Tag: Mystery

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman

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Title: The Bullet That Missed
Author: Richard Osman
Format: Book
Genre(s): Mystery
Rating: ★★★★★

This is the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series, and once again we join Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim as they investigate a murder: this time, a cold case involving a local reporter whose body was never found.

If you aren’t familiar with the series, you should know that the main characters are all retired, come from a variety of backgrounds, and form a group of friends so delightful and mischievous I can only hope to replicate it when I reach that stage of life. Osman does a wonderful job bringing each character to life, and he makes the most of each of their skills and personalities as they tackle this latest mystery while making new friends and meeting old ones.

I especially appreciate the moments (both funny and poignant) that bring up the importance of friendship in one’s life, and the ways that we leave an imprint on those around us. The story is clever, hilarious, and keeps the mystery going long enough to hold my attention — enjoyable even if you aren’t normally a fan of mysteries!

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

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Title: The Violin Conspiracy
Author: Brendan Slocumb
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Literary fiction, Crime, Mystery
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Slocumb begins this novel with the theft of Ray McMillian’s $10 million Stradivarius violin, but we are quickly taken back to his past: we see how he comes into his own as a Black violinist in the highly competitive (and racist) world of classical music, and the people who help and hinder him — including as he tries to recover his violin in time for a prestigious competition.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: This is not a great mystery (I correctly identified who stole the violin when they first appeared in the narrative), and I wouldn’t recommend reading it if the primary draw for you is the whodunnit. That said, I was very drawn to Ray’s origin story and the challenges he faced. Although many of the characters seemed like sketches or foils for Ray’s personal journey, it was still meaningful to see him grapple with things like imposter syndrome, family conflict, relationships, and of course racism.

It was even more powerful to learn, in the author’s note, that many of Ray’s experiences come from Slocumb’s own life; despite the weaknesses of the mystery plot, this book offers a moving fictional account of the very real struggles one can face both as a Black classical musician and as a Black man in America and abroad.

The Violin Conspiracy is part of the Tournament of Books, a sort of March Madness for 16 books from the previous year. If this sounds like an interesting event to you, I’d recommend checking out the list and trying at least one or two books that catch your eye!

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

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Title: A Restless Truth
Author: Freya Marske
Format: ebook
Genre(s): Romance, Historical, Fantasy
Rating: ★★★☆☆

This is the sequel to A Marvellous Light, following Maud Blythe as she tries to solve a magical murder mystery while traveling on a ship back to England from New York — it is, as Marske calls it, “a bubbly Wodehousian romp.”

Unfortunately, the first book didn’t set me up for this one to be a romp, and I found myself jarred by the change in tone as well as the lack of intimacy-building between Maud and Violet, a striking actress who Maud recognizes from Robin’s earlier visions about the journey. The romance storyline is mainly about Maud’s self-discovery as she is captivated by Violet, whereas Violet plays the fairly predictable part of the more worldly, guarded flirt, creating a frustratingly insurmountable emotional distance between the two (although that does come across as more realistic in the end than a whirlwind romance). The magic/mystery storyline also fell flat for me, not offering enough new substance about magic and magical society aside from the revelation about Maud, and exasperating me when they make an enormous and completely avoidable blunder as the crisis is coming to a head.

The word that most describes this book for me is claustrophobic: I felt stuck on the ship, wishing for the end of the journey and a change in cast or setting, and ultimately left hoping that the next installment (perhaps following Alan Ross and Lord Hawthorn, who I loved seeing more sides of, although I’d be thrilled to get more of Adelaide Morrissey) will bring a breath of fresh air and some added depth to the series.