Category: Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller Page 67 of 154

(Revised and Updated) Dead Wrong by Noelle Holten: A Detective Struggles to Prove She Made the Right Arrest with Lives on the Line

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On March 13, 2020

In DC Maggie Jamieson, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Noelle Holten

Updated: I was dead tired last night when I finished this, and ended up not saying everything I meant to. I still haven’t, but it’s getting too long. But still, I missed a couple of points yesterday, and have got them covered now.

Be sure to come back in an hour or so for A Few Quick Questions with the Author, Noelle Holten! Also, this book releases tomorrow–be sure to grab it (still time to pre-order). While you’re at it, get the first in the series, too!

Dead Wrong

Dead Wrong

by Noelle Holten
Series: DC Maggie Jamieson, #2

eARC, 432 pg.
One More Chapter, 2020

Read: March 8-12, 2020


Last year, Noelle Holten blew my socks off with her debut, Dead Inside. It was the first of the Maggie Jamieson novels—although, I mentioned at the time “you’d be excused if you didn’t pick that up until the last chapter,” because it focused so much on a side character. This time out, the focus is almost exclusively on Maggie—her professional side as well as her personal life.

Before Dead Inside, Maggie had been part of a Homicide investigation team but had been reassigned to help her decompress after a stressful investigation that resulted in Bill Raven, a confessed serial killer, getting a life sentence. It ended with Maggie getting a voice mail from her old boss:

‘Your secondment is over at the DAHU. Raven has appealed his sentence, claimed he’s innocent. Timely I’d say as there has been another murder. Either a copycat or the real killer picking up where they left off. Get your arse in here.’

It turns out that it’s a bit more than “another murder.” It’s actually the murder of the woman Raven claimed was his first victim. Which doesn’t seem like a big deal, everyone knew she was dead. The twist comes when the report comes in that she’s been dead two days.

Say what you will, being locked up already for someone’s murder is a pretty good alibi for their actual murder. Many people—including fellow police officers and detectives–and the Press are outraged. Maggie’s previous work is being scrutinized, she’s having to defend her actions in the past while investigating the new murder (okay, it soon becomes murders—including more women that Raven claimed to have killed). She’s also doing everything she can to keep Raven behind bars—but that’s an unofficial goal. Officially, she’s supposed to stay away from revisiting the original investigation.

Now, the idea of a detective having to deal with an old investigation being re-opened because the convicted killer is making a case for their release isn’t new—Bosch had to deal with it in Two Kinds of Truth, Poe dealt with it in Black Summer, even the great Capt. Raymond Holt had to endure this kind of thing. But none of them had to explain how some of the victims turned out to have been recently alive. There’s more to differentiate Maggie’s challenge than that, but it’s a good start. Whoever is behind these killings is clearly some sort of monster, and sussing out the motive and means may prove as difficult as finding whoever’s responsible.

While the brass are inclined to believe Raven’s claims that he was delusional from drugs and a psychiatric condition when he confessed, Maggie only has a couple of sympathetic colleagues—an old friend who is now her DS and a psychologist she befriended on her temporary assignment, Kate Moloney.

Kate ends up consulting for the investigation for the new murders, helping the team think of their evidence in new ways, and helping Maggie better understand Raven and who he may have been working with while incarcerated to do the killing.

We see both women at work and at home—their home situations are almost as troublesome and stress-inducing as the hunt for the “real killer.” But, relying on each other, and their respective strengths, they’re able to muddle through—and even have a little fun. It’s an early Tony Hill/Carol Jordan-type relationship (I want to stress the “type,” because they’re all very different people and Holten isn’t trying for a clone in any sense).

I should add quickly that we do get to see Lucy, who is still working through the issues revealed in Dead Inside, but seems to be doing really well (all things considered). We don’t spend much time with her, but the way it’s done leaves the possibility for her to return to the books.

What about Bill Raven, our potentially falsely-convicted killer? It’s pretty late in the book when the reader gets a firm answer about his guilt. But we learn a few things about him right away. He’s arrogant, confident, enjoys playing with Maggie (and other detectives), and there’s just something about him that’s “off” (for lack of a better description). Whether or not he’s ultimately found to have committed the crimes he enjoys the attention and is hopeful for what the new murders mean for his release. The source of his derangement, and exactly why he’s doing what he’s doing is hinted at—and I think he alters his approach during the novel (or maybe I just don’t understand him enough).

Unlike most of the British Police Procedurals I’ve read the last few months, Dead Wrong primarily uses three characters for the Points-of-View (Maggie, Raven and Kate)—making it really easy to keep track of everyone. We do see a little from Maggie’s DI, and a couple of the victims in their last moments, too.

Speaking of the victims, and I mention this because I know the tastes of a lot of my readers. I should spend a minute talking about what befalls these women (and they are primarily women). However, and isn’t this a pleasant change, there’s nothing sexual about what happens to them. There’s not a hint, suggestion or implication of any rape or similar abuse. They are held captive—and what happens to them is truly horrifying, make no mistake, but it’s not your typical fictional serial killer thing. There’s no torture, either. At least not as you normally think about it. (what happens has to be tortuous, I assure you) we get a couple of pages’ worth of the female victims point-of-view, but even it isn’t as fear-filled as typically portrayed. There is soul-crushing despair, but done in a way I rarely, if ever, see.

I have an idea or three about where Holten is going with this, and if I’m even close to being in the right ballpark, let me say that I’m not a fan. Not that I don’t think it’ll be gripping reading, I’d just like things to go a little better for Maggie than I think they’re going to.

There are a couple of things I’m not crazy about. Once or twice, Maggie’s reaction to something feels a little over-dramatic/melodramatic. And there are a few things that I would have preferred given to us with greater detail (for example, someone is arrested for their role related to the investigations—and we’re only told that and have to make ill-informed guesses about what their actions have done to alter the police’s work).

