Review: DEATH IS NOW MY NEIGHBOUR, Colin Dexter - audio book

• format: audio book from Audible
• Inspector Morse Mysteries, Book 12
• Originally published 1996
• Narrated by: Samuel West
• Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
• Unabridged Audiobook
• Release date: 12-14-17
• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Digital Audio

Synopsis (Audible)

As he drove his chief down to Kidlington, Lewis returned the conversation to where it had begun.

'You haven't told me what you think about this fellow Owens - the dead woman's next-door neighbour.'

'Death is always the next-door neighbour,' said Morse sombrely.

The murder of a young woman... A cryptic 17th-century love poem... And a photograph of a mystery grey-haired man...

More than enough to set Chief Inspector E. Morse on the trail of a killer.

And it's a trail that leads him to Lonsdale College, where the contest between Julian Storrs and Dr Denis Cornford for the coveted position of Master is hotting up.

But then Morse faces a greater, far more personal crisis...

My Take

Yet another in this wonderful series, superbly narrated by Samuel West.

Morse and Chief Superintendent Strange are coming up to retirement, and Morse is beginning to pay the penalty for his drinking in particular, so in this novel he has a medical emergency and the diagnosis of diabetes. But underneath it all, he is still the old Morse, and he and Lewis have a very credible relationship.

If I haven't convinced you yet of how good this series is, how well plotted these novels are, how well Samuel West narrates them, then I guess I never will. But it is not too late to start if you are looking for good quality crime fiction audio.

And for me, just one book to go in the series, but I won't be tackling it for another month or so.

My rating: 4.7

I've also read
4.3, INSPECTOR MORSE: BBB Radio Collection
4.5, THE SECRET OF ANNEXE THREE - #7 audio book
4.6, THE WENCH IS DEAD- #8, audio book
4.3, SERVICE OF ALL THE DEAD - #4 audio book
4.4, LAST SEEN WEARING  - #2 audio book
4.6, THE RIDDLE OF THE THIRD MILE - #6 audio book
4.6, THE JEWEL THAT WAS OURS - #9, audio book
4.8, THE WAY THROUGH THE WOODS #10, audio book  
4.7, THE DAUGHTERS OF CAIN - #11, audio book

Review: EVEN DOGS IN THE WILD, Ian Rankin

• this edition published by Orion books 2015
• ISBN 978-1-4091-5937-7
• 345 pages
• source: my local library
• #20 in the John Rebus series

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

Rebus comes out of retirement...to save his nemesis.

Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke is feeling the heat. She's investigating the death of a senior government prosecutor, David Minton, who has friends in high places. When one of their own is killed, the powers that be want answers fast. But Clarke is puzzled: If Minton died in a robbery as everyone thinks, why is nothing missing from his home? The answer may lie not in what was taken but in what was left behind at the scene - an ominous note.

Malcolm Fox is feeling useless. Shunned by his colleagues because of his past in the Complaints bureau, he's been reassigned to a grunt detail, helping a surveillance team - one that trusts him even less than his own boss does - track a notorious Glasgow crime family. Helping Clarke with the Minton case is the only thing that makes Fox feel like a real cop.

Newly minted civilian John Rebus is feeling restless. Being a cop is in his blood, and he's failing miserably at retirement. So when Clarke and Fox ask for his help, Rebus doesn't need long to consider his options. But before he can get his bearings, a call comes from Rebus' old nemesis - "Big Ger" Cafferty. Someone just fired a bullet through his front window - and sent him a note identical to Minton's. The normally unflappable old gangster is on edge, but for the life of him Cafferty can't figure out who he's wronged. And the only man he trusts with his life is Rebus.

As the cases collide, it's up to Clarke, Fox, and Rebus to connect the dots and save their unlikely ally, Cafferty, whose past harbors a shocking secret that implicates Minton's friends in an unspeakable crime. Even Dogs in the Wild reunites crime fiction legend Ian Rankin's greatest characters in an explosive story exploring the darkest corners of our desires. 

My Take

I've actually read the two titles preceding this novel in the series, so it took me a while to get my bearings and to get things in order.

The novel; brings together all the main characters from the series to that point, shortly after Rebus' (enforced) retirement.

It is a very black novel based on the gangland underlying the structure of Edinburgh and Glasgow and the role of the police in maintaining equilibrium. The Edinburgh police find that they can't do without Rebus and his considerable knowledge.

It opens up avenues for further exploration, e.g. a relationship between  Malcolm Fox and Siobhan Clarke, which I don't think Rankin pursued.

