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Issue 6.12, Edited by Jerry Lenaz, the Cloak & Dagger, Princeton, NJ. www.thecloakanddagger.com
TOWER, by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman (Busted Flush Press, $15) recommended by Aline Lenaz, the Cloak & Dagger, Princeton, NJ, www.thecloakanddagger.com: Divided into two halves, this tour of the underside of Brooklyn, Boston and Philadelphia marks the first collaboration between noir masters Bruen and Coleman. Based on the classic theme of childhood friends pulled toward different sides of the law, the coauthors tell the story of Nick and Todd in quick concise scenes that switch time and incidents in a fashion reminiscent of Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. Nick, the Irish-American kid is developed by Bruen and remains a “wise guy” throughout the story line while his friend Todd, Coleman’s character, evolves into an undercover cop unbeknown to Nick. Both grow up together on the streets of New York City working for a local crime boss. Ultimately Todd moves to Boston, then Philadelphia and finally returns to New York charged with bringing down Nick’s crime boss. Each author develops his character and their experiences framed by the writer's voice, providing an interesting writing style which reminded me of Celtic poetry clashing with gritty “wise guy” viewpoints.
The authors do an excellent job of making us care for the characters, the demons they face and what happens to them. This book is clearly for those who enjoy rich characters in a highly distilled, unsentimental story of criminals doing criminal deeds in a criminal world, where love, loyalty and redemption are just the means to an end.
SHADES OF GREY , by Jasper Fforde (Viking, $25.95), recommended by Fran Fuller, Seattle Mystery Bookshop, www.seattlemystery.com: I picked up Jasper Fforde’s upcoming novel, the first in at least a trilogy, looking for something humorous and whimsical after having read the second Steig Larsson. And Shades of Grey certainly has humor and whimsy, there’s no doubt.
But it has much, much more than that. In a nutshell, the world has changed since the Something That Happened all those years ago that irrevocably changed the world, and now people can only see specific colors. Depending on the color you can see, and the percentage at which you can see it, your life is set out for you. Everyone is expected to follow Munsell’s Rules, and everyone is to work for the good of the Collective.
Edward Russett and his father are sent from their home city of Jade-under-Lime to East Carmine, where Eddie’s father, a swatchman (which is the Colortocracy’s version of a doctor), is to temporarily replace the recently deceased swatchman. Eddie has to go along to learn Humility, and to count the chairs. However, upon his return and after taking his color perception test, Eddie fully plans to marry Constance Oxblood, which is a step up in social standing for him, and because of his better-than-average red perception, a good match for her.
But the Rules are a bit more flexible out on the Fringes, and Eddie soon learns that his complacent understanding of how things work is to be challenged. If only he can survive being eaten by the yateveo tree.Then too, there’s Jane Grey of the retrousse’ nose and casual violence (which is totally against the Rules!) who has captured Eddie’s imagination, which is also against the Rules.
Shades of Grey is complex and detailed and not the light romp I was expecting. Fforde has created a world with depth and dark sociological observations. I was surprised, and at first rather miffed to find that instead of something fluffy and fun, I was embroiled in a fairly serious novel exploring the importance of rules in society, and sometimes the importance of breaking them.
Shades of Grey has all the earmarks of a book that is going to stick with me long after I’ve read it, and while that wasn’t what I had anticipated when I started it, I have to say that I can’t wait to read the next two! THE LOCK ARTIST ,by Steve Hamilton, (Minotaur Books, $24.99), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, Mich., www.auntagathas.com: There are a lot of suspense novels out there, and I read a fair number. I’ve been trying to figure out the difference between a perfectly acceptable – yet ho-hum – suspense novel, and one that feels like it was written by someone at the top of their game, like Steve Hamilton. One element is prose: Hamilton’s sparkles. Another element is specificity. In this novel, the interesting specific detail is lock picking, and it’s a great plot element. After reading this book you almost feel like you could pick a lock yourself. Much like Michael Connelly’s Void Moon, which was more or less a primer on robbing a Vegas casino, this book is a primer on picking locks. It turns out that to be really good at picking locks, along with specialized knowledge; you also need a special touch, an ability to "feel" the lock, especially if it’s the combination to a safe. Another element would be a good hook, and Hamilton has a great one. The narrator, Mike, is as well known for his lock picking skills as for the fact that he doesn’t speak. It’s traced back to a childhood trauma, referred to throughout the book, but never fully explained until the end. This showcases another great Hamilton element, his mastery of narrative and suspense. None of these elements stand apart from one another, because the end result is seamless.
The speeding train that is this novel’s narrative begins with Mike in a jail cell, going back to the beginning of his life, explaining how he got there. As he jumps back and forth a bit in time, foreshadowing relationships and events, as a reader you are helpless in the grip of the narrative. I don’t think any of this would work if Mike weren’t such an interesting and shaded character. However he got there, Mike begins his story more or less living with his Uncle Lito, who owns a liquor store in sleepy Milford, Michigan. Hamilton sure doesn’t sugarcoat Milford, and since he grew up there, I guess he knows what he’s talking about. The only thing Mike has, besides his ability to pick locks (which is acquired later) is an ability to draw. Both things lead him ultimately to his eventual girlfriend, Amelia. Many parts of this story are unexpected, and the way more or less good boy Mike meets Amelia is not only interesting, it also explains both his character and his later more criminal path through life. While Amelia is not a straight up good girl, she’s far more of an innocent than Mike, despite her pose of sophistication. One thing they share is artistic talent.
In a way this is a typical Hamilton novel: concise, flashes of humor, terrific plot, great detail and setting. But to say there’s anything typical about this kind of skill would be a stretch. This isn’t the straight up P.I.novel he’s been delivering, it’s a little different, but it’s still, to any Hamilton aficionado, familiar. Hamilton catapults himself into the upper echelon of suspense writers with this novel, which is where he’s belonged all along. MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR , by Joan Hess. (Minotaur Books, $24.99), recommended by Judi Anderson, Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Oakmont, PA, www.mysterylovers.com: I never tire of Joan Hess’s Maggody series. In this 16th series installment, Arly Hanks, Maggody police chief and only officer is a lot like Earl from “My Name Is Earl,” surrounded by insanity, lunacy and mayhem. Where else will you find the various members of the Buchanon family, including Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanon who is a Buchanon on both sides. In The Merry Wives of Maggody Mrs. Jim Bob’s latest scheme is to hold a charity golf tournament despite the fact that no one in Maggody plays golf and there is no golf course. And that’s just for starters. Chuckles and belly laughs to follow.
G. I. BONES , by Martin Limón, (Soho Crime, $24), recommended by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Portland, Oregon, www.mbtb.com: What most of us know about the Korean War has been garnered from "M*A*S*H" reruns. What Martin Limón gives us is a complicated and dark look at South Korea twenty years after that war officially ended. In 1970s Korea, the U.S. still maintains a heavy-handed presence. George Sueño and Ernie Bascom are Army CID officers charged with solving crimes by and against G.I.s.
In this sixth book in Limón's series, Sueño and Bascom are charged with finding two things: the bones of a soldier who has been missing for twenty years and the wayward daughter of an Army bigwig. In an eerie start to the book, Sueño and Bascom are brought to the home of a local fortune-teller. She tells them that the spirit of the long-dead soldier will not rest until his bones have been returned home. Because Sueño has a long-standing crush on Dr. Yong, the woman who brought him to the fortune-teller, he agrees to investigate the case. Sueño and Bascom's lives are complicated when a colonel's teenaged daughter apparently steals money from her father and runs away with a private, and they are ordered to find her, the private, and the money. Strangely, everything eventually ties into the mysterious "Seven Dragons," underworld lords of Seoul. Limón takes his readers behind closed doors to see the fragile world of a Seoul that is still struggling with post-war problems: poverty, black market stealing, orphaned children, and an extensive red-light district. There is tip-toeing by both the South Koreans and the U.S. military about jurisdiction over crimes. Itaewon, the red-light district of Seoul, is not officially condoned by the military, but the military often turns a blind eye to its activities. It is in Itaewon that most of the action, both past and present, occurs. Limón's series still has the ability to shock me. His depiction of Korea during the '50s and '70s is bleak, even as he allows rays of humanity and kindness to peek through. It is that way with G.I. Bones. With the characters of Moretti and Cort, Limón seeks to balance the oafish and generally imperialistic picture of Americans abroad. With the characters of Dr. Yong and Miss Kwon, a young prostitute, he puts sympathetic faces on the sad stories of survival. Issue 6.11 | Edited by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ www.poisonedpen.com
ALONE by Loren D. Estleman (Forge, $24.99), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, Mich., www.auntagathas.com: It’s obvious Loren Estleman has a blast writing his new series about film archivist Valentino. If anything could be a fantasy for a massive film buff like Estleman, it would probably be a job as a "film detective", tracking down old films so the prints can be salvaged for future generations. Even better, in this second outing, Valentino is restoring an old movie theater, although the correct term for it would be "palace". Estleman really sparkles here. The book is filled with funny one liners that move along as quickly as an old Cary Grant/Rosalind Russell movie; sometimes you’re saying "Oh, I get it" a page later.
