Tag Archives: mystery

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Mind’s Eye by Hakan Nesser

I picked this up from the library in my foray for some new authors to read.  This is the first in a translated to English from Swedish series.

Anyway, I really liked Inspector Van Veeteren or maybe I just identified with him.  He is kept on the job simply because he is really good at what he does.  He is not there out of any particular passion for it or a drive to succeed.  He is like a dog with bone, when things don’t seem to jive with the case, he just keeps working at it.  Uncovering clue after clue and following them up.

I love atmospheric mysteries like this one.  The dark mood really immerses me in the story.  The husband accused of the crime and seemingly unwilling or unable to help himself is a very different character than one usually encounters and his lawyer seems almost a touch humorous with his obvious frustration with his client.

The book was a very quick and easy read and was not really that graphic.  We get descriptions of the crime scene(s) and the beginning of an attack, but no excessive gore or violence.  The plot ties together a series of tragedies in the end very neatly.

My only issue with the book was that I knew very early on who the killer was and what had happened. I don’t want to give a spoiler here so I can’t really discuss how, other than to say I spent my middle school years reading a very trashy series of novels (which are once again popular now for some reason) that sort of ran along these lines.

Overall, I will read more of Inspector Van Veeteren’s investigations as they come available.

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The Cold Light of Mourning by Elizabeth J. Duncan

This is one of the Cozy Mystery Corner groups from Goodreads choices for this month.  It is a fun, quick read with a very engaging protagonist.  The mystery is well crafted and the village of Llanelen sounds beautiful, a place I would love to visit.  I started to read this and soon realized I had read it already.  I don’t know why I didn’t continue with the series, I must have just forgotten about it or maybe the library didn’t have the others.  In any case, I will definitely put them on my TBR list now!

If you like British village mysteries with an amateur sleuth, this would be a great read.

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The Sayers Swindle by Victoria Abbott

This is the second book in the A Book Collector Mystery series.  The premise of this series is that a young woman, Jordan Bingham, is hired by a reclusive bibliophile, Vera Van Alst, to attempt to track down books that were stolen from her collection.  This book in the series focus is a collection of first edition Dorothy Sayers books.  Jordan comes from a dubious background and her to two Uncles are comic relief characters recurring from the first book.

The characters in these books have been great, particularly the recurring characters. Jordan is a well written character with depth and humor.  She is resourceful and intelligent, but doesn’t take herself too seriously.  The setting and the theme is very engaging to me.  My dad was from upstate New York and I visited there frequently so I am familiar with it.  Books? As a theme, can never have too many books. 🙂

The focus of this book is Dorothy Sayers and as a reader you may miss some of the references, if you have not read those books. I have not read them and it didn’t seem to impact my enjoyment of The Sayers Swindle.  What I appreciated about this book was that the authors did not spend a lot of time rehashing the first book.  Many times authors spend time explaining events from previous books in case a reader is reading out of order, but for people who aren’t that can get tiresome.  If you didn’t read The Christie Curse, you might want to do so before reading this one.

The mystery plot had lots of twists and turns.  I do think the ending was a little fast, but on the other hand I like that better than when an ending just seems dragged out for no apparent reason.

Excellent continuation in this series!

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Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce

  I saw this recommended on Goodreads and was able to pick it up from my local library.  I  enjoyed it and really liked the sleuth DC Gary Goodhew.  He is not a “normal” character…not really a plodder playing by the rules. In fact, the driving force of the story is that he operates outside the rules to solve cases. The cast of possible suspects is well drawn and full of secrets and hidden agendas.  I did guess the resolution, but not all the details relatively early on, however it was not with complete certainty.

The story centers around a family with a tragic history, siblings and lovers and a deceased parent’s’ rambling journal.  I found it very interesting, especially the long term impact of secrets and lies.  There is more than one murder involved and I did have to pay attention to keep the character’s straight.

I would read more by this author, but I will say that fans of police procedurals may not care for it.  The whole premise of this is that DC Goodhew uses his intellect, cunning and willingness to break the law to solve cases, sometimes putting convictions in jeopardy.  I am not a huge reader of police procedurals, so I appreciated the “thinking out of the box” sleuth, others might argue that he is a loose cannon and should be shut down.

