Mystery Reviews, April 1, 2011
Apr 1, 2011
I’M NEW TO the LJ Mystery column, and I look forward to sharing a broad spectrum of mysteries to help you build your collections and connect with your readers. My background is in reference, readers’ advisory, and training, so my reviews may have that “let me tell you about my latest good read” tone. Each month I plan to cover relevant links to mystery events, publishers, or themes that might help you with displays as well. I’ve reviewed for LJ since 2004, but I am repeatedly humbled by the scope and depth of this particular genre. As Betty Rosenberg’s (Genreflecting) First Law of Reading goes: never apologize for your reading tastes. Long live mysteries!
What’s going on this month? Four observations: series are a huge part of today’s mystery scene, and nearly every title here reflects that. Three authors on their third series entry—Cassandra Clark, Sophie Littlefield, and Stefanie Pintoff—just keep producing great new stories. Be sure to get the back titles if you’ve missed them. Note: the longer-running series have a tremendous fan base, but I concentrate on newer series this month. We hope the brief listing below (“Series Lineup”) will help you cross-check your collections.
Using famous authors as amateur sleuths is a device that’s still going strong in historical mysteries. In the latest series entries by Ed Ifkovic and Gyles Brandreth, Edna Ferber and Oscar Wilde continue to pursue new cases.
There are also enough amateur sleuths this season to set up a DIY corner at Home Depot. Whether it’s the flower shop owner or the psychic graduate student, no one is immune to the quest for justice and puzzle solving. A strong sampling is given below, and you’ll notice we’ve made a “Cozy Corner” to help you find them quickly. Mass-market paperbacks are included.
Finally, April is a big month for mystery awards. See the “Mystery Awards: Who Will Win?” box for links and a couple of readers’ advisory ideas. Bear with us as we redesign the column to highlight all the new content. [Special thanks to Teresa’s predecessor, Jo Ann Vicarel, whose critical expertise for many years helped collection development librarians select the best titles in an ever-expanding genre.—Ed.]
CHECK THESE OUT
Brandreth, Gyles. Oscar Wilde and the Vampire Murders. Touchstone: S. & S. May 2011. c.366p. ISBN 9781439153680. pap. $14. M
Oscar Wilde is back in rare form in this clever and intricate mystery that brings 1890s London vibrantly to life. Wilde and his posse—Arthur Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker, among others—are introduced at a royal reception hosted by the lovely Duchess of Albemarle; alas, the Duchess dies unexpectedly later that night, two tiny puncture wounds in her neck. Vampires were all the rage back then, and Stoker’s character helps provide the background information so that this makes perfectly good sense. In Brandreth’s fourth series entry (after Oscar Wilde and the Dead’s Man Smile), he writes in an engaging tell-all style that sheds a bright light on the sexual and social mores of the period. VERDICT Great stuff for readers who love juicy historical tidbits and are intrigued by real writers acting as amateur sleuths. The multiple points of view propel the plot forward at a lively pace, never bogging down with information dumps. Perhaps your Matthew Pearl readers have started on this series?
Clark, Cassandra. The Law of Angels. Minotaur: St. Martin’s.Apr. 2011. c.359p. ISBN 9780312674557. $25.99. M
Abbess Hildegard’s quiet stay in rural medieval Yorkshire is disrupted when Brother Thomas brings her two young girls to protect. Clearly, her charges need protecting because soon the small religious community is on the run, their peaceful home destroyed by villains on horseback. The secrets one of the girls carries endanger them all, so the nuns and their charges find shelter in nearby York, which is set to celebrate a summer religious feast. Against a backdrop of pageantry and political intrigue, Hildegard survives enough close calls and knife attacks to make any contemporary protagonist proud. VERDICT Social injustice and intrigue are irresistible in a mystery dripping in medieval history. The third entry (after Hangman Blind and The Red Velvet Turnshoe) in this stellar series can be read as a stand-alone work, but most readers will want to learn more about the intrepid Hildegard’s earlier exploits. We know more are in the making. Highly recommended for fans of medieval mysteries like Ellis Peters’s Brother Cadfael series. [Library marketing.]
