Book Review - The Lost Empress by Steve Robinson

Steve Robinson writes Jefferson Tayte genealogical mysteries. The Lost Empress is his fourth in the series, but does stand alone. A foggy night in 1914, the Empress of Ireland sinks in the St.Lawrence River. It crossed the ocean from England. Cover blurb – When genealogist Jefferson Tayte is shown a locket belonging to one of the Empress’s victims, a British admiral’s daughter named Alice Stillwell, he must travel to England to understand the course of events that lead to her death.

As an expert tracker, Tayte unravels truths about a maritime tragedy, pre-WWI espionage, and Alice’s life. Plus he’s caught up in solving a present day murder too. In The Lost Empress, the author takes us back and forth in time in various chapters.  We meet Alice, a strong-willed young woman, who is entangled in a kidnapping and ransom plot. Being the daughter of an admiral presents her with opportunities that cause her a lot of grief. Alice’s story part of this book is strong and well written. As the story builds toward her boarding the Empress, intrigue grows.

Meanwhile, the Jefferson Tayte part of the book has various  interesting parts, but also aspects that bog down the action. I found him to be a tad preachy and ponderous at times.  I found I zoomed through his chapters to get back to Alice. Ultimately, bits all tie together in a very satisfying ending. I won’t give anything else away. The Lost Empress is a quick breezy read. It was a book club selection but I’m not sure how much there is to discuss. If you are going on a cruise, look out for spies on the upper deck!

RIP - Sue Grafton

Alas, Sue Grafton passed at age 77 before completing her alphabet mystery series. A fun, decent writer gone too soon.

A Is For Alibi started it all in 1982. Kinsey Millhone, a young private detective, let us into her life in Southern California and led us through a lot of puzzles. She was dogged, intrepid, smart, wily, and also keenly perceptive about the human condition.

Ms.Grafton said, "I find it more interesting to see what the constant exposure to violence and death really does to a human being, how a person incorporates that into their psyche." (from The Times interview 1985)

Y is for Yesterday was published in August, 2017. That is her final book. According to her family, Sue Grafton never wanted the series turned into movies, TV shows, or allow a ghost writer to continue in any vein. Thus, the alphabet ends at Y. (from her DMN obituary).

Sue Grafton was a solid author with a unique character in Kinsey. She grew in confidence in front of our eyes. By keeping the series in the 1980s, Grafton avoided the ease of too much technology. Old fashioned,hardcore beat footwork was the name of the detective game.

I hoofed along with Kinsey and enjoyed the ride, cruising up and down the CA highways, stopping for a run at the beach, and trying to guess the outcome of the mystery. Sue Grafton's work lives on.

R.I.P.

Book Review - A Field of Darkness

I like Cornelia Read’s writing and A Field of Darkness was her first book.  I bought it at a book sale and enjoyed the cop investigation murder mystery thriller.  Madeline Dare was a debutante, now married to Dean (yes, she loves him), but feels stuck in podunk Syracuse. She hates the cold, the town, and wants to escape. Visions of being a real journalist clash with her current life at a small town paper. But, an old mystery resurfaces and it might involve her New York  city cousin, Lapthorne – possible gay bon vivant, or lecherous killer of young girls? You decide?

Old dog tags surface. There’s still someone alive from the local fall fair. Girls were killed, but the killer never found or charged.  Madeline digs deeper and  other girls are dead. Who to believe? Is there a local dirty cop? What about her journalist boss?  Lots of suspects, lots of dirt, and Madeline’s husband Dean is out of town and worried about her. Does she and her best friend Ellis get in too deep? It seems that everyone Madeline is connected with seems to die.  Not looking good for the home team.

A Field of Darkness is well written and pulls together the clues to lead you and Madeline to the killer.  Hope it’s not too late!!

Book Review - Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson weaves various mysteries together with connected characters and family drama.  After her big breakout Life After Life, I am a huge fan. This book came before it and shows her masterful command of the English language.

