Today's review of Left Behind by Martine Kropkowski contains a spoiler so the whole thing is behind a warning. Proceed with caution if you don't want to know a little bit about the twist in the tail.
The image of the book cover for Left Behind by Martine Kropkowski includes a quote 'An Aussie crime fiction star in the making. Candice Fox'. The image is a view down a beach which is disfigured by tyre tracks. There's a dingo standing just above the water's edge, and black ominous clouds above.
I'm an #enby from #Mexico and not new to the Fediverse, but haven't been around recently. I had an account at queer.party and, since that instance is gone now, I'm looking to find new connections, so feel free to follow if we share interests or recommend accounts to follow.
I love all things #horror (mostly films) and am very fond of #80sHorror, you can check my Letterboxd out to see my reviews. My fave film is Chopping Mall (1986).
I usually don't watch shows now, I hate when they get cancelled and the story gets no proper ending, which happens a lot, but you can also find me at Serializd.
My reading list is predominantly #CrimeFiction (mainly Nordic) but I also like reading horror, #QueerRomance, and anything that piques my curiosity.
I'm some kind of a #geek and enjoy #FOSS, my main OS has been #LinuxMint for 5 years now, and I have an old laptop for distrohopping, currently using #Manjaro and #Debian. My secondary OS is #macOS.
Esther Garcia Llovet's noir-esque novella Spanish Beauty (2025) is all about mood not plot (which is both elliptical & produces an unresolved 'cliff-hanger' at he end, perhaps to encourage us to read the next in the series?). But the mood is brilliantly expressed; down at heel costa del crime/Benidorm at its sleaziest & most crooked; as the publishers say it is Chandler-esque, and it is...
The book cover for Everyone In This Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson is a white background with a greyed out circling dotted line joining the words of the title:
Everyone - grey with the top half of the o the eye mask and beanie of a bank robber
in This - slightly angled in grey again
Bank - graduated golden yellow with the top area of the capital A in the form of a flame
Is A - slightly angled in grey again with the S in the shape of a dollar sign
Thief - Grey capital letters with the F slightly out of line as if being picked up by the bright green parrot with a red billed sitting on the edge of a blacked out "gunshot" hole.
The Author's name is at the top of the book directly under the line 'Over 1.5 million copies sold worldwide' and the tagline at the bottom 'Ten Suspects. Ten Heists. A Mystery only Ernest Cunningham can solve'
The image of the book cover for The Turing Protocol by Nick Croydon includes the tagling 'If you had the power to change history, would you dare?'.
The image is of a wide city street, lined with old, multi storey buildings. There's fire burning at the front, and the blue of the sky is overlaid with a lined image.
The image of the book cover for The Hollow Girl by Lyn Yeowart with the tagline 'If you take a life, someone has to pay the price.'. The image is of foggy view of a large house at the end of a straight, damp looking roadway, surrounded by trees and close cut grass. There's a woman's figure walking away from the viewer towards the house.
The image of the book cover for Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill includes the taglines 'A Novel' and 'USA Today Bestselling Author of The Woman in the Library' as well as the quote 'Stunningly original and thoroughly captivating. Andrew Child, bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series for The Mystery Writer'.
The image is of a train against a background of a dark blue, black night sky with a few high trees above the train roof. The train itself has one window brightly lit and there is the silhouette of a woman standing, with her back to the viewer in the window.
"Trickster's Point (Cork O'Connor, #12)" by William Kent Krueger. My rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Hardcover, 329 pages.
Book description:“Trickster’s Point” (Cork O’Connor, #12) by William Kent Krueger is a suspenseful mystery set in the Minnesota wilderness. The story begins with Cork O’Connor and his lifelong friend Jubal Little, who is dying from an arrow wound while they bowhunt at Trickster’s Point, a significant rock formation with deep past memories. Jubal, a candidate for governor and former professional football player, is killed by an arrow that appears to be Cork’s own, making Cork the prime suspect in a murder investigation. While Cork tries to clear his name, he reflects on their complex friendship and past, uncovering secrets from their youth and the political and personal enemies Jubal had. The novel also explores Ojibwe culture and Cork’s deepening connection to his heritage, blending a gripping murder mystery with rich backstory and character development. Throughout, Cork navigates betrayal, old rivalries, and threats to his family as he seeks the real killer. The novel uniquely intertwines present-day investigation with flashbacks revealing the formative experiences that shaped Cork and his relationships.
The image is the book cover for "Trickster's Point (Cork O'Connor, #12)".
It features a tall, upright stone or rock formation standing alone near the shore of a calm body of water. The background shows a forested area with numerous dark green pine trees extending toward the horizon. The sky above is mostly blue with some scattered clouds, creating a serene and natural atmosphere.
