New (to me anyway) Books: January to March

The New (to me anyway) Meme is sponsored by Kerrie over at Mysteries in Paradise. Here's what she's looking for....

Just write a post about the best new-to-you crime fiction authors (or all) you've read in the period of January to March 2016, put a link to her meme in your post (click above), and even use the logo if you like. The books don't necessarily need to be newly published. After writing your post, then link up over at Kerrie's place and visit the links posted by other participants in the meme to discover even more books to read. 'Cause there are never enough books to hunt down and read.

 

Here are the books by authors I hadn't tried before:

 

Puzzle in Petticoats by Samuel M. Kootz (1944)

Four Against the Bank of England by Ann Huxley (1969) [non-fiction]

The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont by Robert Barr (1906)

The Clock Ticks On by Valentine Williams (1933)

The Doberman Wore Black by Barbara Moore (1983)

The Fifth Passenger by Edward Young (1963)

The Bridal Bed Murders by A. E. Martin (1954)

The Day He Died by Lewis Padgett (1947)

House of Darkness by Allan MacKinnon (1947)

The Philomel Foundation by James Gollin (1980)

Dead Against My Principles by Kenneth Hopkins (1960)

Death in Profile by Guy Fraser-Sampson (2016)

 

Overall, the experiments with new authors were very successful with most earning at least three stars, several with four, and one run-away winner with five stars. The two most disappointing were The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont and The Bridal Bed Murders with two stars apiece. The first lacked the promised humor and the second fell down on the job severely in the mystery department. The best of the bunch were Death in Profile and House of Darkness. 

 

Death in Profile wins for new-to-me, new releases. Guy Fraser-Sampson has created a company of very interesting characters. Characters who are at once likeable and compelling with imperfections that we can all understand and relate to. He has also, as noted on the novel's back cover, put together a "love letter to the detective novel." A notation that should come as no surprise to those of us who love the Golden Age Detective novel and who are fellow members of a GAD group online, because I would add that it is a love letter to the classic detective novel. The references to various writers from the Golden Age and their creations as well as the most obvious tribute to Dorothy L. Sayers and Lord Peter Wimsey are quite delightful. Fraser-Sampson pulled me into the story from the outset and I enjoyed the investigation quite a lot. I also enjoyed the various tensions developed in the story--from the tensions between older and newer methods of police work to the tensions between various members of the team to the tensions involved with bringing in the profiler. 

 

But the overall winner is House of Darkness. This, quite honestly, was the most fun I've had reading a mad-dash, mystery thriller in a long time. Even though I had never heard of Allan MacKinnon before, I snatched it right up when I saw this near-fine Dell Mapback edition sitting at my favorite used bookstore--just waiting for me. What a delight to find such a cracking good yarn with engaging characters, apt descriptions, and humorous dialogue. I have a feeling MacKinnon had a great deal of fun putting this story together and it translates to plenty of enjoyment for the reader. A definite surprise favorite--and it may just turn out to be the overall favorite for the year.  

New (To Me Anyway) Crime Authors

The New (to me anyway) Meme is sponsored by Kerrie over at Mysteries in Paradise. Here's what she's looking for....

Just write a post about the best new-to-you crime fiction authors (or all) you've read in the period of October to December 2015, put a link to her meme in your post (click above), and even use the logo if you like. The books don't necessarily need to be newly published. After writing your post, then link up over at Kerrie's place and visit the links posted by other participants in the meme to discover even more books to read. 'Cause there are never enough books to hunt down and read.

 

Here are the books by authors I hadn't tried before:

 

The Ghost Writer by John Harwood (10/16/15)
Ax by Ed McBain (10/21/15)
Murder on Cue by Jane Dentinger (10/27/15)
Murder in the Hellfire Club by Donald Zochert (11/3/15)
Murder with a Twist by Tracy Kiely (11/8/15)
The Bobbsey Twins' Search in the Great City by Laura Lee Hope (11/10/15)
The Red Redmaynes by Eden Phillpotts (11/14/15)
Call for the Dead by John le Carré (11/18/15)
Chef Maurice & a Spot of Truffle by J. A. Lang (11/24/15)
The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay (12/2/15)
The Corpse & 3 Ex-Husbands by Sue McVeigh (12/5/15)
The Cashmere Kid by B. (Barbara) Comfort (12/31/15)  

 

