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Summer 2023 TBR
278 Plays1 year ago
In our final episode before a summer break, Brook and Sarah discuss what they're hoping to read. We'll return with new episodes in a few weeks, and before then, we'll pop into your feed with some of our favourites from past seasons.
Discussed
In a Dark, Dark Wood (2018) Ruth Ware
A is for Alibi (1982) by Sue Grafton
Murder in Mesopotamia (1936) Agatha Christie
Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators (2022) Martin Edwards
Warrior Girl Unearthed (2023) Angeline Boulley
The Cameo's Secret (2023) Brook Peterson
Mystery of Mysteries: The Life and Death of Edgar Allan Poe (2023) Mark Dawidziak
Murder Your Employer (2023) Rupert Holmes
The Christie Curse (2013) Victoria Abbot
Stalking Jack the Ripper (2016) Kerri Maniscalo and James Patterson
4:50 from Paddington (1957) Agatha Christie
For more information
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Contact us: hello@cluedinmystery.com
Music: Signs To Nowhere by Shane Ivers – www.silvermansound.com
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Transcript
End of Season Reflections
00:00:10
Speaker
Welcome to Clued in Mystery. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke. And we both love mystery. Hi Brooke. Hi Sarah. Can you believe that we're almost to the end of another season of Clued in Mystery? No, I can't.
Organizing Summer TBR Lists
00:00:26
Speaker
It's time for our summer TBR lists. Yes, already. Do you want to kick us off? Yes, I will. But before I do, I just feel like I want to say that
00:00:39
Speaker
Like everyone, Sarah and I both feel like there's always more to read. Every time we go on the Internet or on a social media site, we're going to find another book that looks great and we put it on our, quote unquote, TBR list. But sometimes it can get overwhelming. I just want to say that even though this looks like we're very organized, this is just a small window into what we're reading and what we want to read.
Thoughts on Unread Books
00:01:05
Speaker
I found a quote from Laura Keating who is just someone I follow on Instagram. She says, you will die with books unread. It's not morbid, just a fact. Buy what you want, get to what you can. You've supported an author and collected an art you love. A library full of unread books is a beautiful thing. I'm taking that to heart knowing that this is just a small portion of the things that I would love to get to in the next two to three months.
Exploring Edgar Allan Poe
00:01:34
Speaker
But my first pick is a non-fiction title. I love to read a non-fiction book alongside of fiction, usually. And this one is Mystery of Mysteries, the Life and Death of Edgar Allan Poe by Mark Davidziak. Poe, who remains one of the most iconic of American writers, died under the haunting circumstances that reflect the two literary genres he took to new heights, mystery and horror.
00:02:00
Speaker
Over the years, there has been a staggering amount of speculation about the cause of death. But many of these theories are formed on the basis of the caricature we have come to associate with Poe. The gloomy-eyed grandfather of Goth hunched over a writing desk with a raven perched on one shoulder, drunkenly scribbling his chilling masterpieces.
00:02:21
Speaker
By debunking the myths of how he lived, we come closer to understanding the real Poe and uncovering the truth behind his mysterious death. Oh, Brooke, that sounds so good. And I know how much of a fan of Edgar Allan Poe you are. So that sounds like a perfect pick for you.
00:02:41
Speaker
Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I think like we talked about in our episode about Poe that we definitely hold that caricature in our mind. And I've done enough reading to feel like it's pretty accurate, but I'm looking forward to seeing this author's take and see what new theories he has to pose. And maybe a new episode will come out of it.
00:03:05
Speaker
Oh, I like that.
Excitement for Ruth Ware's Works
00:03:08
Speaker
So I feel like I'm on my TBR list. I've got a lot of books that I want to catch up on. And one of those is In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware.
00:03:23
Speaker
So I really enjoyed The Woman in Cabin 10 when we read it for our first What Would You Do? episode, and I've been meaning to read another book by Ware, and so I thought I would start with this one. I know she does have a new release this summer, but I thought it might be easier to get my hands on the library copy of one of her older books. The description is, a weekend away, deep in the English countryside, takes a sinister turn in this suspenseful and compulsive debut, psychological thriller.
00:03:51
Speaker
Sometimes the only thing to fear is yourself. Lenora, Lee to some, Nora to others, is a reclusive writer, but when an old friend unexpectedly invites her to a weekend away in an eerie glass house, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip.
00:04:07
Speaker
But a haunting realization creeps into the party. They are not alone in the woods. 48 hours later, Nora wakes up in a hospital bed with the knowledge that someone is dead. Wondering not what happened, but what have I done? She tries to piece together the events of the past weekend. In order to uncover secrets and reveal motives, Nora must revisit parts of herself that she'd rather leave buried where they belong in the past. Well, this is one that I have read, Sarah, and I think you're going to really enjoy it.