That said, I really enjoyed this book—it’s a real slow boil of a book, things start bubbling pretty soon, but you have to wait and wait and wait for that to become a full-fledged rolling boil. Holten’s great at making sure you know there’s tension and malfeasance afoot, even if she doesn’t allow it to take over the novel. It’s well-plotted and well-executed, allowing the momentum to build so the reader is fully hooked before the plot really gets moving. Dead Inside concluded with a sentence or two past that voicemail. Dead Wrong ends on a similar note, propelling the reader on to the next book.

Dead Wrong didn’t wow me as much as its predecessor did—for one thing, I now know what Holten is capable of, and expect it—also, the nature of the story was is a bit more traditional than the last one was. While my theories while reading were wrong more often than right with Dead Wrong, I still had a pretty solid idea where the plot was going all along (until the very end, that is)—so it took a little of the luster off. Not much though, I’m still sure this is going to go down as one of the best things I read in 2020. I’ll wager the same is true for you.

4 1/2 Stars
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter via NetGalley in exchange for this post and my honest opinion—thanks to both for this.

COVER REVEAL: Murder in the Chowdhury Palace by Sharmishtha Shenoy

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On March 13, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

~ Cover Reveal ~
Murder in the Chowdhury Palace
by Sharmishtha Shenoy

 

 



About the Book:

What if someone you loved… was murdered? How far would you go to bring a killer to justice?

Orphaned in her childhood, Durga has always longed for wealth, security and, above all, a sense of belonging. She finds it all when she marries Debnarayan Chowdhury, heir to an immense, multi-crore estate. But the Chowdhury family has been under a curse that dates back to the British era. The first-born of each generation dies young, purportedly killed by the spirit of Kadambari, a young woman murdered by the notorious Shankar Dakat, the founder of the Chowdhury family and their Zamindari. When her father-in-law Birendranath dies unexpectedly, Durga and Debnarayan come down to the ancestral home in Kakdihi, a small village near Kolkata. The moment Durga enters her new palatial home, she crosses a threshold of terror. She loses her husband within a month of her marriage and finds herself a widow in a house full of strangers. Are Debnarayan’s and Birendranath’s deaths accidental? Everyone in her new family and the neighborhood appear to be friendly. Most of them have a motive to kill her. A well-meaning neighbor tells her, ‘Run from this place. You have no friends here.’ Is she, the current owner of the estate, now on the murderer’s radar?

Read an Excerpt from Murder in the Chowdhury Palace

The trees were denser beyond the pond on the northern side, and the area was unkempt and full of thorny bushes and nettles.  Debu remarked, ‘Not many people venture into the northern part of the woods from this point because the haunted house is less than a mile from here. So this part of the estate is in a rather wild state.’
‘Yes, I can see that nature has completely taken over this part. But still, let’s go there.’ I said excitedly.
‘Some other day…,’ Debu murmured. His face was slightly pale.
‘Debu! You really seem to believe in these ghosts and all that nonsense…,’ I said rather incredulously.
‘No… no… of course not!’ Debu exclaimed.
‘Then prove it! Let’s go and visit the house.’
‘Look… it won’t be very safe. The walls are crumbling, and I am sure that bats have made their home there.’
‘Please, Debu, let’s go, I have never seen a haunted house,’ I said, cajolingly. I gripped his hand and almost dragged him towards the house.
We came upon the abandoned temple first. The plaster was coming off the walls, and the aerial roots of a huge banyan tree had encroached upon the temple and gone in through the walls causing rainwater to leak into the walls and damage them further. The house was located a further quarter kilometer away.
There was a strange, sinister silence all around. Even the birds did not twitter in this part of the woods. The house with its closed shutters and peeling walls was a one-storey medium-sized building. It was dark and uninviting, steeped in shadow due to the jungle of trees that had flourished around it. Darkness echoed and folded upon itself. I walked resolutely to the main door, only to find it locked.
‘Where is the key to this door?’
‘I don’t think anybody has it.’
I was in a naughty mood. ‘Then let’s break it open. I really want to see what’s inside.’
In spite of Debu’s protests, I picked up a heavy rock and hit the rusty lock with it. The lock broke easily.
We stepped inside a large hall. It was full of cobwebs and broken dilapidated furniture. Suddenly, a bat swept past my face. I let out a startled cry and drew back. I would have fallen to the ground had Debu not caught me.
‘Let’s get out of here. You shouldn’t be so adventurous in your present condition. The baby might get hurt,’ he said in a quavering voice.
‘Oh come on… please Debu…let’s explore a bit more.’
I went further in and switched on the torch of my mobile to see better. At the center of the hall, were the remains of a havan done a long time back. The bricks used for the havan were blackened, charred and crumbling with spiders spinning their webs over the layers of dust. There was a portrait of Shankar Dakat and another of a woman on a wooden platform near which the havan had been performed.
‘This is, of course, Shankar Dakat’s portrait. And this must be Kadambari…,’ I said. ‘Who painted this?’ The painting of Kadambari mesmerized me. She was little more than a young girl in a green sari, worn without a blouse in the traditional fashion. Her big eyes were strangely life-like and sad and her long, thick, curly hair cascaded down her bare shoulders like a cloud.
‘I don’t know who painted this, nor do I care. Let’s go, Durga. I feel really uncomfortable here.’ Debu said a little impatiently. I started coughing because of the dirt. ‘Durga, you know you are allergic to dust. Come away now. I don’t want our baby to get hurt.’ He clutched my hand in a death grip, and almost dragged me out of the house.
The fear in his voice was contagious. Also, to be honest, the life-like painting had spooked me. We hurried back towards the pond. As we almost ran back and neared our home, there was a shout from the ground-floor east-wing balcony. It was Kanak. She shouted, ‘Who goes there?’