Corleone, Douglas. Night on Fire: A Kevin Corvelli Mystery. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. May 2011. c.352p. ISBN 9780312552275. $24.99. M
It’s hard to like Kevin Corvelli, a hotshot defense attorney who’s recently set up practice in Hawaii (One Man’s Paradise). All of 32, he thinks he rules the courtroom—but his past catches up with him occasionally, setting free demons he’d just as soon suppress. Almost dying in an arson-set hotel fire, Kevin winds up defending the accused arsonist, Erin Simms, a troubled young bride charged with the deaths of 11 people. Kevin befriends a second victim of the fire, young Josh, whose grandmother perished, and his gentle side comes to light. The John Grisham–style twists and turns and cinematic courtroom scenes keep the pages turning as we try to figure out if there is more to this fire than a honeymoon gone sour. VERDICT With its high-octane pace, this is perfect airplane fare. Before you know it, you’ll be humming Hawaii Five-0 theme music and thinking about William Lashner’s Victor Carl, another lawyer who couldn’t resist getting involved with his beautiful clients. [Regional author events.]
Fitzgerald, Conor. The Fatal Touch: A Commissario Alec Blume Novel. Bloomsbury, dist. by Macmillan. Jun. 2011. c.384p. ISBN 9781608193295. $25. M
Rome’s Commissario Alec Blume suspects there is more to an old bum’s death than too much drinking when his body is found in the street. Blume’s instincts are spot-on as the victim—a homicide?—turns out to be Henry Treacy, an infamous art forger. Quite good at his craft, Henry left behind a detailed set of notebooks that people might kill to obtain. Blume’s assistant, Insp. Caterina Mattiola, is flummoxed by her boss’s unorthodox methods, but she has enough intuition to trust him. The danger ratchets up dramatically when the corrupt and powerful Col. Orazio Farinelli from the Art Forgery and Heritage Division makes it clear that he can and will kill people who hide notebooks from him. VERDICT The search for the authentic goes beyond art in this outstanding police procedural. Recommend for readers who relish a police ensemble cast (first introduced in The Dogs of Rome) just starting to gel. Donna Leon and Louise Penny fans would probably like this one, as might the Dan Brown art thriller crowd.
Grabien, Deborah. Graceland. Plus One. (JP Kinkaid Chronicles, Bk. 4). Apr. 2011. c.270p. ISBN 9780984436231. pap. $16.95. M
Famous British rocker/blues guitarist JP Kinkaid has one of those golden life moments when young music journalist Ches Kobel introduces him to Bulldog Moody. Ches is writing a biography about Bulldog, a legendary blues player living quietly in southern Ohio who just happens to be JP’s idol. One golden moment leads to another when they meet, jam, and even record. But the glow fades when JP learns that Ches—a healthy 30-year-old—has died of an apparent heart attack. JP suspects that Ches’s death resulted from foul play and begins to investigate surreptitiously what Ches’s notes reveal. This fourth entry (after London Calling) in the JP Kinkaid story is especially engrossing because of its honesty about living with multiple sclerosis (both protagonist and author have MS) and the disease’s daily impact on family and friends. VERDICT A compelling story about truth and long-buried secrets, written as if JP were talking to you personally. Rock musicians are our royalty, and Grabien shows us how the onstage magic happens. Not just for mystery readers, this has appeal for boomers reflecting on their life stories.
