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click on links for buying info Midwinter Blood by Mons Kallentoft Publisher: HarperCollins Reviewed by Robin Thomas, New Mystery Reader “If only the dead could talk,” is a phrase uttered by many sleuths and mystery readers. In Midwinter Blood, Bengt Andersson (nickname Ball-Bengt Andersson), who has been murdered, speaks to the reader. He expresses his opinions about being dead and his assessment about how Malin Fors, the officer in charge of this case, is doing in finding is murder. The reader gets two points of view of the case throughout the book. Malin Fors is a superb cop who takes all of her cases seriously and as one can expect her and tends focus on her job has severe impacts on her family. Janne her ex-husband is a member of the Swedish Rescue Services and prefers to travel to underdeveloped countries than stay at home. Malin and Janne became parents at too early an age and although he loves his daughter Tove, Janne resents the loss of his youth due to having the responsibilities of being a parent at such an early age. Tove is a teenager and the normal challenges of raising a young adult are magnified due to Malin’s obsession was her job in solving her cases. Tove has a boyfriend and Malin’s stress level goes off the charts as she attempts to keep Tove from making the same mistakes that she did. Zacharius “Zeke” Martinsson, Malin’s partner, has more balance in his life; he loves to sing and often wishes that he was not missing choir practice in order to question witnesses with Malin. Midwinter Blood is one of many great mysteries set in Sweden that have recently been made available in the US. Although the setting is similar, I found to my delight that this book is very different than any of the other Norwegian crime novels. Mons Kallentoft weaves fascinating Norwegian folklore into the book and the whodunit. The author provides the reader with a vivid sense of the culture, climate, and extreme differences between the rural areas and modern Swedish towns. At the beginning, I did not like the interjection of narrative from the dead and found it distracting but as I continued reading the book I started to look forward to Bengt’s perspective on the case and I found this to be a very effective technique that the author uses to not only inform the reader but also to keep interest. Midwinter Blood is an excellent addition to the strong genre of Norwegian crime mysteries and readers who enjoy these types of books will not be disappointed.
Fire Season by Jon Loomis Publisher: Minotaur Books Reviewed by Dana King, New Mystery Reader Humorous crime fiction is hard to pull off. (We’re leaving Donald Westlake out of this discussion. He could make anything work, from Dortmunder to Parker.) Elmore Leonard has a reputation for being funny, but, with the possible exception of Get Shorty, his books aren’t written to be funny. The humor is endemic to the situation, and to the intellectual capacity of the characters, who are most often inadvertently funny. (The characters, I mean. Leonard has no accidents in his writing.) A lot of authors try to write tongue-in-cheek crime fiction; none blends the elements better than Jon Loomis. His Frank Coffin mysteries never make light of the seriousness of the crimes, but juxtapose them against what may be absurd conditions to create a unique atmosphere. Loomis’s newest is Fire Season. The book opens with the killing of a restaurant’s tame seals, kept in their own tank near the beach as a tourist attraction in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Soon a series of increasingly serious arson fires breaks out, and a local doctor is found dead in gruesome fashion. Whether any of these are related is a key element of the story, so we’re not going to discuss it here. There are two keys to the success of Loomis’s stories, and Fire Season is no exception. First is Coffin, a Provincetown detective and acting chief of police. He worked homicide in Baltimore for several years, finally leaving because he’d developed a phobia about corpses. He returned to his native Provincetown to get away from that, but they insist on popping up in the least expected places. His girlfriend is pregnant and hyperaware of things, and his mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s, which leaves her prone to what she thinks of as pranks and the other residents of her nursing home consider terrorist acts. The other thing the series could not exist without is Provincetown as a setting. The town on the farthest tip of Cape Cod, always a summer tourist attraction, has become an enclave for the LGBT community, often flamboyantly so. It’s P’town that makes the humor work, as the bizarre settings allow Loomis to make the comedy endemic to the scene without diminishing the seriousness of the situation. Everything is held together by Loomis’s acceptance of everyone in Provincetown as they are. He never condescends of make fun of them, rather welcomes them as the engine that makes his stories fun to read. How do you make murder scene interviews funny without minimizing the brutality of the crime? Interview half a dozen Tall Ships (male transvestites) in various stages of undress, and capture their side conversations. Coffin is not alone. The supporting cast more than carries its weight. Even those who aren’t P’town crazies realize they live in a sometimes surreal environment, and make their decisions accordingly. The normal rules of logic don’t always apply in Loomis’s Provincetown, but loomis sticks to the rules he has created so the reader never feels cheated, but also never quite sure how each event will be received. Fire Season is the third Frank Coffin mystery, after High Season and Mating Season, both of which are also highly recommended. (Especially the premiere, High Season.) Enough loose ends are left for the characters to carry on should Loomis decide to keep writing them. Let’s hope so. He’s carved out a unique niche in crime fiction. It would be a shame to lose it.
