Tag: murderer

Murder Book: A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell

- Stephanie Leave a comment

I am a lover of true crime. This isn’t much of a surprise to my family and friends. For years, true crime has taken over the media I consume(podcasts, tv shows, movies, books, etc). When I stumbled upon Murder Book: A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell, I knew this was something I needed to read. I wasn’t disappointed.

Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell is obsessed with true crime. Ever since she can remember, true crime has been prevalent in her life. Hilary believes that she inherited her interest in crime from her mother, but has questions about the psychology surrounding why people find true crime to be so entertaining. In her quest to answer that question, Hilary examines her past, does research, and starts combining what she learns into this graphic memoir. Hilary talks about high profile cases(Zodiac, Ted Bundy, etc) that impacted her life and moves onto other not as high profile cases and the often overlooked victims that are also etched into her memory (Anne Marie Fahey for example). For those of us that enjoy true crime, Hilary also lists authors she loves, the crime shows she watches, and the podcasts she listens to. This graphic novel made me feel normal – she outlines her obsession of love and true crime, while also saying that outsiders may see some weirdness in people loving/enjoying true crime. This is definitely an unconventional book/topic, but there is an audience who will appreciate it.

While I enjoyed this graphic novel, it does jump around a lot (the author acknowledges this). It didn’t bother me much as it made sense to me and followed the jumpy way my own brain works. Reading about how the author tries to figure out why she loves true crime and why she started down this path made me think about why I too love true crime. Hilary highlighted some cases that I hadn’t heard about and some that I had already explored. It was validating to read something that talked about my own anxieties, love of true crime, etc.

Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

- Stephanie Leave a comment

“Family is not whose blood runs in your veins, it’s who you’d spill it for.”
― Benjamin Stevenson, Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson tells the story of the Cunningham family seen through the eyes of one of the members, Ernest Cunningham – call him Ern or Ernie. Ern is a mystery writer; well to be more specific, he writes ‘how to’ guides for crime and mystery novels. His family has decided to have a family reunion at a remote Australian ski resort. Ern is extremely reluctant to attend, given his family’s history, but he has been told that it’s not optional.

Ern is our narrator. After outlining ten rules to follow, he frequently interjects into the story to tell us necessary back story or to alert the reader to something he just discovered. The most important fact he wants readers to know and remember: everyone in his family has killed someone. With them gathering all together for a family reunion, Ern is obviously concerned not least of all because this will be the first time that he has seen his family in a long time. Ern admits early on that yes, he has killed someone, but he’s not going to tell readers, at least not yet. That’s for us to figure out as the story progresses. After all, everyone in his family has killed someone. Each family member has their own reasons for why they killed someone, but they aren’t for Ern to just blurt out to non-family members.

This book was something I had never read before. It’s not your typical murder mystery. The narrator, Ernest, frequently broke the third wall to have a personal conversation with readers throughout the book. Even while he was doing that, Ernest also weaved an intricate web connecting all the members of his family together. He also acknowledged that we were listening to an audiobook, which I had never had happen to me in an audiobook before. If you decide to listen to this audiobook, this is one where you need to pay close attention! Lots of clues/hints are dropped throughout the novel that will help you solve the many mysteries. I hope the author writes something as original and clever again!

This title is also available in the following formats:

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

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“Still, there might be something fitting about a friendship based on a common love of words being founded on an exchange of the same.”
― Sulari Gentill, The Woman in the Library

The Woman in the  Library by Sulari Gentill has been on my to-read list since it was published in June 2022. After listening to this title, I can firmly say that I haven’t read anything like this before. If you decide to read this book, go into it with an open mind. The description of the book barely scratches the surface of what the book is really about, but this review is going to be just as vague because *spoilers* would happen if I didn’t!

The Boston Public Library’s reading room is ornate and quiet. All of that is shattered one morning when a woman’s terrified scream radiates through the room. Four strangers sitting in the reading room reach out to each other, start talking, and become friends. Security guards investigate the noise, instructing everyone to stay put while they look for the source. They find nothing… at first.

Harriet, Marigold, Whit, and Caine are the four strangers brought together by the scream. They all have their own reasons for being in the reading room that day, some with secrets they are reluctant to share. The investigation into the scream casts suspicion upon the four with readers being led to believe that one of the four may be a murderer. Each person in this book has a story to tell, but if they are telling the truth or not is a whole other matter.

“The story of her life etched on her skin… She’s like a walking book. Patterns and portraits and words. Mantras of love and power. I wonder how much of it is fiction.”
― Sulari Gentill, The Woman in the Library

This book is also available in the following formats:

Cozy Mystery Reads: Library Lover’s Mystery series by Jenn McKinlay

- Stephanie 2 Comments

Jenn McKinlay has found her niche in cozy mysteries. She has a number of cozy mystery series, but the only one I have read so far is the Library Lover’s Mystery series and it is a joy to read. Usually I am hesitant to read anything about librarians for fear that they are portrayed stereotypically with no clue as to what being a librarian actually means, but the author’s background clearly helped her write this series. McKinlay studied English Literature and Library Science at Southern Connecticut State University and then worked as a librarian in Cromwell, Connecticut. She then left that job and moved to Arizona and began writing romances. After writing romances for a couple years(and deciding she needed a break), she started writing mysteries. McKinlay wrote mysteries for years and then began writing women’s fiction as well. The bulk of what she writes now consists of mysteries and romantic comedies. Three of her series have ended up on the New York Time’s best seller’s list so far.

