Difference between revisions of "Newest Crime Reviews"
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| + | |author=Mary Higgins Clark | ||
| + | |title=Death Wears a Beauty Mask | ||
| + | |rating=4 | ||
| + | |genre=Short Stories | ||
| + | |summary=In 1972, Mary Higgins Clark began writing a novella entitled ''Death Wears a Beauty Mask.'' She struggled with the story and put it aside, where it lay forgotton for several decades. When the author rediscovered the manuscript amongst some old files, she decided that she liked it and was ready to complete the long-awaited ending. ''Death Wears a Beauty Mask'' joins some of her other works, both old and new, in an entertaining collection of short stories full of mystery and suspense. | ||
| + | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1471143228</amazonuk> | ||
| + | }} | ||
{{newreview | {{newreview | ||
|author= Kelley Armstrong | |author= Kelley Armstrong | ||
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|summary=Chatri Aromanadee and Daeng Khasajamsarun are friends, but in a rather unequal way. Daeng very much has the upper hand despite the fact that Chatri is a policeman: Daeng is manipulative and it's difficult to be polite enough to say that he 'sails close to the wind'. The man is a criminal, but he turned a problem of his own (and of his own making) into a hold over Chatri, which still holds firm even when Chatri becomes the chief of police in Baan Chailai, with its lively bar scene, on the Gulf of Thailand. Their sons have a similar relationship: Daeng's son Tong is brutal in his relationships with women and Chatri's son Sunan has the misfortune to work in the hotel complex owned by Daeng. | |summary=Chatri Aromanadee and Daeng Khasajamsarun are friends, but in a rather unequal way. Daeng very much has the upper hand despite the fact that Chatri is a policeman: Daeng is manipulative and it's difficult to be polite enough to say that he 'sails close to the wind'. The man is a criminal, but he turned a problem of his own (and of his own making) into a hold over Chatri, which still holds firm even when Chatri becomes the chief of police in Baan Chailai, with its lively bar scene, on the Gulf of Thailand. Their sons have a similar relationship: Daeng's son Tong is brutal in his relationships with women and Chatri's son Sunan has the misfortune to work in the hotel complex owned by Daeng. | ||
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1502880806</amazonuk> | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1502880806</amazonuk> | ||
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Revision as of 12:21, 11 February 2016
Death Wears a Beauty Mask by Mary Higgins Clark
In 1972, Mary Higgins Clark began writing a novella entitled Death Wears a Beauty Mask. She struggled with the story and put it aside, where it lay forgotton for several decades. When the author rediscovered the manuscript amongst some old files, she decided that she liked it and was ready to complete the long-awaited ending. Death Wears a Beauty Mask joins some of her other works, both old and new, in an entertaining collection of short stories full of mystery and suspense. Full review...
City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong
Detective Casey Duncan has a dark past, and it's about to catch up with her. When her best friend Diana is attacked by an abusive ex, the two women realise they have to disappear, fast. And they need sanctuary. Diana's heard of a hidden town that's so remote it's almost impossible to reach. A town that desperately needs a new detective. Full review...
The House of Eyes (Wesley Peterson) by Kate Ellis
D I Wesley Peterson wasn't too worried when Darren Hatman reported his daughter missing. She'd been working at Eyecliffe Castle and it wasn't difficult to sense that she'd been annoying the other staff with the stories of what she'd be doing when she got her modelling contract. There was just one point which left Peterson uneasy: Hatman claimed that Leanne had been stalked by a photographer and the case was obviously worth an enquiry or two. Eyecliffe Castle had been home to the wealthy D'Arles family, but was now a luxury hotel and spa, with the last remaining member of the family living in the Dower House in the grounds. Then Darren was found brutally murdered in the grounds of the castle: was it possible that Leanne had met a similar fate, and if so, why? Full review...
Scales of Justice (DCI Roderick Alleyn) by Ngaio Marsh
Swevenings seems like one of those idyllic places to live. All that disrupts the tranquil lives of the inhabitants is the fierce competition to catch the Old Un, a large trout which lives under the bridge over the stream which meanders through the village. Then one day Nurse Kettle discovers the body of Colonel Carterette at edge of the stream and beside him is the Old Un. Carterette had been brutally murdered and he was not the fisherman who had landed the Old Un. He was, though, the man who was in charge of publishing the controversial memoirs of the local baronet. The investigation is beyond the capacity of the local constabulary, and Scotland Yard, in the person of Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn is called in. And his primary interest is the fish. Full review...
