Book Reviews

Book Review: The Midnight Killing by Sharon Dempsey

The Midnight Killing is the second book I’ve read by Belfast-based crime writer Sharon Dempsey. I very much enjoyed Dempsey’s crime thriller & mystery, Who Took Eden Mulligan?—the first book in the series. Her latest is another twisty story of murder, relationships, family secrets, and lies.

The Midnight Killing

by Sharon Dempsey

Published by Avon Books on August 18, 2022

Source: NetGalley

Genres: Crime Thriller & Mystery

ISBN: 9780008424480

Pages: 384

“When the body of local architect James McCallum is found hanging in the grounds of his former school one cold, dark night, DI Danny Stowe and forensic psychologist Rose Lainey suspect foul play behind his apparent suicide.

To their astonishment, the trail leads to a 20-year-old cold case of a missing girl, and a teenage party. But what was James’ fascination with the case and how is it linked to his death?

Secrets don’t stay buried forever – but the real killer will stop at nothing to hide theirs.”

This book unfolds from the points of view of Rose Lainey, a forensic psychologist; and Danny Stowe, a detective inspector investigating a murder staged to look like suicide. I liked how Lainey and Stowe’s thoughts crossed over so that you get different perspectives of the same event or discussion and found this one of the book’s strengths.

Dempsey’s latest is about so much more than solving a crime. For the benefit of those who haven’t read the first book in the series, Rose and Danny have a history. They attended university together, where they forged a close friendship, though Danny always wanted more from the relationship then and still does. But Rose rejected his one romantic overture during their college days (which we learn about it in this book). That memory makes Danny reluctant to reveal his true feelings to Rose for fear of compromising their friendship and work relationship.

Rose Lainey is a fascinating and complex character, and it’s easy to like and feel empathy for her. She still struggles with ambivalent feelings for her deceased mother, Evelyn, who Rose grew up believing was part of the Republican movement and supported the IRA during The Troubles.

Rose had left Belfast for university in Liverpool at age eighteen. Within a month of leaving, she changed her name from Roisin Lavery to Rose Lainey, determined to escape her unhappy Belfast past and reinvent herself. She moved to London to take a job from university and never returned, becoming estranged from her family. But when her mother died, Rose returned for the funeral, and Danny Stowe persuaded her to remain to help him investigate the Eden Mulligan case (first book). That was when Rose discovered her mother wasn’t an IRA supporter after all, but an undercover operative working on behalf of the British government.

In this book, Rose has chosen to remain in Belfast permanently to work for the Police Service of Northern Ireland and to attempt reconciliation with her siblings. Rose realizes she paid a heavy price by shutting out her family to escape her past marked by violence. Yet she still struggles to form a connection with them because for so long, she had shut down the part of herself that allowed her to be vulnerable as a form of protection from hurt. That, in part, explains why she doesn’t reciprocate Danny’s feelings.

DI Danny Stowe is also an appealing, multi-layered character. Besides the conflicts over his romantic feelings for his best friend Rose, he still hasn’t come to terms with his recent divorce or his feelings for his ex-wife. He’s also an unrelenting investigator who puts his all into leading his team to solve the murder. He’s affected by his past but isn’t the cliched “flawed” or injured protagonist.

As in her previous novel, Belfast plays a large role, and Dempsey effortlessly places us there. I certainly got a sense of place in the present and the past with its dangerous nature during The Troubles. Here Rose’s siblings “stayed” whereas she left, and though she realizes the city has changed and she’s changed a lot, Rose is struck by the sense she is now home again.

Dempsey is an excellent storyteller. She writes so well the words seem almost to disappear (a good thing), and it’s all about the characters and their stories. More than just a crime novel, this book is also about families, childhoods, long-past legacies, and the impact they continue to have many years later. I liked the nuanced way Dempsey handled the subplots throughout the book. It’s not overwritten. The story and traumatic events of the tragic past constantly hover in the background but never overtake the present events. Instead, there’s a benign sense of acceptance of them and the impact on everyone involved in many ways. This is another excellent read from Dempsey.

