Mysteryrat’s Maze

How to Have a Killer Time in D.C. By Sam Lumley: Review/Giveaway/Interview

by Sarah Erwin


Oliver Popp is a 24-year-old gay autistic travel writer working for Offbeat Traveler magazine. Oliver likes his routine, and he is a little nervous about his first feature assignment taking him to Washington, D.C. He’s paired up with Ricky Warner, a gay flirty freelance photographer, who definitely lives life a bit more (ok, a lot more) impulsively than Oliver. It’s a delightful pairing.

June Historical Mysteries By Kate Khavari & Katharine Schellman

by Tracy Condie &
Sarah Erwin


This week we have reviews of 2 more historical mysteries both out in June-A Botanist's Guide to Rituals and Revenge: A Saffron Everleigh Mystery by Kate Khavari and Last Dance Before Dawn: Nightingale Mysteries, Book Four by Katharine Schellman (a LGBTQ+ historical mystery). Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of both books and links to purchase them from Amazon at the end of each review.

Mystery Coming Attractions: June 2025

by Victoria Fair


Whenever June approaches, I find myself waxing nostalgic for the summer reading program we participated in every year at our local library when I was a child. It was a program filled with reading incentives. The more books you read, the more prizes you received. Top readers then duked it out for the Top Reader Prize which was a certificate of achievement and a boxed set of books; oh, and loads of bragging rights!

Bait and Swiss A Cheese Shop Mystery By Korina Moss: Review/Giveaway

by Cynthia Chow


The Curds & Whey cheese shop is celebrating their two-year anniversary in Sonoma Valley’s town of Yarrow Glen, and owner Willa Bauer is preparing for a big event. It’s a happy coincidence that her best friend Hope is also having a grand opening for Hope’s Cakery, with the pastry chef transitioning from baking bread to now specializing in cupcakes and cakes.

How to Write a Book

by W. Kenneth Tyler, Jr.


I have been given the opportunity by the fine folks at Kings River Life Magazine to contribute an article “pertaining to writing or your book.” For the record, and so there’s no confusion, my book is a recently released novel of historical fiction entitled Hunting the Red Fox (HRF).