Fatal Pursuit by Martin Wakler

First Sentence:  The lunar calendar said that the new moon made this a good day to plant broad beans, arugula and spinach, just as the previous days of a waning crescent moon were said to be the time to weed and to start a new compost heap.

      

An elderly local scholar is found dead, presumably of a heart attack.  Things just don’t seem quite right, however, to chief of police Bruno Courrèges, who asks for an in-depth autopsy.  The annual St. Denis fête includes a car rally and luxury car show, including a Bugatti owned by a young Englishman.  With it is a story about a Bugatti lost during WWII which, if found, could be worth millions.  To complicate Bruno’s life further is a property dispute between the Englishman and his French family neighbors, as well as a possible international crime which brings Bruno’s past lover to town.

      

Walker tells us so much about Bruno from the narrative of the first chapter, including his friends, his town and its history.  He has a way of drawing the reader in and making them feel part of the story.

      

The inclusion of the car show and rally is both interesting, and a certain indication of things to come.  And then, there’s the death…

      

Walker creates such a strong sense of place—“He looked down at the familiar value of the Vézère River, still shrouded in the early morning mist…Stray tendrils were rising like wisps of steam as the first, hesitant rays of the sun peeked above the ridge and began to warm the most away.  The spire of the old church and the houses that clambered up the hill seemed to float weightlessly in the sky.”  He also invites us to pause, and consider—“There was an old Périgord proverb about love being like food:  it changed with the time spent cooking.”

      

Just as no actual policeman would have one case on which they are working, Martin creates multiple threads.  This adds veracity to the story.  Bruno is an example of community policing at its best.  He doesn’t always follow the letter of the law, but focuses on what is best for the individuals concerned.

      

Being set in France, food is always a significant element, from simple fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden, to a  dinner of belinis with caviar, écrevisse à la nage (crawfish in broth) and zabaglione with, of course, the appropriate liquors and wines.  One would be advised to not be hungry when reading Walker, but he does include general instructions and tips for preparing some of the food.

In spite of the food, cars, and setting, plus the fascinating history we learn, this is a mystery, and a very good one, complete with red herrings, twists and excitement.   

      

“Fatal Pursuit” is a very good, traditional police procedural which includes a very timely theme, and a touch of possible romance

     

FATAL PURSUIT (Pol Proc-Comm. Bruno Courrèges, St. Denis, France-Contemp) – VG

      Walker, Martin – 9^th in series

      Alfred A. Knopf – 2016 

No Stone Unturned by James W. Ziskin

First Sentence:  The story I heard was that Fast Jack Donovan was chasing a rabbit through the woods when he tripped in the wet leaves.

      

The body of a society girl is found half-buried in the woods. Reporter Ellie Stone hears the report on her scanner and heads to the scene with her camera.  Determined to boost her struggling career, Ellie pursues the investigation on her own.  The more secrets she uncovers, the greater her risk, perhaps even to her own life.

      

Delightful period references though the story; i.e., “Butterfield 8” and singing along with Mitch Miller, cement the sense of time, although they may not be recognized or appreciated by younger readers.  The period details are very well done, from the smoking, to all the blatant sexism with which Ellie must deal—“Mr. Short didn’t want an assignment this important handled by a greenhorn, and a girl besides.  Why don’t you go brew us a port of coffee?  Then you can buff your nails till suppertime.”  But the author’s wonderfully wry voice is nicely done—“For weeks, we’d been flirting through the teller’s window as he scribbled entries into my passbook and dealt me my withdrawals with the panache of a seasoned croupier.”

      

For all the lightness of the protagonist’s voice, there are also moments for one to consider—“I put the album down and thought with irony that the photographic record of Jordon Shaw’s life ended as it had begun.  My pictures of a muddied, naked corpse—as naked as the day she was born, as naked as the day she posed on a baby blanket—closed the book on her brief, privileged existence.”

      

Ziskin does a very good job of ratcheting up the danger to Ellie.  One does, however, wonder where the police are and how they came to give 20-something Ellie so much latitude and cooperation. The story does seem a bit overly complicated at times. The plot had a few too many red herrings, and seemed over-thought.  Still, it is the first book, and the quality of the writing merits reading the next book by this author.

      

“No Stone Unturned” has an excellent protagonist; a number of very interesting secondary characters, and an increasing level of suspense that definitely holds one’s interest. 

