Tag: The Botanist

I read 114 books I put in the category of “Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller” last year (and there are a couple of multi-genre novels that could beef that number up a bit), so I have to consider it apart from everything else when I put together my Favorites Lists, or just about everything else would get ignored. Even if I went with a Top 15-20 instead of a Favorite 10, maybe 2-3 books from the previous lists would’ve made it along with all of these.

I had a hard time writing up this post—not because I had a hard time picking the list this year (thankfully). Partially because I’m tired of doing these little snippets at this point in the week, but mostly because I want to write a thousand words or so on each one (and probably spend time re-reading huge chunks of each of these books in order to do that properly), so keeping myself to a paragraph or so is really difficult. I ended up borrowing liberally from things I’ve written here and elsewhere just to make sure this list was able to be posted before Feb. 26th.

Once again, I’ll note that I limit my lists to things I read for the first time. I’d be willing to guarantee anyone reading this page will enjoy at least 6 of these (which six will vary from reader to reader, however). I’m tempted to say that all the listed books are guaranteed for everyone, but people’s tastes are too varied, so I’ll hedge my bet. Try these, and you’ll be glad you did.

(in alphabetical order by author)

Robert B. Parker’s Bye Bye Baby

by Ace Atkins

My original post
It’s really no surprise that Atkins’ final Spenser novel makes this list—Spenser is one of my all-time favorites, and the decade that Atkins spent at the helm included several of the best novels in this long-running series (this is the 50th novel!!). He also helped legions of fans deal with Parker’s death by doing such a capable job. This book evokes some of Parker’s best early novels while remaining wholly original and compelling—true to both authors. It’s a great way for Atkins to go out.

Double Take

by Elizabeth Breck

My original post
In my original post, I said that it felt like Breck wrote this novel for me—I’m not that delusional, but it resonated with me in so many ways that she might as well have. Madison Kelly was one of my favorite discoveries of 2021 and her sophomore adventure solidified my impression of her. Madison’s tough, smart, lucky (and knows how important that is), and committed. Brisk and assured writing. A nice bit of sleuthing to find a pretty clever crime (committed by some people who really shouldn’t ever get into criminal activity—and some who seem born to it). Featuring the kind of ending where you find yourself leaning forward as you read, because somehow that helps you get to what happens next faster; you don’t hear the music/people/animals around you; and your eyes move just too slowly.

Racing the Light

by Robert Crais

My original post
We leave one of my newest PI obsessions to go back to one of my oldest—Elvis Cole. This is the best use of this character in years, and I loved every second of it. Like the best Cole novels, it starts as a missing persons case before turning into something far more complicated and deadly. But Cole is able to keep his focus on the victim (while finding justice for the wrongs he encounters). Joe Pike doesn’t get as much “screen time” as he has been lately, which makes every second that he’s around so much more effective—he owns one of the best moments of the book (and barely does anything in it). Racing the Light will no doubt be considered one of the pivotal moments in the series and I can’t wait to see what comes after this point.

The Botanist

by M.W. Craven

My original post
The last note I made on this novel was, “the last 30 pages made me happier than almost anything else this year.” And thinking back on those pages right now still makes me almost giddy. While Poe and Tilly are vital to the novel—ultimately, this novel is about the secondary characters—victims, suspects, and the killers. The primary case is brilliant on every front—the method of murder, the way that the method is finally discerned by the good guys, and then the way the case is closed? It’s all a thing of beauty (in the dark, warped way that Crime Fiction is to fans of the genre). I’m on the verge of babbling now, so I’m going to leave this and move on to the next novel on the list.

Don’t Know Tough

by Eli Cranor

My original post
I was blown away by this novel. I read it in May and I’m not convinced I’ve wholly recovered. It’s a story about faith, family, and (American) football. I can’t tell you which is more important to any character in this novel at any point (but I’d lean toward the latter for just about all of them). The prose is gorgeous and visceral, the story is intense and heart-breaking–it’s about a high school coach and a star player trying to keep their heads above water in the middle of a murder they’re both connected to. I can easily sound like I’m over-hyping this, so I’m not going to go on the way I want to. I’ll simply say that Cranor’s work is just gut-wrenching, beautiful, and powerful. And not to be missed.

Movieland

by Lee Goldberg

My original post
This series started off strong and keeps getting stronger. The overall arc of the series is a rookie detective (who got promoted earlier than she should have) learning how to be a good, maybe great, detective. Eve Ronin makes mistakes, she learns from many of them, but her instincts are on point and she eventually gets her criminals. If she can learn to do it without burning every bridge in sight and unintentionally antagonizing everyone she works with, she’ll get there faster. This is likely the last case her partner will work and he gives it everything he’s got—while imparting every bit of hard-earned wisdom to her as he can—and boy howdy, does he shine here. This is likely the best thing by Goldberg that I’ve read—and I’ve been a fan for a long time.