Ifkovic, Ed. Escape Artist: An Edna Ferber Mystery. Poisoned Pen. Jun. 2011. c.250p. ISBN 9781590588475. $24.95; pap. ISBN 9781590588499. $14.95. M
Appleton, WI, native Harry Houdini periodically visits his old friends and as a favor agrees to perform at the town’s theater. Local “girl reporter” Edna Ferber, herself chafing from the chains holding her back from her vaguely formed aspirations, befriends the renowned escape artist. When the murder of teen Frana Lempke rocks the town, it’s Houdini who helps Edna understand the deceptiveness of appearances. Remembering Houdini’s advice to use her “concentration and imagination,” Edna unlocks the mystery of who wanted Frana dead. A clever case, yes, but it’s Edna’s coming-of-age story—she’s a Jewish immigrant’s daughter whose dreams don’t seem to match her girlfriends’ aspirations—that makes the book special. VERDICT The author does a fine job of writing a sequel to Lone Star, set at the opposite end of Edna’s life. Stylistically, it’s as if we’re in Booth Tarkington country, with a leisurely pace and a society with clearly defined boundaries. A gentle read.
Littlefield, Sophie. A Bad Day for Scandal. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. May 2011. c.290p. ISBN 9780312648374. $24.99. M
Priss Porter has another thing coming if she thinks Stella Hardesty, locally renowned vigilante against wife beaters, is available to be a cleaner for someone’s murder. Confronted with the dead guy in Priss’s car trunk, Stella then realizes that Priss, a desperate bully, will blackmail her with compromising photos of Stella on her flash drive. Now on a mission to retrieve the flash drive, Stella comes up short when Priss, Priss’s brother, and the dead guy totally disappear. Stella and her colorful ensemble of family and friends unearth (among other things) a dysfunctional male escort service in Kansas City, which helps explain Priss’s desperation. VERDICT This caper is more fun than eating cotton candy on a Ferris wheel. Littlefield’s zesty dialog and astute observations make this irreverent third series entry (after A Bad Day for Sorry and A Bad Day for Pretty) fly by. The zaniness evokes Janet Evanovich or Harley Jane Kozak; the story itself, Ben Rehder, who writes so well about good old boys behaving badly. [Library marketing.]
Pintoff, Stefanie. Secret of the White Rose. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. May 2011. c.370p. ISBN 9780312583972. $24.99. M
New York City is gripped by anarchist riots and bombings in the fall of 1906. One bombing goes horribly awry, a child is killed, and the arrested young suspect endures the wrath of the city. On the eve of his trial, the presiding judge is murdered in his home, with a Bible under his hand and a white rose next to his corpse. NYPD detective Simon Ziele once again is sleuthing with his mentor, criminologist Alistair Sinclair, and Sinclair’s widowed daughter-in-law, Isabella, using the new and controversial method of profiling. When another judge is slain in a similar manner, finding the motivation behind the crimes takes on greater urgency. For one thing, both judges were friends of Alistair; his life is probably in danger, too. VERDICT Pintoff is at the top of her game in this third entry in her Edgar Award–winning historical series (In the Shadow of Gotham; A Curtain Falls). Hand sell to readers who still talk about Caleb Carr’s The Alienist. Suspenseful and overlaid with symbols, ciphers, and early psychological study—a real winner. [Library marketing; regional author appearances.]
COZY CORNER
Collins, Kate. Night of the Living Dandelion: A Flower Shop Mystery. Obsidian Mysteries: NAL. Apr. 2011. c.336p. ISBN 9780451233011. pap. $6.99. M
Florist Abby Knight’s (Dirty Rotten Tendrils) improbable adventures continue in her small town, but with fiancée Marco, the PI teaching her to be his partner, this series has expanded possibilities. Ex-Army Ranger Marco is being called back to duty, and he’s training Vlad, a military friend of his, to help with the bar in his absence. When local nursing director Lori is killed—drained of her blood—Vlad comes under suspicion because he looks like a vampire. Marco and Abby need to figure out who hated Lori enough to kill her. VERDICT This spoof on the vampire craze, with a wacky subplot involving the always-entertaining cousin Jillian, will keep readers laughing. Horticulture adds a nice twist to the plot.
