Suspect by Robert Crais

First Sentence: Maggie stared at Pete with rapt, undivided focus.

Maggie is an 85-lb, black and tan German Shepherd trained by the military. When her partner was killed in Afghanistan, Maggie was wounded and sufferes from PTSD. She’s now with the LAPD, but the head of the unit isn’t certain she’ll ever be able to work. Scott James is a policeman who was shot, and whose partner was killed, in a shootout. The LAPD doesn’t really think Scott should return to duty. Now, in spite of everyone’s, and their own, doubts, they are trying to be partners and to find out who killed Scott’s partner, and nearly killed him.

Crais definitely knows how to tell a story. His experience as a screenwriter is evident on every page. He knows how to establish a scene, create characters, and write dialogue with a natural ear and flow.

What sets this book apart, from others he has written, is the use of first-person point-of-view for Maggie, the Shepherd. There is no question Mr. Crais did his research on both dogs in general, and on military and K-9 dogs in particular. What could have come off as cute, definitely does not. It does humanize Maggie, but most of us know dogs (and cats) are nearly human.

I actually had more problems with the character of James in that he came off a bit too macho, aren’t-I-tough at times; a little too stereotypical for me. Still we did see a couple instances of his more vulnerable side, and that helped.

“Suspect” is a little predictable, and somewhat formulaic, but it is also a page-turner. It may not be great literature, but it is a darned good read for a weekend or an airplane trip. There’s nothing wrong with that.

SUSPECT (Pol Prod-Scott James/K-9 Maggie-Los Angeles, CA-Contemp) – Good+
Crais, Robert – Standalone
Putnam, 2013

Last To Die by Tess Gerritsen

First Sentence:  We called him Icarus.

       

In Italy, a man is kidnapped and his family accidentally killed in the process.  In Ithaca, NY and in New Hampshire, the foster families of two children are murdered, as were there parents previously.  Then the same happens in Boston with the family of Teddy Clock.  Unaware of the other cases, Detective Jane Rizzoli is the lead with her friend, Dr. Maura Isles the pathologist.  To keep Teddy safe, Maura takes him to Evensong, the secure school run by Anthony Sansone and Jane, with her partner Frost, heads down a very twisty, dangerous road to find a killer.

      

 Starting with the first sentence of the prologue, you can put the rest of your life on hold until your reach the very last word; Ms. Gerritsen has taken hold.

     

 Addressing the details, the dialogue is excellent; natural and sharp.  The descriptions create a very strong sense of place; particularly important and the characters move from locale to locale.  The characters are very well drawn and fully developed.  This is the only place where Ms. Gerritsen does lose minor points as someone new to the series might feel a bit lost, particularly when incidents are referred to from the previous two books. 

       

The great strength of this book is the plot.  There are three, possibly four, story lines.  This only adds veracity to the book as no live runs single path.  What is wonderful is that each is as compelling, and often suspenseful, as the other.  With every page the plot becomes more layered, more engrossing and takes you somewhere you never expected it to go.  There are amazing twists and turns. Even at the very end, we’re left uncertain as to where the series may go next.

       

On the slightly negative side, I can't say I'm thrilled with the Mephisto Club thread.  Although it's interesting, it seems to be taking the series a bit into the conspiracy theory realm for me. 

      

“Last to Die” is a gripping, compelling, non-stop, go-away-I’m-reading book.  It may not be great literature--in fact, I'd forgotten the plot a month later--but it is one really great airplane read.

LAST TO DIE (Susp-Rizzol & Isles-Massachusetts/Maine-Contemp) – Good+

Gerritsen, Tess

Ballantine Books, 2012

 

The Devil's Cave by Martin Walker

First Sentence:  Bruno Courrèges seldom felt happier about the community he served as chief of police than when standing at the rear of the ancient stone church of St. Denis, listening to rehearsals of the town choir.

       

The body of a naked woman floating down the river in an old boat is not a common sight in St. Denis.  Marks on her body and items in the boat lead to rumors of Satanism.  Connections begin to be made and other deaths occur and suspicions of fraud arise with people even trying to ensnare Bruno in their net.

       

Spring has arrived in small community of St. Denis and you are immediately drawn into the story in a way that takes you from the beatific and sacred, to the profane.  Walker’s wonderful descriptions of both the setting and foods—including beer-can chicken, make one feel a part of the scene and the story.