The plot concerns—and this is even better—Greta Garbo. Apparently a wealthy Garbo fanatic, Rankin, has been blackmailed by his assistant over a letter that illuminates a very close intimacy between Garbo and Rankin’s dead wife. This comes out at a Garbo themed party, where Valentino’s girlfriend’s Garbo outfit actually causes Rankin to faint. When Val returns later to talk to Rankin he finds him in the same room with his dead assistant, literally with a smoking gun. While it’s an obvious solution, the police have a hard time holding Rankin in jail, thanks in part to Val’s help in proving Rankin’s innocence. It’s not long before Val and his girlfriend are again having dinner with the man. While Estleman’s language has always been one of the delights of his novels, the humor here is so rich and luscious it could almost be eaten with a spoon. The plot is clever enough but it’s the characters and the humor that make the book a real standout. Only a total pro like Estleman could make it all look so easy. Years of writing P.I. novels have also made Estleman a dab hand at plots, ones that hold together and make sense. And even better, while all his sidebar characters are delightful and funny, they are also fully fleshed out characters. While Estleman may be revealing his true curmudgeonly nature in describing so lovingly his worship of the past, it’s not a knee jerk attitude, it’s an informed and valuable one. There’s a reason for his love of the past, and he makes an excellent case for it. He includes references and a Garbo filmography at the end of the book, which make this book an almost ideal Christmas gift. BONE MAGIC , by Yvonne Galenorn (Berkley, $7.99), recommended by Fran, Seattle Mystery Bookstore, Seattle, WA, www.seattlemystery.com: Camille D’Artigo is the voice in this, the 7th in the Otherworld series. We learn a lot about what’s going on in the war between demon-kind and everyone else.
Galenorn packs her books with plot twists and changes, and I don’t want to tell you too much. I can tell you that Delilah’s reaction to Rodney was completely natural and I kinda suspect it wasn’t as spontaneous as she made it out to be. I can tell you that Smoky’s family is going to be playing a bigger role in the stories to come. I can say that we find out more about Iris (and I was SO pleased to see that she has a larger role in this book!). And Trillian’s back!
Beyond that, I hesitate to say much more. This is one of the darker books Ms. Galenorn has written and it takes Camille through some definite changes, placing her in delicate balance between opposing forces, and I can’t wait to see how things play out in the books yet to come. If you haven’t read this series and you enjoy urban fantasy, I strongly encourage you to begin with Witchling (Berkley, $7.99) and follow the entire series. Ms. Galenorn has so skillfully woven these many multiple threads that to begin with Bone Magic will leave you puzzled. If you’ve been following this series, though, may I just say you’re in for quite a ride!
DESERT LOST by Betty Webb (Poisoned Pen Press, $25), recommended by Dana Stabenow, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ, www.poisonedpen.com; www.stabenow.com: The polygamists of Webb's Desert Wives are unfortunately alive and well in Desert Lost, and, much to PI Lena Jones' dismay, breeding more in downtown Scottsdale. When the body of one of the wives is tossed out of a car practically at Lena's feet, she is determined to find out who murdered her, especially since the victim looks so familiar. Lena takes a bullet and loses a boyfriend in her search for the truth, which includes more less than welcome insights into her own past and the foiling of the stalking of a TV star friend. Tight plot, solid characters, and the desert blooms in Webb's prose.
BETWEEN THE DARK AND THE DAYLIGHT , by Ed Gorman and Martin Greenberg, editors (Bleak House Books, $24.95, simultaneous trade paper original $14.95), recommended by Sandra Hale, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA, www.mystgalaxy.com: This compilation of 27 short stories contains contributions by the best crime and mystery authors. In “Father's Day,” the beginning story by Michael Connelly, Harry Bosch investigates death of an infant. Sookie Stackhouse and Amelia Broadway try to figure out who is breaking into the insurance office of their agent in Charlaine Harris’ short story. The book’s title comes from the story by Tom Piccirilli. This beautifully written, twisted story concerns a father who wants to impress his son so badly he steals a hot air balloon—with unexpected consequences. There are stories by Bill Crider, T. Jefferson Parker, Patricia Abbott and others, literally something for every mystery reader. And, if the varied stories are not enough to attract you, Jon L. Breen gives a comprehensive overview of the 2008 year in mystery. THE WITCH DOCTOR'S WIFE by Tamar Myers (Avon, $14), recommended by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ, www.poisonedpen.com: Now here is an absolute gem of a book, pitch perfect, exotic yet anchored in the author's upbringing in the Belgian Congo as the daughter of missionaries in the 1950s. This really brilliant mystery proves once again you should never take work from an author you thought you knew for granted but crack open the book and read it.
Ever since Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency became an international hit in 2005, mysteries set in Africa have won an audience where previously they were a hard sell. Memorable additions in 2009 include Mala Nunn's A Beautiful Place to Die (Simon & Schuster), Roger Smith's Mixed Blood (Holt); Michael Stanley's The Second Death of Goodluck Tunubu (Morrow); and Frederick Ramsay's Predator (Poisoned Pen Press), a different Botswana. I was always fond of Elspeth Huxley's African Poison Murders and other titles with their older sensibility. So to drop back into 1958 with missionary Amanda Brown who has followed a calling from South Carolina to "the dark continent" was like a visit with an old friend.
Myers, herself raised in the Belgian Congo, drops you not just into an older era but into a landscape and culture—a time when colonialism was being challenged and hard lines forming—so compelling you hate to put the book down and emerge into today. Amanda is drawn into the lives of the villagers in tiny Belle Vue—and she is touched by the plight of the local witch doctor, a man known as Their Death, who has been forced to take a second job as a yardman to support his two wives. But when his First Wife stumbles upon a massive uncut gem, terrible events are set in motion, challenging Amanda in ways that will surprise the reader who applaud her eventually perceived ingenuity. Myers' voice is so pitch perfect here that one hopes she is at work on a follow up. Issue 6.9 | edited by David Lampe-Wilson, Mystery on Main Street, Brattleboro, VT; www.mysteryonmain.com:
SMOKING FROG LIVES, by Peter Goodman (Cambri $14.95); recommended by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ; www.poisonedpen.com: The scene is Yaxnax, a minor Mayan city, abandoned for over a thousand years. Smoking Frog, a great war chief of the pre -classic period, decapitates a bound captive in a Mayan ritual ... but the time is today. Switch to Nick Michaels, a private investigator with a bad history and split from his girl who signs on to a dig in an attempt at a career change. He is trained in archaeology.
When he arrives at the Yaxnax site, he quickly learns that his fellows are, of course, pursuing different agendas, while Nick ends up pursuing the elusive killer "Smoking Frog." Nick's eventual strategy is to set up a lengthy con — will Smoking Frog be smoked out?
This is an excellent book for fans of Elizabeth Peters' Vicky Bliss series (The Night of the Four Hundred Rabbits, for instance) and for those fans of the late Lyn Hamilton although antiques do not figure into the story. I like author Goodman's evocation of place. And of course, we've seen such rivalrous academics in Tony Hillerman's Edgar-winning The Thief of Time.
SCARY STUFF by Sharon Fiffer (Minotaur Books, $24.99), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, MI; www.auntagathas.com: This was a very pleasant surprise. I’ve read several of the Jane Wheel mysteries and found them enjoyable — I have an uncomfortable feeling that our collection of books rivals Jane’s collection of "stuff" — but this book is, to me, by far the strongest entry yet. How delightful that a writer, six books into an established series, hits a real home run. Often mysteries are well written, but not so often are they actually "mysterious." On this front Fiffer delivers in spades.
Jane Wheel is both a "picker" — i.e. she goes to garage and estate sales looking for "stuff", and a private eye in training. Jane’s eye rests on the formerly quotidian — buttons, potholders, kitchen utensils, etc. Her future private eye partner and former cop, Bruce Oh, has a wife named Claire whose eye rests on the higher end. And working with Jane is the delightful Tim Lowry, slightly more technologically savvy than Jane but just as obsessed as she is with "stuff." These characters are a wonderful base for the books, especially Bruce Oh, who serves a function much like Yoda’s in the Star Wars films, uttering profundities that take a while to unravel. Like Luke Skywalker, Jane is a willing student.
What sets this book a bit apart from the others is the deeper look at Jane’s family. Her parents, Nellie and Don (but especially Nellie) have always been wonderful background for the books and for Jane. In this one, her parents, who own the struggling EZ Way Inn in Kankakee, Illinois, are front and center. The book kicks off as Jane is visiting her brother in California. They’re having dinner out with the family (including Jane’s stuff obsessed niece, Q), when someone comes up to Michael and offers to punch his lights out. Then a closer look at Michael’s face gets the guy to back off. Michael confesses to Jane that this has happened a few times, and it appears to be tied to an eBay seller who looks very much like Michael and who has been cheating people. Jane’s hackles, and suspicions, are aroused and she goes back home to Illinois full of questions about her brother.
