Category Archives: Fiction

Review: The Accidental Alchemist, by Gigi Pandian

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Illustration of a crouching gargoyle, smiling, with large wings, holding a cooking whisk. In the background is a large house. Text includes the title: The Accidental Alchemist, and author: Gigi Pandian.

The Accidental Alchemist, by Gigi Pandian (Midnight Ink, 2015)

An ex-alchemist. A living gargoyle. A delinquent teen. What could possibly go wrong?

Zoe Faust hopes she’s finally found a safe place to settle down in Portland, Oregon, after so many years living on the road in her travel trailer. Except she discovers the gargoyle Dorian in one of the crates shipped from her former shop in Paris. And a local teen, Brixton, breaks into her house on a dare because everyone thinks it’s haunted.

Not the most peaceful start. Then a man is murdered on the property and valuable items are stolen. Zoe, Dorian, and Brixton forge an unlikely team to solve both crimes—before time runs out for Dorian.

It’s the characters that give this mystery heart. They share a common bond of not fitting in. Zoe’s full of regret, and Dorian isn’t human. The friendship that develops, extending to include Brixton, is heartwarming. And Dorian… who’d expect a formerly stone gargoyle to be a French chef? (The book includes vegan recipes—at over 300 years of age, Zoe is particular about what she puts into her body.)

The Accidental Alchemist is book 1 in the Accidental Alchemist Mysteries series. Highly recommended for a good read.

Gigi Pandian’s other series are the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries and the Secret Staircase Mysteries. I’ve read the first in each one and look forward to the rest. For more about the author and her books, visit gigipandian.com.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: Under Lock and Skeleton Key, by Gigi Pandian

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Under Lock and Skeleton Key, by Gigi Pandian (St. Martin’s, 2022)

This first-in-series mystery novel ticks so many boxes. Interesting characters, strong family dynamics, good friendships, threads from the past that may include a generational curse, a puzzling crime with multiple misdirections… and food, all in a clean read. Plus bonuses like multi-ethnic characters, stage magician know-how, references to classic mysteries and authors, and best of all secret rooms and staircases. Oh, and crossover characters from at least one of the author’s other series.

I did say it ticks a lot of boxes…

Tempest Raj loves her multigenerational, ethnically-mixed family and their unique home. Visits are great. But she’s not happy to be living there again after a performance-gone-wrong that nearly killed her in front of an audience.

Then she’s present when a fresh body is discovered at her father’s construction company’s job site—in a room that hadn’t been opened for years. The rumoured family curse says “the eldest dies by magic.” Was Tempest the intended victim?

As unexplained, possibly supernatural, happenings abound, the family must consider that the curse may be real. Or is it all a cleverly-executed illusion?

Under Lock and Skeleton Key comes with recipes and discussion questions, and although this mystery is solved at the end the ongoing mystery of Tempest’s mother’s disappearance/death is ongoing. I’m eager to read book two, The Raven Thief.

Under Lock and Skeleton Key is multi-award-winning author Gigi Pandian’s twelfth novel, first in The Secret Staircase Mysteries. Her other series are the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries and The Accidental Alchemist Mysteries.

Visit the Gigi Pandian website for more about the author and her books. Get both a free short mystery and a recipe book by signing up for her author newsletter.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: Vinyl Resting Place, by Olivia Blacke

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Overhead view of a storefront with cafe table and chairs and a cat. A vinyl record lies broken just outside the door. A large image of a vinyl record at the top of the cover says "Vinyl Resting Place The Record Shop Mysteries".

Vinyl Resting Place, by Olivia Blacke (St. Martin’s, 2023)

They grew up in their grandparents’ record store. Between fond memories and family ties, it’s no surprise when three Texan sisters open a combination record shop and coffee bar on the original site.

In the small town of Cedar River, just outside of Austin, everyone remembers the Jessup sisters—and the store. The grand reopening draws a crowd—including a murderer.

Juni (Juniper) is the youngest, recently moved back to town after a corporate buyout. She and sisters Tansy and Maggie have pooled their savings to set up the store.

They should leave solving the crime to the professionals—except the police make Uncle Calvin look like the number one suspect. The suddenly-missing Uncle Calvin, who’s just skipped town.

