wednesday october 28
Ruth Rendell writes both intense psychological suspense novels and a traditional British police procedural mystery series. I have to confess that I can’t take the psychothrillers (some written under the name Barbara Vine), since I really don’t want to enter the mind of a serial killer, thank you. I prefer her Inspector Wexford mysteries.
But what I like most about the new Wexford novel, The Monster in the Box, is its odd little psychological twist on a serial killer plot.
Wexford sees a man get out of a van and cross the road, and it’s a man with whom he has a long though unacknowledged history. The man, Eric Targo, stared at him outside a murder scene years before; he walked his dog near Wexford’s windows; he nodded at him across the bar.
And these tiny connections over a long and relatively uneventful span of years have convinced Wexford that the man is a multiple murderer.
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friday october 09
Ever wonder what happens to the survivors of a murdered family? Usually, one family member survives. How are they? How do they live? DO they live? Flynn answers these questions and many more of the like in her incredible second outing, Dark Places.
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monday september 28
If a book could be analogized into a pretzel this is it. Dennis Lehane surpasses
Mystic River with
Shutter Island. In the beginning, the story is all about a missing person from an island institution for the criminally insane. Marshals, Chuck and Teddy are sent out to investigate the disappearance of Rachel Solando, Ashecliffe escapee who drowned all three of her children.
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friday september 04
It’s finally getting creepy in here.
Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon chronicles the lives of a New England self-proclaimed college posse-- the Compassionate Dismantlers-- who take practical pranks way too far. Tess, Henry, Val/Winnie, Spencer and Suz make up the Compassionate Dismantlers but the acts they perform can hardly be described as compassionate….
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wednesday september 02
2:18 a.m. It’s a great time for a suspense novel to start. Greg Hurwitz's Trust No One opens on that moment.
Nick Horrigan is used to waking up at 2:18. It’s the time his stepfather, Secret Service Agent Frank Durant, bled to death in his arms. The 17-year-old Nick had snuck out of the house to meet a woman, undoing all of Frank’s elaborate security locks, and came back to find Frank shot.
The guilt has snapped Nick awake at that time nightly, his one faithful companion on his wanderings since that night when his stepdad’s colleagues on VP Jasper Caruthers’ security detail showed him a jail cell, bought him a plane ticket, and told him to go away.
The life Nick has finally begun to remake for himself in LA is shattered at 2:18 again when a SWAT team rappels onto his apartment balcony and takes him. It seems there is a terrorist threatening to take out a nuclear power plant, and he has said he will only talk to Frank Durant’s son.
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friday august 21
For a debut novel,
Precious Blood exceeded my expectations. Medical examiner Edward Jenner was hired to investigate the exceedingly gruesome murder of a young woman in New York City. Needless to say, other murders follow and as the numbers mount, the severity of cruelty increases. There are decapitated heads soaking in deep puddles of milk, pole impalements and a creative new use for an ice cream scooper other than dipping ice cream.
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monday august 10
Italian author Andrea Camilleri, a veteran playwright and screenwriter, did not have a novel published until he was nearly 70 years old. Once he started writing his mysteries set on the island of Sicily in the sunny Mediterranean Sea, his countrymen embraced him, as well as his sleuth - Inspector Salvo Montalbano. One reporter says, what Sherlock Holmes is to England, Inspector Montalbano is to Italy. He is gruff yet sentimental, quietly considering all the facts in the case at hand - and being a true Italian, he enjoys his local cuisine.
The latest entry in the series is titled August Heat - which makes it a great choice for hot summer days. All ten of the mysteries featuring Inspector Salvo Montalbano are available at the Library.
friday august 07
This book was over before it ever began. Meet Johnny Merrimon, thirteen, twin, crusader, outlaw and friend. Johnny’s sister Alyssa is missing and has been for a year now. Johnny will stop at nothing to find her. He doesn’t go to school, he doesn’t engage in extracurricular activities and he doesn’t lounge around at home. Johnny, his friend Jack and the entire state of North Carolina will stop at nothing to bring Alyssa home.
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wednesday june 10
Here are a couple of peculiarly enjoyable little mysteries set in England. The instantly inimitable voice of the eleven-year-old narrator of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley, will leave you in no doubt that it’s in a class of its own. And the George Booth cartoon on the cover of The Herring-Seller’s Apprentice, by L. C. Tyler, will clue you in that it isn’t the usual sort of cozy either.
Flavia de Luce is overjoyed to stumble on a dying man in the garden of their English country house in the middle of the night. Along with her passion for chemistry and poisons, she has always wanted to solve a murder.
The man is an apparent stranger, but the enterprising Flavia suspects he is connected to the dead jacksnipe her father found on the doorstep a few days before with a penny stamp impaled on its beak.
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wednesday may 27
I should probably preface this by saying that on a zero to ten scale of inappropriate humor, Josh Bazell’s Beat the Reaper clocks about a twelve. But if the image of yourself snickering madly over some truly appalling things doesn’t worry you, this is the book for you.
Peter Brown is an intern at a really bad New York City hospital, and he’s having a really, really bad day. The mugger he beats half to death on the way in to work sets the tone (he does carry the would-be criminal in to the emergency room), and the delicate mix of drugs needed to balance the day from there is very hard to maintain.
That’s the least of Peter’s problems, though. One of his new patients is a mobster, and the man recognizes Peter as Pietro “Bearclaw” Brwna, a mafia hitman who’s in witness protection after testifying in a notorious trial and throwing his best friend (son of a mob lawyer) out a sixth floor window. For some very good reasons, but it’s kind of hard to explain while fending off disasters, medical and personal, and anticipating being whacked.
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wednesday may 06
Oh, goody is my reaction when I see there is a new Mary Russell novel by Laurie R. King.
If you don’t know, King is writing a continuation of the Sherlock Holmes canon from the point of view of Holmes’ much younger, half-American, Jewish wife. And in The Language of Bees, she gives Holmes a son and a granddaughter, too.
Unlikely? Yes, but marvelously clever. Mary Russell (who met the elderly beekeeper when she was a rebellious, grieving teenager in The Beekeeper’s Apprentice) is a match for her famous husband, a scholar and adventurer willing to research obscure languages, don disguises to roam London’s streets, or catch a fast camel or motorcar on a jaunt around the world.
Just back from a long international journey, Mary and Holmes are approached by the son of Irene Adler. A bohemian painter, an injured World War I vet, and the embittered child of that extraordinary woman, he is reluctant to acknowledge his famous father.
But he needs help.
Continue Reading…
tuesday april 28
I realized that the nice weather brings out the Reading Bug in me. Sunny back porch days, rainy gloomy afternoons, or breezy evenings, I love to read and relax when Spring comes around. Here is what I've enjoyed so far this Spring:
Patricia Cornwell has written my favorite book of hers so far. Scarpetta (2009), all 512 pages of it, tells a braided up story of high technology and low-down betrayal. Available in large print and audio book as well.
Alexander McCall Smith has come through again (thank goodness!) with Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (2009), the latest installment in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. It's also available as an audio book (I highly recommend!) and a large print edition.
Tales from Outer Suburbia (2008) by Shaun Tan is a creative, fascinating novella by the author who gave us the outstanding The Arrival (2007).
Joyce Sidman's lovely children's poetry book, Red Sings from the Treetops (2009), is a beautiful tribute to the seasons. It's the perfect dessert to this feast of reading!
wednesday april 08
Trigger City, by Sean Chercover, was the other great recommendation I mentioned last week. It's a suspense novel that hits the genre bullseye: tough but damaged hero still fighting flashbacks to his last case, mysterious enemies arrayed against him, helpless victims he has to keep from becoming collateral damage, and the girl he wants to win back. Everything you need in a p.i. novel, with plenty of thrills and that essential spark.
Chicago PI Ray Dudgeon isn’t back to 100% after taking on the mob (Big City, Bad Blood), so he really needs the income when Colonel Isaac Richmond (US Army Ret.) asks him to look into his daughter’s death.
No one disputes how Joan Richmond died. The computer expert she hired for her company’s payroll department shot her to death, raving obsessively, and then committed suicide. It isn’t the facts of her death that the colonel wants to know, but more about his daughter’s life. Their relationship wasn’t close, what with his wife’s death and his own close-mouthed career in military intelligence.
So Ray goes looking. And what he finds is not the random violence of a paranoid schizophrenic.
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wednesday april 01
I’m beginning to need one of those little admonitory signs, the kind you see in zoos: Please do not feed the polar bears. Mine would read: Please do not recommend books to the librarian.
It’s not that I don’t love book recommendations (the polar bears would sympathize here), but I’ve been gobbling them up at an alarming rate. And two of the most recent recommendations I received were for the second book in their respective series, which means that after I read them and adored them, I just had to go back and read the debuts, too.
I picked up Tana French’s The Likeness because one of my colleagues said it was one of her top three books of 2008.
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friday march 27
In March 2008 I posted a blog about the Edgar Awards, named for Edgar Allan Poe and bestowed annually by the Mystery Writers of America. The winner of last year's prize for best mystery novel was Down River by John Hart.
This year's list of finalists has been announced: following are the finalists for 'Best Mystery Novel of 2008', all of which are available at the Library. Mystery buffs may want to read them all and choose their favorite before the awards are handed out on April 30!
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wednesday february 11
Despite the food in the title of this post, I'm not talking cooking here!
I went to a workshop where library staff talked about their favorite books of 2008. One of the librarians described a nice, old-fashioned book as a sandwich: "It's like a really good sandwich. You finish it and you say to yourself, ‘Boy, that was a good sandwich.’" I thought it was a great way to describe the book: unpretentious, wholesome and satisfying.
A food metaphor I often use is "popcorn books." I mean those light, compulsive reads you finish in an evening. Maybe they're not great literature, but there’s something to them, and you've just got to have them. A little bit nutritious, tasty, and easy to devour.
Read on for one of my favorite popcorn authors and the title of the sandwich book.
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wednesday january 07
When Katniss Everdeen volunteers to be a tribute for the Hunger Games in place of her sister, it is an honor only in the eyes of the Capitol. The Hunger Games are an annual game of survival for children living in the Districts surrounding the Capitol as punishment for an uprising almost 75 years ago. Every year, a raffle for children ages 12-18 is conducted to see who fights to the death on national television for the entertainment of all citizens.
But the poor have a higher chance of their names being drawn - because if you put your name in more than the single entry required by law (which increases every year), you can earn extra food for your starving family. Even though some Districts produce food, people are still starving due to strict theft laws.
So when Katniss volunteers, she does so with the full knowledge that she will probably not survive, but at least she has saved her sister for another year. But the knowledge that her government continues to condone the killing of children for entertainment leads to a new twist on the game...
Suzanne Collins, author of the popular Gregor the Overlander series, has outdone herself with this stunning portrayal of true survival of the fittest. The Hunger Games is a fast-paced thriller set in an oddly familiar world, where killing your neighbor may be your only chance to survive.
wednesday december 10
I’ve written about Stuart Kaminsky’s Chicago police detective Abe Lieberman, but there’s another elderly detective closer to home, Ronald Tierney’s Deets Shanahan. The seventy-year-old Indianapolis p.i.’s latest appearance is in Bloody Palms. I just read that one, and then I just had to go pick up the couple that I had missed before it.
