2 Mysteries to Wrap Up Summer

by MK French

Whether you are looking for a quirky mystery (Lies and Dolls) or a more traditional mystery (Sherlock Holmes and the Real Thing), here are two books to wrap up summer with.

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Lies and Dolls by Nev Fountain

August 2025; Titan Books; 978-1803365572
audio, ebook, print (384 pages); mystery

Kit and her best friend go to a Lincolnshire home to look at action figures from the show Vixens From The Void ahead of their inclusion in a toy museum. They meet other fans and toy collectors, and then the toys are stolen. The toys begin to reappear broken, and then actual bodies appear.

This is the second Kit Pelham novel, so it refers to events that took place in the prior book. It really doesn't have much impact on the opening, except that the other characters are glad she’s present, especially when the theft occurs. The other collectors are geeks in their own way, and Kit recognizes that she might be on the spectrum. She's sensitive to sounds and crowds, must eat certain calorie amounts for each meal, and thinks of things around her with movie or series versions, complete with the year. It absolutely works in this context; faced with TV show fans and other geeky references, she really isn't odd at all. Having a controlling girlfriend constantly tracking her movements and demanding loaded conversations, as well as a misogynistic podcaster harassing her, also allows us to sympathize with her. 

There are lots of geeky references throughout the book, since this is a story about geeky toy collectors. They all have a secret that they're hiding, and the characters all have quirks. One by one, the dolls are dismembered and are accompanied by rhymes reminiscent of Agatha Christie. There are five dolls and ten rhymes, so once the dolls are done for, then people are next. Kit is put through an emotional wringer as the book progresses. She gathers clues, and there are plenty of red herrings as we go. The conclusion surprised me, and felt very in keeping with the Agatha Christie references. It's a compelling story and kept me riveted.

Buy Lies and Dolls at Amazon

Sherlock Holmes and the Real Thing by Nicholas Meyer

August 2025; Mysterious Press; 978-1613166567
audio, ebook, print (264 pages); mystery

Holmes is bored enough to snag the first case coming his way, which involves an artist tenant who is behind on rent. Once corpses show up, Sherlock gets drawn into the cutthroat art world, where some pieces seem to be worth killing for. Holmes and Watson must determine who the perpetrators, accomplices, or victims are, and what determines a clever forgery.

A bored Holmes is a rather whiny one, to be honest. He puts in a lot of effort into making disguises for questioning art dealers and would rather be considered an amateur sleuth to continue investigating once police are involved. Of course, he sees some of the details that others don't, and links together what initially doesn't seem related. While we think of it as complicated, for Sherlock, it was easy to figure out how the pieces fit together. The mystery is laid out and explained by the end, and we see what determines real art from forgery. 

Buy Sherlock Holmes and the Real Thing at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever. 

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