Endangered by Ann Littlewood Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader Iris Oakley is lost in rural British Columbia, on a mission to rescue what she’s been told by her boss are some “exotic pets”. What she finds when she eventually gets where she’s supposed to be is a collection of terrified and very wild parrots and some dehydrated rare tortoises badly in need of care, and a group of lawmen who make her job really difficult. Iris has a hard enough time rescuing the birds and reptiles, but when she tries to befriend a hungry dog, she is led to a dead girl in the woods. The run-down farm has been hiding a drug lab, and where there are illegal drugs, there’s plenty of motivation for murder. Iris manages to get the birds back to the zoo where she works, but ends up with two birds at her house due to overcrowding. These feathered guests are attractive in more than one sense of the word. Anyone who has met Iris in Littlewood’s previous books knows that she isn’t going to be able to walk away from what is clearly a criminal enterprise, smuggling rare and endangered creatures from South America to North for the illicit pet trade. But is that all there is to it? Finding a package concealed in one of the parrot cages brings a dangerous new element to Iris’s life, and before long she’s not only trying to solve the mystery and the murder, but also hoping to keep moving fast enough to avoid being the next victim. Fast enough isn’t fast enough, and Iris has to take a stand where she’s relying on herself and one very chancy potential helper, facing a stone killer who won’t believe the truth when she tells it. Add to all this the chance for romance, and you have as entertaining a crime novel as you could ask for. It’s an enjoyable read by someone who has had plenty of practical experience in a real zoo. (You will also learn a lot about the horrific trade in wild animals and pick up some pointers about what you can do about it.)
Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes Publisher: HarperCollins Reviewed by Robin Thomas, New Mystery Reader Into the Darkest Corner is an electrifying suspenseful thriller that reads like a classic Alfred Hitchcock movie. A brutal murder is in progress as the book begins; although the details of the crime are precise, the author does not divulge any information about the murderer nor the victim. Next, the author provides a transcript from a trial held in the UK in 2005. The relationship between the transcript and the rest of the book is established early on but the significance is held from the reader for quite some time. The body of the book tells the story of Catherine Bailey, a woman who suffers with a severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress. The book focuses on two major periods of time in Catherine’s life. In 2007, Catherine lives in fear and struggles with her afflictions. The author then provides the reader with a flashback to 2003, and we get to see what Catherine was like before her mental illness and we experience the tragic events that caused her breakdown. The author moves back and forth between these two periods of time giving the reader a bit more information each time. I found the timeline approach that the author employs to be a very effective way of building the tension in the plot. Additionally, I found that I kept close track of how much time had elapsed between each snippet the author provides because they vary depending on what was happening to Catherine. Catherine has a love interest in each of the major threads of the book. In 2003, Catherine is a single woman looking for love. She meets Lee who seems to be her “Mr. Perfect” and he seems to be quite smitten with her. Lee is very secretive about his job; frequently leaving on short notice, he is unable to say how long he will be gone or when he will return. Over time Catherine’s relationship with Lee seems to be more like a “fatal attraction.” Stuart is Catherine’s love interest in 2007. He is a psychologist who quickly recognizes Catherine’s mental state and enables her to get help. Their relationship starts as a friendship but becomes much more over time. I found Into the Darkest Corner to be a very well written book but one of the scariest thrillers I have read in some time. The author graphically describes the physical, sexual and mental abuse that Catherine experiences and there were times when it was difficult for me to read. The book is pretty lengthy (~ 400 pages) but each section is fairly short alternating between the two major timeframes in Catherine’s life. I found the book hard to put down because I honestly did not know what would happen next and how the author would tie the two plotlines together. I truly enjoyed Into the Darkest Corner but this is not a book to read right before going to bed. Without giving away any spoilers, after having read this book, I will think twice before I ever buy a red dress again. I highly recommend reading Into the Darkest Corner to find out why.
Hell or High Water by Joy Castro Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader Growing up in the projects of New Orleans was far from easy for first generation Cuban reporter Nola Cespedes, but with a high IQ and a determined single mother, she managed to take advantage of the scholarships that eventually led her to the middle-class life few from her part of town had access to. And having left her childhood behind, not even Katrina can shake her off her game. But when she is asked to do a feature on sex offenders and the tracking of them post-Katrina, she finds herself taken back to memories and feelings she thought long gone, some of which will lead her down a very dark road towards the terror that’s never really left her soul. In this stand-out debut, Castro manages to do a stunning and profoundly engaging job of comparing the devastation and rebuilding – or lack thereof – of a city and a soul after massive destruction. Not so much a mystery in the sense of the genre, but rather an unflinching spotlight shone on our systems of managing such tragedies, Castro shows both how we individually cope with such events and all too often how as a society we fail. Never shying away from the more difficult questions, Castro shows all sides with equal force. And in her depictions of her main characters, Nola and New Orleans, Castro not only gives us plenty of reasons to empathize, but propels us to ponder it long afterwards in a way that might actually lead to action. An outstanding debut, this portrayal of damage left too long unheeded is a must read and one of the best this year.
Black List by Brad Thor Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books Reviewed by Ray Palen, New Mystery Reader Are they watching us? This is the question posed by the latest electrifying and extremely relevant new novel by Brad Thor. BLACK LIST plays to the fear that Thor himself has that our government is crossing the line in efforts to maintain total control over the population. Imagine, if you will, a government that attempts to reconfigure the Internet in such a way that they can dictate who is able to receive what information and decide who is even privileged enough to be allowed access to the ‘new’ Web! Brad Thor’s hard-hitting novels have created a new terminology to describe them --- faction. His work with Homeland Security’s Red Cell division made him privy to much top secret information in the wake of 9/11 and it is remarkable how much he is able to disclose in each novel. What is more disarming is what he may NOT be telling us. BLACK LIST starts off with the tragic murder of Riley Turner in front of Thor’s main protagonist, Scott Harvath. Riley was a member of the Athena Project --- an all-female band of U.S. Special Forces operatives who were featured in their own novel. Harvath, himself a member of the Carlton group and former Secret Service Agent is more determined than ever to bring about justice since he realizes he was also a target of the assault that killed Riley Turner. A member of a group known by the acronym ATS --- Adaptive Technology Solutions --- have decided to bring about a major upheaval of the government that begins with the overhaul of the Internet and may end with the death of millions. In order for the ATS, who are operating under contract from the NSA, to sell their deadly agenda they must eliminate any U.S. operatives that pose a threat. This ‘black list’ includes Scott Harvath, several of his colleagues and his boss at the Carlton Group, Reed Carlton. It is an uphill battle as the ATS has smeared the entire Carlton Group membership to the current President and the group must operate independently and in total communication black-out --- never even knowing if their colleagues are even alive. Harvath makes his way from Europe to Texas (via Mexico) to team with his friend, Nicholas --- a dwarf with amazing political reach and superlative technical and hacking skills. Nicholas is able to put Harvath in touch with the right people to both arm and protect him. More importantly, Harvath gets the opportunity to enact his revenge on the ATS. In the author’s note, Brad Thor states: “all of the technology contained in this novel is based on systems currently deployed, or in the final stages of development, by the United States government and its partners.” If that fact is not enough to keep you awake at night --- I don’t know what will!