Knight, Bernard. According to the Evidence. Severn House. May 2011. c.219p. ISBN 9780727869869. $28.95. M
Richard Pryor, a forensic consultant, represents a new profession in this gentle mystery set in rural Wales in the mid-1950s. Three different cases are presented to Pryor and his team, and using the new technology, they are able to help solve them all. Veteran historical mystery author Knight (“Crowner John” series) provides an intriguing premise that flows easily but offers minimal suspense in this second series entry (after Where Death Delights). VERDICT Is a gentle forensic mystery an oxymoron? This leisurely paced entry could be just the ticket for Alexander McCall Smith readers.
Lourey, Jess. October Fest: A Murder-by-Month Mystery. Midnight Ink. May 2011. c.229p. ISBN 9780738726236. pap. $14.95. M
Smart-alecky Minnesota newspaper reporter Mira James reluctantly attends a congressional political debate. Things are heated between the slick incumbent, Sarah Glokkmann, and her challenger, mousy Arnold Swydecker, but even more contentious is the press. When Bob Webber, an anti-Glokkmann blogger, is found murdered the next morning, the local police are baffled. Who would kill him, and is the motivation some sort of silencing effort? Mira has plenty of other concerns—she also runs Battle Lake’s public library; tries to keep up with her octogenarian best friend, Mrs. Berns; struggles with romantic issues; and works valiantly at staying sober. Known locally as the gal who’s always around when there’s a dead body, Mira does it again in her sixth outing. VERDICT With snappy jokes and edgy dialog, Lourey brings a Gen-X tone to a traditional mystery. The classic romance setup and her effective handling of eldercare issues enhance a clever plot. More spunky than sweet; get started on this Lefty-nominated series if you’ve previously missed it.
Lowell, Virginia. Cookie Dough or Die: A Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery. Berkley Prime Crime. Apr. 2011. c.304p. ISBN 9780425240670. pap. $7.99. M
Newly divorced Olivia (Livie) returns to her hometown from Baltimore and opens up a cookie-cutter shop. Livie is devastated when her mentor, legendary businesswoman Clarisse Chamberlain, is found dead of an apparent suicide. Or was it? Intrepid Livie follows her instincts in between cookie-baking marathons and asides about antique cookie cutters, and, oh, yes, bonding with the quietly hot sheriff. VERDICT Formulaic but easy to digest—with a flamboyant sidekick who’s an Internet whiz, the sheriff, the hippy mother, and Spunky, the dog—this is a fun debut. Fans of Lisa Bork’s “Broken Vows” series might enjoy.
Simon, Clea. Grey Zone: A Dulcie Schwartz Mystery. Severn House. May 2011. c.216p. ISBN 9780727869920. $28.95. M
Dulcinea Schwartz’s life as a Harvard grad student is more complicated than most. She’s a bit psychic; has a ghost cat, Mr. Grey, for a muse; and is already known to the local police for earlier cases (Grey Matters). And then she just happens to be on the scene when a professor falls to his death from his department’s building. At the same time, her research into a 1794 feminist author’s writings has stalled, and this gives Dulcie horrible nightmares that further complicate her thinking. VERDICT For those seeking mysteries with a gothic twist, Simon offers a supernatural cozy that also weaves in real-life issues (e.g., sexual harassment of students). Readers will relate to the academic politics and might also like Emily Arsenault’s The Broken Teaglass as a similar suspense puzzle. Or for the paranormal element, consider Sue Ann Jaffarian’s “Ghost of Granny Apples” series.
