Review: THE POLITICIAN, Tim Sullivan

•  This edition an e-book provided by my local library on Libby
  
  
• #4 in the DS Cross Mystery series 
• author website
  

Synopsis (publisher)

A smashed window. A ransacked room.
A dead body.
At first glance, it’s a burglary gone wrong.

First impressions of a crime scene are crucial… but they aren’t always correct. When DS George Cross – Bristol Crime Unit’s most eccentric and dogged detective – starts investigating the death of former mayor Peggy Frampton, he’s convinced that what looks like a bungled burglary is in fact a case of pre-meditated murder.

After her political career ended, Peggy became a controversial blogger whose forthright opinions attracted a battalion of online trolls. And then there’s her family: an unfaithful husband and a gambling-addicted son. With yet more enemies in her past, the list of suspects seems unending.

Now Cross must unpick this dark web of seedy connections to find her killer – but the sheer number of suspects is clouding his usually impeccable logic. He’s a relentlessly methodical detective, but no case can last forever: can Cross catch the killer before he runs out of time?

My Take

Mistakenly, I had convinced myself that I had read many more in this series. Now I have discovered that I have only read the first, then I intend to make up the leeway and I am pleased to see that there are another 6 to read.

The author has created an interesting bunch of characters, and there was a pleasing complexity of plot strands.

Highly recommended.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

4.5, THE DENTIST- #1

Here is the list according to Fantastic Fiction

DS Cross Mystery
   1. The Dentist (2020)
   2. The Cyclist (2020)
   3. The Patient (2022)
   4. The Politician (2022)
   5. The Monk (2023)
   6. The Teacher (2023)
   7. The Bookseller (2025)
   8. The Tailor (2026)

Review: 17 YEARS LATER, J.P. Pomare

• 
  this edition published by Hachette Australia 2024
  
• ISBN 978 0 7336 4964 6
• 384 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

The violent slaughter of the Primrose family while they slept shocked the nation.

The family's young live-in chef, Bill Kareama, was swiftly charged with murder and brought to justice. But the brutal crime scarred the idyllic town of Cambridge forever.

Seventeen years later, true-crime podcaster Sloane Abbott tracks down prison psychologist TK Phillips. Once a fierce campaigner for an appeal, TK now lives a quiet life with Bill's case firmly in his past.

As Sloane lures a reluctant TK back into the fight, evidence emerges that casts new light on the Primroses - and who might have wanted them dead.

While the list of suspects grows, Bill's innocence is still far from assured. What will it cost Sloane and TK to uncover the truth? 

My Take

What a twisty plot! Lots of red herrings and then a resolution that I didn't expect.

Solidly set in the present day with a successful podcast producer taking on the issue of whether a convicted killer languishing in a New Zealand gaol had a fair trial or did the investigation team take short cuts and easy conclusions?

My rating: 4.8

I've also read

• 4.6, IN THE CLEARING
• 4.8, CALL ME EVIE
• 4.8, TELL ME LIES 
• 4.7, THE WRONG WOMAN
• 4.7, HOME BEFORE NIGHT 

Review: SANCTUARY, Garry Disher

• 
  this edition published by Text Publishing 2024
• ISBN 9781922790620
  
• 363 pages 

Synopsis (publisher)

Grace is a talented thief ready for a normal life. Lying low after a run-in with an old associate, Grace walks into Erin Mandel’s rural antiques shop and sees a chance for something different. A weekday job. A place to call home.

But someone is looking for Erin. And someone’s looking for Grace, too. And they are both, in their own ways, very dangerous men.

My Take

The Canberra Times calls Garry Disher "Arguably Australia's greatest living crime fiction writer." and they are not wrong.

For me what was so entrancing about this story is that it is set mainly locally, in the Adelaide Hills, in places that I know well. And yet the themes are fresh and new. 

In the character of Grace, Disher is looking at life from the "other side", harking back to the days when his central character was Wyatt, a small time thief. He looks carefully at the factors that go into the making of a small time criminal, and Grace Latimer comes alive for us, and we find that she is not alone, in fact she is constantly in danger.

Well worth reading. Will we meet Grace again?

My rating: 4.8

I've also read

4.7, WYATT
4.8, WHISPERING DEATH
4.7, BLOOD MOON
4.2, THE HEAT
4.5, SIGNAL LOSS
4.7, HER
4.9, UNDER THE COLD BRIGHT LIGHTS
4.7, KILL SHOT
5.0, BITTER WASH ROAD - Hirsch #1 - aka HELL TO PAY
5.0, PEACE- Hirsch #2
5.0, CONSOLATION - Hirsch #3
4.7, DAY'S END, Garry Disher- Hirsch #4
4.8, THE WAY IT IS NOW

About the author

Garry Disher has published sixty titles across multiple genres. With a growing international reputation for his best-selling crime novels, he has won four German and three Australian awards for best crime novel of the year, and been longlisted twice for a British CWA Dagger award. In 2018 he received the Ned Kelly Lifetime Achievement Award.