Back in Kankakee with her friend Tim, Jane follows up a lead on Michael’s doppleganger when she and Tim stumble into a king-sized cache of stuff, belonging to one of the EZ Way Inn’s former customers. Nellie jumps in and is with Jane when they look into the "haunted" house across from Edna’s restaurant. To Jane’s surprise, Nellie barges right into the house, and seems familiar with its odd and elderly occupant, Ada. To say much more at this point would be to give away some plot points the author took some pains to establish.
Like all of my very favorite mysteries, the secrets here are tied both to character, and even better, to family. The independent, strong minded Nellie has always been one of my favorite characters in the series, and in this novel we get to find out much more about her, as does Jane herself. The plot is full of tricky twists that turn out to have real resonance. It’s also full of Halloween atmosphere and nice prose. I especially loved the description, late in the book, of the local version of "Scary Night". I can only say "bravo" to a strong and vital series entry.
9 DRAGONS , by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown, $27.99) recommended by J.B., Seattle Mystery Bookshop,Seattle, WA; www.seattlemystery.com: Michael Connelly shows Harry Bosch no mercy in 9 Dragons, slingshoting him from LA to Hong Kong where Harry's ex-wife live after Harry’s daughter is kidnapped from a mall.
The book begins with Harry being called to a homicide in a liquor store. From there, the case leads to the Chinese Triads in LA and then to Hong Kong.
This is a sad story, filled with mistakes and death and rash assumptions and quick action. I don’t remember how old Harry was when he was a tunnel rat in Viet Nam but Connelly mentions a number of times that it was 40 years ago. Even if we figure that Harry was 19 while in the service, that means Harry is pushing 60, if not into his sixth decade. Like Dave Robicheaux, he’ll be slowing down pretty soon but I think he’s beginning to show his age. He’s far crankier in this book, more judgmental than I remember him being, and more prone to cause himself problems. Still, this is plot that moves at a lightning pace and what happens is inevitable and ugly.
If I had a problem with the book it is the same problem I’ve had with his last couple of books: the novels have become thinner. His earlier books, like The Poet, were rich and dense and reading them took a lot longer. That was part of the fun. A Connelly was not fast food. The last few, though, have been more like one of Harry’s burgers on the run. Fun, sure, but not quite as satisfying as the hearty meals of his earlier books. Perhaps it is due to his publishing two books a year. I don’t know. But I’d willingly give up the frequency of Connelly’s books for the richer content of fewer Connelly books.
DESOLATE ANGEL , by Chaz McGee (Berkley Prime Crime, $6.99), Recommended by Terry Gilman, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA; www.mystgalaxy.com: I was completely taken by Kevin Fahey, an ex-dysfunctional homicide detective who ignored his family and buried himself in his own self pity with plenty of alcohol. Kevin now finds himself in between worlds, not knowing how he died or how to exist as a ghost. As he (and the story) progress, Kevin begins to find some inner peace, a great love for his family (that escaped him while he was alive), and a better understanding of what it means to be human ... a pretty good feat for a dead guy.
His first case as the Dead Detective begins at the crime scene of a murdered young girl. There he encounters the ghost of a previously murdered young girl whose case he helped solve (or so he thought). Also at the scene is the homicide detective who replaced him, Maggie Gunn, now partnered with Danny Bonaventura. Danny was Kevin’s long-time partner and the last person Kevin saw before he was killed in the line of duty. Kevin is immediately taken with Maggie, her dedication to her job, and well, everything else about her. He becomes her guardian angel and "partner" and pledges to help her any way he can to bring the true killer to justice.
This is the first book in a series that partners Kevin and Maggie as they (she) go through his unsolved case files to pursue killers who evaded him when he was alive. Kevin hopes to find redemption in death in a way that he never could accomplish when he was alive. This desolate angel’s ability to see the important parts of each person he encounters and "read" their personal story enhances this new take on detective fiction. This is a great start and I look forward to the next installment.
THIS WILL KILL YOU: A GUIDE TO THE WAYS IN WHICH WE GO , by H.P. Newquist and Rich Maloof (Griffin, $14.95) recommended by David Lampe-Wilson, Mystery on Main Street, Brattleboro, VT; www.mysteryonmain.com:
Death comes to us all, but the way we die varies. This Will Kill You enumerates 75 different ways that people annually kick the bucket. From Great White Shark attack to anthrax, and from going over Niagra Falls in a barrel to being slimed by a dart frog, the authors map our dusty way to death.
The book ranks each death for frequency (only one or two people are annually eaten by alligators), lethality (maybe you can escape being totally eaten and just get chewed up a bit) and its horror factor (the alligator thing is thought to be quite terrifying). You even get an urban legend or two, like the one about the Boy Scout Troop that was wiped out from toasting marshmallows over a fire made of oleander leaves.
There is a forward by a doctor from the Mayo Clinic, so one suspects that at least the science is right. It's easy to pick up and put down (each death is covered in two to three pages), so you may want to leave a copy in the bathroom just to ponder at intervals. Anyway, it's a cool read. Issue 6.9 | edited by Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA, www.mystgalaxy.com
THE GATES , by John Connolly (Atria, $24), recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin’ For Books, San Diego, CA, maggiemary@yahoo.com: Young Samuel Johnson is a unique young man. He’s got a pet Dachshund named Boswell, and some really interesting ideas. If he can’t decide which of two pairs of shoes to wear, he’ll wear a shoe from each pair. He’s also got Halloween all figured out. In order to get first crack at the best treats, he’s decided to go trick or treating three days early. He ventures to the house at 666 Crowley Ave., where the Abernathy’s live. The Abernathys don’t have children, and must be bored. Otherwise, why would they invite their friends the Renfields over to raise some demons from Hell? Samuel isn’t successful in obtaining treats, and decides to look in the basement to see what the Abernathy’s are doing. Sadly, his presence makes Mrs. Abernathy aware of him, and when she detects him watching their demon raising efforts, she knows he’s going to be trouble, but since he’s a child, she isn’t too worried, though that will change. Luckily for Samuel he has a brave dog and several equally brave and resourceful friends. When the demon raising efforts are successful, Samuel is a witness. Also aware that something has happened are the scientists at CERN, where the Large Hadron Collider experiences an event. That event is found to be one that opens a small crack into the gates of Hell. Soon, the Abernathys and Renfields are taken over by demons, and small demons begin crossing over into our world. The early intruders are fairly easily dealt with using a cricket bat and other makeshift weapons, but others are sure to follow. As time goes on, the demons get scarier. There is one demon that Samuel met and treated with kindness, Nurd the Scourge of Five Deities. Samuel’s kindness to Nurd will be rewarded, and in a big way. Having a quick mind, and being inventive prove to be invaluable when fighting demons, but having resourceful friends and a good dog are priceless. The action reaches a peak on Halloween, when the townspeople meet and take action against various demons. Not realizing what they are up against, the humans are just amazed at all the great costumes on display. We owe Samuel and his friends a big debt of gratitude, as well as owing a brewery a thank you for some truly bad product. The scenes in the local pub are among the many truly hilarious parts of the book. I’ve long known that Connolly is an excellent adult fiction writer. I must admit to being surprised that he is a comic genius, as well as being adept at writing for young adults, though adults may need to explain a few of the “in jokes” like Crowley and Renfield. Connolly even makes footnotes entertaining. The characters are so well done, it’s hard not to cast this as a movie. And for once, I’d not want Boswell to be a Golden Retriever, he’s perfect as he is. Of the 82 books I’ve read so far this year, this is by far my favorite. I’m passing my advance reading copy along to a young reader for his take. At the risk of seeming pushy, may I make a demand for a sequel? ASAP. Highly Recommended. A QUIET BELIEF IN ANGELS , by R.J. Ellory (Overlook Press, $24.95), recommended by Joanne Sinchuk, Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore, Delray Beach, FL, www.murderonthebeach.com: I belong to several on-line lists of booksellers who talk to each other about bookselling and books. Recently there has been a lot of buzz about this book, A Quiet Belief in Angels. So I had to pick it up to see what all the fuss was about. And was I glad! What a wonderful book, although not for everyone. Written by a British author who has had several books published in the UK, A Quiet Belief in Angels is his first published in the US. Like Lee Child, Ellory is a Brit writing about the American South, but that’s where the similarity ends. Set in 1939, this is the story of a young, talented boy growing up in a small town where everyone knows everyone else. Or so they think. So the shock of a serial killer in their midst over a period of 10 years is even more compelling. Someone is killing young girls and cutting their bodies in half. The impact this has on both the other children and the local communities, is the primary focus of this book. In fact, it reads more like a coming of age story than a murder mystery. But it is a murder mystery that had me completely guessing until the last 30 pages. R.J. Ellory is the author of six novels, two of which have been short listed for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award. A Quiet Belief in Angels has been translated into 19 languages, and short listed thus far for the Barry Award, the Prix du Polar European Du Point, the Le Nouvel Obserateur Crime Writing Prize, and the Quebec Booksellers Prize.
