The Monster of Florence: Review Copy

Synopsis from the Review Request Email:  Magdalen Nabb’s final masterwork of fiction follows the reopening of a cold case—a serial killer who targeted unmarried couples and terrorized Florence for two decades. A spare, unflinching procedural, The Monster of Florence showcases Nabb's trademark subtlety and cut-to-the-bone literary style.

Marshal Guarnaccia's job with the carabinieri—the local Florentine police—usually involves restoring stolen handbags to grateful old ladies and lost cameras to bewildered tourists. So when he is assigned to work with the police in trying to track down a vicious serial killer, he feels out of his league. To make matters worse, the Proc he must report to is Simonetti, the same man he knows drove an innocent man to suicide several years earlier in his blind quest for a conviction. The Marshal can't let the stress of the case get to him if he wants to make sure justice is upheld.

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 My Take:  I'm afraid this was a rather disappointing read.  I had read Magdalen Nabb's Death of an Englishman two years ago and found it to be a very pleasant read.  Nabb is very strong on her descriptions of Italy and her characterizations.  My quibble on the first book was that Marshal Guarnaccia spent most of the book in bed with the flu. Having odd dreams brought on by fever. Most of the actual police work was done by The Captain and Carabiniere Bacci working with their British counterparts from Scotland Yard and I really didn't feel like the reader got to know the Marshall as a detective.  

My hopes for The Monster of Florence were that I would get to see the Marshal at work and really like his character. Other reviewers on GoodReads have likened the Marshal to Columbo.  I'd say that the Marshal doesn't even have the confidence of Columbo. He has no self-confidence whatsoever--even though he is obviously a much better detective (and far more dedicated to the truth than some of his counterparts and superiors).  He is a likeable character in a Droopy, the cartoon dog, sort of way.  He's so self-conscious you kind of have to like him.  This is the good part.

Unfortunately, this book reads like some mash-up of a book originally written in Italian and poorly translated into English (awkward wording, for example, and very odd flow) with portions that are straight British (with British idioms and references).  Since I have read the uncorrected proofs, I am hoping that some of this may be fixed with copy-editing.  There is a whole secondary plot involving the Marshal's young friend Marco and a painting that Marco's father left him when he died.  It is up for debate whether the painting is a valuable work by a famous artist, a clever forgery, or a mean-spirited joke by the father on a son he never really cared for.  This plot was the lead-off in the story.....but throughout the book it only pops up intermittently and really, as far as I'm concerned, doesn't add much to the story as a whole.  At one point, it looks like the Marshall (as well as Nabb, author) has forgotten about poor Marco for good.

And, as far as the headliner--The Monster--goes, there isn't a lot of real detective work going on here.  We have the Marshal talking to himself and once again having odd dreams (and daydreams) about the case.  I thought the dreams were flu-induced in the first book--apparently this is a prime feature of the Marshal's character.  The rest of the "investigation" consists of the lead Prosecutor Simonetti giving pompous lectures full of information that's supposed to make the six special investigators (including Guarnaccia) believe that the chosen Suspect (who is referred to in capital letters throughout the book) is really the man they want.  When Simonetti is not lecturing, we are reading incomprehensible reports along with the Marshal.  Guarnaccia and Ferrini, another officer who thinks the Prosecutor is just looking for a fall guy, do a bit of investigative work on their own--but it almost feels out of place with the general procedures.  I finally made it to the end and the thing is so confusing that I have no idea who the Marshal finally decided did it.  We certainly didn't arrest the right person--at least, I don't think we did.  Two stars--primarily for description and characters.

[Disclaimer: My review policy is posted on my blog, but just to reiterate...This review copy was offered to me for impartial review and I have received no payment of any kind. All comments are entirely my own honest opinion.]

A Study in Scarlet: Review

The lead-in to one of the most famous friendships in all of fiction: 


Young Stamford looked rather strangely at me over his wine-glass. "You don't know Sherlock Holmes yet," he said; "perhaps you would not care for him as a constant companion."
"Why, what is there against him?"
"Oh, I didn't say there was anything against him. He is a little queer in his ideas -- an enthusiast in some branches of science. As far as I know he is a decent fellow enough." 

And, then, the famous meeting:

"Dr. Watson, Mr. Sherlock Holmes," said Stamford, introducing us.
"How are you?" he said cordially, gripping my hand with a strength for which I should hardly have given him credit. "You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive."

The Study in Scarlet was the world's introduction to the first consulting detective.  In it we are introduced to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson--along with recurring character Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard.  Holmes and Watson meet and decide to share lodgings (to share the costs).  Watson is curious to discover what exactly his new roommate does: he meets him in a lab, knows from a mutual acquaintance that he's studying various sciences--but not apparently for the purposes of being a doctor, and watches as an odd assortment of people come to talk with Holmes in their sitting room.  Finally, Holmes receives a message from Gregson of the Yard inviting him to take an interest in a very odd death--and Watson learns of Holmes's standing as an amateur detective.

They are off and running on the case of the death of Enoch Drebber--a man found dead in an empty house with no trace of violence on his person and no visible cause of death, despite the vast amount of blood in the room.  Holmes will scour the room (and the outdoors surrounding the house) for clues and discover that the death has it roots in the southwestern U.S.  With the help of his Baker Street Irregulars, the band of street urchins who serve as his eyes and ears in the city, he manages to track the culprit down in three days.


I grew up on Sherlock Holmes.  My big ticket item for Christmas when I was about ten years old was a green, leather-bound edition called The Celebrated Cases of Sherlock Holmes.  I read "The Red-Headed League" long before it was required in high school English. I'm revisiting the first recorded case of the famous consulting detective for a couple of challenges and just have a couple of thoughts on this delightful Victorian mystery about love and revenge.  

First, I love the meeting between Holmes and Watson.  Two strangers meet up, answer a couple of questions apiece, and immediately decide to share lodgings.  Can't see that happening in this day and age--at least I wouldn't want to share an apartment with someone I knew had been beating up dead bodies in his spare time.  Not without knowing him for longer than about 15 minutes, anyway.  It's amazing how times have changed--Doyle apparently knew that his audience wouldn't even bat an eye at that scenario.

