murder mystery

What became of Soap Lake?

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By Ande Jacobson

Matthew Sullivan’s second book, Midnight in Soap Lake, was released in early 2025 and is another windy mystery. Like his first book, this is a standalone story even though its title is similar to Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. This story takes place in a real Washington town, Soap Lake, where Sullivan and his family lived for a time. There are a few aspects of the story that are real. The town of Soap Lake is named for its lake of the same name, and it’s a special kind of lake. Soap Lake is meromictic, i.e., the water is effectively stratified so that the water at the bottom stays at the bottom, and the water higher up stays higher up in various layers. This allows for different ecosystems and the appearance of extremophiles, special microbes specifically adapted to the unique conditions of the portion of the lake they inhabit and not seen anywhere else. As in the story Sullivan weaves, various limnologists have studied the lake over the years, and it even served as a sort of healing spa for a time. A giant lava lamp also figures in both reality and fiction, and in neither telling does it come to fruition. Finally like in the story, Soap Lake is a rather isolated small town in the middle of the desert northwest in eastern Washington state. After that, reality and story part ways. Continue reading →

Save the BookFrogs

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By Ande Jacobson

Matthew Sullivan, previously known for his short stories, burst onto the book scene in June 2017 with his debut novel, Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. With shades of O. Henry in its twists and turns and a surprise ending, Sullivan gives readers puzzles within puzzles to solve as he leads them through parallel mysteries from the present and a harrowing past. Lydia is a bookseller who is more comfortable with the books she sells than with people, and yet she’s a favorite of the BookFrogs, the dejected loners from multiple walks of life who find solace in the Bright Ideas Bookstore. One young BookFrog, Joey Molina, a troubled fellow with a past and a secret takes a shine to Lydia. She’s his favorite bookseller, and she’s kind to him. One night when she finds Joey in the store’s upper room hanging from a self-fashioned noose, her life changes forever. She too has a past seeping with violence that she’d rather forget but can’t, and now she is caught in the present with a mystery she must solve. Why did Joey kill himself? And, after finding out that he’d left her all of his earthly possessions, she discovers a disturbing yet tantalizing puzzle going beyond that single event. Continue reading →

The hidden threat may be worse than the known threat

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By Ande Jacobson

The Grey Wolf is the nineteenth mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Gamache series. This one is a little different than some earlier in the series in that it’s really part one of a two-part story that completes in The Black Wolf. That’s not to say that the story isn’t a complete one on its own because it is, but the hook into the next book after the current case is resolved is more direct than Penny usually provides. Armand Gamache leads his Sûreté du Québec Homicide division team on a case that poses an immediate threat of monstrous proportions. The bigger problem for Armand is that he doesn’t know who he can trust, so he keeps the details tight only known to a very small, fully trusted cadre of himself, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and Isabelle Lacoste, i.e., he and his co-deputies. As often happens with Armand, he’s approached by someone with a secret that isn’t fully shared, but peaks his interest. Before the source, a young biologist with a history of drug use, can fully share, he’s killed by a car right in front of Armand almost taking Armand with him. The case then gets even more frustrating and urgent bringing back some contacts from the past including the Abbot from the remote monastery, Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups. There are also some unexpected relationships that are slowly revealed. Continue reading →

Is evil born or nurtured?

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By Ande Jacobson

A World of Curiosities is the eighteenth mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Gamache series. Armand Gamache, his wife Reine-Marie, their children, grandchildren, Armand’s godfather Stephen Horowitz, his second-in-command and son-in-law Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and the rest of the Three Pines regulars are back. Armand has his hands full this time with old and new murders sending his Sûreté du Québec Homicide division on the trail again. There is a good bit of history in this installment, both Canadian history as well as Armand and Jean-Guy’s personal history, specifically the case that first brought them together in this life. That history concerns not only their relationship but also bears heavily on the current cases at hand. An old nemesis also returns for a disturbing confrontation that strikes deeply and disrupts Armand’s internal fortitude. Forgiveness, human nature, and revenge all come into play as the plot thickens. Continue reading →

What would Armand Gamache do?

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By Ande Jacobson

A Better Man is the fifteenth mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Gamache series. This time Armand Gamache is back at the Sûreté du Québec in his old job as the Chief Inspector of the Homicide division, a job he temporarily shares with his former second-in-command (and son-in-law) Jean-Guy Beauvoir. He’s made a lot of enemies both in the Sûreté leadership and in the government, although he also has a few well-placed friends. He’s being attacked by the press, by social media, and while it would be far easier for him to just retire after all of the turmoil he’s endured, his sense of duty and honor will not let him do that. To make matters worse, the province is facing a spring catastrophe that brings with it both bad press and life-threatening danger. In all of this, Armand is pulled into a search that quickly becomes a murder investigation that tugs at him personally. It’s not that he’s well-acquainted with the victim, but he is emotionally torn by those surrounding her including her distraught father, an abusive husband, and circumstances that are murky at best. Continue reading →

