Crime Fiction Alphabet: Q is for Mrs Queen

Following a pattern established in 2012, my contributions to the Crime Fiction Alphabet in 2013 will mainly feature authors or books that I have read recently.

This week features the letter Q.

So I'm in trouble today and my choice is NOT crime fiction. We read so few books that feature the letter Q. But occasionally we need a little bit of lighter reading, and that's my excuse!

My choice this week is MRS QUEEN TAKES THE TRAIN by William Kuhn
 
Mrs Queen Takes the Train wittily imagines the kerfuffle that transpires when a bored Queen Elizabeth strolls out of the palace in search of a little fun, leaving behind a desperate team of courtiers who must find the missing Windsor before a national scandal erupts.

Reminiscent of Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader, this lively, wonderfully inventive romp takes readers into the mind of the grand matriarch of Britain’s Royal Family, bringing us an endearing runaway Queen Elizabeth on the town—and leading us behind the Buckingham Palace walls and into the upstairs/downstairs spaces of England’s monarchy.


She could recall Nanny taking her on the train to Sandringham all by herself one Christmas. What a treat that was! (Photo by Edward G. Malindine/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images) Copyright: Getty Images

Read my review

See what others have chosen for the letter Q.

Review: THE SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS, Deborah Crombie

• Published by William Morrow 2013
• ISBN 978-0-06-199063-2
• 359 pages
• #15 in the Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James series

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

Scotland Yard detectives Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James are on the case in Deborah Crombie's The Sound of Broken Glass, a captivating mystery that blends a murder from the past with a powerful danger in the present.

When Detective Inspector James joins forces with Detective Inspector Melody Talbot to solve the murder of an esteemed barrister, their investigation leads them to realize that nothing is what it seems - with the crime they're investigating and their own lives.

With an abundance of twists and turns and intertwining subplots, The Sound of Broken Glass by New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie is an elaborate and engaging page-turner.

My Take

The Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series is one I have dabbled in over the years. This is #15 and I have read maybe 8 of them. Each time I read a new one, I castigate myself for not having read them all. That's how much I enjoy them.

There are really three time frames in the novel. The main action is set in the present. A male body is found in a cheap hotel near Crystal Palace. Having established this is a murder Gemma James and her team set about establishing who the man is and how he came to be in the hotel. Less than 48 hours later a second murder occurs. It appears to be similar to the first, although it takes place in the person's home.

The common thread between the two appears to be a young guitarist who played at hotels that the two victims were seen at on the nights before they died.

The second time frame is the young guitarist at the age of 13, living as a latch key kid in Crystal Palace, and being bullied by kids from a public school.

The third time frame is really only a sliver - snippets about the original Crystal Palace appear at the beginning of each chapter.

Duncan Kincaid is taking a spot of parental leave while his wife Gemma James has taken on an acting DCI position. She has a new boss and it is important to her that this case of the double murders is successfully solved.

There's a human interest thread that gathers pace from one novel to the other in the series. One of the foci in THE SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS is Duncan and Gemma's foster daughter Charlotte. (I missed reading the title when she first came into their lives). Relationships form a solid background to the murder investigations, and serve to point out that these detectives are only human.

My rating: 4.4

• Read an interview with Deborah Crombie
•  Review at Reviewing the Evidence

Other reviews on MiP
4.8, WATER LIKE A STONE
4.6, NECESSARY AS BLOOD
4.7, WHERE MEMORIES LIE

Duncan Kincaid / Gemma James series (Fantastic Fiction)
1. A Share in Death (1993)
2. All Shall Be Well (1994)
3. Leave the Grave Green (1995)
4. Mourn Not Your Dead (1996)
5. Dreaming of the Bones (1997)
6. Kissed A Sad Goodbye (1999)
7. A Finer End (2001)
8. And Justice There Is None (2002)
9. Now May You Weep (2003)
10. In a Dark House (2004)
11. Water Like a Stone (2006)
12. Where Memories Lie (2008)
13. Necessary as Blood (2009)
14. No Mark Upon Her (2011)
15. The Sound of Broken Glass (2013)
16. To Dwell in Darkness (2014) 

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013: the Letter Q

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction - a Community Meme.

This meme is an annual event on this blog. This is its 4th outing.
We already have a strong core of weekly contributors but you can join at any time.

Last week we featured the letter P



This week's letter is the letter Q - we have 10 letters left in our journey. 
Thanks for hanging in there.

Here are the rules

The page telling bloggers which letter to focus on will appear on each Monday together with a Mr Linky.

By Friday of each week participants try to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname, or even maybe a crime fiction "topic". But above all, it has to be crime fiction.

So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)
You probably won't have to do a lot of extra reading in order to participate, but I warn you that your TBR  may grow as a result of the suggestions other participants make.
Feel free to use either of the images provided in your blog.

Your assistance in advertising this community meme, and pointing people to this page, would be very much appreciated.

By the end of this week  post your blog post title and URL in the Mr Linky below.
Please place a link in your blog post back to this page.
Visit other blogs and leave comments.

Check the Crime Fiction Alphabet page for summaries of previous years, and for links to this year's entries.

Thanks for participating.

---

IF I TELL YOU.. I'LL HAVE TO KILL YOU, edited by Michael Robotham

• Allen & Unwin paper back
• ISBN 978-1-743331-348-0
• 319 pages
• borrowed from my local library

Kindle edition available July 24

Australia's best crime writers - Michael Robotham, Kerry Greenwood, Shane Maloney, Peter Corris, Tara Moss and more - share the secrets to their success, their best- ever writing tips and their favourite 'must reads'. An ideal guide for aspiring writers and crime fiction fans alike.

Description

Crime fiction is the single most popular genre in international publishing and Australia has some of the finest practitioners when it comes to walking the mean streets and nailing the bad guys.