As is often the case, my new experiences were a mixture of good and bad. I can't say that I would really recommend The Ghost Writer (2004), Murder in the Hellfire Club (1978) or The Cashmere Kid (1993)--though of the three The Ghost Writer earned higher marks (three stars over two). Call for the Dead (1961) was the runaway winner--a five-star, spy/thriller treat that surprised me. Le Carré reeled me in with his descriptive story-telling. A "toad"-like man may not have been my ideal spy when I began, but I was completely convinced of his abilities and his reality by the end. The picture of post-war Britain that le Carré paints is brilliantly rendered--I looked up from my book in the final chapters fully expecting to see the fog swirling round me and to hear the river traffic below the bridge. The story itself reads less like a spy-thriller to me than a more traditional mystery. Smiley is following up clues in the best Scotland Yard fashion. Chef Maurice & a Spot of Truffle (2015), The Santa Klaus Murder (1936), and Murder with a Twist (2015) all earned four stars apiece and I was pleased to discover two new authors with freshly published books this past year. The rest of the books on the list earned three or three and a half stars each.

 

New (to me anyway) Crime Authors

The New (to me anyway) Meme is sponsored by Kerrie over at Mysteries in Paradise. Here's what she's looking for....

Just write a post about the best new-to-you crime fiction authors (or all) you've read in the period of October to December 2014, put a link to her meme in your post (click above), and even use the logo if you like. The books don't necessarily need to be newly published. After writing your post, then link up over at Kerrie's place and visit the links posted by other participants in the meme to discover even more books to read. 'Cause there are never enough books to hunt down and read.

 

Here are the books by authors I hadn't tried before:

 

Death by Hitchcock by Elissa D. Grodin (10/6/14) 

Murder on Mike by H. Paul Jeffers (10/15/14)

Too Many Doctors by Holly Roth (10/22/14) 

The Mind-Murders by Janwillem van de Wetering (10/30/14) 

Copper Gold by Pauline Glen Winslow (11/1/14)

Trick or Treat Murder by Leslie Meier (11/12/14)

The Dark Ring of Murder by Misa Yamamura (11/19/14) 

Mayhem in B-Flat by Elliot Paul (12/4/14) 

The Secret of the Gondola by David Alan Brown (12/7/14)

 

And as far as new experiences go, there was about an equal amount of good and bad. I can't say that I would recommend Too Many Doctors, The Mind-Murders, Copper Gold or The Secret of the Gondola--a borderline mystery at best.  Death by Hitchcock (brand-new in 2014), Murder on Mike (1984), Trick or Treat Murder (1997) and The Dark Ring of Murder (1998) were all enjoyable and earned in the three-star or just over range. The best of the new authors was Elliot Paul with Mayhem in B-Flat. First published in 1940, it is set in Paris between the two World Wars. It stars Homer Evans, American in Paris, and his pistol packing lady, Miriam Leonard. Miriam is more at home on the prairie, wrestling steers into submission--but adjusts well to the French countryside which seems to be littered with rival gang members. Homer and Miriam have planned an excursion to Normandy to allow Homer to investigate his Gallic roots. But their quiet vacation plans are interrupted when they encounter a gang member known as the Singe--someone they've come across before. Homer doesn't know what skulduggery may be afoot, but that there will be skulduggery he is certain.

 

New (to me anyway) Crime Authors: July to September

The New (to me anyway) Meme is sponsored by Kerrie over at Mysteries in Paradise. Here's what she's looking for....

Just write a post about the best new-to-you crime fiction authors (or all) you've read in the period of July to September 2014, put a link to her meme in your post (click above), and even use the logo if you like. The books don't necessarily need to be newly published. After writing your post, then link up over at Kerrie's place and visit the links posted by other participants in the meme to discover even more books to read. 'Cause there are never enough books to hunt down and read.

This meme will run again at the end of January 2015

And my selection for the best new-to-me crime fiction author (I've only got one serious contender--most of my crime reads were by old friends)? D. J. Donaldson, author of New Orleans Requiem--one of several review requests I've received this year. Donaldson's book was a real winner and was absolutely deserving of August's P.O.M. Award and helps him snag the distinction of best new-to-me author. It is a fast-paced thriller with much of the classic whodunnit. There is a really nice twist at the end and the final reveal came as a big surprise. Enjoyable read for thriller, police procedural, and whodunnit fans alike.

Don (or D. J.) Donaldson not only writes New Orleans-based forensic mysteries but also has several suspenseful medical thrillers (sometimes under the name David Best). He holds a Ph.D. in human anatomy and has (in another life) taught microscopic anatomy to medical and dental students and published dozens of research papers on wound healing. He puts his scholarly knowledge to good use in his well-researched crime novels. For more info, please see his website.