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Issue 5.6
June
Edited by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor,MI
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STALKING DEATH by Kate Flora (The Mystery Company, $25), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha’s, Ann Arbor, Mich, www.auntagathas.com: Like Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski, Thea Kozak takes a licking and keeps on ticking. In this book she’s smashed into a car windshield, knocked from behind and given a concussion, and chased by a bad guy with an axe. She’s a truly kick-ass, righteous, feminist heroine, something that in a world that seems to be post-feminist is a very refreshing thing. Unlike V.I., though, Thea isn’t a detective for hire, she’s a consultant for independent (i.e., private boarding) schools. She’s called in when there’s a crisis of some kind, and the one in Stalking Death is a doozy. The swanky St. Mathew’s School seems to have a problem with a female African American student, Shondra Jones, who claims she’s being stalked in a particularly vicious manner. The administration says Shondra is simply crazy and they want to expel her – ostensibly, they want Thea to sign off on a letter they’re sending to parents explaining that their own students are safe and no allegations have been proved. Even reading those last few sentences should have alarm bells going off, and Thea, a woman who suffers neither fools nor moral laxity gladly, hears them clanging loudly even before she discovers that the alleged stalked is the grandson of the school’s biggest donor. Things get more complicated when Shondra’s brother is later discovered standing over the body of the dead stalker. Flora’s books are always tight and suspenseful, and this one is no exception to that rule. It’s very difficult to put down, and impossible not to be drawn into the story, to care about Thea and Shondra, and to hope that the talented Ms. Flora has another Thea Kozak novel up her sleeve. DARKLING by Yasmine Galenorn (Berkley, $7.99), recommended by Fran Fuller, Seattle Mystery Bookstore, Seattle, WA, www.seattlemystery.com; I knew the third installment of Yasmine Galenorn’s Otherworld series, Darkling, was going to be the darkest so far, and boy was I right! This one, told from the point of view of Meolly, takes us through not only the challenges that are facing the sisters as the turbulence in the Otherworld spills into ours, but allows us to see what happened to Menolly, how she was turned into a vampire. This series has made Yasmine a national bestselling author for a reason. She has three distinct voices for each of her protagonists, and she has developed multiple threads and plotlines that run through not only each book but an ongoing storyline that is becoming more complex and rich with each book. I love the excitement of waiting for the next one, but I do envy the people in years to come who find this series and who can sit down and read them all at once. I’m extraordinarily pleased that she’s got more in this series in the works! Darkling explores the need for revenge, even when it means you might lose everything. There were moments when I wasn’t sure I was ready to keep reading, because the story was becoming so intense; not a situation you expect from what is being looked at as a cozy type “romantic suspense” novel. You’ll be hearing more about Yasmine and the Sisters of the Moon after this one hits the stands, I promise! STALKING SUSAN by Julie Kramer (Doubleday, $22.95), recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin’ for Books, maggiemary@yahoo.com: Debut novel. Riley Spartz is trying to recover from the horrific death of her police officer husband, as well as revive her career as an investigative reporter for a Minneapolis TV station. Riley was deeply depressed, which is to be expected after losing a spouse. What made it worse was that they had fought right before he left for work. Riley needs to find new stories to get back on the air, and luckily she gets a tip from a former cop. Nick Garnett is now head of security for the Mall of America. He has information on the deaths of two woment named Susan. Riley wants to determine if there is a serial killer out there as the women were both murdered on November 19th, though different years. One woman was a waitress, the other was a drug addict who prostituted herself to buy drugs. As the investigation goes on, Riley finds another Susan who was murdered on the 19th as well; she was the wife of a respected doctor. It may not be tied in, as her murderer was found and is in prison. Riley still wants to look into the murder of Susan Redding, to make sure her murderer was indeed found. While this is going on, Riley gets an assignment that she dismissed initially. It seems that people who pay for the cremation of their beloved pets are being cheated by a crooked vet. Riley uncovers the scam, which gets high ratings, and makes Dr. Redding open up to her a bit more. Eventually, Susan ties everything together in a very satisfying manner, making it a very enjoyable debut novel. The insight into the workings of a television news show was intriguing, and I also loved seeing the nasty vet get caught. I’m hoping this will be a series. TKO
by Tom Schreck (Midnight Ink, $14.95), recommended
by Jim Huang, The Mystery Company, Duffy
has good reason not to investigate. His
colleagues at the agency believe Howard is beyond help.