Whether you're a fan of crime fiction, true crime or a would-be crime writer, this collection of essays will provide laughter, understanding, insight, ideas, advice and hopefully some inspiration. Learn about Shane Maloney's near-death experience in a freezer, Leigh Redhead's adventures as a stripper and Tara Moss taking a polygraph test to prove her doubters wrong.

There are stories of struggle and triumph, near misses and murderous intent, as our best crime writers lay bare their souls and reveal their secrets as never before, along with their rules for writing and reading lists.

But beware. They will have to kill you...

My Take

All royalties from this book go towards the Australian Crime Writers Association, which runs the annual Ned Kelly Awards and was established to promote crime writing and reading in Australia.
So while I read this copy from my local library, I also bought a copy for my Kindle.

Here's a unique opportunity to find out what makes some of your favourite Aussie authors tick. The book consists of 20 very readable essays. I've sat through a lot of author talks at the Adelaide Writer's Week and reading these essays reminded me of some of the more candid of those sessions. The five "must-reads" at the end of each essay give further insight and for me, reminded me that I have never read Raymond Chandler's THE BIG SLEEP.

The Table of Contents reads a bit like a Who's Who of successful Australian crime writers, so here is a chance of finding a new author or two, or just relaxing in the company of someone you already follow. The format was a winner for me - each essay is twelve to fifteen pages long and is followed by "My Rules" which of course vary from writer to writer, and then "Five Must Reads" with similarities from author to author.

The final essay is from Peter Lawrance and picks out some of the highlights in the history of the Ned Kelly Awards, founded in 1996. Peter is a long-time convenor and organiser of the NKs.

Well done to whoever had the idea of putting this anthology together. It should be must reading for all crime fiction courses, whether for readers or budding writers.

My rating: 4.8

Review: I HEAR THE SIRENS IN THE STREET, Adrian McKinty - audio book

• this unabridged version available from Audible
• Book published 2013
• #2 in the Sean Duffy series (The Troubles Trilogy)
• Narrated by Gerard Doyle
• length 9 hrs 42 mins

Synopsis (Audible)

A torso in a suitcase looks like an impossible case, but Sean Duffy isn’t easily deterred, especially when his floundering love life leaves him in need of a distraction. So with detective constables McCrabban and McBride, he goes to work identifying the victim.

The torso turns out to be all that’s left of an American tourist who once served in the U.S. military. What was he doing in Northern Ireland in the midst of the 1982 Troubles? The trail leads to the doorstep of a beautiful, flame-haired, twenty-something widow, whose husband died at the hands of an IRA assassination team just a few months before.

Suddenly Duffy is caught between his romantic instincts, gross professional misconduct, and powerful men he should know better than to mess with. These include British intelligence, the FBI, and local paramilitary death squads - enough to keep even the savviest detective busy. Duffy’s growing sense of self-doubt isn’t helping. But as a legendarily stubborn man, he doesn’t let that stop him from pursuing the case to its explosive conclusion.

My Take

This is the sequel to THE COLD, COLD GROUND which I reviewed last year. Set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles in 1982. When a male torso turns up in a suitcase, the suitcase turns out to have belonged to a man murdered by the IRA the previous year. The widow lives on an isolated estate and from the beginning Detective Inspector Sean Duffy can see that there are elements of her story about her husband's murder that don't quite jell. One thing leads to another and Sean identifies the body as that belonging to an American tourist. Even there, there is something wrong with the story.

With his passion for tying up loose ends Sean eventually follows the story even when he has been expressly warned off. This is noir crime fiction laced with Sean's own peculiar sense of humour. There's not just the blackness in the plot, but blackness in the setting - Northern Ireland on the brink of economic disaster, its last remaining industry whimpering to its death.

Adrian McKinty is a master story teller, the writing well polished, the characters well drawn. The dangers of living and working in Northern Ireland in the Troubles are vividly brought to life. He takes us to a time and place few of us have experienced first hand.

The narrator Gerard Doyle does an excellent job.

My rating: 4.8

See Bernadette's review.

Forgotten Book: A DARK ADAPTED EYE, Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell)

My plan this year for my contributions to Friday's Forgotten Books hosted by Pattinase is to feature books I read 20 years ago - in 1993- from the records I have in my "little green book", which I started in 1975.
In 1993 I read 111 books and was pretty well addicted to crime fiction by then.

I can see from my records that I had begun to explore the works of Barbara Vine. I am not sure whether at that stage I knew that this was Ruth Rendell writing under another name. I suspect I didn't.
I have found a reference that says that at first both names were shown on covers, but I don't think that was the case in Australian editions. That link also explains how as a child Rendell was often called by both names, and the differences she sees between them.

A DARK ADAPTED EYE  was published in 1986 and was the first of Rendell's novels under the Vine pseudonym. (there are now 15 of them). I read it just over 20 years ago.

Synopsis
When Faith Severn's aunt was hanged for murder, the reason behind her dark deed died with her. For 30 years, the family hid the truth--until a journalist prompts Faith to peer back to the day when her aunt took knife in hand and entered a child's nursery.

The novel won an Edgar Award and then was made into a BBC film for TV in 1994.

The title: A dark-adapted eye is one that has adjusted to darkness so that it is able to discern objects. In the context of the novel, the title refers to Faith's ability, after many years, to examine and analyze her family's history and its tragedy.

Review at BooksPlease

I'm very tempted to re-read the book. It sounds wonderful and I remember almost nothing of it.

24 July 2013, On the doorstep, waiting to be read

As you can see from my list below, I am not making a lot of headway in making my TBR (To Be Read) pile diminish. Review copies are piling up, not helped by my self selected library books. Hopefully you will also find something to interest you among these. See the history of this occasional post. I'd like to also stress that there is no rhyme or reason to my selections. Please note that this listing is in no way a recommendation for you to read a title, simply a chance for you to assess for yourself whether you would like to read it. I will also try to discover whether the book is available on Kindle, particularly for Australian authors which are not necessarily available overseas.