In Bloody Palms, Shanahan gets a call to come to Mexico for a meeting with his old army major, Jack Wenders. It’s been since Korea, so Shanahan is a bit surprised to hear from him. Wenders, it turns out, wants Shanahan’s help to deal with an international conspiracy. Which would seem a little over the top, except that the next day Wenders is murdered.
Meanwhile, back in Indiana, Shanahan’s younger fellow p.i. and friend Howie Cross suddenly has a case to investigate, too. His mother wakes him to tell him that his daughter, Maya, has disappeared from their farmhouse.
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friday december 05
"Psychologist/Investigator" is how she describes herself on her business cards, but the character of Maisie Dobbs is even more complex than that. Starting out as a housemaid at age 13, she came under the tutelage of a master sleuth, worked in the field hospitals of France during World War I, and then completed a college education before launching her own investigation agency in London. In a metaphysical vein, she studied meditation with a yogi and she inherited the gift of second sight from her grandmother. Brains, careful observation, and personal intuition all come into play as she tackles the cases that are brought to her office door.
Author Jacqueline Winspear is a native of England herself, growing up listening to stories of her grandparents' experiences during WWI. She cleverly incorporates threads of those tales into Maisie's life, providing rich details about the long-term effects of the war on those who survived. The fifth book in the Maisie Dobbs series, An Incomplete Revenge, was published in 2008; all of the titles in the series can be found in various formats in The Library's fiction collection.
wednesday december 03
"Caper novel" doesn’t seem like quite the right phrase to describe Duane Swierczynski’s debut crime novel, The Wheelman, since the body count is almost as high as the page count. But you’ll find yourself snickering anyway, and you’ll recognize the homage when the hero borrows a Donald Westlake pseudonym as an alias mid-novel.
Patrick Selway Lennon is the getaway car driver for a well-planned bank job in Philadelphia. The take is $650,000, and despite a few glitches, he gets them on the road out of town. But then the car is rammed by the Russian mob, and Lennon wakes up to find himself being dumped in a pipe on the construction site of the new children’s museum, along with a couple of other bodies.
Things only get worse from there.
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tuesday october 28
This past weekend, I went to a family Halloween party. There was plenty of food on hand, including my aunt’s famous iced pumpkin, bat, and ghost cookies. If treats are on your menu this Halloween, I highly recommend these delicious new mysteries:
A Catered Halloween by Isis Crawford: Sisters Bernadette and Libby Simmons are hired to cater a haunted house fundraiser for the volunteer firemen of Longely, New York, at the old Peabody School. The severed head that is found at the haunted house turns out to be real—and the victim, Amethyst Applegate, was a former student at the school and a classmate of Bessie Osgood, who died under suspicious circumstances years ago and whose ghost still haunts the place. Bernie and Libby, along with their father, the town’s retired police chief, must solve this culinary cozy mystery.
Working Stiff by Tori Carrington: The week before Halloween, a body disappears from the funeral home of Greek American and Private Investigator Sofie Metropolis’s aunt. While working on this case—which may be a holiday prank--Sofie is also trying to prove the innocence of teenager Johnny Laughton, about to go on trial for the murder of his girlfriend. Complicating matters even further is her romantic interest in two men—family-approved Greek baker and pastry shop owner Dino Antonopoulous and the ever-mysterious Australian bounty hunter Jake Porter.
friday august 29
Michigan's Upper Peninsula, aka "the U.P.", is one of those marvelous geographical locations that has an identity all its own. More a part of Wisconsin than Michigan, with a definite Canadian influence, this relatively remote piece of land contains some magnificent natural beauty. It takes extra effort for anyone to get there - by road, bridge, or ferry - which adds to the mystique of the place. Authors Joseph Heywood and Steve Hamilton have found the U.P. to be the perfect setting for mystery stories - with all of the woods and snow and those interminably long dark nights.
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wednesday july 23
I wrote last week about a John Harvey mystery, an expert British police procedural. I’ve picked up two more dynamite mysteries since, one new, one old, also by masters of the genre. Some writers really know how to do it—I hope you’re reading these series.
The first was Chasing Darkness, by Robert Crais. Crais’s Elvis Cole mysteries just crackle with sharp writing, eerie violence, and a hero who hits the perfect note of sarcasm that so few have gotten right since the early days of that other p.i., Spenser.
The second was Jan Burke’s Kidnapped, the 2005 volume in her series featuring California newspaperwoman Irene Kelly. Once again, wow—Burke spins a complicated plot as breezily as though she’s spinning plates, but she’ll have you deeply invested in the fate of all of her characters.
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wednesday july 16
How did I miss this one? One of my favorite mystery authors, John Harvey, has a new pair of detectives. Here’s hoping 2007’s Gone to Ground will be a series debut to sit on the shelf beside his Charlie Resnick and Frank Elder series.
DI Will Grayson and his partner, Helen Walker, of the Cambridge Major Investigation Team, are investigating the brutal beating death of Stephen Bryant, a film studies lecturer and writer.
The natural first suspect is Mark McKusick, the partner Stephen had recently broken up with. Mark seems like a mild man, but there’s something so personal about the crime that Will and Helen have to consider the possibility of a jealous ex. Or had Stephen picked up someone else? A missing computer that contains Stephen’s research on sultry 1950s film star Stella Leonard could point to robbery.
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wednesday july 02
Golly. That's all I've got to say.
I picked up Matthew Reilly's 1999 novel Ice Station because I had seen it listed on best lists for suspense and thriller novels over the years. So I had some time for a quick book, and I thought, why not?
Golly.
The novel is set in Antarctica. The scientists at an American research station are using a diving bell to explore a deep ice cavern.
They find something.
To tell you what would spoil the first of many plot surprises. Anyway, they send out a distress signal, which they hope will get through the solar flare interference that has them locked down. More than one set of ears is listening, and more than one country responds. But not all of the listeners have rescue on their minds.
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wednesday june 25
The siege of Leningrad (St. Petersburg, Stalingrad) by the Germans in 1941 has inspired many books. From literary novels like Helen Dunmore’s achingly beautiful The Siege or Debra Dean’s poignant The Madonnas of Leningrad, to military thrillers like David L. Robbins’ War of the Rats or the movie Enemy at the Gates, and of course many histories, the books try to bring to life the terrible struggle for survival during that winter of starvation.
David Benioff’s new novel, City of Thieves, falls at the suspense end of the spectrum. The narrator, a writer, decides to interview his grandfather, Lev Beniov, about Lev’s experiences during World War II. Family legend has always said that Lev killed two Germans before he turned eighteen, but Lev’s grandson has never known the details. Now Lev tells him how life changed when he stole a knife from a dead German paratrooper.
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wednesday may 28
G. M. Ford’s Leo Waterman and Frank Corso mystery series are good stuff. Here he branches out on a stand-alone thriller.
As Nameless Night opens, we meet Paul Hardy, a brain-damaged John Doe who was discovered next to a railroad car and has been living in a Seattle group home for the past seven years. Now surgery for a second brain injury in a car accident has strangely resurrected parts of his memory. Not, unfortunately, knowledge of his own identity, though he remembers a name that was important to him for some reason.
Who is he? Why are government agents pounding on the door as soon as the group home's director googles the name Paul remembers?
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tuesday april 01
Back in medieval times, it was very important to keep the Royalty happy, lest all hell break loose. Therefore the King's fools, or court jesters, were no fools at all, since they played such an integral role in the well-being of the court. Members of the Fool's Guild in the mystery series by Alan Gordon are especially savvy. They use their inside knowledge and the anonymity of their masks to undermine all varieties of political trickery and deceit.
Author Alan Gordon is a marvelously clever writer, who has a 'day job' as a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society in Queens, New York. He has received praise for his series featuring the Fool's Guild, displaying a cunning group of unlikely heroes mixed in with history, suspense, and even a little Shakespeare before his time. All six of Gordon's Medieval Mysteries are available at the Library:
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wednesday march 19
Twelve-year-old Jamie Gabriel gets on his bike to run his morning paper route in the Indianapolis suburbs. He never comes home.
If you can keep reading past that gut-wrenching premise, keep reading. David Levien’s debut novel, City of the Sun, keeps tightening the suspense from there.
Jamie’s parents, Paul and Carol, spend a year anxiously following the police case on their son while their marriage falls to ashes and the case turns cold. Then a sympathetic patrolman passes them the name of a private investigator. Though they’ve already tried two, Paul finally makes the contact with p.i. Frank Behr. Behr is reluctant to take the case, as the odds of finding any information (much less the boy himself) are so remote. But Paul doesn’t know that the case has a hook that Behr can’t pull away from: Behr’s own son died at the age of seven.
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tuesday march 11
Move over Emmy, Tony, and Oscar. Make room for the Edgar, the literary award that is given annually by the Mystery Writers of America. Named for Edgar Allan Poe, who managed to be a quite a mystery in his own right, the award honors the best mystery writers of the year in a wide variety of categories: Novel, First Novel, Paperback Original, Critical/Biographical, Fact Crime, Short Story, Young Adult, Juvenile, Play, TV Episode, and Motion Picture, plus five 'special awards'. The Edgar Award Ceremony will be held in New York City on May 1.
This year's finalists were just announced, and for mystery lovers it makes for a fine reading list. The nominees for 'best novel' are all available at the Library:
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wednesday february 20
I keep seeing trailers for a new movie with Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson, but the Fool's Gold that pops into my mind every time I see them is a completely unrelated 1993 novel of that title by Albert DiBartolomeo. Only his second novel (and apparently his last), it was a crisp little mob thriller about a cache of gold coins.
As the book opens, Benny Bean, a violent young thug, steals those coins from a beach house. But before he has even got them out the door, someone in turn steals them from him. Furious, Benny tracks down the second thief and kidnaps his daughter, Claire, for ransom. But the second thief has already been robbed of the coins, too.
Those are just the opening twists in a spirallingly complicated plot. The coins (which belong to a mob boss) pass through several more pairs of hands while Benny keeps Claire a prisoner and Claire's boyfriend races to recover the coins that will buy her life.
Fans of the genre will appreciate DiBartolomeo's snappy plotting. I remember the book as being pretty violent, though with a comic edge, so keep that in mind. But let me know whether it stands up to my memory of it. And whether it would make a good movie itself.
wednesday january 09
“The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks before we came to understand the gravity of our situation."
That’s the first line of Donna Tartt’s cult classic The Secret History, and the first time I read the sentence, I was hooked.
When narrator and native Californian Richard Papen transfers to Hampden College in Vermont, he joins an exclusive group of five other students studying ancient Greek taught by an eccentric professor. Gradually Richard earns their trust and becomes privy to the group’s secret history: they accidentally murdered a farmer during their recreation of an ancient Greek bacchanal.
One of the members, Bunny Corcorran, did not participate in the bacchanal and learns of the murder. As Bunny threatens to reveal their secret, Richard must decide whether to go along with their decision to silence him.
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saturday november 24
The astounding commercial success of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, with its irresistible combination of cabalistic hokum and pseudo-historical authority, spawned imitations that left many book lovers with piercing conspiracy-fiction hangovers. It happened to me. But my breaking point came when I encountered "The Da Vinci Code Diet."