NO STONE UNTURNED:  AN ELLIE STONE MYSTERY (Lic Inv/Report-Ellie Stone-Upstate NY-1960s) – Good

      Ziskin, James W. – 2^nd in series

      Seventh Street Books – June 2014

What Gold Buys by Ann Parker

First Sentence:  It was hard to find somewhere close by the crowded silver mining boomtown to practice killing a man, but Antonia was nothing if not determined

      

Inez Stannert and her husband, Mark, are back in Leadville.  The wife of their friend and partner in the Silver Queen Saloon is due to deliver their first child but is distressed by the words of fortune-teller Drina Gizzi.  Drina’s child, Antonia, has been posing as a boy, Tony, to get work but Inez isn’t fooled.  When Drina’s mother is murdered, and her body disappears the question is whether she is still alive, or was she stolen by a resurrection man? Inez is determined to keep Antonia safe and help find the killer.  

      

Stories that are more than one note are so much more interesting, and Parker has given us a full symphony.  That there are multiple threads doesn’t cause the plot to be confusing.  It, instead, creates a rich, multi-dimensional cloth.  Sorry for the mixed metaphors; blame enthusiasm.  However, it’s not often a book opens with the planning of a murder, and you find yourself rooting for the potential killer. 

      

Parker does a very good job of bringing readers, new and previous, up to speed on the characters and the state of life in Leadville.  The numerous relationships, with their conflicts and complications, make this a fascinating story.  We truly see life as it was during this time; not of the wealthy, but of the scrappers and survivors, those who have made their own way, from Inez down to the kids on the street.  One can’t help but admire the “newsies.”  They are the ragtag kids—some orphaned, some not—who sell broadsheets and work the clean-up jobs, but how help one another survive.

      

Although all the characters are effective, it is to Inez and Antonia we gravitate.  Inez is intelligent, independent, strong and capable, and we see those same attributes in Antonia.  They’ve learned the hard way that they need to depend on themselves, and friends, to get by.  Inez also knows, and accepts, who she is, without underestimating herself or women in general.

      

Where some books may include descriptions of food, as Inez owns a saloon, we learn more about alcohol.  One will now know the ingredients of a hot Scotch whisky sling.  Yet food wasn’t always cheese biscuits or poor fare—“We’d start with soup, fresh oysters in chicken broth….Then, baked trout, turkey and quail pie, prairie chicken on roast, green peas.  Potatoes, lobster, nuts, coffee and pound cake.”  And that’s just dinner for two.  And then, there are the details about the clothing of the time, which is quite fascinating.

      

Beyond all the well-researched period details is a very well-written story of relationships, gamblers and philanders, of spiritualists and murder.  There is very good suspense which builds well throughout the story.

      

“What Gold Buys” is an excellent historical mystery with a very exciting climax and an intriguing ending which leaves readers wanting to know what happens next.  

WHAT GOLD BUYS (Hist Mys-Inez Stannart-Leadville, CO-1880) – Ex

      Parker, Ann – 5^th in series

      Poisoned Pen Press – Sept 2016

Straw Man by Gerry Boyle

First sentence: The sun slipped behind the ridgetop to the West, the woods darkening at midday like Waldo County, Maine, was Alaska in winter.

 Reporter Jack McMorrow has a lot on his plate; perhaps too much. A story he is writing about private gun sales becomes much more complex than he anticipated, and results in a death. Joining his friends Claire and Lewis in doing a good deed for a neighbor results in a vicious stalker targeting his wife and child. Can Jack be who he is and not destroy his marriage?

What a perfect first chapter. Not only do we meet the primary characters of Jack, Lewis, and Claire, but we know what kind of men they are, a bit about their background, and what motivates them to take the action they do. No time is wasted, but readers are immediately taken into danger and high action, which is quickly contrasted by a light moment of our protagonist correcting the grammar on a sign. Claire, in particular, is the kind of friend one would like to have, but whose skills one would hope never to need—“I'm all for pacifism,” Claire said. “but I'm not going to die for it.” Lewis, a Marine veteran, is emotionally scarred by his time in Afghanistan and trying to figure out who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, yet he is written with sympathy and understanding which makes him very real.

All the characters are real and recognizable. It's nice to see a married couple whose relationship is not perfect and yet one for which we can root. Boyle is very good at presenting the conflict in a relationship; the insecurities, the differences between attitudes and viewpoints the lack of communication at times, the desire of two very different people to find a common ground, and to not let jealousy destroy a relationship.

