Agatha and Iraq
Mystery Scene

christie_iraq_small

Photo: Agatha Christie at the excavation of Nimrud in Iraq, 1950. Christie was an active participant in the digs led by her husband.

Among the many priceless items looted from the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad in May 2003 were several that had a connection to the grand dame of mystery, Agatha Christie.

For many years Christie accompanied her husband, the archaelogist Sir Max Mallowan, on digs in Iraq. Christie used this experience in several of her novels, most famously Murder in Mesopotamia.

Many, if not most, of the antiquities recovered on these digs ended up in the Iraq National Museum. The University of Chicago's prestigious Oriental Institute—one of whose graduates is mystery writer Elizabeth Peters—has set up a website showing objects known to have been stolen. It is hoped that this will help in the effort to recover these lost treasures.

christie_murder_in_mesop_first_edition_smallchristie_come_tell_me_smallFURTHER READING Mallowan, Agatha Christie Come, Tell Me How You Live

A charming memoir of Christie’s Middle East adventures while on archaeological expeditions with her second husband, Max Mallowan, before World War II. First published in 1946. Includes photos.

Mallowan, Max Mallowan’s Memoirs

The archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan devotes four affectionate chapters to his wife’s achievements in this account of his own mallowan_nimrudproductive and adventuresome life. 1977. Photographs.

Left: Sir Max Mallowan’s scholarly account of the excavations at Nimrud shows the "Mona Lisa of Nimrud." It is one of the largest carved ivories ever recovered from antiquity (883-859 B.C.) and is now missing.

This article first appeared in Mystery Scene Summer Issue #80.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-22 18:07:55

christie_murder_in_mesop_first_edition_smallSeveral items looted from the Iraq National Museum in May 2003, had a connection to Agatha Christie.

Test

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In ligula dui, consectetur sed mattis quis, volutpat mollis nisl. Nulla quis elementum libero. Morbi mauris velit, consectetur id scelerisque bibendum, tincidunt vitae nulla. Aliquam erat volutpat. Nunc a velit faucibus libero facilisis euismod. In pretium, leo eget pretium malesuada, mi est convallis eros, non mattis tortor arcu ut ante. Quisque egestas malesuada euismod. Ut faucibus dictum malesuada. Vivamus hendrerit purus vel lorem dictum elementum. Nulla blandit, tortor sit amet ullamcorper elementum, est nulla interdum arcu, in vehicula risus tortor rhoncus mauris. In rutrum sollicitudin enim eget pretium. Sed eget arcu ut lorem iaculis mollis et id augue. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nulla sagittis lectus accumsan nisi vulputate porttitor. Cras enim lorem, pharetra sed posuere et, porta sit amet nibh. Quisque consectetur luctus sagittis. Duis mollis, libero et gravida dapibus, magna nunc tristique diam, a euismod lectus ligula eu orci. Vivamus condimentum, arcu et rhoncus porta, urna lectus imperdiet libero, et auctor erat justo malesuada dui. Nam id ipsum magna, eget congue felis. Cras dignissim aliquam viverra. Sed metus orci, tempor at tincidunt ut, porttitor ut nibh. Sed euismod sem et purus venenatis sit amet consectetur eros aliquet. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Etiam condimentum nibh ut lectus lacinia sodales. Duis posuere, tortor vitae malesuada placerat, nulla nisi euismod neque, non vestibulum metus sem consequat lacus. Aliquam sagittis enim id tortor lobortis a fringilla purus mollis. Nulla ornare gravida luctus. Nam quis mi ipsum, eget tristique lectus. Morbi nec quam augue. Quisque lobortis lacinia nisi, vitae sollicitudin nisl fermentum id. Donec aliquet, nisi vitae mattis ultricies, mauris lorem molestie quam, posuere tristique massa enim vitae purus. Maecenas neque nibh, aliquam eu molestie vitae, consequat aliquam lectus. Nulla convallis bibendum pretium. Nulla lacinia eros sed ligula interdum a egestas nisl venenatis. Morbi et leo et dui cursus fringilla nec quis metus. Nullam imperdiet luctus placerat. Integer pulvinar lectus eget ante vestibulum at viverra risus porta. Morbi sodales arcu turpis. Morbi in massa lectus, vel pulvinar felis. In nec lacus et diam scelerisque tincidunt. Nullam gravida, nunc ut molestie condimentum, massa mi semper leo, nec dapibus lacus elit ac lacus. Morbi eu laoreet metus. Aliquam erat volutpat. Nulla egestas cursus neque. Aenean tristique eleifend pharetra. In nec ante eget enim tristique cursus. Aenean et tellus dictum velit sagittis molestie. Aliquam faucibus, turpis sit amet pharetra ornare, lectus nibh bibendum justo, ut condimentum neque sem sit amet augue. Nullam luctus congue ligula vitae facilisis. Curabitur egestas tortor sem. Donec sed massa id urna fermentum vestibulum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Aliquam erat volutpat. Maecenas molestie, nulla at egestas hendrerit, eros enim rhoncus magna, in interdum est lacus vitae est. Maecenas faucibus venenatis sem cursus egestas. Cras eros lorem, euismod et interdum vitae, scelerisque at libero. Nulla varius congue lobortis. Mauris diam ligula, mollis vel aliquet eget, tincidunt a tellus. Fusce blandit nunc sed est pulvinar molestie. Sed nec turpis at lacus auctor auctor. Nullam posuere pellentesque erat, non aliquam augue molestie aliquam. Nam molestie augue ullamcorper sem tempor varius. In consectetur diam ac purus convallis tincidunt. Suspendisse aliquet velit ut ipsum lobortis eleifend. Suspendisse molestie nunc in nulla bibendum in porttitor massa luctus. Nulla hendrerit mattis mollis. Ut ut lorem a nisl gravida condimentum non nec massa. Nam quis massa turpis. Maecenas eu euismod velit. Nunc accumsan rhoncus malesuada. Nullam tellus augue, ullamcorper ut tincidunt non, varius in sapien. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Proin non tellus libero. In gravida ligula id felis tempus dapibus. Aliquam nec eros eget nunc ultrices eleifend in at est. Nam at ligula vitae arcu ornare lacinia ut volutpat diam. Morbi ornare eleifend dui, id sagittis felis placerat sit amet. Aenean quis odio metus, non commodo dui. Proin pretium, ligula sed laoreet ornare, felis dolor molestie turpis, nec ultrices odio lorem aliquet massa.

Super User
2011-03-22 23:11:17

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In ligula dui, consectetur sed mattis quis, volutpat mollis nisl. Nulla quis elementum libero. Morbi mauris velit, consectetur id scelerisque bibendum, tincidunt vitae nulla. Aliquam erat volutpat. Nunc a velit faucibus libero facilisis euismod. In pretium, leo eget pretium malesuada, mi est convallis eros, non mattis tortor arcu ut ante. Quisque egestas malesuada euismod. Ut faucibus dictum malesuada. Vivamus hendrerit purus vel lorem dictum elementum. Nulla blandit, tortor sit amet ullamcorper elementum, est nulla interdum arcu, in vehicula risus tortor rhoncus mauris. In rutrum sollicitudin enim eget pretium. Sed eget arcu ut lorem iaculis mollis et id augue. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nulla sagittis lectus accumsan nisi vulputate porttitor. Cras enim lorem, pharetra sed posuere et, porta sit amet nibh. Quisque consectetur luctus sagittis. Duis mollis, libero et gravida dapibus, magna nunc tristique diam, a euismod lectus ligula eu orci. Vivamus condimentum, arcu et rhoncus porta, urna lectus imperdiet libero, et auctor erat justo malesuada dui. Nam id ipsum magna, eget congue felis. Cras dignissim aliquam viverra. Sed metus orci, tempor at tincidunt ut, porttitor ut nibh. Sed euismod sem et purus venenatis sit amet consectetur eros aliquet. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Etiam condimentum nibh ut lectus lacinia sodales. Duis posuere, tortor vitae malesuada placerat, nulla nisi euismod neque, non vestibulum metus sem consequat lacus. Aliquam sagittis enim id tortor lobortis a fringilla purus mollis. Nulla ornare gravida luctus. Nam quis mi ipsum, eget tristique lectus. Morbi nec quam augue. Quisque lobortis lacinia nisi, vitae sollicitudin nisl fermentum id. Donec aliquet, nisi vitae mattis ultricies, mauris lorem molestie quam, posuere tristique massa enim vitae purus. Maecenas neque nibh, aliquam eu molestie vitae, consequat aliquam lectus. Nulla convallis bibendum pretium. Nulla lacinia eros sed ligula interdum a egestas nisl venenatis. Morbi et leo et dui cursus fringilla nec quis metus. Nullam imperdiet luctus placerat. Integer pulvinar lectus eget ante vestibulum at viverra risus porta. Morbi sodales arcu turpis. Morbi in massa lectus, vel pulvinar felis. In nec lacus et diam scelerisque tincidunt. Nullam gravida, nunc ut molestie condimentum, massa mi semper leo, nec dapibus lacus elit ac lacus. Morbi eu laoreet metus. Aliquam erat volutpat. Nulla egestas cursus neque. Aenean tristique eleifend pharetra. In nec ante eget enim tristique cursus. Aenean et tellus dictum velit sagittis molestie. Aliquam faucibus, turpis sit amet pharetra ornare, lectus nibh bibendum justo, ut condimentum neque sem sit amet augue. Nullam luctus congue ligula vitae facilisis. Curabitur egestas tortor sem. Donec sed massa id urna fermentum vestibulum. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Aliquam erat volutpat. Maecenas molestie, nulla at egestas hendrerit, eros enim rhoncus magna, in interdum est lacus vitae est. Maecenas faucibus venenatis sem cursus egestas. Cras eros lorem, euismod et interdum vitae, scelerisque at libero. Nulla varius congue lobortis. Mauris diam ligula, mollis vel aliquet eget, tincidunt a tellus. Fusce blandit nunc sed est pulvinar molestie. Sed nec turpis at lacus auctor auctor. Nullam posuere pellentesque erat, non aliquam augue molestie aliquam. Nam molestie augue ullamcorper sem tempor varius. In consectetur diam ac purus convallis tincidunt. Suspendisse aliquet velit ut ipsum lobortis eleifend. Suspendisse molestie nunc in nulla bibendum in porttitor massa luctus. Nulla hendrerit mattis mollis. Ut ut lorem a nisl gravida condimentum non nec massa. Nam quis massa turpis. Maecenas eu euismod velit. Nunc accumsan rhoncus malesuada. Nullam tellus augue, ullamcorper ut tincidunt non, varius in sapien. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Proin non tellus libero. In gravida ligula id felis tempus dapibus. Aliquam nec eros eget nunc ultrices eleifend in at est. Nam at ligula vitae arcu ornare lacinia ut volutpat diam. Morbi ornare eleifend dui, id sagittis felis placerat sit amet. Aenean quis odio metus, non commodo dui. Proin pretium, ligula sed laoreet ornare, felis dolor molestie turpis, nec ultrices odio lorem aliquet massa.

