Mystery

Intriguing male sleuths dominate the new year's mystery offerings. Railroad detective Jim Stringer (Andrew Martin's Murder at Deviation Junction), Palestinian teacher Omar Yuseff (Matt Beynon Rees's The Samaritan's Secret), and harpsichordist Charles Patterson (Roz Southey's Chords and Discords) are series characters trying to survive in cultures that offer them no security and where their sense of morality is a detriment. And two engaging detectives to watch in future books are NYPD's Frank Russo (Wayne Barcomb's The Hunted) and Kansas sheriff James Early (Jerry Peterson's Early's Fall), both of whom step up to the plate and handle the curve balls that life throws at them.

New York homicide detective Frank Russo, considered to be one of the best in the department, investigates several murder cases that point to a single killer who may be stalking a woman who as a child had testified against him. The murderer's life—one of horrifying abuse and being torn between leading a normal life and giving in to homicidal urges—is gradually revealed. Russo doggedly follows the meager trail of clues until he finds himself targeted as the next victim. Barcomb's (Blood Tide; Undercurrent) police procedural introduces a likable new series detective who may remind readers of Richard Montanari's Cleveland cop Jack Paris.

Retired Miami homicide detective Sean O'Brien lives in an old house with his dog, Max, on the banks of Florida's St. John's River near the Ocala National Forest. When he discovers a badly beaten young woman in the woods, he sets out on the dangerous road back to investigating murders. He does not realize that his former job and the current murder, which has ties to human trafficking and sexual slavery, are linked until he is in way too deep. Former TV reporter Lowe's debut crime novel can be characterized as Edna Buchanan meets John D. MacDonald. For most mystery collections. [Library marketing.]

In Jim Stringer's fourth adventure (after The Lost Luggage Porter), the railway detective is worried about his very ill young son, and he finds himself on the outs with his railway police force supervisor. Money is a decided issue; Stringer may lose his job, but he gets involved in a murder investigation when his train hits a snowdrift and uncovers a body. In 1909, the British railways were flourishing, and this portrait of the era will captivate railroad aficionados. For mystery collections where historicals circulate.

When a young mother and friend of James Early's wife is found butchered in her home, the case becomes personal for the Kansas sheriff. At the same time, his life unravels as his pregnant wife sinks into depression, and he must hunt down the fugitive bank-robbing son of friends. Set in 1940s Kansas, Peterson's first-rate procedural features a sleuth who works well with a cast of unusual but well-defined supporting characters and who possesses a great deal of moral courage. This intelligent mystery should appeal to readers who enjoy Bill Pronzini and Bill Crider.

Stressing that there are good people on either side of any political/religious conflict (Fatah vs. Hamas and Palestine vs. Israel), journalist Rees spins a tale of secrets in his third book featuring Omar Yussef, a Palestinian teacher with police contacts. The death of a young Samaritan who controlled the Palestinian Authority's millions of dollars launches a race to find the missing funds and places Yussef's family in the path of danger. Much touted for his previous mysteries (The Collaborator of Bethlehem; A Grave in Gaza), Rees does not disappoint here. His smooth writing style and careful plotting are on a par with the much-acclaimed Israeli author Batya Gur. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 10/1/08.]

After a seven-year hiatus, PIs Lydia Chin and Bill Smith are back on the mean streets of New York City. A colleague hires Lydia to find a Chinese police officer who has absconded with jewelry belonging to a Jewish refugee family who had fled to Shanghai in 1938. The man is presumed to be in New York trying to sell it. Soon other complications ensue, as another Chinese cop is found dead. Using letters and journal entries from the 1930s and 1940s, Rozan sets the stage for the modern quest for the missing valuables stolen from Jews during the Holocaust. She also gives us a brilliant look into the culture of Chinese American families today and an exciting mystery. Readers who have waited patiently for this one will not be disappointed. Highly recommended. [Library marketing; see Prepub Mystery, LJ 10/1/08.]

Following Broken Harmony, Southey dishes up a second adventure featuring Charles Patterson, a musician in 1736 Newcastle, England. When a young man is murdered, Patterson is hired to find the miscreant. Using both people and spirits (Patterson's Newcastle is an alternate world in which spirits remain where they died and can talk to the living) as sources of information, Patterson works his way through many a nasty situation until he reveals the truth. Readers who enjoy paranormal mysteries full of historical detail, clear characterizations, and dangerous action will put this on their reserve lists. It may also appeal to fans of Liz Williams and Jim Butcher.

The suspicious deaths of two female servants of Contessa Caterina, the ward of the Duke of Milan, give artist and sleuth Leonardo da Vinci (The Queen's Gambit) the idea to place his apprentice, Dino, in service to the Contessa's household. Dino, who is really a woman posing as a man so she can learn from the great Master, loses her heart to a soldier and sees da Vinci viciously attacked and almost killed. Milan in 1483 is a hot bed of intrigue, and Stuckart's delightful second series historical plays it for all it's worth. Highly recommended.

