The Castle in the Glen

An absorbing, dual-plotted mystery that resurrects a cold-case murder investigation from Scotland.

Two intricate plots encompass The Castle in the Glen, an ambitious, absorbing historical mystery by Rhys Bowen. 

The primary story is set in 1965 Scotland, where Emma Callander--an Australian writer stalled in her career--is tasked with completing the final installment in a series of mystery novels written by Iris Blackburn, a lauded Australian expat now losing her memory. Iris’s book centers on a murder that occurred in the early 1900s on the Isle of Sky: two young lovers drown under suspicious circumstances, but it’s the disappearance of another woman called “Wild Girl” who emerges front and center. 

As Emma begins to unravel the material Iris has mapped out on the page, she discovers the story might actually be true—a real-life mystery that’s remained unsolved for 50+ years. With the help of Iris’s handsome lawyer, Tony Gordon, Emma joins forces with him as they set off through the Scottish Highlands to learn more, unearthing long-buried family secrets, red herrings, and a host of suspects who might just bridge the past and the present. 

Readers are in for a real treat through atmospheric Scotland, as Bowen (Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure, From Cradle to Grave) entangles a large cast of well-drawn characters amidst two dark and dangerous plots that entwine to form a well-rendered, intriguing conclusion.

Castle in the Glen by Rhys Bowen

Lake Union Publishing, $28.99 hardcover, 9781662527210, 429 pages

Publishing Date: August 4, 2026

To order this book on Bookshop.org, link HERE

Learn more about Rhys Bowen HERE

The Scoop

An unflinching look at what happens to the integrity of an ambitious journalist when she--in desperation--takes a job at an online tabloid news outlet. 

The Scoop, a searing and suspenseful first novel by Erin Van Der Meer, centers on ambitious, 29-year-old Francesca “Frankie” Miller who loses her editorial job at an elitist New York City-based magazine. 

For three months, she scrambles to find work. Losing hope and in desperation, Frankie takes a job at The Scoop, a cultural tabloid-like news website cast as a fictionalized off-shoot of a stereotypical FOX News and/or its parent company The Wall Street Journal. Frankie hopes this job will be a mere stop-gap employment measure, especially as it seems that no reporting is off-limits at this "click-bait" digital news outlet. In need of a steady paycheck and lured by the prospect of a better future job dangled by her domineering male boss, Frankie plays along. She launches a juicy tell-all story that takes down a rock star, but this becomes the tipping point that forces Frankie to ultimately question herself; her morales, values, and integrity; and her ambitions.

 

Van Der Meer presents an authentically based, provocative exposé of the contemporary news industry, delivering insights via the acerbic wit of her protagonist whose plight ultimately descends into a much deeper, surprisingly profound and personally reflective story.

 

The Scoop by Erin Van Der Meer

Grand Central Publishing, $29.00 hardcover, paperback, 9781538776339, 320 pages

Publishing Date: April 21,2026

To order this book on Bookshop.org, link HERE

Learn more about Erin Van Der Meer HERE

Your Promise

A spellbinding novel about a writer who breaks a promise and faces the implications of penning the story of a shattered romantic relationship.

Your Promise, an exciting new novel by award-winning French writer, Camille Laurens, packs one helluva punch! This riveting psychological thriller examines self-awareness when played out amidst the memory of a shattered, long-term romantic relationship. 

The story launches with 50-year-old, Claire Lancel, who writes the story of an old love, Gilles Fabian—this despite her once making a promise to never to share details about him, his domineering, narcissist proclivities, and/or their relationship. 

Readers know right from the start that the story of Claire and Gilles will not end well, but that is precisely the hook.  Claire conveys her story from prison. Why is she incarcerated? What did she do? 

These questions drive a masterfully constructed narrative rooted in a legal court case that slowly divvies out details about the lovers. This includes witness testimonies that trace--and often contradict--the story of an idyllic and seductive relationship, where emotion and passion turn to pain, and “love” succumbs to terminal insidiousness. Claire ultimately becomes a victim of control that forces her to grapple with hard truths about who she was and who she is; her choices and mistakes; and the meaning of her now reduced life. 

Laurens (In His Arms, Girl) renders her story with spellbinding suspense. She sets up a broad canvas then gradually zooms in closer and closer on stark details that ultimately trap and ensnare her characters--and surprise readers.

Your Promise by Camille Laurens (Translated from the French by Adriana Hunter)

Other Press, Paperback $18.99, 978163545734, 400 pages

Publication Date: May 12, 2026

To order this novel on Bookshop.org, link HERE

 

Learn more about Camille Laurens and her work HERE

 

The Man Next Door

A fun, suspenseful novel where three familial females all fall under the intrigue of an enigmatic new neighbor, a "hottie.” 

Author Sheila Roberts (The Best Life Book Club) brings together three California-based women in the same family, each in different stages of life in The Man Next Door.