Vinyl Resting Place is a good, clean, quirky mystery with a heavy dose of family, puns (you got that from the title, right?) and an undercurrent of rivalry for Juni’s attention between her ex and her childhood best friend.

Where do the puns come in? Well, they had to name the drinks for their coffee bar. How better to do it than by riffing off song titles?

This first book in the Record Shop Mysteries series is a perfect de-stressing read. There’s even a cat. Books 2 and 3, Fatal Groove and Rhythm and Clues, are already on my to-read list.

Author Olivia Blacke’s website describes her as “Mysterious, Spooky, Cozy & Kooky!” As well as the Record Shop Mysteries and the Brooklyn Murder Mysteries, she writes “darkly humorous supernatural mysteries.” Like the Ruby & Cordelia Mysteries, where one of the sleuths is a ghost. For more about the author and her work, visit oliviablacke.com.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: What We Hide, by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker

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Book cover: What We Hide, by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker. Image: woman running toward an ornate stone building, passing benches and trees. Overcast sky suggesting an approaching storm.

What We Hide, by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker (Thomas Nelson, 2024)

A crumbling southern US university. A couple whose marriage shattered with the death of their toddler. A cache of artifacts that seem to be being sold with illegal provenance papers. And… a corpse.

Savannah and Hezekiah Webster might have survived losing their daughter—if he hadn’t turned to alcohol. Two years later, Hez claims to have changed. Savannah doesn’t dare risk her heart again, but when she becomes a person of interest in the on-campus death, she needs his help.

She’s a history professor looking for tenure in the university her father helped establish. He’s a top defense attorney with a new passion for helping the unjustly accused. Can working together reunite their hearts? Will they live long enough to find out?

Much of the story takes place on or near the university grounds, and fans of Colleen Coble’s Pelican Harbor series will recognize some of the nearby town’s residents.

What We Hide is a Tupelo Grove Novel, and the epilogue highlights an unanswered thread that’s begging for a sequel (Where Secrets Lie, releasing June 2025).

This writing duo has also released a stand-alone tech thriller, I Think I Was Murdered, with different characters and a different location. And no, it’s not a ghost story. It features a widow and an advanced AI chat feature. On my to-read list…

What We Hide comes with discussion questions, but don’t peek before you reach the end. Spoilers…

Colleen Coble is a bestselling author of over 75 Christian romantic suspense novels. Rick Acker is a Supervising Deputy Attorney General by day and a bestselling author of Christian legal thrillers by night. For more about the authors, visit colleencoble.com and rickacker.com

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: A Forboding of Petrels, by Steve Burrows

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A Forboding of Petrels, by Steve Burrows (Point Blank, 2022)

If you like British-based police procedurals, unconventional detectives, down-to-earth characters, and plenty of bird sightings, the Birder Murder Mystery series is for you. This particular mystery will take you to rural England and to Antarctica.

In England: A disciplinary suspension bars DCI Dominic Jejeune from involvement in any active cases. Not that there’s much going on except someone setting a few fires. Well, until they find a body.

In Antarctica: A research scientist is murdered.

Dominic gains access to the local research centre connected with the dead scientist. From the reports and sporadic contact with the expedition’s leader, he begins to trace the clues.

But when his findings become linked with arson at the local research centre, he’s skirting dangerously close to breaking the terms of his suspension.

This is book 7 in the Birder Murder Mystery series. Each novel’s mystery is complete. A reader new to the series starting here would be able to follow the plot but would miss the nuances that have built over time between the characters. It’s a series worth reading from the beginning, so I suggest you start with A Siege of Bitterns.

I love the loyalty that’s grown among these characters, and the descriptions of the natural settings. Like this one:

It had rained earlier that morning, a fine mist so gentle it had settled on the stalks of the grasses without bowing them. (p. 202, Chapter 29)

I also appreciate the way each book touches on details of environmental issues (in an organic way, never feeling like an agenda or a lesson).

Award-winning author Steve Burrows is a UK-born, Canadian-based writer with a long history of experience in the birding world. For more about the author and his work, visit steveburrows.org.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: Stumped, by Emily James

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Book cover with a maple leaf. Main image is a suitcase with a bloody handprint, sitting in a pool of blood. Text" Maple Syrup Mysteries; Stumped; Emily James.