In Grammy-nominaed songwriter Blatte's debut mystery, detective Salvatore Messina, nicknamed Black Sallie Blue Eyes, must solve a murder involving a hip-hop club, the recording industry, Serbian refugees, and some really bad people out to hurt anyone in their way. The street talk eventually grates, but the mystery is entertaining. For larger collections.

Discredited forensic anthropologist Kate Donovan is given a chance to redeem her career but blows it when she discovers a burial cave and pokes around in it. Headstrong and whiny, she does not add much to this tale of the cutthroat world of archaeology.

A surgeon's life can be full of excitement, and Dr. Richard Kurtz (Surgical Risk; The Anatomy Lesson) gets his share in this rambling tale of murder at a medical center. Even though Katz loses track of the mystery, this is an engaging read. For larger collections.

Crafter Sophie Mae (Lye in Wait; Heaven Preserve Us) lands in a mess when the yarn that she has spun in her spinning class ends up as the murder weapon in the strangulation death of a very unpopular woman. For libraries where crafting novels are in demand.

Puerto Rican PI Alessandra Martillo is given the dangerous assignment of finding out who is trying to bring down Irish mob leader Mickey Caughlan. She is the best part of this otherwise routine story by the author of Dead Cat Bounce. An optional purchase.

In second-century Roman Britain, Libertus (A Roman Ransom) represents his patron at a wedding. When two people are murdered, Libertus must quickly solve a puzzle that turns out to be his most challenging case. Sure to appeal to fans of John Maddox Roberts. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 9/1/08.]

Aimée Leduc is waiting for an important client when a Haitian woman enters and announces that she is Aimée's half-sister. Quel choc! Aimée agrees to meet her at a café but misses her, then follows a trail that leads to a dead man surrounded by a circle of salt. And so Black launches Aimée's ninth mystery (Murder in the Rue de Paradis), and it's every bit as good as the preceding eight. Like its predecessors, this work is infused with both sharp political/historical commentary and a strong sense of Aimée's messy but affecting emotional life. Even as she uncovers what happened to the murdered man—his work, relevant to a French water project and the parlous state of Haiti's water supply, interests both Madame Obin of the Haitian trade delegation and her radically opposed nephew—Aimée opens up in her typically heartfelt way to the idea of having a sibling, evidently born of a liaison her father once had with a woman who subsequently returned home to Haiti. Is Mireille really Aimée's sister? Perhaps. To save her life, will Aimée crawl through the worst tunnels under Paris? Mais, bien sûr. Another pitch-perfect read from Black; highly recommended. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 11/1/08.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

Certain powerful and corrupt individuals, some of them with the LAPD, arrange an efficient murder. Then, curiously, the department assigns the case to a detective whom they think will mess up the investigation. Two problems emerge: Robbery-Homicide Detective Lena Gamble (City of Fire) has no intention of failing, and there is an unknown witness helping her. The grisly murder of a Jane Doe, found expertly butchered in a Hollywood dumpster, seems unsolvable. But Lena, with evidence mailed to her by the witness, traces the victim's death to a restaurant parking lot that fronts a prostitution ring. LAPD top brass, politically savvy power brokers, and a medical researcher are heavily invested by this point and increasingly desperate to suppress any incriminating evidence. Morality is not high on their list, and the body count rises. Doggedly, Lena cuts through all the corruption, defies her superiors' orders, and, of course, puts herself in danger repeatedly. Ellis's elaborate puzzle is a nail-biter to the final page. Great LA settings enhance this high-speed thriller. Recommended for all popular collections. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 10/1/08.]—Teresa L. Jacobsen, Solano Cty. Lib., Fairfield, CA

In this third installment in a series (after The Janissary Tree and The Snake Stone) set in the 1830s–40s, Goodwin returns to the exotic world of the Middle East, but only briefly. Yashim, the eunuch detective, is instructed by the Ottoman sultan to go to Venice to find a portrait of Mehmet the Conqueror painted by Bellini, but Resid Pasha requests he avoid any extravagance in purchasing the painting. To please both, Yashim sends a friend, the impoverished Polish ambassador Palewski, to go in his stead, masquerading as an American connoisseur. As Palewski searches for the portrait, a killer stalks the city and all who have a connection with the Bellini. The resulting tale is as labyrinthine as the watery thoroughfares of Venice. Beautifully evocative and filled with characters whose thoughts and deeds are as much a mix of Italy and the Orient as the city itself, this is a book to be savored. Series fans will not be disappointed, and new readers will find themselves seeking out Goodwin's earlier works. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/08.]—Pamela P. O'Sullivan, SUNY at Brockport Lib.

