Reviews

Gwendoline Butler: A Dark Coffin

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Gwendoline Butler had a long and prolific career, writing 32 John Coffin novels, 19 Charmian Daniels novels under the pseudonym of Jennie Melville, as well having a successful career as a romance novelist.  I’ve always been aware of her and we usually have some of her series under both her names on our shelves, but recently I was searching for a new (to me) British Detective Inspector and I thought I’d give a Coffin novel a try.

A Dark CoffinThis one, published in 1995, is 26th in the series, so the characters and setting are well established.  I found that I didn’t feel any need to have read any of the other books though I was a bit curious about the relationship between Coffin and his well known actress wife, Stella Pinero.  Butler is definitely of the “old school” of crime writing – i.e., she’s done telling her brisk tale in a mere 250 pages – so this is a novel, like an Agatha Christie and a Ngaio Marsh, that with the right comfy chair you could finish in an evening.  Sometimes there’s nothing better. read more

Jo Nesbo: The Snowman

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I had a bad reaction to the first Jo Nesbo title I tried, The Redbreast, and set him aside as unreadable, despite many enthusiastic customers’ responses to the contrary.  Finally a few women in my book club recommended that I give The Snowman a try.  I’m glad I did.

The SnowmanIt’s hard to mess up a serial killer book, which this one is, but there are so many variations, that it’s also hard to be original in the particular sub-genre.  Nesbo more than pulls it off, writing a complex, intelligent, twisty and emotionally penetrating thriller that’s very difficult to put down.  This is the seventh book in Nesbo’s Harry Hole series.  Harry is a Swedish police detective whose spiritual twins might be Ian Rankin’s John Rebus and Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander.  He’s a tad cranky, he used to drink, his relationships are problematic, and he’s obsessed with the job, as well as being a very good detective.  He needs all his smarts to catch the serial killer dubbed “The Snowman.” read more

Michael Gruber: The Return

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Michael Gruber is one of the more original of all mystery writers,  His wonderful brain takes the reader to all kinds of places, almost always an unexpected one.  The Return is no different, following book editor Marder after a diagnosis of fatal cancer.  Marder decides to spend his last days in Mexico, returning to the tiny birthplace of his beloved and now dead wife.

The ReturnHe doesn’t want to burden anyone with his illness, so he cashes out (he has a large stash, despite his profession as an editor), buys a house in Playa Diamente, Mexico, severs ties and heads out in a camper.  Unbidden, a (scary) old buddy of his, Paul Skelly, turns up and refuses to be shaken no matter what. read more

Sam Thomas: The Harlot’s Tale

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No offense to Mr. Thomas, but it’s sometimes hard to believe that he is a male writer, so completely does he embrace his female protagonist and get inside her skin, while at the same time illustrating through action the variety of obstacles that faced a woman in 1640’s York.  It helps that his Bridget is a midwife, the most female of professions.  It’s not questioned when Bridget goes to all parts of the city, or that she has enough familiarity with the human body to serve as an advisor in the case of a murder.  She has some high up connections as well, making her, for a mystery character, perfectly placed. read more

Lyndsay Faye: The Gods of Gotham

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Lyndsay Faye is one of the more original, beautiful, bold and interesting new voices in mystery fiction.  Her novels are set in 1840s New York City when the police department was just being formed – and she’s being compared, inevitably, to Caleb Carr.  I think a more apt comparison would be to the historical novels of Hilary Mantel, who, like Faye, employs beautiful prose, tells a cracking good story, and drenches the reader in atmosphere and character development.

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Her hero, Timothy Wilde, is a reluctant member of the brand new police force, who were given Copper Stars to wear (hence the term “Copper”).  As the book opens, Tim is a bartender, with savings, an apartment, and an eye on one Mercy Underhill.  In a second, his fortunes change, as his workplace and his apartment – complete with his savings, all in silver coin – are wiped out, and Tim wakes up in his brother Val’s apartment to also discover that a large part of his face has been burned.  He feels he has nothing now to offer Mercy and keeps away from her in shame. read more

Ellen Hart: Taken by the Wind

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In A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engel writes of “the educated heart,” a quality Ellen Hart possesses in spades.  Hart’s novels, populated with a variety of overlapping characters and a variety of life experiences, form a rich and complex tapestry where she can spin her tales.  She’s also one of the best “traditional” mystery writers at work at the moment, utilizing the format of the detective story, with clues, characters, red herrings, suspects and a driving narrative style that propels the reader forward.  To me this combination of her matrix of character and setting along with her use of the classic mystery format is an irresistible one. read more

Tim O’Mara: Crooked Numbers

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I loved O’Mara’s first book, Sacrifice Fly, and I think I like this one even more.  His main character is Brooklyn teacher (now dean) Raymond Donne, who used to be a cop but thanks to an injury sustained on the job is now a teacher.  Ray gets involved with different crimes because (so far at least) they’ve involved his students.

crookednumbersOne of the strongest elements in this new series is not only the very Brooklyn specific setting, but the school setting.  The parts O’Mara the real life teacher adds to his novels about his fictional teacher Ray ring with authenticity and add real emotional texture to his stories.  It’s a weird comparison, but the way cozy writer Denise Swanson brings her school psychology experience to her books, adding detail and interest,  O’Mara is setting his books apart in the same way Swanson has. read more

Tasha Alexander: Behind the Shattered Glass

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I can’t think of a more delicious way to allocate your book buying budget than to buy a Tasha Alexander novel.  Alexander, who began this Victorian series with her central character of Lady Emily falling in love with her recently dead husband after the fact, has only continued to spice up her characters.  Lady Emily’s love of all things Greek and the scholarly attributes that come with her passion make her a believable investigative partner for her husband, Colin Hargreaves, who works undercover for the crown. read more

Julia Spencer-Fleming: Through the Evil Days

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I think what makes some series writers special – or one of the things, at least – is the ability to treat each installment differently.  The characters belong to the arc, but each story is told in a specific and different way that almost makes each novel a standalone.  Julia Spencer-Fleming has this skill, and she proves herself to be spectacularly versatile in her seventh novel, delivering a pure thriller.

evil-daysIn each novel her setting of Miller’s Kill, New York, is a character in some sense.  In this novel it’s an aggressive character in the form of a horrible ice storm that never seems to end.  It makes you shiver and hope February, when it arrives, isn’t this terrible. read more

Chris Grabenstein: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library

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Chris Grabenstein, charming and personable author of the John Ceepak mysteries, has now veered into young adult territory, with striking success.  He has a few books he’s written with James Patterson for middle grade readers, and this one, a standalone, is pretty much an instant classic.  Bearing a similarity to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in format, this fun volume is a love letter to libraries, reading and enthusiastic young readers everywhere.

MrLemoncellosLibraryMuch like Willy Wonka, Mr. Lemoncello is a legendary figure, a puzzle and game creator extraordinaire.  He’s also rehabbing the local library in Alexandriaville, Ohio, and he’s holding a contest to let twelve lucky twelve-year-olds be the first patrons of the new town library.  They’ll be locked in for a weekend of fun, games and puzzles.  All the kids have to do to get to be one of the twelve is write an essay telling why they want to be a part of the new library opening. read more