This is book 6 in the Department Q mysteries.  I just love this series, Carl, Assad and Rose are a great team.  Their interactions and methods of working drive the story along at a nice pace.  In this outing of the series, Carl receives a call which he as no interest in getting involved in.  The caller kills himself and a very reluctant Carl and his team are dragged in to look at a cold case that was the catalyst for the suicide.

Great sense of place, great (and in some instances tragic) characters, an interesting plot involving an obscure religious cult, and obsessive love come together to create an engaging novel.  I didn’t see the end coming and thought the resolution was really cleverly done.  A great, well written mystery, in a series that continues to be one of my favorites.

Two very different mysteries, both from series that I really like.  The Dogs of Riga is the 2nd book in the Kurt Wallander series that the TV show is based upon.   This books sees Kurt leaving home to continue with a case in a Soviet dominated Latvia.  He has no one to trust and at the same time is being told by desperate people that he is their only chance for justice.  The case starts with two bodies in a life raft and ends up being something much bigger and with the potential to end Kurt’s own life.  The atmosphere created here is fantastic, both in Kurt’s lonely and isolated life at home and in the terror filled streets of Latvia.  Really strong sense of place and the characters of Kurt, Baiba Leipa and Major Leipa are fully fleshed out and are able to evoke empathy from the reader.  Fans of the TV series and others who like Nordic thrillers or have an interest in Soviet-Latvian politics would enjoy this book.

Water Like a Stone is book 11 in the Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James series.  This is a Christmas book, as Duncan and Gemma take the children to visit Duncan’s parents for the holiday.  Unfortunately, the body of a small child is discovered by Duncan’s sister as they arrive and Duncan finds himself and even his family drawn into the case.  This was a lighter read and spent a lot of time focused on Duncan and Gemma’s kids and their relationship with Duncan’s family.  The reader also meets Duncan’s sister as she is dealing with accusations of infidelity, a troublesome teen child, embezzlement and a struggling new business.  This was a quick, lighter read, well written, not much of a mystery for the reader to solve, but there is a case to follow in which Duncan is not the lead detective,  and a lot of plot dealing with family life.  A nice addition to the series, I enjoyed it and will certainly continue reading about Duncan and Gemma.

Last time I went to the library EIGHT of my holds all came in on the same day, so now I am frantically trying to get through them before the 31st.

A Dedicated Man is the second in Peter Robinson’s Inspector Banks series.  In this episode, Inspector Banks is investigating the murder of a man that everyone seems to say has no enemies, but the fact he ended up buried under a stone wall with his head bashed in seems to put paid to that notion.  Inspector Banks is given a rather green constable  to help him among others.   A second missing person adds to the case and with a wealth of characters, many who had connections from long ago and some nasty rumors about others swirling around the village, he has his work cut out for him.

A strong sense of place, great characters, and plenty of red herrings make this a great mystery read along the lines of PD James and Ruth Rendell.  I really enjoyed it and am happy to know that there are plenty more to read in the series.

River of Darkness was a book that I became aware of through the Kindle English Mystery Club and decided to give a try.  It is interesting in that it reads like a modern-day serial killer thriller, but is set in the period between the wars in rural England.  An entire family is obliterated and Inspector John Madden recognizes the wounds as he had served time in the Army.  He begins to investigate and eventually finds connections to other murders and builds his case.  In the course of this work, he meets a love interest to help him overcome his rather tragic past.

A decent quick mystery read, but I am not sure if I would invest the time in continuing the series.

Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason is the 7th book in the Inspector Erlendeur novels.  I started this series with the 3rd book as that was the first one translated into English.  I am really enjoying reading these mysteries with the team of  Inspectors Erlendur, Elinborg and Sigurdur Oli.  All three of them are interesting characters alone, well drawn and realistic feeling.  Alongside the mystery, Erlendur deals with his adult children and with his dying mentor giving more insight into his character.

The mystery here has a modern feel as it is deeply wrapped up in  immigration, racism, and xenophobia.  A child with a Thai bride mother is murdered and emotions run deep giving the case a high-profile and lots of leads.  There is a second missing person case that Erlendur feels compelled to solve even though just about everyone else is certain it is a suicide.  A compelling mystery read with a good sense of place and a great cast of characters.   Recommended read!

Die Zauberflote is a libretto for Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute.  I had a ticket to see the show with a friend and wanted to read the libretto ahead of time to be familiar with it.  I felt the storyline was a contrived with over the top drama, but it is not really meant just to be read.  The performance had a great cast and beautiful music at Westminster College.  I still didn’t like the storyline, but I’m glad that I went to see it.

Insomnia strikes so I am updating my latest reads.  The first one is Blood Lines, I received a free copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.  This is the 5th book in the D.I. Kim Stone series.  I have read the first Kim Stone book and enjoyed it but fell behind on the series so I am reading this out-of-order.

