Grace, based on the gripping Roy Grace novels by Peter James, follows the trials and tribulations of the talented yet haunted Detective Superintendent Roy Grace (John Simm), still reeling from the disappearance of his wife, Sandy, years earlier.
If you want to catch up on the series, Grace seasons 1-3 is still available on BritBox.
***
Peter James, author of the Roy Grace novels has a new mystery coming out this July: THEY THOUGHT I WAS DEAD. I can't wait for this one. Definitely a spin on the series
This new companion to James’ detective Roy Grace series allows Sandy (the much-talked- yet little-heard-from character) speak for herself starting on the day she vanished on her husband's thirtieth birthday. The story follows Sandy as she decides that “I no longer exist” in the eyes of those around her and follows her on her journey to a place where people will believe her dead.
Today marks the Summer Solstice! It is my favorite day of the year because it's the longest, and I love light! Today is also the first day of summer.
Summertime, and the living is easy. Or is it? So many mysteries taking place during Summer are filled with murder and mayhem -- on the Beach, at the Lake, and in the 'hot' City! What follows is a list of Summer Crime Fiction that exudes the heat and accompanying crime of Summertime. I've omitted most Fourth of July and Labor Day Mysteries from this list because I'll be updating those specific lists later this Summer.
And, the latest Mystery Readers Journal focuses on Murder Takes a Holiday (40:2). Plenty of summertime mysteries in this issue. I will gradually add some of the reviewed books to this list. I've also added a short list of Summer Camp mysteries. I'm sure there are more. Love to hear from you.
As always I invite you to add any titles I've missed. Post a note in the comments or shoot me an email. This is far from a definitive list, but it's been updated since last year. I've included thrillers, cozies, traditional, suspense, and more. Put a bunch of these mysteries in your beach bag and enjoy the reads!
Summertime Mysteries
Foxglove Summer by Ban Aaronovitch
The Corpse with the Garnet Face by Cathy Ace
A Cat on a Beach Blanket by Lydia Adamson
A Deadly Cliche; Murder in the Mystery Suite by Ellery Adams
Moon Water Madness by Glynn Marsh Alam
A Tangled June by Neil Albert
Meet Your Baker; Hold on for Beer Life by Ellie Alexander
Sunset Beach; High Tide Club; The Home-Wreckers by Mary Kay Andrews
Tiger's Eve by Barbara Annino
Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea by Nancy Atherton
Sweet Tea and Secrets by Joy Avon
Live and Let Chai; Partners in Lime by Bree Baker
Gold Medal Threat by Michael Balkind (Kids: 7-15)
A Midsummer Night's Killing by Trevor Barnes
Milwaukee Summers Can Be Deadly by Kathleen Anne Barrett
One Hot Murder by Lorraine Bartlett
Love, Lies and Liquor by M.C. Beaton
Summertime News by Dick Belsky
Pups, Pilots and Peril by Cindy Bell
The Hiding Place by David Bell
The Summer School Mystery by Josephine Bell
Jaws by Peter Benchley
Buried in a Good Book by Tamara Berry
Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
Murder by Fireworks by Susan Bernhardt
A Death in Summer by Benjamin Black
The Beach Hut Murders by Peter Bland
Another Man's Ground by Claire Booth
The Down East Murders by J.S. Borthwick
Royal Flush by Rhys Bowen
Lowcountry Boil by Susan M. Boyer
Deadly Readings by Laura Bradford
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
Tour de Force by Christiana Brand
Pot Boiler by Ali Brandon
The Cat Who Saw Stars, The Cat Who Went Up the Creek by Lilian Jackson Braun
Chill of Summer by Carol Brennan
Death by the Sea by Kathleen Bridge
Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody
Devils Island by Carl Brookins
Killer in Crinolines; Braking for Bodies by Duffy Brown
Tall Tail by Rita Mae Brown
Scrappy Summer by Mollie Cox Bryan
A Fatal Fettucinne by Julia Buckley
Death on the Riviera by John Bude
Magic and Macaroons by Bailey Cates
Wonton Terror by Vivien Chien
Twanged; Zapped by Carol Higgins Clark
Footprints in the Sand by Mary Jane Clark
Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark
Thin Air by Ann Cleeves
Dead and Berried by Peg Cochran
All You Need is Fudge, To Fudge or not to Fudge; A Midsummer Night's Fudge by Nancy Coco
BlackBuried Pie by Lyndsey Cole
Murder at the Mansion; Digging Up History by Sheila Connolly
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
Claws for Alarm by Cate Conte
Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell
Death on a Summer Night by Matthew Costello
Murder Most Frothy by Cleo Coyle
A Shoot on Martha's Vineyard by Philip Craig
The Trouble with a Hot Summer by Camilla Crespi
A Poisonous Page; Digging Up Trouble by Kitt Crowe
Never Say Pie by Carol Culver
Barkley's Treasure, Bikinis in Paradise; Beach Blanket Barbie; Camp Carter; Maui Madness; Bikinis in Paradise by Kathi Daley
The Alpine Recluse; The Alpine Zen; Clam Wake; Dune to Death by Mary Daheim
The Diva Steals a Chocolate Kiss by Krista Davis
Deadly Summer Nights by Vicki Delany
A Summer in the Twenties by Peter Dickinson
The Gold Coast, Plum Island by Nelson DeMille
Dead & Buried by Leighann Dobbs
Four Dog's Sake by Lia Farrell
Blackberry Burial, Dying for Strawberries; Killed on Blueberry Hill by Sharon Farrow
One Fete in the Grave by Vickie Fee
Murder Sends a Postcard; Murder Buys a T-shirt by Christy Fifield
The Angel of Knowlton Park by Kate Flora
Lord James Harrington and the Summer Mystery by Lynn Florkiewicz
Apple Turnover Murder, Blackberry Pie Murder, Carrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
A Wrinkle in Thyme by Sarah Fox
Murder Makes Waves by Anne George
The Caleb Cove Mystery Series (3 in the series) by Mahrie Reid Glab
Summertime, All the Cats are Bored by Philippe Georget
Reserved for Murder by Victoria Gilbert
The Cats that Watched the Woods by Karen Anne Golden
A Fatal Fleece, Angora Alibi: Murder at Lambswool Farm by Sally Goldenbaum
A Fatal Booking; Reserved for Murder by Victoria Gilbert
Mystery on Mackinac Island by Anna W. Hale
Bowled Over by Victoria Hamilton
Murder at the Blueberry Festival by Darci Hannah
Thunder Moon by Richard Helms
Tilling the Truth by Julia Henry
The Summer of Dead Toys by Antonio Hill
The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Summer of the Big Bachi by Naomi Hirahara
Death of a Cookbook Author; Death of a Lobster Lover; Death of an Italian Chef by Lee Hollis
Cracked to Death by Cheryl Holton
Beach Bags and Burglaries by Dorothy Howell
Murder at Wrightsville Beach by Ellen Elizabeth Hunter
Last Summer by Evan Hunter
Magic Hour by Susan Isaacs
Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James
A Death at Candlewick Castle by Emma Jameson
Murder in the Past Tense by E.E. Kennedy
Death and a Pot of Chowder by Cornelia Kidd
Banana Split by Josi S. Kilpack
A Timely Vision; A Watery Death by Joyce and Jim Lavene
You Only Witch Once by Amanda M. Lee
Death of a Bacherlorette by Laura Levine
A Sense of Entitlement by Anna Loan-Wilsey
Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies by Catherine Mack
Berried to the Hilt, Death Runs Adrift; Claws for Alarm; Murder on the Rocks by Karen MacInerny
A Demon Summer; Death in Cornwall by G.M. Malliet
Grave Heritage by Blanche Day Manos
Swimming Alone by Nina Mansfield (YA)
Death in a Mood Indigo by Francine Mathews
Murder at Beechwood; Murder at the Breakers by Alyssa Maxwell
Till Death Do Us Bark by Judi McCoy
Killer Honeymoon by G.A. McKevitt
Left Hanging by Patricia McLinn
Tippy Toe Murder by Leslie Meier
Summers Lease by John Mortimer
Murder Most Finicky by Liz Mugavero
Country Club Murders Series (Killing Me Softly - and others) by Julie Mulhern
Bats and Bones; Peete and Repeat, The Lady of the Lake, To Cache a Killer by Karen Nortman
Murder at Kildare Mensa by Clare O'Beara
Foal Play; Murder on the Hoof by Kathryn O'Sullivan
The Body in the Lighthouse; The Body in the Birches; The Body in the Wake by Katherine Hall Page
Murder at the Seaside Hotel by Sonia Paris
Mercury's Rise by Ann Parker
Paws in the Action; A Timely Murder by Max Parrott
The Heat of the Moon by Sandra Parshall
Mrs. Bundle's Dog Days of Summer: A Case of Artful Arson by Allison Cesario Paton
The Summer House by James Patterson; Lifeguard by James Patterson and Andrew Gross; The Murder House by James Patterson and David Ellis