Zona Hartman loses everything when her husband-turned-ex, “an overflowing septic tank of a human being” gambled away all of their savings—including the funds earmarked for their daughter, Bree, whose dreams of attending nursing school are now deferred.

Zona--a financially destitute, now twice-divorced 44-year-old--is forced to move in with her mother, Louise, a once-happily-married, now widowed, 68-year-old. Spry Louise has aspirations to finally write a mystery novel and is determined to find unlucky-in-love-Zona a good man.

When Louise falls and breaks her leg during a Hawaiian cruise, she returns home to convalesce and finally has the time to pursue both of her dreams in the form of a handsome newcomer to the neighborhood--a real “hottie”--about the same age as Zona. However, while Louise, ever the imaginative writer, tries to script the story of who the enigmatic man is--keeping tabs on his comings and goings--things take intriguing turns when, on the other side of the fence, shouting matches resound on a regular basis. Maybe the “hottie” is not such a good catch for Zona after all? But boy, what a story Louise might have to tell!  

“Fun” should be Sheila Roberts’ middle name as she charms readers with spunky characters, snappy dialogue, and a spirited, cleverly plotted storyline that successfully blends elements of rom-com, cozy mystery, and suspense.

The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts

MIRA Books (HarperCollins, Harlequin), 18.99 paperback, 9780778360285, 368 pages

Publishing Date: October 14, 2025

To order this book on Bookshop.org, link HERE

Learn more about Sheila Roberts HERE

The Uncharted Life of Olivia West

An exciting, adventurous novel about two courageous women, living in different eras, whose entwined lives ultimately solve a long-ago mystery.

Prolific author Sara Ackerman presents an inspiring, well-researched novel that delves into the stories of two women--living in different eras, 60 years apart--who lives are unexpectedly entwined in The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West. 

Through a beautifully braided narrative, two clearly delineated points of view, Ackerman anchors her story on the “The Big Island” of Hawai’i in both 1927 and 1987.

 

The 1927-part of the story centers on Olivia “Livy” West, a young, ambitious female pilot trying to measure up and compete in a male-dominated world. Determined to participate in the Dole Air Race--a real-life, 2400-mile flight competition that launched in Oakland, Calif., crossed the Pacific Ocean, and ended in Honolulu, Hawai’i--she wheedles her way to become a navigator in a race that will test her strength and fortitude.

 

The 1987-part of the story centers on down-and-out Wren Summers who suddenly learns that she’s inherited (from a great-uncle) a piece of land on the Big Island of Hawai’i. The place, however, is a depilated shambles; a mess. Badly in need of money, Wren goes to sell the land, but soon discovers an object in the barn that piques her interest—so much so, that she sets her off on a quest to learn more. Along the way, she dredges up the past and follows a winding road that leads to chilling, unexpected revelations.

 

As in her other exciting novels (The Codebreakers Secret, Radar Girls), Ackerman displays great finesse in her understanding of Hawai’i, women, and fast-paced historical fiction. Filled with spirited romance and suspense, this uplifting, inspiring story adds to Ackerman’s accomplished body work. The Uncharted Life of Olivia West will hold great appeal to readers who admire stories of courageous women determined to live authentic, empowered lives.

The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman

Mira Books (HarperCollins), $18.99 paperback, 9780369747785, 384 pages

Publishing Date: February 6, 2024

To order this book on INDIEBOUND/Bookshop.Org, link HERE

Runner

A Chicago cop-turned-private investigator sets off to find a missing girl, in foster care, who might be running away from danger.

 

Tracy Clark delivers the fourth book in her highly-charged Chicago Mystery Series featuring Cassidy “Cass” Raines, a 36-year-old, African American former cop-turned-private eye. Cassidy, immensely perceptive, is no-nonsense, but has a sense of humor that lightens even the grimmest of scenarios. She takes on all kinds of cases. However, missing persons are her specialty.

 

In this installment, a recovered addict hires Cass to search for Ramona, her fifteen-year-old daughter who has run away from her foster home. Alongside the police search, Cass employs her street-smart connections to find the missing girl. Might Ramona be hiding out because she’s privy to secrets that have the power to destroy her?

 

Clark (Broken Places, Borrowed Time, What You Don’t See) has created an engaging heroine and supporting cast that keeps readers coming back for more. Runner is a super-charged, atmospheric, story anchored in big city drama that lives up to the fast-paced implications of its title.

Runner: A Cass Raines Mystery (Chicago Mystery, Book Four) by Tracy Clark

Kensington, $26.00 Hardcover, 9781496732019, 304 pages

Publication Date: June 29, 2021

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

Murder at the Mill

A portrait painter turns amateur sleuth when a corpse is discovered on Christmas Day in an idyllic English town.