Criminal by Karin Slaughter Publisher: Delacorte Press Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader If you’re one who has been following this series featuring the cast from Atlanta, GA, you’ll love this latest that shows in flashbacks, interspersed with current events, how some of these main characters got their start. Told from the viewpoint of Sarah and Will’s story now, and Amanda and Evelyn’s story in the mid-seventies, this is a bold and exciting novel that connects these lives and reveals long held secrets regarding Will’s parentage and the horrible tragedies that connect the past to current day events. Slaughter gets all the details right from the 70s to make this tale come vividly alive. The issues of race, gender equality, and social class shine through brilliantly and profoundly, made only that more genuine by her inclusion of social-cultural facts from the era. Amanda and Evelyn’s trial to solve the case of several missing prostitutes when everyone else on the force thinks they should restrict their duties to crossing guards is brilliantly portrayed, and watching these two grow from girls to true woman of power is inspiring, while the tales of fallen prostitutes are deeply disturbing, and the depictions of racism enlightening. This one has it all and might just be considered Slaughter’s best to date.
Serpent’s Kiss by Melissa de la Cruz Publisher: Hyperion Reviewed by Bonnye Busbice Good, New Mystery Reader Joan Osbourne asked “what if God was one of us.” Melissa de la Cruz expands on that by asking about if Norse gods walked among us, wearing jeans and working in bars while trying to navigate through tricky family relationships. Joanna and her two daughters live in North Hampton on Long Island while her estranged husband has been gone since 1692 and their brother Freddie was sentenced to Limbo. The daughters, Ingrid (Erda) and Freya retain their close relationship in spite of being very different. Ingrid fits the stereotype of her profession: as a librarian, she dons conservative clothes and a tight bun while remaining inexperienced in love. Bartending Freya, on the other hand, makes love potions for her patrons and gleefully throws herself into her passionate romance with Killian (Balder), especially on Killian’s large boat named The Dragon. Things start to go terribly wrong when Joanna’s normally tidy kitchen bursts into sudden Sixth Sense-style disasters and the sisters keep secrets from one another. Freddie secretly returns, living in a seedy motel visited by sprightly coeds who happily do his laundry, telling only his twin sister Freya of his whereabouts. Freddie blames Killian for his punishment, saying that Freya’s lover is the one who destroyed a bridge which channeled their powers to the Earth-bound gods and goddesses. From this crime comes the mystery: the reason for the destruction and the identity of the destroyer, both of which clearly make the case that this is not an average human-filled mystery. Melissa de la Cruz’ latest installment of the Witches of East End series uses the premise of how supernatural beings would integrate in our modern society such as in the popular Charlaine Harris or Stephenie Myers books but adds a humorous helping of family misunderstandings. The series seeks to explain atypical episodes in human history such as the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts, when the Puritan communities hanged Freya and Ingrid in an earlier form. Additional editing would smooth out occasionally rough sentences but de la Cruz’ story moves quickly in spite of some halting explanatory paragraphs on the Norse mythology.
Die A Stranger by Steve Hamilton Publisher: Minotaur Books Reviewed by Ray Palen, New Mystery Reader Steve Hamilton’s ninth novel in the terrific Alex McKnight series starts off with a bang. The night of his mother’s funeral, Alex’s best friend --- Vinnie Leblanc goes missing. What makes Alex particularly concerned is that he found out about a deadly shoot-out at the local airstrip which left five unnamed bodies behind and Vinnie may have been involved! Vinnie, a reclusive Ojibwa Indian living off reservation in one of his friend Alex’s cabins, is not prone to drinking or any form of reckless behavior. It makes it all the more confusing to Alex that his friend could have somehow been mixed up in what appears to be a drug standoff gone wrong. Especially on the night he buried his mother. Alex soon receives aid in his search for Vinnie and the truth from the unlikeliest of sources --- Vinnie’s long estranged father, Lou Leblanc. Lou had abandoned Vinnie and his family almost thirty years earlier. Recently paroled from a long stretch in prison, Lou heard about the death of his ex-wife and the disappearance of his son and has come back to northern Michigan to help in any way he can. Alex, an ex-cop and sometime private investigator, starts piecing together clues to Vinnie’s disappearance and they all seem to point in the direction of Vinnie’s cousin, Buck. When Alex and Lou visit the local reservation, they are not greeted kindly. Lou is still an outcast --- exiled and told to never return. They are both met with hostility and not given any type of clue to help them find Vinnie. Lou uses the term --- Anishinabe --- which stands for ‘one people’ in the Ojibwa language. Lou cannot understand how his own people cannot stand together in an hour of need so he takes it upon himself to live up to this term and atone for his own past sins in the process. Alex and Lou actually make a formidable, if not somewhat dysfunctional, team and the passages with them working together on this case are a pleasure to read. In true Hamilton fashion, things begin to get hard-boiled quickly and the case spins out of control. Not only were Vinnie and Buck in the wrong place at the wrong time but they were involved with some very dangerous people. Particularly, a deadly couple who pose as two ex-hippies but are actually cut-throat drug traffickers. In addition, a maniacal drug-lord from Chicago with a penchant for carving people up with knives just for kicks. Alex McKnight gets himself in and out of deadly situations with regularity --- but the scenario set in DIE A STRANGER may not be one he or his close friends are able to work their way out of. This novel reads like a house afire and ends way too soon. I cherish the Alex McKnight series and any time spent with this character and his native northern Michigan brethren is always a good time and some of the best reading in the crime fiction genre today!