About Sharmishtha Shenoy:

Sharmishtha Shenoy is the author of the Vikram Rana Mystery series. The books under the series are “Vikram Rana Investigates,” “A Season for Dying,” “Behind the Scenes” and “Fatal Fallout”. She has also published a book of short stories, “Quirky Tales.”
Her short stories have been published in efiction magazine and Woman’s era. She loves writing murder mysteries, the kind of books that she likes to read. Her favorite authors are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. She also likes the work of Satyajit Ray – especially the Feluda Series.
Before starting to write, she had been an IT professional and had worked in TCS, Satyam, Infosys, and Microsoft.
She is a big foodie and enjoys Biriyani (both Hyderabadi and Awadhi versions) and rasgullas like most Bengalis. She is also a lusty singer of the bathroom singing variety.
Though she is happily married to Mr. Shenoy in real life, in her fantasy world she is wedded to her creation Vikram Rana.  You can get to her blog by typing the word “Sharmishtha Rana” into Google. No, seriously, try it.
She was born in Calcutta. She is an M Tech from the University of Reading, Great Britain and had received a 100% British Government Scholarship to study there. She lives in Hyderabad.

Sharmishtha on the Web:

The Starr Sting Scale by C.S. O’Cinneide: Gritty, Violent, Full of Heart. You’re gonna dig this one!

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On March 10, 2020

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

The Starr Sting Scale

The Starr Sting Scale

by C.S. O’Cinneide
Series: The Candace Starr Series, #1

eARC, 304 pg.
Dundurn Press, 2020

Read: March 5-7, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

When a book is named for a scheme to rate pain from insect stings, you know it’s not going to be a feel-good kind of read. C.S. O’Cinneide delivers the kind of book you’d expect from that title and readers are the beneficiaries.

Candace Starr is the daughter of a hitman who followed in her father’s footsteps. She spent a few years in prison, and now released, she’s trying to retire. Her days are full of drinking, sleeping with anyone handy, drinking some more and then occasionally manning the till in the convenience store below her apartment.

But her name is still out there (among people who know hired killers, anyway), and a potential client approaches her wanting her daughter’s boyfriend (a low-life drug dealer/user) eliminated. But Candace is trying to retire and the target it seventeen. And that’s just not something she can do.

But someone kills him and Candace is worried that she’ll be a suspect (for fairly obvious reasons). So when homicide detective Chien-Shiung Malone asks her to consult for the investigation—she takes the opportunity (Malone offering information about her father’s killer doesn’t hurt).

Candace is smart, acerbic and tries really hard to be apathetic. Malone is smart, driven, and tough. Put the two of them together and you’ve got a great combination—this is definitely the beginning of a beautiful friendship (assuming they live that long)—emphasis on “beginning.” I thoroughly enjoyed watching the interplay between the two and the establishment of their relationship.

We also meet a few other cops—some seem pretty cool, others are focused on bringing Candace down (whether she’s guilty of whatever they’re suspecting her for). Not to mention people from Candace’s world—bartenders, waitresses, other hitmen, Candace’s surrogate family, and biker gangs. Candace is starting to not fit into their world as much as it’s clear that she doesn’t belong in Malone’s. In between are friends, classmates, parents of the victim and other associates. There’s a lot of pain and suffering (in various forms) going on with every character we encounter.

The hunt for the killer has more than the requisite twists and turns—and by the time the true villains behind everything are exposed, I was surprised. I was kind of write with one of my theories, but even then I was wrong—and even more wrong about all the details that were revealed in the closing pages. O’Cinneide’s plotting—and the reveal it all led up to—were rock solid and as intricate as you could hope for.

It’s a fun ride, a clever read, and Candace’s perspective on crime, family, and loyalty make this a high-spirited read. I’m struggling (and failing) to come up with a way to describe the gritty, but entertaining; dark, but not oppressive; witty, without being facetious feel to this book. Candace (and her voice) is sort of a hybrid of Huang’s Cas Russell, Ford’s Teagan Frost, and Rucka’s Dex Parios (without the superpowers or super-genius abilities). And even as I write that, I can see the problems with the comparisons. That’s as good as it gets for now. Undoubtedly, about 20 minutes after this posts, I’ll hit on the way I should’ve said it. Hopefully, this is enough of a flavor to tempt you to take a look at this book.

Not only did I enjoy this rollicking ride, I am definitely coming back for the promised sequel. Based on how things turned out here, it is going to be a completely different kind of story, and I’m really curious to see how O’Cinneide is going to tackle it—and hopefully a few more sequels after that. There’s a great kind of chemistry at work in The Starr Sting Scale and I encourage you to sample it.

3.5 Stars
Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Dundurn Press via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Madam Tulip and the Serpent’s Tree by David Ahern: It Made me Happy to See that Derry and her Fortune-Telling Alter-Ego are Back

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On March 9, 2020

In Fiction, Madam Tulip, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Madam Tulip and the Serpent's Tree

Madam Tulip and the Serpent’s Tree

by David Ahern
Series: Madam Tulip, #4

eARC, 258 pg.
Malin Press, 2020

Read: February 26-27, 2020

Derry frowned. ‘Why is everything so complicated?’

Bruce thought about that. He shrugged. ‘‘ Cos we’re not dead?’

This is a mystery novel that’s hard to talk about—because for the longest time, it’s not a mystery novel at all it’s a novel about a couple of under-employed actors, their rising TV star friend, and an insecure pop star. I want to stress that this isn’t a complaint, it’s a description. By the point that it becomes a mystery novel*, you’re already invested in all the characters and the situations so everything becomes heightened.

* Sure, we all knew it was going to become a mystery novel because that’s what the Madam Tulip books are. But there were at least three ways it could’ve become one before the murder is discovered.