GATEKEEPER by Michelle Gagnon (Mira paperback original, $7.99), recommended by Fran Fuller, Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Seattle, WA, www.seattlemystery.com: In Gatekeeper, Michelle Gagnon’s feisty FBI Agent Kelly Jones is faced with a truly horrifying case. The Senator from Arizona who has taken a hard-line stance against illegal immigration is found in pieces on a memorial near the State capitol building. Meanwhile, Kelly’s fiancé, Jake Riley, and his partner, Syd, who’s ex-FBI herself, take on their first case. Madison, the 16-year-old daughter of Randall Grant, the man in charge of accounting for all the low-level radioactive waste in the United States, has been kidnapped. Grant turns to Jake and Syd to try to get his daughter back. The price the kidnappers are demanding has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with radioactive material. As Kelly and Jake pursue their individual cases, they are both in a race against time, and as their cases converge, the truly unthinkable begins to emerge. This is by far and away the best of Ms. Gagnon’s novels. Her writing style, as always, is fast-paced and gripping, but it’s the topic of her book that bears careful scrutiny. The Gatekeeper is a grim warning about what could happen when ego, finances, and fanaticism come together to make a strong political statement. It’s a terrifyingly plausible scenario, and Michelle Gagnon delivers it in a way that’s guaranteed to keep you thinking – and looking around you – long after you’ve put the book down. THE RISK OF DARKNESS , by Susan Hill (Overlook Press, $24.95), recommended by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR, www.mbtb.com: This is the third in the Simon Serrailler series, despite the fact that Simon was more of a secondary character to the heroine, Freya Graffham, in the first book, The Various Haunts of Men. With each subsequent book, we have seen more clearly both the warm heart and cold façade of Simon Serrailler. The complexity of his character is the compelling and attractive feature of Susan Hill’s books. In fact, Hill does a superb job of presenting not just Simon, but members of his semi-dysfunctional family as well: his doctor-sister Cat, his aristocratic father Richard, his peace-maker mother Meriel. A DUTY TO THE DEAD , by Charles Todd (William Morrow, September release), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha’s, Ann Arbor, MI,www.auntagathas.com: Charles Todd’s latest book, the first in a new series featuring WWI nurse Bess Crawford, opens with Bess languidly writing in her journal while on board a hospital ship which has, at the moment, no wounded. She’s bored, bored, bored – what a perfect time, the narrative genius that operates in the mind of Charles Todd must have thought, to have the ship hit by a torpedo. As you follow Bess onto the life boat (she sustains a badly injured arm) Todd has thus achieved two goals: you’re invested in Bess as a character, as he’s made you worry about her; and you’re invested in the narrative itself. What happens after the ship sinks? How will people be rescued? How will their wounds be treated? You’ve fallen – hook, line and sinker. And since this is a novel by Charles Todd, what’s next is just as compelling as what kicks it off. Not only has Todd set his hook into you by getting you concerned for Bess as a physical being, but you also become invested in her emotional life. She feels a very nagging guilt to carry the deathbed message entrusted to her by a favorite patient – one she had fallen a little in love with – to his grieving family. When her father meets her in London (he’s a soldier himself) he tells her her duty to the dead is paramount. He’s lived his life according to duty to his country and the military, and Bess has been raised to do the same. So she sets out, in, it must be admitted, a reluctant fashion, to the childhood home of Arthur Graham. While Charles Todd may get you into the door of his books through the skillful use of narrative, what keeps the reader there is both the beautiful writing and the psychological engagement and complexity of the characters he writes about. As Bess unravels the layers of what we would now call the dysfunctional Graham family, you’re with her at every turn. Arthur’s mother is grieving deeply for the loss of what, it becomes apparent, was her favorite child. Arthur had three brothers, only two at home: Timothy, who, with a club foot, is unable to serve, and the strangely cold Jonathan, who Arthur’s message is intended for. While Mrs. Graham is more than curious about the message, she lets Bess deliver it to Jonathan in private. Bess’ expeditions into the emotional life of the mysteriously complicated Graham family lead her far and wide, and all the while she’s still attempting to do what’s right. The “right thing,” by the end of the novel, is a bit murky, and that may be the most modern sensibility imposed here on the un-anachronistic Bess. In the hands of a master like Charles Todd, the lucky reader gets a great new character, a wonderful story, and a believable historical background. While I love Ian Rutledge, I am already looking forward to another story about Bess Crawford. ISSUE 6.8 Edited by Deb Andolino, Aliens & Alibis Books, Columbia,SC, www.aliensandalibis.com
ISSUE 6.7 edited by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, MI, www.auntagathas.com:
BURY ME DEEP, by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster, $14.00) recommended by Tom and Enid Schantz, Rue Morgue, Lyons, CO, www.ruemorguepress.com: In 1931 two trunks containing the dismembered bodies of two young women were found abandoned in the Southern Pacific Station in Los Angeles, and another young woman, Winnie Ruth Judd, was soon convicted of the crime. This famous murder case is the basis for Edgar-winner Abbott’s fourth book, but the story she tells is, like its predecessors (all similarly based on true crimes), a cunningly fictionalized one.
Innocent young Marion Seely is left alone in Phoenix by her morphine-addicted doctor husband, who has taken a job in Mexico and occasionally sends her money to supplement her meager income as a clerk at a tuberculosis clinic. There she meets two fun-loving nurses, Louise and Ginny, who entertain frequently at their modest duplex. Among the guests at their uninhibited parties are some of the city’s most powerful men, including Joe Lanigan, a corrupt but charming politician who soon has Marion under his spell.
From there, events escalate feverishly, fueled by drugs and alcohol and eventually culminating in the murders of Louise and Ginny. Much of the narrative sticks close to the facts of the case, but the author imagines a vastly different ending, just as plausible but certainly more satisfying than the actual one. It’s an exquisite book, told in delicate, shimmering prose that highlights the nightmarish quality of the story. Megan Abbott is often compared to James Ellroy, whom she admires greatly, but her writing is far more economical and focused, and her sensibilities are feminine to the core. This is noir mystery writing at it’s very best.
AWAKENING , by S.J. Bolton (Minotaur, $25.95), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha’s, Ann Arbor , MI , www.auntagathas.com : Your tolerance for this book may depend on your tolerance level for snakes, which play a fairly large part in the story. The main character, Clara Benning, is a vet who works with injured wild animals (she’s hand feeding some barn owl chicks in her kitchen), and she’s also a bit of a recluse, thanks to a facial disfigurement. I loved Clara, and for someone who has a low tolerance level for snakes (like myself) she made the whole book completely worthwhile. Part ghost story, part English village mystery, and part a coming of age story (the “Awakening” of the title refers partly to Clara), I was gripped from start to finish. The book opens with a corker: Clara gets a panicked call from a new mother up the street - she’s found a snake in her infant’s crib.
There’s hardly a more horrible scenario, and yet Clara, with her gentleness and love of snakes (she’s actually an expert on lizards), manages to get the snake (which turns out to be an adder) out of the baby’s crib with no harm to either party. Bolton makes the horrible not only real, but she also manages to diffuse it. The rest of the book builds in complexity upon this one incident, though all of the mysterious incidents seem to involve snakes.
The next shoe to drop is almost more horrible - Clara is called in to help when an entire house is found to be infested with snakes. Most of the snakes are harmless grass snakes (but still - yuck - Clara goes through the house loading her pillowcase with reptiles), but in one room she discovers an adder, and in another, an even more poisonous snake, one that’s not native to Britain . In this incident, the author deftly introduces Clara to one of the other main characters, Mark (who helps her divest the house of snakes), introduces even more firmly Clara’s animal expertise, and makes clear the fact that Clara is fairly unused to human contact. She simply doesn’t like people looking at her. Bolton is an incredibly gifted narrative storyteller, and the setting, a tiny English village which seems to have more than it’s share of creepy old people (and snakes), is completely memorable. The wildly original story is the work of a master, and you probably won’t be able to put the book down as you get towards the end, creepy as it may be.
Clara has an irritating tendency to go into dark houses and onto the edges of cliffs alone, but the reason she’s trying so hard to find who’s behind the various village deaths is that the police suspect her. As a reader, we never suspect Clara for a minute, so it’s as if Nancy Drew, accused of a capital crime and oddly scarred, were on the case. I can’t remember a book that’s lingered in my memory after finishing it for so long in quite awhile; the evocative prose of S.J. Bolton will probably stay with you too, as will the character of Clara Benning.
ROYAL FLUSH , by Rhys Bowen (Berkley Prime Crime, $24.95) recommended by Tom and Enid Schantz, Rue Morgue, Lyons, CO, www.ruemorguepress.com: Penniless young Lady Georgiana, thirty-fourth in line to the throne and always looking for ways to support herself as she lives on her own in London, hits upon the idea of hiring herself out as a well bred dinner and dancing companion to visiting businessmen. Unfortunately her scheme is wildly misinterpreted by both her first client and Scotland Yard, and she is forced to retreat in disgrace to her brother Binky’s dreary castle in the Scottish Highlands.