The 13th Target by Mark de Castrique Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (Also in paperback) Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader Russell Mullins is planning to take his grandson to a T-ball game in the morning. He and his boss, Paul Luguire, discuss grandsons and sports as Russell drives Paul home from his high-powered job at the Federal Reserve Bank. The ride is without incident; it’s been a normal day at work for Russell, now working for a private protection agency after many years with the Secret Service. This is the last normal day for Russell for quite a while. Before dawn, he’s informed that Paul is dead, apparently by his own hand. This makes no sense, and when Amanda Church, an associate of Paul’s suggests there was dirty work afoot, Russell can believe it. He finds a clue supporting his suspicions in the ‘suicide’ note. Informing his employer that he’s taking some vacation time, Russell sets out to find the unseen hand behind Paul’s death. He’s distracted by the discovery of a frame being built around him by the same hand; now he’s got to clear his own name as well as find Paul’s killer. The case gets more complicated when a reporter in the Woodward-Bernstein mould starts digging around. Fairly quickly it becomes obvious that there’s more to this story than a faked suicide: international terrorism seems to be part of the bigger picture—or is it? This story has more sudden turns and twists than a bowl of spaghetti, and just when you take a deep breath and think ,“So, that’s it!”, there’s more. De Castrique has come up with a fascinating premise that turns the dry topic of monetary policy into the stuff of high adventure, and he does it without excessive gore, sex or sadism—just plain old good plotting and writing.
Gone Missing by Linda Castillo Publisher: Minotaur Books Reviewed by Jacqueline Corcoran, New Mystery Reader In Gone Missing, the fourth in a series by Linda Castillo, ex-Amish police chief Kate Burkholder is asked to consult by her boyfriend, a State Agent with a haunted past, on a possible serial case of missing Amish adolescents. Blood evidence turns up during the investigations, which seems to indicate that the Amish youth are being killed. The case escalates when a teen that the chief knew personally is snatched. One of the chief strengths of Gone Missing is the Amish world setting, but it could have been exploited more fully. The Amish characters tend to be very much alike with no interesting, nuanced characters among them. The plot, too, is a bit one-note, and the moment when the main character puts together the link between the missing teens does not come as a surprise to the reader. I found the denouement a disappointment. Perhaps if I had understood the characters in greater depth, the ending would have been more satisfying. Notwithstanding plot and character problems, Linda Castillo’s writing style and sense of description are excellent, although I didn’t understand the need for present tense, which, to me, should be reserved for more edgy work.
The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton by Elizabeth Speller Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Reviewed by Bonnye Busbice Good, New Mystery Reader Five year-old Kitty Easton disappeared from her bed in the great manor of Easton Deadall over a decade before, leaving her mother, Lydia, and remaining relatives in a stasis of ever-present mourning, joining the rest of England in “what ifs” after the end of the Great War. Lydia, herself frail and nearly ethereal, commissions the construction of a massive hedge maze in memory of all of Easton’s war dead, sparking a bit of life around the estate. Lydia’s brothers-in-law, Julian and Patrick, add to the layer of tension while Lydia’s sister Frances tries to help her sister during her decline. Architect William Bolitho and his wife Eleanor join the family during the elaborate planning and construction, resulting in William’s request to Laurence Bartram for help with the restoration of a decommissioned pre-Tudor chapel on the grounds. It is through Laurence’s eyes that the family’s secrets unfold, his outsider status granting him the realization that the extended family and staff are all bound to Easton in some way. Even the architect suffers from a lack of professional work since World War I rendered him paraplegic. In spite of the lovely setting, Easton Deadall’s ambience continues to oppress its inhabitants, especially when one of the few remaining servants, fifteen year-old Maggie, disappears after a day at the fair. A woman’s body soon turns up, giving Laurence much more to investigate than just the original details of a pre-Tudor church. Author Elizabeth Speller clearly intends readers to fall under the spell of Easton Deadall, the narrative’s slowly revealed secrets build to the final suspense, making the last third nearly impossible to leave until finished. Speller gives each major character nuances and regret with the hope of redemption, leaving readers a feeling of being just as caught as the characters, if not more pleasantly, in the thrall of Easton Deadall.
A Bad Day for Mercy by Sophie Littlefield Publisher: Minotaur Books Reviewed by Jacqueline Corcoran, New Mystery Reader A Bad Day for Mercy is the fourth book in a crime novel series by Sophie Littlefield. The main character Stella Hardesty a former battered woman, is best described as a do-gooder on steroids. When Stella’s sister phones in hysterics because she believes her grown-up stepson is being threatened for gambling debts, Stella rushes to the rescue—all the way to Wisconsin. She is not only compelled to help her sister, the stepson, and his new girlfriend (a Russian mail order bride who is married to somebody else), but various sullen teenage boys who come across her path. In my opinion, the book would have been better written in first rather than close-third person due to the narrator’s love affair with the main character. I liked the cross-country adventure involved with the mystery, but the pace was slightly off. A Bad Day for Mercy started slowly with a lot of back story and then wrapped up quickly—a bit of an anti-climax after all the travels—and the ending wasn’t a big surprise. Feeling sexually attractive while ageing was a major theme.
The Namesake by Conor Fitzgerald Publisher: Bloomsbury Reviewed by Jim Sells, New Mystery Reader The story opens with the kidnapping of a young girl in Italy. Despite their best efforts, law enforcement officers have difficulty establishing a clear motive and identifying possible kidnappers. While the girl’s father was a journalist who had written exposes addressing organized crime, the method of the kidnapping is too complex and amateur for professional criminals. An insurance executive named Matteo Arconti is murdered and his body dumped in a conspicuous place. The significance is in the man’s name – a name he shares with a police magistrate. The mystery emerges as details are revealed and police Commissario Alec Blume must determine if this is the work of the Ndrangheta – a secret branch of the Mafia that has been emerging in recent years. Fitzgerald has created an interesting picture of contemporary Italy. The dangers associated with opposing organized crime are even greater than other countries. However, the plot is difficult to follow and connections between the events and characters do not begin to emerge until a hundred pages into the book.
The Lost Artist by Gail Lukasik Publisher: Five Star Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader If you like complex mysteries that roam back and forth in time, this story will please you. It starts in a run-down farmhouse and ends on a tropical beach, and in between there’s murder, villains, tragic sub-plots and treasure. When Rose Caffrey arrives to visit her sister Karen in the run-down old farmhouse, she finds her sister’s dead body. After the formalities are gone through, Rose is left alone in possession of the old house, and hopes to sell it fast and return to the city. Life becomes complicated when she discovers some amazing murals in some of the rooms, and an artist arrives at the door saying that Karen hired—and paid—him to restore the artwork. It may be worth a great deal, he tells Rose, and she realises that having the work finished could be more profitable than just selling the house fast. Running parallel to the story of the house in the modern day is a flash-back to the early 19th century: the story of how the wall paintings came to be here. The lost artist of the title is Emily Lord, and the author’s depiction of her hard life is chilling; one is reminded of the early chapters of Jane Eyre. Rose is drawn into the mystery of the murals, and begins to try and follow her sister’s research. There are many questions, including why Emily’s grave was empty: if she didn’t die young, what happened to her? When Rose is attacked in a reputable library and her sister’s notebook stolen, Rose knows that there’s something important at stake here, and that her sister was probably murdered. The wonderful murals are only part of the story: there’s a much bigger treasure to be found if you know where to look. The police insist a drug addict mugged Rose in the library, but she knows better. She is determined to finish her sister’s work and bring the wonderful murals to a wider public knowledge—but to do that she has to escape from a killer. This is a nicely-written and complex story; the historical research makes a solid frame on which the modern plot hangs.
Never Tell by Alafair Burke Publisher: Harper Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader The young NYPD detective Ellie Hatcher returns in Burke’s latest, this time involving a case that hits close too home for comfort. It begins with the apparent suicide of a pampered teen whose body was found in the tub of her upscale NYC apartment. But while this might look like a suicide, including the slit wrists, suicide note, and a girl known for her troubled ways, her parents insist it was anything but. And with the money and power to back them, Ellie and her partner are forced to treat the case as a possible homicide. And for Ellie, whose own father committed suicide, this is not a case she wants to be involved with, especially as all the evidence points to a clear and cut case of suicide. But as the pair of detectives begin looking at the girl’s past, the troubled teens she ran with - a mix of the pampered and homeless - a connection to a blog about sexual abuse, and odd ties to a drug trial for a new medication aimed at troubled tweens and teens, they’ll soon discover that nothing is as it seems. And with Ellie’s own difficult dealings with the suicide of her father, most troublesome is that they might just be blinding her to a murderous truth. In her latest, Burke adeptly takes on the contentious issues involving the sometimes seemingly over-prescribed medications aimed at the younger generation and provides a well-thought out mystery that looks at them from all angles. Are the drug companies making a literal “killing” on keeping kids better adjusted with their mood stabilizers? Can a fair assessment be made when drug companies do their own research? And, most importantly, are kids being unduly prescribed drugs for simply being kids? Or, is it possible, that drugs can indeed help a child in need? Combine these questions with a look at the over-stressed but pampered teens of the upper echelons of society, and layers of secrets within secrets, and you get a thoughtful mystery that will leave you questioning more than just who did what, but the larger question of just what the balance might be when it comes to determining how we should help troubled kids. Another winner from Burke who again proves she can mix mystery with timely issues in a way that will leave the reader satisfied and pondering the questions posed long after reading.
