Difference between revisions of "Newest Crime Reviews"
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==Crime== | ==Crime== | ||
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| + | |author=Andrea Camilleri | ||
| + | |title=The Dance Of The Seagull (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries) | ||
| + | |rating=4.5 | ||
| + | |genre=Crime | ||
| + | |summary=Montalbano was about to go on holiday with his girlfriend Livia and it was quite an event as they hadn't seen each other for three months. As he sat on his verandah Montalbano saw the death throes of a seagull - it was almost a macabre dance - and he couldn't get what happened out of his mind, convinced that it was an ill omen. When he picked Livia up at the airport he told her that he had to go into the office but that he would be home quickly. He meant it too. The first problem began when Fazio's wife rang to say that he hadn't arrived home since going out to meet Montalbano the night before. The second problem was that there had been no arrangement to meet the previous evening. In the context of what would happen that night the fact that Montalbano completely forgot about Livia was no more than a small blip. | ||
| + | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447228715</amazonuk> | ||
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{{newreview | {{newreview | ||
|author=Quintin Jardine | |author=Quintin Jardine | ||
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|summary= Due to a delayed flight home, Gaby has to stay overnight in a German hotel with fellow passenger Lauren. During the night Lauren tells Gaby about a man charged with the murder of his paralysed wife. At this point two things strike Gaby: 1. Lauren believes him to be innocent. 2. He's Tim Breary, Gaby's former lover with whom she has unfinished business. Once home Gaby is determined to prove his innocence but that's easier said than done. | |summary= Due to a delayed flight home, Gaby has to stay overnight in a German hotel with fellow passenger Lauren. During the night Lauren tells Gaby about a man charged with the murder of his paralysed wife. At this point two things strike Gaby: 1. Lauren believes him to be innocent. 2. He's Tim Breary, Gaby's former lover with whom she has unfinished business. Once home Gaby is determined to prove his innocence but that's easier said than done. | ||
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340980729</amazonuk> | |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0340980729</amazonuk> | ||
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Revision as of 16:56, 28 May 2013
Crime
The Dance Of The Seagull (Inspector Montalbano Mysteries) by Andrea Camilleri
Montalbano was about to go on holiday with his girlfriend Livia and it was quite an event as they hadn't seen each other for three months. As he sat on his verandah Montalbano saw the death throes of a seagull - it was almost a macabre dance - and he couldn't get what happened out of his mind, convinced that it was an ill omen. When he picked Livia up at the airport he told her that he had to go into the office but that he would be home quickly. He meant it too. The first problem began when Fazio's wife rang to say that he hadn't arrived home since going out to meet Montalbano the night before. The second problem was that there had been no arrangement to meet the previous evening. In the context of what would happen that night the fact that Montalbano completely forgot about Livia was no more than a small blip. Full review...
Pray for the Dying: A Bob Skinner Mystery by Quintin Jardine
Chief Constable Bob Skinner is in a very difficult situation. His race to prevent a murder didn't quite work out and he's now outside the theatre where what he dreaded has happened. There's carnage outside too: the killers have shot two policemen, one fatally and Skinner himself is responsible for the death of one of the killers. The other was killed by a member of the Security Services, but he'll need to be quietly airbrushed out of the record. Before long Skinner finds himself having to take on a role which he has always said that he would never want. And that's besides investigating whether or not the victim was the intended target and who was behind the operation because it's obvious that this was a professional hit. Full review...
Black Skies by Arnaldur Indridason
Detective Sigurdur Oli has worked himself into a difficult situation. It would be easy to ask why he did what he did. Easier still to say that he's doing the job he wanted to do, but a school reunion left him over-awed by the success of some of his contemporaries and when one of them asked for his help in sorting out a small matter it was a way of demonstrating his position to be able to say that he would help. A friend of his friend was being blackmailed over some photographs taken at a wife-swapping party and Sigurdur Oli agreed to have a word with the blackmailers and retrieve the photographs. It should have been simple - but when he arrived at their home the woman had just been brutally attacked and Sigurdur Oli only just avoided the same fate. He should have come clean about exactly what he was doing there. He didn't. Full review...