Definitely one for those who have read earlier books, but possibly not for those who have not dipped a toe in that water.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read
THE COMPLAINTS
DOORS OPEN
HIDE & SEEK
4.4, BEGGARS BANQUET
4.4, WITCH HUNT - writing as Jack Harvey
4.5, THE FALLS
4.7, THE IMPOSSIBLE DEAD
4.8, STANDING IN ANOTHER MAN'S GRAVE $18
4.7, SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE #19
4.5, RATHER BE THE DEVIL #21
5.0, IN A HOUSE OF LIES   #22

Series (Fantastic Fiction)

Inspector Rebus
   1. Knots and Crosses (1987)
   2. Hide and Seek (1990)
   3. Tooth and Nail (1992)
     aka Wolfman
   4. Strip Jack (1992)
   5. The Black Book (1993)
   6. Mortal Causes (1994)
   7. Let It Bleed (1995)
   8. Black and Blue (1997)
   9. The Hanging Garden (1998)
   10. Dead Souls (1999)
   10.5. Death Is Not the End (1998)
   11. Set in Darkness (2000)
   12. The Falls (2001)
   13. Resurrection Men (2001)
   14. A Question of Blood (2003)
   15. Fleshmarket Close (2004)
     aka Fleshmarket Alley
   16. The Naming Of The Dead (2006)
   17. Exit Music (2007)
   18. Standing in Another Man's Grave (2012)
   19. Saints of the Shadow Bible (2013)
   20. Even Dogs in the Wild (2015)
   21. Rather Be the Devil (2016)
   22. In a House of Lies (2018)

Review: DAY OF THE DEAD, Nicci French

• this edition published in 2018 by penguin UK
• ISBN 978-0-718-17969-4
• 374 pages
• source: my local library

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

Now the final book in this extraordinary series is here. And it's an ending you'll never forget.

A decade ago, psychologist Frieda Klein was sucked into the orbit of Dean Reeve - a killer able to impersonate almost anyone, a man who can disappear without a trace, a psychopath obsessed with Frieda herself.

In the years since, Frieda has worked with - and sometimes against - the London police in solving their most baffling cases. But now she's in hiding, driven to isolation by Reeve. When a series of murders announces his return, Frieda must emerge from the shadows to confront her nemesis. And it's a showdown she might not survive.

Criminology student Lola Hayes has tracked Frieda down with a single-minded pursuit: she wants to delve inside the mind of a woman besieged by darkness. But in following every move Frieda makes, Lola is exposing herself to the same terrors - and the same twisted fixation of a diabolical psychopath.

This gripping cat-and-mouse thriller pits one of the most fascinating characters in contemporary fiction against an enemy like none other. Smart, sophisticated, and spellbinding, it's a book that will leave you breathless.

My Take

Frieda is determined to bring her relationship with Dean Reeve to an end. For 8 years he has been tracking her, invading her home, involving her in his crimes. Now she has had enough and she is determined to meet him and bring it all to an end. But will she survive?

She has deliberately gone into hiding and so criminology student Lola Hayes, who wants to base her dissertation on Frieda, finds her incredibly hard to track.And when she does, Dean brings her into his "sphere of influence" and so Lola joins Frieda on the run.

Dean leaves bodies all over London and Frieda tries to predict where the next one will be found. But then she realises that Lola is in touch with Dean.

It is always a bit sad when a series comes to an end, but I think it was time.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read
4.3, BLUE MONDAY
4.5, TUESDAY'S GONE
4.7, WAITING FOR WEDNESDAY
4.7, FRIDAY ON MY MIND
4.4, DARK SATURDAY
4.7, THE LYING ROOM

Frieda Kelin series
Frieda Klein
   1. Blue Monday (2011)
   2. Tuesday's Gone (2012)
   3. Waiting for Wednesday (2013)
   4. Thursday's Children (2014)
   5. Friday on My Mind (2015)
   6. Saturday Requiem (2016)
     aka Dark Saturday
   7. Sunday Morning Coming Down (2017)
     aka Sunday Silence
   8. Day of the Dead (2018) 

Pick of the Month February 2020

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2019

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for February 2020, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

---

Review: THE LOST GIRLS, Jennifer Spence

• this edition published by Simon & Schuster 2019
• ISBN 978-9-2579-137-2
• 338 pages
• source: my local library

Synopsis (publisher)

A haunting tale of love and loss that will make you think twice

What would you do if you had the chance to change a pivotal moment from your past?

How far would you go to save someone you loved?
  
These are just two of the fateful choices a woman is forced to grapple with in this highly original and hauntingly evocative detective story of love and loss.

At the core of the enigmatic Stella’s story, past and present, is a mystery she is compelled to solve, a beautiful young woman who went missing fifty years ago – and a tragedy much closer to home she must try to prevent.

As Stella unravels the dark secrets of her family's past and her own, it becomes clear that everyone remembers the past differently and the small choices we make every day can change our future irrevocably.

My take

This is one of those books that presents a problem for the reviewer. The blurb on the back cover gives the reader no clue about the strategy the author adopts to tell Stella's story, and I'm not going to outline it either.