       

Bruno is such an appealing character; you can’t help but like him.  He is loyal to his community and has become part of it.  It knows its residents and takes a personal interest in them and the challenges they face.  He is ethical and principled with refreshingly good relationships with his boss and his counterparts.  His past gives him strength, skills and toughness.  The fact that he also loves animals, demonstrates his empathy and compassion.  His relationships with women are also interesting, especially as he is a man cast into, what is often, the situation of a woman.

       

Walker’s plotting has an interesting style.  The story starts off quite simply but, rather like a magnet, other elements are drawn in as the story progresses.  Rather than make the story too complicated, they add depth and interest to the story.  Best of all, the pieces fit together in a logical, occasionally humorous, manner until the full picture is revealed.  His pacing is so well done.  With the introduction of new threads and characters, comes added tension until you reach an exciting climax, with another and another, without it seeming contrived.

      “

The Devil’s Cave” is a wonderful combination of great characters, wonderful descriptions, fascinating historical information, and an excellent police procedural allowing us a look at the way in which the various branches of the French justice system work together.  

THE DEVIL’S CAVE (Pol Proc-Chief of Police Bruno Courrèges-St. Denis, France-Contemp) – VG+

Walker, Martin – 5^th in series

Knopf, 2013

 

Circle of Shadows by Imogen Robertson

First Sentence:  The room is dark, lit by only a single candle on the surface of a rough wooden table.

Widow Harriet Westerman receives a letter from her newly married sister, Rachel.  In Germany, where they are touring, Rachel's husband, Daniel Clode, was found in a locked room with the body of Lady Martesen.  Although very confused, seeming to have attempted suicide and having no memory, Daniel is imprisoned and awaiting execution for murder.  Harriet, with her friends anatomist Gabriel Crowther, Daniel's employer Owen Graves and Michaels, landlord of the local inn who insists on overseeing their travels, travels to the Duchy of Maulbery.  There they find a Duke preparing for his wedding, an enemy, intrigue and several more deaths.

Robertson has a very intriguing style.  The prologue both compels and slightly baffles us.  The wonderfully evocative descriptions of the story's first chapter informs us that a crime has occurred so that the mystery is presented, possible ramifications established, and many of the characters introduced with an overview of their backgrounds established.  It is a very satisfying beginning.

The characters drive the story, and they are characters about who we very much care.  For those of us who are Jane Austen fans, one sees shades of Mrs. Croft (Persuasion) and Colonel Brandon (Sense and Sensibility) and the characters of Harriet and Crowther.  Harriet is very much a person one would like to be.  She has strength, but not false courage.  She is intelligent, traveled and capable.  ..."Harriet tilted her head to one side.  "I was going to stab him with one of Mr. Al-Said's files, but he provided a pistol so I almost shot him instead.  I hate to say it, but I think having the opportunity to do so, and not killing him, has done me a great deal of good."  Each of the characters is memorable and significant to the story and it's hard to say enough about them without this review becoming as long as the book itself.  There isn't a cameo player among them, even if their role is small.

Robertson's voice and style are very special.  There is an elegance to her writing.  Her descriptions are evocative, her ability to convey emotion is visceral.  Her voice is neither modern yet doesn't focus on being of the period.  It is conveyed through scenes and narrative, such as Harriet her musing on the comparison of her beginning an intimate with her late husband, as opposed to what may possibly have been her sister's experience.  Her dialogue is always to be appreciated ..."Are you encouraging me to speculate, Crowther?" ... "I suppose I am to a degree.  I will try not to do so again."

The plot is not a simple one.  Beginning from the first page, we are uncertain as to the road on which we travel.  One must pay attention to the details, and it is very well worth so doing.  As with the characters, every aspect is significant.  This isn't a story to skim, but neither is one tempted so to do as each page is engrossing.

"Circle of Shadows" is an excellent read.  For me, it is the best book, so far, in the series.  That is saying quite a lot as this is a series I truly love. 


Circle of Shadows (Hist Mys-Harriet Westerman/Gabriel Crowther-Germany-1784) Ex
Robertson, Imogen
Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, 2013

A Serpent's Tooth by Craig Johnson

First Sentence:  I stared at the black-and-orange corsage on Barbara Thomas lapel so that I wouldn’t have to look at anything else.

       

Sheriff Walt Longmire and his deputy encounter a bare-assed young man and the, supposedly, 200-year-old-man watching over him.  In looking for the young man’s mother, he finds himself tangling with a polygamous group buying up large areas of land in several states.  But where are the wives and children?   While they are stockpiling weapons, they are also buying things that are less expected.  Walt, and his team, becomes involved in a case that starts simple but ends up much bigger and more dangerous than he expected.

