Category: Fiction

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Shadow at the Morgue

Shadow at the MorgueWith Shadow at the Morgue, Cara Devlin has created a strong opener to her new Spencer and Reid series. With a splendid start like this, the series is bound to go from great to outstanding.

Devlin sets both Leonora (aka Leo) Spencer and Jasper Reid apart from ordinary humans. Leo is intelligent, savvy and outspoken. And, as Jasper readily agrees, impulsive and stubborn. Jasper is portrayed as a bit straitlaced, but good at his job of Detective Inspector at Scotland Yard.

A cryptic case draws Spencer and Reid in when a body of a woman run over by an omnibus is brought into the morgue run by Leo’s Uncle Claude. Why does a man come into the morgue to steal the woman’s necklace? Why does a witness to the accident say that a man was chasing the woman prior to the accident? How is the woman connected to two criminals recently released from prison?

Scotland Yard assigns the case to Detective Inspector Reid, and, of course, Leo is intrigued and does her own behind the scenes snooping. She unearths important information that helps solve the case, much to the consternation of Reid.

Nicely Done

Devlin balances the mystery nicely with the burgeoning romance between the main characters. Reid and Spencer have a connection from their youth – they were raised by the same guardian for a short while. But Spencer is a bit standoffish with Reid, thinking he doesn’t like her, or is uninterested at the very least.

The story is told from the viewpoints of both Spencer and Reid. This works well, as the reader is immersed in the workings of both characters’ minds. With this debut in the Spencer and Reid series, Devlin creates a cozy historical mystery universe set in 1884. She includes historical facts that enliven the plot, such as the roles women can and cannot undertake during that period. For example, Spencer’s work at her uncle’s morgue is frowned upon or thought to be strange and “unwomanly.” I will be reading the rest of this series as well as Devlin’s other works.

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The Nomad Detective

The Nomad DetectiveViolet Chase, the protagonist of The Nomad Detective, Volume I, by Amy Suto, takes on cases as a private investigator while searching for her sister, Adriana. Her sister disappeared at a yoga retreat in Guatemala some time prior to the beginning of the stories.

This collection of connected stories is a mixed bag. For example, the first story left me unsatisfied. Chase and her partner, Milo Baxter, find Teresa, the girlfriend of client, Jake Turner, in Costa Rica. After somewhat strange encounters there, both with Teresa and others, Chase returns to San Francisco to tell her client the outcome of her investigation. Jake, of course, does not take that well and fades into the distance. Drugs are a big part of this story, a somewhat stereotypical outlook on the region where most of the story occurs. Conning the rich foreigners, especially Americans, etc., etc.

Violet Chase is a somewhat unusual detective. She bills herself as a nomad detective, ready to take on cases that take her to parts of the world where she might find her lost sister. In addition, Chase has synesthesia, a condition in which the brain routes sensory information through multiple unrelated senses, causing her to experience more than one sense simultaneously. For example, when walking out into the sunshine, she sometimes senses that the sun feels sticky like chewing gum. She can also sense a person’s aura. She uses these senses to effectively size up people involved in her cases.

Although I somewhat enjoyed this novel in stories, I would have liked somewhat less of the auras and mixed-sensory signals and more of straight detective work. The Nomad Detective, while unusual, was a mid-level like for me.

The Nomad Detective, Volume I
by Amy Suto
© 2024
Sutoscience LLC

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Redacted Sherlock Holmes

Redacted Sherlock HolmesThe six stories in Orlando Pearson’s The Redacted Sherlock Holmes Volume III are a mixed bag. In some stories, such as and “The Book-Thief and the Blitz,” Holmes seems slow and withdrawn. In fact, Watson reports at one point,” Holmes spent the time we had in a daze.”

The stories range from good (“Some Parisian Hot-Desking”) to dull (“The Book-Thief and the Blitz”) to outright strange (“The Sussex Factotum”).

“Some Parisian Hot-Desking” has Watson and Holmes cornering and catching Sebastian Moran. Moran was second-in-command to Professor James Moriarty in the original Holmes canon. This story is well done.

In “A Christmas Carol” Homes makes good use of his propensity for disguises to woo a maid and thus get access to a house and solve his case.

“The Book-Thief and the Blitz” had Holmes and Watson away from London to help decode German messages during World War II. Holmes is not at his best in this story. As noted before, Watson even remarks that Holmes seems “in a daze.” A good portion of this story delves rather more deeply into breaking the German codes than necessary.

“The Sussex Factotum” deals with implications of the aberrant sexual proclivities of Eric Gill, a prosperous sculptor. This story is an instance where Holmes agrees with his brother, Mycroft, that doing nothing is probably the best option.