Kim Stone is reconnected with an old nemesis, sociopath Dr. Alex Thorne, whilst she is in the midst of another case.  D.I. Stone is pushed and pulled between the current murder case and the trouble that Dr. Thorne is stirring up.

This was a great read.  Thrilling and interesting, with a wealth of  engaging characters, it kept me turning the pages long after I should have gone to sleep.  I was fascinated by the workings of Dr. Thorne’s mind and what she was able to achieve through her machinations while “safely” behind bars.  The resolution of D.I. Stone’s mother’s storyline played out well and gave reader’s a real understanding of D.I. Stone and what drives her as a person and an officer.

The main murder case storyline highlighted the importance of the team as a unit and gave time to each of the members.  There were red herrings and multiple leads that the team waded through before being able to tie it all together in a “down to the wire” finish.

I would highly recommend this and fully intend to go back and read the other books in the series.

The Ghost Fields is book 7 in the Ruth Galloway series.  Ruth is a forensic archaeologist, who often gets involved in solving crimes on top of being a college instructor and running archaeological digs.  In this case Ruth’s daughter is starting school.  Nelson is trying to be part of his daughter’s life and maintain his marriage.  The other regular crew of recurring characters are also present in this outing in the series.

The strongest point in all the Ruth Galloway books  has been the wonderful sense of place that they evoke and that is still true in this book.  The setting is so well-formed that it really becomes an essential art of the story.  I did find the mystery in this book was rather weak  considering the  murder happened in the war so the killer had to be in his or her 80s and there weren’t a ton of characters in that age range.  It seemed as though Nelson really didn’t investigate and everything was just sort of stumbled upon.  I am also getting a little weary of the Ruth-Nelson will they, won’t they storyline.

I have loved these books since the beginning but this one is definitely a weak outing in the series.

Night Blind by Ragnar Jonasson is the 2nd in the Dark Iceland series.  This takes place 5 years after the setting of the first book.  Ari Thor is with his girlfriend and they have a young child now.  He was recently denied a promotion and has a new boss since Tomas moved south.

Another good read in this series.  Ari Thor is a complex character with a past and a complicated relationship.  The story begins with a shooting and then Ari’s attempts to solve it are interspersed with diary entries from a mental hospital patient.  The book ties it all together in the end, solving the case and other crimes along the way.  There are themes of domestic violence, drug abuse, and mental illness.

This is a book with a well-developed sense of place. This is truly atmospheric as the reader is immersed in the feelings of being in Siglufjordur.  The setting evokes feelings of isolation and dread.  Really enjoyed this and will be interested to see what the next books bring.

Killing Kate is a  serial killer mystery read.  There is a serial killer in Kate’s home town and he is killing women that look like her.  That is enough to give anyone the heebie jeebies.   Kate was on holiday when it started but now she’s home and on top of the serial killer, she has an ex who is still somewhat persistent.  The main theme explored is domestic violence.  This was a quick read but not one that really grabbed me as anything special.

  This is book 10 in the Morse series by Colin Dexter and it may have been my favorite so far!  Lots of wordplay and puzzles much of it going back and forth through the newspapers as Morse is on vacation.  The central crime is the disappearance (and assumed murder) of a “Swedish Maiden” some years prior.  Morse is on vacation as the case is reopened through clues being published in the newspaper.

Morse’s curmudgeonly personality shines through here and we get to see him as he “enjoys” his holiday and works on a case outside of “proper” channels.  Lewis also has to stand on his own two feet while Morse is away coming to some realizations about the relationship he has with Morse and how it is viewed (perhaps envied) by others.   Finally, Morse and Max’s relationship is given some bittersweet attention here, allowing the reader to see another side of Morse and bringing real depth of emotion to the character.

I am enjoying this series of books greatly and will be sad to reach the end.

Home sick with an upper respiratory infection, I managed to read two books.  The Devil in the Marshalsea is this month’s read at the Kindle English Mystery Club.  I picked up my copy from the library and so it was bumped to the top of my TBR pile.

The Devil in the Marshalsea is a murder mystery set in the mid 1700s in the infamous Marshalsea Gaol.  I really don’t know a great deal about the time period or the  debtor’s prison and I found this fascinating reading.  Pretty much the entire book with a few pages as exceptions takes place within the confines of the Gaol.  There is a large cast of characters, very Dickensian-like in the local color they provide for the book.  A wonderfully developed sense of place (particularly in reference to the smells and sights of the prison).  The author does a good job immersing the reading in the horrific world of the Marshalsea.