The Conviction by Robert Dugoni Publisher: Touchstone Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader What I enjoy best about the novels of Robert Dugoni is how they bring me back to the days when John Grisham and Scott Turow were writing top-notch legal thrillers that opened up the floodgates to a myriad of imitators. While Grisham and Turow still continue to write, their novels are not nearly as engaging or interesting a their early work and this has allowed the mantel to be firmly passed on to writers like Robert Dugoni. THE CONVICTION is another novel in his Attorney David Sloane series and provides another unique take on the genre. Sloane is famous for being the attorney who cannot lose and he has won some big and highly publicized cases over the years. This has not come without a price. His wife was brutally murdered and his step-son, Jake, witnessed this cruel act first-hand. As Sloane continues with his own practice in Seattle and picking up the pieces of his shattered life, he still attempts to play a role in the life of his step-son. Jake has been living year-round with his birth father in California and occasionally seeing Sloane. When Jake comes up to Seattle for the first visit since his mother’s murder he is not the same boy Sloane used to live with. Jake has not responded well to the family tragedy and turned to drinking, drugs and other forms of trouble that usually get teen-aged boys put away in juvenile detention. Sloane has gotten Jake out of some smaller convictions but the downward spiral continues. Realizing that keeping Jake in the home where he witnessed his mother’s murder might not be such a good idea, he takes up an offer from his friend Tom Molia to get away for a guys-only camping trip. Molia is a police detective and he and his young son, T.J., set out with Sloane and Jake to an adventure in the California Gold Country wilderness. Unfortunately, things do not start out well for the group. The first night at a hotel in the small town of Truluck, California, Jake and T.J. get into trouble at a local general store. Jake attempts to purchase alcohol and is denied --- having his phony I.D. taken in the process by the store clerk. Jake heads back to the store after-hours and smash the window to get back in to reclaim his illegal I.D. as well as pilfering some beer and alcohol. Intoxicated, the boys are apprehended and brought before the local town judge. Judge Earl Boykin represents generations of Boykin family justice in Truluck and he proceeds to railroad Jake and T.J. by forcing confessions out of them before their parents or any legal representation can get there. By the time Sloane and Molia arrive at the courthouse they find out that their sons are already on their way to Fresh Start juvenile detention where they have been sentenced to six-months of incarceration. The fact that Sloane and Molia carry both legal and police connections has no sway with Judge Boykin who seems to take an evil delight in pushing around the big-city duo. Horrified and hamstrung, Sloane and Molia begin to delve into Judge Boykin and Fresh Start to attempt to get any leverage that will help them free their sons. What they begin to uncover is a potential far-reaching plot that involves a rich local business man named Victor Dillon who is deeply connected to Boykin and everything going on in Truluck. To make matters worse, Dillon also owns Fresh Start and it seems that Boykin may be feeding young boys into the system to keep the business turning a profit. While Jake and T.J. are being abused and constantly threatened by the sadistic guards and fellow juvenile inmates at Fresh Starts their fathers are facing their own danger in the form of dirty local police, private security and Victor Dillon himself. All four of our protagonists are thwarted at every turn and more than once are their lives in serious danger. It seems that there is no way out and that the mighty David Sloane may have finally come up against a case he cannot win. THE CONVICTION presents a very real tale of parental horror that will truly hit home and leave the reader as powerless as David Sloane feels to the unfortunate events that are unfolding around him. The tension and surprises never let up and Robert Dugoni has put together another winning novel sure to provide many enjoyable summer hours of reading fun!
Castle Bravo by Karna Small Bodman Publisher: Headline Books Reviewed by Karen Treanor, New Mystery Reader “The difference between us and the bad guys is that while they make plans, we just keep having meetings and appointing commissions.” Samantha Reid has a demanding job; she’s never off duty as assistant to the President for Homeland Security. She’s worried about the possibility of an electro-magnetic pulse attack that might bring down all the electronic networks in the world, but she can’t get anyone to take her seriously. The White House staff is much more concerned about getting the Vice President into the Oval Office come election time, and they don’t want any scaremongering, no matter how real Samantha thinks the threat is. Some of the military thinkers are aware of the potential danger, but with so many other problems on their plates and their budgets slashed to the bone, there’s very little they can do. As if that weren’t enough to worry about, Samantha’s father, Jake, has gone off adventuring in Kazakhstan with her lover Tripp Adams. While there they get caught up in some dirty politics and the aftermath of a miscarried missile launch, which proves Samantha’s concerns about an EMP attack are not the hysterical musings that some of her enemies in Washington have said. Running parallel to Samantha’s campaign to get someone to take her concerns seriously is the story of a pair of idealistic college students, one American and one Kazakh. Pete Kalani wants justice for the Pacific islanders who paid a high price for American nuclear testing in the 1950’s; and Nurlan Remizov has similar concerns about the Russian tests that were carried out and harmed many Kazaks. The two of them hatch a fairly harebrained scheme that nevertheless has a big effect. Then the scheme is hijacked by the Kazakh president, with potentially disastrous results. This is a story about consequences, particularly unintended ones. It’s also about preparedness. Perhaps we should all be asking our government representatives what they’re doing to ensure that this fictional story stays fictional. Remember that shocking scene that ends Tom Clancy’s “Debt of Honour” —and how you remembered it on 9/11/2001?
Dead Scared by S. J. Bolton Publisher: Minotaur Books Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader Young college students are dying in the idyllic town of Cambridge, but while a certain number of deaths are to be expected, the fact that they’re all killing themselves is not. So when young detective Lacey Flint is asked to go undercover as a student to investigate whether there is something more nefarious going on, the last thing she expects is to become one of the intended victims. The first word that comes to mind when reading this is diabolical. The intricate web designed to murder the innocent is nothing short of brilliant. Taking one’s darkest fears and making them real is something anybody would dread, and then posing the question of what one would do when they do come to life makes it that much more terrifying. Bolton creates suspense by creating fully realized characters who are not really that more different than the reader, and whose actions we can easily understand. Not only our heroine’s, but the victims’ as well, adding to one of the best plots to come along in a while. More terrifying than a read featuring an ax wielding madman, this one shines the light on the more realistic nightmares we all desperately hope to keep hidden, only to discover they’re waiting somewhere in our mind ready tor strike at any time. One of the best reads so far this year, this one comes highly recommended.