Thread and Dead by Elizabeth Penny
In the Dead of the Summer; How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Gillian Roberts
Calamity@the Carwash by Sharon Rose
Mint Juleps, Mayhem, and Murder; Milkshakes, Mermaids and Murder by Sara Rosett
Boiled Over, Clammed Up ( and others) by Barbara Ross
Dark Fire by C.J. Sansom
Hang My Head & Cry by Elena Santangelo
Miss Lizzie by Walter Satterthwait
Love & Death in Burgundy by Susan C. Shea
Vacations Can Be Murder; Bushel Full of Murder by Connie Shelton
Bushel Full of Murder, If Onions Could Spring Leeks by Paige Shelton
Poised to Quill by Morgan W. Silver
Summer in the Woods by Steven K. Smith
Pick Your Poison; The Cat, The Vagabond and The Victim by Leann Sweeney
Live and Let Fly by Clover Tate
Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
A Fine Summer's Day by Charles Todd
Deception in the Cotswolds; The Threlkeld Theory by Rebecca Tope
Trouble in the Tarot by Kari Lee Townsend
Rooted in Deceit by Wendy Tyson
Board Stiff by Elaine Viets
Shadows of a Down East Summer; Thread and Gone by Lea Wait
Deadly Delights by Laura Jensen Walker
Trail of Secrets by Laura Wolfe (YA)
An Old Faithful Murder, Remodelled to Death; Death in a Beach Chair by Valerie Wolzien
Orchid Beach by Stuart Woods
Sins of a Shaker Summer by Deborah Woodworth
Summer Will End by Dorian Yeager
Summer Camp Mysteries:
Any titles you'd like to add? Make a comment below.
Mystery Readers Journal is a quarterly thematic review Journal. Each issue contains articles, reviews, and author essays on a specific theme, as well as special columns and other mystery related material. Journals run an average of 100 pages. Subscribe.
Current Issue: Murder Takes a Holiday: Available in print or as a downloadable PDF.. If you're a subscriber or contributor to this issue, please scroll down.
Recent Issues: Southern California Mysteries (Spring 2024); Animals in Mysteries II (Winter 2023); Animals in Mysteries I (Fall 2023); Hobbies & Crafts in Mysteries (Summer 2023).
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Mystery Readers Journal: Southern California (40:1) is available as a PDF and Hardcopy.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARTICLES
AUTHOR! AUTHOR!
COLUMNS
Of specfic interterest to the mystery reader:
The Commonwealth Club of California
110 The Embarcadero
Toni Rembe Rock Auditorium
San Francisco, CA 94105
Gregg Hurwitz is a New York Times #1 internationally bestselling author of 24 thrillers, including the Orphan X series. His novels have won numerous literary awards and have been published in 33 languages. Hurwitz currently serves as the co-president of International Thriller Writers (ITW). Additionally, he’s written screenplays and television scripts for many of the major studios and networks, comics for AWA (including the critically acclaimed anthology NewThink), DC, and Marvel, and poetry. Currently, Hurwitz is actively working against polarization in politics and culture. To that end, he's penned op eds for The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Bulwark and others, and has produced several hundred commercials, which have received more than 100 million views on digital TV platforms. He also helped write the opening ceremony of the 2022 World Cup.
Kevin Compton is a co‐founder of Radar Partners in Palo Alto, CA, a private investment partnership focused on venture capital and multi-asset investing. Previously, Compton was a partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of Silicon Valley’s most successful high technology venture capital firms for almost 20 years. Compton and his partners invested in many of the most powerful and high profile start‐ups over the past 30 years, including Google, Sun Microsystems, Intuit, Netscape and Amazon. The Forbes “Midas Touch” ranking of top investors has named Kevin as one of the top private investors in the world on numerous occasions, ranking him in the top 10 three times.
This program is in-person only.
https://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2024-07-18/thrillers-tech-and-ethics-rapidly-changing-world
