Fortune Favors the Dead

I really liked this book by Stephen Spotswood; it's a well-plotted mystery that lacks excessive violence, sex and gore and, to boot, has great female protagonists. Spottswood is an educator, journalist and playwright who is previously better known for his dramatic works and his writing about the struggles of post-Iran and post-Afghanistan veterans. Here is a summary from Publishers Weekly:

"Spotswood's stellar debut puts a modern spin on classic hard-boiled fiction with a duo of female private investigators. In 1945 Manhattan, Lillian Pentecost, "the most famous woman detective in the city and possibly the country," struggles with multiple sclerosis. Fortunately, Lillian can always rely on her sharp-witted assistant, Willowjean Parker. Lillian hired her three years earlier after Will, a runaway whose five years performing with a traveling circus gave her a unique skill set, used her knife training to save Lillian's life from a gunman. Their latest case involves a wealthy woman who was bludgeoned to death with a crystal ball in a locked room during a party. It becomes personal when Lillian realizes that an old adversary, a fake medium and spiritual adviser, is entangled in the murder. Complications arise after Will becomes romantically entangled with the victim's beautiful daughter."

Kirkus calls the work a "sprightly period debut" but is a little less laudatory in their overall review. They go on to conclude, "The most striking feature is the provocative gender-flipping of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin." I still think the book is good fun and plan to read the sequel, Murder Under Her Skin.

Murder of a Lady

This murder mystery was published in 1933 by Anthony Wynne (pseudonym for Robert McNair-Wilson: 1882-1963), a pre-eminent and prolific author of "impossible crime/ locked room" types of mysteries.This book has been republished in the British Library's "Crime Classics" series.  

Physician Dr. Eustace Hailey has also gained some renown as an amateur sleuth with a record of solving tricky crimes and he is called upon while visiting a friend in the Scottish Highlands. The Procurator Fiscal calls upon his host late one night to say that Mary Gregor, the sister of the laird of Duchlan, has been murdered, but was found in a room locked from the inside and inaccessible any other way. Hailey makes a preliminary inspection but is displaced from participation in the investigation when Inspector Dundas is sent from Glasgow. What he does continue to do, however, is look into the life of Mary Gregor, who everyone claims is a saint. As it turns out, her sainthood had a dark side and many people had reason to hate her. That still doesn't explain how she was murdered, but when the first and then a subsequent inspector  are also murdered, Hailey undertakes a risky plan to reveal both the means and the person who committed the crimes. 

Booklist says the murder(s) are "cunningly concocted" and Publishers Weekly concludes, "Those who like black-and-white films, in which ladies and gentlemen dress for dinner and everyone has frightfully good manners, are in for a treat." Kirkus likewise lauds, "This classic British mystery, first published in 1931, has enough complex plotting and red herrings to win a new generation of fans for the largely forgotten Wynne."

Dark Hollow

This is the second book in Irish author John Connolly's "Charlie 'Bird' Parker" series (see my post on the first book for more info on the main character: Every Dead Thing). As with Connolly's inaugural outing, this is first-rate writing, well-plotted, and grisly... making it, as Publishers Weekly says, "compulsively readable." Newly licensed as a PI, Bird is in the process of rehabbing his maternal grandfather's old farmhouse in Scarborough, Maine. The book opens with two seemingly un-related events: a kidnapping payoff in which almost everyone ends up dead, and an old woman who escapes from a run-down home for the aging and then shoots herself. When we switch to Parker, he is trying to get some overdue child support money from local ne'er do well, Billy Purdue, as a favor to Billy's ex-wife, Rita. Charlie ends up with several stitches from a knife wound and five crisp new $100 bills for his trouble. He should have been suspicious about the source of the money, but that doesn't come until later, when the mobster from whom Billy apparently stole the money, Tony Celli, sends his goons to rough up Parker. Meanwhile--again, this is reminiscent of Connolly's first book--after Rita is found murdered with her mouth sewn shut, a second storyline emerges about missing women over the years near Dark Hollow, Maine. Parker's grandfather, also a cop in his day, had pursued the case of the missing women and found their mutilated bodies hanging from trees in the deep northern Maine woods, but the killer was never found, although he believed the man was named Caleb Kyle. All these characters and trajectories converge as Bird pursues, with help from Angel and Luis, very dangerous people who would rather see him dead. What is notable to me about these books is how many threads Connolly manages to weave together without getting tangled. The woods of Maine in the winter become their own character and you'll want to be snug and warm when you read this to prevent getting chilled! There are elements of the supernatural in Parker's newfound ability to see the dead, especially his murdered wife and child.

