May 29 2025
Friends and readers, what a glorious thing it is to have music in the world! Whether you appreciate it for itself, or for the ways in which it can bring you closer to divinity — as Johann Sebastian Bach, among so many others, believed — music is a gift that connects the interior world ineffably …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/29/allegro-by-ariel-dorfman/
May 22 2025
What a terrific murder mystery graphic novel! I read a lot of both, and know how difficult it can be to perfectly encapsulate a crime novel — and one that involves not only a murder but political intrigue, as well — into graphic format. Ozge Samanci has managed that in this compelling tale, that’s rightfully …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/22/evil-eyes-sea-by-ozge-samanci/
May 21 2025
This middle grade mystery-adventure hearkens back to the Famous Five and similar novels I devoured as a kid, tho with one crucial difference I’ll talk about later in this review. Thirteen year-old twins Brice and Brianna Hendrix have recently moved to Florida, and are spending the summer helping their mom by volunteering at the retirement …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/21/sabotage-at-casa-grande-springs-by-dd-sterner/
May 06 2025
The Karma Sequence is a fascinating novel that blends mystery with philosophical and speculative fiction, asking: what if your genes know more about your future than you could ever imagine? Dan, an introverted computer genius, has fought his way back from a life-shattering crisis that left him isolated, powerless, battling addiction, and close to death. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/05/06/the-karma-sequence-by-a-o-wagner-excerpt/
Apr 29 2025
We have a fun excerpt for you this week, readers, as we dive into a comic take on your usual Scandinoir crime thriller. Translated from the Finnish by David Hackston, this darkly funny novel is the perfect balance of thrills, twists and laughter. Middle-aged Anni Korpinen is the top salesperson at Steam Devil. She’s worked …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/29/the-burning-stones-by-antti-tuomainen-excerpt/
Apr 18 2025
with Dave Sharpe on letters. What a clever post-apocalyptic spin on the noir genre! Bingo Finder is a scavenger in the utopian farm village of Ellay, venturing into the ruins of urban neighborhoods to find anything that might be worth bartering. On one trip with her best friend Fenn, she finds what, to her, is …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/04/18/tectiv-vol-1-noirtopia-by-richard-ashley-hamilton-marco-matrone/
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/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire