100 books like The Wages of Sin

Our next stop is Essex for a classic English village mystery. I knew from the moment I read the opening scene—the grisly discovery of a young man entombed in the crypt of the usually murder-free parish church—that I was going to love the story. And I did.   

I was delighted to see how the tranquility of the pastoral scenes—the thatched-roof cottages, the earthy smell of horses in the stable, the square, Norman-style church tower overlooking the village green—carried through the story and beautifully counterpointed the skullduggery at the heart of the mystery.

The quaint village atmosphere heightens the tension in this well-constructed first installment of what promises to be an exciting new mystery series.  

The tour begins in an elegant London residence, one of my favorite settings for a puzzling murder. What I like in this story of the apparent suicide of a maid is how the careful rendering of scenes made the story’s events more realistic and its characters, especially the gentleman-of-leisure amateur sleuth, more believable.

The author’s deft touch made me feel that I was right there—reading in the library of his West End house, riding in his carriage through clogged London streets, and even being kicked in the stomach in a dark alley. I thoroughly enjoyed this expertly plotted, frequently humorous, well-written mystery, made more enjoyable in my eyes by an effective use of convincing background material.

This last tale brings the tour back to London, albeit with side trips to Yorkshire. I was attracted to this enthralling mystery not only by the twisty plot but also by the way the author cleverly sets scenes with just a few words. It was enough for me to know time and place while leaving room for my imagination to have its say.

I easily pictured the library or drawing room of Somerville Hall; Harrogate’s rat-infested police station; the derelict building housing Russell’s Book Shop; Verrey’s Restaurant, Regent Street; the London General Mourning Warehouse; and the list continues. I was drawn into every scene with the story’s heroine.

I must confess to a special interest in this mystery. It is set in Wales, and I am Welsh by birth. From a series of accidental deaths to an old collage created by a local master military tailor, this recent publication (2023) mesmerized me from start to finish. I could not put it down.

What fascinated me was how the settings, whether the town center with its breweries, tanneries, and museum, the site of the Art Treasures Exhibition, or the menacing waters of the Irish Sea, the location of the story’s nail-biting climax, brought this well-researched, page-turner to life before my eyes. I could feel the time and place of this intriguing detective story deep in my Welsh roots.  

Twenty-eight-year-old widow Ricki James leaves Los Angeles to start a new life in New Orleans after her showboating actor husband perishes doing a stupid internet stunt. The Big Easy is where she was born and adopted by the NICU nurse who cared for her after Ricki’s teen mother disappeared from the hospital.

Ricki’s dream comes true when she joins the quirky staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, the spectacular former Garden District home of late bon vivant Genevieve “Vee” Charbonnet, the city’s legendary restauranteur. Ricki is excited about turning her avocation—collecting vintage cookbooks—into a vocation by launching the museum’s gift shop, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware. Then she discovers that a box of donated vintage cookbooks contains the body of a cantankerous Bon Vee employee who was fired after being exposed as a book thief.

The skills Ricki has developed ferreting out hidden vintage treasures come in handy… show more.

I’ve been a fan of Crais’s Elvis & Joe series for years, so I was delighted to see that he brought a dog into a new series as a main character. Another book with traumatized characters, this one demonstrates the redemptive power of canine love.

LAPD officer Scott James is recovering from an assault in which his partner was killed, and he almost lost his life. He’s barely fit to return to duty until he’s paired with his new partner Maggie, a bomb-sniffing German shepherd that lost her handler in Afghanistan. Their partnership offers healing for both, and I love this book and A Borrowing of Bones because they reflect redemption.

Stephen King introduced the innocent, unfiltered but extremely observant Holly Gibney in the phenomenal Mr. Mercedes.

King himself says, “...she more or less stole the book, and she stole my heart.” I completely agree, so much so she was a massive influence on Tilly Bradshaw, the super-sheltered, super-intelligent nerdy sidekick from my own Washington Poe series. She’s the first of three sidekicks in this list who will go on to get a book of their own.

Holly is out September 2023 and it’s the book I’m most looking forward to this year.  

I loved this book because Antonia Scott might just be my favorite protagonist of all time.

She’s literally the most intelligent person in the world, with an I.Q. of over 200. She’s plagued by guilt and awkward social skills, but she has more crime-solving abilities than an entire police force. She’s Sherlock Holmes on steroids, with a hyper-intelligent sense of humor!

I was moved and delighted by this highly original novel, which blends murder-mystery with heartfelt philosophical explorations into animal rights, mysticism, existential anxiety, and our own humanity.

Narrator-protagonist Janina, a woman who translates Blake, studies horoscopes and feels a deep connection to the animals around her; she tells the story of what happens one winter when a series of men in her Polish village are murdered by a culprit yet to be found.

I adored this book’s intelligence and blending of tragedy and humor. Its narrative combines a compelling plot with a distinctive first-person voice and deeply thoughtful reflections about the beauty, cruelty, and wonder of life.

I couldn’t help but root for Miranda Abbott, the hilariously self-absorbed heroine of I Only Read Murder. The formerly famous television star of the Pastor Fran crime-fighting series, Miranda’s path to redemption requires her to solve a real-life murder where all the suspects are members of an amateur theatrical society. I Only Read Murder is ridiculously entertaining, a very fun romp that takes full advantage of the cozy mystery tropes we all love.