The premise is that a murder, initially deemed a suicide, takes place in the Marshalsea, and now a young man, Tom Hawkins, whose debts and misfortunes have caught up with him is sent there.  He is given an opportunity to earn release if he can discover what is going on surrounding the death of the Captain.  The story is fast paced with everything happening within short periods of time.  There are lots of suspects and red herrings, political intrigues/corruption and questionable motives which kept me guessing until the end.  Very enjoyable historical mystery!

Ella in Bloom is a book I received for free in exchange for a fair review from BEA.  This would best be described as a family drama, I suppose.  A story of two sisters, a favourite child and a lesser.  The golden child, Terrell, dies and Ella, the not-so-golden, somewhat disgraced, child is left to try to fill in for her parents.  The book’s prose is well written, and the epistolary   elements are nicely done as well.  I just found the plot lines all a little over-wrought perhaps or maybe just dated?  It seems like the current events should have been taking place 30 years earlier to make more sense to me.

The sisters, Terrell and Ella, both seemed to live their lives in terror of their mother.  Ella fled and lied from a distance and Terrell maintained a perfect picture facade in the hometown.  The father seemed okay with the mother’s unreasonableness and the resultant disconnect in the family or he just didn’t care enough to make any effort.  The mother’s “secret shame” and reaction and attitudes just seemed over the top considering it is supposed to be taking place in the late 80s or early 90s.  I just couldn’t really connect to the plot here.

A Man of Some Repute by Elizabeth Edmondson was for me surprisingly good and fun to read.  The characters of Hugo and Georgia were engaging and well drawn.  Georgia was a good counterpoint to Hugo’s seriousness.  The novel is set after the war in one of the great country houses in England.  The house had been used by the military and now that he has an injury Hugo has been put out to pasture there or so it seems.  Soon a body is discovered and Hugo is drawn into the investigation with an eager Georgia.

The portrayal of post war estates is well done here and the plot is lively and engaging.  I really enjoyed it even though historicals are not normally my favourites.

In a Cottage in a Wood by Cass Green is this month’s bargain read at the Kindle English Mystery Club on Goodreads.  Neve’s encounter with a woman on a bridge late at night is the catalyst for exposing secrets and changing Neve’s life.  Neve’s brief experience with the Isabella  leads to Isabella leaving her “a cottage in a wood”, an isolated, dismal looking, cold cottage that is.  When Neve arrives, driven by desperate circumstances in her life and without really much of a plan, she is drawn into discovering who Isabella was and what lead to her death.  Quick, fast paced read with an engaging story line.  I will say the ending felt rushed to me but still ok.

  This is my final Christmas read for the year, a collection of short stories that is part of the British Library Crime classics Collection.  I read Crimson Snow, another collection edited by Martin Edwards, earlier this Christmas season as part of the Kindle English Mystery Club and while I enjoyed that book, I really liked selections in this one.  There were stories from Margery Allingham, Edmund Crispin, Arthur Conan Doyle,  among others. One of my favorites in this collection was probably Waxworks, a creepy mystery by the author Ethel Lina White, who also wrote The Wheel Spins which was translated to film by Hitchcock himself as The Lady Vanishes.  I also enjoyed Stuffing, a cute,short, very Christmassy story by Edgar Wallace.   If you haven’t had a chance to pick up any of  the books in this series, the short story collections would be a great place to start!

 This was my Boxing Day read, Wolf to the Slaughter from Ruth Rendell’s Inspector Wexford series.  This is an engaging mystery with a plot liberally sprinkled with suspects and clues.  It begins with a missing woman, who based on an unsigned note is assumed to be dead.  Wexford and his team investigate pursuing leads that take them all over the area.  One of his team has a personal story line that is tied into the mystery case but that is the closest the reader really gets to knowing anything personal about the detectives here.

This is one of the earliest Ruth Rendell books and perhaps her style changes over time, but for this book there is not much character development.  Wexford comes across to me as a bit of a cold fish, but I am assuming that changes as the reader gets to know him through the development of the series.  The focus in this particular book is more on the police procedural elements.  I will probably come back to this series in the future but I’m not in a particular hurry to do so.

  This is my latest read from the library, book 9 in the Inspector Morse series by Colin Dexter.  This is textbook Morse, as he sits and drinks his way to a conclusion for the case.  There are lots of false starts, red herrings, and conflicting stories from all the possible suspects.  The jewel of the title is a famous artifact that was bequeathed to the Ashmolean Museum by its owner.  The woman carrying the jewel dies and her purse containing it disappears.  Morse and Lewis work through a list of suspects displaying varying motives, alibis, and lies.

This was a  good mystery with quite  a bit to puzzle through, but I would say this was not my favorite Morse in the series.  There is a different feel, as in author’s voice, to this book than the other Morse novels I have read so far.  I think this has to do with the development of this particular book.  Apparently, the TV episode for this particular story came first and then the novel was written.  This is different from the other books in the series in which the novels were written first.