His cop buddy thinks that a social worker has no business playing
private eye. Duffy moonlights
as a boxer, and he has the opportunity to realize a dream and fight a bout
in TKO
is a lot of things, all at once. It’s
crude but clever, foul mouthed but intelligent.
Duffy spends a big hunk of the novel doubting himself – for good
reason – but finds a way to stand up for Howard and himself in the end.
The boxer/social worker/investigator might sound like a goofy
combination, but Schreck doesn’t shy away from the goofiness, delivering
a fresh take on a venerable paradigm, with attitude and heart. THE
DAWN PATROL by Don Winslow (Knopf, $23.95), recommended
by Jeff Mariotte, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA, www.mystgalaxy.com:
Sometimes a book comes along that ought to be read by
everyone living in a particular geographic area.
This one, conveniently, should be read by all San Diegans, and the
sooner the better. It offers
historical and cultural insigts into
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Issue 5.05 May 2008 Edited by Deb Andolino Aliens & Alibis Books, Columbia, SC,
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CHILD 44, by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central Publishing, $24.95) Recommended by Sue Wilder, Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore, Delray Beach, FL, http://www.murderonthebeach.com/: Soviet war hero Leo Demidov is on the fast track in Russia’s State Security agency. He is a model citizen intent on serving his country. As an officer in the MGB, he investigates crimes against the state and is instrumental in arresting citizens who are guilty of crimes or thoughts of disloyalty against Stalinist Russia. His unwavering loyalty is rewarded with better housing, food and clothes for Leo and his wife Raisa and his parents. A friend’s child is found dead and Leo is dispatched to quell rumors of murder. After all, according to the state, murderers do not exist in a society that describes itself as a workers’ paradise. However, when another child is found dead under similar circumstances, Leo begins to suspect that a serial killer is murdering these children. Leo’s perfect life begins to dissemble when he begins his search for this murderer against all instructions from his superiors. He is immediately demoted and exiled to a small town far from the seat of power in Moscow. Once a pursuer, Leo becomes the pursued, now a victim of the paranoia that is rampant in 1950’s Russia. His goal to find the killer is subverted at every turn by a government that insists the criminal does not exist. CHILD 44 is a well-written thriller that expertly captures the fear and paranoia in post-war Russian during the waning days of Stalin’s regime. The characters are portrayed realistically, with survival at the top of everybody’s list. All are victims of repression, trying to stay under the secret police’s radar. It is difficult to imagine that CHILD 44 is Tom Rob Smith’s debut. The basic premise is fascinating and the plot is driven by the characters’ actions. The suspense builds from the very first chapter, causing this reader to be riveted to her seat. CHILD 44 is one of this year’s best books. WIT’S END, by Karen Joy Fowler (A Marian Wood Book, $24.95) Recommended by Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA, www.mystgalaxy.com Wit’s End is a celebration of a variety of literary conceits. It’s a mystery, as Rima Lanisell, an adult orphan with a knack for losing precious things (including people she cares about), visits her godmother to try to discover more about her father. It’s a novel about the writing process, as mystery author A.B. Early showcases the dollhouses she uses to construct the murder scenes from her immensely popular novels. It’s a dialogue, or maybe a soliloquy, on the relationship between readers and authors and how technology impacts that relationship. Most of all, it’s a reader’s delight of near meta-fiction, as one reads about the experience of reading. Highly recommended FRIEND OF THE DEVIL by Peter Robinson (Willliam Morrow, $24.95) Recommended by Tom & Enid Schanz, The Rue Morgue, Lyons, CO www.ruemorguepress.com Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks of the Yorkshire police is assigned a case involving the murder and rape of a young college student in the Maze, a labyrinthine area adjoining the market square and pub district of Eastvale. Banks’ investigation of the incident takes many surprising turns as he tracks down first the killer and then a mysterious avenger who mistakes one of Banks’ colleagues for the murderer. Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot, on loan to a nearby precinct, investigates a revenge killing in the coastal village of Whitby after a woman is found in her wheelchair with her throat slit on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The two investigations eventually intersect, partly because of the troubled relationship between Alan and Annie, and partly because each is part of an intricate larger whole going back to past cases. Robinson, a Canadian writer who was born in Yorkshire and whose police procedurals have become increasingly darker over the years, does a commendable job managing a complex plot—two complex plots, in fact, as he has hit upon an ingenious way of satisfying the market demand for longer mysteries by offering the reader two stories in one. He also adds to the heft of the novel by providing an abundance of detail about Banks’ daily routine; for example, there’s not a song he plays on his iPod or a pint he drinks (or thinks about drinking) that isn’t painstakingly described. MURDER IN THE RUE DE PARADIS, by Cara Black (Soho Crime, $24) Recommended by Linda Dewberry, Whodunit? Books, Olympia, WA: Aimee Leduc, girl detective, faces all the highs and lows in "Murder in the Rue de Paradis." Totally unexpected an old boyfriend, investigative journalist Yves Robert, comes back into her life and quickly proposes marriage. Before Aimee can even second guess her "yes" she's asked to identify his body and finds herself investigating the crime because she believes the police are going down the wrong track. They seem to be more concerned by the Metro bomb threats than Yves' death. Aimee's sure it has something to do with his undercover work and finds herself delving into his past in the middle of the little Istanbul section of Paris. Carrying a heavy burden, you wonder if Aimee is blinded by her emotions and if she's strong enough to see the investigation through to it's stunning conclusion.
This series has become one of my favorites over the time that I started the store. Aimee has grown as a character and Black has grown as a writer. A winning combination. Because each book is written about a different section of Paris, there's something new to experience or learn every time. Between admiring Aimee's ingenuity and spunk and learning about this section of Paris and what makes it tick, there's plenty of suspense to keep you turning pages. Last year's book (now out in paperback) made me laugh a lot. This one made me cry. Highly recommended. HOLY MOLY, by Ben Rehder (St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95) Recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin' for Books, San Diego, CA, maggiemary@yahoo.com: John Marlin is about to get married to his love, Nicole Brooks. Could Blanco County, Texas be peaceful for a change? Not on your life. In a caper that mixes televangelism and fossils, life is pretty much going on as usual for most of the county.
Billy Don, who frequently helps Red , has found love, which could put a damper on the schemes that Red comes up with to make a quick buck. Though not really bad outlaws, bending or spraining the law comes easy to this redneck duo. Billy Don has his eyes on Betty Jean Farley, though doesn't seem to know how to go about wooing her. Her brother, Hollis Farley may have found a valuable dinosaur fossil, and might even make some money out of his find.
It seems that Hollis Farley may have been easy on the eyes, but "if he was any dumber, you'd have to water him." So, when Betty Jean finds her brother with a large flat screen TV, she knows something is up. Sadly, Hollis is found dead at work, apparently by a back hoe accident. Later, when its found he was murdered by a bow and arrow, the search for motive is on. Hollis isn't the only one looking to make a quick fortune with the fossil. His boss, and a man who works for the owner of the construction site all want an easy fortune. It seems that the land where the bone is found is to be turned into a very large church by Peter Boothe and his avaricious wife, Vanessa. Aided by Alex Pringle, the Boothes have a giant "ministry" which supports a very extravagant lifestyle. During the investigation, Peter Boothe undergoes a stunning conversion, and actually begins using some of the donations for significant charitable causes. There are also a few subplots which are very entertaining, utilizing many of the characters I've come to know and love. There are more suspects around, which serves to make a wackier concoction. As usual, John Marlin shows us that he's more than just a game warden, and is up for anything the crooks can throw at him. I loved the time I spent in Texas Hill Country in real life, but it doesn't compare to my enjoyment at reading a new Rehder novel.