Behind Closed Doors by Elizabeth Haynes
In 2003 Scarlett Rainsford was on holiday in Rhodes with her parents and sister when she met a boy. Her father wasn't at all keen on the idea so Scarlett crept out at night to meet him and she might have given him the idea that she wanted to run away from home. On the last night of the holiday Scarlett was bundled into a van - and into a life of terror and prostitution. Ten years later she turned up in her hometown when a brothel was raided. Where had she been all these years, how had she got back to the UK and why did her parents not seem all that pleased to find that she was back? Full review...
Try Not To Breathe by Holly Seddon
In Try not to Breathe Holly Seddon offers an addition to the somewhat overflowing thriller shelves. Of course, the reason this particular segment is bursting at the seams is because thrillers, especially psychological ones, are just so compelling. And there have been some good - and hugely successful - books in this category out there of late (before-I-go-to-sleep-I'll-be-gone-with-a-girl-on-a-train). So how does Holly Seddon match up? Full review...
All Dressed in White by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke
Following the success of The Cinderella Murder case, people are lining up to be featured on Laurie Moran's successful TV show: Under Suspicion. Each episode revives a 'cold case' by returning to the scene of the crime, interviewing the friends and family of the victim and reviewing new evidence. The show has had 100% success record so far, which has resulted in an influx of potential new cases to feature. However, when a desperate mother begs Laurie to investigate the disappearance of her daughter on her wedding day, Laurie knows that her story will make great TV; especially as the scene of the 'crime' is a luxurious hotel in Florida... Full review...
Box Nine by Jack O'Connell
The wind brushed against the review like a thousand kisses and Sam knew that something out of the ordinary was happening. It wasn't since the long hot summer 1997 that he had the misfortune to read a book that had as much extraneous detail as this. He felt to himself that there was little point in actually getting to the meat of a review, when instead he could witter on about something that had little to do with anything – perhaps this would get a little annoying over 352 pages? Welcome to the world of Jack O'Connell's Box Nine. Full review...
Missing in Malmo (Anita Sundstrom Mysteries) by Torquil MacLeod
Anita Sundstrom wasn't best pleased when she was told to look into the disappearance of British heir hunter Graeme Todd: missing persons weren't really her thing and it seemed that it was only down to her because she was fluent in English. There was a similar reluctance when her ex-husband asked her to look into the disappearance of his girlfriend. But events took a sinister turn and Anita found herself deeply entangled in both cases. The first case seemed to be linked to a robbery which took place in Newcastle some twenty years earlier and in the second case it seemed that Bjorn Sundstrom hadn't been entirely truthful with her about his relationship with Greta Jansson. Full review...
The Killing of Polly Carter by Robert Thorogood
I'm a fan of old-school murder mysteries…think Agatha Christie, think Margery Allingham, Dorothy Sayers… These are stories as games. Usually on the very edge of plausibility, gruesomeness kept to a minimum, police procedure trodden all over in hobnailed enthusiasm of insight and flashes of inspiration. So it follows that I enjoy TV series in the same vein: Midsommer Murders, Poirot… and Death in Paradise. It was because my enjoyment of the series was known that The Killing of Polly Carter was sent my way. Full review...
Murder at the Old Vicarage by Jill McGown
The vicar's daughter, Joanna, had mixed feelings when her husband called at the vicarage. The last time she'd seen him his violence had put her in hospital and she'd been living with her parents ever since. She had her reasons for deciding to see him, even though her parents would have preferred just to send him packing. George Wheeler had more problems than his daughter's marriage to worry about: he was strangely attracted to a young widow who had recently come to the parish and also had serious doubts about his vocation. It was only his wife, Marian who stopped the wheels from falling off his life. But Marian was always that sort of woman. Then - on Christmas Eve - his son in law was battered to death with a poker in his daughter's bedroom at the vicarage. Full review...
Quarry's List by Max Allan Collins
The Quarry series is classic pulp fiction from Max Allan Collins that has spanned almost 50 years. The newest books in the series may be set in the past, but where actually written recently. The success of the newer books, has revitalised interest in the original 1970s run of books. Once known as The Broker's Daughter, Quarry's List is the second book in the series that may not introduce you to the character, but it does introduce you to why Quarry became a killer of killers. Full review...