The first title in the Library Lover’s Mystery series is Books Can Be Deceiving. In this book, readers are introduced to the life of Lindsey Norris, the new director of the Briar Creek Public Library located in Connecticut.

Lindsey is just getting settled into her new job as director of the local public library in Briar Creek. She has made friends within the community and has an established rhythm with her staff and library patrons. Lindsey’s friend, and children’s librarian, Beth always makes work more interesting. Outside of work, Beth has a goal of becoming a published children’s author. Beth’s boyfriend is already a famous children’s author and lives on one of the islands local to Briar Creek.

When a New York editor comes to town, Beth wants to meet with her to pitch her the children’s book she has been working on. When their meeting goes awry and Beth’s boyfriend gets in the way, Beth and Lindsey are flabbergasted. They decide to go to his island home to confront him. When Beth goes into his house, they find that he has been murdered. Since Beth found his body and was known to be upset with him, the police see her as the prime suspect. Lindsey knows that Beth could never kill anyone, but her opinion seems to be in the minority where the authorities are concerned. Lindsey must find out who really killed Beth’s boyfriend before she is arrested.

This book also contains a readers guide, knitting pattern, and recipes for food made throughout the book. A different Briar Creek Guide to Crafternoons can be found at the end of each book in the series.

A list of the books in the Library Lover’s Mystery series can be found at the end of this blog post. Certain titles can also be found in large print, CD audiobook, and on OverDrive.

Library Lover’s Mystery series

  1. Books Can Be Deceiving (2011)
  2. Due or Die (2012)
  3. Book, Line and Sinker (2012)
  4. Read It and Weep (2013)
  5. On Borrowed Time (2014)
  6. A Likely Story (2015)
  7. Better Late Than Never (2016)
  8. Death in the Stacks (2017)
  9. Hitting the Books (2018)
  10. Word to the Wise (2019)
  11. One for the Books (2020)
  12. Killer Research (2021)

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

- Stephanie Leave a comment

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite is a crime novel that quickly draws you into the story and has you looking closely at how far you would be willing to go to help a family member.

Korrede is just sitting down to dinner when she gets a frantic phone call from her sister, Ayoola, desperately needing her help. Rushing out of the house, Korrede hopes that her sister hasn’t done what she thinks she has done. Ayoola, Korrede’s younger sister, has a rather inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends. She always draws Korrede into the mess, asking her to help her cover up the crime.

Korrede is bitter. Ayoola is her younger sister and clearly her mother’s favorite. Ayoola is beautiful and can get any man to love her. Men flock to Ayoola and she always has a next man lined up.

Helping her sister through all her problems, Korrede is still hopeful that eventually Ayoola will stop and change. Korrede’s saving grace is her job as a nurse at a local hospital. While some of the people that she works with get on her nerves, Korrede looks forward to working with the kind and very handsome doctor who treats her as an equal. She hopes that one day he will realize that they are perfect together.

All of Korrede’s hopes are shattered the day that Ayoola stops by the hospital uninvited and catches the attention of the doctor. They instantly connect and Korrede is forced to deal with Ayoola’s past. She needs to figure out what to do before Ayoola slips and attacks the doctor.

This book is also available in the following format:

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard

- Ann Leave a comment

They were just six days at the end of a miserably hot summer. Yet to 13-year-old Henry those six days will change everything about his life in Labor Day by Joyce Maynard.

For Henry, the days pass monotonously – his emotionally fragile mother Adele has mostly checked out of life, rarely leaving the house. His father has a new family on the other side of town. Henry, lonely and awkward, and at that stage when you know so much and yet so little, just wishes something would happen. And then, Frank, bleeding and limping, walks into their lives. Henry has no idea how different he will be in six days. He will learn how to bake a pie, how to throw a baseball, the pain of jealousy and betrayal, and the power of love. Those six days will shape him into the man he will become.

Frank is an escaped prisoner who has been serving time for murder who seeks sanctuary with Henry and his mother. He is kind and thoughtful and soon Adele and Frank fall in love. They make plans to escape together to Canada. Henry struggles with this new person in their lives – relief that he is no longer the only person responsible for his mother’s happiness, fear that he’ll be left behind.

Narrated by Henry as an adult looking back on those six days, you hear the angst of the teenager softened by the perspective of time. It is written with simplicity and eloquence and a sympathetic understanding of the emotional complexity of people. The extended epilogue –  particularly the last sentence – brings the story to an especially yet realistic satisfying conclusion.