Paul Sussman's new thriller, The Last Secret of the Temple, seems to possess standard ingredients found in a Da Vinci Code knock-off. It posits a deep archaeological mystery, involving a treasure from the Temple of Jerusalem, which the Romans destroyed in 70 AD. It has a mysterious document penned in coded Latin during the Crusades. And, of course, it has the Nazis storming into the conspiracy in 1944.
But Sussman aims higher in his intriguing police novel set in Israel and Egypt amid the violence and acrimony of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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thursday november 15
Here are the rest of the titles I previewed last week.
The political love story is Letter to Lorenzo, by Amanda Prantera. Julia, the English wife of a wealthy young Roman, is devastated when she is told that he has been killed by a car bomb. Her agonizing grief for her husband is complicated by her bewilderment: why would Red Brigade terrorists kill her husband when the two of them were known for their own socialist convictions? It must be a neo-fascist plot to discredit him. But careful, relentless interrogation by the investigating magistrate reveals that the police think her husband was a terrorist transporting the bomb himself. Julia’s world is turned upside down again. Her grief is powerfully portrayed, and her painfully honest attempts to understand her marriage and her politics are utterly persuasive, as is the subtle characterization of the magistrate who forces her into this possible reconsideration of everything she believed.
Continue Reading…
monday october 29
During preparations for a Halloween party in the English village of Woodleigh Common, 13-year-old Joyce Reynolds boasts that she saw a murder years ago. Nobody believes her, until she is found drowned during the party in a tub for bobbing apples. Detective Hercule Poirot is on the scene to investigate in Halloween Party, another tale from master of suspense Agatha Christie.
Want to curl up with more Halloween-themed murder mysteries on October 31st? Try these spooky suggestions, also written by women:
Witches’ Bane by Susan Wittig Albert: When a Halloween prank ends in murder, herb shop owner and private eye China Bayles’ friend Ruby becomes a prime suspect after being accused of practicing witchcraft.
Hallowed Bones by Carolyn Haines: As Halloween approaches, Private Investigator Sarah Booth Delaney probes the controversial case of Doreen Mallory, accused of killing her handicapped infant daughter.
Trick or Treat Murder by Leslie Meier: While preparing for the annual Halloween festival in Tinker’s Cove, Maine, Lucy Stone investigates a series of arsons that are destroying the town’s historic homes, one of which claims the life of socialite Monica Mayes.
wednesday october 10
The word “haunting” has shown up in virtually every review I’ve seen of The Tenderness of Wolves, Stef Penney’s debut historical, which won the 2006 Costa first novel award (formerly the Whitbread).
Partly, that may be because of the book’s ending, which isn’t entirely resolved—fair warning if you like to close a book and have things wrapped up. But mostly it’s because the book is so eerily atmospheric. Fair warning number two: don’t read this book in February.
Dove River is a nineteenth-century settlement in Canada’s Northern Territory. Despite its tenderly peaceful name, it’s a harshly isolated place dominated by the majestic, menacing subarctic winter.
Mrs. Ross, one of the settlement wives, finds the murdered body of Laurent Jammet, a Hudson Bay voyageur turned hunter. She rouses the authorities, but then realizes she has a stake in the investigation—her seventeen-year-old son, Francis, Laurent’s friend, has disappeared and is soon a suspect in Laurent’s murder.
Continue Reading…
wednesday september 26
I just read Stuart M. Kaminsky’s The Dead Don’t Lie, the latest Abe Lieberman mystery.
I’ve enjoyed the series since its 1991 debut with Lieberman’s Folly. That volume introduced the Chicago police detective—sixty-ish, feeling the first twinges of mortality in his arthritic knees, a world-weary basset hound of a man whose mild manner hid decades of street smarts. We also met Lieberman’s partner, Bill Hanrahan, a decent but troubled man who was drinking too much since his wife left.
Great minor characters rounded out the cast, from Lieberman’s energetic wife, Bess (leading light of their local temple); to Iris, the quiet Chinese waitress whom the Irish-Catholic Hanrahan found himself courting; to Lieberman’s brother, Maish, and the chorus of “alter cockers” who frequent Maish’s deli.
In The Dead Don’t Lie, our heroes have a few more years on them. And this time around, they’re working a pair of puzzling mysteries.
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friday september 07
If you're looking for a new mystery series to delve into, I highly recommend Laura Lippman's Tess Monaghan series. The Baltimore-based series began in 1997 with Baltimore Blues. Tess, an ex-reporter-turned-PI, enjoys rowing, food, and arguing with her large extended family. In this, her first case, a fellow rower asks Tess to investigate his fiancee, whom he believes is having an affair with her boss. When the boss, a prominent lawyer, ends up dead, Tess must fight to find the real killer and clear her friend's name. Tess is nothing if not a dogged investigator and has a habit of putting herself into dangerous situations. A statuesque redhead with a quick temper and fierce loyalty to both her boyfriend and slightly wacky (not to mention slightly corrupt) family, Tess is one PI you won't want to miss. If you enjoy Baltimore Blues, you'll want to read all of Tess's adventures, including the latest, No Good Deeds.
Lippman has won many awards for her work, including the Edgar, Shamus, Agatha, and Anthony awards. She is also the author of three stand-alone thrillers: What the Dead Know, about the disappearance of two sisters; To the Power of Three, about a school shooting; and Every Secret Thing, about the murder of a young child by two adolescents.
friday august 24
Anyone who sets out to write a mystery has to start with the development of a great sleuth: a character who is clever yet who also has enough human foibles to create a certain charm. Hercule Poirot and Stephanie Plum are fine examples of detectives, professional or amateur, who truly seem to have a life of their own.
Enter Inspector Enrique Alvarez, who first appeared in 1974 and continues to entertain readers in his characteristically continental style.
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wednesday august 08
Twenty-six years ago, Gorky Park transported American readers to a frozen crime scene in Moscow and introduced Senior Inspector Arkady Renko, a homicide specialist in a country "that had little organized crime and no talent for finesse." A murderer is frequently a drunk nearby.
But evidence of a triple murder has emerged in the thawing ice and snow of April. A KGB major is already on the scene when Renko arrives. Renko's relationship with the KGB is testy and antagonistic. The victims—two men, and a woman wearing ice skates—will be difficult to identify. Each has a gunshot wound in the head and in the heart. The hands have been removed to prevent fingerprinting.
Renko lights a cigarette. His job is to find killers, but he can’t stand the sight of a dead body.
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sunday july 22
There is one corpse in the body count and the novel isn't open yet. Richard Bachman, pseudonym for Stephen King, died of cancer of the pseudonym back in 1985. This novel, Blaze, was unearthed by Stephen King and published just this year. It's about a dead guy and written by a different dead guy yet the codex exists right here in my hot little hands in all it's jacketed black and orange glory.
Clayton Blaisdell Jr. is one of the most unfortunate characters of the lot of Stephen King's books. His mother dies and Clayton is left with his alcoholic and abusive father who throws him down the apartment stairs one time too many.
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friday july 13
One of my favorite mystery authors is Texas native Susan Wittig Albert. Of her series, her most well-known is probably the one starring former lawyer-turned-herbal shop owner China Bayles. China co-owns a tea shop and catering business with her best friend Ruby Wilcox in Pecan Springs, Texas, where the two women have a knack for stumbling across dead bodies and sticking their noses into dangerous situations. Every mystery includes some great recipes and tips for using herbs in either cooking or medicinally. The latest is Spanish Dagger.
China Bayles' Book of Days is a non-fiction companion to the series, complete with recipes, crafts, and gardening tips.
Albert also pens an Edwardian mystery series with her husband, Bill, under the pseudonym Robin Paige. Death on the Lizard is the latest entry. You might also want to check out her Beatrix Potter series, including The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood.
wednesday july 11
Shortly before the outbreak of Word War II, 16-year-old Paul Christopher resides in Berlin with his American father, Hubbard, and his beautiful German mother, Lori, a baroness. It’s a time of great tension for Jews and non-Germans in Berlin, especially for the Hubbards. They have helped Jewish families escape the Reich to Denmark on their small sailboat. The secret police, directed by an SS officer named Stutzer, are watching them.
The danger for the family increases after Paul meets Rima, a Jewish girl, and he falls in love. Their relationship possesses a fatalistic gravity far beyond their adolescent years. As the threat of arrest increases, Paul’s parents send him home to New York City for safety. But Paul can think only of Rima's safety, and he returns to Germany.
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wednesday july 04
I’ve been blogging mystery and suspense novels for the past few weeks. This one’s a mystery, too, but a delightfully charming period mystery quite unlike those other titles.
Kate Ross’s series debut, Cut to the Quick¸ introduced Julian Kestrel, a London dandy of the 1820s. Invited to a country house to be the best man at a wedding, he finds that the groom’s aristocratic family is being blackmailed into accepting a former stable hand’s daughter as the bride.
More startling still, Julian finds the body of an unidentified young woman in the bed of his guest room. When his own manservant (a former cutpurse) is accused of her murder, Julian steps in to find the real culprit, and of course discovers that the murder and the blackmail are linked.
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wednesday june 27
Virgin Lies is the second suspense novel by Roderick Anscombe to feature forensic psychiatrist Dr. Paul Lucas. You don’t have to have read the first one, The Interview Room, to catch up, though—you’ll be caught up in the suspense from the very first scene, when Lucas fields a frantic phonecall from his wife, Abby, who wants him to use his professional skills to find a missing child—a child who may die while the adults who care for her stand helplessly by, just as their own child did.
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tuesday june 26
Joyce Maynard is only five years older than I, but unlike me she's published a whole lot of good books, starting with the memoir she wrote when she was 18, Looking Back; A Chronicle of Growing Up Old in the Sixties. Later she wrote a memoir of her affair with J. D. Salinger; the darkly funny Baby Love, about three teenaged mothers, a deranged escaped killer, and an equally deranged though less violent grandmother. Before they divorced, she wrote children's books with her ex-husband, and a syndicated column about the joys of family life. She probably portrayed family life as more joyful than it was in her case, and it's clear in Internal Combustion that she has still not completely moved on from that divorce.
Later she wrote the engrossing To Die For, a novelization of the Pamela Smart case. Finally, she's crossed the line into serious True Crime, with Internal Combustion: The Story of a Marriage and a Murder in the Motor City.
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Summer reading naturally conjures up thoughts of ocean breezes and sand-laden books. An ideal summer climate can be found in New England, and if you add the relative freedom of being on an island, what could be better? The island of Martha's Vineyard is a mere 7 miles from the coast of Massachusetts, but that is distance enough to allow for an indigenous culture uniquely its own.
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sunday june 24
Justin Evans’ psychological thriller debut, A Good and Happy Child doesn’t open, it launches. Once began, the story grimly informs the reader that the protagonist, George Davies is neither good nor happy.
George Davies is a married New Yorker with a newborn son. George and his wife aren't getting along because he cannot hold his infant son. His wife orders him to seek help, so he begins to see a psychiatrist and record his past in notebooks. Each chapter is representative of a notebook and they reveal that George was admitted to a mental institution in his adolescent years for violent behavior and possible demonic possession.
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wednesday june 20
I just read Jo Bannister’s sixth Brodie Farrell mystery, Requiem for a Dealer. I’ve always liked her work—her Castlemere books are great police procedurals set in northern England—but I think I like these best.
Brodie is a brisk, resourceful woman who runs a finding service in a little coastal English town. She tracks down missing pets, locates china patterns in online auctions, whatever needs finding.
In the series debut, Echoes of Lies, she was given a photograph and asked to find the man in it. She quickly and cleverly identified him as a local teacher, Daniel Hood. What she didn’t know was that she was finding him for people who then tortured him for information they believed he had, and left him for dead.
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friday june 15
Do you love to cook? Are you always on the lookout for a fantastic new recipe? Then you might want to peruse the library's listing of recipe websites. If you prefer reading about food to cooking it (and don't mind a little murder mixed in here and there), then check out the following culinary mysteries:
- Dark Tort--Diane Mott Davidson--Colorado caterer Goldy Schulz tries to solve the mysterious death of Dusty Routt, a promising young paralegal.
- The Flaming Luau of Death--Jerrilyn Farmer--While throwing a bachelorette party in Hawaii for a valued employee, event planner Madeline Bean feels compelled to investigate when a body washes up on the beach.
- Key Lime Pie Murder--Joanne Fluke--When a teacher is found murdered during Lake Eden's bakery contest, Minnesota resident and bakery owner Hannah Swensen once again plays amateur sleuth to unmask a murderer.
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wednesday june 13
You wouldn’t guess it from the title, but Leaving Disneyland, the debut suspense novel by Alexander Parsons, is one I recommended to a fan of Walter Mosley and George P. Pelecanos.
The book’s main character, Doc, has served sixteen years of a twenty-year sentence in the grim and crumbling Tyburn Federal Penitentiary. He is almost due to face the parole board again when is assigned to a new cell. And it can’t be a coincidence that his new cellmate is a young druglord from a rival gang, whom honor requires Doc and his friends to kill.
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tuesday june 12
Mystery writer Chris Grabenstein takes his readers to a place that evokes memories of surf, sand, and sunburn. Anyone who has ever been lucky enough to spend a few summer days at the Jersey Shore knows all about the essential components of a seaside resort town: boardwalks, salt water taffy stands, fried clam shacks, family-run motels, souvenir shops, and amusement park rides. In the fictional town of Sea Haven, those old familiar rides and carnival games also serve as the titles for Grabensteins's clever mysteries, as in Tilt-a-Whirl, the first entry in the series.
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wednesday june 06
Big Red Tequila is a great title for a Texas mystery, isn’t it? This novel gets it right right on the title page.
Rick Riordan is probably more famous nowadays as the author of a teen fantasy series based on Greek mythology—his bestselling The Lightning Thief was our teen book choice for On the Same Page.
But back in 1997 he debuted an adult mystery series set in San Antonio. He got more than the title just right. All of you readers who enjoy a nice semi-hard-boiled mystery with an appealingly thoughtful but smart-talking hero and a well-realized regional setting should try the Tres Navarre series.
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tuesday june 05
The inaugural Discovering New Mysteries International Mystery Writers' Festival will be held in Owensboro, Kentucky, June 12 to June 17, 2007. Some of your favorite writers of mystery and suspense novels, and luminaries from the worlds of film and television, will be on hand. New mystery plays, screenplays, and teleplays will be judged in competition and presented in live performances.
Among the writers attending will be: Stuart Kaminsky, author of more that 60 mysteries, and currently Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America;
Louisville’s own Sue Grafton, author of the bestselling Kinsey Millhone mystery series;
Kentucky native James W. Hall, author of the long-running series of Thorn suspense novels set in Key West, Florida;
past Grand Master of Mystery and Edgar Award winner Ira Levin, best known, of course, for Rosemary’s Baby;
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wednesday may 30
How about a little suspense?
I’m looking back at a whole stash of good, nailbiting suspense novels and nice, twisty mysteries that I’ve read in the past few years, and I think my next several posts are going to be about those genres.
Maybe it’s the hot sunshine we’ve been having lately that has put me in a noir mood—I once read a definition that said a true noir movie had to have a shot somewhere in it of broken light slanting in through venetian blinds.
I don’t think my first title quite fits that definition, since it takes place in Glasgow. But it sure fills the bill for gripping suspense.
It’s Denise Mina’s award-winning 1999 debut, Garnethill.
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wednesday may 23
Are you a cruciverbalist at heart? Do you have a secret ritual regarding the daily crossword puzzles in the newspaper? Myself, I like to fold the paper in a certain way, then do the cryptogram first, the 'basic' crossword, and then the 'advanced' crossword, in that order. And, I use ink - erasers are for the timid. Sudoku? Sorry, I am clueless.
There are of course millions of crossword puzzle junkies in the world at large, and several have been profiled in a surprisingly fascinating documentary, Wordplay, which comes with the tagline, "50 million people do it every week".
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tuesday may 08
In 1962, when author Sebastian Junger was almost one year old, his parents hired two carpenters to build a studio addition behind their house in Belmont, Massachusetts.
One of those carpenters was Albert DeSalvo.
Bessie Goldberg was found strangled at her home in Belmont on March 11, 1963. The killing fit the pattern of the Boston Strangler, who had been terrorizing the women of that city since the previous summer. Roy Smith, a black man cleaning the Goldberg home that day, was convicted of the crime and sent to jail.
The killings continued.
Albert DeSalvo was also working that day—at the Junger home a little over a mile away. He later confessed that he was the Boston Strangler and admitted killing 13 women, but insisted Bessie Goldberg was not one of them. Sebastian Junger, bestselling author of The Perfect Storm and Fire, writes about this encounter--and a possible case of legal injustice--in
A Death in Belmont.
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wednesday may 02
Michael Dibdin died on March 30. He was best known for his mystery series featuring Venetian Police Commissioner Aurelio Zen. The final novel in the series, End Games, will be published in the fall.
As much as the character of Zen defines the novels—morose, psychologically complex, and world-weary—so does the character of Italy, where Dibdin lived for several years.
Each of the novels is set in a different part of the country, and the style of each novel seems to reflect the cultural differences among Italy’s regions. But all are richly cynical, darkly funny, intricate in plot, and acute in their understanding of modern Italian politics, religion, and everyday life.
My personal favorite among Dibdin’s novels is set in England, though. It’s one of his stand-alone works, the 1991 suspense/satire of Thatcher’s England, Dirty Tricks.
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tuesday may 01
When it comes to concocting mysteries about fast horses and fast tracks, Dick Francis is the undisputed king. Although I can't track down the source, it seems that I recently read something about his unfortunate demise. You can imagine my suprise when, on a beautiful day during Keeneland's spring meet, I saw Mr. Francis himself autographing copies of his most recent book! That was a mystery I just had to solve.
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thursday april 19
Call it ‘literary crack cocaine’ like the blurb on the volume's cover from Kirkus reviews or on a less exotic plane; call it psychological coconut sorbet for the soul. Christopher Pike’s Falling possesses a title that’s simple, benign, and unassuming but don’t be fooled. Beware. It is anything but. Start down this pike and fall you will.
Matt Connor is an average American male. He has a wonderful girlfriend, Amy, who keeps him at arms length constantly over the course of a year. Thinking all is roses between them, Matt is shocked to discover his beloved with her ex-boyfriend David. He’s even more perplexed when he finds that she is with child, David’s child, and does not wish to reconcile with him. Utterly incensed and hopelessly obsessed, Matt devises a plan to make Amy pay and pay she does, in droves.
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friday april 13
Featuring high-society voyagers, luxury ocean liners, and plenty of time to kill on the high seas, author Conrad Allen has created a recipe for an intriguing series of mystery novels. Beginning in 1999 with Murder on the Lusitania, he introduces detective George Porter Dillman, a passenger on the maiden voyage of the grand new ship on the Cunard Line. Money, jewels, and murder are on the ship's log, as is Miss Genevieve Masefield, a lovely private detective in her own right.
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saturday march 24
What would you do if your parents ran a background check on every person you dated? What would you do if your 14-year-old sister practiced "recreational surveillance"? What would you do if your Uncle Ray had lost weekends? By this point you'd probably be tired of your family and the family business. Isabel "Izzy" Spellman certainly is. She decides to quit the family business (a PI firm that she joined when she was 12 years old), but her parents won't let her until she solves a very cold case. The ways that Izzy gets back at her parents (who else would enlist their sister to film a fake drug deal to get back at their parents?) and how the entire Spellman clan relates to each other are hysterical and ultimately (in their own weird way) demonstrate the powerful bond of family. Trust me, the Spellmans are not your typical family!
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz is the funniest and craziest book that I've read in a long, long time. The book is author Lisa Lutz's debut, but you would never be able to tell that from the way she expertly weaves the story and keeps the momentum going. From the first chapter to the last page, you will be laughing. I highly reccomend this novel to anyone who likes to read. Stephanie Plum fans will especially enjoy this one. This is the first in a planned series of novels featuring the Spellman family.
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monday march 19
The Vernal Equinox comes every year in the Northern Hemisphere around March 20. Spring arrives! Day and night, for one 24-hour period, are equal.
I find that springtime light brings a lifting of moods and a deep contentment that never fails to brighten my spirits. I have dug up a variety of books from a variety of subject areas, all about spring:
Chasing Spring: an American Journey Through a Changing Season Bruce Stutz writes about following spring from the Gulf of Mexico to the Alaskan arctic, experiencing renewal and joy at the beauty of the awakening season.
Boys of Spring: Timeless Portraits from the Grapefruit League, 1947-2005 Ozzie Sweet is a renowned photographer, and this book of baseball photographs will get you in the mood for a game.
Everything for Spring: A Complete Activity Book for Teachers of Young Children: Activities for March, April, and May Spring fever is especially rampant in classrooms. These activities will help keep our youngest students busy.
The beautiful symphonic works of Aaron Copeland's Appalachian Spring and The Tender Land cannot fail to move you; available on CD or cassette.
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friday march 16
I'm a huge Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel: The Series fan. Those two series are really what sparked my interest in vampire fiction. Some of the best books in vampire fiction is Tanya Huff's Toronto-based "Blood Books" series featuring PI Vicky Nelson and her friend/lover Henry Fitzroy (who just happens to be the 450 year old son of Henry the VIII). Vicky also gets the assist from her ex-boyfriend Mike Celluci in her chasing down cases. She's a fabulously flawed heroine who really deserves your time!
The "Blood Books" were originally published in the early '90s as single titles, but have recently been reissued in three omibus editions. Each edition contains two of the stories.
thursday march 15
Break out that ugly green turtleneck you've been dying to wear and get ready to celebrate--St. Patrick's Day is almost here! Cincinnati's Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade is this Saturday. Corned beef, cabbage, and Guinness can be had at Newport's or Mason's Claddagh Irish Pub. If you're looking for a quieter way to commemorate the holiday, check out some of these novels set in Ireland.
In recent years, mystery writers have found Ireland a fertile ground for murder and mayhem. Lake of Sorrows, Erin Hart's sequel to Haunted Ground, is a prime example. In it, pathologist Nora Gavin is sent to the bogs of Central Ireland to investigate two recently discovered corpses, one ancient, the other recent. Other good mysteries set in Ireland include Ken Bruen's Priest, Carol Anne O'Marie's Murder at the Monk's Table, and Dicey Deere's The Irish Village Murder (all three are the latest titles in series).
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wednesday march 14
I think Robert B. Parker started it--correct me if I'm wrong. I'm talking about the mystery genre tradition of the smart-talking p.i. with the silent and supremely lethal sidekick. Spenser has Hawk. Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar has Win. (Well, Win's not quite so monosyllabic, but he's even scarier.) And Robert Crais's Elvis Cole has Pike.
It's a useful mystery convention. Hero and super sidekick together can plausibly handle a lot more trouble than the hero could alone. Just as important, the author can go to any lengths to take care of the bad guys by the last page, but no matter how violent things get, he never has to let his hero go too far over the edge or permanently drop that oh-so-enjoyably sarcastic tone that helps makes these winning series crackle.
Messing with a great formula can be risky. But in Robert Crais's latest, The Watchman, we get the story from Pike's point of view.
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tuesday march 13
Lately I've been listening to Elizabeth George's What Came Before He Shot Her. This dark, dense novel explores the ghettos of London and offers another perspective on the events leading up to the ending of the last Lyley mystery, With No One as Witness.
I really enjoyed her Inspector Lynley mysteries, but that's not really a recommendation for this title, since the plot is only tangentially related to the Lynley series. In fact, many reader-reviewers have panned it based mainly on this fact. The book focuses on the rather grim life of three siblings in North Kensington, fifteen year old Ness, eleven year old Joel, and seven year old Toby.
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wednesday march 07
I don't profess to be the world's best gardener, but I do love flowers, so I was very excited the other day when I noticed my spring bulbs peeking through the dirt. Soon my yard will be awash in brightly-colored crocus, hyacinths, daffodils and tulips. If spring can't come fast enough for you, you might want to indulge yourself with a few of these garden-themed mysteries.
- Bleeding Hearts by Susan Wittig Albert--In Pecan Springs, Texas, herbalist and tea shop owner China Bayles investigates the murder of Tim Duffy, the high school football coach.
- Death in the Orchid Garden by Ann Ripley--On location in Hawaii to film an episode of her popular gardening show, Louise Eldridge probes the beating death of a well-known botanist.
- Bindweed by Janis Harrison--When her mentally handicapped assistant, Toby, is killed by a deliberately-planted nest of killer bees, River City, Missouri florist Bretta Solomon vows to find Toby's murderer.
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wednesday february 28
I recommended Eric Dezenhall to a fan of Carl Hiaasen and Donald Westlake a few weeks ago. If you like the Florida school of over-the-top satiric suspense, move up the coastline a little to meet New Jersey crisis management consultant (a.k.a. spin doctor) Jonah Eastman.
Eastman was introduced in Money Wanders. A Washington political pollster whose career was in trouble, Jonah found a new client at the funeral of his grandfather, a New Jersey mobster. Another mob boss was having image problems—Mario Vanni wanted to get a legitimate gambling license and leave a clean business to his grandkids. But how to rehabilitate the public image of the state’s biggest gangster? A little polling revealed the answer—make him look tough on drugs and neighborhood crime.
Dezenhall gleefully satirized pollsters, p.r. flacks, and public enemies in that humorous crime novel, the first in a series. Now there’s a new Jonah Eastman adventure, Spinning Dixie.
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wednesday february 21
I mentioned the trend for suspense standalones in a recent post. This one doesn’t quite stand alone (it’s loosely related to another of the author’s works), but it’s a real stunner, another example from a few years ago of a popular mystery writer pulling out all the stops for pulse-pounding suspense.
Laurie R. King is known for two very different mystery series, her Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series that, beginning with The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, carried on the classic canon; and her contemporary series featuring lesbian San Francisco cop Kate Martinelli, which began with A Grave Talent.
But she did something more different still in Keeping Watch, a tense and complex psychological suspense novel that broke a lot of genre rules.
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monday february 12
Shahtani Tropical Breeze. Thistleglen Margot. Freestyle Ocean Breeze. Sound like nice places to visit, right? If you were in New York City last year at this time, you would have been able to visit all of them at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The 2007 show starts today and concludes tomorrow (live coverage both days from 8-11 pm on the USA Network). In all, 165 breeds in seven groups (working, terrier, toy, non-sporting, sporting, hound, and herding) compete against each other to be crowned Best in Show. Last year's winner was Rufus, the colored bull terrier (otherwise known as Rocky Top's Sundance Kid--I swear I'm not making these names up). Tune in to see the popular (beagles) compete against the unknown (Spinone Italianos) and the just plain weird-looking (pulis). While you're in the mood, you might want to peruse these dog-themed mysteries as well:
- A Deeper Sleep by Dana Stabenow--Alaskan PI Kate Shugak and her faithful half-wolf, half-Siberian husky, Mutt, try to gather evidence against a man who has killed three of his wives.
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friday february 09
There's an underrated American author of suspense fiction you may not be familiar with. P. T. Deutermann, a retired Captain in the U.S. Navy, began writing novels of naval suspense in 1992, eight years after Tom Clancy stunned the publishing world and launched the technothriller era with the surprise bestseller, The Hunt for Red October.
Scorpion in the Sea: The Goldsborough Incident, concerns the unvalued captain of an obsolete U.S. Navy destroyer who engages a Libyan submarine in a deadly duel off the Florida coast.
The Edge of Honor, a novel of the Navy during the Vietnam War, followed. In
Official Privilege, the mummified corpse of a black officer is found on a mothballed warship, and the subsequent investigation points to a high-level cover-up. These were suspenseful tales of naval action and mystery, offering authentic technical detail. But then Deutermann changed direction.
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thursday february 01
The Mystery Writers of America recently announced their 2007 Edgar Award nominees. There are twelve categories, including Best Novel and Best Fact Crime. This year, Stephen King will receive the Grand Master Award (past recipients include Mary Higgins Clark and P.D. James). I was happy to see many of my favorite mysteries from the past year receiving nominations, including Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects, a novel that I recently blogged about, which received a nomination for Best First Novel By An American Author. Some of my other favorite nominees:
- A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read--Syracuse journalist Maddie Dare delves into a 20-year-old unsolved double murder in which her cousin is the prime suspect.
- The King of Lies by John Hart--In rural North Carolina, criminal defense attorney Work Pickens struggles first with his father's disappearance and then, a year later, with the discovery of his murdered body.
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monday january 22
I was reading an article some time ago in one of those magazines librarians read (Library Journal, Publishers weekly--sorry I can't remember which one!) and was somewhat interested to read about cross-pollination that was occurring between romance and other genres. I thought it was a good thing at the time, and thought it might be interesting to come across one of these titles, though I wasn't intrigued enough to seek one out.
Now I'm not so sure. I'll admit, I was frantically grabbing audiobooks in the last few minutes of my lunch break, and therefore missed the rather telling CD cover of Cover of Night by Linda Howard. So I was a little surprised by the sudden "blossoming of affections" that happened during the bloody beginnings of the siege (by criminals working for the mafia) of a small mountain town. I was also very surprised at the end when the male lead's close-quarters and semi-premeditated killing of at least one of the criminals was so blithely accepted by the heroine, despite her having young twins. Altogether, I found the premise of the plot more amusing than suspenseful, and the "happy ending" chillingly odd, which I'm pretty sure is not what the author intended. I'm sure there are other novels that blend the genres with ease. This was just the wrong one to encounter first and unawares.
friday january 19
Stephen King called it a "relentlessly creepy family saga" and an "admirably nasty piece of work." He was referring to Sharp Objects, the debut novel for Entertainment Weekly's chief TV critic, Gillian Flynn. In a candid essay about her work, Flynn admits to being fascinated by aggression in women and wanting to write a "dark, dark book...about the violence of women."
She has succeeded. Her protagonist, Camille Preaker, is a hard-drinking journalist who works at a second-rate Chicago paper. She is also a reformed cutter; at age 13, she began carving words into her skin: "queasy", "vanish", "weary". Camille has a very distant relationship with her mother and little liking for her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri. When two preteen girls are murdered in Wind Gap, her editor sends her back home to write a piece on the killings. In the course of Camille's investigation, she learns something that didn't make it into the papers: both girls had their teeth removed.
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thursday january 18
The British writer Ariana Franklin was in Cincinnati on Tuesday as part of a pre-pub swing through the Midwest in support of her new novel, Mistress of the Art of Death.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend a dinner hosted by her agent at Tellers that night. It was a very pleasant evening—Ariana was charming and graciously answered questions about her books, her interest in the Middle Ages, and her husband (film critic Barry Norman). And of course, it was lots of fun to chat about book-related stuff with all the Joseph Beth folks and the Enquirer’s Sara Pearce.
Coincidentally, City of Shadows, Ariana’s previous book, made it to Librarian’s Choice, our annual list of staff favorites. I haven’t read this “stunning novel of historical suspense” (in the words of our Fiction staff), but it’s on my nightstand at home so I’ll probably get to it soon. And yet…
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tuesday january 16
Clearly, I'm not the first to have discovered what a good novelist John Gregory Dunne was. He's one more writer whose books I hadn't thought of reading, though, because I'd categorized him as a thriller writer, and I don't think of myself as a thriller reader.
Then I picked up Nothing Lost, which was published in 2004, a year after Dunne's sudden death. The book is certainly a page-turner. An African-American man has been tortured and murdered in an imaginary U.S. state that seems to hover between South Dakota and Nebraska. While various politicians, including the president of the United States and a right-wing congresswoman (who prefers to be called "congressman") use the apparently racially motivated murder to advance their careers, two unpleasant drifters are arrested. The evidence is scanty, and the witness not very credible.
You'll probably spot the clue as a clue when it first appears but not realize how it's a clue. This will be to your credit, because it's really disgusting.
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thursday january 11
When I had my first child almost two years ago, a good friend threw me a shower and made a beautiful quilt for our nursery. Another friend wove a baby blanket. This past Halloween, my mother sewed a dog costume for my daughter to wear (complete with brown spots and floppy ears and tail, very cute!) Even if you're severely deficient in this area (like me!), you still might enjoy reading some arts-and-crafts-themed mysteries. Here are some of my favorites:
- In Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton, full-time CPA and part-time knitter Kelly Flynn investigates the burglary death of her favorite aunt in Colorado.
- Earlene Fowler's Fool's Puzzle is set in San Celina, California, where young widow Benni Harper has recently moved to take a job as curator of their folk-art museum. While trying to put together a quilt show, she discovers the body of a local potter in the museum's studio.
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tuesday january 09
It's now officially time for the post-holiday slump. Gazing off into space with a little case of the sniffles. Wrapped in an afghan and looking for another series of cozy mysteries to see me safely through January. Enter Aunt Dimity.
I'm a bit picky about my cozies. No matter how much the heart may lust for treacle, my Gen-X sense of irony can be overwhelmed by too much cutesy stuff. I am working my way toward the sweeter cozy mysteries only with halting, uncertain steps. (For instance, although I love cute cat pictures, it will be a little while before I'm ready to read the Cat Detective mysteries.) Aunt Dimity was one of those series that I was uncertain of, but my day off loomed and I needed a book to read.
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wednesday january 03
It used to be that you could hardly get a novel published in the crime and mystery genre unless you were willing to commit to a series, but lately, long-established mystery authors are going the other way, hitting the blockbuster charts with stand-alone suspense titles (think Harlan Coben, for example).
Greg Rucka, the author of the Atticus Kodiak mysteries and, more recently, of several superhero graphic novels and a superspy thriller series, did a (yes) super stand-alone suspenser a few years back. I wish he’d do another.
That one was A Fistful of Rain. Its heroine was no Wonder Woman, but she was a knockout of a character.
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tuesday december 05
Buying presents. Trimming the tree. Baking cookies. Visiting relatives. The holiday season can be exhausting and stressful--so make yourself some hot cocoa and park yourself in front of the fire with some of these holiday-themed mysteries (just try not to laugh at the titles).
- Sugar Cookie Murder--Joanne Fluke--Minnesota bakery owner Hannah Swensen investigates the murder of a former Las Vegas dancer.
- Santa Cruise--Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark--Setting sail from Miami on an after-Christmas cruise, private detective Regan Reilly teams up with amateur sleuths Alvirah and Willy Meehan to track down a pair of escaped convicts.
- Jingle Bell Bark--Laurien Berenson--The suspicious death of her son's bus driver brings out the inner snoop in Greenwich, Connecticut dog trainer Melanie Travis.
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monday december 04
When did Jack the Ripper commit his crimes? 1608? 1749? 1888? 1922? Why do we all sort of know who he was? Until I started looking him (or them) up, I hadn't a clue. In fact, the killer (or killers) commited the crimes in 1888-1981, almost sort of within living memory of those people in the 118-year-old age range who remember their babyhoods well.
After reading Patricia Cornwell's Case Closed, I had no doubt in my mind that artist Walter Sickert was the guilty one. And then I read that Sickert is not in fact even one of the more seriously considered suspects by Ripperites. Wikipedia says Sickert was in France during the time of a lot of the murders.
A Wikipedia writer ominously comments that it is actually hard to tell which murder victims are Jack the Ripper's work, since there were many brutal and horrific murders of women during this period of time.
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friday november 10
I love lighthouses. This past weekend I stood in awe of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse at night, resplendent in the light of the full moon and sending out its reassuring beam across nearly 20 miles of ocean.
Dawson Carr's 2002 chronicle Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: Sentinel of the Shoals tells the history of the beautiful lighthouse, including the monumental 1999 3-week move of the structure to a safer spot further from the edge of the ocean. It was moved inland from the encroaching surf by lifting the entire building and hydraulically pushing it forward very slowly along a track to its new location 2900 feet away.
An interesting book about lighthouses that were not as lucky as Hatteras is Lost Lighthouses, full of true stories such as my favorite about Deer Island Lighthouse in the harbor near Boston, where one of the keepers had a cat who would dive from the platform, catch a fish, and climb back up the ladder with it.
For anyone who loves lighthouses and loves cats, it doesn't get any better than that!
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wednesday october 18
Sandy posted a couple of weeks ago about some of the books she was looking forward to this fall. Kate Atkinson’s One Good Turn was one of them. I don’t know where Sandy was on the holds list compared to me, but I just took the novel home last night and read it in one big, delicious gulp.
Atkinson’s last novel, Case Histories, introduced private detective Jackson Brodie, who was investigating three cold cases. It was a mystery, but not exactly—a lovely and melancholy look at the indelible effects of violence on anyone whose life it has touched, including the detective.
This one looks even more like a mystery, but somehow it’s “not exactly,” too. Rather than leave you haunted by sorrow, though, this one will leave you smiling at its perfect unexpectedness—what is this author doing, and how is she managing to make it so wonderfully different?
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tuesday october 17
After reading George D. Shuman's 18 Seconds, I was reminded of this famous quote from M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense. 18 Seconds is the story of Sherry Moore, a blind psychic blessed (and cursed) with the ability to see the last 18 seconds of a person's life. When Sherry touches a dead person's body, she relives their last seconds before dying. This makes her an invaluable asset to the detectives of Wildwood, New Jersey, who are hunting a serial killer preying on young women. The killings are eerily similar to a series of unsolved homicides from the 1970's. When the killer learns about Sherry's "unusual ability", a cunning game of cat-and-mouse begins.
Intrigued? Read on for a list of more thrillers featuring people with "unusual abilities."
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tuesday october 10
The leaves are turning. There's a nip in the air. Pumpkins, scarecrows, and witches are popping up on front porches everywhere. Children are scaring themselves silly at haunted houses. Personally, I prefer to get my chills and thrills the old-fashioned way: through the pages of a good book. Have you ever picked up a book because the cover gave you that creepy-crawly, shiver-down-your-back sensation? If making the hair stand on the back of your neck is a must for you, check out some of the following covers. Read the books. Just make sure to keep your flashlight handy.
One of my all-time favorites for a scary book cover (and title) is Stephen Dobyns's The Church of Dead Girls. The discovery of the bodies of three young girls paralyzes a small upstate New York town. Their deaths are eventually linked to an unsolved murder from years before. The connection? All of their left hands had been severed.
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sunday october 08
It’s a typical weekend of mayhem at the Hotel California for assistant manager Am Caulfield: a bra theft, a Bob Johnson Society convention (every single member checking in is named Bob Johnson), a chef who serves roadkill to an eminent food critic, and, oh yes, an apparent suicide and a double murder.
Since Am has just been appointed acting security chief, too, all of this falls straight into his lap. With the help of his new intern, Sharon Baker, Am copes. But his troubles aren’t over—he’s promoted to general manager just in time for his hotel’s takeover by a Japanese conglomerate.
The Hotel Detective was the 1994 debut for an unfortunately short-lived series by veteran mystery writer Alan Russell. Russell has a field day revealing the amusing and horrific details of hotel management (the dust jacket says he was a hotel manager himself), and the mystery plot is clever, too. If you like humorous mysteries, go back and find this one. Just don’t plan any hotel stays soon afterwards.
tuesday october 03
This quote probably brings back not-so-fond memories of high school English class for many of us. Edgar Allan Poe, the author of the poem "The Raven", died 157 years ago this week. Poe, who also wrote such famous short stories as "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Fall of the House of Usher", was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston and died on October 7, 1849 in Baltimore. The circumstances surrounding his death are murky. Although it was believed for years that Poe's death was due to extreme alcohol abuse, the doctor who attended him found no evidence to support this claim. Cholera, rabies, and syphilis have all been put forth as possible causes of death, but it is likely that the cause will never be known.
Every year on Poe's birthday, a man dressed in a cape appears at his gravesite and leaves three roses and a partially empty bottle of cognac. Inspired by this real-life event, mystery novelist Laura Lippman wrote In a Strange City, in which PI Tess Monaghan investigates a shooting death that occurs at Poe's tomb.
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saturday september 30
The Keep by Jennifer Egan is the story of two cousins who are restoring a medieval castle in Europe, and the dark history that connects them. Within this framework, Egan introduces us to another character, Ray, a convict taking a writing class in prison where he creates a story about- you guessed it- two cousins in a medieval castle. Ray has written himself into the tale of the castle, but we're not sure where he fits in, or whether any of his account is autobiographical. What follows is a compelling story which is part mystery, part suspense and possible allegory- it's a thought-provoking book which is extremely well-crafted. I'm looking forward to checking out more by this author.
My apologies for not posting in a while - it's certainly not for lack of great reading! My desk is piled with books I'm dying to get to, and I'm having a hard time deciding what to read next. It's always difficult to follow up a great book and not be set up for disappointment. Also, I've been in the midst of a career change, and this will unfortunately be my last post. I've enjoyed sharing my passion for books in this blog, and hopefully have inspired a few to pick up some of my suggested reads. Keep reading!
thursday september 28
Sometimes it’s hard to plunge in and start reading a prolific author. You feel as though you’ll never catch up. So if the thought of tackling James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux mysteries is a little intimidating, or if you’d like a change of pace from the steamy, haunted Louisiana delta setting of that famous series, try The Lost Get-Back Boogie, a stand-alone suspense novel Burke published in 1986. You’ll get the gorgeously lyrical writing, the gritty realism, and the inescapable violence, all set against a big Montana landscape.
Iry Paret is out on parole after serving two years for manslaughter (a barroom fight that got out of hand) and is finding it impossible to settle down quietly in his home parish. With his guitar, his pickup, and an open case of beer, he takes off for Montana, where a former fellow prisoner, Buddy Riordan, has offered him a job on a ranch.
But trouble follows Iry there, too.
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saturday september 23
George P. Pelecanos is a writer who makes me think of Walter Mosley for the amazing vividness of his writing. You can feel the grit under the soles of your shoes as you walk down these fictional mean streets, and the dialogue is so pitch perfect you can just hear it sing off the page. People who like noir crime fiction really shouldn’t miss Pelecanos’ work.
His books are set in Washington, DC, in the Greek-American and African-American communities there. The same characters show up in many of the novels, so it can be hard to find a place to start reading. Try his new novel, The Night Gardener, or if one book is not enough (and it won't be!), start with one of his recent series, beginning with Right as Rain.
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monday september 18
Brian De Palma's new feature film, The Black Dahlia, is based on James Ellroy’s 1988 novel of the same title. The book is a lurid treatment, in the noir tradition, of a notorious unsolved Los Angeles murder. In January of 1947, a woman walking her young daughter to school discovered the body of woman, hacked in half, lying in a vacant lot.
In Ellroy’s story, ex-boxer and cop Bucky Bleichert becomes so involved in the investigation of the murder of Elizabeth Short -- aka the Black Dahlia -- that he loses his career and the woman he loves, compromises his principles time and again, and sees his life go down the proverbial tube.
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wednesday september 13
For a crisp, fast-moving mystery with appealing characters and snappy dialogue, you can’t beat Don Winslow’s 1991 debut, A Cool Breeze on the Underground. It got an Edgar nomination for best first crime novel.
Neal Carey, an investigator for a very discreet New England firm called Friends of the Family, was brought into the business at age eleven, when he tried to pick the pocket of New York-Irish p.i. Joe Graham. Graham took Neal under his wing, trained him in investigative techniques, and arranged for the firm to get him an expensive education. Now Neal just wants to finish his degree in English lit (specializing in Smollett), but the firm has a job for him. The daughter of Vice-Presidential hopeful John Chase is missing. Not that Chase really cares, but he needs her for the photo ops.
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thursday september 07
Not too long ago, I was writing a brief review of Carol Higgins Clark's latest Regan Reilly mystery, Hitched. Carol, of course, is the daughter of Mary Higgins Clark, a perennial New York Times bestselling author. Although the two for the most part write separately, they have also collaborated on several novels (the most recent being The Christmas Thief). Does talent run in families? I'll let you be the judge of that. In the meantime, check out my brief list of related authors and their most recent works:
Husband and wife: Bill Pronzini's Mourners and Marcia Muller's Vanishing Point
Husband and wife: Pat Conroy's Beach Music and Cassandra King's The Same Sweet Girls
Husband and wife: Jonathan Kellerman's Gone and Faye Kellerman's Straight into Darkness
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thursday august 31
Ruth Rendell lost the job in Essex, England, after writing an article about a tennis club event that she was supposed to attend but didn't, thus missing the mid-speech death of the keynote speaker. Whoops! Fortunately for us, she took up mystery writing.
In a superficial way, she resembles Agatha Christie--British, terrifically prolific, lots of murders. Rendell's books are more character- than plot-driven, though. She breaks all the rules of mystery writing, but her books are wonderful. I don't want to give any plots away, so I'm not going to name titles here. In one serial-killer novel, the murderer only appears as a walk-on for about a page; so much for rules about planting clues. In another, we learn halfway through the book who the serial killer is, and the question in his mind, as in ours, as how he chooses his victims? Why do certain women just have to go, while others arouse no murderous interest? And why didn't he pick up on the serial-killing game until his 40's?
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saturday august 26
I've been so busy at work lately. Flying from one thing to the next, hurry, scurry out to the reference desk and then back to the office to work on everything else I have to do. Busy is good. It's fun to be involved in all the great things the library is doing, but sometimes when I get home I need a little help winding down.
Enter Hamish MacBeth. No, I haven't found a pleasant Scotsman to greet me at the door with dinner when I arrive home; Hamish is a character in a series of books by M.C. Beaton. A cozy mystery with a pleasant main character is a great way to unwind, and though Hamish can't beat an actual man bearing dinner, he is pleasant to curl up with nonetheless.
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tuesday august 15
There is always a stack of novels on my desk, lurking there in the corner, waiting for me to crack the cover and enter their world.
Right now, for example, I have:
- In the Dark of the Night by John Saul; in spite of a few distracting continuity problems and inconsistencies, it's a pretty good story.
- Hawkes Harbor by SE Hinton; wonderful book, bordering on fantasy/horror, and completely unlike her popular teen novels; for a mature reader.
- Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War by Clive Barker; fantasy; total immersion. Look for a future post dedicated to the Abarat books.
- Dark Light by Randy Wayne White; a hurricane exposes an old wreck, which leads to mysterious places and people on the Florida coast.
- The Descent: A Novel by Jeff Long; unwitting explorers discover a vast underworld society.
- Forests of the Night by James W. Hall; intuitive policewoman follows a creepy trail involving an old feud; I picked it up from a display
So, that is part of the stack of dark books on my desk. Maybe you'll find a few of them to be of interest.
monday august 07
It is finally here! I always wait in great anticipation for the new Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child books. This one, The Book of the Dead (2006) landed on my desk last week. It takes all my will power not to devour it in one sitting.
Set in the slightly fictionalized Natural History Museum in New York City, it is another intricate suspense thriller from Preston and Child. This one involves an ancient cursed Egyptian tomb that was installed in the museum basement in 1872, yet has been bricked up, sealed for seventy years for mysterious reasons, and all but forgotten by the museum. Strange things start to happen when the tomb is re-opened.
The cast of characters is varied, flawed, and believable. The grand old museum building, with its attics, sub-basements, laboratories, and storerooms is the real star of the story. Its shadowy presence sets a tense mood, the perfect setting for the creepy and suspenseful story.
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wednesday august 02
If you're looking for a good mystery to curl up with in your (hopefully) air-conditioned home, check out P.J. Tracy's 2003 debut, Monkeewrench. In this quirky yet sinister thriller, a team of Minneapolis cops tracks an elusive serial killer. The trail leads to a software company called Monkeewrench that produces a game called Serial Killer Detective. Both the police and the company's employees are shocked to discover that the killer is actually mimicking the murders found in the game.
When I found out that P.J. Tracy was actually a pseudonym for a mother-daughter writing team, it made me think about how many other writing tandems are out there. If you're interested in perusing some more, check out these titles by some other "dynamic duos".
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tuesday july 25
Okay, this really has nothing to do with The Da Vinci Code except that it involves (round-about-ly) a museum employee and an art history puzzle. But not mentioning TDVC up front seemed like ignoring the 800-pound gorilla in the room.
I recently recommended a book to a friend of mine, a Taft Museum docent. "Recommended" is puttting it mildly--I pressed it on her and insisted she take it home. Fortunately she loved it, couldn't put it down. So I thought I'd see whether I can persuade any of you to take it home, too. It's one of my favorite novels, certainly one of my top two literary-puzzle-suspense-novels of all time. (The other one is A. S. Byatt's Possession.) It's Michael Frayn's Headlong, a dazzling art history thriller about a lost Bruegel painting. In addition to its truly nerve-wracking puzzle plot, it's a brilliant example of first-person narration. And it's positively stuffed with fascinating art history that passed even my friend's high standards. Academic research has never been so exciting.
Really.
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thursday july 20
Your average chick lit novel usually revolves around a romantically challenged heroine who is either going through a career crisis or has recently lost her job, is obsessed with Prada and Kate Spade handbags, and often has a loyal and gorgeous neighbor/best friend/co-worker lurking somewhere in the background that you just know they're going to hook up with. Sometimes there's a cute pet or two. And a clever title is a must. Which leads me to my list of my all-time favorite titles. Enjoy!
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Mickey Spillane, author of the hardboiled Mike Hammer mysteries, died Monday at his home in South Carolina. He was 88. In I The Jury in 1947, followed by My Gun Is Quick and Vengeance Is Mine in 1950, private eye Hammer meted out hard justice to “the rats that make up the section of humanity that prey on people.” The stories were notable for Hammer's brutality and the willing nature of the dames he encountered. They sold like crazy in paperback editions.
While
Hammet,
Chandler, and later,
Ross Macdonald brought a literary sensibility to mysteries from the pulp tradition, Spillane was a boilerplate practitioner. Critics scorned his work, but he didn’t care. Like his character Mike Hammer, he was a veteran of World War II. His readership was composed of the men returned from war experience glad to be alive and eager for escapism with tough guy action and sex.
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tuesday july 18
Hot enough for you? Afternoon temperatures hover in the mid-90s, but the level of discomfort is minor compared to the experience of the characters in David Hewson's scorching 1999 thriller, Solstice. Scientist Michael Lieberman studies an alarming increase in sunspot activity that is overheating the Earth. Another influence is at work, as well. When Air Force One burns in midair, torched like a paper airplane, eco-terrorists called the Children of Gaia claim responsibility.
Gaia computer engineers have seized control of an orbiting solar power station and its super-weapon, Sundog, that harnesses the energy of the Sun. Lieberman, himself, and French physicist (and ex-lover) Charley Pascal designed the station. Never mind that Charley is insane and dying of cancer. She and her zealots are determined to destroy the modern world and return the air, water, and Earth to a state of pre-industrial purity. Solstice is a gripping, superior, infernally hot technothriller.
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monday july 17
If you're on John Grisham therapy, you might want to alternate that with Patricia Cornwell therapy; for one thing, it's very convenient just to turn around from the Grisham books, walk a few feet, and hit the Cornwells.
Cornwell has written other books--notably Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper--Case Closed, a controversial nonfiction book claiming to discover Jack the Ripper's identity--but she's best known for her Kay Scarpetta mystery series. So far, there are fourteen of them, and apparently a fifteenth will appear in 2006. It's important to read them in order, beginning with the 1990 Postmortem, because the characters in the books refer to events in previous books and age in something vaguely like real time. (Scarpetta's niece Lucy starts out at 10 and is by now probably about 26.)
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monday july 10
British mystery writer John Harvey’s new novel, Darkness & Light, is the third in his Frank Elder series. Those of us who were big fans of his Charlie Resnick series have never quite forgiven him for putting that series to rest, but the new one is turning out to be dynamite, too—psychologically and emotionally resonant mysteries featuring a melancholy hero in the classic genre tradition.
Frank Elder is a retired British cop, living on the remote Cornish coast. He’s haunted by his failed marriage and by a case that damaged his family terribly. (Go back and read Flesh and Blood for that story.) Now, once again, he is being pulled out of his self-imposed exile to investigate a case. This time it’s his ex-wife who is asking him. Her friend’s sister has disappeared.
Wary at taking back up his tangled relationship with his ex, wary about falling into dangerous old habits of riding to the rescue, Elder nevertheless heads for town.
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friday june 30
Millions of people will visit our country's national parks this summer, from the well-traveled Great Smoky Mountains to the more remote Big Bend National Park. If you want to visit a national park, but can't decide which one, then let Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon be your guide. Barr first introduced her tenacious National Park Ranger sleuth in Track of the Cat, in which Anna investigated a murder disguised as a mountain lion attack.
Once you read the first one, you'll want to read them all, but here are a few of my favorites and the parks they take place in:
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thursday june 29
It is vacation time again, which means it is time for beach books. Here is some recommended summertime reading:
The Highest Tide (2005), by Jim Lynch, is a funny fascinating story set on the northwest US coast. We learn a lot about 13-year-old Miles' uncanny relationship with the sea and his friends, family, and the press.
John Banville's The Sea, the 2005 Man Booker Prize winner, is the intriguing story of a man who returns to a seaside town from his past following his wife's death.
For intriguing mystery by the sea, PD James' The Lighthouse (2005) will keep you riveted.
Island romance is always a wonderful getaway. Nora Roberts' Three Sisters Island Trilogy is great paperback reading -- a little witchcraft, a little romance, a little New England island scenery. Dance Upon the Air (2001), Heaven and Earth (2001), and Face the Fire (2002).
Jaws (1974) by Peter Benchley is a fun read by the sea. I also recommend the now classic 1975 movie based on the novel, directed by a fledgling Steven Spielberg at 26 years old.
Have a nice vacation...and don't forget the books!
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tuesday june 27
Kathy Reichs, a real live forensic anthropologist, writes wonderful mysteries surrounding a main character, Tempe Brennan, who is (guess what) a forensic anthropologist.
Tempe, like Kathy, works both in Charlotte, North Carolina, and in Montreal, Canada. Rather than self-aggrandizing and egocentric, her novels come across fresh and natural...well, at least as natural as a human being can be who is, for instance, digging teenage girls' bones out of a septic tank or trying to sort out whether this is a bag of bear bones or people bones.
In the latest novel, Cross Bones (2005), Tempe's investigation of a questionable death takes her to Israel and the world of biblical archaeology, along with the very attractive detective Andrew Ryan.
A new book is expected in July: Break No Bones. The pre-publication publicity promises that this will be the best one yet, a wonderful blend of good writing, a good story, and scientific expertise.
While the novels are written in series, the reader would not lose any enjoyment by reading them out of order.
Get to know Tempe Brennan and Kathy Reichs. You won't be sorry!
thursday june 22
If you’ve seen Casablanca more times than you can count, try Alan Furst’s stylish novel of Paris under the Occupation, The World at Night. It’s the love story of a man and his city.
Jean Casson is a film producer whose beloved Paris has been invaded. At first, this means putting up with small deprivations and indignities—working with a German production company, accepting a curtailed social life. But as the noose tightens, Casson is approached by British intelligence agents and then by the suspicious Germans. His job makes him a perfect tool for either espionage service. While Paris tries to pretend that everything is normal, Casson feels his pleasant life slipping irretrievably away.
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saturday june 17
There is life after Stephanie Plum as Janet Evanovich's fans have discovered while waiting for the next installment of the ultimate Jersey girl and her wacky adventures as a bounty hunter. Besides Metro Girl, so ably described by a fellow blogger, the prolific Evanovich keeps her readers happy with yet another series.
Abandoning Stephanie in her beloved burgh, Evanovich and co-author Charlotte Hughes have concocted an independent series blending suspense, romance and humor centered in fictional Beaumont, South Carolina. An ensemble of interrelated characters criss-cross through the books and each title begins with Full.
In Full Scoop, pediatrician Maggie Davenport is busy with a truculent thirteen-year old daughter, a cross-eyed goat and an ex-boyfriend who just escaped from prison and is headed her way with revenge on his mind. A handsome FBI agent shows up at her door to offer protection and, of course, sparks fly. Oh, yeah, there is some heavy duty ice cream eating going on here, too.
