Iām the author of The Larkin Day Mysteries, a cozy-comedy-nerdy-mathy-theater-geeky mystery series set in Eastern Iowa. Iāve been a full-time freelance writer for over a decade, and you may have seen my work in Vox, Morning Brew, Dwell, Lifehacker, Popular Science, and/or The Billfold. I live in a small Midwestern town with the Great Love of My Life and we spend our time practicing the piano, playing chess, and cultivating our garden. I spent a few years working in both amateur and professional theater, including a semester teaching Shakespeare at the University of Hyderabad. By the time I was ready to become a full-time freelancer and part-time novelist, I had plenty of experiences to draw from.
I know half of you clicked on my list just to see if The Westing Game was on it. If weāre looking for cozy-nerdy-mathy classics, itās hard to outdo Ellen Raskinās masterpiece.
I know she wrote it for youngish adults, but letās be honestāI re-read this book at least once a year, finding new layers of meaning in sentences I memorized in sixth grade. If you like music, lyrics, puzzles, and personal finance, The Westing Game is a great place to start no matter how old you are.
One of these days Iāll come up with a chess game that matches the moves we see on the board.
"A supersharp mystery...confoundingly clever, and very funny." āBooklist, starred review
A bizarre chain of events begins when sixteen unlikely people gather for the reading of Samuel W. Westingās will. And though no one knows why the eccentric, game-loving millionaire has chosen a virtual strangerāand a possible murdererāto inherit his vast fortune, on things for sure: Sam Westing may be deadā¦but that wonāt stop him from playing one last game!
Winner of the Newbery Medal Winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award An ALA Notable Book
"Great fun for those who enjoy illusion, word play, or sleightā¦
This book is essentially The Westing Game meets Black Mirrorāand although The 7 Ā½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle contains more blood than you might expect in a typical cozy, thereās enough math, mystery, and time-travel mechanics to keep even the most squeamish nerds reading.
Like most stories that mess around with time, youāre probably going to want to read this one twiceābecause the pieces that donāt fit during your first read will make a lot more sense during the second. Thereās also a chess game, although the way the pieces move after the game (or is it before?) is more important.
"Pop your favorite Agatha Christie whodunnit into a blender with a scoop of Downton Abbey, a dash of Quantum Leap, and a liberal sprinkling of Groundhog Day and you'll get this unique murder mystery." āHarper's Bazaar
The 7Ā½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a breathlessly addictive mystery that follows one man's race to find a killer, with an astonishing time-turning twist that means nothing and no one are quite what they seem.
Aiden Bishop knows the rules. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again,ā¦
Lerner's memoir of approaching adulthood in the mid-sixties is deliciously readable, but deceptively breezy. His family is affluent, his school engaging, his friends smart and fun. He has his first car, and drives with abandon. The American moment promises unlimited possibility. But political and cultural upheavals are emerging, and irresistible.ā¦
In Still Life, bestselling author Louise Penny introduces Monsieur L'Inspecteur Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec, a modern Poirot who anchors this beloved traditional mystery series.
Winner of the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards.
If youāre reading this list, you probably already know who Phryne Fisher isābut you might not have taken the time to read the novels that inspired the cult classic television series and its crowdfunded feature film.
Kerry Greenwoodās books, believe it or not, are even nerdier than the TV show. If you donāt have a working knowledge of publishing houses, orchestra halls, and circus tentsānot to mention anatomy, theology, mathematics, and the fundamentals of good home cookingāyouāll want to read these books with a search engine by your side.
Youāll also want to get yourself a box of Clever Chocolates, so you can reward yourself the same way Phryne rewards her adopted daughters Jane and Ruth every time they correctly solve a puzzle.
Bored socialite Phryne Fisher leaves the tedium of the London season for adventure in Australia!
Tea-dances in West End hotels, weekends in the country with guns and dogs... Phryne Fisher - she of the grey-green eyes and diamante garters - is rapidly tiring of the boredom of chit-chatting with retired colonels and foxtrotting with weak-chinned wonders. Instead, Phryne decides it might be amusing to try her hand at being a lady detective - on the other side of the world!
As soon as she books into the Windsor Hotel in Melbourne, Phryne is embroiled in mystery: poisoned wives, drug smugglingā¦
It didnāt begin with Donald Trump. When the Republican Party lost five straight presidential elections during the 1930s and 1940s, three things happened: (1) Republicans came to believe that presidential elections are rigged; (2) Conspiracy theories arose and were believed; and (3) The presidency was elevated to cult-like status.
You werenāt expecting me to recommend a Leverage tie-in novel, were you?
From my perspective, a book based on a television series is just as valid as a television series based on a bookāand if you donāt share the same view, you might need to adjust one of your mirrors. I love The Con Job because takes the nerdy, cozy world of Leverage and places it in San Diego Comic-Con, giving the characters a real-world experience that many of us will have experienced ourselves.
Thereās not a lot of music in this one, which may disappoint those of us who watched Leverage for the Rimsky-Korsakov, but thereās plenty of math and physics and a few inside jokes. Itās a comfort read, in more ways than oneāwhich is probably why I keep reading it.
The rich and powerful take what they want. We steal it back for you.
When a disreputable dealer starts swindling aged and ailing comic-book creators out of their wealth-and their high-valued comics and artwork-the daughter of one victim comes to ex-insurance investigator Nathan Ford and his team of counter-crooks for help.
Their scheme: run a con at the Comic-Con International, where the crook intends to sell the goods. But there's more going on than simple theft. An arson plot is in motion that will not only destroy countless rare collectibles, but may end up costing lives.
Larkin Day just moved back homeāat 35 years old. With no money, no job prospects, and nowhere to live except her mother's guest bedroom, Larkin is pretty sure this is the worst thing that's ever happened to her. Then her mother signs her up for community choir. Then the accompanist asks her outāand stands her up. Then he turns up dead.
A fast-paced, cleverly-plotted mystery that includes both Beethoven and baking, Ode to Murder is for cozy fans who have been hoping to find a Millennial-aged amateur detective who practices old-fashioned sleuthing in a world of smartphones and social media.
This book is set in Montauk, under looming threat from a warming climate and overdevelopment. Now outsider Clancy, a thirty-six-year-old claims adjuster scarred by his orphan childhood, has inherited an unexpected legacy: the power to decide the fate of Montaukās last parcel of undeveloped land. Everyone in town has aā¦
Artist Nilda Ricci could use a stroke of luck. She seems to get it when she inherits a shadowy Victorian, built by an architect whose houses were said to influence the mindāsupposedly, in beneficial ways. At first, Nildaās new home delivers, with the help of its longtime housekeeper. And Nildaā¦