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Volume 5, Issue 4
April 2008
Edited by Karen Spengler, I Love a Mystery, Mission, KS www.iloveamystery.com |
A
FETE WORSE THAN DEATH, by Dolores Gordon-Smith
(Carroll & Graf, $14.95).
Recommended by Tom & Enid Schantz, The Rue Morgue, Boulder www.ruemorguepress.com:
Set in 1922 but with its roots in the Great War, this first
novel introduces former Royal Flying Corps pilot turned mystery writer
Jack Haldean, who teams up with Scotland Yard’s Superintendent Edward
Ashley when one of Jack’s former fellow officers is found murdered in
the fortune-teller’s tent at the local fete. More
murders follow, and Jack gradually traces them back to a tragic incident
during the Battle of the Somme when a group of British soldiers is
betrayed by one of their own in the chalk tunnels beneath Augier Ridge.
And it’s in these very tunnels that the mystery plays out to a chilling
denouement when Jack and Superintendent Ashley finally trap the killer. The
fun of the book lies in its almost reverent observance of the traditions
of the classical English mysteries of the Golden Age—the seemingly
peaceful country house setting, the ebullient gifted amateur who quickly
gains the trust of a seasoned Scotland Yard detective, and the large cast
of characters, any one of whom might have a motive for the murder. It’s
not the actual 1920s that the author transports us to, but the fictional
world portrayed in crime novels from that period. THE
NIGHT FOLLOWING, by Morag Joss (Delacorte
Press, $22.00). Recommended
by Linda Dewberry, Whodunit? Books:
The Night Following is a case of one small thing drastically
changing your life. The woman
of our story is involved in a hit and run.
Why did she hit? Because she found a condom wrapper in her husband's car.
What can she do to make up for the death she caused?
She can visit the woman's husband and in so doing she finds herself
unable to walk away. She makes atonement in her own way, and the widower
tries to recover from his grief in his own way.
He can't accept his wife's death and keeps leaving her notes and
then being upset when she doesn't answer.
Included with the notes are part of a writing project his wife was
working on. I
found this story poignant and fascinating.
How any of us deal with that one small nanosecond where our life
changes in a downward spiraling kind of way is interesting. I'd look for this one to be another award winner like
"Half Broken Things" was. Terrific
writing about characters you care about! CITY
OF THE SUN by David Levien (Doubleday $24.95).
Recommended by Louise Pieper,
I Love a Mystery, Mission, KS www.iloveamystery.com:
Twelve year-old Jamie Gabriel rides his bike in the
early morning hours to deliver newspapers.
One morning, he doesn’t return home.
After fourteen long agonizing months with no leads and little help
from the police, the parents turn to Frank Behr for help. Behr, an ex-cop,
is now a private investigator. Behr
is an intense man, a strong loner who seldom forms relationships with
anyone. He’s reluctant to take the case—a case that’s gone cold with
the chance of finding Jamie alive highly unlikely, yet he agrees to help,
perhaps because he understands the parents’ anguish of “not
knowing.” Behr is undaunted
in his relentless, yet methodical, search for the answers to Jamie’s
fate. The
book’s jacket describes the story as riveting.
There is no better word. This
book grips you from the start and holds you to the very end without
stopping. You will not put this book down until you are finished.
HOODOO
by Susan Cummins Miller (Texas Tech, $25). Recommended
by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ. www.poisonedpen.com:
Geologist
Frankie MacFarlane is described by Miller’s fellow Tucson author J.M.