Fadeaway Girl
Cheryl Solimini

Fans of Martha Grimes’ Richard Jury series are well-acquainted with the Girl: a self-sufficient, self-possessed preteen who suddenly materializes to captivate Jury, perhaps nudge him in the right detecting direction, only to fade into the background before the last page is turned. Did Jury imagine her or did we?

Grimes’ intermittent Emma Graham novels have brought this preternaturally wise child to flesh in a series of evocative (of what time period, it’s hard to tell), leisurely thrillers. It’s been four years since the third installment, Belle Ruin, but mere weeks since 12-year-old Emma was “near murdered” investigating past and present deaths in Spirit Lake, the far-western Maryland resort town that almost “tips into West Virginia.” As usual, tenacious Emma has not been fazed by her recent ordeal-by-gunpoint and works her status as local celebrity and star reporter for the town newspaper to continue her inquiries into the unresolved mysteries on her turf, particularly the alleged kidnapping of Baby Fay 20 years prior. The cold case reopens itself when the infant’s father, Morris Slade, and a charming (to all but Emma) stranger show up almost simultaneously.

Shades of Richard Jury, Emma, too, encounters the Girl, a young someone resembling one of the dear departed, and wonders if her vision is real. To find the truth behind both the Girl’s appearance and the baby's disappearance, Emma shuttles between her detective work and her duties as waitress at her mother’s down-at-the-heels hotel and bartender to her great-aunt Aurora, with frequent stops at the Rainbow Café and the Windy Run Diner.

As in Hotel Paradise, Cold Flat Junction and Belle Ruin, Fadeaway Girl takes its own sweet time getting to the most recent crime and its resolution (if the loosely wrapped-up ending can be called that). It’s Emma—surrounded by adults, yet independent of them—who captivates us, with her insights as well as her innocence.

She is no Fadeaway Girl and this still-spinning story leaves no doubt that she will be Back.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 17:55:17

grimes_fadeawaygirlTwelve-year-old Emma Graham, star reporter, waitress, and sleuth, is on the trail of an old unsolved case in Martha Grimes' latest.

A Red Herring Without Mustard
Lynne Maxwell

Succeeding The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag, this latest entry in Alan Bradley’s charming series is every bit as delightful as its predecessors. Bradley, of course, is the creator of Flavia de Luce, that most precocious of scientists. Flavia, an 11-year old residing in an English village, circa 1950, has two sisters who are the bane of her existence because they constantly torment her with humiliating tricks. Her father is an upper-class philatelist with rapidly diminishing means. Her obsession is chemistry, and she spends prodigious amounts of time performing experiments in her own lab. In her spare time, Flavia has a penchant for stumbling upon murder mysteries.

In A Red Herring without Mustard, Flavia attempts to assist an elderly Gypsy who is subsequently murdered. Flavia discovers the body and embarks upon her own unauthorized investigation, which expands with the addition of another corpse. The plot is engaging and complex and Bradley envelops his tale in humor which makes for a jolly good read, but it’s his characterization of Flavia that truly shines. Flavia exhibits impressive knowledge and acumen, while also revealing her own shortcomings through the first-person narrative. As an 11-year old, Flavia lacks the maturity and range of experience that would enable her to fully understand the world around her. Her involvement in sleuthing, though, increases her understanding of people, and, in this book, her sense of her own identity.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 20:16:15

Succeeding The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag, this latest entry in Alan Bradley’s charming series is every bit as delightful as its predecessors. Bradley, of course, is the creator of Flavia de Luce, that most precocious of scientists. Flavia, an 11-year old residing in an English village, circa 1950, has two sisters who are the bane of her existence because they constantly torment her with humiliating tricks. Her father is an upper-class philatelist with rapidly diminishing means. Her obsession is chemistry, and she spends prodigious amounts of time performing experiments in her own lab. In her spare time, Flavia has a penchant for stumbling upon murder mysteries.

In A Red Herring without Mustard, Flavia attempts to assist an elderly Gypsy who is subsequently murdered. Flavia discovers the body and embarks upon her own unauthorized investigation, which expands with the addition of another corpse. The plot is engaging and complex and Bradley envelops his tale in humor which makes for a jolly good read, but it’s his characterization of Flavia that truly shines. Flavia exhibits impressive knowledge and acumen, while also revealing her own shortcomings through the first-person narrative. As an 11-year old, Flavia lacks the maturity and range of experience that would enable her to fully understand the world around her. Her involvement in sleuthing, though, increases her understanding of people, and, in this book, her sense of her own identity.

Falling More Slowly
Derek Hill

A bomb explodes in a Bristol city park, severely injuring two people. Is it the work of international terrorists? DI Liam McLusky, newly transferred to Bristol after suffering a serious injury in the line of duty, doesn’t think so. But when more bombings claim new victims, the issue of whether it’s committed by a militant group or by a lone, vengeful person feels beside the point—the citizens of Bristol are under attack. Meanwhile a series of brutal muggings by a scooter gang offers a different sort of havoc. Could the two series of crimes be connected in any way? Already stumbling to find his footing with his new job and city, McLusky is confounded by the wave of violence, but determined to stop it.

Fans of Helton’s previous Chris Honeysett PI novels will find plenty to enjoy here, as will readers who simply love a realistically drawn, sardonic protagonist to guide them through the darkness.

We’ve seen the likes of McLusky before, with his bullheaded resolve and crumbling personal life. But Helton’s genuinely sympathetic portrait of his shabby, chain-smoking protagonist and his trenchant observations of life in modern-day, multicultural Bristol help distinguish this new series.

Perfectly pitched between dry humor and dread, Falling More Slowly manages to convey the complexities not only of its characters, but also of Bristol itself. The city feels alive, not simply a generic urban backdrop for violence. The descriptions of the bombings are graphic, even horrifying, but McLusky’s ability to retain his own humanity keeps things engaging and recognizably civilized throughout. It’s a strong debut for a new series and bodes well for future McLusky novels. Now if only someone could find the detective inspector a proper cup of coffee.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 20:28:10

A bomb explodes in a Bristol city park, severely injuring two people. Is it the work of international terrorists? DI Liam McLusky, newly transferred to Bristol after suffering a serious injury in the line of duty, doesn’t think so. But when more bombings claim new victims, the issue of whether it’s committed by a militant group or by a lone, vengeful person feels beside the point—the citizens of Bristol are under attack. Meanwhile a series of brutal muggings by a scooter gang offers a different sort of havoc. Could the two series of crimes be connected in any way? Already stumbling to find his footing with his new job and city, McLusky is confounded by the wave of violence, but determined to stop it.

Fans of Helton’s previous Chris Honeysett PI novels will find plenty to enjoy here, as will readers who simply love a realistically drawn, sardonic protagonist to guide them through the darkness.