I shall give you her opening paragraph and then leave you to find her book in the library or buy it and go from there. Trust me. By the end, you will be enthralled.

How lucky were they? A heat wave in the middle of the school holidays, exactly where it belonged. Every morning the sun was up long before they were, making a mockery of the flimsy curtains that hung limply at their bedroom windows, a sun already hot and sticky with promise before Olivia even opened her eyes. Olivia, as reliable as a rooster, always the first to wake, so that no one in the house had bothered with an alarm clock since she was born three years ago.

Okay – super teaser.  The sisters camp out. The oldest two awaken to find Olivia gone………..and that’s just one of the mysteries.  Fifty years later, the sisters still seek Olivia.

What tragedy occurred?  What made them keep seeking her? 

Sad, surprising, and so many connected tales.

Awesome read

Book Review - Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little

Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little is an excellent debut mystery filled with interesting characters, twists and turns, and a fast pace. Janie Jenkins is fresh out of prison. Ten years ago, this “It Girl” was incarcerated for the murder of her high society mother. Released on a technicality, Jane is determined to figure out who really killed her mother. And is the killer looking for her?

Small town Dakota is the starting point. As Janie delves deeper into her mother’s former life, finds photographs, reads an old diary, she begins to admire her mother’s climb from oblivion to a new name to a life of money.  And the mother she herself dismissed,  turns out to have had quite a life. Dirt poor but resourceful, Tessa wasn’t meant to be held back. Janie, in her journey, learns to admire her intelligent mother.

From the cover blurb – As she digs tantalizingly deeper, and as suspicious locals begin to see through her increasingly fragile façade, Janie discovers that even the sleepiest towns hide sinister secrets – and will stop at nothing to guard them. On the run from the press, the police, and maybe even a murderer, Janie must choose between the anonymity  she craves and the truth she so desperately needs.

Janie is not initially likeable, but her story is compelling and you will want to turn the pages. The author knows how to push our buttons and Janie’s in the search for the truth. Who is the killer? Dear Daughter will satisfy your thirst to know.

Travel Via Books

Here’s a virtual getaway with literary sleuths. You don’t have to stand in airport lines or lose luggage. Just lose your mind in these books and try to figure out whodunit. Suggestions are from Entertainment Weekly

Canadian Arctic -  White Heat by M.J.McGrath. Meet Kiglatuk, an Inuit hunter and guide and visit the ice between Greenland and the North Pole

Chile – The Neruda Case by Roberto Ampuero.  Drink wine and spout poetry while solving a mystery

Brazil – Blood of the Wicked by Leighton Gage.  Forget the Olympics. Check out the gritty affairs in the back alleys ( warning -graphic violence)

Iceland – Jar City by Erlendur Sveinsson.  Wander around Reykjavik

Spain – Death Rites by Alicia Gimenez Bartlett. Strong quirky cops in Barcelona. Run with the bulls or fight crime

Botswana – The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. Vivid sense of place and Precious Ramotswe leads the way

Sweden – The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg. Seaside town and murder afoot

United Kingdom – The Blackhouse by Peter May. There’s more to England than just Sherlock Holmes.  Follow Fin Macleod in the Outer Hebrides. Bodies swept up on the beach and more

Australia -  Bad Debts by Peter Temple. Trouble down under for Jack Irish.