And, second, the Baker Street Irregulars.  I enjoyed them when I first read these stories.  But I appreciate them even more now and I realize that I wish they had shown up in more stories.  Doyle uses them in Study and then in The Sign of Four and then, as far as I remember, they just sort of disappear.  I realize that Holmes and Watson are the main characters....but I do think judicious use of the Irregulars would have been a good thing sprinkled throughout other stories.

Five stars for a terrific reread.

Quotes:

The sight of a friendly face in the great wilderness of London is a pleasant thing indeed to a lonely man.

Desultory readers are seldom remarkable for the exactness of their learning.

I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones. ~Holmes

I'm not sure about whether I shall go. I am the most incurably lazy devil that ever stood in shoe leather -- that is, when the fit is on me, for I can be spry enough at times. ~Holmes

It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment. ~Holmes

There is nothing like first hand evidence; as a matter of fact, my mind is entirely made up upon the case, but still we may as well learn all that is to be learned. ~Holmes

I'm not going to tell you much more of the case, Doctor. You know a conjuror gets no credit when once he has explained his trick, and if I show you too much of my method of working, you will come to the conclusion that I am a very ordinary individual after all. ~Holmes

I must thank you for it all. I might not have gone but for you, and so have missed the finest study I ever came across: a study in scarlet, eh? Why shouldn't we use a little art jargon. There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it. ~Holmes to Watson

I ought to know by this time that when a fact appears to be opposed to a long train of deductions, it invariably proves to be capable of bearing some other interpretation.  ~Holmes


It is a mistake to confound strangeness with mystery. The most commonplace crime is often the most mysterious because it presents no new or special features from which deductions may be drawn.  ~Holmes


What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence. The question is, what can you make people believe that you have done. ~Holmes

The Black Stage: Review

The Black Stage by Anthony Gilbert is another of my vintage mysteries--first published in 1945. Anthony Gilbert is a pseudonym for Lucy Beatrice Malleson, a very prolific British mystery writer (over 70 novels written under this pseudonym alone--she had several others).

In this book Peter and Anne Vereker, two cousins, have returned from the war (WWII) to the family mansion back in Britain.  Peter is hoping to return to the past--where he helped his Aunt Tessa manage the property with a view to inheriting the Manor one day--and Anne is hoping to escape the shadow of hers.  Both their hopes are dashed when they arrive to find their aunt all set to announce her engagement to Lewis Bishop.  Bishop is out to make a place for himself in the sun and to cast all of Tessa's relations and devoted help into the outer darkness.  

Anne knows Bishop (and not under that name) from her war days, but it will cost her everything if she gives him away.  Before she has a chance to decide whether she should tell what she knows, Bishop is shot to death during a family "conference" in the library.  It's a classic scene--heated confrontation, the room suddenly goes dark, a shot rings out, and when the lights come up....Anne is holding the gun.  Aunt Tessa and the police are all set to believe the worst, but Peter calls on Arthur Crook--the rather unorthodox, uncouth barrister who always gets his client off.

That's when things really get interesting.  Another of the household is found hanged in a London hotel--complete with typewritten suicide note claiming responsibility for Bishop's murder.  Again, the police are all set to accept the obvious....until the police surgeon drops a bombshell into the midst of the inquest.  The supposed suicide was dead long before the folks in the neighboring hotel rooms heard him banging away at the typewriter. 

Crook interviews all of the participants in the fatal scene and decides he needs a re-enactment of the shooting to make all things clear--but it looks like he's going to prove not only that Anne Vereker couldn't have done it, but that no one could have.  Never fear--the untidy lawyer has one final trick up his sleeve.

This is rather slow-going at first.  Perhaps this is just Gilbert/Malleson's way--I notice that I made the same observation about The Innocent Bottle when I read it two years ago.  There is plenty of build-up and descriptions of the characters and their interactions all leading up to the murder which takes place about a third of the way in.  Once Crook becomes involved in the case, the book becomes much livelier and far more enjoyable.  I'll echo my previous review again--I think Gilbert/Malleson is much more effective when she's writing about her main character.  And that's a really good thing--the effective writing makes up for the fact that I was able to peg the guilty party straight away.  It was far too much fun watching Crook do his stuff for the lack of surprise to disappoint me.  A nice solid three-star outing.

Mist on the Saltings: Mini-Review

Mist on the Saltings by Henry Wade follows the relationships in a small seaside community in post-World War II Britain.  Most of the folks in Bryde-by-the-Sea are leading a very impoverished
life as a result of the war--from the struggling artist and his wife to the fishermen who are seeing their livelihood taken over by bigger fishing companies.  Into their midst comes an arrogant and successful author--a man who has no money worries and takes his pleasure where he will...including with other men's wives.

My experiences with Henry Wade's mystery novels have been very good. He is generally an excellent plotter and very strong on characterization and providing a clear sense of place.  And I have especially enjoyed his police detectives.  This novel seems to be a bit of a departure for Wade--although his characterization and scene-building are just as strong.  While billed as a classic British mystery, it could easily stand as a straight fiction novel alongside the likes of D.H. Lawrence.  The tension in the book is primarily from the relationships and the circumstances of the characters and has very little to do with the murder itself.  The investigation of the murder seems almost an afterthought and that may be why detectives in this novel have left so little impression on me.  

It shouldn't be difficult for the reader to know who did it...and even why.  The small red herring which is dragged across the path won't distract for long...if at all.  Overall, a strong story of life and relationships in Britain after World War II.  Not such a strong showing as a mystery novel.  Three stars.

Capacity for Murder: Review

Bernadette Pajer does it again in another electrifying installment of her Professor Benjamin Bradshaw historical mysteries.  Capacity for Murder is the third of the Bradshaw stories and in this one he takes on death by electrotherapeutics.  Bradshaw is an electrical engineering professor at the University of Washington at the dawn of the 20th Century.  By now he has been involved in two major criminal cases (documented in A Spark of Death and Fatal Induction) and he and his assistant Henry have been called in on enough electrical-related cases since then that they have acquired licenses as private detectives.

