british mystery

The Woman in Cabin 10

By Ruth Ware

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Dec 31, 2019

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Ruth Ware, a well established mystery author, created a captivating novel with The Woman in Cabin 10. I am not overly familiar with Ware’s writing style, as I have only read two (this one included) of her mysteries. The formula of this particular book reminded me of an Agatha Christie novel, as it followed the same “trapped with a group of people, one of whom is a murderer” formula as many of Christie’s own books. Lo Blacklock, a travel writer, is given the chance to report on a luxury cruise with a select few passengers, when she hears a splash in the night

The Woman in White (DVD)

By Wilkie Collins (novel) & Fiona Seres (screenplay)
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Bet M
Feb 26, 2019

This 5-episode miniseries, featuring two memorable female leads, expertly tackled Wilkie Collins's 656-page suspense novel (published in 1860) and kept me on the edge of my seat even more than many a modern thriller.

Lethal White

By Robert Galbraith
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Hilary S.
Dec 12, 2018

Lethal White is the fourth book in this mystery series, featuring detectives Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott. If you're unaware, Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for J. K. Rowling, and she does a great job with this adult series. 

Coming off the success of catching the Shacklewell Ripper, Cormoran Strike is busier and more famous than ever. With Robin having been fired, Strike must hire contract workers to help provide surveillance on his cases. One of his hires, Barclay, is a likable character who gets decent coverage in this book, and hopefully future books. Thankfully, we pick up pretty

Unforgotten, the Complete First Season (DVD)

Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Courtney S
Aug 20, 2018

Unforgotten opens with a series of scenes depicting perfectly ordinary people going about their lives and interacting with other perfectly ordinary people. At the same time, a body is discovered in the basement of a building that's over a century old, and DCI Cassie Stuart and her partner DI Sunny Khan must figure out not only what happened to the deceased, but when, in the long history of that building, he died. This mystery series is smart, engaging, thoughtful, and empathetic, and the story's interplay between ordinary people and the crime that's almost certainly been committed by one of

Silent Child

By Sarah A. Denzil

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Dec 27, 2017

Aiden was six when he went missing during a bad rainstorm which flooded the banks of the river that runs through their village. His family and police believed he had been swept away by the river and drowned, having only found his jacket floating in the river and no body. Ten years later his mom is married and in her last month of pregnancy when she gets the incredible news that Aiden is alive. Told from the viewpoint of Aiden's mom, Emma, the Silent Child is a psychological thriller that will engulf you in the chaos of Emma's intense emotions as she tries to figure out who took Aiden.

What

Under the Harrow

By Flynn Berry
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by Josh N.
Jun 21, 2016

Flynn Berry's Under the Harrow is a murder mystery turned inside-out, where "Whodunnit?" is overshadowed by "How do you process tragedy and loss?" It's a dark, haunting ride, with a few twists you may not see coming. (I didn't.)

When Nora goes to an English village to visit her sister, only to find her brutally murdered, she immediately decides to investigate the murder herself, despite the police doing everything they can to solve the murder. What Nora doesn't realize, but what quickly becomes apparent to the reader, is she's in no psychological state to do this. The book flashes back and

The Lake House

By Kate Morton

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Apr 20, 2016

Family secrets are kept well-hidden until a modern day detective uncovers clues to solve a 70 year-old mystery of a little boy’s disappearance. Alice Edevane is an introspective, long-time crime writer who crafts perfect stories for her readers. However, Alice cannot reveal the secrets she’s kept surrounding the disappearance of her youngest brother Theo at a Midsummer’s Eve party at the Loeanneth Estate in 1933. Sadie Sparrow is a Detective Constable with London’s Metropolitan Police who is embroiled in a scandal after leaking information to the press about the Met’s mishandling of a missing

In a Dark, Dark Wood

By Ruth Ware

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Oct 5, 2015

Leonora (Nora/Lee/Leo) Shaw's past has come back to visit her. With a mysterious invitation to a hen-do (British bachelorette party) in the English countryside for a friend she hasn't seen or spoken to in years, she is forced to get out of her apartment and shed her closed-off personality for a weekend. She doesn't, however, quite know why she is invited and when she begins to ask around, no one else seems to know why they have been invited either. The hostess, Flo, is crazy about the bride, Clare, and puts all of the guests ill-at-ease. The Glass House where they stay is freaky as well with

The Rook

By Daniel O'Malley

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Jul 22, 2015

What happens when you wake up in the middle of a park, with no memories, surrounded by bodies?  If you're Myfanwy (rhymes with Tiffany) Thomas, you find a letter in your pocket written by the person you used to be and take over her life.

The previous Myfanwy was a high-ranking agent in a secret society that protects the world from supernatural dangers.  The previous Myfanwy was also a shy clerk, terrified of her own abilities, and unable to ferret out the traitors in her ranks after discovering them through accounting discrepancies. New Myfanwy may not know what's going on, but that's not

The Yard by Alex Grecian


Rated by Hilary S.
Jul 2, 2012

Set in 1889 London, The Yard focuses on policemen working the murder squad in Scotland Yard.  The atmosphere in London is tense; it is just after the spectacular and complete failure of Scotland Yard to capture Jack the Ripper.  Our story focuses on a newly appointed detective, and his unfortunate luck to have caught the murderer of a fellow policeman as his first case. Tensions run high, as Detective Day struggles to prove himself capable of the job, adjust to his new surroundings in a overfull city, and battle against a multitude of cases that seems to grow daily.  Not to mention a shrinking