We’ve seen the likes of McLusky before, with his bullheaded resolve and crumbling personal life. But Helton’s genuinely sympathetic portrait of his shabby, chain-smoking protagonist and his trenchant observations of life in modern-day, multicultural Bristol help distinguish this new series.

Perfectly pitched between dry humor and dread, Falling More Slowly manages to convey the complexities not only of its characters, but also of Bristol itself. The city feels alive, not simply a generic urban backdrop for violence. The descriptions of the bombings are graphic, even horrifying, but McLusky’s ability to retain his own humanity keeps things engaging and recognizably civilized throughout. It’s a strong debut for a new series and bodes well for future McLusky novels. Now if only someone could find the detective inspector a proper cup of coffee.

Frozen Assets
Derek Hill

Nothing much happens in the small Icelandic fishing village of Hvalvik and residents aren’t complaining about it. But when a corpse is found floating in the lagoon near a soon-to-be-constructed power station, Hvalvik’s Officer Gunna Gunnhildur, a widowed, middle-aged mother of two, gruffly bullies her way toward the truth. Suspecting that the death was not the accidental drowning her superiors back in Reykjavik would like it to be, Gunna, with the help of her small-town police force and a mysterious blogger working autonomously, uncovers something much bigger than the mystery of a single drowned body.

In a world of interchangeable, cynical detectives and seen-it-all cops, Gunna is a refreshingly realistic and likeable protagonist, although far from subtle. Frequently accused of being rude, which in Icelandic society seems tantamount to committing murder, she blusters her way toward solving the mystery at hand, unafraid of what kind of political trouble she may be stirring up. That’s a police procedural cliché, of course, but Bates steers clear of serving up simple stereotypes by offering up an expertly realized main character and brilliant sense of locale, while detailing with precision how the abuse of power at the highest level of society trickles down to hurt the people below. Gunna may be bullish, but her greatest weapons are her steely resolve and sharp, uncompromising wit, effective in shattering the toughest hypocrisies. Bates’ first novel easily joins the ranks of similarly superb Northern European mysteries that have captured the attention of readers in recent years, yet stands alone in its own excellence.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 20:38:14

Nothing much happens in the small Icelandic fishing village of Hvalvik and residents aren’t complaining about it. But when a corpse is found floating in the lagoon near a soon-to-be-constructed power station, Hvalvik’s Officer Gunna Gunnhildur, a widowed, middle-aged mother of two, gruffly bullies her way toward the truth. Suspecting that the death was not the accidental drowning her superiors back in Reykjavik would like it to be, Gunna, with the help of her small-town police force and a mysterious blogger working autonomously, uncovers something much bigger than the mystery of a single drowned body.

In a world of interchangeable, cynical detectives and seen-it-all cops, Gunna is a refreshingly realistic and likeable protagonist, although far from subtle. Frequently accused of being rude, which in Icelandic society seems tantamount to committing murder, she blusters her way toward solving the mystery at hand, unafraid of what kind of political trouble she may be stirring up. That’s a police procedural cliché, of course, but Bates steers clear of serving up simple stereotypes by offering up an expertly realized main character and brilliant sense of locale, while detailing with precision how the abuse of power at the highest level of society trickles down to hurt the people below. Gunna may be bullish, but her greatest weapons are her steely resolve and sharp, uncompromising wit, effective in shattering the toughest hypocrisies. Bates’ first novel easily joins the ranks of similarly superb Northern European mysteries that have captured the attention of readers in recent years, yet stands alone in its own excellence.

Devil’s Slew
Kevin Burton Smith

Wimberly’s series character, Special Agent Barrett “Bear” Raines of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, returns in his fifth outing, an uneven but nonetheless intriguing read. Certainly, the travails of recently returned Afghanistan War vets is timely, and Wimberly displays a strong hand when it comes to his rendering of a rough-and-tumble northwestern coastal Florida “that has nothing to do with Disney World.”

The story begins when Bear is forced to shoot the son of a childhood friend, and rapidly develops into a hearty, nasty stew of violence and murder that includes severed heads, wartime atrocities, smugglers, a murdered federal agent, counterfeiters and—I kid you not—bear traps. The problem is when the author’s efforts to balance his tough, hardboiled police procedural begin to slap against the cozy domestic duties of family man Raines (baseball games with the twins, date nights with the wife, etc.) and his occasional time-outs from it all to go kayaking. That sort of stop-and-go plays hell with momentum.

In a similar vein, much is made of Bear being a black man in a “larger and dominant culture” but it’s mostly just lip service. Nothing comes of it. And the attempt to portray his French-Canadian partner as a fellow victim of prejudice, right down to suffering the indignity of “English Only” restroom signs in Quebec (yeah, right!) is spectacularly ill-informed. Similarly, do we really need to know—in the middle of rushing to a crime scene—that Bear’s beloved Malibu has a “Harley [sic] four-barrel dumping 89 octane to a ‘369’ with fresh plugs and an aftermarket ignition kit”? Still, there’s a fair play mystery at work here, the final revelation is a neat twist, and Bear is an interesting character to ride along with. Now if only the author didn’t feel obliged to stop the car so often along the way.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 20:43:09

wimberly_devilsslewSpecial Agent Barrett “Bear” Raines of Florida returns in his fifth outing.

Fatal Error
Betty Webb

While training to become a Yavapai County, Arizona sheriff’s deputy, former news anchor Ali Reynolds discovers that Brenda Riley, a once-rival newscaster, has hit the skids big time, getting fired from her job and racking up DUIs one after another. The cause of Brenda’s tailspin is Richard Lowensdale, a cyber-sociopath who woos lonely women merely for the thrill of dumping them in particularly humiliating ways. He’s a nasty piece of work, but nowhere near as nasty as Mina Blaylock, the woman he works for. When Richard is found tortured and murdered, Brenda—who was in the process of outing him to his other victims—becomes the main suspect. She promptly disappears, and the cops think she’s on the run.

Ali doesn’t believe her old acquaintance could have killed anyone, so she enlists the computer security skills of boyfriend B. Simpson to help clear Brenda’s name. As for the actual footwork, Ali prefers to handle that herself. Due to her newfound martial arts skills, she believes she can handle any physical altercation that might arise. The complicated plot bounces back and forth from Arizona to California, encompassing lonely hearts victims, a finger-amputating Serbian torturer, a dying elderly woman, and a US design firm planning to sell leftover government drones to terrorists and drug runners.

Although Ali is usually the central figure in this series (five more have appeared earlier, most recently Trial by Fire in 2009) she’s upstaged here by her old acquaintance. Brenda may be a mess, but her efforts to spare other women the heartache she’s gone through allow readers to cheer her successes and sympathize with her many missteps. Another nice addition to the series is Detective Gilbert Morris, a California cop smart enough to listen to Ali’s belief that Brenda is about to be victimized all over again, this time in a more final fashion. The partnership of Gil and Ali is almost as satisfying as that of J. P. Beaumont and Sheriff Susanna Brady in Jance’s earlier Partner in Crime.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 21:04:41

While training to become a Yavapai County, Arizona sheriff’s deputy, former news anchor Ali Reynolds discovers that Brenda Riley, a once-rival newscaster, has hit the skids big time, getting fired from her job and racking up DUIs one after another. The cause of Brenda’s tailspin is Richard Lowensdale, a cyber-sociopath who woos lonely women merely for the thrill of dumping them in particularly humiliating ways. He’s a nasty piece of work, but nowhere near as nasty as Mina Blaylock, the woman he works for. When Richard is found tortured and murdered, Brenda—who was in the process of outing him to his other victims—becomes the main suspect. She promptly disappears, and the cops think she’s on the run.

Ali doesn’t believe her old acquaintance could have killed anyone, so she enlists the computer security skills of boyfriend B. Simpson to help clear Brenda’s name. As for the actual footwork, Ali prefers to handle that herself. Due to her newfound martial arts skills, she believes she can handle any physical altercation that might arise. The complicated plot bounces back and forth from Arizona to California, encompassing lonely hearts victims, a finger-amputating Serbian torturer, a dying elderly woman, and a US design firm planning to sell leftover government drones to terrorists and drug runners.

Although Ali is usually the central figure in this series (five more have appeared earlier, most recently Trial by Fire in 2009) she’s upstaged here by her old acquaintance. Brenda may be a mess, but her efforts to spare other women the heartache she’s gone through allow readers to cheer her successes and sympathize with her many missteps. Another nice addition to the series is Detective Gilbert Morris, a California cop smart enough to listen to Ali’s belief that Brenda is about to be victimized all over again, this time in a more final fashion. The partnership of Gil and Ali is almost as satisfying as that of J. P. Beaumont and Sheriff Susanna Brady in Jance’s earlier Partner in Crime.