00:04:37
Speaker
Yes, I'm looking forward to it. I really did enjoy the Women in Cabin 10, so I'm looking forward to reading more of Ruth Ware. Awesome.
Instagram-Inspired Reads
00:04:47
Speaker
So my next pick is, I'm calling it, Instagram Made Me Do It. As I said, I find things all the time. And this one is Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes. From Edgar Award-winning novelist Rupert Holmes comes a diabolical thriller with a killer concept.
00:05:05
Speaker
the McMaster's Conservatory for the Applied Arts, a fantasy academy laid out like a combination of Hogwarts, Downton Abbey, and a white lotus style resort dedicated to the art of murder, where students study how to delete their most deserving victim. So I have seen this referred to in some comments of sort of, you know, this has this lemony snicket feel for adults, and I'm just really excited about it.
00:05:35
Speaker
That sounds terrific. And yeah, I've seen that. And I did think about adding that to my list. So I'm looking forward to hear what you have to say about that.
Intrigue with 1980s Mysteries
00:05:46
Speaker
So the next on my list is another catch-up title. And several times, Brooke, you've talked about Sue Grafton being one of your favorites. And I haven't read any of her Kinsey Malone series. So I thought I would remedy that this summer by starting with A is for Alibi.
00:06:05
Speaker
It was originally published in the early 1980s, so I'm looking forward to some old-school technology references and probably some references to smoking inside and sort of that throwback to the 1980s, which I heard someone refer to as the late 1900s not too long ago. Oh, no.
00:06:29
Speaker
That's true. It is, I know. So I'll just read the description. A is for a vendor. A tough talking former cop, private investigator Kinsey Malone has set up a modest detective agency in a quiet corner of Santa Teresa, California. A twice divorced loner with few personal possessions and fewer personal attachments, she's got a soft spot for underdogs and lost causes.
00:06:55
Speaker
A is for accused. That's why she draws desperate clients like Nikki Fife. Eight years ago, she was convicted of killing her philandering husband. Now she's out on parole and needs Kinsey's help to find the real killer. But after all this time, clearing Nikki's bad name won't be easy. A is for alibi. If there's one thing that makes Kinsey Malone feel alive, it's playing on the edge. When her investigation turns up a second corpse, more suspects, and a new reason to kill, Kinsey discovers that the edge is closer and sharper than she imagined.
00:07:26
Speaker
Well, Sarah, you know that Sue Grafton series is one of my all time favorites. So I'm really excited for you to start and let me know what you think. But yes, prepare yourself to be taken back a few decades because of course it's like all the cultural stuff of the 1980s. But Kinsey's amazing and I hope you like it as much as I do or at least like it almost as much as I do.
Anticipating Book Collector Series
00:07:49
Speaker
All right, my next pick is, as a cozy author, I think it's important that I read cozies. And so I'm going to be reading The Christy Curse by Victoria Abbott. And this is an older book as well. This one came out in 2013. But I love the concept of this series. She calls this her book collector series. And other titles in the series are The Sayers Swindle and The Hammett Hex. So I'm excited about this.
00:08:17
Speaker
The description is, in 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared, making headlines across the world, only to show up 11 days later at a spa under an assumed name. During those 11 days, did she have time to write a play? In a brand new research position, Jordan Kelly's first assignment is to track down this rumored Agatha Christie play. It seems easy enough, but Jordan soon finds out that her predecessor was killed while looking for it.
00:08:45
Speaker
Is there still someone out there willing to murder to keep the play out of her employer's hands? So this is one I'm also excited about and in that cozy sphere that that I know and love so well. Oh, Brooke, that sounds really fun. And the whole series sounds like it's pretty fun. Yeah, I think it'll be a great one. And maybe when I read throughout our upcoming TBR lists and keep you guys posted.
Summer Reads with Agatha Christie
00:09:14
Speaker
Cool. Well, so next on my list is, um, so the last of my ketchup picks. And this happens to be by Agatha Christie. I'm trying to slowly make my way through her cannon, uh, in no particular order. So I just kind of randomly picked.
00:09:30
Speaker
And I'm going to try and read Murder in Mesopotamia. So when Amy Leatherin travels to an ancient site in the Iraqi desert to nurse the wife of a celebrated archaeologist, events prove stranger than she has ever imagined. Her patient's bizarre visions and nervous terror seem unfounded. But as the oppressive tension in the air thickens, events come to a terrible climax in murder.