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Haunted Ground by Erin Hart

Picked up this at the library after seeing a reference to it on Goodreads.  I have never read anything, to my knowledge, by Erin Hart before.  The story revolves around a well preserved body discovered in a peat bog in an area where a young woman and child recently disappeared.  The two stories are told simultaneously.

There is a lot to like in this book.  The setting is very well done, excellent sense of place that develops through the book.  There is also cultural and historical references including music and folklore that add color and detail to the story.  The protagonist is an archaeologist, Cormac Maguire.  His sidekick/romantic interest/colleague is an American pathologist, Nora Gavin.  Both these characters are well developed with their own motivations and feelings.  The dark moody atmosphere is maintained throughout the story, very similar to Elly Griffiths and Ann Cleeves work, two writers I enjoy.

My issue with the book is that it was really, really obvious who the culprit(s) were and basically what happened.  It seemed so obvious to me and I was so sure of it, that for a minute I thought perhaps I had read the book before.  There are characters that are put forth, as so called red herrings, but I didn’t buy it at all.  This occurred so early on that I had a hard time staying interested in the rest of the story.  The reveal, when it did occur, felt rushed, like a sudden sprint to the end.  It was not in keeping with the pace and tone of the rest of the book.

Overall, there is a lot to like, but the mystery plot itself was a let down.

 

 

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Library Loot

wpid-IMAG0484.jpg Picked up some mysteries today, not everything was in but these were.

Mind’s Eye by Hakan Nesser now translated into English #1 in An Inspector Van Vetteren Mystery series.

Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce F#1 in the A DC Gary Goodhew Mystery Series.

Voices by Arnaldur Indridason.  This is the third in the Reykjavik Murder Series translated into English, however it is the 5th in the series…another victim if TOOS (Translated Out of Order Syndrome).  I read the first two that were translated and they were great!

Haunted Ground by Erin Hart.  Say this one advertised on Goodreads and it really intrigued me. Sounds reminiscent of Elly Griffiths or Ann Cleeves, both of whom I really like.

A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie is the first in a series featuring Det. Supt Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James.  Another recommendation from Goodreads that sounds promising.

 

 

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A Mind to Murder by P.D. James

  I have felt for some time that as a mystery fan I really should have read some P.D. James, being that she is such a prolific and well respected mystery writer.  I picked up this one at my local book shop to give it a try.

I really liked the character of Dalgliesh, the sleuth.  Organized and intelligent are words that come to mind to describe him.  The other characters though, come across a little flat.  The only one I really cared about we only get to know through other’s perspectives because she dies at the beginning of the book, spurring the entire mystery.  It is a sort of twist that although the murder takes place in a psychiatric ward, none of the patients are suspects, only the staff.

As par for the course in mysteries there is some misdirection in the book, intended to mislead the reader.  My issue was that the
“red herring” plot actually worked better than the actual resolution, at least for me.

Based on this book alone, I don’t know if I would read more in the series, but given that  PD James is such an iconic mystery writer I feel that I should give a couple more a chance before I make a decision to give up on this series.

 

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Three Great Cozies…

freezer dial oma fatal slip

I had to take my mom to the hospital (she is fine now)  and ended up spending a lot of time there, so I read these three cozies.  All of them are books in series that I enjoy.

The first is Freezer I’ll Shoot from Victoria Hamilton, the third book in the A Vintage Kitchen Mystery series that I really enjoy.   In this book the mystery is  interesting.  The relationship between Jaymie and Daniel is developed, including their parents.  I’m impressed with the romance portion of this book (and the series).  In many cozies, the male characters are either exs, in which case they are no go rotten cheating bas***** or they are these idealized new men that swoop into the protagonists life.   Daniel is flawed and the relationship is flawed and you truly don’t know at this point whether they will end up together or even whether they should.  It is a very realistic touch.  The setting is intriguing to me because I have visited similar areas, border areas between the US and Canada.  The vintage theme is fun and interesting and has now expanded to a newspaper column as well.  Another fun, quick, good read in this series.