The Terror of Living
Hank Wagner

Urban Waite’s impressive debut opens as young Deputy Bobby Drake confronts two drug smugglers, ex-cons Phil Hunt and his companion, “the Kid,” in a dense forest located in the mountains of Washington State. Drake foils a delivery, capturing the Kid but allowing Hunt to escape. The chance encounter triggers events that force Drake and Hunt to confront their pasts, even as they deal with the fallout from the disrupted drug deal; the enraged owners of the heroin unleash their enforcer, the lethal Grady Fisher, to mete out punishment to those who have failed them.

There’s much to praise about The Terror of Living, including the relentless pacing and Waite’s stunning prose, but what really makes it compelling is the humanity of its characters. From Drake trying to cope with the sins of his father, to Hunt and his wife, Nora, desperately scrambling to maintain the happy life they’ve carved out for themselves against all odds, Waite’s richly imagined characters spring to life in the reader’s mind.

The book will no doubt be compared to Cormac McCarthy’s bleak No Country for Old Men, in many ways an apt comparison, but not in all, because it also evokes masterpieces like Deliverance, and even Lonesome Dove, in that one can actually feel Waite’s cast being transformed by events, some for the worse, but, more importantly, some for the better.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 21:11:02

Urban Waite’s impressive debut opens as young Deputy Bobby Drake confronts two drug smugglers, ex-cons Phil Hunt and his companion, “the Kid,” in a dense forest located in the mountains of Washington State. Drake foils a delivery, capturing the Kid but allowing Hunt to escape. The chance encounter triggers events that force Drake and Hunt to confront their pasts, even as they deal with the fallout from the disrupted drug deal; the enraged owners of the heroin unleash their enforcer, the lethal Grady Fisher, to mete out punishment to those who have failed them.

There’s much to praise about The Terror of Living, including the relentless pacing and Waite’s stunning prose, but what really makes it compelling is the humanity of its characters. From Drake trying to cope with the sins of his father, to Hunt and his wife, Nora, desperately scrambling to maintain the happy life they’ve carved out for themselves against all odds, Waite’s richly imagined characters spring to life in the reader’s mind.

The book will no doubt be compared to Cormac McCarthy’s bleak No Country for Old Men, in many ways an apt comparison, but not in all, because it also evokes masterpieces like Deliverance, and even Lonesome Dove, in that one can actually feel Waite’s cast being transformed by events, some for the worse, but, more importantly, some for the better.

Spiral
Oline H. Cogdill

Nanotechnology—manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale—is a dry ingredient of which term papers are made, but Spiral deftly mixes science with a gripping bioterrorism plot and interesting characters.

Author Paul McEuen, a Cornell physics professor and a leader in nanoscience research, could easily have lost the average reader in science terminology and concepts, but his debut is a real thriller rather than a crash course in science.

Spiral opens during the waning days of World War II. Dr. Liam Connor, a brilliant young scientist and first lieutenant in the British Army, is ordered to investigate germ warfare in which soldiers become living bombs. More than 60 years later, Liam is considered one of the world’s most eminent biologists, the secrets he learned during WWII having influenced his life’s work. Liam is found dead, an alleged suicide. But Liam’s granddaughter, Maggie, and his research collaborator, Jake Sterling, refuse to believe Liam killed himself. As they try to make sense of Liam’s death, they become the target of government agents, ruthless tycoons, and an assassin.

McEuen uses the real-life tale of a bioterrorism unit run by the Japanese Imperial Army during WWII and research in fungal biology to enhance the solid plot. McEuen matches his plot’s scientific aspects with strong, believable characters, including Dr. Connor, whose legacy permeates the book, and the intelligent Maggie and Jake, who play off each other well.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 21:30:43

Nanotechnology—manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale—is a dry ingredient of which term papers are made, but Spiral deftly mixes science with a gripping bioterrorism plot and interesting characters.

Author Paul McEuen, a Cornell physics professor and a leader in nanoscience research, could easily have lost the average reader in science terminology and concepts, but his debut is a real thriller rather than a crash course in science.

Spiral opens during the waning days of World War II. Dr. Liam Connor, a brilliant young scientist and first lieutenant in the British Army, is ordered to investigate germ warfare in which soldiers become living bombs. More than 60 years later, Liam is considered one of the world’s most eminent biologists, the secrets he learned during WWII having influenced his life’s work. Liam is found dead, an alleged suicide. But Liam’s granddaughter, Maggie, and his research collaborator, Jake Sterling, refuse to believe Liam killed himself. As they try to make sense of Liam’s death, they become the target of government agents, ruthless tycoons, and an assassin.

McEuen uses the real-life tale of a bioterrorism unit run by the Japanese Imperial Army during WWII and research in fungal biology to enhance the solid plot. McEuen matches his plot’s scientific aspects with strong, believable characters, including Dr. Connor, whose legacy permeates the book, and the intelligent Maggie and Jake, who play off each other well.

Eyes of the Innocent
Daniel Luft

Brad Parks’ second novel about Carter Ross, a jaded investigative reporter who works for a struggling Newark, New Jersey daily, is a tightly wound thriller about city corruption. It begins with Ross getting assigned to look into a fire that killed two young boys in the rough part of town. This is a dull story to him and he’s incensed when he’s also told to bring along a very green and annoyingly cute young intern commonly known as “Sweet Thang.”

While investigating the burnt house they run into the dead boys’ mother, Akilah Harris, who spins an interview into a tragedy of an orphaned single mother trying to make good, working two jobs while short on child care. But Akilah’s story proves to be full of holes and this routine assignment quickly spirals into something much larger involving subprime mortgages, unsafe construction, government kickbacks and the disappearance of an aging city councilman.

Eyes is a harrowing trip through political greed, white flight, urban decay, fly-by-night contractors who worked the system during the housing boom, the death of the newspaper industry, and the extreme efforts police and press go through to finesse information from each other.

Background information about a large cast of characters is provided through the dialogue and narration effortlessly and humorously. Ross is a fast talker who is knowledgeable about his city and the people who live there. He narrates the novel with the precision of Hammett and the cynical humor of George Carlin. And while Ross is at first put off by Sweet Thang’s naiveté, he notices that angry witnesses open up to her in a way that they will not to him with his experienced, professional attitude.

Parks’ Faces of the Gone won the Shamus Award for best first novel, and Eyes of the Innocent proves that his debut was no fluke. This is hardboiled writing that is modern in its subjects, classical in its tone, and riveting in its language and pace.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 21:38:18

Brad Parks’ second novel about Carter Ross, a jaded investigative reporter who works for a struggling Newark, New Jersey daily, is a tightly wound thriller about city corruption. It begins with Ross getting assigned to look into a fire that killed two young boys in the rough part of town. This is a dull story to him and he’s incensed when he’s also told to bring along a very green and annoyingly cute young intern commonly known as “Sweet Thang.”

While investigating the burnt house they run into the dead boys’ mother, Akilah Harris, who spins an interview into a tragedy of an orphaned single mother trying to make good, working two jobs while short on child care. But Akilah’s story proves to be full of holes and this routine assignment quickly spirals into something much larger involving subprime mortgages, unsafe construction, government kickbacks and the disappearance of an aging city councilman.

Eyes is a harrowing trip through political greed, white flight, urban decay, fly-by-night contractors who worked the system during the housing boom, the death of the newspaper industry, and the extreme efforts police and press go through to finesse information from each other.

Background information about a large cast of characters is provided through the dialogue and narration effortlessly and humorously. Ross is a fast talker who is knowledgeable about his city and the people who live there. He narrates the novel with the precision of Hammett and the cynical humor of George Carlin. And while Ross is at first put off by Sweet Thang’s naiveté, he notices that angry witnesses open up to her in a way that they will not to him with his experienced, professional attitude.

Parks’ Faces of the Gone won the Shamus Award for best first novel, and Eyes of the Innocent proves that his debut was no fluke. This is hardboiled writing that is modern in its subjects, classical in its tone, and riveting in its language and pace.

Agent X
Daniel Luft

Steve Vail, the protagonist of Noah Boyd’s Agent X, isn’t fazed by violence. Even while he’s getting shot at by Russian or Lithuanian agents, he still takes time to flirt with his partner and ex-love, FBI Assistant Director Kate Bannon. Kate is willing to play along and flirts right back at him through the gunfire.

In the first 20 pages, Vail, who has quit the Feds for a simpler life as a bricklayer, arrives in Washington DC, is invited by local police to help in a kidnapping investigation and solves that and another five-year-old cold case in one night. Then, still the same night, Vail gets the call from Kate’s bosses—the FBI.

The FBI has made, and then lost, contact with a Russian agent known only as Calculus, who wants to expose Americans who are selling secrets to Russia. The FBI requires Vail’s expertise with Russian espionage and quietly allows him to break laws that the Feds will not. They wish to remain informed but not very much.

What follows is a series of extremely complicated puzzles that Calculus has left before he disappeared back to Russia. Each one is obscure: a brief pause in a recorded telephone message, Morse code scratched into the narrow edge of a compact disk. There are references to Greek mythology and a couple of puns, but each puzzle is solved by Vail and Bannon in short order.