      

Although I’m less cranky about prologues than I used to be, it is delightful when an author takes you straight into the story from page one.  Not only does Mr. Johnson take you there, but he keeps you there until you’ve finished, having a complete disregard for your desire to sleep. 

      

There is no question that Johnson’s greatest strength is his characters.  He balances their personalities off beautifully.  Walt is well-read and has a strong belief in justice.  Vic, his deputy and occasional lover, has all the sass and impatience of an East-Coast Italian.  It’s always nice to be reacquainted with the other recurring characters surrounding Walt, too.  In this story young Cord and the older Orrin add both interest and humor and provide the bridge in the plot.  Johnson develops the characters and brings them to life through excellent internal narrative and spoken dialogue.  I did enjoy his nod to famous Wyoming defense attorney Gerry Spence

       

There is room for criticism with this book.  There seemed to be an assumption that readers had read the previous books.  Even being a faithful fan, some of the nicknames for the recurring characters became confusing and wanting a cast of characters.  There was a very minor story line that seemed superfluous and completely unnecessary as it was never developed. 

      

Still in all, I expect a lot from a Craig Johnson book.  I was not disappointed.  “A Serpent’sTooth” is a wonderful read that takes you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions.  Don’t miss it.

A SERPENT'S TOOTH (Pol Proc-Walt Longmire-Wyoming-Contemp) - VG+
Johnson, Craig - 9th in series
Viking, 2013

The Rainaldi Quartet (aka Sleeper) by Paul Adam

First Sentence:  You expect the momentous moments in your life to provide some kind of warning.

      

 Luther (violin-maker) Giovanni "Gianni" Castiglioni and policeman, Guastafeste, never expect one of their monthly informal string quartet gatherings to turn into a hunt for a murderer. Yet Guastafeste and Gianni find their friend Rainaldi murdered in this studio. His widow tells them he was searching for The Messiah's Sister, the twin to a perfect, unplayed, priceless violin made by Stradivari. Their hunt takes them from the sleepy town of Cremona, to Venice, Milan and England, resulting in another murder, searching for another priceless violin and, possibly, widower Gianni finding a new love.

       

Paul Adam has such a wonderful voice.  It is so comfortable that, from the very beginning with a gathering of friends, you feel as though you are one of them.  This makes the events which follow all the more impactful.  Yet, his is a wonderfully wry, pragmatic voice.  Although the story is set in some glorious cities, he conveys the feeling of a native by not romanticizing them…”St. Mark’s [in Venice] is an architectural wonder, but with all those Byzantine domes and pinnacles, it looks gaudy and vulgar, like a Mafia capo’s wedding cake.”

      

 The characters are fully developed; you know their histories and their relationships to one another.  But it’s more than a surface acquaintance.  Particularly with Gianni, you know the pain of his past and understand his acceptance of the present and future.  A possible change to that is, then, all the more enticing.  You sense his morality and deep friendship with Guastafeste which makes Gianni’s struggle with an action from the past and his friend’s learning of it all the more poignant.  Even the secondary characters are vivid and brought to life.  Each character is memorable on their own and none more so than Mrs. Colquhoen with her myriad of cats all named “Timmy”. 

       

The theme of the book is music and, in particular, violins; the artistry involved in the making of them, their history, the obsession one can have for collecting them, and the greed for selling them.  All of this is integrated into the story in a way that is fascinating, rather than boring. 

      

 “TheRainaldi Quartet” is a combination history and music lesson, but it is also a jigsaw puzzle and treasure hunt with an excellent resolution.  Most of all, it is one great read!  

THE RAINALDI QUARTET (AKA SLEEPER) (Mys- Castiglione/ Guastafeste-Italy-Contemp) – VG+
Adam, Paul – 1^st in series

Time Warner Books, 2004

 

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran

First Sentence:  “It’s my uncle,” the man said on the phone.
      

 Claire DeWitt advertises herself as the world’s greatest private investigator.  As such, she accepts a case in recent post-Katrina New Orleans.  Her client is the nephew of Vic Willing.  The case is to find out what happened to this the city’s wealthy district attorney who disappeared during the flooding after the hurricane.

      

 Every now and then, an author comes along with a voice and style that it is almost impossible to describe, quantify, or explain.  That was my reaction to Ms. Gran’s first book, “Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead”.  At its heart, it’s a classic hard-boiled mystery, complete with drugs, guns, liquor and bad guys.  Than intermix with that a detective who was trained by a wealth New Orleans woman, Constance Darling, and the book “Détection” by Jacque Silette…”Clues are the most misunderstood part of detection. Novice detectives think it’s about “finding” clues.  But detective work is about “recognizing” clues”… plus a layer of dreams, intuition…”Never be afraid to learn from the ether. …That’s where knowledge lives before someone hunts it, kills it, and mounts it in a book.”, and the I-Ching, and you have something that is unique and wonderful.