In this outing Dr. Arnold Hornsby of the Healing Sands Sanitarium sends an urgent message to Bradshaw, begging him to come and help him with a terrible "accident of an electrical nature."  Accident, indeed. Hornsby's son-in-law has been killed during a session of electrotherapeutics and the good doctor is on the verge of facing negligence charges at best and an accusation of murder at worst.  The local sheriff is ready to accept the death as an accident, but Bradshaw is convinced that someone rigged the therapeutic chair to deliver the deadly charge.  There aren't many suspects--the small staff and few patients--and there seems to be even less motive.  Then one of the guests dies from poisoning and Bradshaw follows a trail into the past to find a remorseless killer who is determined that nothing--not even the professor--should stand in the way of what they want.

Pajer continues to expertly weave her research into delightful historical mysteries. She has nailed the time period and made it her own--instantly transporting the reader to the early 1900s.  Deft handling keeps the intricacies of turn-of-the-century electricity from overwhelming the story. While it is an integral part of the series and the mode of murder, the details are never allowed to overshadow the characters and the plot.  And the characters are what make the story--from Bradshaw to his ten year old son to his assistant Henry, to his housekeeper Mrs. Prouty, to Missouri Freemont--Henry's niece.  All of these regular characters are well-drawn and interesting and distinct. I enjoy the way they interact with one another and how they fill the book out.  My only quibble is with Bradshaw and his ever-lasting doubts about following through on his feelings for Missouri.  Let's get that romance show on the road, shall we, Professor?  Four stars.

Jack on the Gallows Tree: Review

In Jack on the Gallows Tree, Carolus Deene, Senior History Master at a boys' public school and gentleman detective extraordinaire is faced with a very odd murder case.  In the course of an evening, two elderly ladies from Buddington-on-the-Hill are found strangled and laid out clasping an Easter lily in their hands.  The two ladies did not know each other and there are tenuous links at best between them--they both sold gold to the same "gold-clapper," for instance.  While there are obvious suspects for each of their murders individually, there doesn't seem to be anyone who would benefit from both deaths.

Deene, who has been suffering from jaundice, has been sent to Buddington-on-the-Hill for a rest cure.  His headmaster strongly objected to the doctor's suggestion of a nice bit of sea air at Bournemouth or Torquay (both places recently in the newspaper for horrid murders) and plumps for the dull-sounding Buddington.  Little did he know that he was sending Deene straight into a bit of death in the countryside.  

Deene quickly recovers his strength and is soon sitting up and taking notice of the excitement in the village. The police have few clues beyond the lilies and it is up to Deene to figure out whether a madman with thing for strangling old ladies is on the loose or if there is a clever plot behind it all.  True to Golden Age tradition he holds a final wrap-up scene in which the answers are revealed.

This is quite a fun little mystery.  Bruce's books are pretty fairly clued, filled with wonderfully eccentric characters, and make for a nice cozy evening of reading. Lots of good British humor too.  I had the wool pulled over my eyes...all ready to suspect someone who didn't seem to be getting quite enough attention and was fooled.  A good three and a half star read.

Devoured: Review

D. E. Meredith's Devoured struck me as an incredibly interesting historical mystery when I started seeing reviews of it strewn about the blogosphere.  I felt like everybody but me was reading this novel which features an early Victorian-era forensic detective and his assistant.  That being the case, I ordered it up from the library to add to my "Everybody But Me" Book Bingo reading list.

The mystery begins with the death of Lady Katherine Bessingham--a bohemian and a free-thinker, who collects specimens and fossils and who subscribes to the rather dangerous new theories of evolution.  Inspector Adams, the well-known hotshot detective from Scotland Yard, calls in Adolphus Hatton and his morgue assistant Albert Roumande--two early forensic practitioners--to examine the crime scene and perform the autopsy.  Their investigations will take them from the sewing room work house where fine lady's garments are created by the extreme poor to the well-appointed rooms of the wealthy; from the shop of an out-of-the-way bookseller to the British Museum.

The story alternates between a narrative of current events in London and letters written while one of the main characters was on a specimen-collecting journey in Borneo.  It becomes clear that the events which took place in Malaysia are firmly tied to the spate of murders that have thinned the ranks of Britain's scientific community.  But are the radical views held by these botanists and specimen-collectors really the catalyst? Or is there a more basic motive driving this killer who seems able to stay one step ahead of the police and the forensic investigators?

This one is a bit of a mixed bag for me.  It is quite obviously a well-researched novel.  Lots of excellent detail about the period--particularly the conditions for the working poor.  The letters detailing Ben Broderig's trip are quite interesting (if a bit heavy at times with descriptions of various collectors pouncing on specimens and rattling off the Latin names....).  The premise is an interesting one...but a bit unevenly told.  And I quite liked the motive behind the murders (well...most of the murders...but an explanation of what I mean by that would be a thundering spoiler).  BUT I don't like the protagonists much.  I particularly don't like Inspector Adams....for such a celebrated detective, he's awful slow on the uptake.  It seems evident that he didn't rise in the force based on his skill and the second half of the novel would seem to bear this out.  Hatton and Roumande could have been more interesting if their forensic detective work had been given more scope.  It seemed to me that most of the time they were just brought along to show how non-effectual Adams really is without moving the investigation along nearly as much as they should.  The denouement shows them in their best light--but more as men of action than as men of science.

All in all, a decent debut novel that is solid enough to make me interested in reading the next installment (The Devil's Ribbon).  I hope that Meredith builds on the strengths of her debut and I hope to see Hatton and Roumande used more effectively in their chosen profession.  Three stars.

The Father's Day Murder: Review

The Father's Day Murder by Lee Harris is one of a series...all with holiday-related titles...about Christine Bennett, an ex-nun who has a talent for solving mysteries that others have long given up on. In this one the murder is more current, but Chris still finds herself digging into the past to find the seeds of the present crime.