Boyd is more adept at pacing and witty dialogue than developing mood or character. There is violence all around Vail and Bannon, but very little sense of danger. Still, this is enjoyable, light entertainment. From the moment he walks into the story, Steve Vail is the smartest, most resourceful, and best looking guy in the room and all he’s looking for is a little romance. The story zips along like a race car on fire from the very beginning and the fun doesn’t let up until the last page.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 21:46:38

Steve Vail, the protagonist of Noah Boyd’s Agent X, isn’t fazed by violence. Even while he’s getting shot at by Russian or Lithuanian agents, he still takes time to flirt with his partner and ex-love, FBI Assistant Director Kate Bannon. Kate is willing to play along and flirts right back at him through the gunfire.

In the first 20 pages, Vail, who has quit the Feds for a simpler life as a bricklayer, arrives in Washington DC, is invited by local police to help in a kidnapping investigation and solves that and another five-year-old cold case in one night. Then, still the same night, Vail gets the call from Kate’s bosses—the FBI.

The FBI has made, and then lost, contact with a Russian agent known only as Calculus, who wants to expose Americans who are selling secrets to Russia. The FBI requires Vail’s expertise with Russian espionage and quietly allows him to break laws that the Feds will not. They wish to remain informed but not very much.

What follows is a series of extremely complicated puzzles that Calculus has left before he disappeared back to Russia. Each one is obscure: a brief pause in a recorded telephone message, Morse code scratched into the narrow edge of a compact disk. There are references to Greek mythology and a couple of puns, but each puzzle is solved by Vail and Bannon in short order.

Boyd is more adept at pacing and witty dialogue than developing mood or character. There is violence all around Vail and Bannon, but very little sense of danger. Still, this is enjoyable, light entertainment. From the moment he walks into the story, Steve Vail is the smartest, most resourceful, and best looking guy in the room and all he’s looking for is a little romance. The story zips along like a race car on fire from the very beginning and the fun doesn’t let up until the last page.

Devil-Devil
Leslie Doran

Devil-Devil is the debut novel in a mystery series set in the exotic Solomon Islands during the turbulent times of the 1960s and Sergeant Ben Kella, one of the few indigenous islanders on the Solomon Police Force, is its uncomfortable hero.

As the story opens, the islands are under British colonial rule and Kella is trying to bridge two cultures. He is torn between duty to the British commanders and his role as an aofia, an inherited position as spiritual peacekeeper to the Lau people of Malaita Island.

Kella is assigned to find an American anthropologist, Dr. Mallory, who has gone missing on Malaita. As Kella embarks on his journey into the island’s interior, he is cursed by a magic man, discovers an incipient tribal uprising, and finds himself at the center of a battle for power on the island.

Sister Conchita, a young American nun, complicates Kella’s life by trying to dispose of a murder victim’s bones to protect the local Catholic priest. She is young, adventuresome, intelligent, and not easily cowed by local expatriate hooligans or by Kella. The indigenous islanders, however, embrace her fearlessness and call her Praying Mary. Kella has his hands full dealing with the willful Sister Conchita as he tries to unravel a murder while keeping his superiors and tribal leaders satisfied.

Author Kent showcases his background in education with his well-researched depiction of the Solomon Islands and their turbulent history. This inaugural story lets the culture of the Solomons shine while the mystery is less prominent. Perhaps the next installment will give readers more tension and interplay between Sister Conchita and Sergeant Kella.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 21:53:18

Devil-Devil is the debut novel in a mystery series set in the exotic Solomon Islands during the turbulent times of the 1960s and Sergeant Ben Kella, one of the few indigenous islanders on the Solomon Police Force, is its uncomfortable hero.

As the story opens, the islands are under British colonial rule and Kella is trying to bridge two cultures. He is torn between duty to the British commanders and his role as an aofia, an inherited position as spiritual peacekeeper to the Lau people of Malaita Island.

Kella is assigned to find an American anthropologist, Dr. Mallory, who has gone missing on Malaita. As Kella embarks on his journey into the island’s interior, he is cursed by a magic man, discovers an incipient tribal uprising, and finds himself at the center of a battle for power on the island.

Sister Conchita, a young American nun, complicates Kella’s life by trying to dispose of a murder victim’s bones to protect the local Catholic priest. She is young, adventuresome, intelligent, and not easily cowed by local expatriate hooligans or by Kella. The indigenous islanders, however, embrace her fearlessness and call her Praying Mary. Kella has his hands full dealing with the willful Sister Conchita as he tries to unravel a murder while keeping his superiors and tribal leaders satisfied.

Author Kent showcases his background in education with his well-researched depiction of the Solomon Islands and their turbulent history. This inaugural story lets the culture of the Solomons shine while the mystery is less prominent. Perhaps the next installment will give readers more tension and interplay between Sister Conchita and Sergeant Kella.

The Poison Tree
Verna Suit

At the end of her senior year in college, studious Karen Clarke meets free-spirited Biba Capel and is instantly enchanted. She soon moves into the once-stately London house that Biba shares with her older brother Rex, and the three of them live a happy, bohemian existence. Karen’s linguistic skills as a polyglot make her acutely aware of speech’s nuances, and language forms a fascinating theme in this intelligent book. As an added bonus, the author’s own descriptive abilities are finely tuned. Reading about Karen’s first wine-soaked party at the Capel house is like being a guest there.

The Poison Tree centers on the intense relationships between its three young protagonists—brilliant Karen, hedonistic Biba, and protective Rex. What starts for Karen as an unconventional summer fling before the onset of adult responsibilities soon becomes the defining experience of her life.

Ten years later, Karen has a nine-year-old daughter named Alice, and Rex is being released from prison. The details of what led up to this situation are slowly unspooled through an utterly captivating narrative.

While at first disconcerting, the narrative’s sudden shifts in time between 1997 and the present are effective in keeping the reader alert. Kelly steadily drops hints of a tragedy to come, but keeps readers in suspense as to when and how it will all go wrong. The deft handling of the circumstances surrounding the tragedy, Karen’s motherhood, and other untold secrets, builds relentlessly mounting suspense in this outstanding debut.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 22:03:45

At the end of her senior year in college, studious Karen Clarke meets free-spirited Biba Capel and is instantly enchanted. She soon moves into the once-stately London house that Biba shares with her older brother Rex, and the three of them live a happy, bohemian existence. Karen’s linguistic skills as a polyglot make her acutely aware of speech’s nuances, and language forms a fascinating theme in this intelligent book. As an added bonus, the author’s own descriptive abilities are finely tuned. Reading about Karen’s first wine-soaked party at the Capel house is like being a guest there.

The Poison Tree centers on the intense relationships between its three young protagonists—brilliant Karen, hedonistic Biba, and protective Rex. What starts for Karen as an unconventional summer fling before the onset of adult responsibilities soon becomes the defining experience of her life.

Ten years later, Karen has a nine-year-old daughter named Alice, and Rex is being released from prison. The details of what led up to this situation are slowly unspooled through an utterly captivating narrative.

While at first disconcerting, the narrative’s sudden shifts in time between 1997 and the present are effective in keeping the reader alert. Kelly steadily drops hints of a tragedy to come, but keeps readers in suspense as to when and how it will all go wrong. The deft handling of the circumstances surrounding the tragedy, Karen’s motherhood, and other untold secrets, builds relentlessly mounting suspense in this outstanding debut.

Backstage Stuff
Jackie Houchin

Backstage Stuff is the seventh in Sharon Fiffer’s engaging Jane Wheel series about a talented antique picker and private investigator. This one has her protagonist not only rummaging through drawers, closets, and attics for treasures, but also looking behind the curtain for the villain in a murder mystery play.

Moping over her upcoming divorce, Jane jumps at the chance to help her pal Tim Lowry prep an enormous old mansion for an estate sale. When he asks her to help him with the production of a “silly old play” written by the estate’s deceased owner, she’s not as thrilled, especially when she finds a warning note in the script that says the play is cursed.

At the mansion, priceless items go missing; at the theater, cast members are mysteriously injured and the show’s carpenter dies in a suspicious accident. Jane is convinced someone is trying to stop the play, first by fear and then by murder.

Fiffer writes in an upbeat, humorous style that’s easy and fun to read. Her protagonist is deceptively smart and so likable you’ll want her as your best friend. The mentoring relationship she has with Detective Oh is intriguing. Not only will readers learn about antiques and the goings-on in a theater, they might also pick up some fascinating tips on investigating murder.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 22:10:30

Backstage Stuff is the seventh in Sharon Fiffer’s engaging Jane Wheel series about a talented antique picker and private investigator. This one has her protagonist not only rummaging through drawers, closets, and attics for treasures, but also looking behind the curtain for the villain in a murder mystery play.

Moping over her upcoming divorce, Jane jumps at the chance to help her pal Tim Lowry prep an enormous old mansion for an estate sale. When he asks her to help him with the production of a “silly old play” written by the estate’s deceased owner, she’s not as thrilled, especially when she finds a warning note in the script that says the play is cursed.

