Robin Agnew
@robinagnew.bsky.social
Love golden age, traditional & historical mysteries. Reviewer, reader. History mystery column in Deadly Pleasures.
Love figure skating. Visit me at auntagathas.com
Love figure skating. Visit me at auntagathas.com
“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.”
― Edgar Allan Poe
― Edgar Allan Poe
January 19, 2026 at 11:52 AM
“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.”
― Edgar Allan Poe
― Edgar Allan Poe
Cover contrast dept. Original pub date 1969.
January 18, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Cover contrast dept. Original pub date 1969.
"I see," I said, "that you are that favourite character of fiction, the amateur detective. I don't know that they really hold their own with the professional in real life." -- MURDER AT THE VICARAGE, Agatha Christie
January 18, 2026 at 11:10 AM
"I see," I said, "that you are that favourite character of fiction, the amateur detective. I don't know that they really hold their own with the professional in real life." -- MURDER AT THE VICARAGE, Agatha Christie
Cover contrast dept. Original pub date 1940.
January 17, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Cover contrast dept. Original pub date 1940.
auntagathas.com/aa/pam-lecky... Margaret Agnew found a lot to love in this story set in 1894 Dublin.
January 17, 2026 at 2:42 PM
auntagathas.com/aa/pam-lecky... Margaret Agnew found a lot to love in this story set in 1894 Dublin.
"Why were gender expectation so rigid, and why did one's defying them cause such consternation among the public?" -- THE CASE OF THE MURDERED MUCKRAKER, Rob Osler
January 17, 2026 at 12:13 PM
"Why were gender expectation so rigid, and why did one's defying them cause such consternation among the public?" -- THE CASE OF THE MURDERED MUCKRAKER, Rob Osler
Cover and mapback for this 1943 title. Cover art by Robert Stanley.
January 16, 2026 at 7:37 PM
Cover and mapback for this 1943 title. Cover art by Robert Stanley.
All are welcome at our zoom discussion this Sunday, January 18 at 2 p.m. eastern with authors Ellen Byron, Leslie Budewitz & Amanda Flower. We'll be discussing all things cozy. This should be so much fun! Message me for a zoom link to join.
January 16, 2026 at 5:44 PM
All are welcome at our zoom discussion this Sunday, January 18 at 2 p.m. eastern with authors Ellen Byron, Leslie Budewitz & Amanda Flower. We'll be discussing all things cozy. This should be so much fun! Message me for a zoom link to join.
"For what is a book but a collection of stories? The story inside the pages, the story of its author, its journey from ink on a page, through a publisher, into the hands of its owners, its binders, its restorers, and readers...Books will outlast us all..." -- THE BOOKBINDERS SECRET, A.D. Bell
January 16, 2026 at 11:31 AM
"For what is a book but a collection of stories? The story inside the pages, the story of its author, its journey from ink on a page, through a publisher, into the hands of its owners, its binders, its restorers, and readers...Books will outlast us all..." -- THE BOOKBINDERS SECRET, A.D. Bell
This cover for a 1955 title by Evelyn Berckman is a standout - the suspense is palpable in the artwork. Berckman was an American who moved to London and wrote a number of detective novels featuring independent young women as the heroines, with a career that spanned the 1940s to the 1970s.
January 15, 2026 at 7:14 PM
This cover for a 1955 title by Evelyn Berckman is a standout - the suspense is palpable in the artwork. Berckman was an American who moved to London and wrote a number of detective novels featuring independent young women as the heroines, with a career that spanned the 1940s to the 1970s.
auntagathas.com/aa/michelle-... This terrific debut comes out Jan. 27. If you are a fan of The Thursday Murder Club, check it out!
January 15, 2026 at 2:21 PM
auntagathas.com/aa/michelle-... This terrific debut comes out Jan. 27. If you are a fan of The Thursday Murder Club, check it out!
"I do not believe that faith and hope can be separated from life, and where these linger, however faintly, they can be revived." -- WICKED UNCLE, Patricia Wentworth
January 15, 2026 at 11:03 AM
"I do not believe that faith and hope can be separated from life, and where these linger, however faintly, they can be revived." -- WICKED UNCLE, Patricia Wentworth
Cover contrast dept. Original pub date 1952. AKA They Do It With Mirrors. Marple no. 6.
January 14, 2026 at 7:31 PM
Cover contrast dept. Original pub date 1952. AKA They Do It With Mirrors. Marple no. 6.
Happy Birthday Amanda Cross, 1926, New Jersey. Born Carolyn Heilbrun, she was a feminist scholar and professor, who never the less wrote a 14 book series featuring Professor Kate Fansler, with the first book, IN THE LAST ANALYSIS, published in 1964.