There she finds a full complement of houseguests, including the odious Wallis Simpson, who finds Castle Rannoch conveniently close to Balmoral, where the Prince of Wales is summering. There are various distant relatives as well and some other minor royals, including a pompous German prince whom everyone expects Georgie to marry. And not so far away is Darcy, her enigmatic sometime beau, who’s come to her rescue on more than one occasion. There is mischief afoot as well; indeed, Georgie is unofficially working on behalf of Scotland Yard, who suspect a threat against the Royal Family is about to be carried out.
As usual, Georgie’s high spirits and the author’s frothy prose are utterly captivating, and a rumored royal scandal involving the Duke of Clarence helps shape the plot. The author’s useful afterword fills the reader in on that subject.
DIXIE DIVAS , by Virginia Brown ( Bell Bridge Books, $14.95) recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin’ for Books, San Diego , CA , maggiemary@aol.com: When Eureka “Trinket” Truevine returns to Holly Springs , Mississippi to help her parents she had no idea what’s in store for her. Though born in the south, she’s not really a true southern belle. Her cousin, Bitty Hollendale, is the epitome of a belle, and she’s got the ex-husbands to prove it. Bitty has been married often, but her last husband is the one that could really get her into trouble. When her ex – a senator – is found gruesomely murdered, Bitty calls on a group of her women friends, the Dixie Divas, to help her move the body. Sadly, their efforts are ultimately useless as the senator is eventually discovered in Bitty’s wine cellar. Trinket steps into action when she gets a break from “parent-sitting” her randy mom and dad. She’s calls on the Divas, Bitty’s attorney, and a hunky new veterinarian for help. The situation becomes serious when Bitty goes missing; the Divas come through, however, and relative peace is restored. This was a dandy read. I enjoyed all the characters, especially the Divas. The South seems to lend itself to appealing characters and situations. Charm just flows through this book, and I’m hoping for a sequel.
SWEEPING UP GLASS , by Carolyn D. Wall (Bantam, $14.00) recommended by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen, www.poisonedpen.com: You’ve read this story before, but never in the truly astonishing voice of Olivia Harker. I don’t know about you but I read novels for voice, that style, that personality that grips you by the throat and says, “Here I am, pay attention. Enjoy me.” I can hardly remember a more electrifying jolt than that delivered by narrator Olivia. It was enough to trump the Southern bigot/Rod Steiger/white lightening and lynchings/hardscrabble depression rural scenario. This isn’t a book where description of the plot actually has any meaning in terms of the impact of the book.
There have been some powerful reads in recent years about children who are ill-mothered. Children not neglected or abused but children caught in a household where the mother is truly crazy. Bizarrely crazy. And actively harmful. Yet crazy Ida Harker is a creation like none other that I have ever read. We’ve read about children abused by their father while their mother either weakly or willfully turned aside. Imagine how Olivia must cope when her beloved Pap reveals that Ida, mercifully sent away to the state asylum for the insane, is coming back to their small, cold-water home, to disrupt living and torpedo the store that supports the family. And then, bang, one day Pap disappears. He’s buried out back by the outhouse. Olivia eventually gains the strength to set Ida out to live in a tarpaper shack. But as an adult can she withstand a childhood betrayed by two parents?
Olivia isn’t the only fabulous character in this debut. There’s Olivia’s grandson Will’m. Her dear friend, Love Alice, wife at thirteen. Wing Harris, the trumpeter who owns the Kentuckian Hotel and once owned the heart of Olivia. Everyone is memorable. And finally, remarkably, a string of hope, braided with loyalty and love, is skillfully threaded throughout the narrative. So it’s not Southern noir. Actually I don’t know what Sweeping Up Glass is other than remarkable.
Issue 6.6 | Edited by Tom and Enid Schantz,Rue Morgue, Lyons, CO www.ruemorguepress.com
BAD THINGS HAPPEN , by Harry Dolan (Putnam $26.95), recommended by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen , www.poisonedpen.com: Maybe I like this debut so well because Dolan studied writing with the late Frederick Busch. Dolan earned a master’s degree in philosophy from the UNC Chapel Hill and worked for several years as a freelance editor. Which is how come he writes so keenly of that university town Ann Arbor and of the literati who cluster around the mystery magazine Gray Streets. A loner who calls himself David Loogan throws a few stories over the transom. Publisher Tom Kristoll offers him a contract: as editor. Tom, himself a failed writer, has found a good niche as publisher. Loogan is soon seduced by Tom’s professor wife Laura, who alibis Loogan when Tom, some months later, is murdered at the office. Soon Loogan’s life imitates fiction as several of the magazine’s circle are murdered, and Detective Elizabeth Waishkey of the Ann Arbor PD wants to tag Loogan it. He sees nothing for it but to work the case, remembering the Gray Streets formula: Plans go wrong. Bad things happen. People die.
THE COLD LIGHT OF MOURNING , by Elizabeth Duncan (St. Martin’s Press, $24.95). Recommended by Marian Misters, Sleuth of Baker Street www.sleuthofbakerstreet.com: Duncan is the first Canadian to win the Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition. The book is set in a small town in North Wales and introduces manicurist Penny Brannigan. It seems that hairdressers and manicurists are the hub of village goings-on and gossip and Penny’s shop is no exception. After getting her nails done on her wedding morning, a local bride doesn’t show up for her wedding and it seems that Penny was the last person to see her. This is your classic British cozy, or should I say Welsh cozy, with all the trapping: the Lord of the Manor; eccentric locals; the vicar and his wife; and small town gossip. It’s got charm and it is a delight to read. HOUSE SECRETS ,by Mike Lawson, (Atlantic Monthly Press, $22.00) Recommended by Fran, Seattle Mystery Bookstore, www.seattlemystery.com: There’s one thing you can be certain of when you pick up the latest novel by Mike Lawson – you’re in for an excellent story. Joe DeMarco is asked by Speaker of the House Mahoney to look into the death of a reporter. Normally this wouldn’t be of any interest to much of anyone, but the dead reporter’s father is a friend of Mahoney’s, and Mahoney just wants DeMarco to turn over a few rocks, look into it, reassure Finley that his son’s death was really an accident. “There you go, DeMarco thought. That was his job description: rock flipper and bug crusher. Not very flattering but accurate enough.”But it’s not that simple, and there are more than mere creepy-crawlies hiding under the rocks DeMarco overturns, and soon not only is DeMarco in over his head, but Emma is being threatened, and it’s possible that even Mahoney is in jeopardy. The joy of Lawson’s writing is how very well drawn his characters are, how tight and well-woven his plots are, and how easy and fluid his writing is. In my opinion, Mike Lawson is truly one of the gifted authors of our time, and if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading his Joe DeMarco series, now is a good time to start. Each book stands on its own, which is a testament to the skill of his writing, but as a whole, this is one of the best thriller series out there, bar none. DEATH AND THE LIT , by G.M. Malliet, (Midnight Ink, $14.95) Recommended by Tom & Enid Schantz, The Rue Morgue www.ruemorguepress.com: In the second outing for her stalwart police detective, Chief Inspector Arthur St. Just of Cambridge, the author treats us to an absolutely delicious skewering of the world of mystery publishing and its none too savory denizens. St. Just has been roped into speaking at Dead on Arrival, a prestigious conference for crime writers and aficionados being held in Edinburgh. He and the other panelists are being put up at nearby Dalmorton Castle, where the glamorous and arrogant Kimberlee Kalder, dubbed the queen of chick lit after the runaway success of her debut mystery, is eventually found dead at the bottom of the castle’s bottle dungeon.Anybody who has ever been to a mystery conference will appreciate the author’s sly digs at self-absorbed authors who take themselves far too seriously and the agents, publishers, and publicists whose careers depend on them. The author paints the petty rivalries and jealousies of her subjects and the latest trends in mystery publishing with a very broad brush, and she excels at throwaway lines (“Prologues are so last year,” “Why do serial killers always think in italics?”) that hit their targets dead on. About the only admirable characters in the book are the bemused St. Just, whom we learn is a widower, and the serenely beautiful crime writer Portia De’Ath, with whom he is instantly and hopelessly smitten. Malliet’s first book, Death of a Cozy Writer, recently won an Agatha award for best first mystery of the year; this sequel is even wittier and more skillfully constructed. SHANGHAIED , by Eric Stone (Bleak House, $24.95, hardcover; $14.95 paper), recommended by Louise, I Love A Mystery, Mission, Kansas, www.iloveamystery.com: A group of Tibetan monks seeks the aid of the corporate investigation firm in Hong Kong for which Ray Sharp works. The monks have heard troubling rumors about the Shanghai bank that manages the lamasery’s portfolio of investments. When one of the monks disappears, he is assumed by all to be overly enamored with Hong Kong’s red-light district. Ray finds cause for alarm, however, as he learns that the bank rumors may be grounded in fact and that the missing monk was the group’s bookkeeper. The investigation takes Ray and his diminutive colleague and pal, Wen Lei Yue , to the seedy area of Hong Kong. They then proceed to Shanghai, where they encounter some very scary characters, including a sociopathic U.S. army veteran and his twin kung-fu bodyguards, Floss and Betty. Shanghaied is a fast-paced thriller, peopled with lively characters. Though forced to deal with some real heavies, Ray Sharp is an unlikely hero. He narrates his tale with self-deprecating wit, and, when unable to avoid a fight, is likely to end up on the receiving end of the beating. Best friend Wen Lei Yue is the dynamic other half of the duo. She’s a feisty little thing, and her Chinese-Mexican heritage gives her the ability to be profane in multiple languages, much to Ray’s oft-expressed dismay. Indeed, the dialogue between these two snaps, crackles and pops.
