In Faithful Place, Tana French uses the crime novel to explore the consequences of growing up in a dysfunctional working-class family, living in a houIn Faithful Place, Tana French uses the crime novel to explore the consequences of growing up in a dysfunctional working-class family, living in a housing development in a poor area of Dublin. French has a skill for making the setting, whether urban neighborhood or rural village, a " character" in her novels, and Faithful Place is no exception. As in other books of hers, the detective and their family become the focal point, and French depicts the damaged family dynamics of undercover detective Frank MacKey in a painfully believable manner. The strong characterizations and sense of place make this well-written crime novel stand out.
I listened to Faithful Place on audio, and narrator Tim Gerard Reynolds brought the story to life. He does an excellent job with dialogue and a range of Irish accents. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys crime fiction or needs a good escape.
If you have ever read Agatha Christie and enjoy a well-done parody, you are in for a treat. Anthony Horowitz's Marble Hall Murders (#3 in a series) isIf you have ever read Agatha Christie and enjoy a well-done parody, you are in for a treat. Anthony Horowitz's Marble Hall Murders (#3 in a series) is a riveting, entertaining, tongue-in-cheek pastiche.
Mystery editor Susan Ryland agrees to edit a sequel to the successful Atticus Pund mystery series, Pund's Last Case, which a new publishing house has picked up. The series originator, Alan Connally, Susan's client, was pushed off a tower and killed (See Magpie Murders). The new publisher commissioned Elliot Crace, the grandson of the world-famous children's book writer Miriam Crace, to write the sequel. Elliot believes his grandmother was poisoned and creates a parallel case in the new Pund novel in which he plants clues. Susan becomes embroiled in solving a mystery within a mystery at great peril.
The novel is clever and great fun. Horowitz, like Christie, plays fair. If you can distinguish between all the clues and red herrings, you can solve both mysteries. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was like a tonic in troubled times. Highly recommend.
"Don't believe everything you think." 3.5 I have mixed feelings about Louise Penny's 12th installment in the Armand Gamache mystery series. In The Great"Don't believe everything you think." 3.5 I have mixed feelings about Louise Penny's 12th installment in the Armand Gamache mystery series. In The Great Reckoning, Gamache, the former head of Homicide at the Surete de Quebec, leaves retirement to head the Quebec Police Academy. His goal is to root out corruption.
The novel is well-written, cleverly plotted, and includes charming characters from the village of Three Pines. I listened to it on audio and initially was thoroughly engrossed. However, as the story progressed, I felt like I was witnessing a familiar battle between good and evil where good triumphed, replete with soothing self-help cliches. The ending was a letdown that detracted from what was otherwise a solid mystery novel. ...more
Great fun! The Raphael Affair is an audible freebie that is a cross between mystery and thriller. Set in Rome, the story revolves around the quest for Great fun! The Raphael Affair is an audible freebie that is a cross between mystery and thriller. Set in Rome, the story revolves around the quest for a hidden Raphael painting. The protagonist, like the author, is an English art historian. In addition to an intriguing plot, Iain Pears entwines art history with a view of the machinations of Rome's art world. It's an edifying escape. ...more
Trump's win, coupled with his first round of appointments, left me feeling the need to escape. So I downloaded The Nature of Beast, put on my headp3.5
Trump's win, coupled with his first round of appointments, left me feeling the need to escape. So I downloaded The Nature of Beast, put on my headphones, and let Louise Penny carry me to the Canadian Village of Three Pines. In the series 11th installment, Chief Inspector Gamache and Company must solve two murders and find the written plans for a giant missile launcher that they discovered hidden in the woods outside Three Pines. The novel is fast-paced, cleverly plotted, and full of interesting well-drawn characters. It was a great escape....more
Cal Hooper is a Chicago detective who retired to the village of Ardnakelty on Ireland's West coast. The Hunter is the second installment of Tana FrencCal Hooper is a Chicago detective who retired to the village of Ardnakelty on Ireland's West coast. The Hunter is the second installment of Tana French's trilogy of Cal's attempt to penetrate the self-contained and internally policed village. The novel builds on his mentorship of Trey Reddy, a troubled teen from the Ner'e Do Well local family, and his evolving relationship with Lena, a feisty local widow. The story centers on the return of Trey's slick and fast-talking father, Johnny, who brings a shady get-rich-quick scheme to extrapolate gold from the village lands.