January 13, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Happy Birthday Amanda Cross, 1926, New Jersey. Born Carolyn Heilbrun, she was a feminist scholar and professor, who never the less wrote a 14 book series featuring Professor Kate Fansler, with the first book, IN THE LAST ANALYSIS, published in 1964.
auntagathas.com/aa/aviva-orr... A new series - a regency romance - what's not to love? Review by Margaret Agnew.
January 13, 2026 at 2:36 PM
auntagathas.com/aa/aviva-orr... A new series - a regency romance - what's not to love? Review by Margaret Agnew.
"Everything in our world is linked. Places, history, people, values. No matter where we're from or where we live, we're not so different." -- DEATH BY MISADVENTURE, Tasha Alexander
January 13, 2026 at 11:07 AM
"Everything in our world is linked. Places, history, people, values. No matter where we're from or where we live, we're not so different." -- DEATH BY MISADVENTURE, Tasha Alexander
Happy Birthday to the groundbreaking Walter Mosley, 1952, Los Angeles. Creator of the classic private eye Easy Rawlins, he has had a long and award studded career, branching into other series work, film and television. His most famous novel is probably DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1990).
January 12, 2026 at 8:29 PM
Happy Birthday to the groundbreaking Walter Mosley, 1952, Los Angeles. Creator of the classic private eye Easy Rawlins, he has had a long and award studded career, branching into other series work, film and television. His most famous novel is probably DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1990).
"There is nothing like a new book to make everything right." -- BETRAYAL AT BLACKTHORN PARK, Julia Kelly
(Artist: Darren Thompson)
(Artist: Darren Thompson)
January 12, 2026 at 12:50 PM
"There is nothing like a new book to make everything right." -- BETRAYAL AT BLACKTHORN PARK, Julia Kelly
(Artist: Darren Thompson)
(Artist: Darren Thompson)
Cover contrast dept. The first Mr. and Mrs. North mystery, official pub date 1940, though a paperback version has a pub date of 1939.
January 11, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Cover contrast dept. The first Mr. and Mrs. North mystery, official pub date 1940, though a paperback version has a pub date of 1939.
Happy Birthday to one of our favorite Michiganders, Steve Hamilton, 1961, Detroit. The author of one of my favorite Michigan set series, Hamilton won an Edgar for his first Alex McKnight novel, A COLD DAY IN PARADISE (1999), as well as for the remarkable standalone, THE LOCK ARTIST (2011).
January 10, 2026 at 7:54 PM
Happy Birthday to one of our favorite Michiganders, Steve Hamilton, 1961, Detroit. The author of one of my favorite Michigan set series, Hamilton won an Edgar for his first Alex McKnight novel, A COLD DAY IN PARADISE (1999), as well as for the remarkable standalone, THE LOCK ARTIST (2011).
"I swear, if jumping weren't allowed she'd never get to a conclusion." -- THE BURGLAR WHO LIKED TO QUOTE KIPLING, Lawrence Block (1979)
January 10, 2026 at 1:08 PM
"I swear, if jumping weren't allowed she'd never get to a conclusion." -- THE BURGLAR WHO LIKED TO QUOTE KIPLING, Lawrence Block (1979)
Cover contrast dept. Original pub date 1945.
January 9, 2026 at 7:06 PM
Cover contrast dept. Original pub date 1945.
GREAT DESCRIPTION DEPT: "She was Vogue on the outside and vague on the inside." -- SEND ANOTHER HEARSE, Harold Masur (1960)
January 9, 2026 at 2:20 PM
GREAT DESCRIPTION DEPT: "She was Vogue on the outside and vague on the inside." -- SEND ANOTHER HEARSE, Harold Masur (1960)
Happy Birthday Wilke Collins, 1824, London. Collins is the father of the British Country House mystery as well as the author of the first police procedural. His most classic works are THE WOMAN IN WHITE (1860) and THE MOONSTONE (1868).
January 8, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Happy Birthday Wilke Collins, 1824, London. Collins is the father of the British Country House mystery as well as the author of the first police procedural. His most classic works are THE WOMAN IN WHITE (1860) and THE MOONSTONE (1868).
"He listened to four more rings, telling himself not to pick it up, but then in the manner of all humans, who are convinced that the one call gone unanswered must be The Call, the hot-line from the Universe, Jury weakened and picked up the receiver." -- THE ANODYNE NECKLACE, Martha Grimes (1983)
January 8, 2026 at 1:20 PM
"He listened to four more rings, telling himself not to pick it up, but then in the manner of all humans, who are convinced that the one call gone unanswered must be The Call, the hot-line from the Universe, Jury weakened and picked up the receiver." -- THE ANODYNE NECKLACE, Martha Grimes (1983)