It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these (have another two in the pipeline). This time, I’m looking at a few mystery novels that I just don’t have the time/will to do a “full” post on, as deserving as they are. I recommend all of these, and you’d do well to pick them up in one format or another. As always, the point of these quick takes posts is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
by Jussi Adler-Olsen, read by Erik Davies
DETAILS:
Series: Department Q, #1
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Publication Date: August 23, 2011
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 15 hrs., 36 min.
Read Date: August 22-26, 2025
(the official blurb)
This is a novel about a broken—psychologically, emotionally, and physically—detective obsessed with remaining professionally active. He’s assigned to a new cold case squad and hampered bureaucratically at every turn. Saddled with what seems to be the worst assistant possible (but turns out to be anything but), he starts looking into the cold case surrounding the disappearance of a politician five years ago.
The characters are really well drawn, the story seems to meander a bit—but really never does (something you can only know in retrospect), and the pay-off is really satisfying. I didn’t love it, but I couldn’t stop listening, either.
The accents used by the narrator seem to fade in and out at times—and I wonder what someone from that part of the world would have to say about them (I’m prepared to be informed that [narrator’s name] is a native and this American doesn’t know what he’s talking about).
So obviously, this is significantly different than the adaptation—and in a way that makes me both admire the adaptation more, and realizing the way this was a stronger work, too. (I’m probably more interested in the second series of the show than in the second book, but I’ll probably give it a shot, too.)
by Will Leitch, read by Chris Andrew Ciulla
DETAILS:
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 8 hr., 59 min.
Read Date: August 27-28, 2025
(the official blurb)
This Better Off Dead-influenced Police Procedural didn’t really match my expectations. This is both good (the novel was much more rewarding and emotionally-rich than I’d anticipated), and bad (while definitely amusing and sometimes downright funny, I’d been hoping for more ridiculous humor rather than the grounded stuff the book delivered).
Absolutely worth the time. The most feel-good police procedural I can think of (unless you count Backman’s Anxious People, which I don’t).
by Chris Chibnall, read by Jessica Gunning
DETAILS:
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
Publication Date: June 10, 2025
Format: Unabridged Audiobooks
Length: 9 hrs., 32 min.
Read Date: September 5-9, 2025
(the official blurb)
I have two big take-aways from this book.
- Let Chibnall do this kind of thing—murders in a small town without much violent crime.
- Keep him away from things like Doctor Who.
This is such a rich book—the setting was fantastic. Chibnall populates this town with a wonderful assortment of characters from several walks of life—and you feel like you get to know them well. The police characters are the kind I’d like to see again (but, I just don’t see a sequel working). The mystery at the book’s heart was so cleverly laid out and the reveal was as good as you could hope for.
There’s a young girl character who will break your heart, and you will want to adopt her. Even if I didn’t so much like the book, I’d have been glad for her storyline alone.
by Gabriel Urza
DETAILS:
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Publication Date: July 8, 2025
Format: Hardcover
Length: 304 pg.
Read Date: September 17-19, 2025
(the official blurb)
Ohhhh, there’s so much to talk about with this one. There’s the discouraging, disheartening, troubling behind-the-scenes at the Public Defender’s Office material. All of which feels so true-to-life that I can only imagine that the reality is worse. What it says about our Criminal Justice System is even worse. The personal story about this one lawyer is pretty stark, too. You hope that things get better for him and his family, too.
Then there’s the murder, the court maneuverings, the way the lawyers’ lives are changed by this. It’s just so…bleak. Wonderfully done—it’s supposed to be bleak, it’s supposed to make you wonder about what we’re doing with criminals/the accused/those defending them right now. The author pulled off what he set out to here, but you’re going to want something light on-deck to read after this.
So why am I covering the book in a quick-take instead of a longer post where I can expand all that? Honestly, I just don’t care enough. That’s not a slight on the book, it’s just my energy levels and picking what I want to invest energy in. I’ll definitely pounce on anything else Urza puts out and recommend you do the same.
by Jamie Harrison, read by Justin Price
DETAILS:
Series: Jules Clement, #1
Publisher: Highbridge Company
Publication Date: November 5, 2024
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 9 hrs., 43 min.
Read Date: September 18-19, 2025
(the official blurb)
This is a very odd book, and hard to pin down. I like that about it, but it’s difficult to talk about. This is possibly the least effective, least qualified, small-town sheriff I can think of. It doesn’t matter how small his community is (still a sprawling metropolis compared to Longmire’s), he really shouldn’t have anything to do with law enforcement. Yet, I really like him—he seems like a decent guy, who’ll probably grow into the job (based on the number of books in the series)—assuming he can stay sober and keep his pants zipped.
The county and its residents…boy howdy. A great setting, that’s going to be rewarding. I don’t know if I have much else to say—maybe after another couple of books in the series.
Entertaining, puzzling, a nice mystery (hidden beneath so many wonderful misleading clues and red herrings), a good cast (decent narrator, too, I should add). Check it out.
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