Dear Ms. Lerner, Your third historical romance, book one in your Lively St. Lemeston series, begins in October of 1812, with a knock on Phoebe Sparks’ door. Phoebe, an author of Improving Tales for Young People, is contemplating what fate to inflict on the protagonist of her current story, who ... more >
Dear Ally Carter, Last year’s The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year made my list of best reads of 2025 so I was especially happy to read Carter’s latest. It’s billed as book two in the Kiss, Merry, Kill series but the connection between the two books is very loose ... more >
Jonas Jonasson is back with another irresistible adventure, this time set in nineteenth century Sweden. After his father’s death is caused by the greedy and cunning Count Bielkegren, Algot Olsson is left with nothing to his name, except for a potato field and a homemade still to make liquor. But ... more >
The delightful “Goblins & Greatcoats” is a tale of murder and intrigue that introduces Zyll, a goblin with too many pockets and a disturbing affinity for cutlery on a rain-soaked night that features four adventurers, a pair of corpses, a junk-drawer knife, some unfortunate taxidermy, and a beleaguered Gatewarden. We ... more >
Dear Joanna Bourne, I’m not much a of a wine drinker. But I understand that fine wine is best savoured slowly and often improves with age. Your books are like that. I like to linger over your words and drink them in, letting them sit for a while to sink ... more >
A charming retelling of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility set in Ming-dynasty China. Two sisters with conflicting attitudes on passion and restraint must each choose between the traditions that bind their hearts and pursuing the love that could save them. Nineteen-year-old Ailin is torn between duty and desire. Following her ... more >