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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2662 KP) rated The Devil Comes Calling in Books

Nov 10, 2025  
The Devil Comes Calling
The Devil Comes Calling
Annette Dashofy | 2025 | Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Matthias and Emma Hunt the Devil
Detective Matthias Honeywell is called to the scene of a double homicide. The victims were found in a home being renovated and were shot execution style. One of them was Emma Anderson’s predecessor as a crime beat photographer for ErieLIVE. While Honeywell conducts his investigation, Emma begins to wonder if a co-worker is involved. But with a complication from Honeywell’s past in town, will that distract him from the case?

While it’s been two years for us since the previous book, it’s only been a few weeks for the characters. I recommend you read the previous book because this one picks up a storyline from that book; I wish I’d had time to reread it myself. Also, keep in mind this is a police procedural, not one of the cozies I often read and you’ll be fine. As always, this book started strongly and kept getting better. I was hooked long before I reached the logical yet surprising climax. Honeywell gets some very nice backstory here, and Emma continues to be a strong second viewpoint characters. The switches between the two are always easy to follow. The suspects are strong, and I’m happy to see the supporting characters continue to grow. This book was worth the wait. Dive into this series today.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2662 KP) rated Root of All Evil in Books

May 23, 2025  
Root of All Evil
Root of All Evil
Liz Milliron | 2018 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Drugs and Scandal
State Trooper Jim Duncan is concerned when he hears a notorious drug dealer has been spotted in Fayette County again. He’s determined to catch the man this time. Meanwhile, his friend Sally Castle, an ADA, is shocked to find a coworker murdered in his office one Monday morning. Sally can’t stay on the sidelines with the case hitting so close to home. The pair quickly see a connection between events. But can they figure out what happened?

I’ve been meaning to pick up this series for a while since I’ve enjoyed other books from this author. While this is her debut novel, it’s not the first story with these characters. I do wish this book had more introduction to the characters, but we did get to know them pretty well over the course of the story. Jim and Sally share point of view duties, which helps. The pacing seemed a little uneven in the middle, but that’s a minor complaint. I did feel one of the characters could have been smarter as the climax neared, but the wrap up did answer all of my questions. Since this is a police procedural, it will have more content than the lighter books I often read. Now that I’ve started this series, I’m hoping to get to visit the characters again soon.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2662 KP) rated A Taste for Murder in Books

Aug 5, 2026  
A Taste for Murder
A Taste for Murder
Matt Baker | 2026 | Mystery
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Two Books in One, and It Shows
DCI Joe Mottram is spending the summer in Capri with his teenage daughter, Angelica, visiting his in-laws in hopes to deal with his grief over losing his wife. But he gets pulled into a case when an English businesswoman falls to her death on one of the cliffs. Is it murder?

I wasn’t sure from the title, but this is a police procedural, not a cozy. Having said that, there is plenty of talk about food. The mystery itself is strong, with some good twists. It also falls into some cliches, so I saw some things coming early. The issue was that the book really wasn’t very focused. Dealing with grief was as big a storyline as the mystery, although the grief storyline got a weak climax. There are three viewpoint characters, which was at least one too many. The characters are mostly good, but one has a twist part way through that really doesn’t feel supported by the rest of the book. While the main mystery is wrapped up, a subplot leads to a cliffhanger that isn’t enough to get me to come back. We also had conversations partially summarized, which was very weird as I was reading. Others seem to enjoy this book, but it wasn’t for me.