The Morris Avenue Boys, nine friends who lived in the Bronx on Morris Avenue when they were children, gather every year for a reunion to catch up on old times.  This year's celebration takes place on Father's Day--one of the few times these successful middle-aged men could find time in their busy schedules to make it back to New York.  All of the "boys" show up except for Fred Beller who grew up to hate New York, left it, and never returned, and George Fried who has passed away.  The other seven have all remained close and have always enjoyed their reunion party.  Until now...

Someone brings along an extra party favor and takes the opportunity to stab one of the Morris Avenue Boys to death with an ice pick.  Arthur Wien was a celebrated author and the most well-known of all the "boys."  Now he's making headlines again--this time as the victim in what seems to be a motiveless crime.  

Chris, who works as an instructor at a local college, is called in by one of her former students who thinks that her grandfather has been fingered as the most likely suspect.  As Chris begins her investigation, she is told over and over again by the "boys" and their wives that Arthur was a great guy, that everybody loved him, that they were all so proud of how well he'd done.  No hard feelings anywhere.  But if that's true, why did he wind up on the floor of the men's room stabbed with an ice pick?   Chris uses her skills as a sympathetic listener and keen questioner to sort through memories and stories of a group of closely-knit friends and discover what could turn a friend into a killer.


These mysteries featuring Chris Bennett are generally fun and light. No matter how difficult the subject matter, Harris never gets gritty when writing about it. And even though this one is a bit more intense, we definitely stay within the cozy realm and the book was easily finished in a single sitting. While it may be said that Chris seems to have a lot of "luck" in her investigations, they are always interesting and her character is very likable and believable. It helps that she really likes what she does and is very compassionate in her dealings with victims and perpetrators alike. I highly recommend this series when you want something satisfying but not too heavy.

(This one was actually finished on 6/18/13....I'm just a bit behind on my review.)

Tragedy at Law: Review

 Judge William Hereward Barber's tour of England's Southern Circuit begins as normally as possible in wartime--true there are no trumpets (as Judge Barber mentions many times), but there is still plenty of pop and circumstance and the scarlet and wig to wear.  The court calendar is full of the usual cases ranging from civil complaints to criminal charges.  It looks to be a normal run--and a normal run-in with his long-time rival Francis Pettigrew.  Pettigrew and Barber were once rivals in love--with Barber winning the hand of the lovely Hilda--and now Barber loves to use his position on the bench to put Pettigrew in his place as often as possible. And he settles in to enjoy another round.

But then the odd things start happening.  Anonymous letters and poisoned chocolates. Midnight attacks on Barber's wife and a loose stair railing.  An attempt to do the judge in with gas.  A man that Barber sentenced rather severely in the past has recently been let out of prison and the Barbers wonder if perhaps Heppenstall is behind the ominous notes and life-threatening attempts.  Added to the mix, the judge unadvisedly drives home one evening after consuming a bit too much brandy and manages to run down a famous pianist--who isn't shy about threatening to take the judge to court over the matter.  Things begin to look rather bleak for the judge and his lady--at the very least financial ruin in a settlement and quite possibly the loss of his position on the bench if the case can't be settled out of court.  Through all of the attacks and a final suicide attempt by the judge (who doesn't want to face public ruin), his wife Hilda manages to save him from the unknown assailant and himself.  Until the judge's last court appearance when he is murdered on the court steps under the watchful eyes of his wife and the City Police. Inspector Mallett is presented with several suspects....including Pettigrew himself.  But Pettigrew produces an obscure point of law that will direct the way to the solution.

Cyril Hare was the pseudonym for Alfred Gordon Clark, an English judge, who used his legal experiences to good effect in his crime fiction.  When he was a young man, he served as a judge's marshall--an experience that gives breath and life to his descriptions of such a young man, Derek Marshall, who serves as marshall to Judge Barber.  Tragedy at Law gives us a very detailed look at the legal life in Britain during World War II and manages to do so without boring the reader with the details.  Hare's characters are interesting and fleshed out--with flaws and all--and Judge Barber soon becomes a man we love to hate--and yet we're still sorry when he's killed.  There are plenty of subplots and red herrings in the path to keep the reader guessing. And even though this was a reread, I still wasn't sure of myself on who did it.  Excellent reread--four stars.

Murder Within Murder: Review

First off, this copy of Murder Within Murder by Frances & Richard Lockridge is an awesome book.  I'm not talking about the read yet--just the book.  I mean, look at that cover engraved with all sorts of murder weapons.  Is that not just perfect?  I'm so glad the hubby snagged this off of E-bay for one of my 2011 Christmas presents.

Oh, and the story itself is pretty darn good too.  But then I'm biased--I have a thing for the light and breezy novels penned by the Lockridge team.


Miss Amelia Gipson (that's with a "p" and NOT with a "b" as she would most emphatically point out) is very sure of herself.  She has a high standard of morals...which practically no one can meet.  Except Miss Amelia Gipson, of course.  And she loves to point out when someone she knows has fallen short of the mark.  She's an ex-teacher who probably never gave out an "A"--because there are no perfect students, you know.

Since retiring from the fictional Ward College (a girl's school in Indiana), she has moved to New York, taken an apartment, meddled in the lives of her niece and nephew (whose trust fund she administers), and signed up as a researcher for North Books.  Her current project is to track down info on several murder cases of the near-past (near to 1946, that is) to provide facts for the authors who will write the cases up for an up-coming North publication.  She winds up poisoned while sitting in the New York Public Library, hard at work on her note-taking.

Deputy Chief Inspector Artemus O'Malley, as usual, is hoping for a simple answer.  He's thinking suicide sounds really good.  After all, how could anybody get the retired teacher to down a dose of poison at the library?  But Lieutenant Bill Weigand is quick to discover Miss Gipson's ties to North Books--which, of course, means that Pam & Jerry North are going to involved.  And O'Malley's hopes for a simple case go out the window....because as Sergeant Mullins always says, when the Norths are involved, it always gets screwy.  Miss Gipson's notes soon prove to Weigand that it's a case of murder and not suicide, but there are still some pretty simple possibilities.

