Sharon Tucker

Jun 2019 15

Beyond Spenser: Robert B. Parker’s Later Protagonists

2019 Articles, Mysteryrat's Maze, Sharon Tucker

by Sharon Tucker

As an academician, Robert B. Parker could have written literary fiction, criticism, or the great American novel, but lucky for us, he found a niche in crime fiction. His Spenser reinforced the admirable notion that adherence to a moral compass and accountability for one’s actions are essential to living a good life. That principle translated seamlessly when he wrote not only the Spenser novels but also his three other deeply satisfying crime series. What made Spenser such a pleasure to read holds true with his books featuring Sunny Randall, Jesse Stone, Virgil Cole, and Everett Hitch.

Mar 2019 9

Sláinte: Three Irish Mysteries for St. Patrick’s Day

2019 Articles, Mysteryrat's Maze, Sharon Tucker

by Sharon Tucker

Some commemorate St. Patrick’s Day with a pub-crawl, drinking Guinness and green beer. I think I would rather read an Irish mystery or crime novel—and just have a Guinness in tandem. S. Furlong-Bollinger’s Paddy Whacked (2011) is a brief and sprightly entry into the holiday stakes.

Nov 2018 17

Barb Hendee’s A Choice of Secrets: Fantasy Most Domestic

2018 Articles, Fantasy & Fangs, Sharon Tucker

by Sharon Tucker

The Dark Mirror series by Barb Hendee delivers in terms of intriguing and well-developed characters, complex plots, and the creation of a believable world. This is certainly true with her newest, A Choice of Secrets (2018), where the younger daughter of White Deer Lodge sees something happen that she should not have seen, and then has knowledge of a secret that will dramatically affect her family and their future alliances.

Oct 2018 20

Dennis Wheatley: Three Tales from a Master of Eerie Adventure

2018 Articles, Fantasy & Fangs, Sharon Tucker

by Sharon Tucker

Dennis Wheatley (1897-1977) was a best-selling British novelist for at least thirty years, and he is still quite a storyteller even by today’s standards. His black magic books are my favorites, particularly the adventures of the Duke de Richleau, in which he works to attempt restoring the monarchy in France in The Prisoner in the Mask (1957) or rescuing a friend from the designs of a Satanist in The Devil Rides Out (1934).

Sep 2018 22

Barb Hendee’s A Girl of White Winter: Will She Chose Wisely?

2018 Articles, Fantasy & Fangs, Sharon Tucker

by Sharon Tucker

How pleasant it is to spend a bit of time in a world without our 21st century distractions of social media, IT, traffic jams, and cell phones. Welcome back to the medieval world of Barb Hendee’s Dark Glass fantasies.

Sep 2018 8

Rachel Caine’s Smoke and Iron: Will They Pull It Off?

2018 Articles, Fantasy & Fangs, Sharon Tucker

by Sharon Tucker

When we last left our small group of scholars, soldiers, and students at the end of Ash and Quill (2017), the third in the Great Library series, we knew they had been betrayed.

Aug 2018 18

Chefs, Assassins and Enforcers: Anthony Bourdain’s Three Crime Novels

2018 Articles, Food Fun, Mysteryrat's Maze, Sharon Tucker

by Sharon Tucker

I can still hear Anthony Bourdain’s voice in my head. He’s walking a dusty road in the Australian Outback, tormented by flies, and making bad Mad Max jokes. He’s walking narrow, cold, wet streets in Tokyo looming over two interpreters as they go to meet and dine with a renowned chef.

Jul 2018 21

Keri Arthur’s Newest Series Begins: Unlit

2018 Articles, Fantasy & Fangs, Sharon Tucker

by Sharon Tucker

Discovering an engaging author is the best experience a reader can have, but discovering an engaging author with eleven series already to her credit is even better.

Jun 2018 16

The 80s Redux: Three Lindsay Gordons By Val McDermid

2018 Articles, Mysteryrat's Maze, Sharon Tucker, Tales of Diversity

by Sharon Tucker

It was the 80s. If you were there, you remember the fall of the Berlin Wall, big hair, Laura Ashley prints, Reagan, peg trousers, Chernobyl, the first personal computers, Thatcher, and the rise of technology.

May 2018 19

Chris Ould’s Faroe Island Trilogy: British Noir with a Nordic Twist

2018 Articles, Mysteryrat's Maze, Sharon Tucker

by Sharon Tucker

Among the wealth of noir novels published in the past few years, Chris Ould’s three set in the Faroe Islands resonated particularly for me. They blend the best of what I enjoy about both Scandinavian and British noir.