You think you know your taste by now but you, by which I mean me, would be wrong. A year ago, I would have told you no, I’m not really into cozy murder mysteries, and I would have also reflexively stated that I am not a fantasy book fan or particularly interested in romantasy, a magic-drenched genre that also exploded in popularity when I wasn’t paying attention. But, you know, each to their own.
Books like “The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire” and “I’m Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home” made me realize how blinkered I was. The signs were all there, from my galloping read of the first Harry Potter book decades ago to more recent binge watches of Netflix’s “A Man on the Inside” and “Miss Scarlet and the Duke” via PBS’s streaming platform. I just wasn’t paying attention. Yes, I can enjoy serial killer and romantasy novels, especially if they are well crafted.
And “Antiquarian’s” and “I’m Not the Only Murderer” are that. Each is playfully written and unfolds at a brisk pace.
A cozy murder mystery about a killer?
“I’m Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home” starts with a premise that doesn’t sound very cozy: its chief protagonist is a serial killer freshly released from prison to a luxurious North London retirement community called Sheldon Oaks. Carol matter-of-factly cops to her murderous impulses, past and present, even as she befriends a small group of fellow retirees. When a fellow resident drops dead in a suspicious manner, naturally all eyes turn to her. She races to clear her name with the help of her elderly pals.
If you’ve seen “Man on the Inside,” led by Ted Danson as a charming widower, or White House mystery “The Residence,” starring Uzo Aduba as a bird-loving eccentric who is far more effective as a detective than might first appear, you’ll be familiar with the lightly comedic tone of Fergus Craig’s novel. The author, an actor-comedian and TV writer, credits his publisher with the book’s premise but deserves praise for executing it well. Amusingly, characters reference the popularity of the cozy murder mystery genre as the story heads toward its denouement.
Classic rom-com, yet steamy
India Holton’s “Antiquarian’s Object of Desire” romantasy, meanwhile, starts in classic rom-com style as a tale of bickering Victorian era academics that can’t be in the same room without sparks flying, and it gets progressively steamy over the course of the novel. Amelia Tarrant has known Caleb Sterling since boarding school, but they must disguise their bond lest she lose her job and reputation as an Oxford professor of antiquities. So they mock bicker and set fires while handling objects with magical properties; things really get screwy when they are dispatched to an old manor house filled with ghosts and items to catalog for the British Museum.
Like Eliza in similarly Victorian England-set “Miss Scarlet,” Amelia is constantly fighting slights based on her gender but is determined to pursue her passion; Caleb is a Byron-loving dandy with a hardscrabble past. This book is the third installment in Holton’s Love’s Academic series so clearly I have some catching up to do.
Would I have gravitated toward either of these novels in less turbulent times? Hard to say, but “I’m Not the Only Murderer” certainly made me think of the Agatha Christie mysteries filling my England-born grandmother’s bookcase. I do know that reading this pair of books was a pleasant diversion from political turmoil roiling the country — and it’s always nice to find new types of books to enjoy. There are so many worthy offerings yet to be perused.
“I’m Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home” by Fergus Craig, 272 pages, $30
“The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire” by India Holton, 368 pages, $19
Originally posted on my Lititude Substack, which you can visit here.