Issue 6.5 | Edited by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ www.poisonedpen.com
THE CASE OF THE MISSING SERVANT by Tarquin Hall (Simon Schuster, $24), recommended by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ, www.poisonedpen.com : Meet Vish Puri, India's most private investigator. Portly, persistent, and unmistakably Punjabi, he cuts a determined swath through modern India's swindlers, cheats, and murderers. In hot and dusty Delhi, where call centers flourish, odds are crime does, too. Vish works two cases in this charmer of a debut, a book much in the vein of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and reflecting the continuing globalization of mystery in its polished prose. Plus, it's great fun! JACK WAKES UP, by Seth Harwood (Three Rivers, $14), recommended by Patrick Millikin, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ , www.poisonedpen.com: What does a movie-star one-hit-wonder and ex-drug-addict do when he's cleaned up, down on his luck, and running out of money? What a cool publishing story: Seth Harwood sent his furious neo-noir novel out in podcast installments via his website. The book picked up such a buzz that New York came calling. The result? This violent and darkly comic first novel that will appeal to Charlie Huston and Duane Swierczynski fans as well as young, Palahniuk-readin' hipster types. DISMANTLED by Jennifer McMahon (Harper, $24.95), recommended by Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA , www.mystgalaxy.com: Jennifer McMahon’s latest modern gothic novel is another winner for fans of Shirley Jackson and her literary daughters. Nine year old Emma has a neighborhood friend (sort of), an imaginary (or is she?) playmate, and a desire to reconcile her estranged parents, both of whom still live at home, but are separated by a vast emotional chasm, containing a dark secret. When Emma finds some paperwork referring to her parents’ participation in a group known as “The Compassionate Dismantlers” in their youth, she initiates contact with their past in hopes it will bring them together. Instead, it brings an unsettling ghost into clearer focus, powered by the forces of destruction. SHAKEDOWN by Andie Ryan (Lenox Press, $24.95 or $16 trade paperback), recommended by Lea Love, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ, www.poisonedpen.com: What a great first novel! Have you ever tried to understand the financial shenanigans of some of the giants of the industry? Wish you could? Then read The Shakedown and get some answers. Wall Street's most highly respected financial giant is involved in a growing financial scandal. Tom Hollister, Sledd Payne's public relations executive, is called upon to whitewash this, only to find himself involved in a murder conspiracy and an insidious fraud that could threaten the life savings of millions of investors and bring Sledd Payne to its knees. Sound Familiar? Throw in a family in crisis, an aging call girl and a scheming executive and you're in for a page turner. I couldn't put it down and I advise you to pick up a copy and hunker down for a good read! SECOND DEATH OF GOODLUCK TINUBU by Michael Stanley (Harper, $24.95), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, Mich., www.auntagathas.com: Michael Stanley's second novel set in Botswana featuring the – there's no other word for it – adorable Detective Kubu has all the languid charm of an actual hike through the jungle. Stanley brings an Agatha Christie style sensibility to his gorgeously rendered jungle; you can almost see and hear the various creatures he writes about. The setting of a tourist camp, beset by several deaths where most everyone at the camp, guests and staff alike, seem to have a motive, is as classic as it gets. Stanley's ability to give the reader a real three dimensional look at life in contemporary Africa, complete with Kubu's delightful wife and his relationship with his parents, really makes this novel a stand out. Kubu, which means "hippo" in Botswana, is frequently at the table (or wishing he was), but also like the creature he's nicknamed for, when he gets angry, he charges. Stanley ratchets up the suspense by bringing danger into Kubu's family and it's a delight to see him in full action mode. A shade darker than McCall-Smith's Precious Ramotswe books, this book is nevertheless full of the same type of delightful charming qualities that makes those books so enjoyable. As an added bonus, Detective Kubu is a real discovery: he already feels like an enduring classic to add to the mystery canon. Issue 6.4 | Edited by Deb Andolino, Aliens & Alibis Books, Columbia,OH, www.aliensandalibis.com Safer by Sean Doolittle (Delacorte Press, $24) recommended by Sue Wilder, Murder On The Beach, Delray Beach, FL, www.murderonthebeach.com : Paul and Sara Callaway move to Clark Falls, Iowa from Boston when Paul accepts a position as a professor at the local college. On the first night at their new home, Paul runs a quick errand and returns to find an intruder attacking Sara. He scares off the intruder and at the suggestion of his security obsessed neighbor Roger Mallory, Paul volunteers for the Neighborhood Patrol.
The Callaways invite their new neighbors to a cocktail party which is suddenly interrupted when the police arrive and arrest Paul on charges of child pornography. The nightmare escalates when compromising pictures of Paul and a 13-year old girl from the neighborhood are found on Paul's computer. The story is told from Paul's point of view, making his innocence even more credible.
The town's skeletons start to emerge as Paul delves into the cause of his troubles. The chief suspect is Roger Mallory, an ex-cop and founder of the neighborhood patrol, who harbors a troubled past. Apparently, Roger's security concerns stem from the murder of his son. Paul finds security cameras in Roger's home that monitor all of the homes in the neighborhood. Even more horrifying, Paul unwittingly consented to this surveillance when he moved into his house. The real question is why Roger has targeted Paul, a question that drives Paul to the edge of madness. Safer is a page-turner that is hard to put down. Mr. Doolittle draws the reader into a story based on an insular community that has gone haywire while maintaining an eerie veneer of normalcy. The characters are interesting and scarily believable. The plot is tight and well-executed. As with his previous books, good writing and spare dialog contribute to the suspense. Safer is another winner from this Barry Award winner. Also by Mr. Doolittle: The Cleaner, Rain Dogs, Burn (each $6.99 paperback)
Running from the Devil, by Jamie Freveletti,(Morrow $24.99) recommended by Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen. Scottsdale, AZ. www.poisonedpen.com: I like character-driven more than action-driven novels, so while what happens we’ve seen before, Emma Caldridge, a biochemist for a cosmetics company on a flight to Bogota in pursuit of a covert personal mission, makes it work. The depiction of the (deliberately engineered) crash into the jungle is harrowing and the pharmaceutical stuff lends interest. Emma and the (conveniently aboard) Cameron Sumner who t urns out to work for DEA duel with a satisfyingly nasty band of guerrillas while DOD’s Edward Banner and his militarycontractors (think Rollins’ Sigma Force here) work to rescue them and the surviving hostages. Freveletti provides a clever motivation for the whole which I liked a lot. And so did Indie Next: it’s a May Notable for Mystery.THE RELIABLE WIFE, by Robert Goolrick (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, $23.95), recommended by Barbara Tom, Murder by the Book, Portland, OR; www.mbtb.com: From the first paragraph of The Reliable Wife, I heard music. Robert Goolrick has a poet's rhythm with his words. His writing sounds like water moving towards high tide. He uses repetition, adding a few more words or another thought each time to finally build to the climactic revelation or pronouncement. Goolrick also has an artist's eye with presentation. The story starts with simplicity and builds to opulence and decadence. It starts with inhibition and ends with a tempest.
Within the first few paragraphs we meet Ralph Truitt. He is waiting on a snow-laden platform for a woman to arrive by train. We learn he carries sorrow, humiliation, and hope. But just as Ralph patiently waits for the woman to arrive, the reader must wait to learn about these burdens. Does it seem strange that hope would be a burden? Ralph has spent half of his life without needing hope and the other half bringing his hope to the painful climax that led him to the platform, waiting for a train. A "simple honest woman," Catherine Land, steps off the train. She has sent Ralph a letter with this declaration, and he has sent for her to become his wife. It is 1907 and Catherine has come to a Wisconsin town dark and heavy with the beginning of the winter snow. Within hours, in the heavy, fast-falling snow, she has lost the last tangible reminders of her old life. Just as the landscape and houses are buried under the snow, Catherine and Ralph's prior lives are buried deep within themselves. Goolrick dots his story with tales of people driven mad by winter and isolation, and what they must face about themselves when there is nothing else to distract them. The tale accelerates when Ralph asks Catherine to travel to St. Louis to find his runaway son and bring him home. It is at this point that the layers begin to tear away, that we discover the story that has only been hinted at so far. What begins with starkness and distance and rectitude becomes a tale of sensuality and an overflowing of emotion. The characters struggle to tear away their misery, and they begin by tearing away their layers of clothing. They stand naked before each other, but are terribly hidden otherwise. Goolrick masterfully shows us their pain and their passion. This is a high-intensity tale of sex and repression and murderous thoughts, of people longing to forgive themselves and each other, of incredible pain. In describing what formed Ralph's character, Goolrick says: "That his mother had said, needle to the bone, that the way to goodness, the only way, was through pain and suffering. He could have said that grief had left him wholly good." There's enough pain and suffering to go around, but will they find redemption?
