ANOTHER BRILLIANT GLASGOW noir from Christopher Brookmyre. Not to be missed by crime-fiction aficionados! A MINUS

A COMPLEX, UNEASY THRILLER with a likable protagonist, but a far too tangled web of suspects and motives. B MINUS

THE WATCHER : A NOVEL OF CRIME
Pegasus Books
2014

AN UNLIKELY QUINTET OF SLEUTHS (four elderly Italian barflies and a young bartender) solve a local murder. B PLUS

GAME FOR FIVE
Europa Editions, Incorporated
2014

MURDER IN THE HIGHLANDS once again, and a complex case to untangle for policeman Hamish Macbeth. SOLID B

DEATH OF A POLICEMAN
Grand Central Publishing
2014

APPEALING NEW YORK cozy mystery draws on the publishing world and the city’s old-money elite for color. SOLID B

ALMOST TRUE CONFESSIONS : CLOSET SLEUTH SPILLS ALL
William Morrow & Company
2013

TAUT, FAST-PACED THRILLER combines non-stop action, a gripping plot, and plenty of local Boston detail. B PLUS

BROTHERS AND BONES
James Hankins
2012

MURDER IN PARIS, 1929. Historical suspense has an appealingly hard-boiled sleuth, too many celebrity cameos. SOLID B

THE BONES OF PARIS
Random House Publishing Group
2013

A well-crafted urban fantasy is like a gorgeous souffle of magic and romance and mystery and suspense. All the elements have to be mixed with a deft hand, or the concoction collapses into a sticky, indigestible puddle. Leah Cutter’s Siren’s Call is a complete delight from star to finish, and her evocation of the fierce love and pride New Orleanians have for their city is a welcome added touch.

Kai DuPrie is always on the threshold of two worlds. Half African American, half Chinese, she’s also half human and half magic. And like all the best insider/outsider characters, she’s become a private detective, using her special gifts to solve problems and find lost things.

And lost people. Or beings. Kai’s search begins when a Siren in human form comes seeking help to find her missing sister. This clever twist on a noir trope blossoms into a taut, complex plot that reveals a hidden world of magic below the surface of New Orleans. Cutter masterfully weaves her creations into the city’s legends and mystique. It’s an elegantly wrought book as well as a great page turner, and I’m hoping for more Kai DuPrie adventures.

VIVID NEW ORLEANS setting, multifaceted heroine make this urban fantasy a cut above the rest. Lots of fun!

A good cozy mystery can be hard to find, despite the enduring popularity of the genre. The most critical element of a successful cozy is creating a likable amateur sleuth; in A Secondhand Murder, Lesley A. Diehl more than succeeds with her protagonist, Eve Appel.

Eve’s found a new home in rural Florida, and a new career as co-owner of a secondhand store located far away enough from the glitter of moneyed coastal communities for broke socialites to resell their glitz on the down low. She’s tough and direct, but has a soft heart for her disaster-prone business partner, and for her beloved grandmother. Eve’s appealing right from the start, and her courage and humor are a winning combination.

The book’s setting, “cowboy country” Florida, is distinctive and engaging, and Diehl’s deft in catching details of local color. The mystery’s plot is clever without being convoluted, and the pacing is admirably brisk. This book is the first in a promising series, and I’m looking forward to more of Eve Appel’s adventures!