The bicentennial of the birth of the father of modern mystery—on January 19, 2009—is bound to be observed by writers of the genre. The Mystery Writers of America (whose award of excellence is the Edgar) presents these two publications simultaneously, with identical introductory articles about the author and the organization. In the Shadow of the Master features 13 of Poe's best-known tales, poems "The Raven" and "The Bells," and an excerpt from his sole novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, followed by essays about these works from contemporary mystery authors. Most speak either generally in appreciation of the master of horror or about the effects of his work on them personally. P.J. Parrish details what writers can learn from Poe, S.J. Rozan praises his language, and King observes that Poe "foresaw the darkness of generations far beyond his own." Varied in length and quality, these afterwords serve to add a dimension to Poe's work. While libraries may own ample Poe collections intended largely for students, this volume would be useful to refresh current holdings.

The 20 new tales in honor of Poe in On a Raven's Wing act as riffs on the original works. Some echo the themes of Poe's tales (e.g., Mary Higgins Clark's "The Tell-Tale Purr" and P.J. Parrish's updated "The Tell-Tale Pacemaker"), while others focus on the horror of confinement (e.g., Brendan DuBois's "The Cask of Castle Ireland"). There are also stories involving scams centering on Poe's work or artifacts; in others, Poe's work helps to unite characters (e.g., Thomas H. Cook's "Nevermore" and Don Winslow's "Poe, Jo, and I"). Among the most frightening tales are James W. Hall's "Bells" and Stuart M. Kaminsky's "Rattle, Rattle, Rattle"; both ratchet up an atmosphere of suspense and madness in the manner of the master. Full appreciation of these tales requires a familiarity with Poe, but the collection is entertaining on its own.—Michele Leber, Arlington, VA

Norwegian Detective Harry Hole (introduced in Redbreast) has managed to drag himself out of his alcoholic stupor in time to save his relationship with girlfriend Rachel and his fellow cops. He's gotten sober just in time: first, a cashier is killed in a bank robbery, but Harry is sure it was an intended murder; then, he has dinner with an old flame only to black out and wake up the next morning to the news of her death. With the help of Beate Lonn, a new officer in robbery with a gift for recognizing faces, he runs his own investigations, tracing leads all the way to Brazil and Egypt. Nesbø offers up another top-notch mystery thriller, thickly layered, perfectly plotted, and briskly paced to keep readers hooked. With ties to events in Redbreast, this is an excellent sequel, but it doesn't stand well on its own. Recommended for all fiction collections and essential for Scandinavian crime lovers. [This is actually the third in the series; the second, The Devil's Star, has not yet been published here.—Ed.]—Jessica E. Moyer, Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis

At last, a dog lover's mystery that portrays dogs as they really are. Chet, the canine narrator, forgets he isn't supposed to bark. He doesn't remember the choker chain is around his neck. He wonders what the noise is when he finds himself growling and questions where the breeze is coming from when his tail is wagging. Although ideas may not remain in his head for long, his loyalty to and love for his owner, Bernie, a divorced, financially strapped PI, are forever in his heart. A teenage girl, Madison, goes missing and might have been kidnapped, and Bernie takes the case. Bernie, Chet, and Suzie, a newspaper investigative reporter, follow the clues to an abandoned ghost town and mine. Quinn's characters are endearing, and his narrative is intriguing, fast-moving, and well written. Even cat lovers will find it entertaining. This first in a projected series by newcomer Quinn is highly recommended.—Susan Hayes, Chattahoochee Valley Libs., Columbus, GA

Mark Genevich faces more challenges than your average South Boston private detective. He's narcoleptic, and his symptoms tend to interfere with hard-boiled investigation. One is automatic behavior—Mark goes to sleep, but his body acts like he's awake. He takes in a client and has no memory of the meeting, even as the man calls, days later, in great distress, asking him "Have you found it yet?" Mark sometimes suffers from cataplexy: a conscious paralysis, often triggered by stress of the large-men-trying-to-kill-you kind. Then there are the hypnogogic hallucinations: ultravivid dreams experienced during a half-awake state. Mark can't always tell hallucinations from reality as he pursues a case concerning a beautiful young woman, risqué photos, and her district attorney father. Well-crafted in a witty voice that doesn't let go, Tremblay's debut is part noir throwback, part medical mystery, part comedy, and thoroughly, wonderfully entertaining. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 11/1/08.]—Julie Kane, Sweet Briar Coll. Lib., VA

Winspear's sixth Maisie Dobbs novel opens on Christmas Eve 1931, as Maisie witnesses an injured war veteran-turned-beggar blow himself up on a crowded London street. This tragic event turns sinister the next day when the prime minister receives a menacing letter that demands the government immediately render aid to alleviate the suffering of the unemployed, particularly war veterans who served their country dutifully. If no action is taken within 48 hours, there will be consequences. Is this one human's act of madness, or does the conspiracy run deeper? Psychologist and detective Maisie partners with Scotland Yard to prevent the loss of even more life. Winspear has written an intriguing psychological mystery about the damage war inflicts on a person's soul, as well as a thought-provoking look at the lengths to which the hopeless and mentally unstable might go to be heard. Recommended for all historical mystery collections. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 10/1/08.]—Susan O. Moritz, Montgomery Cty. P.L., MD