The topic of the book couldn't be more timely. We learn fascinating information on the older order of Mennonites which adds depth to the story. Boyle is excellent at creating seemingly separate threads and tying them together neatly maximizing the tension; Sam Abrams the young Mennonite, the three thugs, private gun sales, and the violence of man.

The story provides us an interesting moral dilemma; when you know there's something bad and yet you know trying to work through the system won't really be productive and could do more harm to those who are innocent than good, is it morally right to take justice into your own hands. It is a very difficult question to ask, and even harder to answer. He is also represents an ethical dilemma--"I figured he'd been buying guns. For the two guys you busted." "Were you planning on telling anyone about this?" O'Day ask. "I was going to tell thousands of people," I said. "When I wrote about it." "And in the meantime, how many people get killed with those guns?"

The way in which Boyle employs his daughter and her friend adds a wonderful balance to the story. It's nice to be reminded that there are people who believe—“it's the principle." "People don't do stuff like this out of principle." " I do," I said. "and my friends do, too." And what a classic line--"Non violence," I said. "It isn't for the faint of heart."

“Straw Man” is one very good story; engrossing and exciting, yet filled with things that make you think. Don't be surprised to find yourself looking each year for Boyle's newest book. He tends to be a must-read author.

Straw Man (Unl Inv/Journ-JackMcMorrow-Maine-Cont) - VG
          Boyle, Gerry – 11th in series
          Islandport Press- May 2016

A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny

First Sentence:  Armand Gamache sat in the little room and closed the dossier with care, squeezing it shut, trapping the words inside.

      

No longer the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Quebec, Armand Gamache has finally decided on his next position, and the people with whom he wants to work.  It's a position where he feels he can made a difference and a correction to something gone very wrong.  When one person dies, the situation becomes even more dire then simply uncovering the facts behind the crime.  Yet even before beginning, the ladies of Three Pines investigate the contents of a chest; document found in the walls of the bistro during renovation.  Among them is a most unusual map with all roads leading to Three Pines, a town which doesn’t exist on any official maps.  Can this map lead everyone to their own sense of home, including Gamache?

        

Penny is a remarkable visual writer—“The curtains of his study fluttered and he could feel a cold draft coming in through the slightly open window.  And he knew if he draw back the curtains and turned on the  porch light, he would see the first snow of the season swirling in the light.  Falling softly and landing on the roofs of the homes in this tiny village of Three Pines.”  She doesn’t just tell you, she brings you into the story and allows you to see alongside her characters.  

      

Penny enables you to see her characters as well—“It was a care-worn face.  But most of the lines, if followed back like a trail, would lead to happiness.  To the face a face made when laughing or smiling, or sitting quietly enjoying the day.  Though some of those lines led elsewhere.  Into a wilderness, into the wild.   Where terrible things had happened.  Some of the lines of his face led to evens inhuman and abominable.  To horrific sights.  To unspeakable acts.  Some of them his.”  It's that descriptiveness that truly brings everything to life.

      

Her characters, particularly Gamache, surprise you, but they are real, flesh and blood, and nuanced.  The circle of friends in Three Pines, are those among whom you want to be, even the irascible Ruth.  Their friendship is loyal, strong and insightful.  The wonderful meals they share are a part of that bond—“They’d gathered at Clara’s place this wintery night for a dinner of bouillabaisse, with fresh baguette from Sarah’s boulangerie.  Clara and Gabri were in the kitchen just putting the final ingredients into the broth….A delicate aroma of garlic and fennel drifted into the living room and mingled with the scent of wood smoke from the hearth.”  Penny's dialogue is as real as her characters, particularly those scenes involving Ruth.  She makes you smile, but she makes you think.

      

Penny is an author with a beautifully lyrical style who causes you to pause and consider; to see things, and people, in a new way, sometimes through the scene, and sometimes through literary references—“Don’t believe everything you think.”  The dialogue is realistic, and occasionally humorous—“Through the kitchen window, they saw Commander Gamache supporting Ruth, Keeping her upright on the icy road….”Alzheimer’s?” asked Huifen. “Reine-Marie shook her head. “Poetry.””  She is an author whose work one finds oneself re-reading as in the end, her stories are about love, trust, and redemption.  

