Adventure, Murder, and Twists of Bookstore Merriment from Tamara Berry, in MURDER OFF THE BOOKS

Tamara Berry's wicked sense of humor is a great match for her neatly twisted plots in her "By the Book Mysteries," set in the Big Woods country of the Northwest. Crime novelist Tess Harrow's family legacy in this timber-centric town isn't as wild as her best-selling status, but it does include a former hardware stores (see the earlier books of the series) that she's turning into a bookshop of her own, with of course a stack of her newest release on the counter.

But Grand Opening plans run awry when (of course!) murder sweeps into town once again. This time, a top-selling podcaster arrives at the same time, and starts to paint Tess's recurring corpse discoveries as possible indications that she herself is a criminal!

Perish the thought, or even better, perish the podcaster. Except that's not going to happen. Tess's daughter is thrilled by the visitor. Her definitely difficult mother sweeps into town at the same time -- and the corpse turns out to be Tess's mother's boyfriend of the moment, the notorious Levi Parker, who might have tried something deadly if he hadn't been killed first. And oh yes, Tess and the sheriff may or may not be an item. Complications.

Is your head spinning yet? Jump into this lively bibliomystery laden with smart sassy women and to-die-for dialogue, as well as a plot that gets more crazy and more likely at the same time, page by page. MURDER OFF THE BOOKS is the fun mystery your summer reading stack has been waiting for. 

[The earlier books in the series are Buried in a Good Book and On Spine of Death -- treat yourself!]

PS: Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

North-Woods Crime, Cold Case Frame-Ups, and Easy Humor from Tamara Berry, ON SPINE OF DEATH

Considering how tough life on a desert island can be, adding Tamara Berry's engaging mysteries to the packing list seems very wise—from the nicely complex characters to the neat plotting to the clues and chuckles, these are books that lift the gray out of the day (or winter, or desert isle).

ON SPINE OF DEATH (a play on the phrase "on pain of death" but otherwise an irrelevant title for this recipe-free cozy) is the second adventure tucked into "Winthrop, Washington" (the timberlands in the east of the state) featuring bestselling author Tess Harrow. The series title is By the Book Mysteries -- especially apt this time, since the skeletons found in Tess's inherited hardware shop seem to match those in a mysteriously authored book that's turned up in the town: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, by Simone Peaky, a nom de plume that even Tess's resources fail to match with a real person. 

There's less urgency to locate the author of this tell-all at first, since the skeletons are obviously from cold cases ("disappearances") in the little town. But when Tess figures out that the book is also giving burial details for the local sheriff's vanished sister, the pressure is on. Not only does Tess want to solve all three cases ... she's got to do it quickly, because the devastated sheriff is also a man she cares deeply about. (How deeply? One-way or two-way? That too is a mystery.)

"It makes sense," she said quietly. She didn't let go of his hand even though it sat like a cold, dead weight in hers. "You know it does. ... Your sister's case matches every aspect of it."

The deeper she gets into the investigation, the more the local ne'er-do-wells (woods crime family, anyone?) embed themselves into her life. At last, she has only one focus, helping the sheriff: "She knew this man well enough to realize that there was only one thing that could help him heal, and that was finding the killer."

Between her risk-taking but brilliant teen daughter Gertie, her librarian buddy who's an undercover investigator, and a perilously young new FBI agent desperate for her attention, Tess has a lot to handle. Not to mention solving the case, saving her (uncertain) relationship, and responding to queries from her agent.

A third book in this series is already titled, so it's time to snag both ON SPINE OF DEATH and its predecessor, BURIED IN A GOOD BOOK, and enjoy some lively and occasionally absurd distraction.

PS: Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

San Juan Islands Mystery #3, AN UNFAMILIAR SEA, Fast-Moving Traditional Mystery from Bethany Maines

There are two kinds of crime fiction: the ones that begin with action, suspense, and risk, and the ones that build up to it with a few chapters that connect you first to the characters and the setting.

No, come to think of it, there's a third kind, and Bethany Maines writes this kind -- the ones that begin with a moment of conversation that makes you snort your coffee in the wrong direction, or grin so widely that strangers ask what you're reading.

Maines brought out a series a decade ago based on a global cosmetic company being a front for high-tech, high-action women agents in international espionage. Those "Carrie Mae" books tended to get me into trouble with my quietly reading spouse, because I'd be choking, laughing, and insisting on telling him the wild and wildly funny plot twists.

With her San Juan Islands series (islands off the coast of Washington state), Maines takes a few steps into more traditional layouts for detection and espionage: Tish Yearly, a lapsed actress, wound up living with her aging grandfather Tobias on Orcas Island because she ran out of other options -- and learned in the process that he's a retired CIA agent. To keep him busy, she's helped him get a private investigations agency rolling, and at the start of book 3, AN UNFAMILIAR SEA, Trish is digging into island life by opening her own business: a wedding destination.