      

 Claire is anything but your usual female detective.  She’s from Brooklyn, she knows death and drugs and liquor.  She’s not a comfortable protagonist.  We learn details of her past and life throughout the story.  What is interesting is that every character Gran creates is vivid and memorable, including those who don’t exist such as Constance and Silette.  It’s a story that doesn’t really have any minor players, only short scene.

       

Gran’s descriptions are powerful.  New Orleans is a city unlike any other yet, particularly in this time setting, she does not make any effort to romanticize it.  It is ugly, violent, sad, desperate and very real.  Remarkably, however, at the end we’re left with a sense of hope, both for the city and the characters.  You want to know what becomes of them, even if they break your heart.

      

 The true sign of a book that stands above the usual, is that it makes you stop and consider…”What will fill the void left by the missing person?...Who will now breathe his air, eat his food marry his wife?  Who will fill his seat at the university lecture, the foot ball game, in the old armchair at home?...”  Gran has a different perspective than I’ve ever found.

       

The story’s plot may not always be the easiest to follow, but it is so worth paying attention to every word and every clue and giving each page a bit of thought.  That’s easy to do as it is thoroughly and completely engrossing.  There are times it may seem trite or pretentious, but you then find yourself going back and reading sections again because something about them resonates.  Only because I needed to sleep at night, did I ever put it down. 

       

“Claire Dewitt and the City of the Dead” is a remarkable book.  I suspect you will either love it or wonder whether I was indulging in one of Claire’s vices.   

CLAIRE DEWITT AND THE CITY OF THE DEAD (PI-Claire Dewitt-New Orleans-Cont) – Ex

Gran, Sara – 1^st in series

Mariner Books – 2011

 

Blood Never Dies by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

First Sentence:  Exsanguination was the word Slider found wandering around his mind.

       

When is a suicide not a suicide?  When it’s a murder.  When the details are just slightly off.  When is a murder particularly hard to solve?  When you don’t know the identity of the victim.  It’s even harder when you find a name but realize it’s false.  For DI Bill Slider and his team, the more they dig, the more murders occur, and the more obscure becomes the motive behind it all. 

       

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has a wonderfully descriptive style.  Her writing, and dialogue, is natural, sprinkled with wry humor, and occasional colloquialisms.  She is very British, so occasionally some of her references of phrases might not be understood by Americans.  It doesn’t matter; look them up and move on.  It is well worth it and you learn something along the way.         

      

 Her writing can make you stop and consider…”Death was so mysterious, Slider thought, not for the first time.  The difference between a human being and a dead body was so profound, it always amazed him that made the difference, the vital spark, could disappear so instantaneously and completely.”…”He looked at her. ‘Animals just follow instinct.  It’s only humans who perform calculated acts of vileness.’”

       

It is particularly appealing that, although Bill Slider is the protagonist, it is truly an ensemble case.  Everyone has an important role to play.  I also appreciate that Harrod-Eagles shows the harsh and plainly unfair reality of one’s career being limited by either not having the “right” look or manner.  “But scrawny frog-eyed Hollis, with his despairing hair and feather-duster moustache…made Peter Lorre look like a model from a knitwear catalogue. …He was a damn good policeman, which was all that counted to Slider—though not, of course, with the media-obsessed top bods in the Job, who would never promote Colin Hollis to any position that might get him on camera.”  Slider is misfit in his own way.  He doesn’t judge others but has a dogged determination to find the truth; he believes in fighting for right and justice.

       

What was missing was the some of the sparkle that makes this, for me, such a must-read series.  There wasn’t as much interaction between Slider and his wife, Joanna, his father and Atherton, to which one always looks forward.  Even the lovely and malaprop-plagued D.S. Porson—“A case of walking your chickens before they can run…” was little less apparent than in past stories.   

      

It’s the excellent plotting that makes this such a compelling read.  You feel the team’s frustration knowing the clues are leading somewhere, but having no idea where.  You become part of the team, looking for the answers, rather than stand outside the story. 

      

 “Blood Never Dies” is a solid police procedural, with a strong plot and characters you want to visit again and again.    

BLOOD NEVER DIES (Pol Prod-DI Bill Slider-England-Contemp) – G+

Harrod,Eagles, Cynthia – 15^th in series

Severn House, 2012

 
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