The Crime Writers’ Association (@The_CWA) Whodunit Dagger Award longlist titles.
My favorites…
The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen
Ex CIA agent Maggie Bird’s retirement is upended when a corpse is dumped on her driveway. With the help of some friends, all post-spook retirees, she endeavors to find out who left her the grisly message and why.
I’m not a huge fan of espionage thrillers and didn’t think expect much out of this one going in but, holy smokes, was this a riveting read. Not only did it upend expectations, but it ended up being one of my top reads of this entire 80+ book marathon.
The Mystery of the Crooked Man by Tom Spencer
Archivist Agatha Dorn sets out to uncover the connections between a forged version of Gladden Green’ The Empress of Golden Age, a scrap of the bogus manuscript, and the murder of her ex-lover.
A little verbose but I did love our delightfully reprehensible heroine, Agatha. A pretty funny book with a great final reveal.
Murder at the Christmas Emporium by Andreina Coronado
Guests attending a Christmas soirée at The Emporium, an upscale London gift shop, are treated to an evening of tinsel and terror when the doors are locked and the bodies start dropping.
It’s Willy Wonka meets And Then There Were None in this high-concept murder mystery that runs out of steam near the end but nevertheless offers a lot of fun along the way.
The Rest…
Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson: This one is a hilarious, cleverly written ride for the most part but about two-thirds of the way through veers into action territory before segueing into an exposition-heavy denouement. I thought the set up tremendous but didn’t love the way the various pieces of the puzzle came together in the end.
The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd: This one is told across two timelines and while I found the historical timeline fascinating, the contemporary arc was less successful for me. I was also not a fan of the late introduction of a almost magical facial recognition software that felt a little convenient.
A Good Place to Hide a Body by Laura Marshall: This one was fine domestic thriller. Solid final twist.
Murder at the Matinee by Jamie West: This one kicks off with a positively harrowing account of an incident that claims the lives of multiple children, setting up as a surprisingly dark tale before giving way to an airer narrative.
A Matrimonial Murder (by Meeti Shroff-Shah, The Mystery Guest (by Nita Prose), A Death in Diamonds (by S.J. Bennett): I have nothing negative to say about any of these outside of the fact that they weren’t ultimately for me. But they may be for you!
DNF: The Case of the Singer and the Showgirl, A Case of Mice and Murder: In the case of the former, it’s a cross-genre (time travel) story and they’re not my cup of tea, while I ultimately wasn’t engaged by the latter’s writing style.
Tomorrow, we move on to twelve more books in the Twisted category!
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I’ve been reading Tess Gerritsen for years! She usually writes serial killer thrillers. Love her books and thanks for recommending her new one.
I’ll look over the rest of your list.
Thanks!
I need to get back into reading. I just can’t seem to concentrate long enough, or stay awake long enough. Very annoying. But I want cozy mysteries, along the lines of Agatha Christie. No foul language, no sex (aside from a mention of an affair or whatnot), no detailed victim suffering or beat-the-clock suspense, just a good old fashioned ‘body in the library’, a detective, clues, and an arrest. I need something that stimulates my mind, NOT my aging heart…lol. And nothing overly depressing. Death, itself, is depressing, but there is depressing, and then there’s gut-wrenching depressing. I just might go back and re-read my Christie collection, as I have threatened to do for years now.
I am a Big Talking Procrastinator. 😛
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