00:09:54
Speaker
With one spot of blood as his only clue, Hercule Poirot must embark on a journey across the desert to unravel a mystery which taxes even his remarkable powers. Oh, that'll be a great one, Sarah. And a fun one to read in the summer months because it'll evoke those summer vibes. I think so, yeah. I'll have to make sure that I'm somewhere really hot when I'm reading it.
00:10:18
Speaker
So my next pick, as you say, Sarah, we're both working our way through the Agatha Christie canon. And so I have not read a lot of Miss Marple. I would say I've watched more Miss Marple than I've read. So I'm going to put 450 from Paddington on my list. This is the eighth Miss Marple in the series of those books. For an instant, the two trains ran side by side. In that frozen moment,
00:10:47
Speaker
Elspeth McGillicuddy stared helplessly out of her carriage window as a man tightened his grip around a woman's throat. The body crumpled.
00:10:57
Speaker
then the other train drew away. But who, apart from Mrs. McGillicuddy's friend, Jane Marple, would take her story seriously? After all, there are no other witnesses, no suspects, and no case, for there is no corpse, and no one is missing. Miss Marple asks her highly efficient and intelligent young friend, Lucy Eilisbarrow, to infiltrate the Krakenthorpe family, who seemed to be at the heart of the mystery and help unmask a murderer.
00:11:28
Speaker
I love this story's premise for so many reasons, and I'm really looking forward to this one. It sounds like a great pick, Brooke. And yeah, I hope you really enjoyed it. I don't think I've read it either. I have seen television adaptation of it, though.
00:11:44
Speaker
Mm hmm. Yeah, it's going to be a great one, I think.
Detecting the History of Mysteries
00:11:48
Speaker
OK, so my nonfiction pick, I've actually read parts of this book, but I wanted to get through the whole thing this summer. And so it is Martin Edwards' life of crime detecting the history of mysteries and their creators, which was released in 2022.
00:12:05
Speaker
In the first major history of crime fiction in 50 years, the life of crime detecting the history of mysteries and their creators traces the evolution of the genre from the 18th century to the present, offering brand new perspective on the world's most popular form of fiction. Author Martin Edwards is a multi-award winning crime novelist, the president of the detection club, archivist of the Crime Writers Association, and series consultant to the British Library's highly successful series of crime classics, and therefore uniquely qualified to write this book.
00:12:35
Speaker
He has been a widely respected genre commentator for more than 30 years, winning the CWA Diamond Dagger for making a significant contribution to crime writing in 2020, when he also compiled and published How Done It, a masterclass in crime writing by members of the detection club and the novel Mort Main Hall.
00:12:51
Speaker
Oh, that's going to be great, Sarah. I, I'm the same. I've read bits and pieces of nonfiction by Martin Edwards. And, um, I think that's a great thing to just say, okay, I'm just going to read it from beginning to end because he's, I mean, he's iconic, right? In our, um, in our, in our world of mystery. So I think that's going to be fantastic. And I'm thinking that that could possibly be a new episode idea when you get finished.
00:13:22
Speaker
Oh, maybe. Yeah. I mean, I don't think there's anybody who knows more about crime fiction than him. So yeah, definitely someone to learn from.
Exploring YA Mysteries
00:13:33
Speaker
My last pick is from my physical TBR stack that's beginning to topple. You know, these are the books that I have picked up at maybe secondhand sales or library sales or because
00:13:47
Speaker
You know, I see one and I just have to grab it. And this one is Stocking at Jack the Ripper by Carrie Maniscalco. And this is a James Patterson imprint called Jimmy Patterson because it's a YA mystery. So I'm not sure if the Jimmy Patterson imprint is still going strong. This book is from 2016.
00:14:09
Speaker
But 17-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life. Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome new practice of forensic medicine.
00:14:29
Speaker
When their investigation into a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the search for a serial murderer, the safety of her sheltered world is questioned. The story's twists and turns, augmented with historical photos, will make this dazzling debut novel impossible to forget.
00:14:46
Speaker
So I think I was inspired to pick it up after our recent episode. We talked about some true unsolved mysteries, and one of those was Jack the Ripper. And I was reminded that I had this sitting on the shelf. It's definitely YA. You can tell by the cover. You can tell that it's going to be probably a little more romance that I usually filter into my reading. But it'll be a good change of pace for me. I'm really curious about a YA take on Jack the Ripper.
00:15:16
Speaker
Mm hmm. Yes, definitely. And I will say that my daughter was looking at the cover and she said, I don't think you should romanticize Jack the Ripper. And first of all, I want to give huge points to a teenage girl for realizing that. And I had to agree with her. I said, you know, I agree. I think that this could be iffy. But let's read it and let's see what what this author's take on the story is. We'll see. Well, I'm looking forward to hearing what you think.