“The Doctor and the Demon” has the game of cricket at its center. Granted, we Americans may not be apprised of all the rules of this inimitable English sport. However, having Dr. Watson describe the game to Holmes slows the story down.

Enjoyable Read

All in all, I enjoyed the stories in The Redacted Sherlock Holmes Volume III well enough. But, in my opinion, Holmes could have been sharpened up a bit. He seemed sluggish in a few of the stories as mentioned above. Dr. Watson’s narration of the stories was well done.

 

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Death in the Harem

Death in the HaremMartha Hudson helps Sherlock Holmes detect something amiss in the harem of Sultan Abdul Hamid in Susan Knight’s Death in the Harem: A Mrs. Hudson/Sherlock Holmes Mystery. There have been strange and mysterious deaths among the sultan’s wives, concubines and female slaves. She, Holmes, and Watson pay a visit to Turkey via the Orient Express. Mrs. Hudson, used to plainer things, doesn’t see the need to stay in the poshest hotel in Paris and have a new wardrobe outfitted for her. But, ah, well, the sultan insisted, and was paying.

Much is made of the train trip from Paris to Constantinople (present day Istanbul). Too much, it seems. Although there are some interesting characters on the train, most are stereotypical. for example, the Russian actress, Valentina Muratova. A “vision in silks and furs, of indeterminate age, thin as a needle, pale skinned and black-haired, her face exquisitely painted on.” She prances around, acting histrionically, and expecting everyone to recognize her. There’s also Eliza Dodds, traveling with Cecelia, supposedly her sister, although Holmes has his doubts. Miss Dodds is a “stout, florid person…with crinkly curls,” and a dress that “was plain and serviceable.” She is “on [her] way to be governess to a little boy in Constantinople.” Holmes’ thoughts on Eliza Dodds tend towards her being a spy sent to watch them.

Slow-moving, but Successful Overall

The bulk of this novel entails Martha Hudson’s visit to the sultan’s palace at Yildiz, which sits on a hill overlooking Constantinople. Mrs. Hudson makes little headway as she is treated as the outsider that she is by most of the harem members. They are pleasant to her, but quite noncommunicative. Only one, Naime, befriends her and helps as best she can. Madeleine, a French orphan hired by Holmes to be Mrs. Hudson’s ‘slave’ while they were in Constantinople, also helps. She eavesdrops among the servants as she speaks Turkish, although she keeps that fact to herself.

Overall, I enjoyed Susan Knight’s portrayal of Mrs. Hudson. Hudson has gumption, curiosity and quick wits to deal with the treachery of the court and deal with clues that come her way. She is a welcome addition to older women detectives such as Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. Somewhat less time could have been spent describing the train trip and the mundane days in the harem. Otherwise, Death in the Harem: A Mrs. Hudson/Sherlock Holmes Mystery is an enjoyable read.

Death in the Harem: A Mrs. Hudson/Sherlock Holmes Mystery
by Susan Knight
© 2024
MX Publishing

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Tales of Scotland Yard: Ratcliffe Highway

Tales of Scotland Yard: Ratcliffe HighwayAfter reading Tales of Scotland Yard: Ratcliffe Highway, by Bianca Jenkins, one word comes to mind. More than one, actually. Wonderful, and an interesting take on the Sherlock Holmes milieu. This novel focuses on Giles Lestrade, one of the inspectors who interact with Holmes and Watson in Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. Focusing on a minor character from the Holmes stories is a refreshing change.

As a newly appointed inspector, Lestrade is assigned a murder case. None of the other inspectors want it as it involves a young, impoverished woman living in one of the poorer sections of London. “Without the suit, Inspector Lestrade would have fit right in with some of the lower members of society passing by on the street.” With smart thinking and dogged footwork Lestrade solves the case.

Jenkins’ characters are well-rounded, especially Lestrade. Despite his tough upbringing, he can be tenderhearted. Smith and the other, more seasoned, inspectors kid Lestrade even as they take a collection to reimburse him for money he paid to feed the murder victim’s two children. Jenkins’ Lestrade is tenacious, as he is in the Doyle canon. Additionally, he is small and wiry in both this work and Doyle’s offerings. Using subtle similarities like this keep the new additions to the Holmes canon interesting to lovers of the original stories.

However, the plot was a bit transparent as to who committed the murder. I felt fairly certain about who was responsible about halfway through the book. This did not decrease my enjoyment of the story, though.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this offering. It is an entertaining addition to the many recent contributions to the Holmes and Watson world. Bianca Jenkins wrote another novel about Lestrade, which I will seek out. Future works in this series would be a welcome addition.