The Last Child by John Hart (Minotaur Books, $24.95), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor, Mich., www.auntagathas.com: This winter one of the VPs at St Martin's asked if he could swing by the store with author John Hart. I had enjoyed Hart’s first book King of Lies and enthusiastically agreed—just as enthusiastically, the VP offered to fedex me copies of Hart’s new book, The Last Child. The book arrived on a Wednesday afternoon for a Thursday visit—I trundled into the store to pick it up, hoping I might get at least half way through before Hart stopped in—and I couldn’t put it down. I was finished with the book Thursday morning, eager to have a chance to discuss it with the author. All of Hart’s books are standalones, so no need to start with the first one (though it’s well worth a read). This novel is about thirteen year old Johnny Merrimon, who is obsessed by the disappearance of his twin sister a year ago. As his family has self destructed—his father has disappeared, his mother is lost in a fog of drugs and alcohol, and dating an abusive man—Johnny is left to fend for himself, and one of the things he’s chosen to do is to get on his bike, map in hand, scouring likely neighborhoods where his sister might have vanished. There are red “x’s” all over the map, sometimes with the notation, “Bad men live here”.
As Johnny works on his guide, he’s shadowed by Detective Clyde Hunt, who is almost as haunted by Johnny’s sister as Johnny himself. His life has taken an almost equally self destructive turn, as he’s gotten divorced, become estranged from his teenaged son, and gotten on the thin side of legal behavior at work. While Johnny feels alone, he has an ally in both Hunt and his somewhat wayward friend Jack, who helps sometimes when Johnny is off with his map and his bike. One of the many remarkable things about this book is the fact that though it’s told through the lens of a 13 year old boy—and they are certainly complicated creatures—it never feels either condescending or false. Johnny is a very believable flesh and blood character, and often his desperation and desire to find his sister pulls you through the narrative, though you may know in your gut what the probable outcome will be. Hart manages to both maintain suspense and to describe Johnny’s landscape so fully, fleshed out with the other people and situations that surround him, that sometimes looking up from this book is almost jarring. Hart has put you in Johnny’s world that completely.
When you finish, the characters and story have a real hold on both your brain and your heart—two important things for a good writer to get ahold of, and Hart is a very good writer. He also writes beautiful prose, complete with motifs—in this book the motif is a raven (sometimes ravens plural), which adds an occasional extra note of both poetry and atmosphere. There’s really not too much more to ask for in a good book and I don’t expect to read too many finer books this year.
SHATTER by Michael Robotham (Doubleday $24.95) recommended by Lou, I Love a Mystery, Mission, KS, www.iloveamystery.com:Joe O’Loughlin is married with two children. He is a clinical psychologist who was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s and is now teaching a few classes at a college in London. When a constable arrives at the college requesting help in talking down a jumper on the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Joe reluctantly agrees to help. The woman, appearing to be in her forties, is standing naked wearing red high heels, the word SLUT written across her stomach. She is talking to someone on a cell phone and paying no attention to Joe’s attempts to engage her. Before jumping, she whispers, “You don’t understand.” The police have ruled it a suicide. Joe is not satisfied. He’s torn. Who was on the other end of the phone? When the woman’s 16 year-old daughter appears at Joe’s door also convinced it could not possibly be a suicide, Joe agrees to help her discover the truth. Joe finds himself confronted with a killer who tortures his victims by destroying their minds and realizes that he and the killer are not so different: “He tears minds apart. I try to repair them.” Also Highly Recommended by Deb Andolino, Aliens & Alibis Books, Columbia,OH, www.aliensandalibis.com
Issue 6.3 | Edited by Tom and Enid Schantz, Rue Morgue, Lyons, CO www.ruemorguepress.com
GRAVE GOODS , by Ariana Franklin (Putnam, $25.95), recommended by Tom & Enid Schantz, The Rue Morgue, Boulder, CO , www.ruemorguepress.com: Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar, a physician trained at the great medical school in Salerno , has twice performed great service to Henry II of England during her sojourn in the country, earning from him the title mistress of the art of death. Now he has a third mission for her: prove that two coffins interred deep in the earth near Glastonbury Abbey are really those of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, so he can quell Welsh hopes that the once and future king will rise again to help them overthrow the throne.
tThe SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE, by Alan Bradley (Delacourte Press, $23.00). Recommended by Marian Misters, Sleuth of Baker Street , Toronto , ON, www.sleuthofbakerstreet: This is pure joy. It won the British Debut Dagger Award and the bidding for the U.S. publishing rights was fierce. Flavia de Luce is an eleven-year-old chemist genius who discovers the body of a dead man in the garden of her family’s crumbling manor house. She got to hear his last words, or word in this case, and when her dad becomes the prime suspect she decides she had better investigate.
THE KISS MURDER by Mehmet Murat Somer (Penguin, $14.00), recommended by J.D. Singh, Sleuth of Baker Street , Toronto , ON www.sleuthofbakerstreet: A Turkish Delight Mystery! Istanbul is the setting and our hero/heroine is a fabulous drag queen, a dead ringer for Audrey Hepburn, a Thai kickboxing champ, who loves quiz shows and who looks out for the girls at her club. When she is approached by the one of her “girls” who fears for her life—an old lover who now has lots to lose wants the evidence of his dalliances with her destroyed— and who then is murdered, she’ll need all her wits to find the killer before they find her. Terrific fun.
A DARKER DOMAIN , by Val McDermid (Harper, $24.95), recommended by Louise, I Love a Mystery, Mission , KS www.iloveamystery.com: Detective Inspector Karen Pirie, head of the Cold Case Review Team in Fife , Scotland , finds herself involved in two cases dating from the 1980’s. In 1984, at the height of the national miners’ strike, Mick Prentice vanished. Evidence suggested that he abandoned his family to join the strikebreakers down south, and labeled a scab, he was regarded by the community as dead. When his daughter formally reports him missing 23 years later, Karen’s investigation quickly reveals that whatever the circumstances of Mick’s disappearance, he did not go south to cross the picket lines.
LIARS ANONYMOUS ,by Louise Ure ( St. Martins Press, $25.95), recommended by Fran, Seattle Mystery Bookstore, Seattle , WA www.seattlemystery.com : There are three things you can be assured of when you’re reading a novel by Louise Ure. Issue 6.2 | Edited by Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy, San Diego, CA, www.mystgalaxy.com THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH ,by Charlie Huston (Ballantine, $25.00), recommended by J.B. Dickey, Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Seattle, WA www.seattlemystery.com: Charlie Huston's The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death (Ballantine hc, $25) is the sort of modern-day noir that is both refreshing and familiar. His characters never end up where they start at the beginning of the book which is one reason I like his writing. Too often the people involved in crime stories have their lives interrupted but it all goes back to what it was. Not in Charlie's universe.
Web is a guy whose life has been off its rails for a year now and he's alienated everyone around him. His roommate and best friend gives him an ultimatum – get a job, get a life and get a job. He goes to work for a small outfit that cleans up after people die, whether that is by violence or not. Needless to say, this new gig will lead him into trouble. Web is a true wise-ass, which is part of his problem but also part of his charm. Whatever situation he finds himself in – watching someone murdered with a telephone, for instance, in his apartment and then having to clean it up – he's so wholeheartedly irreverent that you can't help but like him. Soon he's up to his eyebrows in stolen nuts, a possible femme fatale, a war between cleaning outfits and the desire to reattach himself to humanity even while he's trying to puzzle out just what went wrong in his life. Actually, he knows, but it takes him awhile to grasp it. If blood and maniacs don't bother you, if you like cool, crisp writing and a pitch-dark sense of humor, read Charlie Huston. THE SOUND OF BUILDING COFFINS, by Louis Maistros; (Toby Press, $24.95), recommended by Patrick Millikin, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale AZ www.poisonedpen.com: One of the best New Orleans novels I've ever read, Maistros' debut seems dictated in a fever dream of automatic writing. The book begins in 1891 with a nine year-old boy, Typhus Morningstar, riding down to the Mississippi river with a basket full of aborted fetuses to baptize. Meanwhile, his father Noonday Morningstar visits the home of a poor family whose infant son has been possessed by a demon. The confrontation between Morningstar and this evil spirit will take readers into an underworld journey as a decades-old voodoo curse is unleashed. One of the children present that evening is a young musical genius named Buddy Bolden whose cornet helps to usher in a new form: jazz. Readers will inevitably compare Maistros' debut with Hjortsberg's Falling Angel, but in my opinion Maistros' is the superior effort. Written in lush, sensual prose that reminded me a bit of early Cormac McCarthy, it will reverberate with readers long after its final note is struck. Buddy Bolden is the subject of David Fulmer's Shamus winning debut Chasing the Devil's Tail. Donald Harrington, an author I much admire, writes that this "debut novel is a thing of wonder, unlike anything in our literature. It startles. It stuns. It stupefies. No novel since Confederacy of Dunces has done such justice to New Orleans. If Franz Kafka had been able to write like Peter Straub, this might have been the result." Donald Harrington, an author I much admire, writes that this "debut novel is a thing of wonder, unlike anything in our literature. It startles. It stuns. It stupefies. No novel since Confederacy of Dunces has done such justice to New Orleans. If Franz Kafka had been able to write like Peter Straub, this might have been the result." RUNNER , by Thomas Perry (Otto Penzler, $25.00), recommended by Stephanie Saxon Levine Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore, Delray Beach, FL, www.murderonthebeach.com:Here is reason to rejoice in this New Year: Jane Whitefield is back! After a nine-year absence, Thomas Perry's series character has, albeit reluctantly, returned to her most unusual and highly hazardous career: turning victims into runners. I am thrilled to see her return, and her latest escapade was well worth the wait.
