Review: DEAD AT THIRD MAN, G. R. Jordan

• 
  This edition an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0886541LS
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Carpetless Publishing (July 3, 2020)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 237 pages
• Highlands & Islands Detective Book 5
  

Synopsis (Amazon)

A landmark cricket club is formed in the heart of the Western Isles. A gala opening leaves a battered body in the changing room when stumps is called. Can Macleod and McGrath find the killer before the rest of the team are bowled out?

In the fifth outing of this tenacious pair, Macleod and McGrath return to the Isle of Lewis when the first match of the newly formed cricket club ends in murder. Uncovering the tensions in the fledgling organisation, they must sort sporting angst from deadly intent if they are to uncover the true reason for the formation of this strange enterprise. Can they discover what bloody crimes sully the perfect whites of the starting XI?

Don't step beyond your crease or you might just be stumped! 

My Take

I'm sure you can tell that I am thoroughly enjoying this series.

In particular I am enjoying the development of the main characters alongside interesting murder plots. I don't think the plots are always credible but they do hold the attention. They often involve more than one murder.

In this title an American incomer who has been a famous baseballer has poured money into a small community on the island of Lewis, helping create a local cricket club, building club rooms, but at the same time crossing some locals by holding practices on Sundays. Bubba Carson has built his own house very near the cricket club, and has brought with him a woman whom some love and others regard as little more than a harlot. The cricket club's first match has been a resounding victory, demonstrating in particular the talents of the team's only female member.

Community relationships surrounding the cricket club are very complex, exacerbated by the opposition to the club's activities by one of the local ministers.

Macleod and McGrath discover that the reasons for the murders actually go well beyond the present.

On the more personal side, McGrath has come back from a holiday with her new lover that has not gone well, and Mcleod is considering how to develop their investigative team, to add new talents, and to make it more flexible.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

• 4.5, WATER'S EDGE -#1
• 4.4, THE BOTHY - #2
• 4.4, THE HORROR WEEKEND - #3
• 4.5, THE SMALL FERRY - #4

Review: THE SMALL FERRY, G.R. Jordan

• 
  this edition an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0867J8PFP
• Highlands & Islands Detective Book 4
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Carpetless Publishing (11 May 2020)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  

Synopsis (Amazon)

A dreich day for a crossing and a small ferry packed to the gills. A fracas when off loading leads to blood and tears. And one man sits dead at the wheel of the last remaining car.

Macleod and McGrath return to Cromarty when a man is found dead at the wheel of his car on the small, local ferry. As the passengers are identified, the trail extends across the highlands and islands as past deeds are paid back in full. Can the now seasoned pair hunt down a killer before their butchery spreads across the land?

"The Small Ferry" is the fourth Highlands and Islands Detective thriller and brings the odd pair back to the Black Isle when the quiet routine of the Firth is broken apart by a strange death. If you like murder mysteries set amongst the beautiful north of Scotland and its wild coastline and islands, then you'll love the adventures of Macleod and McGrath.

When there's so much going on, it can be hard to see what's happening!

My Take

Another outing in the Highlands and Islands with Macleod and McGrath.  Both detectives have grown so much since their first outing in WATER'S EDGE. 

Three cars on a small ferry. A girl in the second car gives the "glad eye" to the young attendant, distracting him from realising that the final car hasn't yet started its engine. The second car, a mini, stalls and takes just that bit longer to leave. And still no activity in the third and final car. And then the realisation that the driver is dead, sitting in his car in a bath of blood.

From the moment that the driver is identified, the race is on to find one of the women who was in the mini. Behind her she leaves a trail of violent deaths. Macleod works out that she won't stop until she catches up with her final target. 

There is considerable development in both of the detectives' personal lives. Macleod is house hunting with his new partner Jane, and McGrath is looking for someone to give new meaning to her life.