Confessions may sometimes mislead

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By Ande Jacobson

Confession is the third book in Michael Cordell’s Contempt series, and it’s a page-turner. Released at the beginning of August 2025, readers again join Thane Banning on a controversial case. Thane is a criminal attorney with a past. Having been framed and imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit, he’s still struggling since his release to cope with what that did to him. He’s taken on some difficult cases in the past and won even when the odds were against him, although his methods weren’t always quite by the book. He’s trying desperately to change that though not just for himself, but for his wife Hannah, and their as yet unborn child. He wants to get back to being the man he was before his confinement. This time, Thane takes on a client who is accused of killing a popular football coach with a winning record at a notable local university. The biggest problem is that she confessed to the crime, so Thane and his team are starting from a huge disadvantage. Thane’s team includes:

  • Kristin Peterson – a new, young attorney who is learning the ropes and has an eye toward righting wrongs.
  • Gideon Spence – originally a friend from Thane’s time in prison who is now part enforcer, part private investigator, and all parts loyal friend.
  • Letitia – receptionist and office manager extraordinaire.

Continue reading →

The line between guests and residents can be a fractious one

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By Ande Jacobson

The second book in Tess Gerritsen’s Martini Club series, The Summer Guests, again returns to Purity, Maine. Maggie Bird, Declan Rose, Ben Diamond, and Ingrid and Lloyd Slocum are again involved in solving not just one crime, but also an old one that took place decades ago in the secluded hamlet they now call home. The five members of the Martini Club are ex-CIA operatives who were just looking for a quiet retirement, but while spies can leave active duty, they can’t turn off their zest for solving the puzzles that come their way. This time, Maggie rounds up the club when her friend and neighbor, Luther Yount, is arrested for something he didn’t do. Continue reading →

Blind spots can be challenging

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By Ande Jacobson

Kingdom of the Blind is the fourteenth mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Gamache series and like its predecessor picks up where the previous story left off. Armand Gamache is on suspension after a tenuous but mostly successful gambit to address the drug problem plaguing Canada (and the U.S.). Because of the actions he took, there are serious consequences in the making, but they haven’t hit just yet, so Armand is officially in limbo. He made a lot of political enemies while he was Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec. While Isabelle Lacoste is also on leave still recovering from her almost fatal injuries from the last project, Armand’s son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, is the acting head of Homicide. Superintendent Madeleine Toussaint has been promoted to acting Chief Superintendent. Despite all of that, Armand unofficially still has work to do. He’s determined to find the missing drugs that his team couldn’t recover over the course of events that ended with his suspension, and he uses some rather unorthodox methods to go about doing so. Much of his plan is only known to himself and one other person who is neither Isabelle nor Jean-Guy frustrating the two of them given their close relationships with Armand. Continue reading →

Making it appear that all is lost

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By Ande Jacobson

Glass Houses, is the thirteenth mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Gamache series. As in the previous book, this one picks up where its predecessor left off, this time with Armand Gamache taking the position of Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec. Having cleaned out the service and the academy of the former deep-seated corruption, he now faces the reality that the service is fighting what seems an unwinnable battle against the drug trade. Canada had become the entry point for drugs flowing from Europe, Asia, and parts beyond so proficiently that there isn’t an obvious way to stop them. Those drugs then blanket both Canada and the U.S. causing death and destruction in their wake. Given this dire situation, Armand, with his second-in-command and son-in-law Jean-Guy Beauvoir, create a committee of the most trusted heads of Sûreté departments including Chief Inspector Isabelle Lacoste, the agent who rose to replace Armand when he retired earlier, and Superintendent Madeleine Toussaint among others to address this in a way that promises serious consequences whether or not they are successful. Armand also enlists the chief prosecutor for the province, Barry Zalmanowitz, in his complex plan. At the same time, Armand is a key prosecution witness in a contentious murder trial. The presiding judge, Judge Maureen Corriveau, suspects something is amiss in the trial early on, but it takes time for the depth of the scheme to fully come to light. Part of Armand’s plan necessitated him making it seem like the Sûreté was completely inept to give those they were pursuing a false sense of security. The danger of course puts many innocents in grave danger. At what point are sacrifices for the greater good too great? Continue reading →

Finishing cleaning house

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By Ande Jacobson

A Great Reckoning, is the twelfth mystery novel in Louise Penny’s Gamache series. The story picks up the thread of what’s next for Armand Gamache, formerly the chief inspector of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec. After cleaning the corruption out of the service itself and the top leadership and retiring to Three Pines, there’s one piece left – the academy that trains new recruits. Recently (in the previous book), Armand saw first-hand the caliber of recent academy graduates and was appalled at their lack of decorum and their dangerous and violent attitudes. After receiving numerous offers from various services that value his expertise, he chooses to accept the position of commander of the Sûreté Academy. His first task is to adjust the staff, letting some of the old guard go, and ushering in some new faces. He keeps a few of the old guard though, including a few potentially dangerous individuals. Unfortunately for him, one of them turns out to be far worse than he knew. Continue reading →