Escape and enjoy

Book Review: The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K.Rowling) is an exciting crime novel with plenty of twists and turns, and another visit with private investigator Cormoran Strike and his assistant Robin.  I like Rowling writing as Galbraith. I truly believe she shifts into another mode, goes tough and gritty with the best of ‘em.  I’ve already reviewed the first book The Cuckoo’s Calling in this blog.  Now a tad famous and on the police radar (he basically showed them up on the Lulu Landry case). Strike is hired by the wife of novelist Owen Quine to find him. Of course, it’s more than a missing person case. It involves a volatile finished manuscript that paints portraits and can ruin key players in the publishing business. And ultimately there’s a brutal murder with bizarre circumstances. Strike and Robin have to work around the police blocking their way, go with their instincts, and overturn initial conclusions. (It’s way too obvious to arrest the wife) 

Meanwhile, Strike is not in fine form. His prosthesis is bothering him (he lost a leg in Iraq) and that slows his mobility. Poor Robin is newly engaged and fighting with her fiancé, Matthew, who distrusts Strike and the whole investigative job. I enjoy these flawed characters and how life influences their work. The Silkworm keeps you guessing and the writing is solid. Here’s an example p.281: 

Preoccupied with his own comfort, a mixture of football and murder on his mind, it did not occur to Strike to glance down into the snowy street….Had he done so, he might have seen the willowy hooded figure in the black coat leaning against the wall, staring up at his flat. Good though his eyesight was, however, he would have been unlikely to spot the Stanley knife being turned rhythmically between long fine fingers.

 

Robert Galbraith’s The Silkworm spins a tale of deception, cunning, egos, and jealousy. Power and money can make people do horrible things. Cormoran Strike has seen the worst in people and can dig deeper to solve the case, unravel the lies, and gain justice. Wrap yourself in a blanket cocoon and enjoy a darn good mystery.

Book Review: A Flavia de Luce Novel

Alan Bradley’s series featuring Flavia de Luce is awesome. She’s an eleven year old chemist/detective with a sharp eye, sharp tongue, and an interesting family. I’d start the series with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, but if you jump in with this book you are fine. You’ll just want to backtrack and read more. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches is intriguing writing at its best – the Crime Writers’ Association is correct in giving author Alan Bradley awards.  

So, Flavia and family are at the train station in 1951 awaiting the arrival of her mother. Alas, Harriet de Luce, an English war heroine, arrives in a coffin via train. The whole town turns out for the event and a few stray relatives show up too. A man is pushed in front of the train and killed. Who did it and why? Also,  Winston Churchill makes an appearance and offers sympathy to Flavia plus a comment about “pheasants”.  So, while in mourning and confusion, young Flavia encounters more mysteries. Was her mother murdered and by whom?  Flavia works in her lab, finds her mother’s will, seeks clues from an old reel of film, and must unravel old mysteries.  

Her mother’s plane Blithe Spirit proves to be a pivotal turning point in the investigation. Bradley spins a good tale and mystery with plenty of red herrings and clues. It’s up to Flavia to figure things out and you can count on this way-too-wise for her age child. She resents not remembering her mother, and yet apparently looks and acts just like her. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches is a rousing tale and Flavia de Luce is a worthy detective.

Book Review: The Cuckoo's Calling

Robert Galbraith’s debut mystery, The Cuckoo’s Calling, gives us a tough detective, Cormoran Strike, investigating a supermodel’s suicide. Strike has one client, he’s living in his office, and his prosthesis (lost a leg in Afghanistan) hurts. He’s a mess, but an old friend seeks to open this suicide case. After initial investigation, Strike agrees that Lulu’s suicide is fishy, and every clue opens new doors to models, rock-star boyfriends, desperate designers, and extended family issues due to adoption.  

p. 6  Journalists wrote that “the decadence of her new life had unhinged an already fragile personality.”

“And then at last, the frenzy wore itself into staleness, and even the journalists had nothing left to say, but that too much had been said already.” 

Strike is quite a character himself, but he is meticulous in his research and thought process. His temporary secretary, Robin, proves to be quite an asset and he’s reluctant to have to let her go. She in turn adds a brightness to each page, and her questions and inventiveness help Strike’s investigation.  There are plenty of twists and turns, and indeed Galbraith surprises us with the conclusion. The reader will stay vested and satisfied with The Cuckoo’s Calling.  