The title "TRICKSTER'S POINT" is written in large, bold, golden letters near the top. Near the middle right, in smaller text, it says "A NOVEL". The author's name, "WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER," is displayed prominently near the bottom in large white letters. Below the author's name, it reads "NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF NORTHWEST ANGLE" in small white text.
"Vermilion Drift (Cork O'Connor, #10)" by William Kent Krueger. My rating:5 out of 5 stars. Hardcover, 305 pages.
Book description: “Vermilion Drift” (Cork O’Connor, #10) by William Kent Krueger is a gripping suspense novel centering on Cork O’Connor, who is hired as a security consultant when an underground iron mine in Tamarack County, Minnesota, is shortlisted by the Department of Energy as a potential site for nuclear waste storage. Early in the job, Cork discovers a secret room containing the remains of six murder victims—five of whom are nearly half a century old and linked to unsolved disappearances from 1964 known as “The Vanishings,” a case that deeply troubled his father, then sheriff of the county. The sixth victim was killed recently, and notably, two of the victims were murdered with Cork’s own gun, a family heirloom. As Cork investigates, he uncovers dark family secrets connected to his father’s past while facing new threats, racing against time to solve the mystery before more deaths occur. The story blends mystery, suspense, and Native American cultural elements, offering a poignant exploration of family and the shadows it can harbor.
The image is a book cover predominantly featuring a dramatic, fiery orange-red sky, suggesting a sunset or sunrise. Below the sky, there is a dense forest of tall, dark evergreen trees. Nestled among the trees is a small, illuminated cabin or house, giving a sense of isolation. In front of the cabin is a body of water that reflects the warm colors of the sky. The title "VERMILION DRIFT" is in large white uppercase letters at the top. Under the title, the word "NOVEL" appears in smaller white text. At the bottom, the author's name "WILLIAM KENT KRUEGER" is prominently displayed in white uppercase letters, along with a note stating "New York Times bestselling author of Mercy Falls."
Set in a wine-growing region, the sense of place is pretty strong drawing on a small town, with tensions between the old residents & newcomers staying very close to home.
The image of the book cover for The Secret of the Angel Who Died at Midnight by Rosy Fenwicke with the tagline 'A DSS Kate Sutton Murder Mystery".
The image is a view into a classic city park with lots of bare deciduous trees on green grass. There are white gate pillars at the entrance with a curved wrought iron archway over the main pillars. The main pathway is straight, with some sort of statue at the end of it.
Currently on BBC Sounds: award-winning crime writer Denise Mina discusses her 20th novel, THE GOOD LIAR, which follows blood-spatter forensics expert Claudia O’Sheil as she faces a profound moral dilemma. Denise also shares the 3 key books that inspired the novel’s creation
The image of the book cover for Stillwater by Tanya Scott includes the tagline 'A violent past he'd rather forget. Secrets that could get him killed.' and a quote 'Tanya Scott explodes onto the crime scene with this rip-roaring debut that I read in a single sitting. Stillwater is an instant classic of the genre. Hayley Scrivenor'
The image is of a body of still water in a orange tinged low light. There are trees above the pond, but the reflection in the water is a brightly lit city skyline of high buildings.
The third in The Frenchman series, written by a pseudonymous author with real life experience in French Intelligence this is a modern day espionage series, with all the tradecraft and real-life emotional ups and downs you'd ever want to read about, informed by some frighteningly current threats and plotlines.
The image of the book cover for Liar's Game by Jack Beaumont, with the tagline 'A Frenchman thriller'. The image is of a man standing on a high vantage point, legs braced, a gun in his hand pointed downwards. He's wearing a thigh length dark coat, and looking out across Paris with the Eiffel Tower as the central point.
“In 1990, the UK Crime Writers’ Association issued a list titled ‘The Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time.’ Number one on the list was THE DAUGHTER OF TIME by Josephine Tey. It was a good call then, it’d still be a good call now.”
“…rather than a locked-room mystery in which the murder is an impossible crime, the detective is in (and becomes) the locked room, using cerebral means to reason his way into a solution to a genuine historical conundrum”
“A Mystery Novel Like No Other Before” – @sarahweinman on the fiction of Josephine Tey
“To study Josephine Tey’s literary connections is to draw out a different picture of the inter-war & post-war Scottish literary scene: one that foregrounds women, & draws out forgotten areas of popularity”
Jennifer Morag Henderson uncovers the mysteries of Golden Age crime queen Josephine Tey
Val McDermid discusses MISS PYM DISPOSES with Andy Miller & John Mitchinson in a collaboration between the Backlisted Podcast & the Granite Noir Festival
Josephine Tey: Crime Writer and Imagined Detective
Josephine Tey (1896–1952) wrote classic crime fiction. Now she leads a fictional afterlife as the lead character in Nicola Upson’s CWA Dagger-shortlisted series of crime novels, starting with AN EXPERT IN MURDER – published by Faber Books