I am enjoying the individual plots of each in this series so far. I have also enjoyed the developing threads that go from one novel to the next. It will be interesting to see if the author can sustain these threads, and to see what parts these additional characters play in the stories to come.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

• 4.5, WATER'S EDGE -#1
• 4.4, THE BOTHY - #2
• 4.4, THE HORROR WEEKEND - #3

From Fantastic Fiction:Highlands & Islands

1. Water's Edge (2019)
2. The Bothy (2020)
3. The Horror Weekend (2020)
4. The Small Ferry (2020)
5. Dead at Third Man (2020)
6. The Pirate Club (2020)
7. A Personal Agenda (2020)
8. A Just Punishment (2020)
9. The Numerous Deaths of Santa Claus (2020)
10. Our Gated Community (2021)
11. The Satchel (2021)
12. Culhwch Alpha (2021)
13. Fair Market Value (2021)
14. The Coach Bomber (2021)
15. The Culling at Singing Sands (2021)
16. Where Justice Fails (2021)
17. The Cortado Club (2022)
18. Cleared to Die (2022)
19. Man Overboard! (2022)

Review: THE WHITBY MURDERS, J. R. Ellis

• 
  This edition on Kindle from Amazon
• A Yorkshire Murder Mystery #6
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08P1J6SR3
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas & Mercer (May 27, 2021)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 283 pages  

Synopsis (Amazon)

A murder with three witnesses. But one of them doesn’t believe what she saw…

Halloween, Whitby. DCI Jim Oldroyd’s daughter Louise is in town with friends for a goth festival. But their visit to an escape room ends in bloody murder when one of the group stabs his girlfriend and flees the scene. It’s a crime with three witnesses―but Louise refuses to take what she saw at face value.

Oldroyd and DS Carter are called in to solve the case, assisted from the sidelines by Louise. But the closer they investigate, the more complex the web of deceit appears. This is no straightforward crime of passion.

With a violent murderer on the loose, it’s only a matter of time before they strike again. And this time it’s personal. Oldroyd must expose the truth, protect his daughter and stop the horror before it’s too late. 

My Take

As a tourist, I've always enjoyed my visits to Whitby, and this crime fiction visit evoked great memories.

Bram Stoker created Dracula in the town of Whitby and apparently it has become the home of Goth Festivals.

This story comes very close to home for Jim Olryd and his team when his daughter witnesses one of her friends murdered in an "escape room". Louise feels that there is something unbelievable about what she has seen, although her girlfriend is undoubtedly dead.  She contacts her father and he arranges to come to Whitby to assist in the investigation. I think in reality Olroyd would seem to have a "conflict of interest" and not be allowed to be involved.

Like Louise, Jim Olroyd finds the scenario hard to take at face value, particularly when the murderer is still at large.

There are a number of side plots carefully woven into the story: plagiarism in university courses, deception in the jewellery business centred around Whitby jet, stolen art works, tourist activities.

I did think there were a couple of unnecessarily complicated scenarios, such as the duplicate sarcophagi which I found it hard to see the point of. I also thought the author may have changed his mind about the motivation for the murders, or were they just red herrings?

Overall though, I found it a very satisfying read.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

• 4.3, THE BODY IN THE DALES - #1
• 4.3, THE QUARTET MURDERS - #2
• 4.4, THE MURDER AT REDMIRE HALL  - #3
• 4.6, THE ROYAL BATHS MURDER - #4 
  
• 4.5, THE NIDDERDALE MURDERS - #5
• 4.6, MURDER AT ST ANNE'S - #7

 

Review: THE ROYAL BATHS MURDER, J. R. Ellis

• 
  This edition from Amazon on Kindle
  
• A Yorkshire Murder Mystery Book 4
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07QRSP8J1
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas & Mercer (August 29, 2019)
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 321 pages
• Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1542015421 

Synopsis ( Amazon)

A murdered crime writer. An idyllic Yorkshire town. Can DCI Oldroyd separate fact from fiction?

A famous writer is found murdered at the Victorian baths in the Yorkshire town of Harrogate. In a crime worthy of one of his novels, Damian Penrose, who was appearing at the town’s crime writing festival, has been ruthlessly strangled. But with no trace of the murderer and no apparent means of escape, how did the killer simply vanish from the scene of the crime?

There’s only one mind capable of unlocking this mystery: DCI Jim Oldroyd. But as he and his team quickly discover, while Penrose was popular with the reading public, he had made plenty of enemies. Feuds over money, accusations of plagiarism, a string of affairs…His route to the top left a trail of embittered rivals—and suspects. But which of them was willing to commit murder?