For those new to this series, Derry O’Donnell is a young Irish-American actress in Dublin. Her best friend, Bella, has got a new and regular gig on TV and her career seems to be going somewhere. Meanwhile, Derry and her pal Bruce are still looking for their big break. And Madam Tulip? Well…

Madam Tulip was her fortune-teller alter ego whom Derry had created as a means of making some cash on the side. A woman of indeterminate age and exotic dress, skilled in Tarot and card reading, Madam Tulip was the perfect act for celebrity events. She wasn’t even an imposter or any kind of fraud. Derry was, after all the daughter of a seventh son of a seventh son. But too often, Madam Tulip had led Derry into situations she would rather have avoided and the company of people best left to their own devious devices.

That last sentence is a very understated way of describing the series. Like Jessica Fletcher, dead bodies have a tendency to turn up when Madam Tulip is nearby. This time, thanks to some of Bella’s machinations (as well as a favor from an old friend), Derry is going to be working at the birthday party of a pop star. Before the weekend is over, Derry finds herself as a confidante to the star and (separately) another member of the band. Their manager is trying to get Derry to be his informant, if he can’t get her to influence (via Madam Tulip) the singer.

Derry’s torn between wanting to help everyone but the manager (but she, Bella and Bruce need the manager for something they’re trying) and wanting to leave them all to their own devices. because they’re all a bit too much. But she really can’t get away from it all—especially when a murder is discovered.

The mystery aside, the most intriguing part of this novel to me is the way that Derry thinks of Tulip—and how it changes from the beginning of the book to the end. I don’t think I can discuss it without spoiling something, so I’ll just say that I didn’t see it coming, and really like the way that Ahern dealt with it.

There’s a sweet little romantic story that gets just the right amount of attention and space. And I now realize that I don’t have much else to say about it—I liked this guy for Derry.

Since Day One, I’ve thought that Derry’s father, Jacko, could be the stand-out character of the series with the capability of stealing every scene he’s in. It’d be really easy to overuse him. Ahern hasn’t done that the way that I can imagine it’d be easy to do so far. In fact, I’d argue that he underused Jacko in this volume. He’s decided it’s time to publish his memoirs—which will include “a tell-all exposé” of the art world—an idea that terrifies Derry’s mother (and makes for fun reading). He’s even hired a ghostwriter and expects to publish soon. I liked his storyline, but thought it ended a bit abruptly. But that’s really just me being disappointed that we didn’t get more of Jacko—because it was executed just right.

Derry’s pal Bruce, struggling actor, former SEAL, jack-of-all-trades (it seems) is (again) a real highlight of the book. He continues to be Ranger to Derry’s Stephanie Plum—just without the money, the team or the flirtation (and the post-flirtation stuff). I really enjoy him as a character—not just when he’s pulling Derry’s bacon out of the fire, but for the nice, quiet moments of friendship and support. If Ahern decides to give Tulip a break and focus on Bruce for a book or two, I’d be in the front of the line for that.

This is the best one yet in this series—yeah, I said that in my post about #3, Madam Tulip and the Bones of Chance, too—it was true then and it’s true now. There’s more depth to the characters, more subtlety to the story—and even some of the story beats that should be expected by now (because Ahern’s used them in every book) took me by surprise. It’s just a pleasure to read one of these books—Madam Tulip and the Serpent’s Tree was a little oasis of enjoyment in the midst of a stressful week for me, and I relished retreating to it.

I’d been eagerly checking Ahern’s website off and on for news about this release before he emailed me about it. I like this world, I look forward to spending time with these characters, and the Serpent’s Tree not only solidified these feelings it intensified them. These are fun mysteries, and the little touch of the supernatural (which takes on different nuances in each book) helps keep them fresh. Would this work as a jumping-on point? Yup. Any of them would—take the plunge, you’ll be glad you did.

4 Stars

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest opinion, which is what you just read. The opinions expressed are my own.

Avenge the Dead by Jackie Baldwin: Past Mistakes and Crimes Come Back to Haunt Dumfries

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On March 6, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Avenge the Dead

Avenge the Dead

by Jackie Baldwin
Series: DI Frank Farrel, #3

eARC, 310 pg.
One More Chapter, 2020

Read: March 4-5, 2020


Okay, I literally just finished this book—it’s been one of those weeks—about 30 minutes after my self-imposed “you have to start writing at this point” rule. So you’re getting pipin’ hot opinions here, fresh from the oven. I haven’t had a chance to reflect too much on the book as a whole, but I think I can find a thing or two to say. Because of my time crunch, I’ll leave the synopsis bit of this post to the Book Spotlight that I posted—it’s brief, but it does the trick:

DI Frank Farrell and DS McLeod are tasked with investigating the brutal murder of a defence solicitor’s wife in Dumfries.

It’s been over a year since they left the town after an investigation robbed them of a dear friend. But now they’re back and must find a way to move on.

When the son of another defence solicitor is murdered, a strange tattoo etched on his body, the case takes them into darker, more disturbing territory.

It leads them back into the past – to a horrific fire in a cottage that took a woman’s life, to four friends harbouring dark secrets – and finally to a killer waiting patiently for revenge.

Like many other police procedurals from the other side of the Atlantic despite being called the DI Frank Farrell series, it’s about several characters—most of the investigative team. Honestly, I’d rather read about Mhairi McLeod or a couple other minor characters than Farrell—she seems more complex and interesting than he does. That’s more of a commentary on her than him (and I think if I’d been around for the whole series, I’d appreciate him more). But you spend enough with the team as a whole, that it’s simple enough to get your fill with all the characters.

Baldwin’s prose is pretty bare and straight-forward, making it easy to read this. Things keep moving smoothly, and the juggling of the many witnesses, potential victims, personal lives and investigative lines doesn’t feel too much like juggling. However, particularly at larger moments—pivotal scenes—I think she drifts toward over-writing in the way she works to emphasize how important the scenes are. I’m not sure how well the story is actually served with the Prologue, set ten years before the action kicks off, I think it distracted me, as I kept waiting for elements discussed in it to be brought up later (much later, it turns out)—and I can’t help but wonder if just starting after it would’ve been better.

