serves as the eponymous “grey” of the titles in the series. Presumably—although looking more corporeal—Mr. Grey is the cat on the cover who… Read More ›
Circus of Blood
“If my heart wasn’t armor-plated with scar tissue, it would have broken for the girl who was hooked up to IVs and fighting for her life.” What an opening. We learn that someone tried to beat this girl to death, but then… “If she hadn’t been a Were-bat, then this would’ve been an autopsy.” The scene… Read More ›
By Its Cover: Tea with Jam and Dread
It’s scrumptious! What better way to market a culinary mystery than with something delectable on the cover? Perfectly tying into the title, tea and jam are served up on a plate. The jam—is it raspberry, strawberry?—on toast looks absolutely mouth-watering. But what’s this? Is that jam or specks of blood at the edge of the… Read More ›
The Poisoned Martini 