IF I TELL YOU.. I'LL HAVE TO KILL YOU, edited by Michael Robotham
Kindle edition available July 24
Allen & Unwin paper back

Australia's best crime writers - Michael Robotham, Kerry Greenwood, Shane Maloney, Peter Corris, Tara Moss and more - share the secrets to their success, their best- ever writing tips and their favourite 'must reads'. An ideal guide for aspiring writers and crime fiction fans alike.

Description

Crime fiction is the single most popular genre in international publishing and Australia has some of the finest practitioners when it comes to walking the mean streets and nailing the bad guys.

Whether you're a fan of crime fiction, true crime or a would-be crime writer, this collection of essays will provide laughter, understanding, insight, ideas, advice and hopefully some inspiration. Learn about Shane Maloney's near-death experience in a freezer, Leigh Redhead's adventures as a stripper and Tara Moss taking a polygraph test to prove her doubters wrong.

There are stories of struggle and triumph, near misses and murderous intent, as our best crime writers lay bare their souls and reveal their secrets as never before, along with their rules for writing and reading lists.

But beware. They will have to kill you...

THE SHADOW TRACER, Meg Gardiner

A review copy from Penguin Australia
Kindle edition here.

When someone wants to find you badly enough, vanishing is no longer an option
.
Sarah Keller is a young single mother living in Oklahoma with her five year-old daughter, Zoe. Her day job is to hunt out people on the run and bring them to justice. So imagine how it looks when a school bus accident sends Zoe to the ER and tests reveal Sarah can't be Zoe's mother.

Sarah has been living a lie for years and finally the truth is coming out. Who is she? Who were Zoe's parents? And why does Zoe's identity bring the FBI down on Sarah's tail in mere minutes?
The FBI is the least of her worries, though. Sarah needs to keep Zoe off the grid, but with a sinister religious cult also preparing to attack, where on earth can they hide?

Something deadly lurks in Sarah's past and its resurrection brings terror to all it touches.

EYE FOR AN EYE, Ben Coes
Review copy from Pan Macmillan Australia
Amazon Kindle version here

When Dewey Andreas uncovers the identity of a mole embedded at a high level in Israel's Mossad, it triggers a larger, more dangerous plot. The mole was the most important asset of Chinese Intelligence, and Fao Bhang, head of China's Ministry of State Security (MSS), responds to the discovery and brutal elimination of the mole, by immediately placing a kill order on the man responsible – Dewey Andreas.

Dewey is tracked to Argentina, where he is on vacation with his fiancee, Jessica Tanzer, a U.S. National Security Advisor. A top-level kill team is sent in quickly and quietly, but their attack fails to take out Dewey. The collateral damage, however, is both horrifying and deeply personal. With nothing left to lose, Andreas is determined to have his revenge.

Once he learns who is probably behind the attack – and why they are after him – Dewey goes rogue, using all of his assets and skills to launch a counterattack. Andreas must now face the full weight and might of the MSS, Chinese Intelligence, and the formidable Fao Bhang, if he's to achieve his one last goal: revenge on a biblical scale, no matter the odds or the armies that he will have to fight his way through. Andreas – former Army Ranger and Delta – is a man of great skills and cunning. His opponent, Fao Bhang, is ruthless, determined, and with no limit to the assets at his disposal. In this conflict, there are only two possible outcomes. And only one Dewey Andreas.

DEADLY HARVEST, Michael Stanley
Library book - I need to read this for the 2013 Global Reading Challenge which I have sadly been neglecting
Kindle version available

Synopsis (Amazon)

Deadly Harvest in Michael Stanley’s beloved Detective Kubu series tracks a series of murders and a mysterious witch doctor whose nefarious potions might hold the key to a web of missing persons.

When young girls start to go missing, Samantha, a new detective on the Botswana police force suspects that muti, a traditional African medicine, is the reason. She and Detective David “Kubu” Bengu race to stop a serial killer, all as the father of one of the victims threatens to take matters into his own hands.

Weaving together a thrilling mystery with a fascinating look at modern-day Africa, Deadly Harvest is filled with elements suspense and plot twists that will keep you captivated until the very end.

GODS & BEASTS, Denise Mina
Library book - this recently won the Theakston's Old Peculier Novel of the Year Award at the Harrogate Crime Festival
Kindle edition

Synopsis (Amazon)

A Glasgow post office one week before Christmas. Martin Pavel cowers on the floor, his eyes locked on those of a terrified child. Above them a masked gunman wields an AK47 while the boy's grandfather calmly volunteers to help the robber gather the money. Then the old man stands passively, hands by his sides, while the gunman raises the barrel and shoots him to shreds.

Recently returned to work after the birth of her twins, DS Alex Morrow is called in to head the investigation. Why did the grandfather offer his help? Was it a moment of madness, a noble act of self-sacrifice, or did the old man and his killer share a dark past?

Morrow's enquiries lead her to the door of Kenny Gallagher, a politician fighting for his political life - and his marriage - after he's publicly accused of having an affair with a young employee. And unknown to Morrow a temptation too great to resist leads two of her colleagues, DCs Leonard and Wilder, to make a rash decision and leaves them at the mercy of a ruthless blackmailer.

The complicity of an old man in his own death, a promiscuous politician and a bag of untraceable money - one city, three crimes and a powerful connection that runs from Glasgow's dark criminal underworld to the international spheres of the super rich.

THE CORPSE ON THE COURT, Simon Brett
Library book - this will bring me up to date in the Fethering series.