Avon Books, a commercial fiction division of HarperCollins, will publish The Midnight Killing by Sharon Dempsey on August 18, 2022, and the book is now available for pre-order.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley used for this review representing my honest opinions.

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Book Reviews

Book Review: The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly

The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly—Connelly's handle on LA law and order is masterful and suspenseful scenes abound

Confession. While I can’t get enough of Michael Connelly’s crime fiction, the Mickey Haller Lincoln Lawyer novels aren’t my favorites. And there is a reason for that, good or not. After twenty-five years of law enforcement experience, I’m not a fan of criminal defense attorneys, even fictional ones. So, I’m hard pressed to see a defense attorney protagonist as anything more than an antihero, at best—a main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality.

I get it on some level when defense attorneys use the shopworn saying, “Every defendant deserves a vigorous defense.” But that’s hard to reconcile with reality sometimes. Does anyone really believe Charles Mason deserved a vigorous defense? How about a man in a jealous rage that the evidence showed brutally stabbed to death his ex-wife and her boyfriend? Maybe the maxim should be, “Every innocent defendant deserves a vigorous defense.” Still, I understand that under our system, we presume everyone innocent until proving them guilty, so I know why that can’t be so.

Anyway, I admit it. Even I could summon a little sympathy for Haller this time around when the cops find a body in the trunk of his Lincoln after a pretext stop and then arrest and charge him with a murder he didn’t commit.

While a work of fiction, this Connelly gem considers complex issues and draws on important themes around innocence and guilt, around law and order, as well as the imperfections and strengths of our justice system. It’s probably my favorite Mickey Haller novel to date and one of my favorite books this year.

THE LAW OF INNOCENCE

by Michael Connelly

Publisher Little Brown and Company, Hatchette Group

from November 10, 2020

Genre(s): Thriller & Suspense

ISBN 978-0-316-48562-3

Pages 421

On the night he celebrates a big win, defense attorney Mickey Haller is pulled over by police, who find the body of a former client in the trunk of his Lincoln. Haller is immediately charged with murder but can’t post the exorbitant $5 million bail slapped on him by a vindictive judge.

Mickey elects to represent himself and is forced to mount his defense from his jail cell in the Twin Towers Correctional Center in downtown Los Angeles. All the while he needs to look over his shoulder—as an officer of the court he is an instant target, and he makes few friends when he reveals a corruption plot within the jail.

But the bigger plot is the one against him. Haller knows he’s been framed, whether by a new enemy or an old one. As his trusted team, including his half-brother, Harry Bosch, investigates, Haller must use all his skills in the courtroom to counter the damning evidence against him.

Even if he can obtain a not-guilty verdict, Mickey understands that it won’t be enough. In order to be truly exonerated, he must find out who really committed the murder and why. That is the law of innocence.

The infamous LA criminal defense lawyer, Mickey Haller, “The Lincoln Lawyer” draws the most important case of his life. When someone frames him for the murder of a former client, Haller ignores the adage, “A lawyer who represents himself, has a fool for a client,” and leads his own defense. Everything is on the line—his reputation, his livelihood, his family, and his freedom.

After winning another trial, Haller hosts a celebration at a downtown LA defense bar. When he leaves the bar, a LAPD cop named Milton immediately pulls over Haller’s Lincoln. After rousting Haller from the car, Milton escorts him to the back of the vehicle and points out the rear license plate is missing. Moments later, the cop notices a blotch of liquid on the pavement beneath the car’s rear bumper and asks, “Is that blood?” Within moments, Haller is sitting in the back of the patrol car in handcuffs while Milton opens the Lincoln’s trunk, claiming “exigent circumstances.” Inside the trunk, the officer finds the body of Sam Scales, one of Haller’s former clients. Milton arrests Haller for murder and Haller finds himself in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles unable to post the $5 million bond.

