 Book Jam readers - you are in for a treat. Today, author Sarah Stewart Taylor reviews some superb mysteries for our summer reading. She's too modest to do it herself, so we will add her terrific Maggie D'arcy mystery series - the initial novel, The Mountains Wild and book #2, A Distant Grave, which is available for purchase and in public libraries on June 22nd - yes tomorrow, to this list. So without further ado, Sarah's picks. ~ Lisa and Lisa OK - one more "ado" - Sarah's book launches June 23rd with a Norwich Bookstore virtual event. Just click here for details. And now, with no further ado we present Sarah's recommendations. ~ Lisa and Lisa  I love summer reading and I don’t think there’s a better genre for the long reading days of summer than mystery fiction. It’s so satisfying to become completely absorbed in a puzzle and suspicious cast of characters and so many crime narratives take place in locations I’ve always wanted to visit. So, Book Jam readers, here I’m sharing with you some of the crime novels I’m looking forward to diving into this summer. Find a hammock or a perfect chair and dive in. All of these can be found at your favorite independent bookstore! ~ Sarah Stewart Taylor  Transient Desires by Donna Leon (2021) — I love Donna Leon’s Venice-set Guido Brunetti mysteries and I am so excited to read Brunetti’s latest adventure, in which the seemingly accidental deaths of two American women leads him down a dangerous and twisted path. I am looking forward to revisiting these beloved characters and also Brunetti’s wife Paola’s inspirational cooking. ~ Sarah Stewart Taylor  The Killing Kind by Jane Casey (2021) — I love Irish crime writer Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan mysteries and I am so excited to read this standalone thriller about a young London barrister whose stalker may be the only one who can save her from another threat . . . ~ Sarah Stewart Taylor (Note from the Book Jam: this mystery is available to be read September 21st, but can be preordered now.)  City of Saviors: A Detective Elouise Norton novel by Rachel Howzell Hall (2017) — I love Hall’s series featuring Los Angeles homicide detective Elouise Norton, but I just realized I haven’t yet read this fourth installment. Hall is getting a lot of attention for her standalone novels (These Toxic Things will be out September 1) and I can’t wait to get caught up on the most recent “Lou” Norton novel. ~ Sarah Stewart Taylor (Book Jam Note: City of Saviors is Book #4 in this series, the first three are also available from your local indie bookstore.)  The Lost Village by Camilla Sten (2021) — Despite the fact that I write murder mysteries, I’m a bit of a wimp about spooky stories that contain elements of horror or the supernatural. But I’ve heard great things about this one, featuring a documentary filmmaker who travels to an abandoned mining village to try to figure out where the village’s residents went and what happened to them. ~ Sarah Stewart Taylor  Red Widow by Alma Katsu (2021) — I love espionage fiction and I’ve heard great things about this novel by former CIA intelligence officer Katsu, featuring two women whose careers and lives intersect over exposed Russian intelligence assets and a possible mole in the CIA. ~ Sarah Stewart Taylor  These Women by Ivy Pochoda (2021) — Ivy Pochoda will be visiting the Upper Valley later this summer (see the Norwich Bookstore website for details). And, I am so excited to finally read her award-winning novel, about a cast of women from different corners of L.A. whose voices combine to create what I’ve heard is a stunning portrait of a city and a dangerous man. ~ Sarah Stewart Taylor  Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby (2021) — S.A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland was one of my — and many other readers’ — favorite reads of 2020. His new standalone novel is getting big pre-publication buzz. Two very different fathers set out on a journey to avenge the deaths of their sons, a murdered gay couple. Everyone I know who has read this novel has raved and says you should have a tissue box ready. ~ Sarah Stewart Taylor What about you? What are you looking forward to reading this summer? Sarah Stewart Taylor is the author of the Maggie D’arcy novels, about an American homicide detective in Ireland, and the Sweeney St. George novels, about an art historian who specializes in funerary art. The first Maggie D’arcy mystery, The Mountains Wild, was on numerous best of 2020 lists and was called “perfect summer reading” by BookPage. It’s out now in paperback. The second Maggie D’arcy novel, A Distant Grave, will be out June 22. Library Journal calls it “as intricately plotted at The Mountains Wild . . . a tense thriller” and Kirkus says that, “Taylor pulls out all the stops―subplots, threats, red herrings, warning bells―to keep the pot boiling till the end". You can find her on the web at www.SarahStewartTaylor.com.  Comments are closed.
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