This is the third in a series, and it’s pretty clear that the first two installments were pretty eventful. Baldwin does an adequate job of catching the new reader up to where they need to be, but I think she could’ve given us a little more. This can be read as a stand-alone just fine, but to fully appreciate everything, you’re going to have to go back and read the first two, I think.

Overall this is a satisfying read with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, a handful of characters I’d like to get to know better. Avenge the Dead sucked me in , deeper than I’d have guessed with the characters—can’t complain about that. I’d gladly read others in this series or by this author, and I bet you would, too.

3 Stars

My thanks to damppebbles blog tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novel) they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Avenge the Dead by Jackie Baldwin (AND GIVEAWAY)

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On March 6, 2020

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Today I’m pleased to welcome the Book Tour for the police procedural Avenge the Dead by Jackie Baldwin. Along with this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit. Be sure to check out the Giveaway at the bottom of this post. But let’s start by learning a little about this here book, okay?


Book Details:

Book Title: Avenge the Dead by Jackie Baldwin
Release date: 28th February 2020 (Ebook); April 2020 (Paperback)
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 310 pages

Book Blurb:

Sometimes murder is the only way to get even…

Four friends with dark secrets. One killer out for revenge.

DI Frank Farrell and DS McLeod are tasked with investigating the brutal murder of a defence solicitor’s wife in Dumfries.

It’s been over a year since they left the town after an investigation robbed them of a dear friend. But now they’re back and must find a way to move on.

When the son of another defence solicitor is murdered, a strange tattoo etched on his body, the case takes them into darker, more disturbing territory.

It leads them back into the past – to a horrific fire in a cottage that took a woman’s life, to four friends harbouring dark secrets – and finally to a killer waiting patiently for revenge.

About Jackie Baldwin:

Jackie BaldwinJackie Baldwin is a Scottish crime writer. Her debut crime novel, Dead Man’s Prayer, was published by Killer Reads on 2nd September 2016. The second in the series, Perfect Dead was published on 15th June 2018. For most of her working life, she has been a solicitor specialising in Family and Criminal Law. She later retrained as a hypnotherapist. Married with a grown family, she recently moved from Dumfries to East Lothian.

Social Networks:

Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Website

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK ~ Waterstones ~ Hive.co.uk ~ Google Books ~ Blackwells

Giveaway:

WIN an Avenge the Dead Prize Bundle featuring all three books in the DI Frank Farrell series signed by the author plus extra treats!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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If the Rafflecopter widget doesn’t work there, simply click here.

Terms and Conditions
The giveaway will end at 00:00 (GMT) on Sunday 15th March 2020 and is open internationally. The winner will be contacted by email on Monday 16th March 2020 and will need to provide their postal address which will be passed to Jackie Baldwin for dispatch of the prize. No personal information will be stored as a result of this giveaway. There is no cash alternative. Good luck!


My thanks to damppebbles blog tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novel) they provided.

Catch-Up Quick Takes: The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues by Ellen Raskin; Bloody Acquisitions (Audiobook) by Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne; Dark Harvest Magic (Audiobook) by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon

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On March 5, 2020

In Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, YA/MG/Children's Books

The point of these quick takes posts is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.

The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues

The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues

by Ellen Raskin
Paperback, 170 pg.
Puffin Books, 1975
Read: January 7-8, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

I’ve never claimed to have an exhaustive knowledge of Ellen Raskin novels, yet I was surprised to find a passing reference to this one last fall. So I grabbed it up and jumped into it with relish. It’s been since I was in MG that I’ve read other works by her that aren’t The Westing Game, so I can’t say for certain if this is her usual kind of thing or not (I think this is closer to her norm than Westing, though). There’s an over-reliance on funny names (frequently some sort of wordplay involving food) and outlandish eccentricities as a source of humor, but that’s a minor thing.

This is really 3-4 short stories linked together with an overarching narrative to make a novel—which actually works pretty well. The pair have a few smaller mysteries to solve while a bigger one builds. This reads like a collaboration of Donald J. Sobol and Daniel M. Pinkwater—which absolutely would’ve been up my alley when I was the right age, and is still amusing enough right now for me to enjoy the quick read.

Is it my favorite thing ever? No. But it’s a clever read that’s entertaining enough.

This is a little more mature than usual for MG books (especially given its publish date, I’d think), but it’s not mature enough for YA. Not that it matters, that’s just me trying to categorize it. I think it’s probably appropriate for MG readers, though (there’s one scene that might push it over the edge, but…I’d risk it).

(the official blurb)
3-4 paragraphs
3.5 Stars

Bloody Acquisitions

Bloody Acquisitions

by Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne (Narrator)
Series: Fred, The Vampire Accountant, #3
Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs., 52 mins.
Tantor Audio, 2016
Read: January 31-February 4, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I continue to enjoy these lighter UF books about the world’s dullest Vampire and his supernatural friends. Of course, the joke is that he’s not really that boring at all, Fred just thinks of himself that way.

The core of this novel is Fred dealing with a group of vampires coming to town to set up shop. The big question is: can they share the city with him? Typically, the answer is no, and he’ll either have to join with them or leave. The last thing that Fred wants to do is to leave his home and business==he’ll just have to figure out a way.

I think this works better as a novel than the previous two installments and is overall just a touch more entertaining. I’m not sure that I have much else to say—these are fun reads/listens.

3 Stars

Dark Harvest Magic

Dark Harvest Magic

by Jayne Faith, Amy Landon (Narrator)
Series: Ella Grey, #2
Unabridged Audiobook, 8 hrs., 32 mins.
Tantor Audio, 2017
Read: February 22-25, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I have even less to say about this one. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did the previous one, maybe because just about all of it felt like Faith was setting things up for the next book or two in the series more than telling a story now. This does mean that the next book or two should be really good, because I liked most of what she was setting up.