There are few crime writers today that I’d mention in the same breath as Michael Connelly. He’s that good, a natural born storyteller with the writing chops to tell them and tell them exquisitely. I found it impossible to put down this book after turning the first page.

One pleasant surprise was finding Harry Bosch in this Haller novel. I’d say Bosch played a bigger role in this book than in the latest Ballard and Bosch novel, The Dark Hours (2021). Those who have read other of Connelly’s books know that Bosch and Haller are half brothers. I’d say Bosch features in this novel almost as prominently as in another Haller book, The Reversal (2010). That’s reason enough for a diehard Bosch fan to read and enjoy The Law of Innocence.

I like the way Connelly refers to current events in his novels, and naturally the outbreak of coronavirus features in this one. It interested me the way he wove that into the story. Connelly also touches on some other important issues that are still making headlines today—issues like the fairness of our judicial system as viewed through the “equity” lens, the law of innocence, and that innocent people sometimes get convicted for crimes they didn’t commit.

I think Connelly created a near perfect plot around how an innocent person might end up arrested, charged, and prosecuted for a murder they didn’t commit. And using a criminal defense attorney like Haller as the victim of a miscarriage of justice made the story even more appealing. Haller sees the justice system from the perspective of the clients he has defended in the past and experiences the visceral feeling of facing the loss of his freedom.

A cornerstone doctrine of American jurisprudence, to paraphrase William Blackstone, is that “it is better that ten guilty persons go free, than that one innocent person be convicted.” In this novel, that doctrine gets turned on its head when a bent cop arrests Haller during a pretext traffic stop and then an overzealous prosecutor attempts to railroad Haller into prison using whatever means necessary.

In the book, Connelly drives home the point again and again that innocence is an imperfect shield and innocent people get wrongly convicted and sent to prison. It’s a fair point to make, and an excellent technique for building suspense in a book of fiction. Most of us have probably read or heard news stories about people going to prison for crimes they didn’t commit, especially people exonerated after the rapid advances in DNA evidence processing and interpretation. Still, as someone who worked inside the criminal justice system for over two decades, I believe I can say with some confidence that innocent people going to jail is so rare that calling it rare may even be an overstatement.

Our system of justice is imperfect, but it is still the fairest system in the world. Many people don’t understand that the police can’t just arrest people for no reason. There are too many checks and balances to keep that from happening. When a police officer makes an arrest, they must first convince their supervisor they had probable cause to do so. Then they have to convince the investigators who catch the case they had probable cause to do so. Then the investigators have to convince an intake prosecutor the officer had the probable cause to do so. That’s all before the case even gets to a judge. Then there are more hurdles to overcome before a court can try the defendant.

The imperfect system, in my estimation, isn’t what many social justice activists would have us to believe these days. The fault can’t be laid at the feet of the police or prosecutorial misconduct. It has little to do with racism or an unattainable ideal called “equity.” When an innocent person gets convicted and goes to jail for a crime they didn’t commit, we can usually explain the cause using simple economics. The proverb, “You get what you pay for,” is never more appropriate than when you’re discussing “justice” in this country. You get as much “justice” as you can afford to pay for in terms of what kind of lawyer you can afford to hire.

If you’re a wealthy, famous ex-football star and can afford a phalanx of the best, brightest, and most expensive criminal lawyers in the land, you can probably commit an infamous double homicide and walk out of court with a not guilty verdict. But what if you live in, let’s say, the West Adams neighborhood of South LA and you’re poor? If you get arrested and charged with a murder, even one you didn’t commit, you will probably end up with a public defender as counsel with what many term “unconscionable caseloads,” representing as many as seventy clients, with some public defenders so stressed out that they become physically ill. Good luck with that. You’re probably headed to a California state penitentiary. You might say, every defendant deserves a vigorous defense to rationalize defending people you know committed murder, rape, or armed robbery, and doing your best to get them off. But in reality, only those who can afford it get a “vigorous defense.”