The Resistance Man: A Bruno Courreges Investigation by Martin Walker
When Old Murcoing passed on the priest called on Bruno Courreges, the chief of police in St Denis, as Murcoing had died clutching a bank note from the legendary Neuvic train robbery which happened in 1944. Murcoing had battled to find out what really happened to the money from the robbery - the reserves of the Banque de France - as the Resistance had certainly seen only a small part of it. That's not what's immediately concerning Bruno though. As a member of the Resistance Murcoing would have his funeral paid for by the state and it would be up to Bruno to organise this. He's also concerned with a series of burglaries on his patch - and it seems that one of them has led to a brutal murder. Full review...
Penitence by Bruce Crowther
Phil Davis is a detective in a small town in Texas and he's intrigued rather than professionally involved when he sees the body of an elderly road accident victim whose back is covered with scars which have obviously been inflicted over years if not decades. There's no suggestion that the death was anything other than accidental but Davis starts to wonder when he hears of other men with similar scars who have met an untimely - if seemingly innocent - death recently. And all his investigative instincts are alive when he encounters FBI agent Luis Valdez - seemingly one of the big beasts of the agency who's spending time looking into a murder with which he was incidentally involved as an adolescent some twenty five years earlier. To cap it all, someone was tried for the crime and has been in a mental institution since, so what is Valdez doing? Full review...
A Darkness Descending (Sandro Cellini) by Christobel Kent
It was a new political party and it seemed to have caught the public's imagination, particularly the young and even some older people, embarrassed by the antics of their prime minister. Then the leader, Niccolo Rosselli collapsed at a rally - but there was worse to come. His partner, Flavia, disappeared leaving behind a devastated Niccolo - and a baby who was only a matter of weeks old. She was found in a down-at-heel hotel, where she'd ended her life in the bathroom. But why would she do it? Why did she not leave a note? Sandro Cellini was called in to investigate - but quite what was he investigating? Full review...
The Detective's Daughter by Lesley Thomson
Terry Darnell - formerly Detective Inspector Darnell - came out of the Co-op in a village on the south coast, with the makings of an impromptu breakfast in a carrier bag and died of a heart attack on the way back to his car. He hadn't see a lot of his daughter in the last few years, but the death saddened Stella. She ran a cleaning company - Clean Slate - and was obsessive about cleaning and cleanliness, with her life based on order and it wasn't long before she began clearing her father's house. Hidden away in the attic were case papers relating to the Rokesmith murder, which had occurred some thirty years earlier and which had never been solved. Full review...
Just What Kind of Mother Are You? by Paula Daly
Lisa Kallisto is almost the typical Mum. She's got a husband and three children and she's permanently tired. Her full-time job at the local animal rescue centre frequently spills over into her home life and she's constantly chasing around trying to catch up with what she ought to have done. Husband Joe is a taxi driver and they can only just manage to afford the rent on their cottage in the picturesque lake district. It's normally pretty crime free but then a young girl - really only a child - is abducted and brutally raped. Then another girl of about the same age goes missing and Lisa was responsible for her safety. What do you say, what do you do in that situation? Lisa is about to find out. Full review...
Chilled to the Bone by Quentin Bates
It would have been embarrassing for the shipowner to be found tied to his bed in one of Reykjavik's smartest hotels, abandoned in the middle of an obvious bondage session, but he was past caring. Death was from natural causes. It would have been easy for Sergeant Gunnhildur Gisladottir to write this off as an unfortunate accident, but instinct told her that things were not quite as they seemed. Some discreet questioning around the hotels in the city brought to light several similar incidents, with the victims relieved of their credit cards and cash and grateful to keep everything quiet. It's almost benign crime, but then some disturbing connections came to light. Full review...
A Delicate Truth by John le Carre
It's 2008 and Paul is recruited by, apparently, the government to assist in an undercover operation in Gibraltar. It's perfectly straightforward and its success will impede a cell of Al Qaeda. Paul performs, is thanked and taken home without complications. Fast forward to 2011 and Toby Bell is promoted to the role of private secretary for Paul's recruiter, MP Fergus Quinn. Whilst acquainting himself with Quinn's CV, Toby uncovers the story of the mission, discovering not only Quinn's involvement but hints that it may not have been as straightforward as all that. Quinn also appears to have been connected with an organisation that's not all it seems, unfortunately for a particular pillar of a Cornish community for whom life will never be the same again. Full review...
Honour by Elif Shafak
Jamila and Pembe are twins who, growing up among the Kurdish in Turkey, are as wrapped in the customs of their Muslim faith and heritage as they are in the love of their family. Jamila develops a talent that will make her the hub of her community. Pembe's destiny lies over the sea as she migrates to England with her husband Adem in search of a better life. However, the destiny they travel towards is oh so different from the destiny of which they dream. Full review...