Hayes as "hard and beautiful and fragile like obsidian. Fracture
either and you'll find an edge sharper than steel. Miller's writing cuts
the page like a scalpel." In this, her fourth detection, the
traditional homeland of the Chiricahua Apaches once led by Geronimo is
just like a tinderbox. Down Under Copper's mineral exploration plans pit
landowners, worried about their water supply and land values, against
those profit seekers. Then a DUC executive is shot. Frankie, her students,
and her friend Joaquin Black, a local rancher, while on a field trip, find
the victim lying in a clearing among the volcanic hoodoos of Chiricahua
National Monument. And that night, near Paradise, on the eastern side of
the mountain range, someone kills an ethnobotanist. Miller draws parallels
between Arizona's Massai Point linked to the Apaches and Africa's Masaii
tribe to form an unusual, imaginative spine for the story. While
Miller’s publisher is a university press, her works are not at all dry,
but are grounded soundly in her specialty and will appeal to fans of Sarah
Andrew, Nevada Barr, and in Hoodoo, Tony Hillerman. THE
SHANGHAI TUNNEL by Sharan Newman (Forge, $24.95), recommended
by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, MI, www.auntagathas.com:
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Volume 5, Issue 3
March 2008
Edited by Tom & Enid Schantz The Rue Morgue Boulder, Co.
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NOBLE
LIES by Charles Benoit (Poisoned Pen
Press, $24.95). Recommended by J.D. Singh, Sleuth of Baker Street,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada www.sleuthofbakerstreet.com: One
of my all time favorite reads, a book I still try to put in everyone's
hands is Relative Danger. This was a fun, fun read. The author's
newest novel is Noble Lies. Our hero, Mark Rohr, who worked as a
bouncer at a bar, is hired by an attractive young American to find her
brother. In all likelihood the brother drowned in the tsunami disaster
but, maybe not. Pictures of someone who looks like looks like him,
post-disaster, have surfaced. Why he is not in contact with his family,
if he did indeed survive, is not a question that Mark really wants
answered. He figures he'll humor the young woman until she runs of out
of money, then he'll be rid of her and her brother. All is not as it
would appear, of course. Part of the charm of the book is the Thai
culture of the noble lie--better to tell a small lie and save face then
to admit that one does not the answer and lose face--which makes a
P.I.'s job a tad difficult.. Thugs, high seas piracy, crime lords, bars
and bar girls, a Thailand not seen on official tourist brochures...all
make for an exciting read that just keeps you guessing. The author is an
incurable traveler and that love of travel and adventure benefits the
reader immeasurably.
PUSHING UP DAISIES by Rosemary Harris (St. Martin's Minotaur, $23.95), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, Mich., www.auntagathas.com: Like gardening? This is the book for you. Rich with detail that never overwhelms the plot, this is the rare treat that gives the reader some useful information while still supplying an entertaining story to go with it. Harris' first effort features landscaper Paula Holliday. Paula has taken a buyout from her former high powered job as a producer of TV documentaries, and moved out to the wilds of ritzy Springfield, Connecticut, where she is trying to eke out a new living as a landscape gardener. Competition is fierce out in the burbs, though, where despite recommendations from the town hangout & café owner, Babe, jobs are still few and far between. By severely underbidding the competition, Paula lands a job re-landscaping the long neglected gardens of "Halcyon", the estate of the mysterious Peacock sisters. While weeding she uncovers a corpse which sends her on an entirely different journey. While this is a pretty standard cozy set up, it's set apart by some interesting sidebar characters - notably Babe and Paula's hard driving friend from the city, Jane. The obvious love interest, present in so many cozy mysteries (he often sports a mustache) isn't present here - Paula's love life, like her working life, is left nicely up in the air at the end of the book while the threads of the mystery itself are neatly tied up. This is also a welcome hope of spring after a long, snowy, cold winter. Soon enough we can all hope to join Paula out in our own gardens!