Re-read: THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES, Agatha Christie

• 
  This is edition read as an Amazon e-book on Kindle
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C5BSNVN4
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Global Publishers (September 24, 2023)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 24, 2023
• Originally published 1920
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 201 pages  

 Synopsis (Amazon) 

The Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie, introducing her fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was written in the middle of the First World War, in 1916, and first published by John Lane in the United States in October 1920 and in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head (John Lane's UK company) on 21 January 1921.

Styles introduced Poirot, Inspector (later, Chief Inspector) Japp, and Arthur Hastings.[3] Poirot, a Belgian refugee of the Great War, is settling in England near the home of Emily Inglethorp, who helped him to his new life. His friend Hastings arrives as a guest at her home. When Mrs Inglethorp is murdered, Poirot uses his detective skills to solve the mystery.

The book includes maps of the house, the murder scene, and a drawing of a fragment of a will. The true first publication of the novel was as a weekly serial in The Times, including the maps of the house and other illustrations included in the book. This novel was one of the first ten books published by Penguin Books when it began in 1935.

My Take

You are right! I have read this numerous times before. I have read it yet again because I am starting up another face-to-face Agatha Christie reading group with my local U3A. During this year we will read the first 5 Poirot novels and the first 5 Marple novels. One a month. The pattern will be that we will read the book, then at a monthly meeting, spend an hour discussing it, and then watch an ITV  video version.

I have a number of reviews of the novel already on this blog:

• from 2008
• from 2014
  
• from 2021 

 I also have a chronology of Hercule Poirot which may be useful.

The group is a mixture of members who are new to the group and some who have been with me before.

I really want to make their first session a gentle introduction and I don't want to spoil the impact of their discovery of Poirot, so I want to focus on how they feel about their first read and to encourage discussion.

So here are some of the topics we will cover

• Who is this narrator chap (Hastings)?
• Poirot's background
• The setting, the period, World War One and its effect on English society
  
• Agatha Christie as an observer - social, economic
• What did they make of the story itself? Red herrings, relationship between Poirot and Hastings, role of Hastings, Poirot's opinion of himself, characters we will meet again (Inspector Japp)
• their rating of the novel (1-5)
  

My collection of Agatha Christie reviews

My rating: 4.5

Review: THE BOOKSHOP DETECTIVES, Gareth and Louise Ward

• 
  This edition an e-book from Amazon on Kindle
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D9KZGBLK
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin eBooks (NZ Adult) (23 July 2024)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 340 pages

Synopsis (Amazon)

Two small-town booksellers (and their cowardly dog) solve a decades-old murder-mystery in this witty debut novel, full of literary clues, sparkling dialogue, and comedic insights into the world of bookshops.

"When we opened Sherlock Tomes people warned us that we'd made a terrible mistake. People warned us that e-readers were taking over. People warned us that we'd never compete with Amazon. The one thing they didn't warn us about was the murders..."

Introducing...the Bookshop Detectives!

When a mystery parcel arrives at Sherlock Tomes bookshop in small-town Havelock North, New Zealand, husband-and-wife owners Garth and Eloise (and their petrified pooch, Stevie) are drawn into the baffling case of a decades-old missing schoolgirl.

Intrigued by the puzzling, bookish clues the two ex-cops are soon tangled in a web of crime, drugs, and floral decapitations, while endeavouring to pull off the international celebrity book launch of the century.

With their beloved shop on the chopping block and the sinister suspect who forced them to run away from Blighty reemerging from the shadows, have Garth and Eloise Sherlock finally met their Moriarty?

For once, the cover copy is no exaggeration- Diary of a Bookseller really does meet Thursday Murder Club meets Bookseller at the End of the World in this witty debut novel, full of literary clues, comedic insights and the kinds of Kiwis you only ever meet in bookshops.

My Take

There is more than a touch of the autobiographical about this story. It would be true to say that I struggled through the first half of the book, but then I rarely give up. I'm not sure what my problem was - perhaps a slightly different style of writing, an unfamiliar setting and plot scenario, a few too many characters, a few too many plot strands, but I'm glad I persisted. Mysteries were solved and everything came together beautifully at the end.

My rating: 4.4

About the authors

Gareth and Louise Ward are the real-life owners of independent bookshop Wardini Books, with stores in Havelock North and Napier, New Zealand.

Louise is known among the staff as Fearless Leader and Gareth as a bit of a dick; he is, however, the author of the Tarquin the Honest and The Rise of the Remarkables book series, as well as being the bestselling and award-winning author of The Traitor and the Thief and The Clockill and the Thief.

Gareth and Louise met at police training college in the UK and are both ex-coppers. Louise has one murder arrest to her name, is an English Literature Graduate and as an ex-teacher inflicted Shakespeare on inner-city twelve-year-olds. She regularly reviews books on RNZ.