Gipson's niece and nephew both have reason to want their meddling, holier-than-thou auntie out of the way.  And then there's a former fellow teacher who lost his job because of Gipson's interference and who just happens to be in NYC now as well.  And there's also Gipson's long-time friend who wrote the victim a very odd letter just days before the murder.  A letter that says what Gipson's doing "isn't safe."  It could still turn out to be a nice, simple, easily explained little murder.

But Pam has other ideas.  She's just sure that Miss Gipson's research is the root of the problem.  That Miss Gipson discovered something new on one of the old murder cases and made things too hot for a murderer who had so far gone undetected.  Is Pam right?  Or will the clues lead her...and Weigand...to an ordinary murderer?

This book is a very good snapshot of New York City at the end of World War II.  The opening has Pam trying to "churn" her own butter (with an egg beater) because she's used up all her ration points.  There is also discussion of what life was like for the soldiers returning from the war.  Mix that with the humor of the Norths and the light and breezy tone and you have a winning combination.  Four stars.

The Girl in the Green Raincoat (Take 2)

I read Laura Lippman's The Girl in the Green Raincoat two years ago (February 2011) for various challenges and primarily because at that time I had seen so much talk about it out here on the interwebs.  Thanks to the Bingo Reading Challenge which has a whole row dedicated to re-reads (and fortuitously finding a copy in the Friend of the Library's Bookstore), I sat down to read this little novella this past weekend. And found it to be just as delightful as the first time around.

I honestly don't have a whole lot to say that's new (for my original thoughts, please click on the title above).  But, and perhaps this is because of my recent experiences with my dad, I did notice Tess's relationship with her father a lot more this time around.  He doesn't appear much (really only in one small scene), but I really appreciated the image of her father and the affection between them revealed in that scene.

I also enjoyed Lippman's story-telling ability.  Despite the fact that I knew who and remembered the suspenseful ending, she still managed to get me all wrapped up in Tess's predicament and all the investigations that she had to watch second-hand.  Excellent short novel--four stars then and four stars now.

Miss Silver Deals With Death: Review

I'm slowly trying to get back into the swing of blogging.  As I mention in the note above, last week was a bit of a trial and I had no internet access at all.  Unfortunately, that means my review of this one is going to be a bit sketchy, particularly when it comes to my thoughts...I had just finished it (May 28) when I had to head to my parents' house.



Miss Silver Deals With Death (aka Miss Silver Intervenes) is one of Patricia Wentworth's early outings with the former governess turned private investigator.  The sixth in the series, this story focuses on the inmates of Vandeleur house and the murder that takes place on its once grand upper floors. The house was once a showplace of the Victorian era--home to a famous court painter.  Since then it has been divided into eight flats with secrets behind every door.

There is the woman whose circumstances have changed and who is steadily selling off her possessions just to have money to live.  There is the secretive gentleman who won't tell anyone what he does for a living.  There is the downtrodden daughter who is a virtual slave to her overbearing mother.  There is the apparent invalid and her tiny entourage.  There is the victim-to-be, Carola Roland, a member of the theatrical community who is currently taking rest and waiting for a possible future husband to divorce his current wife.  There is Mrs. Underwood who is being blackmailed and her sleepwalking maid....and then there is Mrs. Underwood's niece (by marriage, "not that I make any difference about that"), Meade Underwood.

Meade has come to stay with her aunt in order to recover from a disastrous shipwreck resulting from an enemy torpedo.  Meade not only needs to regain her strength, but she also must recover from the loss of her fiance, Giles Armitage who disappeared when the ship went down.  One evening Meade is on her way home after running errands for her aunt when she runs into Giles.  She immediately recognizes him--but he has lost memories from the months prior to the torpedo attack through to the time of his rescue.  Their courtship had been a short one, so all memory of Meade and their engagement are gone.

As Meade and Giles start to get to know one another again, the secrets in Vandeleur house start trickling out.  Carola Roland claims a prior acquaintance with Giles....a very close acquaintance....and she begins to act very sly and nasty indeed.  Meanwhile, Mrs. Underwood consults Miss Silver about the blackmail but before much can be done Carola is murdered and Giles becomes a chief suspect.  Hot on the trail of the blackmailer, Miss Silver manages to uncover all of the secrets lurking behind the closed doors of Vandeleur house....including the identity of the murderer!

Miss Silver is good comfort, cozy reading.  I'm not entirely sure how well the temporary, partial amnesia is portrayed...and that does seem to be a favorite plot device for various vintage mystery writers...but it does make for a nice little storyline.  I enjoyed the way Wentworth handled her characters and let us in on the secrets behind the flat doors.  Three stars for a comfortable read.

Murder as a Fine Art: Blog Tour & Review

About MURDER AS A FINE ART

Publication Date:  May 7, 2013
Mulholland Books
Hardcover; 368p
ISBN-10: 0316216798

Thomas De Quincey, infamous for his memoir Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, is the major suspect in a series of ferocious mass murders identical to ones that terrorized London forty-three years earlier.

The blueprint for the killings seems to be De Quincey's essay "On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts." Desperate to clear his name but crippled by opium addiction, De Quincey is aided by his devoted daughter Emily and a pair of determined Scotland Yard detectives.

In Murder as a Fine Art, David Morrell plucks De Quincey, Victorian London, and the Ratcliffe Highway murders from history. Fogbound streets become a battleground between a literary star and a brilliant murderer, whose lives are linked by secrets long buried but never forgotten.

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My Take:

This is as fine a historical novel as I've read.  David Morrell tells us in the Afterword that "for two years, [he] lived in 1854 London."  For two days, so did I.  He so expertly weaves his research about Thomas De Quincey and Victorian England into his story that I expected to look up from the pages and see a hansom cab go by in the thick London fog.  I knew very little about De Quincey before reading this book, but that didn't matter.  Morrell told me everything I needed to know without making it feel like loads of research were being crammed down my throat.  By the time the book was finished, I felt like I knew De Quincey--and his daughter and Lord Palmerston and rest of the characters--personally and had walked along side the De Quinceys and the two policemen that come to their aid as they search London for the madman who kills while targeting the "Opium Eater."