Publishers Weekly also says Connolly achieves "pitch-perfect American dialogue and believable American characters from a desk in Dublin." Kirkus is not as gushing in its praise but still concludes the book is a "long stride forward."

Anxious People

If left to my own devices, I would not have finished this book by Fredrik Backman ( see post for A Man Called Ove) but it is the April choice for my reading group and so finish it I did. Backman opens the book by saying, “This is a book about a lot of things, but mostly about idiots.” The first half felt torturous as the police interview wildly uncooperative witnesses; the 2nd half was so full of heart that it sometimes brought me to tears or at least made me stop and think. One of my favorite lines, spoken by half of a Lesbian couple was "You don't fall in love with a gender; you fall in love with a person." There are some very Scandinavian (specifically Swedish) jokes in here--especially re the use of the term "Stockholmers," which, depending on the speaker and the intonation can mean homosexual people or people from Stockholm. Both meanings in this story have a somewhat pejorative implication. USA Today notes in their review, "no one here is lovable or even likable – not at first."

A would-be bank robber discovers that the targeted bank doesn't deal in cash and in a rush to escape, ends up at an apartment viewing, holding several prospective buyers as hostages ("worst hostages ever") as the robber bemoans. It's also a sort of locked room mystery because the robber disappears when the hostages are released, even though there was no unmonitored escape route. It is a wild assortment of people whose stories gradually unfold as we learn what brought them all to this place at this exact time--the day before New Year's Eve--and how their lives are interconnected in ways of which they are unaware at the beginning of the story. 

Here's a rundown of the people at the viewing, according to Kirkus: "...the ridiculous realtor; an older couple who renovates and sells apartments in an effort to stay busy; a bickering young couple expecting their first child; a well-off woman interested only in the view from the balcony of a significant bridge in her life; an elderly woman missing her husband as New Year’s Eve approaches; and, absurdly, an actor dressed as a rabbit hired to disrupt the showing and drive down the apartment price." Add in the inept robber and the therapist of one of the people at the viewing, who, it turns out, is also connected in more ways than one. And of course the two small-town policemen, who are father and son, have significant roles to play. Kirkus concludes the review by saying this is a story full of both comedy and heartbreak. The ending offers surprises and happy endings.

The Cartographers

This was a fun novel by Peng Shepherd that informed me about rare and antique maps, copyright traps, and cartographers. It also had an involved mystery plot and elements of the supernatural (at least I think so--but who really knows?). Or as Library Journal describes it, "A campus novel, a library novel, a work of magical realism: Shepherd ...deftly blends all three in an engrossing tale involving maps, murders, and rooms that are not there." Protagonist Nell Young has loved maps ever since she was a little girl, raised by her reknowned cartography scholar dad, Daniel Young. Nell's mother, also a cartographer, died in a house fire when Nell was young and, although her father has shared his passion for maps, he has been a somewhat distant parent, often more focused on his cartography research at the Maps Division of the New York Public Library. When Nell graduates with her degree in cartography, she and her boyfriend Felix, both land internships at NYPL's Maps Division, and Nell's promising work there puts her in line for a full-time position until she clashes with her father over a box of maps--labeled "Junk"--that she unearths in the basement archives. They are both stubborn and Daniel inexplicably gets both Nell and Felix fired as a condition of his continuing at NYPL.  Seven years later, Nell has been working at a boring job with the only company that would hire her, making copies of antique maps to adorn people's walls. She and Felix have not spoken since and he has gone to work for a mega-corporation that aggregates data from every aspect of human activity, producing the Haberson Map. Then Nell gets a call from the police demanding she come to the NYPL immediately, where she learns her father has died. Was it from natural causes or did someone help him on his way? While there, she discovers the old folding highway map over which they fought, hidden in a secret desk drawer her father once showed her. There the mystery begins.

Reviews are glowing with Publishers Weekly concluding, "Possessed of a questing intellect and a determined stubbornness, Nell proves smart enough to solve the various riddles she faces. Shepherd’s convincing blend of magic from old maps with the modern online world both delights and thrills." Kirkus offers, "Shepherd plots page-turning twists and revelations with ease and excels in her knowledge of historical maps and cartographical mysteries. The inclusion of map diagrams and detailed flashbacks carry the reader right alongside Nell as she attempts to disentangle an increasingly complex, slightly supernatural secret. In an author's note, Shepherd promises that “something magical happens” when a person follows a map that lies, and this book will make you believe it. A highly inventive novel that pushes the boundaries of reality." The Washington Post points out some of the provocative questions raised by the story: "One of the triumphs of “The Cartographers” is the exploration of what it means to make a map. Does the act of surveying, measuring, drafting and drawing the map affect the landscape it represents? Is it possible to map something without altering it in the process? How accurate can any map be, given that it only represents a snapshot of that landscape at one point in time, and to what extent does this matter?"