In another twist to this book – the debut had decent sales. THEN it was discovered (leaked) that the actual author is J.K.Rowling, of Harry Potter fame. Sure enough, she admitted choosing the Robert Galbraith pseudonym, and sales skyrocketed. Frankly, it’s a well written book, either way. But it does demonstrate in this crazy world of publishing, that a “name” author gets the buzz.  

Book Review: Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben knows how to ratchet tension quickly. In Hold Tight, he begins with a woman's kidnapping and murder. Then we meet Dr. Mike Baye, his wife, attorney Tia, teen son Adam, and pre-teen daughter Jill - seems like the perfect family. However, the parents are monitoring their son's computer. His behavior's changed and his "best" friend Spencer Hill committed suicide. Adam's uncommunicative. Lots of worry and tension.

Plus Coben has his reader witness another woman's kidnapping and murder. What's going on? Is all of this connected? Should we be worried for Adam, who's gone missing? Yowza!

Harlan Coben writes a tight paced mystery thriller. He throws a lot of balls in the air, keeps his reader guessing, and then slowly catches each ball and shows us more clues. Hold Tight is a very fun quick read. Interesting characters, sharp dialogue, some red herrings, and a taut finish.

I'm not going to say anymore, as I don't want to spoil anyone's read. Just hold tight and grasp at clues!!

Plot Place: Motel Musings

Pulled into the Bent Tree Motel parking lot July 3rd. It looked clean and respectable. Pavement sizzled underfoot. No bars on the windows or empty broken beer bottles at our doorstep. No neon signs flickered, nor did any nefarious characters hover in the shadows. (Chances of a noir novel are fading fast.)

We were as incognito as you can get in a cherry red Dodge Ram rental truck.

Room 122. Door wasn't kicked in. Shades were even, without dust or residue. Bright bluish green carpet showed fresh vacuum tracks. There were no cigarette butts in the trash and no sign of a lipstick stained glass on the counter. The television displayed ESPN and the phone had a dial tone. C'mon, I need something to work with here - a trace of blood, a phone number written on a torn business card.

At least the window unit airconditioner lent a hum of despair. Could it keep cranking against 100 plus temperatures?

If we were on a stakeout at this motel, we could run next door for some greasy chicken. At least this offered local flavor versus the Dairy Queen or Arby's further up the block.

As night fell, the insects buzzed, an occasional firecracker popped and we jumped. A car backfired in the distance. Footsteps approached and we held our breath, but they trod to the next room. A key rattled, the door creaked open, and

a gunshot reverberated. We heard a cry and then silence .....

maybe I do have something to work with here. Nothing like a non-chain motel stay to fire the imagination.

Review: A Red Herring Without Mustard

Flavia de Luce is back in A Red Herring Without Mustard, and she has reason to heat up the Bunsen burners in her laboratory. A precocious eleven year-old sleuth, she has her fortune told by a gypsy at a local fair in Bishop's Lacey. Hours later, she finds the woman bludgeoned, barely alive, but perhaps part of an old child abduction scandal. For a wee town, there's a lot smoldering under the surface.

A local ne'er do well, Brookie Harewood is found dead, hanging from the Poseidon statue on de Luce property. Any connection to the gypsy? The Inspector is not pleased at the multiple trips needed to contain Flavia, recover evidence, and put together pieces of the puzzle. All the while, our young lady is two steps ahead of him and outwitting her older mean sisters, too.

From the back cover - As the red herrings pile up, Flavia must sort through clues fishy and foul to untangle dark deeds and dangerous secrets.

Alan Bradley introduced us to Flavia in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. He has a winning heroine, an enchanting writing style, tricky clues, and an exciting page turner. He's imbued Flavia with a wicked sense of humor and you'll enjoy her exasperation at life in Bishop's Lacey. Even under house arrest, it is hard to contain this delightfully dark yet winning young lady.

I highly recommend A Red Herring Without Mustard. It is a superbly entertaining summer brain twister.