I was also interested in the way Morrell used many of the hallmarks of 19th century novels and sensation fiction--from the omniscient third-person narrator to the first person journal entries of Emily De Quincey.  Not only does he evoke the time and place historically, but he makes readers believe they are reading a 19th century account of the events.  A very impressive bit of authorial legerdemain.

I am not usually one for thrillers that focus on grisly serial killings--but when I do read them, I much prefer them to take place on a stage far removed from the present day.  The murders described in Murder as a Fine Art are quite horrific, but Morrell does an excellent job of focusing on the motivation for the crimes rather than the sensational details of the deaths.  It was fascinating to see De Quincey thinking about the subconscious mind long before Freud and the killer's motivations were quite believable.  I was hooked from the moment I picked the book up and put it down only when such mundane matters as sleep and work demanded it.  So far, the best new book of 2013.


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About the Author

David Morrell is a Canadian novelist from Kitchener, Ontario, who has been living in the United States for a number of years. He is best known for his debut 1972 novel First Blood, which would later become a successful film franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. More recently, he has been writing the Captain America comic books limited-series The Chosen.

For more information on David Morrell and his novels, please visit the official website.  You can also follow David on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.


Link to Tour Schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/murderasafineartvirtualtour/
Twitter Hashtag: #MurderAsAFineArtTour
 

Praise for MURDER AS A FINE ART

“Murder As a Fine Art by David Morrell is a masterpiece—I don’t use that word lightly—a fantastic historical thriller, beautifully written, intricately plotted, and populated with unforgettable characters. It brilliantly recreates the London of gaslit streets, fogs, hansom cabs, and Scotland Yard. If you liked The Alienist, you will absolutely love this book. I was spellbound from the first page to last.”

—Douglas Preston, #1 bestselling author of The Monster of Florence

“London 1854, noxious yellow fogs, reeking slums, intrigues in high places, murders most foul, but instead of Sherlock Holmes solving crimes via the fine art of deduction, we have the historical English Opium-Eater himself, Thomas De Quincey. David Morrell fans -- and they are Legion -- can look forward to celebrating Murder As a Fine Art as one of their favorite author's strongest and boldest books in years.”

—Dan Simmons, New York Times bestselling author of Drood and The Terror

“Morrell’s use of De Quincey’s life is amazing. I literally couldn’t put it down: I felt as though I were in Dickens when he described London’s fog and in Wilkie Collins when we entered Emily’s diary. There were beautiful touches all the way through. Murder As a Fine Art is a triumph.”

—Robert Morrison, author of The English Opium-Eater: A Biography of Thomas De Quincey

“I enjoyed Murder As a Fine Art immensely. I admired the way Morrell deftly took so much material from De Quincey's life and wove it into the plot, and also how well he created a sense of so many dimensions of Victorian London. Quite apart from its being a gripping thriller!”

—Grevel Lindop, author of The Opium-Eater: A Biography of Thomas De Quincey

Cocaine Blues: Review

My husband bought me the DVD of the first season of the Phryne Fisher mysteries.  That--combined with the Book Bingo Challenge (which has a portion for rereads) has prompted me to go back to the beginning of Kerry Greenwood's mystery series and give Cocaine Blues another run through.  And I'm glad I did.

I'm not quite sure what was going on when I read the Greenwood's debut novel in the Phryne Fisher series.  A little stressed?  Had a bad day?  My short and pithy summation from that first time (pre-blogging days): I'm glad I didn't read this first book first. Phryne comes into her own in the later books. This one is okay...but they get better! Two and a half stars.

Seriously, past self, not on target at all.  This was a fun, fast-paced, first novel.  It is a perfect introduction to the witty, self-assured  young heroine from the '20s.  Watching Phryne quickly trace the clues to solve a jewel theft in the opening chapters tells us all we need to know about our intelligent, capable detective-in-the-making.  Her quick success in fingering the light-fingered guest at the social event of the year leads a retired Colonel to enlist her aid in getting to the bottom of his daughter's strange illness.  

So, Phryne is off to Australia to discover whether Lydia Andrews is being slowly poisoned by her husband.  Before she can get to the bottom of that mystery, however, she finds herself involved with cocaine smuggling rings, drug dealers, dirty cops, and grisly abortionists. Along the way she will make friends with communistic cab drivers and detective inspectors, have romantic interludes with handsome Russian dancers, save a young woman from committing murder and then living on the streets (and make of her a right-hand woman), and treat various evil-doers to a rightful taste of justice.

Greenwood does an excellent job introducing us to Phryne.  We soon learn that our heroine has only recently come into wealth.  A number of male heirs perished in the Great War, making it possible for her father (and family) to rise from poverty to the comforts of the very rich.  This makes it entirely plausible for Phryne to make friends and interact with people at all levels of the social strata.  She gets on just as well with cab drivers as she does with the social elite (if not better). And giving her extraordinary skills and courage (a la Nancy Drew) may make her larger than life and a tad too perfect at everything--but what is an escape novel for, if not for that?  And these novels are escapist mystery adventures pure and simple.  Three and a half stars this time round for a delightful opening to a lovely series.

Death at Crane's Court: Review

According to the write-up on Eilis Dillon on the Rue Morgue Press site, I've read her three mystery novels out of order.  It is suggested that the reader start with Death at Crane's Court move on to Sent to His Account and finish up with Death in the Quadrangle.  I'm afraid that I'm just a rebel--I've done it in reverse order.  Not on purpose.  It's just the way of things.  I came across Death in the Quadrangle quite some time ago.  And was delighted to add another academic-oriented mystery to my collection.  And a quite nice little snapshot of academic life it was too.  When I discovered that Ms. Dillon had two more mysteries up her sleeve, I immediately put them on the TBF/O (To Be Found/Owned) list and acquired and read them in the order described.  I was a bit disappointed to find that Sent to His Account didn't feature Professor Daly (of Quadrangle fame), but found it to be an equally delightful mystery set in a quiet Irish village.