Available on Kindle

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

Jude's life has been turned upside-down thanks her new mant, Piers Targett, who's keen to get her involved in his hobby - or obsession - of Real Tennis. But when one of Piers' friends dies on the court in suspicious circumstances, Jude finds herself caught up in the police investigation.

Meanwhile, Jude's neighbour Carole is trying to identify the human remains known locally as the 'Lady in the Lake.' As the two investigations become intertwined, Carole and Jude's efforts to find the truth look set to lead to more murders.

Review: GUNS IN THE GALLERY, Simon Brett

• first published 2011 by Severn House Publishers UK
• ISBN 978-1-78029-015-7
• 202 pages
• #13 in the Fethering series

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

Invited to a Private View of the work of controversial artist Denzil Willoughby, the good citizens of Fethering are not quite sure what to expect. And it turns out to be a lively affair, culminating in several embarrassing confrontations. But what no one could have anticipated was that the evening would end in sudden, violent death. The police seem happy to accept that it was suicide, but Fethering residents Carole and Jude remain unconvinced . . .

My Take

It is unusual for me to read two books in a row by the same author, so it is probably a mark of how much I enjoyed the last I read in this series, BONES UNDER THE BEACH HUT that I have tackled the second so soon. (In fact I have a third waiting in the wings, CORPSE ON THE COURT, simply because my library had them all.)

To be honest, GUNS IN THE GALLERY is not as good as BONES UNDER THE BEACH HUT but probably only marginally so. The plot takes Carole and Jude into the art world and the eco-tourism world. We meet new residents of Fethering. Not new to Fethering so much as new to us. I'm always amazed, whether it be Fethering, Midsomer, or St. Mary Mead, how there are people who pop out of the woodwork. The excursion into the world of "art" makes Carole cringe a bit, but of course Jude meets people who are her "healing" clients.

Jude and Carole see themselves as real detectives with a case in hand. The cases really provide a focus for Carole's daily existence if not for Jude. They have taken up following people, even on to train journeys and through the streets of London. I am a little uncomfortable with how they sometimes let themselves be mistaken for under cover police and I feel sure that is going to rebound on them soon. I am also a little amazed at how willing people are to tell these busybody/noseyparkers everything they want to know. They often beat the police to the resolution of the crime.

Despite all of this, or maybe because of it, followers of this series will enjoy this outing. If you are new to Fethering, do yourself the favour of starting at the beginning of this cozy series with the alliterative titles, so you get the full story. Look for THE BODY ON THE BEACH. (Read an extract here)

On the back of the copy of GUNS IN THE GALLERY that I read, there was a comment
This is a cozy with a biting social conscience.
I thought about how applicable this is to the whole series. Simon Brett is an astute observer of people, and a commentator on some of the silliness and pretentiousness we get up to, either in groups or by ourselves.  He pokes fun at how seriously Jude and particularly Carole take themselves but they are both keen observers of others, and though the books feel as if they are devoid of real time settings, they do say something about the world we live in.

My rating: 4.2

The Fethering series
1. The Body on the Beach (2000)
2. Death On the Downs (2001)
3. The Torso In The Town (2002)
4. Murder in the Museum (2003)
5. The Hanging in the Hotel (2004)
6. The Witness at the Wedding (2005)
7. The Stabbing in the Stables (2006)
8. Death Under the Dryer (2006)
9. Blood At the Bookies (2008)
10. The Poisoning in the Pub (2009)
11. The Shooting in the Shop (2010)
12. Bones Under the Beach Hut (2011)
13. Guns in the Gallery (2012)
14. Corpse on the Court (2012)
15. The Strangling on the Stage (2013)

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013: P is for Peter Lovesey, THE TOOTH TATTOO

Following a pattern established in 2012, my contributions to the Crime Fiction Alphabet in 2013 will mainly feature authors or books that I have read recently.

My choice this week is THE TOOTH TATTOO by Peter Lovesey

• this edition published by Sphere Great Britain 2013
• ISBN 978-0-7515-5061-0
• 389 pages
• #13 in the Peter Diamond series

Synopsis (author's website)

Peter Diamond, head of Bath’s CID, takes a city break in Vienna, where his favourite film, The Third Man, was set, but everything goes wrong and his companion Paloma calls a halt to their relationship.

Meanwhile, strange things are happening to jobbing musician Mel Farran, who finds himself scouted by methods closer to the spy world than the concert platform. The chance of joining a once-famous string quartet in a residency at Bath Spa University is too tempting for Mel to refuse.

Then a body is found in the city canal, and the only clue to the dead woman’s identity is the tattoo of a music note on one of her teeth. For Diamond, who wouldn’t know a Stradivarius from a French horn, the investigation is his most demanding ever. Three mysterious deaths need to be probed while his own personal life is in free fall.

See my review

See what others have chosen for the letter P.

Review: BONES UNDER THE BEACH HUT, Simon Brett

• published by Macmillan 2013
• ISBN 978-0-230-73638-2
• 316 pages
• #12 in the Fethering Series
• read an extract

Synopsis (Amazon)

The affluent seaside resort of Smalting is unaccustomed to crime. So when human remains are found beneath the floorboards of one of its beach huts, the community is awash with suspicion and fear.

Amateur sleuths Carole Seddon and best friend Jude are drawn into the mystery, and their suspicion quickly falls on attractive Philly Rose, a young Londoner newly arrived in the area, whose boyfriend has recently vanished in mysterious circumstances.

Meanwhile, Kelvin Southwest, self-appointed ‘ladies’ man’ and caretaker of Smalting’s beach huts, seems to be hiding a dark secret beneath his smooth exterior, while Reginald Flowers, pompous President of the Smalting Beach Hut Association, becomes increasingly defensive about his own history.

When the bones under the beach hut are identified, the ghosts of the past are painfully reawakened, and long-hidden secrets begin to surface. Bones Under the Beach Hut is an ingenious mystery from one of England’s favourite crime writers, exquisitely plotted, teeming with wonderful characters and packed with unexpected twists.