REVELATION by C.J. Sansom (Viking, $26.95), recommended by Tom & Enid Schantz, The Rue Morgue, Lyons, CO www.ruemorguepress.com:
Issue 6.1 | Edited by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha's, Ann Arbor,MI, MURDER IN THE MUSEUM OF MAN ,by Alfred Acorn (Zoland, $14.95), recommended by Tina Maura Albee, Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore, Delray Beach, FL, www.murderonthebeach.com: Norman de Ratour, the recording secretary of the Museum of Man, is beset by many concerns. Who killed the visiting Dean and prepared the remains with a variety of gourmet sauces? What hanky-panky is going on over at the genetics lab? What has happened to the attractive young woman who interviewed for the public relations position? And - will Norman ever find love? Mr. De Ratour is a one of a kind narrator. Well-educated, highly cultured, slightly prissy and given to nineteenth century verbiage, he is the true hero of this tale. His heart and mind are in the right place, and he is on the side of the angels. If you have a taste for the outrageous, if you relish satire, if you enjoy academic settings, this is the book for you. You may recognize a few thinly disguised Harvard notables, which is fun, but not at all essential to enjoying the murder mystery. And it is a genuine mystery, with suspects, motives, and clues. I was enjoying myself so much that I was not deeply concerned with guessing the identity of the killer, but loose ends and questions are resolved in a satisfying conclusion. Yes, there is a certain "squeam" factor owing to the cannibalism theme. Let me reassure you by saying that I am not a fan of gory mysteries, and I found this book well within my tolerance level - and well worth it for the academic satire and the laugh-out-loud situations, such as the reception for chimpanzee authors and the academic posturing at board meetings. I find it hard to do justice to this book, which almost falls into the indescribable category. So, just imagine that I am handing you this book and saying "I know you will love it!" Happy reading! [This is truly "one that almost got away," having been originally published in 1997 and just picked up by Random House for release this January.] BEAT THE REAPER by Josh Bazell (Little, Brown, $24.95), recommended by Barbara Tom at Murder by the Book, Portland, OR, www.mbtb.com: Peter Brown is a doctor. He is clever. He isn’t in awe of the institution of medicine. He gets things done. The only thing is...he isn’t really Peter Brown. Medicine is his second career. His first was as a hit man for the mob. He testified against the New Jersey mob and now has gone into hiding through a witness protection program. You could say he’s gone from taking bodies apart to putting them back together again. All is well until a patient recognizes him. If he dies, he says, word will get back to the mob and the day of reckoning will arrive for Peter. Then the mob guy dies, through no fault of Peter’s, but because the mob guy had chosen his=2 0surgeon unwisely. That’s the premise in a nutshell. What is harder to convey is how quirky, stylish, and fun this book is. It’s also tough, thoughtful, and charming at the same time. It’s not all craziness and action, which is what is appears to be at the start, because author Bazell touches on the human core of the protagonist’s heart. I can hardly wait until it’s available in paperback, because this book is getting my star (for a Murder by the Book favorite). Beat the Reaper first showed up on my horizon at the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association trade show, when the publisher's rep said everyone in the company who read it couldn’t put it down. So I read it....and couldn’t put it down. STARVATION LAKE , by Bryan Gruley (Touchstone, $14.00), recommended by Robin Agnew, Aunt Agatha’s, Ann Arbor, MI, www.auntagathas.com: Bryan Gruley has satisfied my Steve Hamilton/Alex McKnight jones by writing a wonderful book set in Northern Michigan (in tiny, fictional Starvation Lake) and including a LOT of hockey. Though the subject matter is similar to Hamilton’s, the general tone of the novel is darker and more psychological than a typical Alex McKnight outing. The book centers on Gus Carpenter, who went to the big city of Detroit to make good after blowing the tiny town’s shot at a st ate hockey title. He’s back home in Starvation Lake working as editor at the local paper after a story he was working on in Detroit didn’t pan out. The nuances of that plotline are teased out through the entire book, but the main story centers on the discovery of the hockey coaches’ snowmobile in the Lake - it’s just the wrong Lake. The coach has been missing for years, and the appearance of his snowmobile stirs up all kinds of things, especially when it’s found to have bullet holes in its side. Woven through the narrative are Gus’s experiences playing hockey, both as a child and as an adult. Playing as an adult with the guys he’s grown up with, old grudges have had a chance to harden and turn vicious. As the many layers of this heartbreaking story are pulled back, the ending, while in a way a surprise, also seems inevitable. The prose is beautiful, and the characters are indelible. This is a new author to keep an eye on. A CURE FOR NIGHT , by Justin Peacock (Doubleday, $24.95), recommended by Sue Wilder, Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore, Delray Beach, FL, www.murderonthebeach.com: "The day my life fell apart began like any other" is the opening line in this compelling legal drama. Joel Devereaux is a litigator at a high profile corporate law firm. His bright future starts to fall apart when Beth, a paralegal, is found dead in the ladies room of a drug overdose. Contrary to corporate good sense, Joel had been running around with Beth. He’s dismissed from the firm, barely able to hold onto his legal credentials. Joel’s fall from grace takes him to the public defender’s office in Brooklyn. After spending some time on mundane cases, he is assigned to work a high profile case with star public defender Myra Goldstein. The case involves the shooting death of a white college student and takes them into the projects in Brooklyn. Lorenzo Tate, a black drug dealer, is charged with the murder. Joel is forced to face his own demons while seconding Myra in the defense. The reader gets a first hand view of street drug culture and the accompanying racism. Mr. Peacock’s legal experience is obvious as he takes the reader on a journey through the New York City legal system and the Brooklyn Public Defender’s office. The characters are clearly drawn and the street scenes are authentic. The writing is sharp. His description of criminal law as "how the day tries to correct the night’s mistakes" is right on target. A Cure for Night has been deservedly nominated for an Edgar award for best first novel. We can only hope that more books will follow. THE SHANGHAI MOON, by S.J. Rozan (St. Martin’s, $24.95), recommended by Maggie Mason, Lookin for Books, maggiemary@aol.com: Lydia Chin is going it alone after the events of the last investigation. She’s approached by another P.I., Joel Pilarsky, to take on a case involving recovery of assets for Holocaust victims. He in turn has been approached by an attorney who, though not Jewish, is nevertheless on a mission. Through Lydia’s investigation, we see the lengths people will go to to obtain a treasure that hasn’t been seen in years. Does the "Shanghai Moon" even exist? Through letters written by Rosalie Gilder to her mother we see the history behind this treasured piece of jewelry. Rosalie and her brother Paul were able to escape Salzburg before the worst of the Nazi atrocities. Rosalie writes letters to her mother detailing the events of their boat trip to their new home in Shanghai. On the trip, Rosalie is befriended by Chen Kai-Rong, a wealthy, older resident of Shanghai - Rosalie is only eighteen. She grows up fast and eventually marries Kai-Rong, and he commissions the Shanghai Moon, a necklace made from jewelry treasured by both families. The piece had been seen by only a few people, yet it is legendary. It goes missing after Rosalie is murdered at the Japanese surrender and Mao Tse Tung’s army takes over Shanghai. Bill and Lydia are warily working together after the events of the last book (Winter and Night) and are able to piece together an investigation using museum archives, interviews with former residents of Shanghai, and a university professor who gets his students to use the case as a research project. Meanwhile they are dealing with scams, gangs and the murder of Joel Pilarsky. This type of investigation is fascinating for me - to see how someone can find the truth hidden in the past is amazing, though not surprising when it’s Lydia and Bill. Reading the letters from Rosalie, I felt I was walking the Shanghai streets with her, wanting to cover my nose because of the stench described. There is so much more depth to this book than a brief review can cover, but I hope I’ve tweaked your interest. You won’t regret seeking it out, though you may have tears in your eyes in some scenes, as I did. |
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2009 Reviews |