Tales of Scotland Yard: Ratcliffe Highway
by Bianca Jenkins
© 2024
MX Publishing – Orange Pip Books

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Traitorous Templar

The Traitorous TemplarWith The Traitorous Templar, Richard T. Ryan does a good job of displaying his knowledge about the Knights Templar (a Christian/Catholic military order that provided soldiers during the Crusades). Holmes, and Watson get involved in a case dealing with nightly disturbances at an art collection. Some of the displays of armor purportedly belonged to the Templars and Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Templars.

A visit from a woman who turns out not to be whom she claims she is, and other events set the detecting duo of Holmes and Watson on a trip to a few of the last-known outposts of the Templars in England: a cave thought to be used by the Templars; a small, dilapidated church; and a small island off the coast of Cornwall. What begins as a desultory investigation as to who was leaving tallow droppings at the art gallery leads to a stealthy search for a treasure of gold and gems supposedly hidden by the Templars as their Order was being disbanded, and they were being denigrated and killed in the early 14th century. All this while being followed by persons unknown, but armed and dangerous, who were also after the treasure.

Mixed Bag

The Traitorous Templar is a mixed bag for me. The novel begins slowly with Holmes discussing the Templars’ history with Watson. There is also a large section directly in the middle of the Holmes/Watson story that deals directly with the Templars. This section envisions how they supposedly were victimized by one of their own turning on them, necessitating the hiding of the treasure. This digression would be very interesting as part of a novel dealing directly with the Templars. But it totally drops the reader out of the Holmes/Watson realm for several chapters.

Especially irksome is that, when the story returns to the Holmes/Watson milieu, Holmes goes over much of the same ground in his discourse to Watson on research he’d done while in London and Watson was in Cornwall. In my opinion, the digress to the time of the Templars could have been omitted entirely. Holmes’ discussion of his research could be broadened to include more of the Templar information.

The final third of the novel was the best part of this somewhat slow rendering of the Holmes/Watson world. Although still slow at points, it quickens slightly and includes a short appearance of Inspectors Gregson and Lestrade. The thieves who were shadowing Holmes and Watson, and who tried to abscond with the treasure, are dealt with.

Ryan effectively portrayed Holmes and Watson in The Traitorous Templar, but the pacing of the story left me wanting more. Holmes is off stage quite a bit and, thus, the banter between him and Watson is missing, for example. But overall, I enjoyed this book. I may seek out other Holmes and Watson tales penned by Richard T. Ryan.

The Traitorous Templar
by Richard T. Ryan
© 2024
MX Publishing

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Eastern Shore Shorts

Even though summer is edging towards fall, and I haven’t set foot on a beach in many a year, I love books that deal with bodies of water, sand and summertime. Eastern Shore Shorts: Stories Set in Berlin, Cambridge, Chestertown, Chincoteague, Easton, Rock Hall, Salisbury, St. Michaels, and Tilghman Island, by Gail Priest, fits the bill nicely. Oh—did I say I love visiting the area encompassed by the short stories in this collection? I haven’t visited the eastern portions of Maryland or Virginia that make up part of the Delmarva peninsula since before the Covid-19 pandemic. Is that a road trip I hear calling my name? Well, maybe within the next few years.

The 12 intertwined stories in this collection are about friends and family members who live in the towns mentioned in the title. The stories are spare and well written, with no extra verbiage. Even though each story has its own arc and distinguishing features, characters who are narrators in one story crop up again in other stories that are narrated by a family member or friend. Priest does a great job of portraying small-town life.

I enjoyed reading Eastern Shore Shorts because of Ms. Priest’s great writing and because of the memories it brought back of my visits to the area. I thought “Peacemaker Puppy” was the weakest story. This story seemed stilted and did not flow as well as the others.

 

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Mystery Movies Based on Books

Mystery Books Made Into MoviesWhen a movie comes out based on a bestselling mystery book, do you read the book first? Or do you watch the movie first? Or do you not read the book? Do you never watch the movie, thinking it’ll never be as good as the book? I’ve never been one to watch mystery movies based on books.  One instance where I think the TV movie is superior to the book is “Nemesis,” based on Agatha Christie’s book of the same name. The TV movie to which I’m referring was part of BBC’s series of Agatha Christie stories starring Joan Hickson as Miss Marple. They aired in the mid 1980s through the early 1990s.

Has anyone watched the movies based on Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson? Or read the books? How about the movie Presumed Innocent based on the book by Scott Turow?

I’ve neither seen the movies nor read the books I’ve mentioned above, so I might set myself a project for the coming summer of watching movies based on mystery books. Plus, I’ll read the books. This would be a monumental project, since I have tons of reading already scheduled and other books beckoning me.