There are two lost girls, and the story swings between two main time frames: 1997 and 2017, in a very creative scenario.

One review called the format "the butterfly effect", another called it "unsettling", which it. It strains your sense of credibility. And is it crime fiction - oh yes!

When I was 100 pages in, I really wondered whether I wanted to continue reading, but I'm glad that I did. I can't even remember who recommended the book to me, but thank you.

My rating: 4.5

About the author
Jennifer Spence has worked as an English teacher, a scriptwriter of soap operas and a technical writer. She is the author of three children’s books and a crime novel. She lives in Sydney. 

Review: THE ACCUSATION, Wendy James

• this edition published by Read How You Want as a large print edition for Harper Collins 2019
• ISBN 978-0-36930-380-6
• 427 pages
• source: my local library

Synopsis (publisher)

Somebody is lying.

A bizarre abduction. A body of damning evidence. A world of betrayal.

After eighteen-year-old Ellie Canning is found shivering and barely conscious on a country road, her bizarre story of kidnap and escape enthrals the nation. Who would do such a thing? And why?

Local drama teacher Suzannah Wells, once a minor celebrity, is new to town. Suddenly she's in the spotlight again, accused of being the monster who drugged and bound a teenager in her basement. As stories about her past emerge, even those closest to her begin to doubt her innocence.

And Ellie? The media can't get enough of her. She's a girl-power icon, a social-media star. But is she telling the truth?

My take

Middle aged Suzannah Wells, once the star of a soapie on Australian television, has come to a small country town in Victoria to teach drama at a local high school. She has bought an old house on the edge of town, bringing with her her elderly mother Mary who has dementia. She and her mother have few friends in the town, and her mother has a carer drop in three days a week while Suzannah is at work.

But their relatively comfortable life is shattered when Ellie Canning tells the police that she has been imprisoned for three weeks in the cellar of Suzannah's house. Suzannah can't work out why Ellie is telling such patent lies. What does she hope to gain by it?

The story results from a number of narrative sources: Suzannah herself, transcripts from interviews held with Ellie for a documentary series, and a friend of Suzannah's called Honor who eventually takes Ellie under her wing. The story begins in August 2018 when a local farmer finds Ellie in a derelict hut on his property, and continues into 2019.

It was only when I was talking to a friend about the plot of this book, that she told me that it was very similar to that of a book that she had recently read. I researched the name of the author that she gave me, and I found there was indeed a connection. And then confirmation came at the beginning of Part Three. And then in an Author Note at the end came indeed the final confirmation of what my Google research had implied. I realised too that there had been a quite major hint in the body of the novel, but until my friend told me of the similarity, I hadn't realised the significance.

But I'm not going to spoil the "story" for you - rather leaving it for you to discover for yourself.

My rating: 4.5


I've also read
4.8, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
4.8, THE MISTAKE
4.7, THE LOST GIRLS  

Review: A GRAVE FOR TWO, Anne Holt

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 4004 KB
• Publisher: Corvus (4 July 2019)
• Sold by: Amazon Australia Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B07K1ND4K8
• Translated from Norwegian by Ann Bruce

Synopsis (Amazon)

Selma Falck has hit rock bottom. Having lost everything - her husband, her children and her high-flying job as a lawyer - in quick succession, she is holed up alone in a dingy apartment. That is until Jan Morell - the man who is to blame for her downfall - rings her doorbell, desperate to overturn a doping accusation against his daughter, Hege - Norway's best female skier. He'll drop his investigation into Selma, but only if she'll help... With just weeks until the Olympic qualifying rounds, clearing Hege's name, and getting Selma's own life back on track, seems impossible.

But when an elite male skier is found dead in suspicious circumstances, the post-mortem showing a link to Hege's case, it becomes clear to Selma that there is a sinister web of lies, corruption and scandals lurking in this highly competitive sport. As time starts to runs out, another person is found dead, and Selma realizes that her own life is at risk...

My take

The first instalment in Anne Holt's new crime series featuring Selma Falck.

It is December 2017. In February 2018 the Winter Olympics will be held in PyeongChang in South Korea, and Norway is looking to confirm its position as top of the tree in cross country skiing. Hege Chin Morell is the key to this success, but now she has returned a positive test to a banned substance. Norway's team is yet to be finalised.

Selma Falck, once Norway's top lawyer, has become addicted to gambling. And worse, she has embezzled funds from her clients  and particularly from Jan Morell. Now 50, Selma was also, in her day, a world class athlete. And she is also godmother to Norway's top male skier.

This novel features a very high level of complexity with several intersecting plot lines, plus a number of different narration techniques. To be honest, I found it pretty hard going, slow reading, for much of the time, but thankfully everything seemed to come together at the end.

My rating:4.5

I've also read
4.8, 1222
4.5, THE FINAL MURDER