When Penrose’s shocking death proves to be just the first of many, it becomes clear to Oldroyd that he is dealing with a calculating criminal hell-bent on revenge. He must find and bring them to justice. Before the truth becomes more chilling than fiction… 

My Take

I am thoroughly enjoying this cozy series. Regretfully I only have one title to go.

I was fascinated because this story is set at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival, and there are several threads woven together. I have attended crime fiction literary events and so this scenario rang many bells - but there has never been an actual murder at one, that I am aware of.

Damian Penrose is an author of some note, not particularly popular amongst fellow writers, but certainly a draw card at the festival.
It appears that Penrose in the past has used his masculine charms to lure female writers in particular into relationships, but also to convince them to let him read their work. He was often cutting about their writing, but later on they discovered he had stolen their ideas.

Back at HQ. one of Olroyd's team, DC Steph Johnson, is being sexually harrassed by a male colleague and she finds that she is not his only victim. In addition she is convinced he is using his position as a DI corruptly, coming to an agreement with people accused of deception and dropping charges that should be pursued.

We get more glimpses of Jim Olroyd's personal life as he decides, at his daughters' prompting, to look for someone to go out with, through a dating agancy.

So I found this a well constructed novel with lots to keep me interested. It filled in some gaps between novels #3 and #5 in the series too.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

• 4.3, THE BODY IN THE DALES - #1
• 4.3, THE QUARTET MURDERS - #2
• 4.4, THE MURDER AT REDMIRE HALL  - #3
• 4.5, THE NIDDERDALE MURDERS - #5
• 4.6, MURDER AT ST ANNE'S - #7

Review: THE NIDDERDALE MURDERS, J. R. Ellis

• 
   this edition on Kindle from Amazon
• #5 in the Yorkshire Murder Mysteries
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0847NMGY9
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 303 pages
• Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1542017432

Synopsis  (Amazon)

In a Yorkshire Dales village everyone has a motive for murder—except the killer.

A retired judge is shot dead outside the Dog and Gun Inn in the remote Yorkshire village of Niddersgill. There’s a witness who saw everything, and the gunman’s on the run; the case should be open-and-shut for DCI Jim Oldroyd. But the murderer had no motive for wanting Sandy Fraser dead and, what’s more, no trace of him can be found.

As Oldroyd and his team cast the net wider, they discover that Fraser wasn’t without enemies in Niddersgill. As the wealthy owner of a grouse moor, he’d clashed with farmers, debtors, hunt saboteurs and blackmailers. But none of them were at the scene of the murder. And when a local shopkeeper is gunned down in a second senseless attack, it’s clear that these killings are anything but random.

Surrounded by the dramatic beauty of the Yorkshire Dales, Oldroyd faces a race against time to connect the crimes and find who’s behind them. But with all the evidence sending him down dead ends, can he get one step ahead before someone else is killed?

My Take

Another relatively cozy series that I'm enjoying on my Kindle. The plot has plenty of red herrings, and I've enjoyed the character development from book to book. The Yorkshire Dales makes a good setting.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

• 4.3, THE BODY IN THE DALES - #1
• 4.3, THE QUARTET MURDERS - #2
• 4.4, THE MURDER AT REDMIRE HALL  - #3
• 4.6, MURDER AT ST ANNE'S - #7

Here is the series as listed by Fantastic Fiction

Yorkshire Murder Mystery
   1. The Body in the Dales (2017)
     aka The Body in Jingling Pot
   2. The Quartet Murders (2017)
   3. The Murder at Redmire Hall (2018)
   4. The Royal Baths Murder (2019)
   5. The Nidderdale Murders (2020)
   6. The Whitby Murders (2021)
   7. Murder at St Anne's (2021)
   8. The Railway Murders (2022)- November 2022

Review:THE HORROR WEEKEND, G. R. Jordan

• 
  This edition on Kindle from Amazon
• #3 Highlands & Islands Detective series
  
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0852L26GV
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Carpetless Publishing (27 March 2020) 
• 225 pages

Synopsis (Amazon)

A last-minute replacement on a role-playing weekend. One fatal accident after another. Can Macleod overcome the snowstorm from hell to stop a killer before the guest list becomes obsolete?