Reconstruction

by Mick Herron

My original post
Dead Lions by Herron would’ve been on this list, but I don’t let myself use one author more than once, so the spot goes to Reconstruction. Possibly because I spent far more time with this than I do with most books on a first read. Herron got everything right with this book. None of the primary characters are who you think they are at the beginning—most are far worse people than you think (including the ones you have a bad impression of—they’re even worse than you imagine). Which doesn’t stop them all from being some of the best designed and executed characters you’ll run into. The plot is like an onion (or a parfait, to appease Donkey)—you keep peeling back layer after layer after layer until the very end—and each layer is practically perfect and delicious (making it more like a parfait, now that I use that word). The narration is sneakily hilarious and dark. One of my earliest reads of the year and it set the bar high for the next 11 months.

The Self-Made Widow

by Fabian Nicieza

My original post
The premise of this sequel is fantastic—what’s a detective to do when they know who the killer is, but they’re not sure how or why the murder was committed. In fact, in the beginning, Andi’s the only one sure the victim was murdered at all. Kenny takes some time out from the documentary he’s making about the events of the previous novel to help Andi out (and hopefully to get another book, documentary, whatever out of it all). Andi’s up against someone as smart as her this time, and it’s going to take more than just Kenny’s help to crack the case. Told in Nicieza’s fantastic style this is a sure-fire winner.

The Bullet That Missed

by Richard Osman

My original post
This third book in The Thursday Murder Club series is about two things—the new case the Club decides to look into (mostly so Joyce can meet some local TV personalities) and fallout from the last book–on multiple fronts. As much as I enjoy this series for the lightness and joy it brings—the looming danger that arises as a side effect of their recent success was great. By all means, let’s let things get serious. Elizabeth’s husband, Stephen, steals this novel, however. He shines brighter than ever—and is in worse shape than ever before. This series is ultimately about grief and living in its shadow—that shadow seems larger than ever, and it’s just going to get bigger.

Family Business

by S. J. Rozan

My original post
This was the first novel I read in 2022, and it stuck with me throughout the year. I was shocked—and very pleased—by the actions of a long-term character. The narration was as good as Rozan has ever given us. Once again, Rozan takes us into the depths of Chinatown’s Organized Crime and does so in a way that no one expects. Lydia’s at her cleverest when it comes to solving the crime here—even if she might not be that wise when she reveals it. The relationship between Lydia and Bill has taken on new depths, and remains one of the best relationships in detective fiction. Family Business just made me happy from beginning to end.

I want to mention really briefly the books that almost made the list—tied for 11th, I guess you’d say. (fatigue and trying to keep this list from getting too long prevents me from just making my Favorites list long enough to contain them—preventing Reader Fatigue is more important than my own).
Hell of a Mess by Nick Kolakowski
Roses for the Dead by Chris McDonald (the other two parts of this trilogy could easily be substituted for this one)
Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild
Jacked, edited by Vern Smith
Killer Story by Matt Witten
(links will take you to my original posts about them)

The Botanist by M. W. Craven: Nothing is Without Poison

By HCNewton

On July 11, 2022

In Fiction, M. W. Craven, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Washington Poe

The Botanist

by M.W. Craven

DETAILS:
Series: Washington Poe, #5
Publisher: Constable
Publication Date: June 2, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 429
Read Date: July 5-6, 2022

Poe nodded. ‘I hate locked room mysteries,’ he said.

What’s The Botanist About?

There’s little that mystery readers/watchers enjoy more than a locked-room mystery, but you can understand why someone who actually has to solve mysteries for a living isn’t quite a fan.

And that’s not good for him because there are two cases in this book involving locked room mysteries—one Poe and Tilly are assigned to, one they take because they’re asked (and would take on even if they weren’t).

It occurs to me that I should probably define the term I keep using, just to be careful. Last year, Gigi Pandian (no slouch when it comes to locked-room mysteries) provided one on CrimeReads:

Locked-room mystery: A crime has been committed in a room or other location that’s been sealed from the inside, with no way out. An example is a dead man found inside a windowless room that’s been sealed from the inside, dead from a gunshot wound that people outside the room heard fired, yet inside the room there’s no gun and no way for the culprit to have escaped. Thus a locked room is only part of the equation; the key is that the situation appears impossible.

And Poe has two cases to work through. Should be easy, right?

Case #2 (Chronologically, Anyway)

Back in 2020, when I posted about The Curator, I said: “I know it’d be pushing things to have [Estelle Doyle] play a larger role in these books than she does, but the few scenes we have with her are just not enough to satisfy.” I’m so glad to be wrong—Doyle does play that larger role here, and it’s as good as I’d hoped it’d be.

Doyle, I should probably say, is a forensic Pathologist—one of the best around. She’s Poe’s go-to person any time he had questions about something wet and organic.” She shamelessly and aggressively flirts with him, going out of her way to make him uncomfortable—we’re told that “Poe was terrified and bewitched in equal measure.” Some things never change—in 2018’s Black Summer, Poe thinks she’s “incredibly sexy and utterly terrifying.”