My take

I thoroughly enjoy these outings with Carole and Jude. They are light cozies with blood rarely in evidence, although the doughty pair of meddlers are often investigating a disappearance or even a murder. Simon Brett draws such vivid and recognisable characters. It is not really that the scenarios are particularly credible, but he manages to create mysteries and puzzles that keep you reading.

I have enjoyed the development of the characterisation of both Carole, stuffy ex-public servant, and Jude, bubbly outgoing massage purveyor, as the series has developed. The series began in 2000 with THE BODY ON THE BEACH, and this year will have its 15th outing with THE STRANGLING ON THE STAGE. The stories are mainly told from Carole's point of view, but next door neighbour Jude is an excellent foil to Carole's natural reserve.

Other reviews of Fethering titles
BLOOD AT THE BOOKIES
THE POISONING IN THE PUB
THE SHOOTING IN THE SHOP

My rating: 4.5

Fethering Series (Fantastic Fiction listing)
1. The Body on the Beach (2000)
2. Death On the Downs (2001)
3. The Torso In The Town (2002)
4. Murder in the Museum (2003)
5. The Hanging in the Hotel (2004)
6. The Witness at the Wedding (2005)
7. The Stabbing in the Stables (2006)
8. Death Under the Dryer (2006)
9. Blood At the Bookies (2008)
10. The Poisoning in the Pub (2009)
11. The Shooting in the Shop (2010)
12. Bones Under the Beach Hut (2011)
13. Guns in the Gallery (2012)
14. Corpse on the Court (2012)
15. The Strangling on the Stage (2013)

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013: the Letter P

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction - a Community Meme.

This meme is an annual event on this blog. This is its 4th outing.
We already have a strong core of weekly contributors but you can join at any time.

Last week we featured the letter O



This week's letter is the letter P

Here are the rules

The page telling bloggers which letter to focus on will appear on each Monday together with a Mr Linky.

By Friday of each week participants try to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname, or even maybe a crime fiction "topic". But above all, it has to be crime fiction.

So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)
You probably won't have to do a lot of extra reading in order to participate, but I warn you that your TBR  may grow as a result of the suggestions other participants make.
Feel free to use either of the images provided in your blog.

Your assistance in advertising this community meme, and pointing people to this page, would be very much appreciated.

By the end of this week  post your blog post title and URL in the Mr Linky below.
Please place a link in your blog post back to this page.
Visit other blogs and leave comments.

Check the Crime Fiction Alphabet page for summaries of previous years, and for links to this year's entries.

Thanks for participating.

---

Review: THE PALE HORSE, Agatha Christie - audio book

• First published in 1961
  
  
• This unabridged audio edition (2007) available from Audible
• Narrated by Hugh Fraser
• Length 6 hrs 46 mins

Synopsis (Audible)

To understand the strange goings on at The Pale Horse Inn, Mark Easterbrook knew he had to begin at the beginning. But where exactly was the beginning?

Was it the savage blow to the back of Father Gorman's head? Or was it when the priest's assailant searched him so roughly he tore the clergyman's cassock? Or could it have been the priest's visit, just minutes before, to a woman on her death bed? Or was there a deeper significance to the violent squabble that Mark Easterbrook had himself witnessed earlier?

Wherever the beginning lies, Mark and his sidekick, Ginger Corrigan, may soon have cause to wish they'd never found it.

My Take

This novel takes the form mainly of a narrative written by Mark Easterbrook whose curiosity is peaked by a list of names found in the dead Father Gorman's shoe. Mark recognises two of the names as belonging to people who are dead and begins to suspect that most of the people on the list are either dead or are in danger of being killed. See a full plot description on Wikipedia. - SPOILERS

As Mark investigates links between The Pale Horse, formerly a pub but now a private residence, and the names on the list, he puts his associate Ginger Corrigan in real danger.

There are rather a lot of references to Shakespearean plays in this novel, in particular to the three witches of Macbeth.There are some creepy passages as Christie explores what a seance might be like and how a person might cause death through the powers of suggestion. Mark Easterbrook can't make up his mind whether he is a "believer" in the occult or not. The rational, sensible part of him says it iall poppycock, but the atmosphere of the seance he attends at The Pale Horse strikes real fear into him.

The novel not only discusses the power of suggestion in causing people to die, but also plays with the idea of the reliable (or unreliable) witness - but I won't spoil things by telling you which character it is.

There are a number of characters who appear in more than one Christie book, including the novelist Mrs Ariadne Oliver, often thought to be Agatha Christie's view of herself, although I think Mrs Oliver is much scattier.

Hugh Fraser does an excellent job of the narration.

I've read this for the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge, it being my 53rd title.

My rating: 4.4

Forgotten Book: DEATH OF A DUTCHMAN, Magdalen Nabb

My plan this year for my contributions to Friday's Forgotten Books hosted by Pattinase is to feature books I read 20 years ago - in 1993- from the records I have in my "little green book", which I started in 1975.
In 1993 I read 111 books and was pretty well addicted to crime fiction by then.

This week 20 years ago I had just finished reading  DEATH OF A DUTCHMAN by Magdalen Nabb, published in 1982. There were 14 in the series beginning in 1981, with the last published after the author's death.

Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia of the Carabinieri, is a Sicilian, stationed in Florence.

DEATH OF A DUTCHMAN was #2 in Nabb's Marshal Guarnaccia series.
Summoned by an aged woman to investigate mysterious noises in the vacant flat next to hers, Marshal Guarnaccia discovers a dying Dutch jeweller. The old lady had known him when he was a boy growing up in Florence. Could he have returned to the family home just to commit suicide? Or could the man be the victim of a cunning murderer?

