May Mystery Book Club

April 30, 2012

For our May discussion, we are reading two very different mysteries. The first is definitely a cozy, but it does include some great sounding recipes. The second is the first new Sherlock Holmes mystery actually sanctioned by the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle. Join us at the Antioch Branch on May 21 at 7:00 p.m. to express your views on both. 
 
Simmer Down is by Jessica Conant-Park. This mystery is part of the Gourmet Girl mysteries and comes with recipes. In her latest adventure, Chloe Carter's boyfriend, Josh Driscoll, is prepping for the opening of Simmer, Boston's hottest new restaurant. However, at a fund-raiser featuring samples of Josh's cuisine, a trendy club owner is found bludgeoned to death by Josh's state-of-the-art, professional-grade food processor. By opening night at Simmer, the list of possible suspects is almost longer than the line to get into the restaurant. Will Chloe solve the crime before the final course is served? Probably.

The House of Silk is by Anthony Horowitz. This mystery recreates the original style and atmosphere of the Baker Street characters. A year after Sherlock Holmes's death (from natural causes), Dr. Watson takes up his pen for one last story. He recounts a case that they shared in 1890 that was too monstrous, too shocking to appear in print at that time. The opening is simple enough. London art dealer Edmund Carstairs asks for the detective's help after a shadowy figure in a flat cap, apparently an Irish-American thug bent on revenge, surfaces near Carstairs's Wimbledon home. When a murder follows, Holmes gets involved. The trail leads him and the good Doctor Watson to a powerful secret society known as the House of Silk. While not involved with the original case, it does have a connection. As always, Holmes explains all in the end. 

James H.
Antioch Branch