The Body in the Boudoir by Katherine Hall Page
Red Cell by Mark Henshaw Publisher: Touchstone Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader He has already been called the ‘Tom Clancy of a new generation’. Such is the high acclaim that debut author, Mark Henshaw, must live up to. He has set the bar incredibly high with his first novel, RED CELL. This is because he himself was a decorated CIA analyst and charter member of the think tank known as Red Cell. Created on September 13, 2001 in direct response to the infamous terrorist attacks on U.S. soil, the Red Cell team was set up to tell the CIA Director what no one else is telling him. With this sort of insight at play, readers should prepare themselves for a novel that will inundate them with the inner-workings of one of the world’s most covert and vital counter-terrorist groups. RED CELL lives up to these expectations. In this novel that is so eerily close to actual world events that it is difficult to refer to it as a work of fiction, the Red Cell group is tasked with intervening in a potential military skirmish between China and Taiwan. Protecting Taiwan is not the only concern of the group but, more importantly, they are tasked with uncovering a rumored super weapon that the Chinese army may be in possession of and neutralizing it. The weapon in question, referred to as the Assassin’s Mace is alleged to be the great equalizer and one that gives China more than a slight competitive advantage in their step towards becoming the mightiest world power on the planet. A raid on a band of Chinese spies in Taiwan results in the release of a deadly chemical that takes many lives. It is at this point that the U.S. President (or POTUS, to use his military handle) turns to CIA Director Kathy Cooke requesting that she and Red Cell get more information and infiltrate. What could China really be up to? Two of the most important parts of the Red Cell team are rookie case officer, Kyra Stryker and veteran analyst, Jonathan Burke. They are polar opposites in personality and do not always see eye-to-eye. As a team, however, they are in sync with this mission that starts with their attempts to extricate a top Chinese CIA asset who has spent his life working and living in China. The asset, known simply as Pioneer, has knowledge that China cannot let out to the CIA and they will stop at nothing to silence him before he can be snuck out of the country. The scenes involving this great escape are nothing short of breathtaking. Nothing will prepare the reader for the final act of this novel that involves a U.S. naval battle in the South China Sea as the U.S. military, led by intel from the Red Cell group in the form of Stryker and Burke are set to defend a strategic Taiwanese island from hostile takeover by the Chinese military. It is during this battle that the secret weapon --- the Assassin’s Mace --- is revealed --- and I will keep that spoiler a secret in this review. The action is nerve-wracking and intense and incredibly authentic. The biggest wonder of this novel is how Mark Henshaw can reveal so much behind-the-scenes details. You would think there would have been some sort of gag order when he left his detail as a member of Red Cell. The scary part is if this is what he is ‘allowed’ to reveal I can only imagine the deep, dark secrets he is keeping under wraps. All hail the new Tom Clancy!
The Inquisitor’s Key by Jefferson Bass Publisher: William Morrow Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader Jefferson Bass have created something special with their latest release, THE INQUISITOR’S KEY. They were already creating forensic anthropology-centered thrillers every bit as good as Kathy Reichs. Now, with this new novel, they enter into the religious, artistic and historical fiction realm of authors like Dan Brown and Iain Pears. Jefferson Bass --- the pen-name for the writing team of Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass --- continue their Dr. Bill Brockton series with their most intense and deftly plotted novel yet. Brockton is already working on an interesting case stateside at the Body Farm when he receives a desperate call from France that his protégé, Miranda Lovelady, has been hospitalized with a burst appendix and his presence is needed at her side. Arriving in France, Brockton is surprised to discover there is absolutely nothing wrong with Miranda and the hospitalization was just a ruse to get him there. The reason for this deception was that she was afraid to discuss the real reason for the invitation over the phone. It seems that Miranda and her French advisor, Stefan, may have come across the most important discovery of all-time --- the bones of Jesus Christ! Brockton realizes this could be the find of the century. But are the bones discovered in a chamber beneath the Palace of the Popes in Avignon really those of Christ? Miranda and Stefan require a forensic scientist with Brockton’s expertise to justify or refute the origin of their discovery. It is not likely that these bones are authentic as the Middle Ages were renowned for faking relics like this for future treasure-seekers to find. Making matters more interesting is the constant switching of time-lines between the present day and the 1300’s where a backdrop that includes Meister Johannes Eckhart, Pope Benedict XII and an artist known as Simone Martini is explored. The jaunts into the past make for such compelling reading you will wish Jefferson Bass had written an entire novel just about these engaging and troubled historical personalities. As rumors of their discovery start to circulate, Brockton and his team realize they may be in danger. Their exploration also calls in the infamous Shroud of Turin --- another ancient relic long purported to be faked. Brockton starts to think that the bones and even the shroud may not belong to Christ but to Meister Eckhart! This deadly fact will anger many and threaten the deepest pockets within the Catholic Church. Things take a deadly turn when Stefan goes missing and is found crucified to death on a make-shift cross. What follows is a break-neck paced thrill-ride in which Brockton and Miranda can trust no one and may be the target of a multi-national religious fanatic and his followers who will stop at nothing to claim the bones that were unearthed. Crosses and double-crosses are abundant as Jefferson Bass stay one step ahead of the reader right up to the stunning climax. They will have a hard time topping this one as THE INQUISITOR’S KEY will easily go down as one of the best thrillers of 2012!