The Ranger by Ace Atkins
Every so often I read a book which just confirms how little I know about the USA. I don't quite understand the political system. I certainly don't understand the law enforcement system (and don't like the bits I do 'get'; I fear that our UK leaders seem to think that the politicisation of law enforcement that seems to be the norm over there is actually a good idea). And every so often I come across a branch of the military that I'd never heard of. Full review...
Under Your Skin by Sabine Durrant
When household name Gaby Mortimer finds a body in the common near her London home, it is horrible and shocking, but the one thing she doesn’t expect is to become the main suspect in the murder case. After all, she was just the one who found the poor woman’s body. Surely the Police should be spending their time searching for a more likely assailant than a perhaps past her prime TV presenter? But it soon becomes clear that Gaby is the one they are fixating on, the one to whom they will try to make the limited evidence fit. And it’s going to take everything she’s got to convince them otherwise. Full review...
Last Snow (Jack McClure Trilogy) by Eric Van Lustbader
Jack McClure, aide and friend to the US president, is back at work after the death of his daughter and the resolved kidnapping of President Carson's own daughter, Alli. However, Jack hasn't fully recovered; he's still in mourning and full of self-recrimination but the show must go on. When an American senator is killed in Capri Jack's on hand to investigate, starting a mission that will take him into the Ukraine and the seamier side of power on both sides of the Atlantic. Apparently not all the President's closest advisors can be trusted and that's not Jack's only complication. After Alli's traumatic experiences at the hands of Morgan Herr Jack is the only person she trusts, so she's coming along for the ride, through hell, high water and a few murders. Full review...
Baksheesh (Kati Hirschel Murder Mysteries) by Esmahan Aykol and Ruth Whitehouse (translator)
Kati Hirschel, daughter of German parents, still runs the only crime fiction bookshop in Istanbul and, when good's measured against bad, seems to be having a rough time. Good that she's about to buy her first apartment. However, looking at the bad, she's just split up with her boyfriend (albeit after a very good dinner), is strangled in a car park (though not to death… which is good) and is about to be arrested for her strangler's murder occurring, as it did, while she was eating strawberry ice cream. The only way she can exonerate herself is to emulate her fictional heroes once again and do some sleuthing. Full review...
The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 10 by Maxim Jakubowski
A couple of years ago, I reviewed The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 8 by Maxim Jakubowski and it was something of a frustrating experience. There were some really good short stories in there, from excellent authors, but they were padded out by a significant number of completely unmemorable ones. The latest in the series suffers from the same lack of quality control - if anything, the ratio of hits to misses is somewhat lower. Full review...
Blessed Are Those Who Thirst by Anne Holt
1222 was one of last year’s crime novel sensations. Set in a blizzard-hit hotel in a remote part of Norway and featuring prickly detective Hanne Wilhelmsen, it was Miss Marple meets Harry Hole, a clever and very funny take on the Nordic noir genre. 1222 was Britain’s introduction to Wilhelmsen and her creator, the lawyer and Norwegian Minister for Justice-turned-novelist Anne Holt. Scandinavian readers, however, have been familiar with them both since 1993, when Hanne made her debut in the novel The Blind Goddess. Blessed Are Those Who Thirst, first written in 1994, is Hanne’s second case, a story that shows her still finding her feet as a detective. Full review...
Salt of Their Blood by Gerald Wixey
Back in 1960 Stuart couldn’t get to sleep on a very hot night. He lived at the pub next door to the bus garage and the sounds drifted upwards. A man screamed and then there was the sound of a heavy weight falling. When he jumped out of bed he saw someone scurrying away. No one was interested in what Stuart might have heard, or seen and even he lost interest as the day after the inquest (the mechanic’s death was ‘an accident’, the coroner said) his best friend, Declan, disappeared. Twelve years later Stuart was leading a feckless life but was still convinced that there was a connection between the mechanic’s death and Declan’s disappearance. He was also involved in an illicit love affair with Kathy - and if he had to pick the wrong person then it was Kathy. Full review...
Eddie the Kid by Leo Zeilig
Eddie Bereskin is arrested in a London anti-war protest in 2002. His parents, Stuart and Jessica, were also anti-war activists back in their day and are still passionate about their socialist values. Indeed, Eddie has inherited their socialist beliefs and genes but being a child from that household comes at a high price; a price that Eddie and his sister Esther continue to pay. There again, being known as 'The Downing Street Tickler' does come with a sort of kudos that he doesn't mind. Full review...