At the mansion, priceless items go missing; at the theater, cast members are mysteriously injured and the show’s carpenter dies in a suspicious accident. Jane is convinced someone is trying to stop the play, first by fear and then by murder.

Fiffer writes in an upbeat, humorous style that’s easy and fun to read. Her protagonist is deceptively smart and so likable you’ll want her as your best friend. The mentoring relationship she has with Detective Oh is intriguing. Not only will readers learn about antiques and the goings-on in a theater, they might also pick up some fascinating tips on investigating murder.

First Grave on the Right
Sue Emmons

She sees dead people. Meet Charley Davidson whose peculiar skills have led to a fragmented career—part private detective, part police consultant, and part bartender mixed with a tinge of grim reaper apprentice. Fortunately for the reader, Charley has a ribald sense of humor that adds spice to this somewhat odd debut mystery that is seemingly searching for a genre niche. Early on, she is visited by a brand new corpse and subsequently meets his two slain law partners, one of whom insists he is not dead despite evidence to the contrary, and the other a female partner who doesn’t doubt she is dead but is fascinated by Charley, who jumps into the investigation at the instigation of her uncle, an Albuquerque homicide detective. Both Uncle Bob and Charley’s ex-cop-turned-bar-owner dad have used her unusual talents to enhance their own crime-solving careers. Toss into this homicidal mix a mysterious, but quite dead, hunk known as Angel, his mysterious mentor, and—oh, yes—Mr. Wong, a permanent ghost who occupies a corner of her apartment.

Jones throws a lot of plot and romance at the reader, including explicit sex. First Grave on the Right will probably appeal more to those intrigued by the occult than those hooked on straightforward crime-solving, but Charley is a delightfully hip narrator.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-24 22:15:58

She sees dead people. Meet Charley Davidson whose peculiar skills have led to a fragmented career—part private detective, part police consultant, and part bartender mixed with a tinge of grim reaper apprentice. Fortunately for the reader, Charley has a ribald sense of humor that adds spice to this somewhat odd debut mystery that is seemingly searching for a genre niche. Early on, she is visited by a brand new corpse and subsequently meets his two slain law partners, one of whom insists he is not dead despite evidence to the contrary, and the other a female partner who doesn’t doubt she is dead but is fascinated by Charley, who jumps into the investigation at the instigation of her uncle, an Albuquerque homicide detective. Both Uncle Bob and Charley’s ex-cop-turned-bar-owner dad have used her unusual talents to enhance their own crime-solving careers. Toss into this homicidal mix a mysterious, but quite dead, hunk known as Angel, his mysterious mentor, and—oh, yes—Mr. Wong, a permanent ghost who occupies a corner of her apartment.

Jones throws a lot of plot and romance at the reader, including explicit sex. First Grave on the Right will probably appeal more to those intrigued by the occult than those hooked on straightforward crime-solving, but Charley is a delightfully hip narrator.

The Girl in the Green Raincoat
M. Schlecht

First appearing in serial format in the NY Times Magazine in 2008, Lippman’s The Girl in the Green Raincoat has now been released as a slim, standalone novel. The author notes that it emerged from an especially productive year for her, along with the Edgar-nominated short story Scratch a Woman and her well-received novel Life Sentences. The breezy chapters of Girl must have come in the more playful, lighthearted moments of the work week.

Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan is pregnant and, due to complications, under strict doctor’s orders not to leave the house. Initial fantasies of indulgent lounging and copious TV and Utz crab chips consumption soon become dull reality. She’s eager to get back in the game, and armed with binoculars, turns her front porch into a stakeout location as she spies on the dog walkers in the park across the street. A mysterious, fashionable woman with a small greyhound catches her eye. Then, one day, the dog shows up without its owner. It’s not much, but under the circumstances, enough for Tess to begin her (literally) armchair missing-person investigation. Call it Hitchcock Lite.

Lippman’s low-key charm and everywoman wit help the story zip along, as Tess’ friends assist her in the necessary off-site inquiries. Some of the characters she finds along the way, including her prime suspect, are drawn a little thin, but the real center of the story is the owner of the little feet kicking at Tess’ stomach. Life will never be the same for Ms. Monaghan. She is both thankful for, and uncertain of, her partner, as well as her parenting skills, but at least there will always be mysteries to solve.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-25 18:02:54

First appearing in serial format in the NY Times Magazine in 2008, Lippman’s The Girl in the Green Raincoat has now been released as a slim, standalone novel. The author notes that it emerged from an especially productive year for her, along with the Edgar-nominated short story Scratch a Woman and her well-received novel Life Sentences. The breezy chapters of Girl must have come in the more playful, lighthearted moments of the work week.

Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan is pregnant and, due to complications, under strict doctor’s orders not to leave the house. Initial fantasies of indulgent lounging and copious TV and Utz crab chips consumption soon become dull reality. She’s eager to get back in the game, and armed with binoculars, turns her front porch into a stakeout location as she spies on the dog walkers in the park across the street. A mysterious, fashionable woman with a small greyhound catches her eye. Then, one day, the dog shows up without its owner. It’s not much, but under the circumstances, enough for Tess to begin her (literally) armchair missing-person investigation. Call it Hitchcock Lite.

Lippman’s low-key charm and everywoman wit help the story zip along, as Tess’ friends assist her in the necessary off-site inquiries. Some of the characters she finds along the way, including her prime suspect, are drawn a little thin, but the real center of the story is the owner of the little feet kicking at Tess’ stomach. Life will never be the same for Ms. Monaghan. She is both thankful for, and uncertain of, her partner, as well as her parenting skills, but at least there will always be mysteries to solve.

A Lonely Death
Sue Emmons

In this riveting, multifaceted mystery, Charles Todd (a mother-son writing team) offers an atmospheric tale with roots in the bloody battlefields of World War I. Inspector Ian Rutledge is haunted by the war, ended only two years before, and plagued with its horrors. Always present in his head is the voice of the corporal whom he ordered before a firing squad for disobeying orders on the Somme battlefield.

Rutledge is sent to the Sussex town of Eastfield to investigate a series of killings in the “lonely places” of the title. The three victims served together in the war and each is found garroted with a dog-tag-like metal disc in his mouth. Such discs were used to identify the war dead on foreign fields.

Todd brilliantly charts the echoes of the war and its impact on those who survived its battles. Fully realized characters, well-researched settings, and exquisite writing combine with a surprising and chilling solution to mark this 13th outing as a standout in Todd’s deservedly award-winning series.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-25 23:15:20

In this riveting, multifaceted mystery, Charles Todd (a mother-son writing team) offers an atmospheric tale with roots in the bloody battlefields of World War I. Inspector Ian Rutledge is haunted by the war, ended only two years before, and plagued with its horrors. Always present in his head is the voice of the corporal whom he ordered before a firing squad for disobeying orders on the Somme battlefield.

Rutledge is sent to the Sussex town of Eastfield to investigate a series of killings in the “lonely places” of the title. The three victims served together in the war and each is found garroted with a dog-tag-like metal disc in his mouth. Such discs were used to identify the war dead on foreign fields.

Todd brilliantly charts the echoes of the war and its impact on those who survived its battles. Fully realized characters, well-researched settings, and exquisite writing combine with a surprising and chilling solution to mark this 13th outing as a standout in Todd’s deservedly award-winning series.

The Border Lords
Kevin Burton Smith

Three-time Edgar winner T. Jefferson Parker has made a name for himself over the years, cranking out tough, ambitious crime novels focusing on the moral and ethical challenges faced by the men and women who work law enforcement in Southern California. These are smart, savvy books full of crisscrossing subplots and multiple viewpoints, high on moral ambiguity and short on easy, pat answers.

But The Border Lords, the fourth book to feature journeyman cop Charlie Hood (last seen in Iron River earlier this year) is something else. Mostly because this time it’s difficult to suss out exactly what’s going on—a marked change for a writer as generally rooted in clean, clear storytelling as Parker. Initially things seem pretty straightforward: Charlie is on loan to the Feds at Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, where fellow ATF agent Sean Ozburn has been deep undercover for an inordinate length of time, hopping back and forth across the US-Mexico border, buying and selling houses and guns, slowly building up a case against the notorious Baja drug cartel. But the young operative’s behavior has become increasingly erratic of late, to the point where Charlie and his team must confront the very distinct possibility that Sean’s gone seriously rogue—or completely over the edge.

Parker gets a big thumbs up for hinting that Sean’s abrupt about-face may involve more than the usual cop pulp fare of corruption and coercion, dangling left-field suggestions of everything from poison to the supernatural. Whether the author pulls it off—and whether readers want hot-tub soaked New Age hokum introduced into their gritty police stories—is another matter. Parker lets the reasons for Sean’s fall from grace dangle for far too long. It doesn’t help that Charlie, never the most dynamic of series heroes, ends up playing second banana here not just to the scenery-chewing Sean and his frantic wife Seliah (who seems to be slipping into the same darkness), but also to ambitious (and ambitiously crooked) rookie cop Bradley Jones, Bradley’s rock star wife, and to a mysterious interloper with apparently mystical powers who claims to be eternal.