French understands small-town Ireland, and Ardnakelty's character is the focal point of this dark, atmospheric, and finely crafted novel. I listened to the audio version, and the narrator, Roger Clark, brings the town to life. Highly recommend...more
The Drowned is my third of Banville's Quirke/Stratford mystery novels. I keep returning to this series because of the quality of the writing, the fineThe Drowned is my third of Banville's Quirke/Stratford mystery novels. I keep returning to this series because of the quality of the writing, the finely drawn, flawed, but very human characters, and Banville's vivid depictions of Irish city and village life in the early 1950s as the country emerged from the Second World War.
In The Drowned, DS Stratford and Coroner Quirke deal with two improbable murders and a close-knit small town with a police force that favors vigilantism. While Banville captures the harsh realism of post-war Ireland, the novel's greatest strength lies in his evocative portrayals of Stratford and Quirke. Banville won the Booker for his literary fiction, and he blurs the line between genre and literary fiction in this excellent literary mystery novel. Highly recommend....more
Tana French's The Searcher is a novel that contains a crime. Although she borrows familiar mystery tropes, the hunt for a missing person, a rough-edgeTana French's The Searcher is a novel that contains a crime. Although she borrows familiar mystery tropes, the hunt for a missing person, a rough-edged, hard-boiled detective who is a loner with an ethical code, the novel's focus is character, relationships, and the internal workings of Irish village life.
Cal Hooper is 48, recently divorced, and has just retired from the Chicago police force. He has purchased a house in an isolated village in western Ireland that needs renovation. He views nature and manual labor as a salve for his troubled soul.
However, when Trey, a troubled 13-year-old, learns that Cal is a retired detective, he seeks help locating his 19-year-old brother Brendhan, who has disappeared. Cal reluctantly agrees to help the kid and gradually encounters the underside of village life.
I listened to Roger Clark's outstanding narration of this novel on a road trip. While driving through country roads in the pouring rain, I heard vivid scenes of pub life in an Irish village where the locals came to life, and the village itself became a character in the novel. French's skill at writing nuanced dialogue helped to create a sense of menace. At the same time, her compassionate portrayal of Cal and Trey's evolving relationship demonstrated the possibility of healing despite life's traumas.
Part thriller, part Cozy mystery spoof, Death at the Sign of the Rook is the 6th novel in Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie series. Now past 60, Brodie iPart thriller, part Cozy mystery spoof, Death at the Sign of the Rook is the 6th novel in Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie series. Now past 60, Brodie is called to investigate an art theft by the shady heirs of their mother's estate. A similar theft occurred at Burton Makepeace, an estate reminiscent of Downtown Abbey, now a hotel hosting Murder Mystery weekends. Atkinson uses the Mystery Weekend to highlight the farcical elements of her plot. While the writing is good, like most cozy mysteries, there are too many characters, which sometimes makes the plot difficult to follow. Despite several clever laugh-aloud moments, this novel isn't Atkinson's best. Still, it's good fun....more
3.5 I have been having trouble sleeping lately and hoped an audio bedtime story might be the cure. I decided on Louise Penny. It has been over a year s3.5 I have been having trouble sleeping lately and hoped an audio bedtime story might be the cure. I decided on Louise Penny. It has been over a year since I listened to her previous work. Yet, the familiar characters, setting, and excellent narrator, Ralph Cosham, worked like comfort food or, more aptly, melatonin.
In A Long Way Home, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his wife, Reine-Marie, retired to the village of Three Pines. However, his respite is interrupted by his old friend, artist Clara Morrow, whose husband, artist Peter Morrow, is missing. Gamache, his son-in-law, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, who works as an inspector at the Suerte de Quebec Clara, and her close friend Myrna, a psychiatrist, engage in a search for Peter that is both psychological and physical.