Magdalen Nabb's (1947-2007) novels are all set in Florence and the surrounding Tuscan countryside. They are inspired by the place, its history, current events and by the people. There is an element of crime in all the stories. Florence does not have the high murder rate of, say, an American city like Baltimore but it does have a history of spectacular, sometimes baroque murders. Most of the novels are based on studies of real crimes. In some cases, the research involved is extensive and the collaboration of the Florence carabinieri is essential. See her website

Series (Fantastic Fiction)

Marshal Guarnaccia
1. Death of an Englishman (1981)
2. Death of a Dutchman (1982)
3. Death in Springtime (1983)
4. Death in Autumn (1985)
5. The Marshal and the Murderer (1987)
6. The Marshal and the Madwoman (1988)
7. The Marshal's Own Case (1990)
8. The Marshal Makes His Report (1991)
9. The Marshal at the Villa Torrini (1993)
10. The Monster of Florence (1996)
11. Property of Blood (2001)
12. Some Bitter Taste (2002)
13. The Innocent (2005)
14. Vita Nuova (2008)

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013: O is for THE OFFICE OF THE DEAD, Andrew Taylor

Following a pattern established in 2012, my contributions to the Crime Fiction Alphabet in 2013 will mainly feature authors or books that I have read recently.

My choice this week is THE OFFICE OF THE DEAD by Andrew Taylor

Synopsis

It's 1958, and the party's over for Wendy Appleyard: she finds herself penniless, jobless and on the brink of divorce. Who better to come to her rescue than her oldest friend, Janet Byfield?

So Wendy goes to stay with Janet, who seems to have everything Wendy lacks: a handsome husband, a lovely little daughter, Rosie, and a beautiful home in the Cathedral Close of Rosington. David Byfield is on the verge of promotion, and Janet is the perfect wife for an ambitious young clergyman. But perfection has always been dangerous, and gradually the idyll sours.

Old sins come to haunt the present and breed new sins in their place. The shadow of death seeps through the Close, and with it comes the double mystery stretching back to turn-of-the-century Rosington, to a doomed poet-priest called Francis Youlgreave.

Only Wendy, the outsider looking in, glimpses the truth. But can she grasp its dark and twisted logic in time to prevent the coming tragedy. The Office of the Dead is a chilling novel of crime and retribution, and is the third volume of Andrew Taylor's stunning and acclaimed Roth Trilogy.

See my review

See what others have chosen for the letter O.

Review: SNOW WHITE MUST DIE, Nele Neuhas

• Originally published in German in 2010
• English translation 2012 by Steven T. Murray
• Published by PanMacmillan
• ISBN 978-1-4472-2708-3
• 371 pages
• Review copy supplied by Pan Macmillan Australia

Synopsis (Amazon)

On a rainy November day police detectives Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein are summoned to a mysterious traffic accident: A woman has fallen from a pedestrian bridge onto a car driving underneath. According to a witness, the woman may have been pushed. The investigation leads Pia and Oliver to a small village, and the home of the victim, Rita Cramer.

On a September evening eleven years earlier, two seventeen-year-old girls vanished from the village without a trace. In a trial based only on circumstantial evidence, twenty-year-old Tobias Sartorius, Rita Cramer’s son, was sentenced to ten years in prison. Bodenstein and Kirchhoff discover that Tobias, after serving his sentence, has now returned to his home town. Did the attack on his mother have something to do with his return?

In the village, Pia and Oliver encounter a wall of silence. When another young girl disappears, the events of the past seem to be repeating themselves in a disastrous manner. The investigation turns into a race against time, because for the villagers it is soon clear who the perpetrator is—and this time they are determined to take matters into their own hands.

An atmospheric, character-driven and suspenseful mystery set in a small town that could be anywhere, dealing with issues of gossip, power, and keeping up appearances.

My take

Twenty year old Tobias Sartorius was convicted of the murder/manslaughter of two girls last seen entering his house late at night. The evidence against him is purely circumstantial, there are no bodies, and Tobi himself claims alcohol-fuelled amnesia about the events of the night.

Now, eleven years on, he has been in jail, and returns home to the village, to his parents' house. He is not aware that his parents' marriage has broken up, his mother has left home, and his father's restaurant business has collapsed. The setting has an almost Gothic feel to it - his father's house is sombre and the villagers are very much against Tobi's return. It is a village of many secrets. It seems many of them actually know what happened the night the girls disappeared. Was Tobi simply a convenient scapegoat?

At the beginning of the novel there are at least three complications to the plot: Toby's mother is seriously injured after falling from a pedestrian bridge into the path of an oncoming car; a girl's body turns up in a fuel tank at a disused army base; and a girl with an uncanny resemblance to one of the missing girls (nicknamed Snow White) begins work in a local pub.

I found the writing style of the novel peculiarly flat. This may simply have been the effect of the translation but it seemed to me to be a novel where events rather than characters were important. I wondered if I was being cynical by thinking this was a novel written with an eye on television adaptation. Certainly the title is eye catching and before long you recognise that while one Snow White is dead (and who killed her is the question) another is in danger. There's a sinister Gothic quality to this village and secrets that need to be uncovered.

For my personal taste though, SNOW WHITE MUST DIE has too many sub plots, too many characters (who all seem to be related), and is too long. In addition some strands connect this novel with earlier ones in the series, although of course this is the first available in an English translation.

I kept thinking about what has made this novel so popular with German readers. Part of the answer must lie with the title and the marketing, but there's a flavour that sets Nele Neuhaus apart from her British and American counterparts. It seems to me that German readers have different expectations in their crime fiction, but perhaps there is also such a thing as a German "style".
It is something I have noticed before in novels such as Jan Costin Wagner's ICE MOON, and Paulus Hochgatterer's THE SWEETNESS OF LIFE.