With so much going on—and most of it out of his sight, Charlie seems more lost than usual, a befuddled innocent bystander in his own series. Fortunately, when the various plot threads finally do come together, Charlie’s there to ride out the stormy conclusion. But by then, it may be too late for readers new to the series.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-25 23:38:33

Three-time Edgar winner T. Jefferson Parker has made a name for himself over the years, cranking out tough, ambitious crime novels focusing on the moral and ethical challenges faced by the men and women who work law enforcement in Southern California. These are smart, savvy books full of crisscrossing subplots and multiple viewpoints, high on moral ambiguity and short on easy, pat answers.

But The Border Lords, the fourth book to feature journeyman cop Charlie Hood (last seen in Iron River earlier this year) is something else. Mostly because this time it’s difficult to suss out exactly what’s going on—a marked change for a writer as generally rooted in clean, clear storytelling as Parker. Initially things seem pretty straightforward: Charlie is on loan to the Feds at Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, where fellow ATF agent Sean Ozburn has been deep undercover for an inordinate length of time, hopping back and forth across the US-Mexico border, buying and selling houses and guns, slowly building up a case against the notorious Baja drug cartel. But the young operative’s behavior has become increasingly erratic of late, to the point where Charlie and his team must confront the very distinct possibility that Sean’s gone seriously rogue—or completely over the edge.

Parker gets a big thumbs up for hinting that Sean’s abrupt about-face may involve more than the usual cop pulp fare of corruption and coercion, dangling left-field suggestions of everything from poison to the supernatural. Whether the author pulls it off—and whether readers want hot-tub soaked New Age hokum introduced into their gritty police stories—is another matter. Parker lets the reasons for Sean’s fall from grace dangle for far too long. It doesn’t help that Charlie, never the most dynamic of series heroes, ends up playing second banana here not just to the scenery-chewing Sean and his frantic wife Seliah (who seems to be slipping into the same darkness), but also to ambitious (and ambitiously crooked) rookie cop Bradley Jones, Bradley’s rock star wife, and to a mysterious interloper with apparently mystical powers who claims to be eternal.

With so much going on—and most of it out of his sight, Charlie seems more lost than usual, a befuddled innocent bystander in his own series. Fortunately, when the various plot threads finally do come together, Charlie’s there to ride out the stormy conclusion. But by then, it may be too late for readers new to the series.

Rock Bottom
Verna Suit

Erin Brockovich is not a name one expects to see on the cover of a mystery novel. Most people know her as the feisty environmental activist played by Julia Roberts in an Oscar-winning turn in the 2000 movie Erin Brockovich. But in Rock Bottom, co-authored with medical suspense writer CJ Lyons, Brockovich shows she can crusade against industrial pollution in fiction, too.

Angela Joy (“AJ”) Palladino is an environmental activist who finds herself out of a job and forced to go back home to Scotia, West Virginia, an “insular unforgiving small town” that she left ten years ago when she was 17 and pregnant. She has a job lined up with an activist lawyer in town, but he dies suddenly of an apparent heart attack. AJ and the lawyer’s daughter join forces to take up his fight against King Coal—specifically, mountaintop removal extraction, which is destroying AJ’s beautiful home state and polluting its drinking water.

AJ and Erin share many characteristics. Both are hotheaded and get in trouble through their big mouths. AJ, like Erin, is a courageous heroine we are happy to cheer on. Another courageous character is AJ’s nine-year-old son, David, who is in a wheelchair with cerebral palsy. He may be handicapped physically, but his wits and bravery ultimately save the day.

Rock Bottom takes the reader for a wild ride along winding West Virginia mountain roads, alternating between heartwarming scenes and bone-chilling crises. Cliffhangers keep the pages turning, up to a spectacularly exciting climax. Brockovich’s debut thriller is the first in a planned series and that’s good news for readers.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-25 23:56:16

brockovich_rockbottomIn Rock Bottom, Brockovich shows she can crusade against industrial pollution in fiction, too.

The Death Instinct
Joseph Scarpato, Jr.

This wildly entertaining book mixes fact and fiction effortlessly into a thrilling adventure. The action begins with a September terrorist attack in New York City, one that killed and injured many innocent people. But the year is not 2001. It’s 1920. And that part of the story is factual.

Who was behind the attack? How did one person, who may or may not be insane, know about the attack beforehand? And how does Madame Curie fit into the plot? All of these questions (with historically true answers) are resolved, thanks to the efforts of three fictional characters: James Littlemore, a New York police captain; Dr. Stratham Younger, a World War I medic; and Colette Rousseau, a French nurse with a background in radiochemistry.

The story moves with breathtaking speed from New York City to Paris, Prague, Vienna and Washington, DC. Along the way, we meet a number of real people, including Mme. Curie, Sigmund Freud, and a host of New York and Washington politicians of the time. Although the plot twists and turns in unexpected ways, it’s easy to follow, building interest along the way.

One of the best parts of the book is the discourse between Sigmund Freud and Dr. Younger. It captures the essence of Freud’s theories and the rationale behind them. The fact that the author is a Freud scholar as well as a Yale Law professor helps bring clarity and intelligence to these discussions and to the book as a whole.

Of special interest is the “Author’s Note” in the back of the book that explains which characters and which parts of the story were real and which were imagined by the author. This provided a perfect cap to a sensational read.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-26 00:05:51

This wildly entertaining book mixes fact and fiction effortlessly into a thrilling adventure. The action begins with a September terrorist attack in New York City, one that killed and injured many innocent people. But the year is not 2001. It’s 1920. And that part of the story is factual.

Who was behind the attack? How did one person, who may or may not be insane, know about the attack beforehand? And how does Madame Curie fit into the plot? All of these questions (with historically true answers) are resolved, thanks to the efforts of three fictional characters: James Littlemore, a New York police captain; Dr. Stratham Younger, a World War I medic; and Colette Rousseau, a French nurse with a background in radiochemistry.

The story moves with breathtaking speed from New York City to Paris, Prague, Vienna and Washington, DC. Along the way, we meet a number of real people, including Mme. Curie, Sigmund Freud, and a host of New York and Washington politicians of the time. Although the plot twists and turns in unexpected ways, it’s easy to follow, building interest along the way.

One of the best parts of the book is the discourse between Sigmund Freud and Dr. Younger. It captures the essence of Freud’s theories and the rationale behind them. The fact that the author is a Freud scholar as well as a Yale Law professor helps bring clarity and intelligence to these discussions and to the book as a whole.

Of special interest is the “Author’s Note” in the back of the book that explains which characters and which parts of the story were real and which were imagined by the author. This provided a perfect cap to a sensational read.

The Anatomy of Ghosts
Joseph Scarpato, Jr.

Jerusalem College, Cambridge, in 1786 was an enclosed fortress attended by the sons of the wealthy and powerful, a place where more than a little skullduggery was afoot. Into this educational bastion comes John Holdsworth, a bookseller from a nearby town who has fallen on hard times after the deaths of his wife and son.

Holdsworth has been commissioned by Lady Anne Oldershaw, a wealthy widow, ostensibly to determine if the library at Jerusalem College is suitable for a donation of her late husband’s valuable books. His real mission, however, is to investigate why her son, a student, has been deemed mentally unstable after claiming to have seen the ghost of a woman who recently drowned at the college. Before long, Holdsworth, who has his own “ghosts” to deal with, finds himself looking into a suspicious death, a student Hellfire-style club called the Holy Ghosts where wealthy students commit immoral acts, and certain people at the University who will stop at nothing to protect their lifestyles and reputations.

Andrew Taylor writes so vividly and is so meticulous in his descriptions of the time and place that you’ll feel you are there in the hallowed halls and the grimy streets. The map of Jerusalem College and environs at the front of the book was quite helpful as was the list of the many characters. There is an eerie suspense to the writing style, which is maintained throughout the circuitous plot. Events are hinted at but not explained until the end.

Taylor has won nearly every crime writing award on both sides of the Atlantic and is a recipient of the 2009 Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing. The Anatomy of Ghosts is a glowing example of his talents.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-26 00:13:15

Jerusalem College, Cambridge, in 1786 was an enclosed fortress attended by the sons of the wealthy and powerful, a place where more than a little skullduggery was afoot. Into this educational bastion comes John Holdsworth, a bookseller from a nearby town who has fallen on hard times after the deaths of his wife and son.

Holdsworth has been commissioned by Lady Anne Oldershaw, a wealthy widow, ostensibly to determine if the library at Jerusalem College is suitable for a donation of her late husband’s valuable books. His real mission, however, is to investigate why her son, a student, has been deemed mentally unstable after claiming to have seen the ghost of a woman who recently drowned at the college. Before long, Holdsworth, who has his own “ghosts” to deal with, finds himself looking into a suspicious death, a student Hellfire-style club called the Holy Ghosts where wealthy students commit immoral acts, and certain people at the University who will stop at nothing to protect their lifestyles and reputations.

