Apr 16 2025
Hyo the Hellmaker, by Mina Ikemoto Ghosh came out this week, from Scholastic! It’s got intricate world building, noir vibes, and atmospheric illustrations by the author for any manga-loving teen of your acquaintance. Hyo is a “hellmaker,” which means she is able to make bespoke curses for your enemies. Once you commission her, she can …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/16/hyo-the-hellmaker-by-mina-ikemoto-ghosh/
Mar 25 2025
We have a publishing day treat for readers with an excerpt from Emily Carpenter’s brand new thriller Gothictown, out today from Kensington Books! Manhattan chef Billie Hope is feeling at a loose end: her restaurant has closed and she’s feeling more than a little lonely, despite enjoying the (unfortunately) abundant free time she now has …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/03/25/gothictown-by-emily-carpenter-excerpt/
Mar 24 2025
This second Monti & Leo book finds the two best friends embroiled in a series of conundrums, one light-hearted but one decidedly serious, as collecting mania comes to Pocketville! Mrs Sheep has generously allowed her collection of figurines to be displayed at the local library. As the Pocketvillians ooh and aah over the scope of …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/03/24/monti-and-leo-a-mystery-in-pocketville-by-sylvie-kantorovitz/
Mar 13 2025
I’m ngl, pretty privilege is real. I don’t speak just from personal experience, but from watching pre-Crystal Palace Ben Chilwell get consistently picked for Chelsea and England despite being clearly outclassed by nearly everyone around him (this is, admittedly, a very niche example.) So when this terrific queer title came across my desk, I knew …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/03/13/pretty-girls-get-away-with-murder-by-brandi-bradley-excerpt/
Mar 01 2025
Stop in and have some tea with Mma Ramotswe, or maybe head out to the orphan farm for a piece of Mma Potokwani’s fruitcake, or perhaps head into downtown Gaborone for lunch at the President Hotel with a side order of people-watching. In many ways, the books of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/03/01/from-a-far-and-lovely-country-by-alexander-mccall-smith/
Feb 25 2025
If you like murder mysteries and speculative fiction, this Spring has a bunch of books that will appeal! Murders in fantasy empires, generation ships, fantasy empires, and … other fantasy empires. There may be a theme here? The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison is a satisfying conclusion to the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy that …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/02/25/speculative-mysteries-coming-soon/
Feb 24 2025
subtitled Solve Your Way Through 40 Puzzle Mysteries! I’m about to admit something deeply embarrassing for a puzzle aficionado: I think regular Murdle is too hard. Perhaps that is not even the best way to describe my reservations regarding the online game. I just think that certain information is implied in a way that requires …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/02/24/murdle-jr-vol-1-curious-crimes-for-curious-minds-by-g-t-karber/
Jan 09 2025
I usually read a Bad Machinery book each Christmas, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it this past year. Book 10 is the very last book of the series, and I was not in the correct frame of mind to face the end of the stories featuring my favorite teen mystery solvers, not …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/01/09/the-case-of-the-severed-alliance-bad-machinery-10-by-john-allison/
Dec 30 2024
You know how sometimes you have an author whose first work you encountered was so life-altering that you’re down for whatever they write after, no matter the quality of the subsequent output? Marisha Pessl is one of those authors for me. I fell in love hard with Special Topics In Calamity Physics, which was a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/12/30/darkly-by-marisha-pessl/
Dec 16 2024
Hello, readers! Today we have an excerpt for you from a cozy mystery novel that’s been described as a blend of The Da Vinci Code and Murder She Wrote. The second book of the Ohnita Harbor mystery series finds our heroine once again compelled to help those who need it most, even if it puts …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2024/12/16/the-secrets-of-still-waters-chasm-by-patricia-crisafulli-excerpt/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire