Category: Mystery

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill (Mystery)

Theodosia Benton abandons law school and her Australian home to focus on her unfinished novel, moving in with her brother in Lawrence, Kansas. A meeting with a successful author leads to mentorship, a free flow of ideas, and maybe something more … until he shows up dead one day, brutally murdered. Weird things keep happening and none of them are very good for our heroine, her brother Gus, and his investigator friend, Mac. Every time the author had a chance to go down the obvious path she instead takes evasive action and veers off onto a path I would never expect. Between the action and the backstories of her (very) relatable characters, we are treated to a twisted, entertaining, self-referential mystery blending writing techniques, reader psychology, conspiracy sites, preppers, and Tasmanian hippies (yes, you read that right). The situation does sometimes veer into regions of (to me) unrealistic evil corporate overlord action, but all of the other characters are believable and interesting — I particularly liked all the writerly discussions which focussed more on how to engage with a reader rather than dry (to the non writer) techniques. Be warned: a bit of a creepy feeling pervades the whole book, and I did feel that Theo should have figured some things out a little sooner than she did, but then I was in a comfy, stress-free space, so perhaps I wouldn’t have figured out very much more had I been in her position 🙂

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on March 19th, 2024.

Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver

Writing: 3/5 Characters: 4/5 Plot: 3.5/5

A perfect airplane read! Number four in the Electra McDonnell series in which a (former) safe cracking thief turns her skills to help the British government in the person of the (handsome, naturally) Major Ramsey in London around 1941. Some nice twists and connections to historical events. I like all the characters — they are interesting and well drawn. In addition to the case in hand, each book makes some progress on Electra’s backstory (father murdered and mother accused of the crime before Electra was born) while the Electra and stoic Manjor Ramsey romance continues at a steady parboil.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on May 14th, 2024.

The Last Devil To Die by Richard Osman (Literary Mystery)

Number four in Richard Osman’s deservedly popular comic mystery series. Four retirement village pensioners tackle a Romance Fraud, some missing heroin, and the professional looking murder of an elderly antiques dealer who happens to be a friend. A reminder on the four pensioners from my previous reviews: Elizabeth, with the mysterious background and friends in high and low places who all seem to owe her favors; Ibrahim, the retired psychiatrist, who pores over the cases he failed; Ron, the former trade union leader who loves a chance to get back on the stage; and Joyce, who has the often under appreciated skill of bringing everyone together while remaining invisible herself.

While the book has all the hallmarks of Osman’s previous work — tight, content rich prose, laugh out loud moments every few pages, and irreverent mystery solving — this title is different. With one of the regular characters progressing steadily into ever increasing dementia, there is a philosophical turn and one of the most poignant scenes I’ve ever read. I was honestly weeping (correct term) for quite some time. Osman shows a different side of his prodigious writing abilities in blending this very real, and yet unfortunately very ordinary, experience to an otherwise fun, comic, and artfully written romp celebrating friendship and the purposeful embrace of old age.

Some quotes:
“Friendship, and Joyce flirting unsuccessfully with a Welshman who appears to be the subject of a fairly serious international fraud. Elizabeth could think of worse ways to spend the holidays.”

“Mervyn is not one of lifes hand-takers. He lives life at a safe distance.”

“The easiest way to make a small fortune in antiques is to start with a big fortune and lose it.”

“In my business you hear a thing or two about love. I find it easy to replicate. It is largely a willing abandonment of logic.”

“There comes a point when you look at your photograph albums more often than you watch the news.”

“ That’s the thing about Coopers Chase. You’d imagine it was quiet and sedate, like a village pond on a summer day. But in truth, it never stops moving, it’s always in motion. And that motion is aging, and death, and love, and grief, and final snatched moments and opportunities grasped. The urgency of old age. There’s nothing that makes you feel more alive than the certainty of death.”

The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith (Mystery)

960 pages and I downed it in three days. Would have been less time but I literally can no longer sit still for that amount of time without massive squirming. As with her Harry Potter books, Rowling grabs your interest on sentence one, and then just refuses to release it. (Just in case you didn’t know, Robert Galbraith is a pen name for J. K. Rowling).

This is the seventh book in the Cormoran Strike series, starring the afore mentioned Strike — a one-legged military hero, with a wildly unconventional background — and Robin Ellacott — partner in the firm with a passion for psychology. All the books have been made (or are being made) into movies — I’ve seen them and they are fine but the books are infinitely better (IMHO). You won’t have to have read all the previous books — any required piece of background is restated as needed.

Her books are often dark — while things tend to work out by the end, there is a lot of darkness taking a long time to herald the dawn. In this “case,” Robin is required to go undercover into a pretty horrifying cult, with its own fully developed world view, massive organization, and fully fleshed out doctrine and practices. I had to stop reading well before bedtime lest I get too stressed…

For those up to date on the series, a little more progress on the personal side of things with a bit of an emotional cliff hanger on that front. While there were two years between previous installments, this one came a mere one year after the last so it looks like Rowling is on a roll. Maybe next fall will see volume 8? According to wikipedia, Rowling said she had plans for ten more after the third …

960 pages and I downed it in three days. Would have been less time but I literally can no longer sit still for that amount of time without massive squirming. As with her Harry Potter books, Rowling grabs your interest on sentence one, and then just refuses to release it. (Just in case you didn’t know, Robert Galbraith is a pen name for J. K. Rowling).

The Lost Girls of Penzance by Sally Rigby Mystery)

Writing: 3/5 Plot: 3.5/5 Characters 4/5

My first Sally Rigby novel. DI Lauren Pengelly is two years into her job on the Penzance police force when bones are discovered on a nearby farm. Not an area with a great deal of crime, Pengelly and crew are taken by surprise when a three year old girl disappears from a local day care center later that same afternoon. And thus begins the mystery novel that is sure to be the first in a series. Pengelly is a female version of the crusty old detective and her brand new sidekick — Matt Price — has an engaging backstory and personality that nicely support her. Vera Stanhope and her (two) trusty sidekicks come to mind.

Parts of the story were a little stressful for me — I don’t like to read about bad things happening to children so I’m going to give a little spoiler here to say that the children are OK by the end without giving away anything else in the plot. This is something I would have liked to know before reading. Plot is a little slow but gets good by the end. I like the characters and I feel like the author left room for future character development.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on October 5th, 2023.

The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves (Mystery)

This is the third installment of Cleeves’ (relatively) new DI Matthew Venn series — the first two of which have been dramatized in the miniseries called The Long Call. This story takes place in Greystone — a sea town and home to the Brethren — the religious community where Mathew Venn was raised and then parted from. A famous sailor and adventurer comes to town but disappears after a few weeks with his body turning up shortly afterwards. In typical Cleeves style, nothing is what it seems, and it is difficult to unravel the motivations and connections between people in the small community. Moral priorities figure into the narrative which always interests me.

The other two Cleeves series which have made their way to television are the popular Vera and Shetland. As is the case with the Venn series, her stories make excellent underpinnings for the television shows. In truth, I do prefer to watch them on the screen because a lot of time in the books is spent on descriptions of physical surroundings which are less interesting to me than plot, characterization, and dialog — while watching them I can take in the surroundings with one glance and not waste time trying to visualize the (arresting) landscape from words.

Easy to read. Full of atmosphere, personality, and dramatic scenery.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on September 5th, 2023.

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty (Sci Fi)

Plot: 5/5 Writing: 4.5/5 Characters: 4/5

Loved this action filled science fiction story whose premise is the exploration of the ethical dilemmas present in a world that has the tech (and the desire) to clone people for (greatly) extended life. The book opens with a description of the International Law Regarding the Codicils to Govern the Existence of Clones which include a whole array of rules that don’t seem to make anybody particularly happy.

A crew of six has embarked on a journey to a new planet that will take hundreds of years. They carry with them thousands of cryogenically frozen humans and clones who will be wakened once they arrive. However, something must have gone drastically wrong because the opening scene sees all six awakening suddenly in gooey clone vats with no memory of the last 25 years and no understanding of why they are all dead. They are all “criminals” who have been promised full pardons and an erasure of all sins for completing the mission, but none of them have shared with each other what those sins were. Thus ensues a completely engrossing space opera of sorts as they work to try to figure out which of them attacked (and brutally killed) the others, who to trust, and exactly why they had been brought together in this way.

Includes some pretty rich cogitation on clones and AIs and how relationships, vengeance, jealousy, and general morality is impacted at both the individual and societal level. Clean writing and good characters (except for the super rich, super powerful, egoist who is the “bad guy” — those types never seem to have depth in fiction — probably because no author actually knows anybody like that to study, or because we don’t want our bad guys to have depth!)

Really enjoyed this. Now if I can only get the publisher to give me early access to her upcoming book, I will be one happy puppy!

Lost Hours by Paige Shelton (Mystery)

Writing: 3/5 Characters: 4/5 Plot: 4/5

The best part of Shelton’s Alaska mystery series is the set of characters that populate the small town of Benedict. Beth Rivers is the crime novelist who came to Benedict a year ago to hide from her still-on-the-loose kidnapper (he was finally found and incarcerated in the last book); Viola, the tough-as-nails manager of the halfway house; Orin, the peace-sign flashing librarian and computer genius; and Gril, the grizzled police chief relocated from Chicago.

In this, the fifth installment, Beth gets involved with a woman claiming to have escaped her own kidnapper who was killed by a bear. But the woman is not exactly what she seems, and a whole pile of complicated connections must be unearthed before the solution can be found.
A little more filler in this one, but still an entertaining read.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on December 5th, 2023

The Lady from Burma by Allison Montclair (Historical Mystery)

This is book five of the historical mystery series starring Iris Sparks (with a possible dangerous past) and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge (an aristocratic war widow with a young son who is fighting for her rights in Lunacy Court!). Together they run the Right Sort Marriage Bureau in post WWII London, but they simultaneously seem to be in just the right place to solve murders, much to the chagrin (and eventual admiration) of the local police.

While this is book five in the series, it’s book one for me. I was able to keep up just fine but I do feel a lot must have happened in the previous books. I can’t tell how much progress was made in the personal situations for both women before this story — may be better to start at book one!

In this book, they get an unusual client. A woman dying of cancer comes in to line up a wife for her husband after her passing. Unfortunately, that passing happens more quickly than expected. Simultaneously, the very conservator who has been holding Mrs. Bainbridge hostage during her fight with the Lunacy Court has also turned up dead. The body count steadily increasing only seems to stimulate the interest of the two women.

The plot kept my interest, and I enjoyed learning about various procedures / processes in that (still rather unfriendly to women) time period. The writing was a little stilted for my taste, but overall I enjoyed it.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on July 25th, 2023

Not the Ones Dead by Dana Stabenow (Alaskan Mystery)

Number 23 (!) in Stabenow’s Kate Shugak series. I must have gotten distracted because I missed the last two — I’ve read all the others, though.

I like this series because Stabenow invests in a deep background on all aspects of Alaska — the scenery to be sure, but also the lifestyle, politics, local industries, and the individuals who call it home — native Americans, born and breds, and recent immigrants. I love the details of a ranger’s life, the local businesses, and the Native Aunties who seem to run the show.

This particular story involved a highly stereotyped group of White Supremacists — which I could have done without — but I enjoyed every minute of the twisting plot, the investigative action, the characters, and getting to live in Shugak’s world for as long as it took me to read.

Thank you to Head of Zeus — an Aries Book and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 11th, 2023