The Sweet Remnants of Summer

February 1, 2022

In The Paper Caper, Carlisle's latest "Bibliophile Mystery," murder transpires at the first annual Mark Twain Festival, held by Brooklyn Wainwright at her bookstore and underwritten by media magnate Joseph Cabot. In Castillo's The Hidden One, Amish elders turn to Painters Mill chief of police Kate Burkholder when the remains of a long-vanished bishop are discovered, bearing evidence of foul play (150,000-copy first printing). Private informer Flavia Albia's next Desperate Undertaking is finding a serial killer (or killers) committing brutal murder and staging the corpses around Davis's first-century CE Rome (30,000-copy first printing). In Hokuloa Road, cross genre-writing, Shirley Jackson Award-winning Hand makes Grady Kendall caretaker of a luxury property in Hawaii (as far as possible from his native Maine), then has him hunting for a young woman from his flight who has since vanished (30,000-copy first printing). In McCall Smith's The Sweet Remnants of Summer, Isabel Dalhousie is serving on an advisory committee for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery when she is caught up in the squabbles of a prominent family where Nationalist vs. Socialist ideologies prevail. In Peril at the Exposition, a follow-up to March's Edgar finalist debut, Murder in Old Bombay, newlyweds Capt. Jim Agnihotri and Diana Framji have left British-ruled Bombay (now Mumbai) for 1890s Boston when Jim is sent to investigate a murder in Chicago (50,000-copy first printing). In Munier's The Wedding Plot, Mercy's grandmother Patience is set to marry her longtime beloved at the five-star Lady's Slipper Inn when family enmities bubble to the surface, the inn's spa director vanishes, and a stranger turns up dead (30,000-copy first printing). In An Honest Living--a debut from Murphy, editor in chief of CrimeReads, Literary Hub's crime fiction vertical--an attorney picking up odd jobs after walking out on his stranglehold law firm agrees to help reclusive literati Anna Reddick find her possibly thieving bookseller husband, and all's well until the real Anna Reddick walks in. In Rosenfelt's Holy Chow, an older woman who adopts sweet senior chow mix Tessie from Andy Carpenter's Tara Foundation makes Andy promise that if she dies he will take care of Tessie provided that her son cannot--which he certainly can't when he is arrested days later on suspicion of his mother's murder (60,000-copy first printing).

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June 1, 2022
McCall Smith's Isabel Dalhousie series stars an entirely lucky woman. Isabel is a woman of independent means who edits a philosophical journal and lives in a lovely townhouse in Edinburgh with her handsome musician husband, Jamie, and their two small children. From time to time, Isabel's friends ask her to investigate a crime or suspected ethical breach. Fans of the series will welcome the return of McCall Smith's charmingly appreciative approach to life, delivered through Isabel's and Jamie's thoughts and dialogue. The evocatively described Edinburgh setting and the reappearance of various comic supporting characters will also be most welcome. However, old and new readers alike may be baffled by the lack of plot in this fourteenth Dalhousie episode. There are promising beginnings: a woman on a committee for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery asks Isabel to sort out the family fallout from an estranged son, and Jamie fears his chamber orchestra's conductor may be guilty of sexual favoritism. But not much happens after that, except for Isabel and Jamie agonizing over what to do. A mixed blessing for McCall Smith devotees.

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July 1, 2022

In this 14th installment in McCall Smith's Isabel Dalhousie series (after The Geometry of Holding Hands) moral philosopher Isabel has agreed to sit on an advisory boardfor the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. She is approached by Laura, a fellow board member, who asks her to broker a reconciliation between her husband and adult son. Meanwhile, Isabel's husband Jamie has thorny issues of his own as he suspects a love affair in his chamber orchestra might be unduly influencing the conductor. In an unexpected twist, Jamie and Isabel agree to investigate each other's cases and soon even their steadfast housekeeper, Grace, gets in on the action. Celebrated author McCall Smith delves into the inner machinations of a modern-day philosopher whose nuanced approach stands in stark contrast to the fiery rhetoric of the day. While touching on a variety of topics, the tone is never preachy or pedantic but instead is an open examination of how to lead a moral life. VERDICT Hand this title to those looking for a more contemplative approach to their mysteries, without any violence or gore.--Amy Nolan

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.