The Queen of Bedlam (2007)

Speaks the nightbird

Robert McCammon

2002 · 792 pages · 4 reviews

Others: Mixed

In 1699, a traveling magistrate and his clerk, Matthew, come to Fount Royal to try a woman charged with witchcraft.

Silver Bone

Andrei Kurkov

2024 · 304 pages · 1 review

Others: Negative

From the Ukrainian Andrey Kurkov, a perplexing mystery from a world-renowned literary master that introduces a rookie detective, Samson Kolechko, in Kiev tackling his first case, set against real life details of the tumultuous early twentieth century. Kyiv, 1919. World War I has ended in Western Europe, but to the East, six factions vie for control of Ukraine. Amidst the instability, young Samson Kolechko places his engineering career on hold. But in the city of Kyiv ­where competing patrols, black-market enterprise, and mayhem prevail­ everything remains up for grabs and new opportunity lurks just around the corner . . . When two Red Army soldiers commandeer his home, Samson plays the reluctant host. As Samson juggles his personal life ­a budding romance with the ingenious Nadezhda, a statistician helping run the city’s census­ with the soldiers’ imposition, he winds up overhearing their secret plans. Deciding to report them, Samson instead finds himself unwittingly recruited as an investigator for the city’s new police force. His first case is a perplexing mystery involving two murders, a long bone made of pure silver, and a decidedly unusual suit tailored from fine English cloth. With the odds stacked against him, Samson turns to Nadezhda, who proves to be more than a match. Inflected with Kurkov’s signature humor and magical realism, The Silver Bone takes inspiration from the real life archives of crime enforcement agencies in Kyiv, crafting a propulsive narrative that bursts to life with rich historical detail. Translated from the Russian by Boris Dralyuk

Maiden

Kate Foster

2023 · 2 reviews

Others: Overwhelmingly positive

Inspired by a real-life case and winner of the Bloody Scotland Pitch Perfect Award, Kate Foster's The Maiden is a remarkable story with a feminist revisionist twist, giving a voice to women otherwise silenced by history. "In the end, it did not matter what I said at my trial. No one believed me." Edinburgh, October 1679. Lady Christian Nimmo is arrested and charged with the murder of her lover, James Forrester. News of her imprisonment and subsequent trial is splashed across the broadsides, with headlines that leave little room for doubt: Adulteress. Whore. Murderess. Only a year before, Christian was leading a life of privilege and respectability. So, what led her to risk everything for an affair? And does that make her guilty of murder? She wasn't the only woman in Forrester's life, and certainly not the only one who might have had cause to wish him dead . . .

A Case of Mice and Murder

Sally Smith

2024 · 352 pages · 1 review

Others: Positive

"I was immediately besotted . . . Brilliant." -Janice Hallett, internationally bestselling author of The AppealThe first in a delightful new mystery series set in the hidden heart of London's legal world, introducing a wonderfully unwilling sleuth, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Nita Prose.When barrister Gabriel Ward steps out of his rooms at exactly two minutes to seven on a sunny May morning in 1901, his mind is so full of his latest case-the disputed authorship of bestselling children's book Millie the Temple Church Mouse-that he scarcely registers the body of the Lord Chief Justice of England on his doorstep. But even he cannot fail to notice the judge's dusty bare feet, in shocking contrast to his flawless evening dress, nor the silver carving knife sticking out of his chest. In the shaded courtyards and ancient buildings of the Inner Temple, the hidden heart of London's legal world, murder has spent centuries confined firmly to the casebooks. Until now . . . The police can enter the Temple only by consent, so who better to investigate this tragic breach of law and order than a man who prizes both above all things? But murder doesn't answer to logic or reasoned argument, and Gabriel soon discovers that the Temple's heavy oak doors are hiding more surprising secrets than he'd ever imagined . . .The trials of Gabriel Ward continue in Fall 2026 . . .

alias Grace

Margaret Atwood

1996 · 540 pages · 6 reviews

Others: Overwhelmingly positive

In 'Alias, Grace, ' bestselling author Margaret Atwood has written her most captivating, disturbing, and ultimately satisfying work since 'The Handmaid's Tale.' She takes us back in time and into the life of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the nineteenth century. Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and Nancy Montgomery, his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Now serving a life sentence, Grace claims to have no memory of the murders. Dr. Simon Jordan, an up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness, is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists who seek a pardon for Grace. He listens to her story while bringing her closer and closer to the day she cannot remember. What will he find in attempting to unlock her memories? Is Grace a female fiend? A bloodthirsty femme fatale? Or is she the victim of circumstances?

King of Shadows

Robert McCammon

2022 · 1 review

Others: Mixed