Aside from that, Dark Harvest Magic really feels a lot like it could be the next several chapters in Stone Cold Magic. Which means that pretty much everything I said about it applies here. An entertaining read/listen, I still like the characters and really want to see where Faith is taking this all, even if I wasn’t gaga over this sequel.

3 Stars
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from any of them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

House on Fire by Joseph Finder: Out for Vengeance, Heller Takes on a Pharmaceutical Giant

By

On March 2, 2020

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

House on Fire

House on Fire

by Joseph Finder
Series: Nick Heller, #4

Hardcover, 368 pg.
Dutton, 2020

Read: February 7-10, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

I should have checked in with Patty weeks ago. I guess I was figuring that if [Sean] was back on drugs, she’d let me know. I obviously figured wrong. I was angry at myself for not staying more closely in touch.

He saved my life once; I should have been able to save his.

When you get right down to it, readers don’t know that much about Nick Heller at this point—it’s not that kind of series. One benefit of this is that it’s super-easy for Finder to drop in a character or two and say they’re an important part of Heller’s life without having to tweak their backstory a lot.

Sean and Heller served together, Sean came back with traumatic brain injury and, like so many, was given opioids to help. Like too many, he became addicted and battled that addiction for years. Ultimately, the opioids won. (this isn’t me spoiling anything, it’s the first few pages. I think it’s even on the cover).

While Heller does what he can to help the widow and her kids (his honorary nephews), he takes on a new client. At the funeral, he meets a member of the Kimball family—they own the company that makes the brand of opioids that destroyed Sean’s life. She tells Heller that she attends as many such funerals as she can, in sort of an act of protest. She wants Heller to break into her father’s records to find an old study that shows the company knew how addictive their drug was and released it anyway while covering up the study.

A chance to make some money, a chance to do some good—but more than that, a chance to take down the company that hooked Sean*? You bet our favorite private spy is going to go for that. He’s barely started the job when he runs into someone else looking into the family—another important character from Heller’s past, someone who worked with him in the Pentagon.

* Sure, another company’s product probably would’ve done the same thing to Sean, but Kimball Pharmaceutical held this particular gun.

From there, things get complicated and twisty—involving corporate shenanigans, international twists, family intrigue and big secrets tied to big money. All of which combine to make this a precarious situation for Heller. But Sean saved his life once, so…

I shouldn’t forget to add that there’s something going on with Heller’s actual nephew and Heller’s imprisoned father. I was glad to see the nephew again and would like to see more of him. His father? Well, he was useful to Nick, but man, I could go years without having to put up with him (which I think is the reaction Finder’s going for…if not, it should be because he nails it).

She tilted her head and smiled. “You went after this bomber?”

I nodded.

“Yes, of course you did,” she said. “You are sheepdog.”

“I’m a Sheepdog,” I said dubiously.

“I read somewhere there are three kinds people—is sheep, is wolves, and is sheepdog. Most people sheep—just kind and gentle people. They never hurt others, except by accident. Then there is predators—the wolves. They prey on weak people. They feed on sheep. These are the bad people.”

“Okay.”

“And then is Sheepdogs. They protect flock. They have drive to do this. They have gift of aggression.”

I nodded.

She said, “You are not sheep. You are not wolf. You are sheepdog. You are guard dog, not attack dog.”

This is why we like Heller, because Natalya (soon to be trophy wife about to marry into the Kimball family) here sums it up nicely—he has the drive to protect, and the aggression to do it. We see that on display in all sorts of ways in this book (and in the previous ones). If he was all about attack and aggression, he still might be fun to read about, but readers only get invested in him because of that drive to protect.

The other reason we latch on to Heller (I think, maybe it’s just me) is that he’s fallible. He’ll have a perfect plan that he’s executing well, but because that’s the way that life goes, something happens to totally derail the plan. And, unlike other thriller heroes, when things go wrong for Heller, he has to scramble to stay alive and to find a way to get the results he’s looking for—and doesn’t always succeed at that.

House on Fire has plenty of good action, a lot of excuses for Finder to make points about the opioid crisis—and our reactions to it—(and I appreciated him taking those opportunities), some good Heller backstory, plus a few satisfying twists. This was a good, solid read.

I do think the ending was a bit too abrupt and Finder didn’t wrap up everything as satisfactorily as I’m used to from him. So I didn’t rate this as highly as I would’ve expected. Still, I’m glad I read it and can’t imagine a Heller/Finder/thriller fan won’t enjoy this read. And I’ll be first in line for Nick Heller #5 in a couple of years.

3.5 Stars

2020 Library Love Challenge
This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Hi Five by Joe Ide: A Criminal for a Client, an Unreliable Witness, and a Larger Number than Usual that Want Him Dead. IQ has his work cut out for him.

By

On February 25, 2020

In Fiction, IQ/Isaiah Quintabe, Joe Ide, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Hi Five

Hi Five

by Joe Ide
Series: IQ, #4

Hardcover, 339 pg.https://www.mulhollandbooks.com/titles/joe-ide/hi-five/9780316509534/
Mulholland Books, 2020

Read: February 10-16, 2020

Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!


Isaiah has tried to move on after the heartbreak of Wrecked, and has a new girlfriend. This is unfortunate for her—not because IQ is a bad boyfriend or anything—it’s just that when a low-life gun dealer needs Isaiah to investigate something for him, he threatens the poor girl to insure that Isaiah will do it.