Both are obsessed with their rescue dog Stevie, avoid housework and gardening, and live in the cultural centre of the universe that is Hawke’s Bay, Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Bookshop Detectives is Gareth and Louise’s first book together.

Review: THE DARK WIVES, Ann Cleeves

• 
   this edition, paperback, published Pan Macmillan 2024
  
• ISBN 978-1-5290-7775-9
• 372 pages
• Vera Stanhope #11

Synopsis (publisher)

A body is found by an early morning dog walker on the common outside Rosebank, a care home for troubled teens. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who never showed up to work.

DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate. Her only clue is the disappearance of fourteen-year-old resident Chloe. Vera can’t bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can’t dismiss the possibility.

Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie are soon embroiled in the case, but when a second body is found near the Three Dark Wives standing stones in the wilds of the Northumbrian countryside, folklore and fact begin to collide.

Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, but it seems that the dark secrets in their community may be far more dangerous than she could ever have believed. . .

My Take

What a sad day it will be when we have no more Vera novels to read.  This one shows Vera as determined, compassionate, a woman with a strong sense of justice, always to determined to do better, but also to do it her way.

An excellent read, at times atmospheric, and filled with interesting characters.

My rating: 4.7

I've already  read

• RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
• WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
• RED BONES - Shetland #3
• 5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
• 5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
• 4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
• 4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
• TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
• 4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
• 5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
• 4.9, HARBOUR STREET (Vera Stanhope) #6
• 4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone
• 4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER (Vera Stanhope #7)
• 4.4, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (Quick Reads)
• 4.7, THE SEAGULL - (Vera Stanhope #8)
• 4.6, THE LONG CALL - Two Rivers #1
• 4.9, THE DARKEST EVENING - Vera #9
• 4.5, A LESSON DYING - Inspector Ramsay #1
• 4.5, MURDER IN MY BACKYARD -Inspector Ramsay #2 
• 4.4, A DAY IN THE DEATH OF DOROTHEA CASSIDY - Inspector Ramsay  #3
• 4.6, KILLJOY -  Inspector Ramsay #4
• 4.5, THE HEALERS - Inspector Ramsay #5
• 4.6, THE BABY-SNATCHER - Inspector Ramsay #6
• OFFSHORE, Ann Cleeves - Shetland 6.1 - short stories
• 5.0, THE RISING TIDE - Vera #10
• 4.5, THE MISSING AND THE DEAD
• 4.8, THE RAGING STORM - Two Rivers #3
  

A catch-up post

 I'm home now and here are my recent reads

4.5, A FORGOTTEN SHADOW, H. L. Marsay, 8/1/2025

4.5, TRAITOR'S GATE, Jeffery Archer, 6/1/2025

4.5, A CHRISTMAS SHADOW, H.L. Marsay. 8/1/205

Usual reviews will resume in a day or two

Beginning the New Year

 I am still in the USA and so am still just going to document my reading until I get home  again.

1. OTHER PEOPLE’S HOUSES, Kelli Hawkins, 4.5, 1/1/2025. An Australian crime fiction writer to watch out for in the future. A story set in Sydney about Katie who suffered the worst loss imaginable. 

2. MURDER AT HOME, Faith Martin 4.5 #6 4/1/2025 Another good read in this series. An elderly lady killed at home. Surprising outcome

Reading at the end of the year

As we are holidaying with family in Tampa, I am not going to even attempt to write my usual reviews for the books I’ve read. 

I will just list them with a rating, so that I have a record of them. 

I will update this page until December 31.

By the time we left on December 18 I had read 139 books this year so I will create a numbered list to make it easy to see the number achieved by the end of the year.

140. 4.5, WHAT TO DO WHEN SOMEONE DIES, Nicci French, 7/12/2024

141. 4.8, THE GREY WOLF, Louise Penny. Someone is threatening Montreal’s water supply. 18/12/2024

142. 4.4. ELEVATOR PITCH, Linwood Barclay. A truly creepy tale when the lifts in New York City buildings begin to misbehave. 20/12/2024

143. 4.5. MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY, Faith Martin. #2 in the Hillary Greene series. I have downloaded about 6 in the series onto my Kindle. Seems worthwhile pursuing. 22/12/2024

144. 4.5, MURDER OF THE BRIDE, Faith Martin #3 in the Hillary Greene series. A satisfyingly complex plot. 24/12/2024

145 4.5, THE RADIO HOUR, Victoria Purman. Not my usual reading fare, but enjoyable nevertheless. 28/12/2024

146 4.5 MURDER IN THE VILLAGE, Faith Martin. #4 in the series. Certainly holding my interest. 30/12/2024

147 4.6, MURDER IN THE FAMILY, Faith Martin. I really am enjoying this series. There is nice character development and a good variety of plots.