Blade of Light by Andrea Camilleri
When Mr di Marta arrived at Montalbano's station to report an armed robbery on his wife the night before the most surprising point was not the robbery itself, but the fact that it had ended with a kiss. The Inspector's suspicions were aroused and he was convinced that he was not being told the full story. None of the witnesses' stories added up and it was difficult not to come to the conclusion that they were not meant to. Then a body turned up in a burnt-out car which had all the hallmarks of a Mafia hit. This isn't Montalbano's only problem though - there's another case which keeps sneaking its way back into his attention even though he should have nothing to do with it. Full review...
Bryant and May - London's Glory by Christopher Fowler
In the depths of the last B&M review I wrote I said Of course, it's unbelievable, farcical. But then you don't come to a Bryant and May story for realism. You come for absurdity. Naturally, I stand by that comment. Fowler has concocted his characters and has no shame in shunting them up and down the time-line of British history as he sees fit. Full review...
Murder For Christmas by Francis Duncan
Mordecai Tremaine used to be a tobacconist and he was a lover of romance novels, but these were not his main claim to fame: he has a reputation as a sleuth. He was somewhat surprised to be invited to spend Christmas in the peaceful village of Sherbroome at the country home of Benedict Grame, not knowing the man well. When he arrived on Christmas Eve the festivities were in full swing, but - observer of people as he was - he sensed tensions amongst the odd assortment of guests. In the early hours of Christmas Day the household is woken by screams and as everyone assembles downstairs they discover a dead body under the Christmas tree - and he looks decidedly like Father Christmas. It's up to Tremaine to establish who committed the murder. Full review...
The Crossing by Christina James
When DI Tim Yates is called to investigate a tragic collision between a train and a council lorry on a level crossing, he expects it to be a straightforward investigation. However, he soon realises there's nothing straightforward about it. Full review...
A Painted Smile by Frances Fyfield
Diana Porteous is young, rich and a widow. She's reached the stage of being over the initial grief after the death of her husband, but her life lacks focus. It's then that her beloved step-grandson, Patrick, comes up with an idea: he suggests an exhibition of portraits entitled A Question of Guilt which encourages people to really look at the pictures and work out what they think the subjects are doing. It began in a rather light-hearted way but it's not long before everyone is caught up in the preparations for the exhibition, to be presented in the large wine cellar under the old schoolhouse. Not everyone is sure that it's suitable though... Full review...
The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne by M L Longworth
Antoine Verlaque, investigating judge at Aix-en-Provence, is asked to visit a retired postman who has uncovered an old canvas in his apartment, which just happens to be the former home of famous nineteenth-century artist Paul Cezanne. When he gets there the old man is dead, there's no canvas to be seen, and an American art history professor is inexplicably in the living room. It's now up to Antoine and his team of policemen to find the murderer and the painting, and with the help of his girlfriend Marine Bonnet, work out who the woman in the painting is and if it could really be a hitherto unknown Cezanne. Full review...
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
Our narrator, a self-confessed expert at giving, er, relief to men, is branching out. Well, carpal tunnel syndrome at such a young age isn't great. Instead of working at the back of a dodgy tarot shop, she's out front, pretending to see auras, and using her natural aptitude to read people (a skill mastered begging for years with her one-eyed mother), when a woman comes in with a serious demand. Piecing the mystery of what it might be together for us, our heroine ends up in a very malevolent building, housing what might be the step-son from hell… Full review...
Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri
Inspector Montalbano came to the aid of his new neighbour when her car wouldn't start. It wasn't just gallantry which led him to do this: the fact that she was stunningly beautiful didn't harm her chances at all. Montalbano wasn't to know where this simple, courteous act would lead, although he knew something was wrong: it wasn't that the car wouldn't start - it had been deliberately damaged. Her husband, a computer salesman, seemed only to be around occasionally and obviously didn't care what Liliana got up to when he wasn't there. And then Liliana began making advances to Montalbano, whilst she was carrying on a relationship with a young assistant in a local clothes shop. What was going on? Full review...
The Glass Room (D I Vera Stanhope) by Ann Cleeves
Inspector Vera Stanhope isn't big on friends but the hippy neighbours are good to her in terms of home-brew beer and conversation and when one of them goes missing she feels obliged to investigate. She knows that she'd be furious if one of the team was playing at private investigator and it leaves her in the embarrassing position of being first on the scene after a murder has been discovered. One of the tutors has been brutally murdered at The Writers' House and the other residents have made an easy assumption about who wielded the knife, but Vera must act professionally even though she knows that's she's hardly impartial. Full review...