Stumped, by Emily James (Stronghold Books, 2020)

She left high-pressure city life behind and is now part-owner of a maple syrup farm in Michigan and a partner in a small-town law firm. She’s also a wife and expectant mother—and an amateur sleuth with a knack for digging out the truth.

There weren’t supposed to be any new cases for Nicole Fitzhenry-Dawes-Cavanagh to tackle before her baby’s birth. But when a man shows up at her office covered in blood, with no idea what happened, she knows he’s going to need a defense attorney.

Nicole only represents innocent clients. How can she be sure he’s telling the truth?

And how did we get to 13 books in the Maple Syrup Mysteries series? I’ve enjoyed them all.

This series is written for a mainstream audience. As such, although Nicole and her husband are Christians there’s not an overt faith thread. In this novel, I appreciated watching her wrestle with one of the murder suspects being a priest.

She can’t dismiss the possibility of his guilt, but she doesn’t want to be one of those people who look at church scandals and automatically assume the worst. Because of her faith—and her experience with believers who sometimes do wrong but who often are simply misunderstood—she’s glad to be the one pursuing this investigation because she can approach it with more sensitivity.  

Stumped is a strong ending to an engaging series. The Maple Syrup Mysteries are cleverly plotted, the characters have depth, and there’s enough quirky humour to make me smile.

I’d encourage anyone new to the series to start at the beginning and follow the characters and their relationships. You can get a free ebook copy of the prequel, Sapped, at the author’s website by signing up for her newsletter. Here’s the link: authoremilyjames.com/book/sapped.

Emily James is also the author of the Cupcake Truck Mysteries and the Cat and Mouse Whodunits. There’s at least one other author with the same name, so to see more about this Emily James and her work, it’s best to visit her website at authoremilyjames.com.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

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Review: Born of Gilded Mountains, by Amanda Dykes

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Born of Gilded Mountains, by Amanda Dykes (Bethany House, 2024)

To open an Amanda Dykes story is to step into an exquisitely crafted tale of diverse, well-crafted characters that is at once poignantly real while evoking wonder and a feel-good ending.

Born of Gilded Mountains is a historical novel of friendship, loss, loyalty, and resilience set in a small town in the mountains of Colorado.

Schoolgirl pen pals Marybeth Spatts and Rusty Bright forge a deep bond that shapes the rest of their lives. Through their letters, each encourages the other through some dark, painful times. And Rusty leaves Marybeth with a challenge to solve a mysterious puzzle.

It’s a split-time novel, with the girls’ childhood letters interspersed with the “present” (1948) as Marybeth (now known as Mercy Windsor, famous but disgraced movie star) attempts to pursue Rusty’s quest. There are also snippets from a reporter claiming to be writing Mercy’s biography, from a stage play, and other scenes and “documents” from the past.

The inclusion of such various elements initially made it difficult for me to latch onto the story, but I knew from the author’s previous works that it would be well worth my effort. (It was.)

Everything comes together to make one cohesive whole in the end. And I loved the book. As well as the ending, I loved the hope-giving theme of light in the darkness.

“…knowing it came after a tragedy too great for any person to bear… it’s a daily reminder that light will break into our darkness.” [Ellen, in chapter 9, about a beautiful sight she’s just shown Mercy.]

The narrative is lyrical, Rusty in particular is an irrepressible delight, and there’s humour to balance the hardship. While there may be romance, there are other characters who are single by choice.

Mercy/Marybeth asks Rusty, “…didn’t God create each and every story—singleness and marriage alike—with just as much care and meaning?” [Chapter 23]

And I have to call out the fun moment of seeing characters mentioned from one of the author’s previous novels. No spoilers—you’ll have to find it for yourself.

Amanda Dykes is an Christy Award Book of the Year winner. Her previous novels are Whose Waves These Are, Set the Stars Alight, Yours is the Night, and All the Lost Places. She’s also written a number of novellas and short fiction. For more about the author and her work, visit amandadykes.com.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: Prayers of a Stranger, by Davis Bunn

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Prayers of a Stranger: A Christmas Journey, by Davis Bunn (Thomas Nelson, 2012)

Amanda and Chris have lived the past year grieving the loss of their baby, each carrying job stress, and slowly growing apart. An unexpected request for Amanda to accompany an older neighbour to Israel before Christmas may be the catalyst to change everything.