What he needs Isaiah to do is clear his daughter of murder. She’s the only witness to the event, but can’t give the police (or our hero) much information about it, despite being in the same room as the murder. Why? Well (and this feels like spoiling something, but it’s on the book jacket), she has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)—what we used to call Multiple Personality Disorder—and given the stress and danger presented by a man being shot in her shop, Christina wasn’t “there” for most of what happened. Now, did her father bother mentioning this to Isaiah? Nope. but he thankfully figures that out fairly quickly. So now our intrepid investigator has to look into a murder with an eyewitness/prime suspect who didn’t see anything, and who can’t convince anyone who did see something to say something—and if he doesn’t succeed, someone he cares about will pay the penalty (and he assumes he’ll pay, too).

This is such a fantastic idea for a murder case—it could easily be a sloppily executed idea, but if someone does their homework and does a responsible job depicting DID, this is a wonderful fodder for drama. Please, if there are other examples of mystery writers doing this, fill up the comments with titles. I’d love to read other versions of this—and can’t believe that Ide’s the first to do this.

Most authors would be content to fully develop this idea and run with it for the whole novel. But not Ide. In fact, as interesting as it is, the murder case is not the most interesting thing about Hi Five. I’m pretty sure that’s impressive. To take a concept like that and say, “well, sure, but what’s important is the trouble that Isaiah finds himself in because of the investigation.” That’s bad enough, but Isaiah has recently run afoul of a gang of white supremacists after gang violence has hit someone that Isaiah and Dodson (particularly Dodson) respect and admire.

Oh, and Grace is back.

Ide also finds a way to work in some lighter stories and even a little sweetness. And the book never feels crowded, and everything gets dealt with in the space it needs. Sure, I’d have preferred to spend more time dealing with Christina and her “alters,” but that’s a personal taste thing. I’m a sucker for a good DID story. But what Ide wanted to focus on justifies cutting that storyline some of the space I’d prefer it get.

The tension is high and Isaiah has never seemed more human and fallible (including when he was being waterboarded because of some foolish moves).

Some of the reviews I’ve read about this book seem to think that Ide’s wrapping up the series here. I can see why they’d say that, Hi Five could certainly serve as a fitting end to the series. but it seems to e that Ide has more he wants to say. The way he left things with Isaiah points to a triumphant return. Also, toward the end of the novel, something pretty significant happens to Deondra and I just don’t see Ide leaving things where he did and just walking away—the scene is extraneous unless he’s coming back to follow up on it. I hope I’m reading things right, but if I’m not, this is a solid way to go out.

This is not my favorite of the series, but it is so, so good, that it doesn’t bother me too much. It’s just a pleasure to be back in this prose, in this world, with most of these characters. A great mystery (with a better hook), some great character development, a client you can’t help but loathe—but a subject that you’ll pull for (and want to see more of). Hi Five is just one more proof that Joe Ide is one of the best writers in the genre right now. This is a decent entry to start with, but you’d be better off starting with IQ. But honestly, just grab the nearest book by Ide and enjoy.

4 Stars

2020 Library Love Challenge
This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Classic Spenser: The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker

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On February 24, 2020

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Reread Project, Robert B. Parker, Spenser

Classic Spenser

The Godwulf Manuscript

The Godwulf Manuscript

by Robert B. Parker
Series: Spenser, #1

Mass Market Paperback, 204 pg.
Dell, 1973

Read: January 25-27, 2020

Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

Driving back to Boston, I thought about my two retainers in the same week. Maybe I’d buy a yacht. On the other hand maybe it would be better to get the tear in my convertible roof fixed. The tape leaked.

I came to this series about thirteen (possibly fourteen) years late, but to be fair, I would have been thirteen (possibly fourteen) when I started reading it. I wouldn’t have been able to appreciate Spenser without having spent some time with Leroy Brown, Jupiter Jones/Peter Crenshaw/Bob Andrews, Tabitha-Ruth Wexler and others (as I’ve invoked Brown, I hope I remember to draw a line between Sally Kimball and Spenser’s version when I discuss Promised Land). The Godwulf Manuscript wasn’t the first novel I read in the series, I’m going to guess I’d read three or four others before I found this in a used book store. I did find, I now know, a copy with the original cover (as seen above). A year or two later, I loaned it to a friend who proceeded to lose it. I got over it (probably because I didn’t care about things like early editions then) and despite losing that copy, that friend later became my first college roommate, and I didn’t kill him in his sleep for it. Not even once.

That excursus down memory lane means nothing to you, but I put it there in case that friend reads this post. I hope he remembers the Klingon proverb, bortaS bIr jablu’DI’ reH QaQqu’ nay’.

I’ll hold off on talking more about my background with this series for now, but the fact I’ve been reading, and re-reading, and re-re-reading, and re-re-re-reading these books since 1986 (possibly 1987) probably gives you a pretty good idea what I think of them. I could probably write lengthy posts on the first twenty novels in this series without reading them again—but where would be the fun in that? Of the twelve Spenser novels I’ll be revisiting this year, this one is in my bottom two and I’ve read it at least fifteen times, and I don’t see me stopping reading it anytime until I start sleeping the big sleep.

Yeah, that was a purposeful Raymond Chandler allusion. Why? Because this whole novel is a giant Chandler allusion*. From naming his main character after a British poet; to Spener’s attitude, demeanor, voice, etc.; to the opening paragraphs; and so, so much more this whole book screams Parker’s debt to and affection for Raymond Chandler. Spenser as a Shadow of Philip Marlowe will ebb and flow over the years, but I don’t think it’s ever more pronounced than it is in these pages.

* Yeah, there are other influences afoot in these pages, I realize. But Chandler is the primary influence, and this isn’t a dissertation. I don’t have the time to be exhaustive, I have at least 9 other posts I want to complete this week and if I don’t cut a corner or two, I won’t be able to get to them.

So what are these two retainers mentioned above? The first comes from an unnamed university that bears a striking resemblance to Northeastern (Parker’s employer when this was released). An illuminated manuscript has been stolen and is being held for ransom. The problem? (or at least one of them) The University doesn’t have the kind of cash the ‘script-nappers want. They do have a suspect, however, a radical political group on campus: SCACE (Student Committee Against Capitalist Exploitation). Catchy, eh? Spenser starts looking into the group, focusing on a couple of the leaders.