Spilled Blood by Brian Freeman Publisher: Silver Oak Reviewed by Stephanie Padilla, New Mystery Reader When Christopher Hawk, a lawyer practicing meaningless law in Minneapolis, receives a desperate plea from his ex-wife to come to her small hometown to defend their teen-aged daughter, Olivia, on a murder charge, he’s quick to respond. It appears that Olivia was the last one seen with the murdered girl in a ghost town nearby, holding a gun to her head and hysterically threatening to pull the trigger. And while Christopher knows his daughter is innocent, even he can’t help but question that one fact and what happened next. But there are many suspects in this case that has its roots in the ongoing struggle between one town’s suspicion that the big research company in its neighboring town caused a spurt of cancer among its residents. And just as family members are committed to loyalty, so are the citizens of each town, all with their own secrets, making the truth that much harder to uncover and that more treacherous. Taking a break from his successful series, Freeman offers readers a stand-alone novel that provides much of the same ingredients that fans have come to expect: suspense, taut writing, family loyalty, and a strong emotional backdrop easily identify this as one of his. And while, admittedly, the ending is a bit of a push, this one does well as a stand-alone and will no doubt do well within the genre. Personally, I find the thriller market a bit oversaturated at this point, leaving a definite lack of what Freeman has done best with in the past – an addictive character driven series, and I can’t help but hope he’ll return to his series next time out.
A Fatal Fleece by Sally Goldenbaum Publisher: HarperCollins Reviewed by Bonnye Busbice Good, New Mystery Reader In her Acknowledgments, author Sally Goldenbaum thanks those who helped her inhabit the character of Finnegan, a cranky old fisherman whose moral compass shows him only right or wrong. In spite of this, Finnegan transcends a potentially one-note character into being a multi-layered creature of habit whose personality is a strong thread in the fabric of Sea Harbor, Massachusetts. In this latest installment of the Seaside Knitters Mystery series, four friends Izzy, Birdie, Nell and Cass once more work through their fears and hopes as they knit blankets, sweaters and hats together on Thursday nights. Lovely grey-haired Birdie’s life and knitting circle expands when a ten year-old winsome granddaughter named Gabby appears. Raven-haired Gabby’s Uncle Nick Morietti has brought her to Sea Harbor as they tour the eastern coast, giving her a break from her home in Manhattan. Cass has changes in her life, too, although they’re unsettling as she worries that the recession will soon spell the end of the Halloran family lobster business that she’s trying so hard to save. A tough lobsterwoman, Cass manages her crews with a stone face but her troubles seep out into her personal life. In spite of this, she continues to bring her mother’s food to Finnegan, or Finn, leaving it for him at his gate. Finnegan manages to alienate several members of the community by transforming his lovely oceanside property into one filled with overgrown grass and dilapidated buildings. Rusty junk dots the land and Finn chases teenagers and vagrants away with shots of his BB gun. Aging and solitary, Finn won’t let anyone onto his property until Gabby appears, much to the dismay of Finn’s estranged daughter and the host of developers pleading with Finn to sell. Much too soon, someone murders Finnegan on his own precious land, making the property’s future and the killer’s identity the main topics of buzz in a town in which everyone knows each other when the seasonal tourists are away. The four knitters regret the loss of their innocent summer and the death of their friend, adding to their cares. Birdie and her friends become even more worried when they realize that charming Nick Morietti has lied to them and witnesses saw him arguing with Finnegan. Goldenbaum shares a cast of potential murderers as well as a passel of sinners according to Finn, but never overwhelming the realistic feel of the beach community. Some readers will correctly suspect a revelation or two but A Fatal Fleece’s thick texture promises satisfaction regardless. The Seaside Knitters are there for each other—and their community—through thick and thin and their elegies for Finn beautifully reveal why one old man’s death matters so much.
Robert B. Parker’s Lullaby: A Spenser Novel by Ace Atkins Publisher: Putnam Reviewed by Don Crouch, New Mystery Reader For those of you holding off on Lullaby based on the highly non-Parker-like Jesse Stone entry, relax! Ace Atkins is ABSOLUTELY the right guy to pick up the Spenser series. If you know his other work, you know this already. Any questions would be immediately answered by his touching Parker tribute “Songs Spenser Taught Me”, in the highly-enlightening Penzler anthology, In Pursuit Of Spenser. Lullaby delivers everything you’ve come to expect from a Spenser book....powerful action sequences, witty banter with Hawk, intimate musings with Susan, and strong narration from that guy. It also drops things you don’t expect: a stunning new character, the return of some classic bad guys, an amped-up plotline, and, just, well....DENSITY!! PAGES FULL OF WORDS!!! Ya know? Atkins wastes no time in introducing us to Mattie Sullivan, a 14-year-old-adult, raising her family after the death of her mother. She’s convinced the wrong guy was convicted, and she wants Spenser to give her some justice. So, yeah, it’s a well-used device, but a dependable one. It provides Atkins a great landscape for sharing his vision of Spenser with us. You’ll find shout-outs aplenty to past books, but it’s the subtle references that resonate, and they assure you that if the series must be continued, Atkins is definitely the guy to do it. There’s a reverence to the characters’ history humming beneath the events in Lullaby, providing comfort as we navigate them. Spenser and Hawk kick a lot of ass in Lullaby. Seriously, a lot. It’s one of the best things about it. But folks, really...Mattie Sullivan. This kid is spectacular. You’ll get parental for her in about 10 pages. She is focused, stubborn, foul-mouthed, and, mostly, real. Atkins has provided her with plenty of flaws. You’ll just love her more for them. And you’ll love how Hawk invests in her as well, it’s very sweet. So, get off that fence, and read Lullaby. And get ready for a new era in Spenser-land, Ace Atkins has got the goods! Bring on the next one!!
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