Welcome back to Case Files! This week gave me some great reads—from continuing our Read Herring Book Club pick for May, to finally reading the 2012 smash hit Gone Girl (and watching the movie).

PS, did you know you can now get a personalized book rec from me? Just visit my Bindery homepage and click the “Get a Rec” button in the top right corner.

Let’s get into the clues and evidence . . .

This week’s reads:

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (finished): I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, considering I already knew the big, mid-book twist. It’s psychologically sharp and deliciously tense, the audiobook is well-performed, and the movie is spot-on (probably because Flynn herself wrote the screenplay).

• Murder Most Delicious by Danielle Postel-Vinay (finished): This cozy murder mystery will make you want to fly to Paris immédiatement. The mystery is solid, but I actually most enjoyed the descriptions of the French neighborhood and its close-knit community. Look out for a Cluesletter interview with Danielle on Tuesday! 😊

• The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley (currently reading): Witty and fun! Really enjoying Roger Sheringham and his compatriots. The mystery is delightfully perplexing and the story moves along at a decent pace. This is for our Read Herring Book Club.

• Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann (currently reading): I’m making myself read this before seeing The Sheep Detectives! I loved the sequel, Big Bad Wool (for which I interviewed author Leonie Swann), so it’s no surprise I’m enjoying the sheep’s escapades in this first installment. The audio is delightful and infused with Irish charm.

This week’s book mail:

• That Which Feeds Us by Keala Kendall (out now): A supernatural thriller set at a luxury resort in Hawaii, with themes of colonialism, horror, and the true cost of paradise.

• Murder by Design by Lee Goldberg (out Jun 1): A new series starring a brilliant (but rude) insurance investigator and a struggling actor hired to keep him in line.

Yours mysteriously,

Manon

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