Penny typically intertwines character study with mystery. The search for Peter also examines artists' nature and the art world's eccentricities. Her account of the characters' search along the St Lawrence River is a bonus. Her vibrant descriptions of the Quebec countryside made me want to visit and explore the region.
I enjoyed the book; however, the ending was too melodramatic. Still, I would recommend the novel. It is a clever mystery and a great bedtime story.
"A woman suffering from severe neurosis went to Freud and asked if he could cure her. Freud said no, he couldn't do that, but he believed what he coul"A woman suffering from severe neurosis went to Freud and asked if he could cure her. Freud said no, he couldn't do that, but he believed what he could do was restore her to a state of normal unhappiness."
John Banville's April in Spain is a subtle mystery filled with irony and richly developed imperfect characters. The 8th book in his " literary mystery series" centers on Dublin pathologist Quirke, who is vacationing with his psychiatrist wife Evelyn in San Sebastian, Spain. A freak accident lands Quirke in the local ER, where he encounters an Irish doctor who resembles his daughter's close friend, April Latimer, a member of a prominent political family. April's brother had confessed to murdering her four years ago before driving over a cliff. However, her body was never found.
The doctor's strange behavior heightens Quike's suspicions. He calls his daughter and asks her to come to Spain, setting off a tragic chain of events. Banville is a master at pacing and slowly building suspense. The story would make a great Hitchcock film. I highly recommend April in Spain if you want to escape and enjoy a well-done thriller....more
3.5 Ireland- In the early 1950s, just after the end of World War II, Rosa Jacobs, a 27-year-old graduate student at Trinity College, is found asphyxiat3.5 Ireland- In the early 1950s, just after the end of World War II, Rosa Jacobs, a 27-year-old graduate student at Trinity College, is found asphyxiated in her car at her lock-up (parking garage) outside Dublin in what looks like a suicide. However, Medical Pathologist Dr. Quirke finds marks on Rosa's mouth that indicate that someone gagged, anesthetized, and placed Rosa in the car with the motor running. Quirke and DI Strafford must figure out why.
Booker Award winner John Banville creates an intricate plot that examines Rosa's connection to the family of a wealthy German emigre and the hit-and-run death of an investigative reporter in Tel Aviv. While the storyline is well designed, Banville's greatest strengths lie in the development of character and setting. Both Quirke and Strafford are finely drawn, flawed, and very human, and very much of their time. Not only are the characters contextualized, but Banville captures the ambiance and mood of post-war Dublin.
It is a well-done mystery and a perfect summer (or fall) escape. ...more
I read this over 30years ago. I recognized his name on Alan Teder's review of the book of forgotten authors.I read this over 30years ago. I recognized his name on Alan Teder's review of the book of forgotten authors....more
In the Woods, Irish- American Tana French's award-winning debut is a cut above the traditional pol3.5
Winner 2008 Edgar Award for a Debut Mystery Novel
In the Woods, Irish- American Tana French's award-winning debut is a cut above the traditional police procedural. It is a psychological thriller focusing on the gradual unraveling of the novel's narrator, protagonist Rob Ryan, a troubled detective on the Dublin murder squad. Ryan must investigate two possibly interconnected cases.
Twelve-year-old Katy Devlin's body has just surfaced in the woods near a small town outside Dublin in the identical place where two children went missing twenty years ago. Rescuers found their friend, Adam Ryan, covered in blood and without memory of what happened. To complicate matters, unknown to everyone but his partner, our detective narrator Rob Ryan is Adam Ryan, the child survivor. The story moves back and forth in time as Ryan mentally struggles to come to terms with what happened in his childhood and the current crime.
French's writing is subtle, low-key, and realistic. Her characters are flawed and complicated, especially Ryan, and she does an excellent job with the plot. If you are looking for an escape from the news, this is a book I'd recommend.
In the Book of Cold Cases, Simone St James attempts to mesh detective fiction with paranormal gothic a la Daphne de Maurier. But, unfortunately, th1.5
In the Book of Cold Cases, Simone St James attempts to mesh detective fiction with paranormal gothic a la Daphne de Maurier. But, unfortunately, the book didn't work for me. There was too much melodrama, and much of the dialogue was choppy. I also found the climax too long and over the top.