Predictable? Yes, but then you aren't in this for the heavy plotting. Evanovich and Hughes have a good time with these folks. So until the next Stephanie, check out Full Scoop and company.
Those fancy bath salts you've been hoarding? Dig them out, run a hot tub and with favorite beverage in hand, blissfully slip into Perfect, the latest adventure of master jewel thief, Kick Keswick.
Happily retired in her gorgeous Provencal farmhouse with her new husband, Kick is called back to action when Her Majesty the Queen's favorite baubles go missing. But this time Kick is on the side of the law as her retired Scotland Yard inspector husband asks for her professional help.
Kick assumes disguises, royal aliases and a fabulous Parisian wardrobe to infiltrate an exclusive Swiss hideaway maintained by the richest man in the world for his nearest and dearest friends.
Author Marne Davis Kellogg whips social satire, travelogue and mystery into delectable froth embellished with delicious food, luxurious cars, beautiful clothes and, of course, jewelry to die for. Plotting is minimal, but who cares? Just get your kicks with Kick.
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thursday june 15
That description is from the dust jacket of Zev Chafet’s 1991 debut novel, and it’s a perfect tease for this spoof on The Godfather and all its heirs. Tony Soprano might not be amused, but his fans will find Inherit the Mob an appealing beach read while Tony’s on hiatus.
Journalist William Gordon is the nephew of famed New York Jewish gangster Max Grossman. Gordon never had anything to do with his uncle’s business (not realizing Max fed him many of his Pulitzer-winning stories), so he’s rather startled when he inherits Max’s half-billion-dollar partnership with Don Luigi Spadafore. Gordon’s inclination is to refuse, but his best friend is thrilled at the chance to play-act as Gordon’s honest-to-godfather consigliere. Of course, they’re soon in over their heads. It takes an outrageous plot and some retired members of Uncle Max’s old Jewish gang to rescue them from certain death.
Fast, funny, and mischievously satiric, this is a send-up bound to raise smiles from anyone familiar with traditional mob fiction or movies.
wednesday june 14
It comes every summer like clockwork; the new Stephanie Plum novel by Janet Evanovich. Every year since One for the Money was published in 1994, I eagerly anticipate reading Stephanie’s next adventure in Trenton, NJ. I usually finish it in a day, and then the wait begins again. Another 364 days until Steph and I get to meet again.
Thankfully, I’ve run across some other authors and characters that are just as entertaining as Janet’s Stephanie Plum. A few of my favorites include:
- Laura Levine's Jaine Austen mystery series that features a freelance writer in Los Angeles. The series begins with This Pen For Hire.
- Nancy Bartholomew's Sierra Lavotini series that features a stripper who solves crimes in a small Florida town. The series begins with The Miracle Strip and lasts for four books.
- Sarah Strohmeyer's Bubbles Yablonsky series about a hairdresser turned journalist. The series begins with Bubbles Unbound.
friday june 09
If you're getting married this month, or just know someone who is, you're not alone. June is still the most popular month for weddings, although the autumn months are gaining in popularity. Need advice on budgets, dresses, flowers and more? Check out theknot.com, one of the premier bridal sites on the web. The library also has some great resources, including Jo Gartin's Weddings by Jo Gartin, Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette by Peggy Post, and The Complete Wedding Planner by Marjabelle Stewart.
Are you having bizarre dreams about your wedding, in which your entire bridal party dances up the aisle to Rocky Top Tennessee and then has a water pistol fight on the altar? (Unfortunately I did not make this one up--I had this dream four years ago before my own wedding and still can't figure out what it means.) This might mean it's time to put away that mammoth planner that you've been dragging around everywhere and check out these fun reads: Toss the Bride by Jennifer Manske Fenske, Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot, Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? by Melissa Senate, and Always the Bridesmaid by Whitney Lyles.
If murder and mayhem are more on your mind (and what bride-to-be hasn't thought of them?) then try these wedding-themed mysteries: Hitched by Carol Higgins Clark, Rituals of the Season by Margaret Maron, The Flaming Luau of Death by Jerrilyn Farmer, and 'Til Death Do Us Part by Kate White.
wednesday june 07
For a soothing, peaceful getaway I love to visit Precious Ramotswe and her friends at The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Gabarone, a small city in Botswana. Blue Shoes and Happiness (2006), Alexander McCall Smith's seventh book in the series, again wraps the reader in the atmosphere of life in modern Africa that is very much in tune with the natural world of the countryside.
Mma Ramotswe, a lovely "traditionally built" African Lady, is the proud owner of the detective agency. The slower pace of days, the interaction with friends and family, the urgencies and concerns of life and business -- all are pleasantly and quite capably addressed and dealt with, in a practical and sensible manner, usually over a pot of bush tea.
It is easy to step down the pace of life a bit with these interesting mysteries. They are gentle without being cloying and give us a picture of life in modern Africa that is both eye-opening and appealing. We are reminded, respectfully, that these are people just like us, living half a world away.
I experienced these wonderful stories as audio books, in fascinating performances by South African actress Lisette Lecat. She brings the characters beautifully to life with her understanding of the subtleties of African languages.
So brew up some bush tea, and settle in with Mma Ramotswe and company solving mysteries and facing the everyday challenges of life at The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.
monday june 05
Unfortunately: The sexy man Nicola meets at her lunchtime café is a serial killer. Fortunately: She chickens out of making a date with him. Unfortunately: This frees up the afternoon for her to be abducted by a pair of teenagers who want her ATM card. Fortunately: The teens were hired by Nicola’s ex, Scooter, and Nicola can handle Scooter with both hands tied behind her back. Unfortunately: Scooter needs the money to pay off a loan shark. Fortunately: The loan shark is pretty sexy, too. Unfortunately: The serial killer is pretty persistent....
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friday june 02
The fringes and sub-genres of mystery and suspense fiction offer many curiosities: a
eunuch sleuth in the Ottoman Empire; a bizarre 5000-year-old
hallucinatory ritual involving cobra venom; a
Neanderthal investigator in prehistoric Europe; a
deadly terrorist who sheds (quite literally) his skin. Which brings me to Ralph "Sonny" Barger's new novel,
6 Chambers, 1 Bullet. Readers may recall Sonny Barger from Hunter S. Thompson's breakthrough 1966 account of riding with outlaws,
Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga. Back then, Barger was leader of the Oakland Chapter of the Hell's Angels MC. Over the years, he has been arrested some 22 times (a paltry sum considering the criminal history of the Hell's Angels), served 4 years in federal penitentiary, survived throat cancer, and reinvented himself in the Arizona desert as an American outlaw celebrity and author.
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Readers who are fans of HBO's The Sopranos witnessed recently the violent demise of Vito Spatafore, the chubby, ruthless soldier belonging to the New Jersey crime family. But you may not be aware that actor Joseph R. Gannascoli, who played Vito, is a former chef and restaurateur who published a collaborative (with Allen C. Kupfer) novel earlier this year. A Meal To Die For: A Culinary Novel of Crime features Benny Lacoco, a fence for boosted provisions, who is also a gourmet chef. Benny is selected to prepare a farewell feast for a capo facing incarceration. Benny suspects that someone at the table is in bed with the feds. Over the progress of the meal--the novel is structured like a nine-course dinner--the snitch is certain to be revealed.
So, show some respect! Vito may be gone, but the man who inhabited his character serves up a crime story including roasted lamb shanks with orzo, marinated bocconcini, crab meat and cheese fondue, and pancetta-wrapped shrimp that will have you salivating and begging for more. Hungry yet?
Do you remember where you were when the tornado of April 9, 1999 struck southwestern Ohio, causing four deaths and over $25 million in damage? Were you alive during the April 1974 super outbreak of tornadoes, when tornadoes touched down in 13 states, killing 330 people, including 41 in Ohio? If you're fascinated with the science behind tornado formation, or just want some tornado safety tips, visit Tornado FAQ, an informative website designed by the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center.
If you secretly yearn to be a stormchaser, you might want to pick up Mark Svenvold's Big Weather: Chasing Tornadoes in the Heart of America (2005). Or check out Tornado Intercept (2006), a National Geographic DVD that showcases the violent ferocity of these powerful storms. Is fiction more your thing? Then try my personal favorite, Alice Blanchard's The Breathtaker (2003). Here, a smalltown police chief teams up with a scientist to find a serial killer who only strikes during, you guessed it, tornadoes.
By the way, Ohio's peak tornado season runs from April through July, with June being the most active month--so we're not out of the woods yet!
It was one of those weekends when I needed to stay up till 4 a.m., reading anything. First came John Grisham's The Broker. I've avoided Grisham before, thinking, you know, "popular thrillers--not my thing." But I was wrong. The Broker, once "the second most powerful man in Washington" has spent six years in prison for trying to sell secrets to the Saudis. Then the CIA inexplicably frees him and sends him to Italy, where he learns Italian and finds love. The problem is that the Israeli and Chinese governments want him dead--and so does the CIA. The novel's completely engrossing, full of quirky detail and plot twists.
Next up was Don DeLillo's Libra, which I'd avoided because, hey, I know that story. I've read Case Closed. Half awake, I sometimes felt I was reading another part of The Broker--the same creepy CIA guys (yes, in Libra, Oswald did not act alone), the same "Langley" references. The strength here is in DeLillo's mastery of voice and the shifting point of view. Next to Jack Ruby, Lee looks almost reasonable, a vulnerable, confused victim of forces larger than he.
One of the hallmarks of Michael Connelly's hard-boiled police procedurals about LAPD detective Harry Bosch is his meticulous attention to investigative detail. Connelly's understanding of the world of cops and criminals comes through hands-on experience--he worked as a crime reporter for South Florida and Los Angeles newspapers for 14 years. The crime beat influenced his writing enormously (“I could not write about my fictional detective Harry Bosch without having written about the real detectives first. I could not create my killers without having talked to a few of the real ones first.”) and laid the foundation for his work as a novelist.
Crime Beat: A Decade of Covering Cops and Killers, a collection of articles Connelly wrote in the 1980s and 1990s, offers his fans the opportunity to read the stories that inspired some of his plots and characters. It's also a fascinating chronicle of his development as a writer.
Don't have tickets to Jimmy Buffett's sold-out show this Thursday at Riverbend? Obsessed with all things Parrothead? Look no further! Slide on your flip-flops, munch on a cheeseburger, and sip a margarita while listening to Jimmy's latest live CD. When he's not singing "Come Monday" or "Fins" to crazed fans everywhere, Jimmy keeps himself busy writing not only songs but fiction as well. In his latest novel, A Salty Piece of Land (2004), Wyoming cowboy Tully Mars escapes a vengeful boss to work in a fishing camp on the Yucatan, where he becomes embroiled in a scheme to save an historic lighthouse.
If Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads are your thing, check out these other novels set in the tropics:
On April 26, writers, editors, and other luminaries from the mystery community donned their finest party attire for the annual Mystery Writers of America Gala for “outstanding contributions to various categories of mystery, crime, and suspense writing.” The honorees included:
Check out the Mystery Writers of America website for the complete list of nominees and winners (including Best Short Story, Best Fact Crime, and Best Television Feature/Miniseries).