M.B. Shaw is the pen name of British writer Tilly Bagshawe, who has written several contemporary romance novels (Scandalous), as well as thrillers for the literary estate of Sidney Sheldon (Sidney Sheldon's The Tides of Memory). Murder at theMill is the first installment of her smart, lively mystery series; in it Shaw probes the secrets of an idyllic Hampshire village.

The book opens in December. Iris Grey--a 41-year-old portrait painter--has fled her home in Clapham and her estranged husband, Ian McBride, a once successful playwright. After several years of failing to conceive a child via in vitro fertilization, the couple--heartsick and broke--has split up. Iris had hoped that by settling in to Mill Cottage in Hazelford ("Alone. Like a mad cat lady, only without the cats") she would "paint and hide and lick her wounds." Shortly after her arrival, however, she's commissioned to paint a portrait of resident Dominic Wetherby, a charismatic and famous crime writer. During the Wetherbys' posh Christmas party, a corpse is discovered in the river. The shock leaves the family, townsfolk, gossipmongers and the paparazzi reeling. Speculations abound. Was the death an accident--or murder?

Shaw has created a wise and winning sleuth in Iris. Her keen, observational skills honed from her artistic sensibility allow her to detect subtle nuances of human emotion and motivation. This, along with an intricate, cozy plot--and fully realized characters embroiled in a dynamic whodunit and why--will keep readers guessing, and eager for future installments. 

Murder at the Mill: The Iris Grey Mysteries (Book One) by M.B. Shaw

Minotaur Books, $27.99, Hardcover, 9781250189295, 400 pages

Publication Date: December 4, 2018

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (January 15, 2019), link HERE

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good

Swedish crime takes a clever turn in five stories about an unassuming yet devious 88-year-old female retiree-turned-murderer.

Swedish crime author Helene Tursten is no stranger to creating strong-willed female heroines who are embroiled in the dark undersides of society. In An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good, Tursten adds comic relief to a murderous mix. In five brief stories, she shares the exploits of Maud, a never-married, 88-year-old woman who lives alone in a spacious, rent-free, first-floor apartment in Gothenburg, Sweden. Maud has long outlived her family. The retired language arts teacher has pressed on, undaunted and self-reliant--traveling the world, relying on the aid of a walker. With nothing to lose, Maud lives life on her own terms and doesn't let anything--or anyone--get in her way. Whether in her apartment, on the streets or in the shops of Stockholm and even aboard a Mediterranean luxury liner, Maud oils the wheels of justice. She capitalizes on--and oftentimes creates--"accidents" as retribution for those she distrusts and with whom she has an ax to grind. This includes antique dealers with designs on Maud's precious belongings; nosy, overbearing and disruptive neighbors; and a glamorous model, a star of Swedish soft porn on the brink of marrying a now 90-year-old man who was once Maud's one true love.

Tursten is best known for the hard-boiled Detective Inspector Irene Huss series of novels (Who Watcheth). However, the comic twists and turns she delivers in this compact collection are equally engrossing. Unassuming, murderous Maud--with her devious, pseudo-innocent charm--makes these concise stories wickedly funny and addictively readable.

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

(Translated by Marlaine Delargy)

Soho Crime, $12.99 Hardcover,  9781641290111, 184  pages

Publication Date: November 2018

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (December 21, 2018), link HERE

The Sleepwalker

A mother's sleepwalking leads to her eerie disappearance and a family's search for her--and for answers.

Domestic situations that go awry are common in the psychological suspense novels of Chris Bohjalian. In The Sleepwalker, Bohjalian examines sleepwalking (or parasomnia) and the devastating impact it has on a Burlington, Vt., family.

Narrator Lianna Ahlberg deconstructs events that took place when she was a 21-year-old college senior during the autumn of 2000. When her father, Warren, a professor, went away to a conference, she tended to her 12-year-old sister, Paige, and her mother, Annalee, who had a history of sleepwalking that included benign destructive behaviors--especially when Warren was gone. Annalee had been undergoing treatment at a sleep clinic, and it had been four years since she took a nocturnal journey. Therefore, Lianna's caretaking was merely a precautionary measure. Believing her mother was past the "witching hour" (the first three hours of sleep) and out of harm's way, she dozed off, only to wake the next morning and discover Annalee missing. As the family rallies to search for her, a piece of her nightshirt is found near a riverbank, and the mystery deepens when a detective working the case seems privy to eerie, intimate details about Annalee.

Bohjalian (The Guest Room) has written an absorbing, cerebral story that probes a family's haunted emotional response to the mother's disappearance, and how each copes with confusion and grief. As they plumb the depths of Annalee's life, they uncover secrets that ultimately reveal a startling truth. 

The Sleepwalker: A Novel by Chris Bohjalian

Doubleday, $26.95 Hardcover, 978038558916, 304 pages

Publication Date: January 10, 2017

To order this book on INDIEBOUND, link HERE

NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (January 27, 2017), link HERE