Slan, Joanna Campbell. Make, Take, Murder: A Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-N-Craft Mystery. Midnight Ink. May 2011. c.360p. ISBN 9780738720661. pap. $14.95. M
Scrapbooking dovetails with serious women’s issues for amateur sleuth Kiki Lowenstein, a feisty young widow who now partially owns the St. Louis shop where local women come to document their memories. She’s certainly not expecting to find a woman’s severed leg in her dumpster, but things like that happen to her in this fourth outing (after Photo, Snap, Shot). Turns out the limb belonged to a victim of domestic abuse; now Kiki’s in danger, since she’s never content to stay on the sidelines. Woven through the cat-and-mouse chase (who knew what damage could be done with craft tools?) are Kiki’s Hanukkah craft ideas and her at-home challenges with a tween daughter. VERDICT This author’s craft mysteries are topically relevant and chock-full of side stories. Compare with Clare O’Donohue’s “Someday Quilts” series for women’s empowerment topics.
ADDITIONAL MYSTERY
Johnson, Craig. Hell Is Empty: A Walt Longmire Mystery. Viking. Jun. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9780670022779. $25.95. M
Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire sets out to recapture a group of escaped convicted murderers. Among them is Raynaud Shade, who confessed to murdering a young boy and burying his body in the Bighorn Mountains. The boy was the grandson of Virgil White Buffalo, a Crow Indian, introduced in Another Man’s Moccasins. The mutual respect and admiration between Longmire and Virgil is crucial in this seventh installment of Johnson’s series, as readers are taken on an electrifying and perilous manhunt through the Cloud Peak Wilderness area of Wyoming. A paperback edition of Dante’s Inferno, a blizzard, a forest fire, and a colossal amount of mysticism all play central roles as the story unfurls. Is Sheriff Longmire losing his mind as he climbs higher toward Cloud Peak? Is Virgil really there beside him? What is really happening, and what about Virgil’s prophecies concerning the future? VERDICT Series fans and readers who enjoy C.J. Box and other authors of Western mysteries will be enthralled by this electrifying and intense work; a triumph. [Ten-city author tour.]—Patricia Ann Owens, Illinois Eastern Community Colls., Mt. Carmel, IL
DEBUT OF THE MONTH
Arthurson, Wayne. Fall from Grace. Forge: Tor. Apr. 2011. c.316p. ISBN 9780765324177. $25.99. M
Edmonton, Alberta, reporter Leo Desroches gets the inside scoop on the dead body story handed to him, but after that he fights hard for every clue. The victim—a local prostitute of Native heritage—was strangled and dumped, and not a lot more is known. Leo, a deeply flawed, recovering gambling addict, questions the system when he realizes a serial killer has been knocking off prostitutes and disposing of them for at least 20 years in fields around the region. Seemingly, no one in law enforcement has cared enough to investigate a possible pattern. As Leo obsesses about the victims, grapples with his own Native heritage, and interviews sources, his own life is threatened more than once. Arthurson slowly pulls in all the elements to conjure the writing of a feature story, but his pace picks up exponentially, and this makes for a very satisfying debut. Leo’s gambling addiction is alive and well, which adds yet another unsettling element. VERDICT Think Nancy Pickard for region and atmosphere, Brad Parks for journalism, and Timothy Hallinan for social concerns and attitude. Highly recommended.
SERIES LINEUP
Dams, Jeanne M. A Dark and Stormy Night. Severn House. (Dorothy Martin Mysteries). Apr. 2011. c.192p. ISBN 9780727869838. $27.95. M
The tenth entry (after Winter of Discontent) finds Dorothy and her retired chief constable husband trapped at a country house during a huge storm.
Doherty, P.C. Nightshade: A Hugh Corbett Medieval Mystery. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Apr. 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9780312678180. $25.99. M
Sir Hugh Corbett (The Waxman Murders) once again helps King Edward I in a covert mission.
Goodwin, Jason. An Evil Eye. Sarah Crichton: Farrar. Apr. 2011. c.304p. ISBN 9780374110406. $26. M
The fourth adventure (after The Bellini Card) in Goodwin’s award-winning historical series has Turkish investigator—and eunuch—Yashim probing an Ottoman admiral’s defection and mysterious deaths in the sultan’s seraglio.