When I found Death at Crane's Court, I thought that Dillon must have written stand-alone novels only.  The back cover gives no clue whatsoever that Professor Daly was once again waiting for me:

Life seems to have ended for George Arrow. Still in his early thirties, he discovers that he is afflicted with a heart ailment that will make him an invalid for the rest of his life. So he forsakes his native Dublin and moves to a remote residential hotel-spa on the Irish coast, and there prepares to finish out his days in quiet and relative solitude.

Then one evening the owner is found murdered in his room. The events that follow are hectic and ultimately horrifying, and they put Arrow's nerves to so extreme a test that several observers--the local police included--begin to wonder if there isn't something more than meets the eye in George's story of heart disease.

So, I was pleasantly surprised to find Professor Daly residing among the cranky elderly residents at Crane's Court, a seaside hotel that provides a place for invalids, elderly relatives, and part-time residents to let all their idiosyncrasies hang out.  We have the Queen-bee and her entourage who determinedly keep the part-time residents and short-term holiday-goers out of the best tea room.  There is the crazy cat lady who has an unique method of keeping her cat population in check and her flowers flourishing...and who has interesting conversations with the hotel's ghost.  And the Major who monopolizes the bath.  His wife the domineering gardener.  And the shy bird-watcher who would rather look at a beaks and wings than socialize.  Their little world has run like clockwork until the hotel's owner, Mr. Murray dies, apparently of natural causes.

Upon Murray's death his odious nephew inherits the hotel and threatens the status quo.  The residents had hoped for Murray's niece to take over and keep things as they have always been.  But with the advent of John Burden's ownership, the Queen-bee's reign looks to be at an end.  The Major will have to pay extra for extra time in the bath.  The Major's wife loses her small plot of garden.  And Murray has just begun to make changes.  But not to worry.  Someone decides that a change is not as good as a rest and puts an end to the changes....and Burden.

But who did it?  Was the it Mrs. Robinson (aka the Queen-bee) who declared "off with his head"? Was it the cook who had already threatened him with a knife not too unlike the one found sticking out of the corpse?  Maybe Mrs. Fennell (the cat lady) wasn't going to allow Burden to have the mental hospital try to put her away.  Perhaps the Major couldn't stand having his bath-time curtailed?  Or maybe it was George Arrow...killing to ensure that his lady-love would finally inherit the hotel?

Dillon writes a very nice mystery with lots of red herrings.  The quirky characters are fun and it was very nice to have my academic Professor Daly on the scene again to give the police a hand.  A most enjoyable, four-star read.

Quotes:
I try not to look like a university man here....My fellow-guests think of a university degree as a disgraceful preliminary to the blood-sucking life of the bourgeoisie. A sign, moreover, that a man has to earn his own living. ~Professor Daly (p. 21)

He looked at the Queen-bee with renewed respect. She was monumentally built, as are so many redoubtable women. their girth and weight give them courage, he supposed. Her hair was pale blue, and set in a dignified spiral on top of her head. Her mouth was firmly turned down at the corners. Her eyes, which darted about without rest, where those of a wicked old drake, brown and penetrating and deadly.
"She's somebody's mother, I suppose," [George Arrow] said distastefully.
"She is, in point of fact." [Professor Daly] (p. 25)

What a fine thing to be as rude as that with such convictions. ~George Arrow (p. 37)

Mike wished Mr. Burden had chosen another time to be murdered. He was beginning to see that the hour of dressing for dinner might have been expressly designed for persons who need a quiet spell for the commission of crime. (p. 92)

What young woman does not think that anything exciting has something to do with her? ~Professor Daly (p. 117)

{And a lovely little oblique reference to Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers on page 126!}

Sleep No More: Review

I had written about Margaret Erskine in the past for the Crime Fiction Alphabet community meme sponsored by Kerrie over at Mysteries in Paradise (which reminds me--what with vacation and all, I need to post letters F & G for this year's round).  At the time I wrote:

Margaret Erskine (1901-1984) was the pseudonym of Margaret Wetherby Williams. Her mysteries feature Inspector (later Chief Inspector) Septimus Finch of London's Metropolitan Police. Although some editions of her books were packaged as gothic romance (scared looking, pale women running around in filmy looking nightgowns in front of forbidding houses), she wrote pretty straightforward British mysteries Not quite in the ranks of Christie, Sayers, Marsh or Tey, her mysteries are nonetheless entertaining. Sometimes horrible things happen in her stories, but they are definitely Golden Age in spirit and most of the horrible things happen off-scene.

When I wrote the original post, I had read seven of the Finch series--all of them pretty straight forward mysteries...although at times a bit vague in the denouement.  Mainly about whether the culprit would receive their just desserts. So, when I picked up Sleep No More (marketed as "An Inspector Finch Gothic #6), I fully expected another in the same vein.  Well, sortof.  Once Inspector Finch arrives on the scene, there is a fair amount of straightforward detecting that goes on, but that is sandwiched in between a very atmospheric and Gothic intro (about four chapters worth) and a very bizarre explanatory section with leftover Gothic bits sprinkled liberally about in the detection.  We have young women screeching over "headless" intruders, disappearing paperweights and daggers, and an elderly member of the household who creeps about on cat feet and pops up when least expected.

Now, don't get me wrong, it's not that I wasn't enjoying the atmosphere.  I was.  For 90-some% of the book, Erskine managed a very nice balance of Gothic atmosphere with straight detection.  Everything was going along swimmingly until the end.  And that's where she lost me. But....let me tell you about the plot first.

Loretta Stourbridge is planning on getting married...for the third time.  She called her second husband's family together to celebrate the happy event.  Happy for her because she's finally found a man wealthy enough to make getting married again worthwhile and happy for the family because that means that nephew John Nesbitt will gain possession of the family home and various other Stourbridge relations will finally receive their inheritance.  So, it would seem that it is in everyone's best interest that the marriage plans be supported and encouraged.