ROGUE
MALE by Geoffrey Household (
CALUMET
CITY by Charlie Newton.
(Touchstone, $14.00). Recommended by J.B. Dickey, Seattle Mystery
Bookstore, Seattle. www.seattlemystery.com:
Here’s a sharp little paragraph from the opening section of Calumet
City: “The
devil has a man’s first and last name – you need to believe that
– he’s got saliva, busy hands, and a Bible he quotes, and shoes
that are always new. But he’s the devil just the same.” A
terrific debut, and, while it is early to make such a judgment, quite
likely the debut of the year. For the narrative drive and
claustrophobic sense of evil, it is right up there with Lehane’s Gone,
Baby, Gone. The bones of the story are that a
SILENT
IN THE SANCTUARY by
Deanna Raybourn (Mira, $13.95) Recommended by Tom & Enid
Schantz, The Rue Morgue, Boulder www.ruemorguepress.com : In
the winter of 1887 the recently widowed Lady Julia Grey is summoned
from
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Edited by Maryelizabeth Hart Mysterious Galaxy San Diego, CA www.mystgalaxy.com
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THE CRAZY SCHOOL by Cornelia Read (Grand Central Publishing, $23.99), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, Mich., www.auntagathas.com: Cornelia Read's The Crazy School is a follow up to her very original and beautifully written first novel, A Field of Darkness, and it feels tighter and more focused than the first book. In this novel, Madeleine Dare has moved to the Berkshires with her husband and she's working at a school for troubled teenagers.. She feels she's fighting an uphill battle, both with the kids, who she's not sure she's helping, and with the school administration, which is very odd. The headmaster is strangely controlling with both students and staff and the strands that relate to history and past events that Madeleine teaches her students come back to tie neatly into the main story. When two of the students are found dead in an apparent suicide pact, Madeleine can't let it go so easily, and she's sure she's been poisoned herself. As the talented Read peels back the horrifying yet absolutely believable layers of the school, she also creates some indelible characters that will stay with you long after you've finished the book. This is the work of an extremely gifted newcomer to the mystery genre. A TOAST TO TOMORROW by Manning Coles (Rue Morgue $14.95). Recommended by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale AZ www.poisonedpen.com: Here is a reissue of one of my all time favorite novels, a kind of soft spy story no less chilling in its portraits of 1933 Berlin and top Nazis than the hard stuff. The author(s)—Manning Coles was actually a team, one of whom, Cyril Coles, left school, lied about his age, and eventually became the youngest British intelligence officer ever—were unequaled in the way they could wield language (here, mostly German, but also French and Spanish) and contrast a kind of dignified humor with horrible, deadly situations. In my opinion this is the first Coles to read; don't go looking for descriptions since anything will be a spoiler. When you're done you can read Coles' actual first novel, Drink to Yesterday (Rue Morgue $14.95), reissuing at the same time, which is my least favorite Coles. It's more like nonfiction. Taken together, the Rue Morgue Press reports, the novels have credited Coles, along with Eric Ambler, with the creation of the modern spy novel. So, if you read them in inverse order you can see if you agree with famed critic Anthony Boucher, for whom Bouchercon is named, that they form "a single long and magnificent novel of intrigue, drama and humor." THE LOST LUGGAGE PORTER by Andrew Martin (Harcourt, $14.00) Recommended by Tom & Enid Schantz, The Rue Morgue, Boulder, CO www.ruemorguepress.com: Young Jim Stringer never wanted to be anything but a railroad man, and now, in the winter of 1906, he has become a railway detective in the dismal working-class city of York, where he and his pregnant wife have recently relocated. On his very first day on the job, his boss directs him to go undercover and infiltrate a gang of thieves, an assignment which becomes very dangerous indeed when he finds himself dragged along to Paris with them when they make their daring getaway. As entertaining as the central story is, we were even more drawn to the characters, especially