Graves, Sarah. Knockdown: A Home Repair Is Homicide Mystery. Bantam. Apr. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9780553807899. $25. M
Jake’s (Crawlspace) New York past comes back to haunt her in Maine.
Hart, Carolyn. Dead by Midnight: A Death on Demand Mystery. Morrow. Apr. 2011. c.282p. ISBN 9780061914973. $24.99. M
Mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling (Laughed ’Til He Died) puts her puzzle-solving skills to work and almost traps herself.
Parker, I.J. The Fires of the Gods: A Sugawara Akitada Mystery. Severn House. Apr. 2011. c.256p. ISBN 9780727869890. $28.95. M
Travel to 11th-century Japan where Akitada’s (The Masuda Affair) growing family is threatened by his latest investigation.
Pronzini, Bill. Camouflage: A Nameless Detective Novel. Forge: Tor. Jun. 2011. c.288p. ISBN 9780765325648. $24.99. M
Mystery Grand Master Pronzini is always in demand.
Shannon, John. A Little Too Much: A Jack Liffey Mystery. Severn House. Apr. 2011. c.242p. ISBN 9780727869913. $28.95. M
California PI Jack Liffey (On the Nickel) isn’t searching for a missing child this time, but his travels are just as earnest.
Wall, Kathryn R. Jericho Cay: A Bay Tanner Mystery. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. May 2011. c.320p. ISBN 9780312601850. $24.99. M
Return to South Carolina as PI Bay Tanner (Canaan’s Gate) gets involved in a missing-person case that leads to so much more. [Regional author events.]
MYSTERY AWARDS: WHO WILL WIN?
April is an important time for the genre with the Mystery Writers of America announcing the Edgar Award winners (www.theedgars.com) at the end of the month, followed that same weekend by Malice Domestic’s Agatha Awards (www.malicedomestic.org). Perhaps you could set up a ballot box and display for your customers and see how their votes compare with the Mystery Writers of America and Malice Domestic?
EDGAR BEST NOVEL
Coben, Harlen. Caught. Dutton.
Franklin, Tom. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. Morrow.
French, Tana. Faithful Place. Viking.
Hallihan, Timothy. The Queen of Patpong. Morrow.
Hamilton, Steve. The Lock Artist. Minotaur: St. Martin’s.
Lippman, Laura. I’d Know You Anywhere. Morrow.
EDGAR BEST FIRST NOVEL
DeSilva, Bruce. Rogue Island. Forge.
Doiron, Paul. The Poacher’s Son. Minotaur: St. Martin’s.
Gordon, David. The Serialist: A Novel. S.& S.
Pizzalatto, Nic. Galveston. Scribner.
Thompson, James.Snow Angels. Putnam.
AGATHA BEST NOVEL
Andrews, Donna. Stork Raving Mad. Minotaur: St. Martin’s.
Penny, Louise. Bury Your Dead. Minotaur: St. Martin’s.
Pickard, Nancy. The Scent of Rain and Lightning. Ballantine.
Ryan, Hank Phillippi. Drive Time. Mira: Harlequin.
Webber, Heather. Truly, Madly. St. Martin’s Paperbacks.
AGATHA BEST FIRST NOVEL
Aames, Avery. The Long Quiche Goodbye. Berkley: Penguin Group (USA).
Alden, Laura. Murder at the PTA. Obsidian Mysteries: NAL.
Flower, Amanda. Maid of Murder. Five Star: Gale.
Hill, Sasscer. Full Mortality. Wildside Pr.
Orloff, Alan. Diamonds for the Dead. Midnight Ink.
| Author Information |
| Teresa L. Jacobsen, retired librarian, was a training coordinator for Solano County Library, and previous to that, a fiction evaluator/reference librarian for Santa Monica Public Library. She has written occasional feature articles for LJ and BookSmack! and reviewed fiction regularly since 2004. She is an unabashed mystery fan who enjoys bringing new readers into the fold |