Within a few hours, one of those leaders is dead and another is the prime suspect for the murder. She’d called Spenser for help right after the murder, and he believes her (for compelling reasons you should read for yourself). This leads to the second retainer, her father—a pretty successful capitalist, it should be noted—hires Spenser to clear her for the murder.

The hunt for the manuscript and the murder will end up involving a cult, a couple of very dysfunctional marriages, drug dealing, a couple of hitmen, and a mob boss. Basically, Spenser has his hands full.

While there are many aspects of this novel that Parker will tweak for future installments, there’s a lot that he establishes here that he’ll revisit. Spenser gets fired because of his attitude (as demonstrated by his ignoring—rightly—the University’s insistence that he leave faculty alone), his being fired doesn’t stop him from sticking with the job, however. There’s a shootout in an unpopulated area near Boston*. Spenser cooks a pretty decent meal for himself (not quite Fritz Brenner’s level, but close enough for a guy cooking for one), and proves himself more literate than anyone looking at him would assume. The climactic fight will be echoed in upcoming books, featuring someone who has no business fighting anyone taking on a hardened criminal of sorts solely on the basis of love and desperation. Parker does get away from this, which is good—if only for the sake of variety—but man, I love it every time he uses this.

* My knowledge of Massachusetts geography comes wholly from the novels of Parker, William Tapply and Dennis Lehane, so I can’t be more specific than “unpopulated”.

Spenser physically roughs up a couple of college kids and verbally pushes around an older man. Each incident is followed by Spenser berating himself. This is the kind of thing that you don’t see a whole lot in the hardboiled world before Spenser’s debut. Parker will do a more subtle job in the future of showing that while Spenser will resort to violence when necessary, he doesn’t relish it (except when he knows the recipient is guilty of something) and regrets the act. But here, it’s pretty clear that Parker’s trying to show that Spenser isn’t unfeeling about acts of aggression.

There are things that show up here that will disappear—Spenser sleeps with two different women and is fairly casual about it. He’ll later become a paragon of monogamy, but that’s a couple of years away. Still, he’s less of a player next time we see him. He’s also a bit more antagonistic to most of the police that he encounters than he’ll be in books to come. Some of that is a shift in Spenser, some of that is a growth in the relationships he develops with individual members of BPD.

The main thing that sticks around in the future are some of the characters—we meet people here that Spenser still knows and interacts with on a regular basis. Spenser flirts a lot with the secretary for the head of Campus Security, and we’ll see her later. A reporter for the Campus newspaper gives Spenser a lot of help and information about various people/groups on campus, her name is Iris Milford and when Ace Atkins brought her back in 2015, I may have let out an audible whoop. We meet Spenser’s lawyer, Vince Haller, who not only helps Spenser, but the college student being framed. Haller will eventually disappear from the stage (I realize as I write this), but he’s a frequent presence for a long time to come.

But the three big recurring characters are Lt. Martin Quirk, Sgt. Frank Belson and Joe Broz. Spenser and Belson (a homicide detective) have some history and clearly respect (and even like) each other. Belson’s smart, appears lazy (appears), perpetually has a cheap cigar in his mouth (I think that’s a characteristic in this novel, if not, it will be next time we see him). Belson’s superior is Lt. Quirk. Quirk is a very no-nonsense cop, he’s driven, almost humorless, and has no use for private investigators, but sees a little value in Spenser and begins to trust him a bit over the course of this novel. Joe Broz, on the other hand, couldn’t be less a homicide detective if he tried—you could argue Broz (and his employees) are responsible for the continued careers for a handful of homicide detectives. He’s a crime boss of some notoriety and viciousness. At this point (and for some time to come), he’s the most powerful mobster in Boston (although we will soon meet competition). Spenser will be a thorn in Broz’s side for a long, long time.

It occurs to me that I haven’t described Spenser himself. He’s a former professional boxer (not that good, but he did get his nose broken by someone who was very good); a Korean War vet; a former Massachusetts State Trooper, assigned to the DA’s office in a County that fluctuates depending on Parker’s memory; and now a Private Investigator. He’s very literate, he likes to cook (as I mentioned), he drinks a lot, thinks he’s funnier than anyone else does (except the readers of the novels)—which brings him a lot of grief. We don’t get a lot of insight into it in this novel, but honor’s very important to him and it will influence the way he deals with clients, victims, criminals and everyone else along the way. He’s very much a latter-day knight.

I’m not sure that the mystery is all that clever, but the strength of this book is riding along with Spenser as he goes around annoying people until someone does something that he can catch them at (a strategy he’ll spell out in the future, but follows here). I love the voice, I enjoy the character, and watching him go about his business is a pure joy for me.

I haven’t discussed the action/fight scenes yet, and Parker’s approach to them (particularly in the first 15-20 of the series) has always greatly appealed to me. Parker has to address violence, given his chosen genre–and Spenser is a violent man. But in months to come, we see the character address that in such a way to give us insight into why Parker uses it the way he does (I think). So I’ll put a pin in this for now (also, this is long-winded enough at this point that I’ll take any excuse to wrap things up).

I, obviously, highly recommend this book—but I’ll be the first to say that the second is much better and the fourth and fifth in this series are better yet. You don’t have to start with this one for future books to make sense—in fact, you might appreciate Spenser more if you start later on. But for my money, you’re not likely to find many characters as compelling in contemporary (or at least late-Twentieth Century) hardboiled fiction. For introducing the character to the world/the world to the character of Spenser, The Godwulf Manuscript is well-worth the time. Even if it wasn’t the start of something big, it’s still entertaining enough for me to encourage you to read it.

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

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