stubborn, dogged Jim and his smart, determined young helpmate referred to only as “the wife,” who takes in freelance typewriting from their flat, is a dedicated suffragist, and has a healthy contempt for all the domestic arts. They have a loving, quirky relationship, which is jeopardized when one of Jim’s unsavory new associates begins making threats against her. And equally arresting is the background of cheerless pubs, dingy row houses, and constant chill damp rain—scarcely the picturesque England American readers like to imagine, and all the more powerful for that. THE ANATOMY OF DECEPTION, by Lawrence Goldstone (Random House, $24.00) recommended by Kathy Harig, Mystery Loves Company, Baltimore, MD; www.mysterylovescomany.com: A corpse of a young woman baffles the doctors and interns in a morgue of a Philadelphia hospital. One intern believes that he knows the woman’s identity and that many of the others knew her too, but realizes her death could ruin their reputations. So begins a wonderfully engaging, suspenseful medical mystery set at the beginnings of the modern age of medicine. Its main characters are well-known to students of medicine and art in Philadelphia and Baltimore including famed surgeon Dr.William Osler, co-founder of Johns Hopkins Hospital William Stewart Halsted, and artist Thomas Eakins. Goldstone has created a mystery as compelling as The Alienist. It will be interesting to see the reaction to this book in Baltimore. The book was painstakingly researched and Goldstone made use of Dr. Osler’s works and papers. Highly Recommended. MISSING by Karin Abvtegen (Felony and Mayhem, $24.00). Recommended by Kate Mattes, Kate's Mystery Books, Cambridge, MA. www.katesmysterybooks.com: Missing is a riveting, complex but very simple crime novel. Abvtegen has brilliantly combined the character development and tension of a Ruth Rendell novel with a whodunit worthy of Agatha Christie. Early on, we meet Sibylla, a woman who is homeless by choice. Raised as an only child in an upper-class in a factory town, she found her life so unbearable that she left to be on her own. Gradually we learn more about her childhood and her reasons for leaving. Immediately we realize that her "job" every day is to survive. It takes all of her energy and creativity and her attitude is positive and confident. Unfortunately one of her creative ventures goes horribly wrong and she winds up the major suspect in an horrific murder. Now she also has to figure out how to stay out of the way of the police. Her efforts bring her in contact with a teen-ager who is feeling quite alienated himself. They form an uneasy alliance as the two of them try to figure out who the murderer, (who has struck again) could be. Neither he nor the reader is sure that Sibylla is entirely innocent so we proceed with caution. I don't think I have ever read a novel that combined such two different forms so seamlessly. That would be enough to recommend the novel in and of itself. But there are a couple of twists at the end that just leave you wondering when Abylegen's next novel will be out. |
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January
Edited by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor,MI
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PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by
Geraldine Brooks (Viking, $26.95).
Recommended by Robert Rosenwald, The Poisoned Pen,
Scottsdale, AZ,
www.poisonedpen.com:
Every book with Brooks is a gem. Here she gives us Australian rare book expert Hanna Heath who gets the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajexo Haggadah. Thus treasure, one of the few Jewish volumes to be illuminated with images, has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war. In it’s binding are preserved various tiny artifacts (an insect’s wing, wine stain, salt crystal, etc) that helps Hanna, a caustic loner who lives for her work, unlock the books past, letting us travel from its 1996 salvation back to it’s creation (think The Girl in Hyacinth Blue here). But Hanna’s work unexpectedly plunges her into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra nationalists, not to mention her own difficult past. The scenes with her mother are astonishing: and yet, who would want a brain surgeon who isn’t utterly devoid of sentiment as mom?
GAS CITY by Loren D.
Estleman (Forge, $24.95).