Beyond Belief by Mark Lingane
Joshua Richards isn't the most successful PI; clients aren't exactly lining up around the block but he lives in hope that one day his luck will change… and it does. Within a couple of weeks he has a sudden plethora of enquirers; the bad news is that none of them seem to live long enough to pay him. Meanwhile elsewhere, the Engine powering the world (literally) is dying, although the populous is blissfully oblivious. Is there a connection? Joshua Richards doesn't know, but there seems to be a huge part of himself he's not acquainted with either… at least not yet. Full review...
Killing Rachel: The Murder Notebooks by Anne Cassidy
Rose's mother and Josh's father - both members of the police cold case squad - have been missing for more than five years now. Although their bodies were never found, the authorities have always insisted that they are probably dead. But in the first book in this series, the step siblings find information that suggests Kathy and Brendan are still alive. So Rose, Josh and friend Skeggsie are pursuing every lead they have - including trying to decipher the cryptic notebooks they have discovered. Full review...
Like This, For Ever by S J Bolton
Back in January, Lacey Flint very nearly threw herself off a tower. Now it's February and she is on extended leave and talking to a counsellor. Whether she is trying to convince the psyche-doctor that she is fit for work or that she isn't, isn't entirely clear. Maybe it's not clear to Flint either. Full review...
Byron Easy by Jude Cook
Byron Easy is a 30-year-old poet and product of a failed marriage who, in turn, has a failed marriage of his own. He works in a shop whilst waiting to be discovered as a poet. How did his depression-tinted life reach this point? Once there was hope, love and many good times and, as he sits on a train travelling to his mother's for Christmas with a bag full of money, he reflects and ponders while trying to escape something more tangible and dangerous than the past. Full review...
The Polka Dot Girl by Darragh McManus
Police Detective Eugenie Auf der Maur is called in to investigate the murder of Madeleine Greenhill the daughter of the wealthy socialite Misericordiae. The more she looks into it, the less it seems an open and shut case. In fact it opens a Pandora's Box that shakes Hera City to its core, not to mention its ability to agitate Eugenie's core a little too. The fact is that somebody wants her dead. Full review...
Seduction of the Innocent by Max Allan Collins
Loosely based on real life events from the 1950s, Seduction of the Innocent tells a story around a group of comic book publishers, who are being attacked for their product being inappropriate. Here, the innocent are a generation of young people being corrupted by that material and the seduction is that practised by the comic books themselves. In both a book he has written and in a Congressional hearing, noted psychiatrist Dr. Werner Frederick claims that comic books are leading their audience into the world of violence, crime and sex depicted in their chosen reading material, which can only be having a negative effect on the individuals and on society as a whole. Full review...
Bad Blood by Dana Stabenow
You would think that if there were two villages side by side then they would be much of a muchness with lots of toing and froing between them and with regular intermarriages. It wasn't so with Kushtaka and Kuskulana in the Alaskan National Park. One village - well, a small township really - thrived, whilst the other, Kushtaka, went downhill. A hundred years of bad blood occasionally erupted into violence and there was little doubt that the responsibility for suspicious death of a teenager was down to the people of Kuskulana and that there would be vengeance. It was down to State Trooper Jim Chopin to find the culprit and prevent the inter-village warfare from escalating out of control. Full review...
Human Remains by Elizabeth Haynes
Annabel lived on her own, with a life filled by her job as a police intelligence analyst, her aging mother and her cat. It was the cat that began the story, as she led Annabel to the house next door, where there was a body which had obviously been there a long time. Decomposition was advanced but Annabel hadn't known that there was anyone living there and it seemed that no one else cared. Back at work curiosity took hold and it seemed that there had been rather a lot of bodies which had lain undiscovered over the last few months - and definitely more than in previous years. There was, though, no suggestion that death was other than through natural causes so it was difficult to get her police colleagues interested. Full review...
The Carrier by Sophie Hannah
Due to a delayed flight home, Gaby has to stay overnight in a German hotel with fellow passenger Lauren. During the night Lauren tells Gaby about a man charged with the murder of his paralysed wife. At this point two things strike Gaby: 1. Lauren believes him to be innocent. 2. He's Tim Breary, Gaby's former lover with whom she has unfinished business. Once home Gaby is determined to prove his innocence but that's easier said than done. Full review...