   

“A Great Reckoning” is a wonderful story that touches all the emotions.  The plot that is layered and puzzled; not in a way which is difficult to follow, but in a way such that one can’t help but admire the thinking that created it.  As with life, there are numerous situations and threads, involving different characters in different ways, yet all roads lead us back to Three Pines.  

A GREAT RECKONING (Pol Proc-Armand Gamache-Canada-Contemp) – Ex

     Penny, Louise – 12^th in series

     Minotaur Books – Aug 2016

The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh

First Sentence:  That Cheri Stoddard was found at all was the thing that set people on edge, even more so than the condition of her body.

      

Lucy Dane’s friend has been found murdered and dismembered.  This is the second person Lucy has lost; the first being her mother who vanished years ago from Henbane, in the Ozark Mountains.  Her search for answers leads her to dark, family secrets and grave danger.

      

There's nothing better than an author with a real story-teller’s voice, and McHugh has that. She doesn't just describe, she makes you see--and feel, and make us consider things for ourselves.

      

The first chapter really draws the reader in.  The second chapter has one even more intrigued. Although it can be confusing to have a story told from multiple points of view; that is not the case here, as each chapter clearly indicates the narrator.  However, there is an initial confusion related to two of the characters which was quite cleverly done, and only makes the story more compelling.

      

McHugh perfectly conveys the atmosphere of a very small, Ozark community, or any small community, where everyone knows everyone else’s' business and superstitions are part of life. "If I didn't find out what had happened to her, she would always be drifting somewhere in the ether, a life that never quite materialized."

      

There is a very good, nasty twist and something is made clear that wasn't quite--or this reader completely missed it—and there is a very good build up of tension.  However, there are also a few too many TSTL (too stupid to live) moments, and a climax that was rather cliché.     
      

“The Weight of Blood,” is not perfect, but it is definitely a book you don't want to stop reading once you've started.  

The Weight of Blood (Susp-Lucy/Lila Dane_Henbane, MO_Contemp) - Good

      McHugh, Laura – 1^st book

      Random House, March 2014

Inspector Singh Investigates: A Calamitous Chinese Killing by Shamini Flint

First sentence: Justin Tan stood at the main junction of the old hutong, a neighborhood of old courtyards dating from Imperial times, and stared down narrow alleyways that disappeared quickly into Darkness.

            

Justin Chan the 23-year old son of the first secretary at the Singapore Embassy in China has been murdered. Chinese security believes it was a robbery gone wrong.  The young man’s mother isn’t satisfied.  Inspector Singh has been sent to solve the crime hopefully without causing an international incident. 

            

We open with fear, danger, and many questions. The contrast from that, to meeting Inspector Singh and his wife is very well executed.  Still another shift leaves one impressed by how effectively Flint changes both the scene and the tone of the story.

            

Finch has such a captivating voice one finds oneself wanting to read and share passages with someone else - "A murder investigation was not laser-like in its intensity, following a certain path to the truth. It was a bright white beam that lit up hidden corners and dark where the family skeletons where hidden." She also adds just the right touch of the metaphysical--"She flinched at his words and the hairs on Singh’s neck stood up along the base of his turban. Suddenly, it was as if was a presence in the room, erase come to demand did the policeman from Singapore do his duty and not be so keen to accept the official version of the events."

            

Injections of subtle humor, often as part of Singh's narrative, are a delightful offset to the story—“Singh's stomach growled its concurrence before he had a chance to speak... He decided that, remarkably, he was prepared to eat more Chinese food. What was happening to him? Next, have to call himself a food tourist and write a travel book." It is also interesting to learn some of the elements of being a Sikh even though inspector Singh is a very poor example of a practicing Sikh. Yet, for all his foibles, it's hard not to admire him-- "It might be the Chinese way to label a person - terrorist, communist capitalist, a government activist - and then forget about his essential humanity, his inalienable rights. He wouldn't fall into that trap."  The story is also a stark reminder of the system of oppression and injustice which exists in many countries today.

            

The suspense, danger, intrigue escalate at a nice pace. As it grows it's a pleasure to watch Singh put together the pieces of the puzzle one by one. The inclusion of a very good plot twist makes things more fascinating still. Yet we also feel Singh’s frustration at not being able to put all the pieces together in a way he could initially prove.

            

“A Calamitous Chinese Killing” is yet another good read in an excellent series with an ending that is satisfactory and yet rather sad.

