I love thrillers, don’t get me wrong, but there is nothing better than a really, really well done whodunit.
You know what I mean, right?
You follow along, looking for clues, trying to solve the murder . . . reading, waiting, dying for that moment when the sleuth finally gathers everyone together to explain who did it, how the killer almost pulled it off, and how they—our genius detective—finally solved the crime.
Yeah, that moment cannot be beaten—period.
So, without further ado, here are five mysteries that’ve come out this year that I am utterly and totally obsessed with.
Golden Girls meets Only Murders in the Building
MURDER
MARTINIS
A GRANDMOTHER-GRANDDAUGHTER SLEUTHING DUO
DACHSHUNDS (x2)
A GLAMOROUS ISLAND MANOR
Widow Mimi lives on idyllic Mackinac Island, where cars are not allowed and a Gibson martini with three onions at the witching hour is compulsory. Her estranged granddaughter, Addie, is getting over the heartbreak of not only being dumped by her fiancé, Brian, but also being cut out of the deal for the brilliantly successful video game Murderscape they invented together (with Addie doing most of the heavy lifting).
When Mimi gets an invitation from local socialite Jane Ireland—a seventysomething narcissist who’s having a salacious affair with her son-in-law—to a charity auction, she invites Addie. But Mimi doesn’t tell her that a blackmail threat from Jane looms over the party’s invitation.
Once they arrive, a big storm rolls in, trapping everyone in the mansion. And then, Jane is murdered. Soon Mimi and Addie’s strained relationship is put to the test when they must team up to narrow down the suspects. When another body turns up, the sleuthing pair realize someone else is playing a deadly game, and they might not survive the night.
Why I Loved it:
Look, I’ll admit that, for me, there’s a nostalgia factor here. Having grown up and lived in Michigan all of my life, I have spent a lot of time on Mackinac Island, the only city in America where automobiles are still outlawed. It’s a quiet, gorgeous, picturesque little island—and I do mean little. The entire Island is just 3.8 square miles, but that’s part of its warm charm. Every view feels like it was ripped from a postcard, and it’s small enough that you can explore every inch in a single weekend.
The many fudge shops, which fill the island with the pleasant aroma of chocolate, are world-famous. Ever wanted to take a horse and buggy? Well, that’s the primary mode of transportation there—that and riding bicycles, or just plain walking—and the horses themselves are majestic. I just love it. All of it. So, when I heard that a debut author set her first murder mystery right on Mackinac Island, I had to read it—and oh, my gosh, did I love this book.
Kelly Mullen is a brilliant talent. Let me lead with that, because as much as I love Mackinac Island, this book would have been special no matter where it was set. From the moment Jane Irelnand is found dead in the middle of her own house party, I started getting major Agatha Christie vibes. A sucker for the Golden Age mysteries, I was hooked and ended up reading this book in a single sitting.
While there’s no Poirot or Marple here, what Mullen does give her readers is a Gibson martini-drinking seventy-something-year-old grandmother named Mimi, who is crass and brash, but also whip-smart and hilariously sarcastic. Oh, and her granddaughter, Addie, is great too. Together, they prove to be a formidable crime-solving duo, and I can only hope that Mullen will give us another adventure with them one day in the very near future.
Bottom line: I can’t remember the last time I loved a debut mystery novel this much. You really, really should check it out.
NOTE: To keep reading this article and see more about the other four titles, please head on over to TRBS Susbtack!