Andrew Taylor writes so vividly and is so meticulous in his descriptions of the time and place that you’ll feel you are there in the hallowed halls and the grimy streets. The map of Jerusalem College and environs at the front of the book was quite helpful as was the list of the many characters. There is an eerie suspense to the writing style, which is maintained throughout the circuitous plot. Events are hinted at but not explained until the end.

Taylor has won nearly every crime writing award on both sides of the Atlantic and is a recipient of the 2009 Cartier Diamond Dagger for sustained excellence in crime writing. The Anatomy of Ghosts is a glowing example of his talents.

The October Killings
Verna Suit

When Abigail Bukula was 15, white South African soldier Leon Lourens saved her life during a raid on an ANC safe house. Now 20 years later, Leon asks for Abby’s help in saving his own life. For the last few years, someone has been killing the team members of that raid on October 22, the anniversary of her rescue. On October 18, Leon is kidnapped and Abby enlists the help of experienced criminologist Yudel Gordon to find Leon before he is dead, too.

Yudel was featured in three of Wessel Ebersohn’s earlier political thrillers but this is the first appearance for up-and-coming young lawyer Abby, whose parents were active in the anti-apartheid struggle. Abby and Yudel represent the uneasy racial balance in contemporary South Africa: an ambitious young black woman and an aging white professional just glad to still have a role in the new society. Their collaboration reflects the kind of “empowerment partnership” encouraged between blacks and whites in order to do business in the country.

Permeating The October Killings is the theme of South Africa’s growing pains and the difficulties of creating a new society after apartheid. Thumbnail sketches show citizens at various levels adapting to changed circumstances. Another theme is the moral ambiguity of the violence perpetrated during the Struggle. The killer that Yudel and Abby are trying to track down has been hailed as a hero of the liberation, but the truth may be that he is more of an evil Superman, a psychopath who uses revolutionary fervor as a pretext to kill.

The story drags in places and the ending is left unresolved, but for anyone interested in South Africa, The October Killings provides fascinating insights into the struggle against apartheid and, 11 years after the revolution, the ongoing battle to make a new society work.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-26 00:20:29

When Abigail Bukula was 15, white South African soldier Leon Lourens saved her life during a raid on an ANC safe house. Now 20 years later, Leon asks for Abby’s help in saving his own life. For the last few years, someone has been killing the team members of that raid on October 22, the anniversary of her rescue. On October 18, Leon is kidnapped and Abby enlists the help of experienced criminologist Yudel Gordon to find Leon before he is dead, too.

Yudel was featured in three of Wessel Ebersohn’s earlier political thrillers but this is the first appearance for up-and-coming young lawyer Abby, whose parents were active in the anti-apartheid struggle. Abby and Yudel represent the uneasy racial balance in contemporary South Africa: an ambitious young black woman and an aging white professional just glad to still have a role in the new society. Their collaboration reflects the kind of “empowerment partnership” encouraged between blacks and whites in order to do business in the country.

Permeating The October Killings is the theme of South Africa’s growing pains and the difficulties of creating a new society after apartheid. Thumbnail sketches show citizens at various levels adapting to changed circumstances. Another theme is the moral ambiguity of the violence perpetrated during the Struggle. The killer that Yudel and Abby are trying to track down has been hailed as a hero of the liberation, but the truth may be that he is more of an evil Superman, a psychopath who uses revolutionary fervor as a pretext to kill.

The story drags in places and the ending is left unresolved, but for anyone interested in South Africa, The October Killings provides fascinating insights into the struggle against apartheid and, 11 years after the revolution, the ongoing battle to make a new society work.

Learning to Swim
Barbara Fister

As she rides the ferry across Lake Champlain, Troy Chance glances at a ferry headed in the opposite direction and sees something—a child’s face?—as a bundle topples from the deck into the cold water. Impulsively, she dives in and finds the bundle is, indeed, a child of about six, bundled in a tightly tied sweatshirt. It’s a long, hard swim back to shore, where oddly enough nobody has reported the boy missing. The traumatized child himself is not talking, except to murmur a couple of words in French.

Troy, who lives an independent and outdoorsy life as a freelance reporter, finds herself captivated by the fragile boy and is reluctant to take him to the authorities, fearing he may be returned to an abusive family. Instead, she uses her journalistic skills to discover he is the son of a Quebecois businessman, whose wife and child were abducted for ransom months earlier. She isn’t sure she can trust the child’s father. All she knows is that she cares too much about the child to turn back.

Though at times the plot depends on Troy taking actions that aren’t entirely rational, the depth of her attachment to a little boy who toppled into her life is brought to life on the page. Learning to Swim is a suspenseful mystery with a rich emotional texture.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-26 00:26:56

As she rides the ferry across Lake Champlain, Troy Chance glances at a ferry headed in the opposite direction and sees something—a child’s face?—as a bundle topples from the deck into the cold water. Impulsively, she dives in and finds the bundle is, indeed, a child of about six, bundled in a tightly tied sweatshirt. It’s a long, hard swim back to shore, where oddly enough nobody has reported the boy missing. The traumatized child himself is not talking, except to murmur a couple of words in French.

Troy, who lives an independent and outdoorsy life as a freelance reporter, finds herself captivated by the fragile boy and is reluctant to take him to the authorities, fearing he may be returned to an abusive family. Instead, she uses her journalistic skills to discover he is the son of a Quebecois businessman, whose wife and child were abducted for ransom months earlier. She isn’t sure she can trust the child’s father. All she knows is that she cares too much about the child to turn back.

Though at times the plot depends on Troy taking actions that aren’t entirely rational, the depth of her attachment to a little boy who toppled into her life is brought to life on the page. Learning to Swim is a suspenseful mystery with a rich emotional texture.

Three Seconds
M. Schlecht

So the holidays are over—trees curbed, stockings unhung, joyful carols joyfully absent from the radio for another eight months.... Hopefully you managed to pack in a lot of feel-good reading along with the cookies and eggnog, because the bleak early months of the year call for something cold and calculating like Roslund and Hellström’s latest thriller, Three Seconds.

The formidable Swedish writing duo, a journalist and an ex-con, respectively, are experts in the art of the slow reveal, detailing principal characters with precise close-ups before setting in motion the next frame. Piet Hoffmann is the enigmatic man on the run in most of them, an informant for the Swedish police who has infiltrated and ascended the ranks of a Polish mafia outfit looking to control the drug market in Stockholm. His handler takes care of the legal gray zones, but an unplanned murder sparks an investigation by Detective Inspector Ewert Grens, a man typecast from the Swedish Department of Aging Insomniacs With Holes in Their Hearts, who quickly suspects that something is amiss.

The narrative pushes forward at a sometimes excruciatingly methodical pace, and Hoffmann—a classic stoic whose wife and child know nothing of his real occupation—finds his operating room squeezed into the size of a prison cell, where both the government and his mafia employer believe he can further their differing interests. Deftly handling much trial with little error, Hoffmann completes his mission behind bars (with help from the local public library), and reaps the seeds of insurance within Roslund and Hellström's ingenious plot that give him a fighting chance to survive the bloody aftermath. Tautly translated by Kari Dickson, Three Seconds is a heaping dose of insightful, clear-eyed crime fiction that will do away with any lingering holiday hangovers.

Teri Duerr
2011-03-26 00:33:16

So the holidays are over—trees curbed, stockings unhung, joyful carols joyfully absent from the radio for another eight months.... Hopefully you managed to pack in a lot of feel-good reading along with the cookies and eggnog, because the bleak early months of the year call for something cold and calculating like Roslund and Hellström’s latest thriller, Three Seconds.

The formidable Swedish writing duo, a journalist and an ex-con, respectively, are experts in the art of the slow reveal, detailing principal characters with precise close-ups before setting in motion the next frame. Piet Hoffmann is the enigmatic man on the run in most of them, an informant for the Swedish police who has infiltrated and ascended the ranks of a Polish mafia outfit looking to control the drug market in Stockholm. His handler takes care of the legal gray zones, but an unplanned murder sparks an investigation by Detective Inspector Ewert Grens, a man typecast from the Swedish Department of Aging Insomniacs With Holes in Their Hearts, who quickly suspects that something is amiss.

The narrative pushes forward at a sometimes excruciatingly methodical pace, and Hoffmann—a classic stoic whose wife and child know nothing of his real occupation—finds his operating room squeezed into the size of a prison cell, where both the government and his mafia employer believe he can further their differing interests. Deftly handling much trial with little error, Hoffmann completes his mission behind bars (with help from the local public library), and reaps the seeds of insurance within Roslund and Hellström's ingenious plot that give him a fighting chance to survive the bloody aftermath. Tautly translated by Kari Dickson, Three Seconds is a heaping dose of insightful, clear-eyed crime fiction that will do away with any lingering holiday hangovers.