But someone didn't agree.  Anonymous letters are sent to Loretta's son and sister-in-law--the two people most likely to put a spoke in Loretta's wheels--and they crash the party.  Also invited to celebrate Loretta's engagement is Horace Emery, long-time family friend and solicitor.  During the evening's festivities it becomes apparent that something is on his mind.  But he doesn't get a chance to tell anyone what it might be.  By morning, he is dead and Inspector Finch arrives on the scene to refute the family's claims that Emery was killed by a) a burglar or b) a headless intruder.  The butler will be attacked and Aunt Alice (Loretta's sister-in-law) will be next on the murderer's list before Finch can put together all the clues and capture the villain.

And so...what bothered me about the ending (without giving away the solution)?  Just this--while I was ready to buy into who the villain was, Finch absolutely lost me when he was explaining why s/he suddenly became homicidal.  I may just be a little slow on the uptake on this one but I do not get it.  If anyone out there reads (or has read) this I would love to discuss a certain passage with you.  It throws everything off for me because it doesn't read right to me.  Maybe it's an editorial problem and not a plot construction problem.

The mystery is good.  The atmosphere works well without being too over-the-top. There are few times that Erskine tells more than she shows when it comes to the characters and their movements and reactions.  But overall a good, solid three-star outing.

A Choice of Evils: Review

 Choice of Evils by E. X. Ferrars is one of those nice cozy little academic mysteries that I love so much. In this case, the academic is retired botany professor Andrew Basnett--who just has a knack for getting mixed up in matters of murder.  In his eighth outing, Professor Basnett has finally wrapped up his biography of Robert Hooke (a project that he's been working on for quite some time) and he decides to treat himself to a holiday in the seaside village of Gallmouth.  Basnett and his late wife had taken several pleasant trips to the quiet village and he returned there periodically when he felt in need of a rest.

While there, he meets up with his nephew, Peter Dilly.  Peter is a successful author of science fiction stories and has been invited to participate in Gallworth's first-ever arts festival and speak on a panel of authors.  Simon Amory, another successful novelist who lives in Gallworth, is hosting Peter during the festival weekend and invites Basnett to dinner when he learns that his guest's uncle is staying in the village as well.  At dinner Peter and Andrew are introduced to Mina Todhunter, a children's author who will join Simon and Peter on the panel, Simon's sister-in-law Rachel Rayne, and Edward Clarke, the chair of the festival committee.

After dinner, they all head to the local theater for the panel discussion and beforehand Simon Amory is confronted by Magda Braile, obviously an old flame and the star of the festival's production of The Duchess of Malfi.  There is much tension in the air, but the panel discussion is successful and the evening seems to have gone well.  The only odd note is that Rachel disappears from the gathering afterward and is later spied by Peter sneaking out of the summer house on Amory's grounds (the summer house serves as Amory's work area for his writing).

The next day Rachel seeks advice from both Mina Todhunter and the professor, but neither of them give her much attention.  Before the day is over, Rachel is discovered shot to death in the summerhouse....and things look a bit black for Andrew's nephew.  Peter was the last one to see Rachel alive and he's also the one who discovers her body.  He immediately calls on his uncle to come and lend support because after all, Andrew's "had experience with this sort of thing. [He's] helped the police before. There was that affair of the dinner where the man got poisoned with cyanide, and the time the QC man got blown up by a bomb."

Andrew does get interested (and not just on his nephew's behalf) and soon he's discovering a web of bigamy, blackmail, lies, and fraud...and another murder is committed.  This time the victim is Magda.  But where exactly does the finger of accusation point?  To Amory who may not have claim to his wife's property after all?  To Desmond Nicholl, the husband of Magda Braile, who may have had reason to kill his wife?  Or to someone else?

This was a reread for me.  It had been long enough since I read it the first time that while I met certain passages and scenes with quick recognition, I still was sure enough of the ground to spot the culprit right away.  The Professor Basnett mysteries comfortable cozies that satisfy the mystery reader without a lot of blood and gore or psychological thrills and tension.  Believable characters and an interesting twist on the blackmail scheme make for a good solid three star reread.  It's possible I would have given it four stars the first time 'round--but for some inexplicable reason I don't have a record of my initial reaction (not even the star rating that I normally would have).

Blood Makes Noise: Review

Whatever I might have been, whatever I might become, here, today, I am a man who keeps his promises. ~Michael Suslov (p.435)

Michael Suslov is a CIA agent in Argentina.  A man with slim ties to the former First Lady of Argentina, Eva Peron; he nonetheless has promises to keep and, as the saying goes, miles to go before he sleeps.  And before this story is over he will be called upon to keep those promises--even at the risk of his life.
  
When Eva Peron dies, her body is preserved and held in trust for the Argentine people--but her body vanishes from the vault where it was kept and moved from place to place.  Each time Evita's body is moved, devoted followers manage to find her and flowers are sent.  After sixteen years, the Argentine people want Evita back and Suslov is called upon to transport the body safely.  But there are more groups than one who want Evita's body...and moreover, they want to find the key to a Swiss bank box rumored to hold the millions that Evita reportedly stole.  Some of the people on Suslov's trail are rogue CIA agents, some are former colleagues, and some are former friends--but they all want Evita and most want the money.  It becomes more and more difficult for Suslov to determine who is on what side and it will be a long dangerous journey before Evita can be brought home and Michael can keep his promises.

After a somewhat slow beginning, this turns into a fast-paced thriller that keeps the reader on her toes.  Lots of action and the chase in the final chapters is well worth the ride.  The best of the book is in the denouement and I enjoyed Michael's interactions with Gina and Hector.  And I have to chuckle when I think of the wool they pull over General Peron's eyes in those last moments.  I agreed to read this as a review request because of the story of Evita--I knew very little before and was intrigued by the historical context and mysterious circumstances.  It was very interesting to find out how many of the extraordinary events were factual.  Overall, a very solid and interesting read.  I give it three and a half stars, but if you are a thriller or espionage fan I can easily imagine it earning a higher rating.



[Disclaimer: This book was made available to me as an advanced reader copy--there may be differences between this copy and the final published version. My review policy is posted on my blog, but just to reiterate...This review copy was offered to me for impartial review and I have received no payment of any kind. All comments are entirely my own honest opinion.]