However, in all fairness to the author, I selected this book because I wanted a page-turner to listen to during my colonoscopy prep. So, while I should have read about the book beforehand, I just responded to the title and pushed the audible button. I was expecting a detective story where mere mortals solve cases without the aid of ghosts. But that's me. Fans of horror would like this more than I did....more
The Twist of the Knife is the latest addition to Anthony Horowitz's tongue-in-cheek detective series featuring Hawthorne, a quasi "hard-boilGreat fun!
The Twist of the Knife is the latest addition to Anthony Horowitz's tongue-in-cheek detective series featuring Hawthorne, a quasi "hard-boiled" Sherlock Holmes, and Horowitz as his Watson. In addition to writing himself as a character in the fourth novel in the series, Horowitz becomes the chief murder suspect.
When Horowitz's play Mindgames premiers at the West End, it receives a scathing review from Harriet Throsby, a theater critic well-known for her viciousness. Circumstantial evidence points to Horowitz as the killer. To find out "whodunnit," Hawthorne and Horowitz must figure out who would want to frame Horowitz.
The subsequent investigation follows and spoofs on the conventional detective story format a la Agatha Christie. My husband and I listened to the novel on a road trip, and neither of us could figure it out. The Twist of the Knife is great fun and highly entertaining. I highly recommend it if you feel the need to escape!
3.5 The Man Who died Twice, a clever cozy mystery that playfully parodies the genre, is the 2nd installment in Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club ser 3.5 The Man Who died Twice, a clever cozy mystery that playfully parodies the genre, is the 2nd installment in Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series. Set at an upscale retirement community near Fairhaven, England, the series features four seventy something amateur sleuths who meet each Thursday and attempt to solve cold cases. The would- be detectives bring a wide range of skills from their pre-retirement lives. Elizabeth was a spy, Joyce, a nurse, Ibrahim, a psychologist and Ron a union organizer. When Joyce receives a strange letter from her ex-husband, the group again becomes involved in a real case that involves stolen diamonds and murder.
As in the first book, much is tongue-in cheek, yet there is intricate plotting surprising twists and turns and a cast of well-developed and likeable characters. While I enjoyed the first book, I felt this was better. Osman seems more comfortable with his characters, and they come alive, spunky, quirky, filled with insights on aging and life. The Man Who Died Twice is a light highly entertaining read and a wonderful escape. I listened to the audio and recommend it for mystery buffs or anyone looking for a few hours respite from this troubled world. ...more
2.5 Nita Prose’s debut mystery Is based on an unusual premise- could an individual on the autism spectrum, someone unable to read social cues, be manip2.5 Nita Prose’s debut mystery Is based on an unusual premise- could an individual on the autism spectrum, someone unable to read social cues, be manipulated by a perpetrator and misunderstood by the police to such an extent that she could be framed for a crime.
Molly Gray is a maid at the Regency Grand a five-star hotel in an unspecified city. Molly, age 25, is neurodivergent, most likely on the autism spectrum and a bit OCD. She has always had difficulty reading social cues and consequently has been the focus of bullying and teasing throughout her life. Molly’s grandmother, her only close relationship recently died, leaving Molly alone in the world. When Molly finds a wealthy guest murdered in one of the suites, she cleans she becomes a prime suspect. Prose writes the novel from Molly’s point of view and the authors uses Molly’s misreading of perpetrator and police to build tension as this likeable, yet unlikely protagonist digs herself into hole after to hole.
The book starts off strong and then it begins to lose its moorings as it moves from mystery to morality tale that gushes with maudlin sentimentality. First off, Molly is surrounded by a cast of one- dimensional stock, stereotypical characters, many of whom are all good or all bad. Then, there is Molly herself, a kind of Pollyanna on the spectrum whose difference becomes the source of her goodness and finally there is the fairy tale happy ending and the nonsensical final twist.
Fredrick Backman, the king of feel- good novels, understands that quirky, misunderstood characters, be they curmudgeons (Ove) or on the spectrum like Britt-Marie are flawed flesh and blood human beings like the rest of us. That’s what makes us root for them. That what makes them real. Molly, while she has her charms, seems more like a character out of a fairy tale.