Inspector Singh Investigates:  A Calamitous Chinese Killing (Pol Proc-Insp. Singh-China-Cont) - G+

            Flint, Shamini – 6th in series

            Virago - 2013

Another One Goes Tonight by Peter Lovesey

First sentence: Another one goes tonight.

            

A traffic accident involving two policemen, one fatally injured, results in Peter Diamond being assigned to investigate his fellow officers to find whether the policeman were at fault. At the site, Peter finds an elderly man seriously injured and saves his life.  However, the investigation raises more questions than answers and causes Peter to wonder whether the man whose life he saved is, in fact, a serial killer.

            

Lovesey provides us a wonderful description of giving someone CPR, not just from a technical standpoint, but the emotional connection that is created.

            

The information on Railway fanatics, as well as for Courtney dresses, adds interest to the story, as we watch Diamond build the case, clue by clue, but not always by himself; he brainstorms with his seconds, Ingeborg and Hallawell; and with his friend, and sometimes lover, Paloma.  Those things add veracity to the story, as well as watching Diamond have to change his perspective and beliefs in a person's innocence, while Halliwell raises the question as to whether what they believe has been murdered could, in fact, have been accidents or natural deaths.

            

Diamond does like to play outside the rules just a bit, but one has to admire his philosophy--"One thing Diamond had learned in life was not to feel sorry for himself. Rage against the gods by all means, but don't have anything to do with self-pity. It's toxic."  It is refreshing to have a detective admit his case isn't holding up "and you say there are problems with your original theory?" "Large holes."

            

For those who have not read the previous books about Peter's wife, it is nice to have a brief summary included. Details about the city of Bath provide a sense of history, local color, and a strong sense of place--"Bath has many amusing ironies. The best is the fact that thousands of tourists arrive because of the Jane Austen connection while the author herself could hardly wait to quit the place with "happy feelings of escape."

            

"Another One Goes Tonight" is a wonderfully complex mystery-- perhaps a bit too complex--with a killer one doesn't spot, and plenty of twists galore.  It's perhaps not the best of the Diamond series, but it's still a very enjoyable read.

Another One Goes Tonight (Pol Proc-CDI Peter Lovesey-Bath, England-Cont) – G+

            Lovesey, Peter – 16th in series

            Soho crime - July 2016 

A Maiden Weeping by Jeri Westerson

First Sentence: His head snapped up for the second time.

     
Well into drink, an unknown man sits next to former knight Crispin Guest, gives him a pouch of silver and the address of a woman he is to murder, and disappears.  Although drunk, Guest tries to warn the woman, Elizabeth le Porter, with whom he becomes intimate before passing out, and finds murdered upon awaking.  However, upon being attacked by the brothers Norey, one brother ends up dead, Guest is arrested, and it's now up to Chrispin’s apprentice, Jack, with the help of newly certified barrister Nigellus Cobmartin, to free Guest.  Can they prove Guest's innocence and find the true killer?

     
It's always nice when authors, particularly those who write historical mysteries, include a forward which provides background and information about the period in which the story is set, as well as how they may have diverted from historical fact to serve the needs of the story. Having a glossary of terms is also a welcome addition.

     
Westerson doesn't ease one into the story.  As with her characters, she throws the audience into mystery and danger from the outset, while also giving us a sense as to the nature of the protagonist--"It was time for the Tracker to do his moral duty.  Sometimes, he really hated that sense of honor."

     
The characters, fully dimensional, are brought to life.  The dialogue has the flavour of the period without being heavy-handed--"I am no saint, sir, and, hopefully, no martyr.  "Crispin" I am.  You may have my leave, Master Nigellus."

     
Westerson is very good at creating wonderful twists while adding layer upon layer to the plot. Beyond the suspense and excitement, it is also a very human story about honor, trust, and commitment that can touch the emotions. There are also plenty of really well-done plot twists.

    
 “A Maiden Weeping” is a wonderful read, filled with delightful characters, and a story this rather similar to a child's dancing button toy, but with many more threads that start out separate, become much more intertwined as you go, and resolve themselves nicely in the end.

A Maiden Weeping (Hist Mys-Crispen Guest/Jack Tucker- England-1389/Medieval) - VG

      Westerson, Jeri - 8th in publishing order (9^th in series order)

      Severn House, August 2016