But nothing's as simple as it sounds at first. For example, there's the process of being a boss -- when Tish least expects it, an employee for the wedding business anounces, "I'm pregnant."

Tish's thoughts and her feet came to a stumbling halt. "What?" Tish stared at twenty-two-year-old Penelope Drue, who was clasping and unclasping her hands in front of her chest. Penelope looked like she needed more than a one-word question, but Tish needed more than a two-word announcement. "Congratulations?" Tish tried.

When Penelope is found dead the next day, and only Tish and presumably the father know about the pregnancy, Tish tackles convincing the law enforcement team on hand that there could be more to the death than an accident. That shouldn't be too hard to do, considering Tish is "involved" with one of the investigators -- but actually that complicates things most of the time. ("Dating Nash had never been in her plans, but kissing Nash was always on her top ten list. He made her toes curl.")

Add in discovering her grandfather's been jailed on the mainland, and trying to sort out a possible involvement of the local drug dealer on several fronts. But what Tish never dreamed would happen is a personal attack from that very same grandfather, who's apparently been sure she won't stay on the island and therefore won't keep the business going and ... should we mention what that could do to Nash, in grandfather Tobias's unkind opinion?

Don't confuse this with a "romance mystery." Tish often has a sardonic edge to her, which keeps the dialogue snappy, whether it's with suspects, or just in her head -- or with Detective Spring, a law enforcement pro who definitely doesn't have a soft spot for her:

"Here to bail [your grandfather] out?" he asked.

It was exactly this kind of question that annoyed Tish. He knew the answer. Why even ask?

"No," said Tish. "I brought him a cake with a file in it, but other than that, I figure he's on his own. I'm going to spend my evening recording over his Matlock collection." Detective Spring raised an eyebrow and gave her a look. She gave him a look back.

Maines balances a delicious amount of risk and re-thinking with the perils of island life, and her red herrings (fresh from the Pacific?) provide both puzzle solving and lively distraction along the way. As with most traditional mysteries, you've got a chance to figure out the villain before Tish was -- but you may be chuckling (or biting your nails) too much to follow the right thread. One way or another, shelve this one as really good entertainment — a well-blended caper mystery with memorable scenics and characters, just enough edge to the humor, and satisfying strands in the solving.

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here. 

San Juan Islands Mystery #2, AGAINST THE UNDERTOW, Bethany Maines

Bethany Maines admits she cares a lot about the entertainment tucked into the mysteries she writes -- she weaves clever grins into her plots as easily as the suspense. In the second book of her San Juan Islands Murder Mystery series, AGAINST THE UNDERTOW, displaced actress Tish (never Patricia!) Yearly hopes to get her wedding venue established at last, so she can start earning some money. Jobs on the rainy islands off the coast of Washington State are scarce and don't pay terribly well. But she's scraped up just enough funding to create a professional kitchen in a small house with  gorgeous surroundings, and why shouldn't it work out?

Well, one thing making it tough is Tish's role as junior partner (a way of making her caregiving more acceptable) to her aging grandfather Tobias Yearly, an ex-CIA agent determined to turn Tish and himself into official private investigators. Of course at his age, he's not exactly "up" on all the technology that "snoops" now use -- good thing Tish can handle that end. Meanwhile he's prudently made up business cards that should do for both of them: T. Yearly, plus Tish's cell number.

I chuckled my way through the first book in this series, An Unseen Current -- well, to be honest, I chortled and belly-laughed enough to disturb my spouse's TV watching -- and Maines's earlier series, the Carrie Mae espionage adventures, were also side-splitting. So the mild chaos at the opening of AGAINST THE UNDERTOW seemed promising to me: Tish's not-quite-boyfriend (she's officially seeing someone else, but the chemistry can't be mistaken), Sheriff's Deputy Emmett Nash, needs a quick escape and alibi from accusation of murder, and the next thing you know, Tish is quietly letting her grandfather know she's got the deputy tucked into the trunk of their car, as they exit the ferry, the main route to the islands.

Count on quick twists, as Tish's BFF from the mainland arrives in "cute" overalls to help with the rehab, and a mess of messed-up hippies turns threatening (yep, plenty of gasps of amusement in there), while Tish is trying to take crime-solving seriously for the sake of Deputy Nash (and so she can get back to her construction work). She tells her feisty grandpa that she's concerned:

"I feel like we should be further along in solving Tyler's murder. Or have more suspects. Or something."

