Short Takes: Mystery

Summer is a-coming in, bringing a rich array of crime fiction that will transport readers from Elizabethan England and Weimar Berlin to modern-day Ireland, India, and West Africa for the perfect vacation escape.

Readers first met Inspector John Madden in River of Darkness, where he employed then unsanctioned psychological-profiling methods to identify a serial killer in post-World War I Britain. When Madden reappeared in Blood-Dimmed Tide, it was 1932; he had retired from active duty but was drawn into a local case involving a murdered child. Now, another 12 years have passed, and Polish immigrant Rosa Nowak is murdered during a London blackout. Madden's ties to the girl are quickly discovered, and his interest in finding her killer brings him out of retirement once more. As with the other series books, Airth's latest blends modern methods of crime detection with a superb cast of characters who inhabit a well-drawn world steeped in historical ambience and detail. Libraries that buy this title should also buy its predecessors; readers will want as much of Madden as they can get. Highly recommended.—Nancy McNicol, Hamden P.L., CT

Cantrell's debut offers up a grittily realistic portrayal of 1930s Berlin as the Nazis come to power. While covering her usual crime beat, newspaper reporter Hannah Vogel unexpectedly spots a photo of her brother Ernst in the Alexanderplatz Police Station on a wall displaying pictures of the unclaimed dead. Ernst had been living a high-profile life as a gay man, performing in a cabaret and exposing himself to danger by associating with known Nazis. Though barely getting by in a time when money and resources are scarce, Hannah risks it all by launching a solo investigation to find her brother's murderer. She is unable to confide in even her closest friends lest they be targeted by corrupt police or Nazis. Keeping the suspense high, Cantrell does an excellent job of projecting the fear of the time through her characters. Sure to appeal to fans of Alan Furst and other noir historical thrillers; strongly recommended.—Caroline Mann, Univ. of Portland Lib., OR

John Shakespeare (elder brother of William) is an investigator for Secretary Walsingham in the service of Queen Elizabeth I, and his first case takes place in the months surrounding the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the threatened invasion of the Spanish Armada. As Jesuits sneak into England and Romish priests offer secret Catholic services, Shakespeare must find Lady Blanche Howard's killer and protect Sir Francis Drake from a clever and deadly Spanish assassin. This debut historical thriller, peopled equally with real and fictional characters, is longer than most historicals, and the number of details, characters, and events may turn off more traditional mystery readers. However, fans of historicals should be more than satisfied with the well-paced plot and complex story. Recommend for readers who liked Marie Brennan's recent historical fantasy, Midnight Never Comes, also about Elizabethan politics and the court, or Karen Harper's Queen Elizabeth mystery series (Poyson Garden). [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 1/09.]—Jessica Moyer, Coll. of Education & Human Development., Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis

George Gates, a former travel writer whose son was murdered by an unknown assailant, now writes for a small-town New York paper, still mourning and still angry. A retired cop piques his curiosity about the unsolved disappearance of a woman 20 years ago. When a newspaper assignment sends him to 12-year-old Alice, dying of progeria, the two attempt to solve Katherine Carr's disappearance by studying an autobiographical story she left behind. Edgar Award winner Cook (Master of the Delta) has delighted readers with varying topics and characters in two dozen novels, which are often more concerned with the mystery than the perpetrator. Here he ponders the question of whether an evil man really gets away with his crime. Cook skillfully interweaves mundane, often tragic events with the unseen, even darkly fanciful side of reality. In the end, Gates is left hoping for hope in this complex story within a story within a story. Recommended.—Roland Person, ret., Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale

Vish Puri's New Delhi detective agency has never been busier, often doing background checks on persons selected for arranged marriages. With his keen skills of observation and deduction, a network of personal contacts, and some modern communication devices, Punjabi Puri claims to be his country's top detective, citing his Super Sleuth award from the World Federation of Detectives for solving the Case of the Missing Polo Elephant in 1999. (He also has an appetite for pakoras and 30 excess pounds and is known to family and friends as Chubby.) A prominent lawyer who asks Puri to find a missing servant is arrested for the young woman's murder when her body is found, requiring complex work by Puri's staff. Meanwhile, he must check out the squeaky-clean fiancé of the granddaughter of a revered war hero. And Puri's visiting Mummy-ji undertakes her own search when her son is shot at. In his fiction debut, British journalist Hall (To the Elephant Graveyard)—who lives in London and New Delhi—captures his second country with grace and humor and creates a protagonist able to put more cases in his "conclusively solved" cabinet. An entertaining start (complete with expletives-included glossary) to a promising series. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 2/1/09; India is hot in the mystery world; in July, St. Martin's is publishing Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup, whose novel Q & A was made into the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.—Ed.]—Michele Leber, Arlington, VA