Recommended by Jamie Agnew, Aunt Agatha's,
Ann Arbor, MI, www.auntagathas.com:
This is a work that the author has been thinking about a
long time and it shows. Gas City is about power and honesty and
how hard it is for the two to co-exist in the modern world. It reminds
me of Dashiell Hammett's The Glass Key or the very best of John
O'Hara in that it expertly dramatizes characters from many layers of
society, all the way from streetwalker to mayor and every social level
in between. The plot begins with the death of Marty Russell, the wife
of police chief Francis Russell, a loss that causes the Chief to stop
caring about consequences and to start actually doing his job, upsetting
a careful arrangement that gives the mob free rein over part of the
city, containing vice in one lawless area and lining the pockets of many
public officials. Only the dialogue may at times be a little too snappy
for total verisimilitude, but who can complain about snappy dialogue?
The denoument is suitably clever and shocking, but also subtle and
understated, as if to emphasize the delicate mastery of the whole.
Gas City is a self evident masterpiece and among the many, many good
books Estleman has written I believe it will stand among the very best.
THE CRAFTY TEDDY by John
J. Lamb (Berkley, $6.99).
Recommended by Tom and Enid Schantz, The Rue Morge Press, Lyons, CO,
www.ruemorguepress.com:
We’ve been wondering why mystery booksellers keep singling out this series of so-called cozy police procedurals from the plethora of craft-based mysteries being published today, and now we understand. It’s hero, retired homicide cop Brad Lyon, who has settled in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley with his wife of many years, Ashleigh, has got to be one of the more likable sleuths in the literature, and the supporting cast of small-town characters, including the woman police chief to whom he acts as occasional consultant, is equally appealing. Here they investigate the theft of a priceless antique teddy bear from Brad’s collection and the murder of the local museum director following the inexplicable arrival if three Japanese yakuza in the small town of Remmelkemp Mill. The pace is brisk, the detective believable, and in the end we’re reminded of Aaron Elkins, with teddy bears instead of skeletons.
HEAD GAMES by Craig
McDonald (Bleak House, $14.95).
Recommended by Karen Spengler, I Love a
Mystery, Mission, KS,
www.iloveamystery.com:
Head Games is the
rip-roaring, riotous, uproarious account of larger-than-life crime
writer Hector Lassiter's wild and raucous trek to deliver the head of
Pancho Villa to the highest bidder. Too many adjectives? Try adding
boisterous, brawling and rambunctious, then you'll have an idea of what
an over-the-top ride Head Games delivers. On the run from old
Mexico to California and beyond with their gruesome cargo, main
characters Lassiter and fellow young writer Bud Fiske encounter such
characters as Marlene Deitrich, Jack Webb and Orson Welles, whom
Lassiter describes as looking huge, "like a blue whale with a seven
o'clock shadow". Part road trip, part buddy story, Head Games is
a fast paced, fun read.
AT THE CITY'S EDGE by
Marcus Sakey (St. Martin’s Minotaur,
$24.95). Recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann
Arbor, MI,
www.auntagathas.com:
Marcus Sakey’s first book, The Blade Itself, was chock full of obvious talent, but to me it felt a little bit slick. In this second outing, Sakey has thrown away any slickness and retained his gifts of prose, narrative, character development and a great way with a hook. The hook in this book is Jason, a recently returned Iraq war vet, beset unawares by some thugs who want something from his brother. When Jason goes to ask his brother, Michael, the owner of a crummy bar on the south side of Chicago, his brother blows him off; when his bar burns to the ground the next day with Michael inside it, Jason is left with his brother’s secret, his nine year old nephew, and a need to find a way to move past the war and figure out the problems in his unexpected new life. Brilliantly tying together the gangbangers that plagued his brother’s life with the vivid memories of Iraq inside Jason’s head, Sakey sets Jason adrift in a world where nothing is untouched by corruption. I guess that’s the real definition of noir, and in Sakey’s talented hands, it feels new. Using the unsteady Jason as the reader’s conduit in to this scary ride through the dark underbelly of Chicago shows real depth on the part of this rapidly maturing writer. And because the characters are equally as compelling as the situations, this is a very strong and memorable novel, not to be missed.
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