Welcome to a new segment of my Bindery! Case Files will cover my weekly reading updates: finished books, current reads, and even book mail.

For now, consider this a beta newsletter—I’m going to see how it works with my content schedule before I fully commit. But I’m hoping it sticks, because I would love to refresh my Bindery with some exclusive content for Book Snoops and Novel Sleuths.

Psst, this was also a Cluesletter week! ICYMI, here’s a link.

This week’s reads:

• The Library After Dark by Ande Pliego (finished): I love an ambitious mystery and this one about a tour group stuck in a famous—and potentially haunted—labyrinthine library is as ambitious as they come. While slightly over-complicated, this was highly entertaining, and wonderful for fans of old books and dark curses.

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (currently reading): Better late than never, right? I’m not a huge fan of domestic suspense, but I felt an obligation to try the book that more or less defined the genre, at least in this century. I’m enjoying the audio so far.

• The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley (currently reading): Just barely started this one, but I do love a public domain classic crime novel with a well-rounded, refined cast of characters. I also somehow forgot that Berkeley also wrote The Wintringham Mystery (1927), which I enjoyed, so it’s fun to return to his witty writing style.

• Murder Most Delicious by Danielle Postel-Vinay (currently reading): Also just barely started this one, but I so love a Parisian setting! And the premise of this one—of a sommelier who lost her sense of taste after COVID—is quite special.

This week’s book mail:

• The Inklings Detective Agency by John R. Kelly (out now!): In 1936 Oxford, England, literary greats including J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis team up with Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers to unravel a mystery. Yes to all of this. Yes, please.

• You’ll Be Sorry by Lisa Gardner (out Aug 4): A standalone thriller from an author I’ve always wanted to try! An abandoned lodge in a small mountain town? Sign me up.

• Beyond Honor by K.B. Brodsky (out Sep 1): A political thriller involving a paramilitary operative, a CIA analyst, and a Russian agent. First in a new series!

• Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel by Lucy Foley (out Sep 22): One of my most highly anticipated releases of the year! The first Miss Marple outing since 1976. Filling Agatha Christie’s shoes is no easy task, and I’m looking forward to seeing Foley’s take on our favorite older sleuth.

Yours mysteriously,

Manon

Dearest Bindery Detectives:

A quick message to announce that the Bindery app is now live in the Apple App Store! 🎉

The Bindery team has been hard at work on this for a long time, and based on feedback from you all, I know there’s plenty of interest.

What I love most about the app is its discoverability features: You can search for a book title and see all the content that’s been posted about it, so you can easily discover new tastemakers to follow. For example, search for Murdle: Volume 1 and you’ll see my videos, plus content from Jaysen (Ezeekat Press).

If you have questions or feedback, DM me anywhere or comment on this post and I’ll pass it along to the developers.

(PS, an Android app is in progress!!)

Yours mysteriously,

Manon

Early access to Cluesletter interviews is available to Novel Sleuths subscribed to my Bindery. If you’re reading this, that’s you! Thanks ever so much for your support.

Today, we are traveling back in time to 1901 London to investigate the curious murder of the Lord Chief Justice of England. Joining us for an interview is Sally Smith, whose debut, A Case of Mice and Murder, is so rich, immersive, and well-written that I could not believe it was her first book.

If you like historical crime, legal settings, and a logical, intelligent, and charmingly reluctant sleuth, I highly suggest you keep reading—and then pick this one up for yourself.

Welcome, Sally! Set in 1901 London, A Case of Mice and Murder follows barrister Gabriel Ward as he reluctantly investigates the murder of the Lord Chief Justice of England. I loved Gabriel’s character—hyper intelligent, particular, and careful—and the close-knit legal setting of London’s Inner Temple. What do you love about Gabriel, as a lawyer and as a detective?

Hello and thank you for asking me about my novel. I think Gabriel has some very typical characteristics of a lawyer; as you say, he is very particular and careful and also very logical and detached in his approach to life. He is also kind and tolerant and naturally empathetic. And a good observer. All those characteristics make him a good detective as well.

How has your professional background as a barrister and King’s Counsel in the Inner Temple influenced your writing? How did your present-day experience help you construct Gabriel’s 1901?

I have been a barrister all my working life and I am lucky enough to both work and live in the Inner Temple, so I am absolutely steeped in the atmosphere. One of the challenges was to reconstruct the physical surroundings. Whilst some buildings and parts of the layout are exactly as they were in 1901, there was extensive bomb damage in the Second World War so some parts are quite different. Because the present appearance is so familiar to me I found it quite a challenge to retrain parts of my mind’s eye to see it all as Gabriel saw it. But having said that, the way of life, close and collegiate has not really changed all that much!

Gabriel is solving, essentially, two mysteries at once: the murder, and the authorship of a popular children’s book, Millie the Temple Church Mouse. How did you construct the story, in order to successfully weave these two plotlines together? To what extent did you plot the mystery before writing it?

I wrote the beginnings of the two stories separately and then as the plots converge, the writing sort of converged with it. This was my first novel and I think I was rather amateur in my approach to plotting, which was partly planned beforehand but mainly grew organically as I went along.

As a debut author, what have you learned during this publishing process? Is there anything that surprised you as you brought your book to market, and/or do you have any advice for emerging authors?

I was absolutely bowled over by the skill of both my agent and editor who really did take me by the hand and teach me an enormous amount about how to structure my story. I have learned quite a lot, I hope, about eliminating self-indulgence from my writing and concentrating on telling the story in a way I hope readers will enjoy. I think I would say to an aspiring author that the best thing to do is read obsessively, good and bad. It is never wasted and either way it always teaches you something; if only what to avoid!

Lastly, what’s next for you? When can we expect more Gabriel Ward, and/or do you have any other projects you’re excited to share?

Gabriel presently takes up all my time. A second one is coming out in the UK on July 17 and I am very heavily engaged in writing the third. Each follows the same pattern of a murder and a legal case, but I am learning more and more about Gabriel as he develops quite happily all by himself.

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Look for this interview in the July 8, 2025 Cluesletter. (Subscribe here!)

Yours mysteriously,
Manon 🔍✨