Blood Sisters by Graham Masterton
A young couple are walking on a cliff-top when they hear a cry of anguish from below, which leads to the discovery of not an injured person but horses – lots of them. Full review...
Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin
There's a high-profile murder case in Edinburgh. Someone has broken into the home of Lord Minton, senior lawyer and former Lord Advocate, beaten him, strangled him and then beaten him some more when he was dead. A note was found at the scene of the crime which suggested that Minton had been threatened. DI Siobhan Clarke has been seconded to the enquiry and she calls on her old friend John Rebus, kicking his heels in retirement, when Big Ger Cafferty narrowly escapes death as a shot is fired into his house. Cafferty had received the same threatening note as Minton. Fearing a turf war, he's reluctant to open up to anyone but Rebus. Clarke's friend, DI Malcolm Fox has been seconded too - to a team from Glasgow who are undercover and need local expertise, only he's not quite so well received. His former posting in Complaints is well known. Full review...
Harbour Street (D I Vera Stanhope) by Ann Cleeves
Detective Sergeant Joe Ashworth was escorting his daughter home from a pre-Christmas school concert using the Newcastle metro, not least because the snow had started. A rather smart, elderly woman took a seat but when the train was stopped because of the bad weather Jessie noticed that the old lady had not left her seat and went to wake her - only Margaret Krukowski had been fatally stabbed as she sat on the train. Christmas wasn't D I Vera Stanhope's favourite time of year and she wasn't upset to have work to do to break up the festivities; far better to be on her way to the Northumberland seaside town of Mardle with Joe Ashworth. Margaret Krukowski had lived in the boarding house at 1 Harbour Street as well as working there. In fact, she'd lived there before it became a boarding house. Full review...
Bellebrook's Secrets by Helen Stafford
Trudy Hampstead has a plan that will support her widowed mother and twin brother unwittingly involving their landlord's son. Their landlord is local gentry and philanderer Alistair Burgoyne QC and the one person who can ensure security of tenure. Trudy thinks that Peter the local curate should step in to speak to Trudy, something he's more than happy to do since he has a secret agenda of his own. Meanwhile up at the farm the Lovestocks' marriage is coming apart at the seams, a fact that may partially threaten the peace of the village but not half as much as the anonymous random acts of violence that are about to hit Bellebrook. Full review...
Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves
Life hadn't been easy for Julie Armstrong, left on her own with two children. Her son Luke 'had his difficulties' too, probably best summarised as a learning disorder, and he absorbed a lot of Julie's time. She felt guilty that she neglected her daughter Laura who was bright, but rather withdrawn: being Luke's sister had never been easy and keeping herself to herself was the best way of dealing with the jibes about what he'd done now. There weren't many opportunities for Julie to get out without the kids and the chance of a night out with her girlfriends had been too good to pass up, but when she came home, perhaps a little drunk and high from meeting up with a man she felt attracted to, she found Luke dead in a flower-strewn bath full of water. He'd been strangled. Full review...
The Soul of Discretion (Simon Serrailler) by Susan Hill
The story begins with hints: an old lady hears children screaming in the middle of the night, sees children being bundled away from a property she thought was uninhabited. A teacher is horrified by a drawing from a child which suggests that she is aware of brutal sexual activity. For Simon Serrailler the knowledge had come more directly: he was approached to go undercover in prison with the aim of getting close to Will Fearnley, a convicted paedophile who had consistently refused to divulge any information about his contacts. He was currently in a therapy centre and is was here that DCS Serrailer went as Johno Miles, also a convicted paedophile. Full review...
Splinter the Silence by Val McDermid
I should probably be ashamed to say that I only know Val McDermid's Tony Hill series from the TV adaption Wire in the Blood. And I'm afraid to say that if the latest offering is par for the series, then I'll remain content with that. Full review...
Blood Brothers... Thai Style by Matt Carrell
Chatri Aromanadee and Daeng Khasajamsarun are friends, but in a rather unequal way. Daeng very much has the upper hand despite the fact that Chatri is a policeman: Daeng is manipulative and it's difficult to be polite enough to say that he 'sails close to the wind'. The man is a criminal, but he turned a problem of his own (and of his own making) into a hold over Chatri, which still holds firm even when Chatri becomes the chief of police in Baan Chailai, with its lively bar scene, on the Gulf of Thailand. Their sons have a similar relationship: Daeng's son Tong is brutal in his relationships with women and Chatri's son Sunan has the misfortune to work in the hotel complex owned by Daeng. Full review...