All Her Little Secrets

As author Wanda M. Morris reminds us in her debut novel, we all have secrets. Morris is a practicing corporate attorney, giving her strong bona fides to offer readers the inside track about a black woman who has overcome all the obstacles to become the second in command of the legal department at Houghton Transportation Company, headquartered in Atlanta. Ellice Littlejohn escaped small town Chillecothe and an abusive family situation when she got a scholarship to a Virginia boarding school and went on to graduate from Georgetown and then Harvard Law. She has always dreamed of being a lawyer and an executive, but she didn't want it to happen as a result of her boss--and secret married lover--Michael Sayles getting murdered; she is even less prepared when the head of the company insists she take his place immediately in the executive suite. Something is very off about the whole arrangement and she quickly learns that several other top executives are not happy about the appointment and that the police investigating the murder think she might have had something to do with it. Ellice has told so many lies over the course of her life, mostly to protect herself of those she loves--little brother Sam or surrogate mother Vera--that colleagues and friends alike are shocked when some of her past begins to surface. She discovers two very disturbing things about Houghton: the CEO is suffering from dementia and the company is actually being run by two ruthless men, the COO and the CFO; and there are some really shady things going on at Houghton that could have huge implications. But Ellice is caught between conflicting demands of protecting her brother, who has been roped into the mess by someone at Houghton and trying to do what is right. 

Kirkus highlights the conundrum when they open their review by saying, "A seat on the executive board should be a professional peak for a corporate lawyer. Instead, it’s a life-threatening trap." Publishers Weekly offers "Morris gives her flawed lead plenty to struggle with, including a secret, ex-con brother; workplace sexism and racism; and an awkward encounter with her lover’s widow. The fast pacing doesn’t overwhelm the deep dive into Ellice’s inner life." And NPR says the books "is a carefully constructed thriller wrapped in a narrative about racism, gentrification, and being the only Black person in an all-white environment."

Brewed Awakening

I am unjustifiably surprised to find that their is yet another culinary based mystery series of which I have been totally unaware. There are almost 20 books in Cleo Coyle's "Coffeehouse Mysteries" series, this being the newest installment. Cleo Coyle is the pen name for the husband-and-wife team of Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini. There is seemingly an endless appetite (all puns intended) for books featuring food, beverages and recipes. The protagonist of this series is coffee roaster par excellence and owner of the coffee shop Village Blend,  Clare Cosi. Clare awakes on a park bench in Washington Square with no memory of how she came to be there and why everything looks so different. Turns out that Clare disappeared several days earlier when she went to a private tasting for wedding cakes hosted by an acquaintance and friend of her former mother-in-law. That woman, hotel heiress Annette Brewster, was kidnapped at gunpoint based on video footage from the hotel's garage, and Clare was a witness. The only problem is--and it's a big one--Clare can't remember a thing, and, in fact, has lost all memory of the last 15 years of her life. In her mind, she has just found out that her ex-husband, Matteo, has been cheating on her for years, their daughter is still in pigtails, and she has never met the man she is engaged to marry, Detective Mike Quinn. A celebrity psychologist, Dr. Lorca, who specializes in working with memory problems, offers to take her on as a patient for no charge, but it quickly becomes apparent that he has alternative motives. Maybe they are as benign as having another subject for another best-seller, or maybe something more sinister is behind his desire to move Clare to his private clinic, locked away from everyone who knows and loves her. To complicate matters, the police become suspicious of Clare's memory lapse and begin to consider that Clare was complicit in the kidnapping. It is a pretty compelling mystery and a provocative premise. Kirkus notes it's "An unsettling, often scary account of how memory loss affects a strong woman’s life." Publishers Weekly calls it a " delightfully twisty mystery" and asks " an intriguing question: if you lost all memory of your beloved, would you fall for him all over again?"