"It's the suspects that trouble me," said Tobias leaning back. "I'm not saying women can't kill -- they're perfectly capable. I just don't particularly see these ones doing it."

"Well, apparently anyone can be a killer," said Tish. "If Detective Spring is to be believed."

"No, not really," said Tobias. "What he means is that evil people can be perfectly normal. You know why the rate of PTSD went up so much in Vietnam?"

"Clearer reporting, destigmatization, and a better understanding of the problem?"

"Thank you, Miss Social Sciences. No. Well, probably those had an effect. But also, there was better training. They trained soldiers to shoot a human targets, made it more instinctual, got better guns and made it easier for kids to shoot people."

Grandpa Tobias's point is that their suspects so far -- Clover, who's probably insane, and Nora, who stinks as even an ex-spouse to the accused deputy -- don't feel like they're motivated by the usual killing causes: love, money, or rage.

Of course, Tobias has candidates for the killer role, based on his secret files that he's compiled on just about everyone on the islands. But Tish isn't supposed to leak word of those files ... a difficult position to be in, considering other people already suspect they exist.

My money's on the hippies. Take their leader, Mars, for instance, who tells Tish, "Death is just the next stage."

Trust me, Tish can't leave that performance note alone -- she's on it. Rain or shine. No, wait a minute, this is the Pacific Northwest -- rain or more rain, really.

If you're looking for a summer mystery that's likely to get you cheered up, in spite of murder and risk, and will find a way to have the forces of good triumph (or at least get kissed?), pick up AGAINST THE UNDERTOW. Published by one of several businesses that Maines plays with, Blue Zephyr Press, and available at online retailers in softcover or ebook. You don't need to read the books in sequence -- let me know if you find yourself lured to get more Bethany Maines capers.

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here. 

Murder and Adventure in the Northwest: SCENE OF THE CLIMB, Kate Dyer-Seeley

Here's a chance to jump into a well-written and adventurous mystery series right at the start, with the first book in Kate Dyer-Seeley's Pacific Northwest Mysteries. SCENE OF THE CLIMB offers an amateur sleuth in the great tradition of nosy journalists -- and protagonist Meg Reed not only has a nose for the wicked and dangerous, but also has the skills to write good copy for the outdoor magazine that's just hired her, in part on the basis of her late father's reputation as an amazing reporter (if also a weirdo near the end of his life). Too bad Meg doesn't have the rugged outdoor skills to go with her adrenaline-drenched assignments -- especially when she's climbing her first rugged mountain and a man's body drops past her, crashing with definite killing effect onto the rocks below.

Dyer-Seeley's website, http://www.katedyerseeley.com, describes her as a writer of "cozy mysteries." This book gives a prime example of why the label doesn't work well: True, there are few descriptions of gore, Meg's not mired in alcoholism or despair, and she's as clueless about the terrain of murder as she is about breaking in a pair of climbing boots before putting miles onto them in tender feet. But this is far from a tea-and-cats mystery; it's action and investigation and well-written dialogue. Of course, there has to be an explanation for each amateur sleuth's decision to leap past her or his normal sensible boundaries, and here is Meg's:

Matt maneuvered the truck in the direction of Angel's Rest. I filled him in on the events of last night.

When I finished, he shifted around a corner and gave me a wary look. "Jesus, Megs, this is getting serious. But why go back? I don't get it."

"I want to see if there's anything on the trails. It's not raining. Maybe we can make our way to the deer trail? Maybe I can figure out what the missing photo is. Andrew had to have left a clue somewhere." ...

Matt said, shifting once again, slowing, "You're playing with fire here. I think it's time to call the sheriff."

"I did. I left him a message this morning. You don't understand." I hated the pleading tone in my voice. "I have to find real evidence. I know it's Andrew. I have to prove it."

Meg's cute and smart, and flirtation definitely raises its head -- but that doesn't distract from the pace or Meg's independence and sharp learning curve. And that's another reason the label "cozy" doesn't quite match here -- this is not a mystery twining around a romance, but rather a plucky chase after clues, motives, and risk.

One more reason I'm suggesting picking up this book now, while the series is new and people don't know about it too much (outside of Vancouver, Washington, where Kate Dyer-Seeley lives): Although the book isn't digging into life's deep issues as Louise Penny's very different (and also NOT cozy) series does, there's an aspect of Dyer-Seeley's plotting that pushes SCENE OF THE CLIMB toward what Penny does: Underneath the quick and well-paced action is a dark secret of Meg's past that's hinted at, but not actually confirmed until the finale of the book -- so it's clear the series has a double arc of plot that's going to take us to an even riskier, more wicked flow of events.

I can hardly wait!