Irish P.I. Ed Loy's dark and violent past continues to haunt him in this fourth book in Hughes's noir series (e.g., Wrong Kind of Blood). While investigating the death of a young soccer star with possible drug connections, Ed is contacted by Ann Fogerty to investigate her father's murder. Ann believes that the current suspect is the wrong guy and that the police are sandbagging her. Now Ed must renew unsavory contacts from his youth with violent IRA connections. The three men with both motive and means to kill Ann's father walk a fine line between respectability and villainy; one is well connected to the soccer circuit. Violence erupts—Ireland is a small place where investigation is a delicate and sometimes deadly matter—and suddenly Ed's two cases are on a collision course. Hughes's Ireland is tough, gritty, and filled with economic, political, and moral conflict. His characters are sharply drawn and deeply flawed. The growing audience for Ken Bruen, Tania French, Benjamin Black, and other authors of Irish noir will love it! [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 3/1/09.]—Susan Clifford Braun, Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA

A medical resident working with Ghana's Ministry of Health's AIDS program is murdered, and Detective Inspector Darko Dawson has been asked to investigate. Not only is he an excellent detective but he has family ties to the village. Alas, nothing about this case is simple, and the growing rift between Dawson's modern police work and a local inspector's refusal to move past traditionally accepted beliefs jeopardizes a successful arrest. The uncommon grace and style of the writing will engender comparisons with Alexander McCall Smith's Botswana stories, but this novel has more grit. Darko is a sleuth full of contradictions, a tough defender of justice and truth who is also a habitual pot smoker. Yet it's the crossover between Dark's professional life and personal issues that helps drive the plot and makes his story more relatable. This well-crafted first novel is a smart purchase for all libraries and a great choice for a book club discussion. [Library marketing; for an African mystery readalike, see also Michael Stanley's The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu.—Ed.]—Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH

In this new collection of five Sherlockian short stories, the master sleuth is once again at the height of his powers with the aid of his constant companion, Dr. Watson, and, on occasion, Inspector Lestrade. Sherlock finds the reason for an eccentric aristocrat's strange behavior, uncovers missing treasure while looking for two missing brothers, discovers forgeries of the work and letters of Lord Byron and Robert Browning, helps Winston Churchill prevent a Latvian anarchist revolution in the Siege of Sydney Street, and, finally, breaks the code of the Zimmerman Telegram during World War I. Because Thomas has authored Sherlock Holmes anthologies (The Execution of Sherlock Holmes) and nonfiction books about Victorian-era crime (The Victorian Underworld), it's hardly surprising that the atmosphere runs true in these stories, which could be mistaken for unpublished Arthur Conan Doyle tales. Recommended for Sherlock Holmes fans and readers who enjoy Victorian mysteries. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 1/09.]—Susan Hayes, Chattahoochee Valley Libs., Columbus, GA

Westlake's final Dortmunder novel is a winning send-up of our current fascination with reality TV. When Dortmunder and his associates—okay, his criminal gang—are offered a role on a reality show dramatizing their exploits, they initially think it's a terrible idea. However, they soon see it as an opportunity to aid in their usual criminal pursuits. While the producers of their show believe that the group is staging a small-time robbery, they're actually working on a way to find what they believe is a large amount of money being housed by the production company. What's not expected is that they begin to enjoy their TV careers, an outcome that contributes a couple of laugh-out-loud scenes. Dortmunder, Andy Kelp, Stan Murch, and the other members of their inner circle are perfectly drawn, and their interactions make for excellent comedy. Westlake, who died last New Year's Eve, will be sorely missed, but he has left a fine last work that will add to his legacy. Highly recommended.—Craig Shufelt, Fort McMurray P.L., AB