This week I’ve been mostly reading crime. After finishing Blood Oath (very good – I’ve reviewed it on the Paisley Piranha site if you want details), I had a cruise through my kindle to see what was lurking unread. I found The Big Overnight by Libby Kirsch, which I’d started and not finished weeks ago. I dug into that and enjoyed it so much I went straight on to The Big Weekend and polished that off in the space of a day.

Years ago I used to read Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum mysteries (until she became too dithery and I couldn’t believe two intelligent adult males would genuinely remain interested in her), and I loved Jennifer Crusie’s small town romances which were full of humour.

Libby Kirsch’s mysteries have elements of both. Stella Reynolds is a fabulous character, intelligent and determined, and with an eye to the injustices and absurdities of modern life, while the plots are twisty enough to keep me interested as I try to figure out what’s really happening a step or two behind Stella.

If you read crime (cosy rather than gritty) these are highly recommended.

Now, it’s probably back to YA speculative fiction for me. Check back next week to see what I’ve been reading.