Dial Om for Murder is the second book in the  A Mantra for Murder series.  I just recently read the first in this series, Corpse Pose and ordered this one right afterwards.  The character, AJ, is a very sympathetic character. She is going through a lot including continuing issues with her ex-husband, who we met in the first book.  Her romance with Jake continues to be rocky.  The adversarial relationship with Lily continues in this book, as does her hot and cold relationship with her mother.  In most reviews I read, people love the character of Elysia, Jaymie’s mom, but I find her aggravating and I mean that as a good thing.  I get so caught up in the story that her mother drives me just as crazy as she drives Jaymie.  A good cozy mystery in a series that I will continue to read.

The final book was A Fatal Slip, book 3 in the A Sweet Nothings Lingerie Mystery series. In this book, there is a lot of focus on Arabella, as a former love returns to town at the same time as she is dealing with a health scare.  Emma is still the main sleuth and protagonist, although she enlists the help of Liz to investigate the murder, mainly to clear Arabella’s name.  Emma’s relationship with Brian continues to progress in a well-paced fashion.  I am wondering where the series is going theme-wise because Emma seems to be moving away from the Lingerie shop and into other enterprises. Some new characters have moved to the town and I wonder if they will be recurring, especially Joy, whose name is definitely not well-suited.  Cute cozy mystery!

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Corpse Pose by Diana Killian

  Ordered this cozy while waiting for another yoga based cozy, Murder Strikes a Pose, to come in to my local indie bookshop.

I was looking for a break from the many book store/library and cat based cozies that I read.  I love them, but sometimes they start to run together in my head :).  I am not a crafty person so many of the craft cozies don’t really appeal to me, but the yoga theme really got my attention.

This cozy was very good. I ordered the next in the series already.  The opening starts with a murder (off screen) of AJ’s beloved aunt.  The murder brings her home to New Jersey as her aunt’s next of kin and heir to a yoga based empire.  AJ is a free lance PR person living in Manhatten and recently divorced and not doing well in her personal or professional life.  Her husband left her for a man and she is really feeling the sting.

I thought the mystery plot was pretty good. I liked the characters of AJ and her mother Elysia.  The characters were well done and I really liked the inclusion of Lily as I have had the misfortune to meet a yoga teacher like her so that character struck me as particularly “real”. I actually found that the yoga theme doesn’t overwhelm the story, so if a reader is not a yoga practitioner they can still enjoy this book.  There is a love interest in the form of Detective Oberlin.  I actually think the romantic elements and AJ being able to step in right back into yoga after years away were weak parts in the book.  I don’t want to discuss specifics because I can’t really do that without a spoiler so I’ll just leave it alone.

Overall, I liked AJ, the theme and the mystery, so I will definitely read the next one in the series.  I think this series may be finished because there are only four books published and the last one was in 2011.

 

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The Silence of the Library by Miranda James

This is the 5th book in the A Cat in the Stacks Mystery series.  I loved this outing in the series!  Charlie Harris, a librarian and sleuth, and his sidekick Diesel, the giant Maine Coon cat, become entangled in a murder mystery involving classic mystery series books for children in the ilk of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys to name some of the most popular ones.  The fictional Veronica Thane series that is at the center of The Silence of the Library   is closely modeled on Nancy Drew, perhaps a more over the top version, and the centenarian author character is modeled on Mildred Wirt Benson, the original Nancy Drew author.

The mystery plot was  very well done and interestingly crafted in that the Charlie Harris story is interspersed with readings from a Veronica Thane novel, so the reader goes through both mysteries together to come to the reveal.  The parallelism was a fun plot device for the reader.

This mystery series does have several recurring characters, such as Charlie’s children and Helen Louise, a love interest.  These relationships have developed over time so reading the series in order is probably ideal, however this story can stand on its own, especially for lover’s of Nancy Drew type books.

A great cozy mystery read! Highly recommended!

As an aside, the author writes this series as Miranda James, a pseudonym, but writes the Simon Kirby-Jones series under his name, Dean James.  The Simon Kirby-Jones series is a different kind of cozy, a lot of fun and I really liked it.  I read that entire series.  I have now ordered a book from a third series by this author written under the name of Honor Hartman and can’t wait to give that a try.