Following Up on Firekeeper's Daughter
00:15:48
Speaker
So I've got a another book on my list, and this is a recent release. And so I loved the first book by this author. Her name is Angeline Bully. I loved her first book, Firekeeper's Daughter. When I read it last year, the mystery was really compelling. But the themes that it touched on were family identity. And one scene even had me crying happy tears. So I'm really hoping that this book is just as moving.
00:16:19
Speaker
So the book is Warrior Girl Unearthed. Perry Firekeeper Birch was ready for her summer of slack, but instead, after a fender bender that was entirely not her fault, she's stuck working to pay back her Auntie Donnis for repairs to the Jeep. Thankfully, she has the other outcasts of the summer program, Team Misfit Toys, and even her twin sister Pauline. Together, they ace obstacle courses, plan vigils for missing women in the community, and make sure summer doesn't feel so lost after all.
00:16:47
Speaker
But when she attends a meeting at a local university, Perry learns about the warrior girl, an ancestor whose bones and knife are stored in the museum archives, and everything changes. Perry has to return warrior girl to her tribe. Determined to help, she learns all she can about NAGPRA, the federal law that allows tribes to request the return of ancestral remains and sacred items.
00:17:08
Speaker
The university has been using legal loopholes to hold on to Warrior Girl and 12 other Anishinaabe ancestors' remains, and Perry and the Misfits won't let it go on any longer. Using all of their skills and resources, the Misfits realize a heist is the only way to bring back the stolen artifacts and remains for good. But there is more to this repatriation than meets the eye as more women disappear and Pauline's perfectionism takes a turn for the worse.
00:17:34
Speaker
As secrets and mysteries unfurl, Perry and the Misfits must fight to find a way to make things right for the ancestors and for their community. Oh, that sounds really good, Sarah. And I remember how much you loved the first book in that series. So, and this one sounds just as good. I love that, you know, it has so many, it has a lot of deep meaning, which we don't always get in mystery fiction, but also a lot of fun because you and I both love a good heist story.
00:18:03
Speaker
Absolutely. And this is, you know, this is a YA. So, you know, it'll, you know how much I like YA as well. And so Brooke, I've got one more on my list.
Reading a Co-host's Novel
00:18:18
Speaker
And this is the Cameo Secret by you. Oh, Sarah. So I'll just read. I know you're familiar with this, but our listeners probably haven't come across the book description yet.
00:18:31
Speaker
When 12-year-old Jesse Johnstone's insatiable curiosity leads to her parents' separation, she's determined to make things right. But her mission to reunite them is derailed when she stumbles upon an antique cameo necklace revealing a scandalous town legend.
00:18:47
Speaker
Now Jesse must navigate the treacherous waters of middle school out with the adults who want the necklace for themselves and face down the mean girls who stand in her way, all while trying to save her family. With a twerpy boy crushing on her and secrets swirling around her at every turn, Jesse must summon all her courage and cunning to reunite her parents before it's too late. Can Jesse uncover the truth behind the town legend and save her family from falling apart? Find out in this heartwarming tale of love, friendship and the incredible power of a determined young snoo.
00:19:18
Speaker
I can't wait Brooke. Oh, thank you so much. You know, this book is, I wrote this book over 11 years ago or right at 11. So this is definitely the first novel I ever finished. And it has a very, very special place in my heart. I truly feel like these are real kids. And I feel like when this book comes out, they get to come to life.
00:19:40
Speaker
which is very hokey, but I'm just thrilled about this one. And it makes me really happy to know that you're going to be reading it, Sarah.
Listener Engagement and Connection
00:19:49
Speaker
Well, everyone, if this has inspired you to read any of the same books that we have on our TBR list this summer, we would love to hear what you have to say about them.
00:19:58
Speaker
You can reach out to us via email at hello at cluedinmystery.com. And we're on social media at at cluedinmystery. And we would love to have a conversation with you about the books. We'll be wrapping up our thoughts of them when we come back after a short summer break. Until then, we hope everybody has a great summer and we will be re-releasing some episodes occasionally throughout the summer.
00:20:26
Speaker
So for today, thank you for joining us on Clued in Mystery. I'm Brooke. And I'm Sarah. And we both love mystery. Clued in Mystery is produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Stephen. Music is by Shane Ivers at silvermansound.com. Visit us online at cluedinmystery.com or social media at Clued in Mystery. If you liked what you heard, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or telling your friends.