My rating: 4.0

SNOW WHITE MUST DIE appears to be #4 of a series of 6 featuring detective duo Pia Bodenstein and Oliver Kirchhoff. A stand alone SWIMMING WITH SHARKS seems to be the only other title by Nele Neuhas available in English.

Other reviews to check

• Maddy Van Hertbruggen on Reviewing the Evidence
• Bernadette @ Reactions to Reading

Author information

Nele Neuhaus is one of the most widely read German mystery writers. More than two million copies of her books are currently in print. She lives near Frankfurt, Germany.

Check the author's site for more details 

P.S.  I noticed a starting point similarity between SNOW WHITE MUST DIE and Michael Robotham's SAY YOU'RE SORRY.
In the latter two teenage girls also go missing, and, despite an extensive police search, their bodies are never found. However there is no convenient circumstantial evidence about who is responsible. So the actual plots are of course very different.

I find books where the authors have similar starting points very interesting, particularly as you explore how they give very different treatments to subsequent events.

Robotham's SAY YOU'RE SORRY on UK CWA Gold Dagger long list

I'm pleased to see Michael Robotham's SAY YOU'RE SORRY on the UK CWA Gold Dagger long list this year.

http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/2013/gold.html/

This longlist will be whittled down to a shortlist of four later in the summer, with the eventual winner being revealed as part of the Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards in the autumn.

This book is also on the Ned Kelly longlist

http://www.austcrimewriters.com/content/2013-ned-kelly-awards

My review is here.

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013: the Letter O

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction - a Community Meme.

This meme is an annual event on this blog. This is its 4th outing.
We already have a strong core of weekly contributors but you can join at any time.

Last week we featured the letter N


This week's letter is the letter O

Here are the rules

The page telling bloggers which letter to focus on will appear on each Monday together with a Mr Linky.

By Friday of each week participants try to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname, or even maybe a crime fiction "topic". But above all, it has to be crime fiction.

So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)
You probably won't have to do a lot of extra reading in order to participate, but I warn you that your TBR  may grow as a result of the suggestions other participants make.
Feel free to use either of the images provided in your blog.

Your assistance in advertising this community meme, and pointing people to this page, would be very much appreciated.

By the end of this week  post your blog post title and URL in the Mr Linky below.
Please place a link in your blog post back to this page.
Visit other blogs and leave comments.

Check the Crime Fiction Alphabet page for summaries of previous years, and for links to this year's entries.

Thanks for participating.

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Davitt Awards 2013: record 61 books on longlist

The Sisters in Crime Australia have a record 61 Books in contention for the 13th Davitt Awards (2013) for the best crime books by Australian women.

Six Davitt Awards will be presented at a gala dinner on 31 August by leading New Zealand crime writer, Vanda Symon, at the Thornbury Theatre in Melbourne: Best Novel (Adult); Best Novel (Children’s and Young Adult); Best True Crime Book; Best Debut Book (any category); Readers’ Choice (as voted by the 600 members of Sisters in Crime Australia).

See more details and the longlist here.

Ned Kelly Awards: Longlists 2013

The 2013 Ned Kelly Awards longlists are now available at the newly created Australian Crime Writers Association website.

See the guidelines for the awards here.

Check the longlists for Best Fiction, First Fiction, and True Crime here.

The short list will be announced as part of the Byron Bay Writers Festival on the 2nd August.

The winners will be announced at the Awards Night that will be part of the Brisbane Writers Festival.

Review: WATCHING YOU, Michael Robotham

• publication Australia August 8 2013 (see other release dates)
• published by Sphere
• ISBN 978-1-84744-527-8
• 441 pages
• Available for pre-order on Amazon
• source: ARC from author/publisher

Synopsis (author site)

Marnie Logan often feels like she's being watched. Nothing she can quite put her finger on - a whisper of breath on the back of her neck, or a shadow in the corner of her eye - and now her life is frozen.
Her husband Daniel has been missing for more than a year. Depressed and increasingly desperate, she seeks the help of clinical psychologist Joe O'Loughlin.
Joe is concerned by Marnie's reluctance to talk about the past, but then she discovers a book packed with pictures, interviews with friends, former teachers, old flames and workmates Daniel was preparing for her birthday. It was supposed to be a celebration of her life. But it's not the story anyone was expecting...

My Take

Another terrific read from Michael Robotham. There are bits of the plot that strain credibility but, balanced against the superb writing, they hardly matter. Rather they serve to make the reader question whether something like that could happen.

The structure of the story is interesting - two main stories unfolding side by side. I find as I write that I can't really talk too much about the book without plot spoilers. You'll have to take my word for it that I found WATCHING YOU a very satisfying read. Read the first chapter here.

Followers of Robotham will welcome the furtherance of the Joe O'Loughlin / Vincent Ruiz story, and I for one want the next story NOW.

My rating: 5.0

Other reviews on this blog
BOMBPROOF
SHATTER
SHATTER (audio)
BLEED FOR ME
5.0, THE WRECKAGE
4.8, SAY YOU'RE SORRY 

Watch out for IF I TELL YOU, I'LL HAVE TO KILL YOU being released in August at the Byron Bay Writer's Festival. Edited by Michael Robotham,  (More)
Australia’s finest crime writers reveal their secrets
Find out where they bury their bodies…
Crime fiction is the single most popular genre in international publishing and Australia has some of the finest practitioners when it comes to walking the mean streets and nailing the bad guys.

Whether you’re a fan of crime fiction, true crime or a would-be crime writer, this collection of essays will provide laughter, understanding, insight, ideas, advice and hopefully some inspiration. Learn about Shane Maloney’s near-death experience in a freezer, Leigh Redhead’s adventures as a stripper and Tara Moss taking a polygraph test to prove her doubters wrong.