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

Okay, maybe only a book nerd would find this mystery engaging, and I am and I did; although, I never really came to like the protagonist, Assistant Director of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Liesl Weiss.  Author Eva Jurczyk has herself been a librarian and this is her debut novel; she has written for several publications, however, and the writing, plotting, and characterization is certainly competent. 

Liesl is suddenly called back from her sabbatical, happily writing a book on gardening, to fill in for her boss, Christopher Wolfe, who has been hospitalized with a stroke that's left him unconscious. Things immediately go awry for a number of reasons. First of all, Liesl doesn't really like the limelight and has been happy all these years doing everything to make Christopher look good to university administration and the collection's wealthy donors. Secondly, a few members of her staff are miffed about her being made acting director and aren't particularly supportive. Thirdly, she can't find the combination to the safe in Christopher's office, in which, supposedly, the department's newest acquisition, a Plantin Polyglot Bible is being kept safe until it can be evaluated for insurance purposes. And finally, when Christopher's wife shows up with the safe's combination, the Bible isn't there and the big reveal party for the main donors is just a day away. As time goes on, it's found that another of the collections prize possessions is missing, and eventually a third item is found to be a forgery. Liesl must eventually conclude that the nearly priceless items have been stolen, and that it's an inside job. When her protege, quiet and trustworthy Miriam Peters, goes missing shortly after the discoveries, suspicions immediately fall on her. Liesl is being pressured by the university president--and some of her colleagues-- to hide the fact that valuable items and a member of her staff is missing. Liesl wants to notify the police...what should she do? 

Kirkus calls the book "a valentine to librarians that doesn’t shy away from their dark sides." Publishers Weekly, somewhat more subdued in their response, concludes "Mystery readers are likely to be disappointed by the crimes and their solutions, and bibliophiles may feel that the rare books themselves are given short shrift, despite the author’s obvious research. This works best as an unflinching appraisal of the personal and professional effects of a woman’s aging into invisibility."

The Harbor

Danish author Katrine Engberg carries forward the characters from her previous books, The Butterfly House and The Tenant, and, although you don't have to have read them to appreciate this one, you will definitely have a different understanding of the two main characters, Copenhagen detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner. When the teenage son (Oscar) of a prominent family goes missing, Jeppe and Anette begin the hunt. The only clue is a note left on the dining room table that turns out to be a quote from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, but no ransom demand is every made. With each passing day, the chances of finding Oscar alive diminish and we are privy, in random chapters, to Oscar's own morbid ruminations in his dark and damp captivity. When Oscar's Danish teacher is murdered, Jeppe and Anette are convinced the two events are related. It turns out there is quite a convoluted history of family dishonestly and betrayal that underlies both Oscar's disappearance and the teacher's death, but I never suspected the main culprit before it was revealed in the book. 

Publishers Weekly says the supporting cast of characters is "delightfully fleshed out" and that the "plot takes some unexpected turns as the detectives unearth some shocking secrets involving fraud and pornography en route to the satisfying conclusion." The New York Times favorably says, " Her characters are complex and prone to making bad but understandable personal decisions. Her writing is crisp and efficient; the pace, while brisk, still leaves room for third-act surprises."

The Last Thing He Told Me

 This thriller by Laura Dave had such an intricate, twisty plot...the reveal was a total surprise. No explicit sex or violence--how rare is that?! Just a good psychological thriller. I lived on a houseboat in Seattle for a while so it was fun that this mystery was initially set on a houseboat in Sausalito. Married only a year, Hannah Hall, a much in-demand maker or artisanal furniture, is confused when a teenager comes to her door and hands her a note from Hannah's husband with just 2 words, "Protect her." Hannah has no doubts about who he meant--Owen's 16-year old daughter, Bailey. Owen has also left something for Bailey--a lot of cash. Bailey's mom died when she was young and she is not particularly happy about having a new step-mother. But when Owen fails to answer his phone or come home, and a U.S. Marshal and then the FBI show up at their door, Bailey and Hannah form an uneasy alliance to try and find Owen. They both will learn that the history of Owen and Hannah is a fabrication, but what it's hiding will be a painful surprise. How Hannah resolves the threat to Bailey is a bittersweet exploration of love.

The New York Journal of Books offers a detailed plot review and concludes with, "This fast-paced novel is a nail-biting suspenseful story, dealing with family relationships, love, devotion, personal sacrifices, and the chances parents must take sometimes to save their children from evil." Kirkus notes that "what really drives the story is the evolving nature of Hannah and Bailey’s relationship, which is by turns poignant and frustrating but always realistic" and concludes with "a solid page turner."