Spring Book Recommendations

It’s Spring, and time for your book recommendations from John Charles, Poisoned Pen bookseller and reviewer, Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author, and me (I’ve written few books, too. 😁 ) You can watch the interview and hear all about the current and coming trends (think horror/mystery mash-up, think cozy mysteries updated and yet with the same charm, think Lives of the Rich and Famous with murder, think secrets that come back to bite you in the butt.) Here is a list of the books John, Jayne and I recommended. All books links go to the Poisoned Pen Bookstore, where they have many of the books autographed. The Poisoned Pen ships within the U.S. and internationally. Be sure to order and pre-order!

Spring Book recommendations:

Murder Road by Simone St. James
Brilliant concept; ie the honeymoon couple who ends up at Dracula’s castle…but that’s not quite it. I’ve read Simone St. James. She’s brilliant and tells a real, solid ghost story. 

People in Glass Houses by Jayne Castle  (This is my favorite Jayne Ann Krentz incarnation; likable characters that I want to know, suspense on another world, and dust bunnies!)

A Deadly Walk in Devon by Nicholas George
Cozy mystery set in England…with a twist.

A Cyclist’s Guide to Crime and Croissants by Ann Claire
Cozy mystery set in France…with a twist. 

Bad Tourists by Caro Carver
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous+murder

The Unwedding by Ally Condie

The Wall of Winnepeg and Me by Mariana Zapata <— My recommendation, the first book of this author-star that I’ve read. If you like heart-warming characters and a romance that leaves you feeling warm and happy, this is it.

The Devil and Miss Davenport by Paulette Kennedy. < — Jayne Ann Krentz’s recommendation: 1950s era housewife has a fever, wakes up with the ability to find dead bodies and solve murders. Husband is horrified.

Every Single Secret by Christina Dodd (whoever she is–John and Jayne seem to like this one. 😊 ) 

Mind Games by Nora Roberts  (Yes, she’s writing suspense and horror and as with everything Nora does, she’s seamless.)

Death in the Air by Ram Murali 

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera  

Do What Godmother Says by L.S. Stratton
Go look at the cover. Read the description. Look at the cover. You decide.
I’m scared to read it.

The Hunter’s Daughter by Nicola Solvnic

One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
As John says, you can’t go wrong with any book by Ruth Ware, and this is Survivor meets Lord of the Flies. 😳

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston  

 

Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan — I’m preordering this one. I cannot resist a story set in SE Texas in the 1950s with female undertakers who must deal with dead that will not stay buried: ie vampires. I lived in Houston (SE Texas) for 21 years and this sounds like a riot.

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Sutart Turton 

The Drowning House by Cherie Priest
Haunted houses are back! In this one, a house washes onto an island and the murders begin.

The House that Horror Built by Christina Henry
Another haunted house and wow, this one sounds scary.

Love at First Book by Jenn McKinlay
Ireland. A blocked writer. A new-in-town librarian. A grumpy bookstore owner. Romance without murder for those of us who are scaredy-cats.  

Look on the Bright Side by Kristan Higgins…who is always such a magical, feel good writer about people with real lives, but better!

Sisters of Fortune by Anna Lee Huber <— My recommendation… Creating a story around a well-known, almost mythical disaster like the Titanic has its advantages; it has a built-in audience and readers are fascinated by every aspect of the story. And they know everything, *everything* that happened. In the case of Sisters of Fortune, Anna Lee Huber is a well-known writer of historical fiction and a thorough researcher, and her story is engrossing on its own.