I’ve seen the old, black-and-white Perry Mason TV series. But I have never read any of the books by Erle Stanley Gardner. Not reading the books, either before or after, did not lessen my enjoyment of watching the series and, later, some of the movies in which Raymond Burr reprised his role as the Los Angeles attorney.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments about whatever books-to-movies you’ve read and/or watched?

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The Rembrandt Decision

The Rembrandt DecisionAt the outset of The Rembrandt Decision, by Seeley James, number 12 in his Pia Sabel mystery series, Phil Jacobsen, the murder victim, and how he died, is known. Why he was killed and by whom takes longer to unveil. Although James plays it close to his authorly vest with subtle clues, who committed the crime becomes increasingly obvious. The why of things takes most of the book to uncover.

Christine Jacobsen, one of the three narrators in this who-done-it, attempts to steamroll the investigation towards Al Devino, a relation, and also part of an organized crime family that wants to invade Deeping, Maine, a small, fictional town where everyone knows almost everyone else. Why doth she protest too much about Devino being the culprit? What further complicates the investigation is that her adopted son, Scott Jacobson, is the town’s police chief. Christine thinks Scott is still a small boy (she continues to call him Scotty) and that she can control him as well as the investigation.

Pia Sabel, of Sabel Security, is in town to investigate if Deeping is a good place to locate Sabel Research Center, a new wing of her conglomerate. Once Sabel offers to assist Scott with his investigation, Christine continually denounces Sabel’s help. Christine declares that Sabel will uncover the town’s “secrets,” even though no one else agrees or even mentions secrets. Christine originally provided the impetus for Sabel’s invitation to view the town, but once Sabel and Scott begin working together, Christine wants her to move on as quickly as possible. Why? What harm can Sabel cause the town by accelerating the pace of the investigation? Or more importantly, cause harm to whom?

Readers learn about Pia Sabel through the other two narrators: Isaiah Reddick, one of her advisors, and Scott Jacobsen, the police chief. Sabel comes across as extremely smart and observant. Very smart, Sabel seems to know something about almost everything. She can be likeable, but also an obnoxious know-it-all.

Although I enjoyed The Rembrandt Decision, it was slow moving for the first two-thirds of the story. For example, a long-winded conversation between Scott and Pia details adoption. This interaction helps Scott grow as a person/character. However, the mystery plot comes to a screeching halt. Similarly, an interaction between Scott, Isaiah and Kubari Eady (who are both Black), underscores white supremacy and how white police handle dealings with minorities. Rather heavy-handed. A third subtext involving unhoused/homeless people. The impression is that those unfortunate enough to have no place to live are either mentally ill or alcoholic, or both. These subtexts could have been treated differently and more succinctly.

The Rembrandt Decision may not be a favorite of mine, but I’ll read others in this series. I’ll also read James’s second series about Jacob Stearne.

This is a repost of a previous review.
Originally posted on 4/3/23

The Rembrandt Decision
By Seeley James
© 2022
Machined Media

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Out of Time

Out of TimeIf you like mysteries with an international and luxurious undertone, Out of Time, by Cathi Stoler, is your cup of tea. Or should I say champagne? Marina DiPietro and Nick Donahue are hired to find out who wants to kill or maim Devil Wind, a Kentucky Derby hopeful owned by Adnan bin Haddad, a billionaire from Dubai. Out of Time takes the reader traveling. From New York City to Kentucky horse country to Dubai—even to the Burj Khalifa, an ultra-luxury hotel on its own island.

Donahue is a professional gambler specializing in blackjack. DiPietro, a former MI6 operative, now owns her own private investigator agency in New York City. They solve crimes together and are a couple.

Bin Haddad tells DiPietro and Donahue that he must pay a king’s ransom to protect Devil Wind. Could the trainer or one of the others who care for the horse be in league with the blackmailers? Who is attempting this coercion?

But is that the real problem? Suddenly things get dicier. Bin Haddad is told that Samira, the sister of his trainer, and the daughter of an employee at one of his other businesses, has been kidnapped by Salifi terrorists, a splinter group of ISIS. And they want more than the stated ransom money for Devil Wind. A secret device made by ABH Technologies is now demanded for the safe return of Samira.

Can DiPietro and Donahue coordinate their efforts and solve these seemingly disparate problems? Can they keep the horse and the young woman safe?

Enjoyable Read

Out of Time is an enjoyable read with likeable protagonists. Sometimes this felt like two different plotlines, but Stoler manages to pull them together at the end. Although this is billed as a Nick Donahue adventure, he seemed to take a back seat to Marina DiPietro in this book. I look forward to future additions to this series.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Out of Time
by Cathi Stoler
© 2024
Level Best Books