This faith-filled story brings heartfelt family drama, new friendships, answered prayer, and a chance for readers to vicariously visit the Wailing Wall, Bethlehem, and a few other sites in and near Jerusalem.

Davis Bunn excels at bringing exotic settings to life, as well as creating characters we can care about. I did find this one a bit passive in much of the narrative, but the story drew me to keep reading. Definitely a feel-good Christmas read.

Davis Bunn is a prolific writer of Christian and clean general-market fiction spanning heartwarming contemporary to historical to thriller to fantasy and techno-thriller (sometimes under his pen name, Thomas Locke). For more about the author and his books, visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._Davis_Bunn.

[Review copy from the public library via the Hoopla app.]

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Review: Knight Brew, by Heather Day Gilbert

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Knight Brew, by Heather Day Gilbert (WoodHaven Press, 2024)

The annual Renaissance Faire is on, and Macy Hatfield and her brother, Bo, are onsite in full costume, running a booth for the Barks & Beans Café. She’s a Viking, and he’s a kilt-wearing Scot.

The fairground hosts knights, fairies, and all kinds of mediaeval characters. Macy’s looking forward to taking in the attractions with her boyfriend, Titan—until they witness a fatal jousting match.

The dead “knight” had more enemies than friends, which will make it hard to find his killer. While the protective men in her life want to keep Macy from investigating, she can’t help trying to find a few clues for the police. After all, she’s a friendly person and people talk to her. What could possibly go wrong?

At the same time, she’s dealing with unexpected conflict among the café staff—and the possibility that one of them may be accused of the murder.   

There’s at least one point in this story that could be terrifying. For Macy it is, but I appreciate how the author maintains the lighter tone readers expect from the series. It happens, it’s over fast, and I didn’t have to worry about it affecting my sleep later.

The Barks & Beans mystery series wins on a number of levels: engaging characters with developing relationships, small-town coffee shop, non-graphic crimes, and plenty of dogs. My favourite supporting role character is definitely Coal.

Knight Brew is book 9 in the series. You could start here and not feel lost, but you may prefer to start at the beginning (No Filter) and read all the way through.

Award-winning author Heather Day Gilbert writes clean cozy mysteries, romantic and psychological suspense, and Viking historicals. For more about the author, visit heatherdaygilbert.com. Signing up for her newsletter will get you a free Barks and Beans ebook, House Blend.

[Book provided by the publisher with no obligation to write a review. My opinions are my own.]

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Review: A Collection of Lies, by Connie Berry

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Book cover: a stately English country home, drifting mist, and mossy rocks.

A Collection of Lies, by Connie Berry (Crooked Lane Books, 2024)

An antique dress, purportedly worn by a murderess in years past. Some simple historical research in wintry Devon. What could possibly go wrong?

American antiques expert Kate Hamilton and her new husband, English Detective Inspector Tom Mallory, chose to spend part of their honeymoon attempting to authenticate a bloodstained old dress for a village museum’s crime exhibit.

Their last mystery nearly killed them… and left them arriving bruised and late to their own wedding. Kate fervently hopes this assignment will be safe, academic, and successful—and that Tom will decide to leave the police force and its dangers to take on the role of a private investigator.

It took me a few chapters to get into this one, but the village, the characters, and the food drew me in. I’ve enjoyed the Kate Hamilton mystery series (well worth starting with book 1, A Dream of Death).

Kate is clever, brave, and kind. She’s knowledgeable about antiques and possesses an indefinable instinct that occasionally reacts to the presence of a significant artifact—in the case of the dress, with the impression of a kneeling woman and the phrase, “So much blood!” Not the sort of thing she can share with her facts-oriented police officer husband.

First there’s a near-miss shooting. And ongoing threats. Then there’s a murder. Can this possibly relate to an old dress, or is something else afoot? Clues are scarce, lies are abundant, and everyone seems to have something to hide.

All in all, another fun installment in the Kate Hamilton mystery series (A Collection of Lies is book 5). I hope there are more to come.

To learn about author Connie Berry and her work, visit connieberry.com.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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