There are stories of struggle and triumph, near misses and murderous intent, as our best crime writers lay bare their souls and reveal their secrets as never before, along with their rules for writing and reading lists.
But beware. They will have to kill you…

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013: N is for Nicci French, TUESDAY'S GONE

Following a pattern established in 2012, my contributions to the Crime Fiction Alphabet in 2013 will mainly feature authors or books that I have read recently.

My choice this week is TUESDAY'S GONE by Nicci French

This is #2 in Nicci French's series featuring London psychotherapist Frieda Klein.

I read it because I enjoyed the first, BLUE MONDAY
I already have an order in at my library for the next, WAITING FOR WEDNESDAY.

Read my review of  TUESDAY'S GONE

See what others have chosen for the letter N.

Review: BAMBOO AND BLOOD, James Church

• Published in 2010 by Minotaur Books
• ISBN 978-0-312-60129-4-51399
• #3 in the Inspector O. series
• 294 pages
• library book

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

The critically acclaimed A Corpse in the Koryo brought readers into the enigmatic workings of North Korean intelligence with the introduction of a new kind of detective---the mysterious Inspector O. In the follow-up, Hidden Moon, O threaded his way through the minefield of North Korean ministries into a larger conspiracy he was never supposed to touch.

Now the inspector returns . . .

In the winter of 1997, trying to stay alive during a famine that has devastated much of North Korea, Inspector O is ordered to play host to an Israeli agent who appears in Pyongyang. When the wife of a North Korean diplomat in Pakistan dies under suspicious circumstances, O is told to investigate, with a curious proviso: Don't look too closely at the details, and stay away from the question of missiles. O knows he can't avoid finding out what he is supposed to ignore on a trail that leads him from the dark, chilly rooms of Pyongyang to an abandoned secret facility deep in the countryside, guarded by a lonely general; and from the streets of New York to a bench beneath a horse chestnut tree on the shores of Lake Geneva, where the Inspector discovers he is up to his ears in missiles---and worse. Stalked by the past and wary of the future, O is convinced there is no one he can trust, and no one he can't suspect. Swiss intelligence wants him out of the country; someone else wants him dead.

Once again, James Church's sparse, lyrical prose guides readers through an unfamiliar landscape of whispered words and shadows, a world wrapped in a level of mystery and complexity that few outsiders have experienced. With Inspector O, noir has a new home in North Korea, and James Church holds the keys.

My take

This book and I didn't easily rub shoulders. I found the "sparse, lyrical prose" hard to read and the action hard to sort out.  Eventually, just over half way through, things began to jell, but even so I am not sure that, most of the time, I knew what was happening.

I kept feeling that I was missing out on understanding some events and references because I have not read the first two books in the Inspector O series (see the list of titles below).

Inspector O is sent to join a North Korean delegation conducting negotiations in Geneva. The delegation resents his presence and he is given a cryptic message to pass on, but he never sees his orders in writing. This all adds to the mystery of what he is supposed to be doing, and, for me at least, confusion about the various threads of the plot. I guess I could probably make more sense of it all, if I read the book again, but the inclination is not there. What is clear is that a number of people in Geneva believe Inspector O. is a very influential member of the North Korean secret service, but others are constantly suggesting he should go home.

The book gives a depressing view of North Korea in winter 1997-8, where food is scarce.

The next morning, we were in my office, and Pak seemed a little ill at ease. It wasn't unusual these days. All of us were that way - a little at ease all the time. Bad stories were coming in from the country side. Here in the capital, people were disappearing from offices, food was scarce, heart was random, electricity was unpredictable and even when there was some, it didn't last very long. No one pretended things weren't bad, though we didn't talk a lot about it. The question was whether we would get through it.

North Korea is well equipped with military weapons and selling missiles appears to be the main purpose of the Geneva delegation. The Americans want some say in who these weapons are sold to. The situation gives rise to whether the North Korean rural population would not rather have food than the national security that the missiles provide.

This is one of those books that I really haven't enjoyed but the fault is probably mine.

My rating: 3.7

About the author

James Church is the pseudonym of the author of four detective novels featuring a North Korean policeman, "Inspector O".Church is identified on the back cover of his novels as "a former Western intelligence officer with decades of experience in Asia". He grew up in the San Fernando Valley in the United States and was over 60 years old in 2009.His "Inspector O" novels have been well-received, being noted by Asia specialists for offering "an unusually nuanced and detailed portrait" of North Korean society. A Korea Society panel praised the first book in the series for its realism and its ability to convey "the suffocating atmosphere of a totalitarian state". A panelist as well as The Independent's and the Washington Post's reviewers compared the protagonist to Arkady Renko, the Soviet chief inspector in Martin Cruz Smith's Gorky Park, for providing "a vivid window into a mysterious country".

Inspector O
1. A Corpse in the Koryo (2006)
2. Hidden Moon (2007)
3. Bamboo and Blood (2008)
4. The Man with the Baltic Stare (2010)

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2013: the Letter N

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction - a Community Meme.

This meme is an annual event on this blog. This is its 4th outing.
We already have a strong core of weekly contributors but you can join at any time.

Last week we featured the letter M


This week's letter is the letter N

Here are the rules

The page telling bloggers which letter to focus on will appear on each Monday together with a Mr Linky.

By Friday of each week participants try to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname, or even maybe a crime fiction "topic". But above all, it has to be crime fiction.

So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)
You probably won't have to do a lot of extra reading in order to participate, but I warn you that your TBR  may grow as a result of the suggestions other participants make.
Feel free to use either of the images provided in your blog.

Your assistance in advertising this community meme, and pointing people to this page, would be very much appreciated.

By the end of this week  post your blog post title and URL in the Mr Linky below.
Please place a link in your blog post back to this page.
Visit other blogs and leave comments.

Check the Crime Fiction Alphabet page for summaries of previous years, and for links to this year's entries.

Thanks for participating.

---