Detectives Macleod and McGrath join a bizarre cast of characters at a remote country estate on the Isle of Harris where fantasy and horror are the order of the day. But when regular accidents happen, Macleod sees a killer at work and needs to uncover what links the dead. Hampered by a snowstorm that has closed off the outside world, he must rely on Hope McGrath before they become one of the victims.

It’s all a game…, but for whom?

My Take

This episode takes place on the Isle of Harris and the duo of Macleod and McGrath are filling in on a weekend for their boss. She has something else to attend and a police presence has been requested by a wealthy dilettante. It appears their role will be advisory and it will be one of those popular "murder" weekends.  Appropriate clothing has been provided. There are about a dozen guests altogether.

The estate at which the weekend is being held is on a small island off the Isle of Harris and as the weather turns wild the small island is cut off from civilisation in a way rather reminiscent Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. In this case the host is well and truly present, at least until he dies in a freak accident. In the meantime the host has set up some macabre sets and booby traps for his guests to "enjoy". After his death though, the ghoulish events keep occurring, and the question rather becomes one of who is in control, and who can be trusted. 

Other reviewers have remarked that the plot delves into macabre fantasy, and is a little bit beyond crime fiction. If you don't take it too seriously, quite an interesting read, particularly if you are trying to work out who is doing the manipulating. Plenty of red herrings, although I think a couple of suspects are obvious right from the beginning.

My rating: 4.4 

I've also read

• 4.5, WATER'S EDGE -#1
• 4.4, THE BOTHY - #2

 

 

Review: THE ONE HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED, Jonas Jonasson

• 
  first published in Swedish in 2009
  
• translated into English by Rod Bradbury in 2012
• ISBN 978-1-74331-127-1
• 384 pages
• author website 

Synopsis (publisher)

After a long and eventful life Allan Karlsson is moved to a nursing home to await the inevitable. But his health refuses to fail and as his 100th birthday looms a huge party is planned. Allan wants no part of it and decides to climb out the window...

Charming and funny; a European publishing phenomenon.

Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home, Allan Karlsson is waiting for a party he doesn't want to begin. His one-hundredth birthday party to be precise. The Mayor will be there. The press will be there. But, as it turns out, Allan will not . . .

Escaping (in his slippers) through his bedroom window, into the flowerbed, Allan makes his getaway. And so begins his picaresque and unlikely journey involving a suitcase full of cash, a few thugs, a very friendly hot-dog stand operator, a few deaths, an elephant and incompetent police. As his escapades unfold, Allan's earlier life is revealed. A life in which - remarkably - he played a key role behind the scenes in some of the momentous events of the twentieth century.

The One Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared is a charming, warm and funny novel, beautifully woven with history and politics. 

My Take

Surprisingly Allan Karlsson has featured in nearly every important political milestone of the twentieth century world since 1929. He has been helpful to almost every one of the world's most important political leaders among them Truman, Churchill, Mao Tse tung, Nixon and others.

Karlsson's true talent is explosives including THE Bomb.
So while it is a black comedy, the story of Allan Karlsson's life presents a kaleidoscope of history, how one man has played East against West and vice versa.
His escape from the nursing home on the morning of his 100th birthday leads to him being on the run, wanted for murder by the police, and surviving for another month before he is recaptured.

Recollections of the main events of his life are set against this struggle for survival and Karlsson's philosophy about the important things in life.

This novel reminds me a little of a Mad Comic, episodic, not meant to be taken at face value, but at the same time full of little wisdoms.
I have to say that I did get a little tired of the seemingly endless list of adventures and escapades in Allan Karlsson's life, at the same time wanting to know how it all ended. 

My rating: 4.5

About the author
In 2007, I sold everything I owned, packed my bag and placed myself under a palm tree by Lake Lugano, laptop in lap.
Exactly twelve months later, I finished the manuscript. The one I had been carrying around in my mind for so long. Lovingly, it rips the twentieth century of all its glory and righteousness. And yet it embraces life. How could it not? How could we not? The alternative must be boring beyond everything!
Anyway, I sent the manuscript to six different publishing companies. Five of them turned it down, the sixths called me and said yes before they finished reading. Success was in the making, they said. They got bold and printed seven thousand copies in the first go. "Seven thousand? Are you sure?"
"You can never be sure", they said.
It sold ten million. Encouraging enough to give it another try.