And she’s been arrested for her father’s murder. Her comment to the police? “Tell Washington Poe.” That’s all she has to say to get Poe on the case, subverting the work that the DCI (and the rest of the Northumbria police) have done on the case.

There’s no evidence that anyone but Estelle or her father was in the house the day he was shot. There’s also no gun. Is it any wonder that Poe hates locked room mysteries?

Case #1

So the case that DS Washington Poe is supposed to be working on is hunting down a poisoner that the press has dubbed The Botanist.

His victims are high-profile figures, generally in the news for less than admirable activities/views (a racist political analyst, etc.). He mails them a poem and a pressed flower, and then they die a few days later. It doesn’t matter what precautions they take, how involved the police are, how secure their living space is…they die. It’s that simple.

Because these are notorious figures, The Botanist quickly develops a fan base—people are celebrating him, making him into a folk hero of sorts. There’s a lot of pressure on Poe and the other detectives working the case to put an end to his career before he inspires copycats/disciples. The dynamic of a large degree of public sympathy for the killer is a new angle for this series, and I really appreciated it.

A Quick Word About Tilly

I’ve been anticipating what Poe might need next and I have a program running. It’s called RipplePlace and I expect the results in approximately ninety seconds.’

‘And what’s that?’

‘It’s a search and merge algorithm, sorting key data into lexicographical order,’ Bradshaw explained, explaining nothing.

And with that she left the room. Doyle looked at the empty doorway in amusement. ‘I think she may be my favourite person ever,’ she said.

Poe nodded. ‘You understand any of that?’ he asked.

‘Not a word.’

Tilly Bradshaw isn’t as prominent in this novel as readers are used to—and really couldn’t be, because of all the other characters running around, and the way that the story had to be paced. But even when she wasn’t “on camera” (if you will), she was a presence—people were sharing some tidbit about her, using something she’d dug up, etc.

And when she was “on camera”? It was gold. She’d pull off some sort of wizardry with tech, get some sort of data put together in a way no one else would, or would say/do something to make you grin (at least). She really is a great character. It’s hard to disagree with Doyle, she just might be my favorite.

So, what did I think about The Botanist?

Poe had seen people die before. Too many times. Perceived wisdom was that police officers became desensitised to death, but he wasn’t sure it was true. It certainly wasn’t for him. The dead stayed with him. Haunted his dreams and occupied his waking thoughts. They were the soundtrack to his life and the day he couldn’t hear them would be the day he handed in his warrant card. Poe needed to live among the dead. It was how he protected the living.

One of my favorite days the last few summers have been the day the new Washington Poe/Tilly Bradshaw book arrives—topped only by the day I get to start it. This year has been no exception—I finished it five days ago, and am still riding the high.

Time with these characters is like walking into Cheers—you know everyone, you enjoy their company, the only thing you don’t know is what escapade they’re in the middle of. Sure, Sam and the gang were never on the hunt for a serial killer,* but you get my point. Craven takes some of the relationships in new directions here, brings in some new figures, and generally keeps them from being stale—but Poe, Tilly, Flynn, and Doyle are who we’ve come to know and love(?) over the last four novels.

* Or did they? I don’t know—they got into some strange areas there in Season 11.

The cases were just great. Estelle’s case was on the easy side for the reader to suss out (and I was close to right on the motive, as right as Poe was)—but that didn’t make it any less satisfying to read. And the reveal (and the events that led to it) were pulled off so well that I’m not going to complain a bit.

The solution to The Botanist case, on the other hand, was brilliant. I don’t want to say more than that so I don’t tip off anyone, but when the pieces started fitting together enough that you could see the solution coming? I had to stop for a minute to laugh at how perfect it was—but it’s one thing to figure out how the killer’s doing something, it’s a whole nother thing to catch him. Craven’s ending was fantastic—when I was finished, I wrote my last note: “the last 30 pages made me happier than almost anything else this year.”

For me, one of the best parts was how much of this book is dependent on characters other than our protagonists. Absolutely, the cases don’t get solved without Poe and Tilly—their investigations, research, bold moves, etc. are essential. But the secondary characters are are who provide the brilliance, the plans, and the insights that stop the Botanist and set up the dynamite conclusion. The day isn’t saved without our hero, but Poe doesn’t save the day. Fans of the series aren’t going to mind it because of the way that Craven has constructed this universe—he’s set up the other characters to be the kind of people that operate at Poe’s level (if not beyond it), so by all means, let them shine. Also, it makes the whole series more grounded, more believable if it’s not always Washington Poe who solves everything.

Clearly, I loved this. I strongly recommend it—and everything Craven’s written. Now it’s time for me to start waiting for my favorite day of the summer of 2023.

5 Stars