A Riveting Investigation in 1940s Paris

Mark Pryor returns with the second installment of the Henri Lefort series, The Dark Edge of Night, an interesting blend of mystery and historical drama set in 1940 Paris. Police Inspector Henri Lefort tackles two challenging cases amidst the chaos. The first involves the suspicious death of a Frenchman during a botched robbery. The second, imposed on him by the Gestapo, revolves around the mysterious disappearance of a neurologist involved in secretive work at a Paris hospital. As Lefort digs deeper, he discovers a chilling connection to several missing children’s cases. Pryor excels in character development, presenting Lefort as a likable yet complex protagonist whose sharp instincts shine in the […]

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Haunting Mysteries and Historical Intrigue

“Right— we’re the good Orientals now. But I still can’t buy a house outside Chinatown. That’s ‘all men are created equal’ for you.”—Amy Chua, The Golden Gate. In 1944 Berkeley, California, presidential hopeful Walter Wilkinson is found dead in his room at the Claremont Hotel, launching an investigation by Homicide Detective Al Sullivan. Early evidence points to the three granddaughters of wealthy socialite Genevieve Hopkins Bainbridge and links to the 1930 murder of 7-year-old Iris Stafford, rumored to haunt the hotel. The Golden Gate, written by Yale law professor Amy Chua, is an old-fashioned detective novel rich with California history and real-life figures. The story alternates between Genevieve’s deposition and […]

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Northwoods

Northwoods by Amy Pease is set in the quaint but troubled resort town of Shaky Lake, Wisconsin, and the book plunges you into a dark and twisty mystery that’ll keep you entertained. Our protagonist, Deputy Sheriff Eli North, is a man haunted by demons, both internal and external. His stint in Afghanistan left him battered and scarred, self-medicating with booze to numb the pain. It’s cost him dearly—his marriage, and his career as an investigator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Now, the only job he can hold down is with the local sheriff’s department, where his mom, Marge, wears the sheriff’s badge and can keep a watchful eye […]

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