The corrosive effects of overstating the premise that innocent people get convicted of crimes and go to prison is people lose faith in the fairness of the criminal justice system. When that happens, we get district attorneys who stop prosecuting violent criminals in the name of “equity.” And when that happens, a violent offender who should have still been in jail for his last violent criminal episode gets a low bail and then gets in his vehicle in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Then he plows it into a crowd of innocent people watching a Christmas parade on Main Street, killing six and injuring many more.

The people of LA can rest easy knowing there is no Dana Berg prosecuting cases in Los Angeles county these days with a district attorney there far more interested in “equity” than protecting innocent citizens from predators. Nowadays, there are probably thousands of guilty persons going free instead of one innocent person getting convicted. That’s how it works when you choose not to prosecute anyone.

But, I’ve digressed. So, back to the book, The Law of Innocence is one of the best crime novels I’ve read this year. The book grasps your attention from the start and hangs on through the end, giving you a roller coaster ride of thrills and twists. Connelly’s handle on LA law and order is masterful and suspenseful scenes abound. Fans will be delighted. I only wish I’d read it sooner.

Hachette Book Group published The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly on November 10, 2020. I purchased the hardcover edition used for his review, representing my honest opinions.

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Book Review: Cockroaches by Jo Nesbø

Cockroaches by Jo Nesbø—Scandi noir that’s almost impossible to put down

Cockroaches by Jo Nesbø is the second book in his popular series featuring melancholy, alcoholic Detective Harry Hole (Pronounced HOOL-eh). I’ve read all twelve of the novels in the series, but recently decided to read the entire series again since Nesbø hasn’t added to the series since Knife in 2019, and likely won’t.

Shortly after the publisher released the ninth Harry Hole novel, Phantom (2011), in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Nesbø revealed he was “close” to a finale for the Oslo homicide detective and stated “I promise not to resurrect him after.” Three books later, it seemed Nesbø had finished with Hole. Since Knife, he’s only written and published standalone novels and a short story collection. So, I base this review on my recent second reading of Cockroaches.

COCKROACHES

by Jo Nesbø

Translated from Norwegian by Don Bartlett

Publisher Vintage Books A Division of Random House

from January 1, 1998

Genre(s): Police Procedural, Mystery & Suspense, Scandi Noir

ISBN 978-0-345-80715-1

Pages 368

Inspector Harry Hole heads to Thailand to investigate the murder of an ambassador. 

When the Norwegian ambassador to Thailand is found dead in a Bangkok brothel, Inspector Harry Hole is dispatched from Oslo to help hush up the case.
 
But once he arrives Harry discovers that this case is about much more than one random murder. There is something else, something more pervasive, scrabbling around behind the scenes. Or, put another way, for every cockroach you see in your hotel room, there are hundreds behind the walls. Surrounded by round-the-clock traffic noise, Harry wanders the streets of Bangkok lined with go-go bars, temples, opium dens, and tourist traps, trying to piece together the story of the ambassador’s death even though no one asked him to, and no one wants him to—not even Harry himself.

Scandinavian noir is a genre of dark crime stories famous for bleak Scandinavian settings. While many of the books in Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole series aren’t lacking in that department, Cockroaches, the second book in the series, isn’t one of them. That’s because here, Hole’s superior, Bjarne Møller, head of the Oslo Crime Squad, dispatches Harry to hot and humid Bangkok, Thailand. Hole’s official assignment is to investigate the death of the Norwegian ambassador who Thai authorities have found dead in a Bangkok brothel. However, his unofficial assignment is to help hush up the case to save the Norwegian government from scandal. Of course, as he often does, once Harry Hole arrives in Bangkok and discovers someone murdered the ambassador, he ignores his instructions and undertakes a proper investigation with little concern for saving anyone from embarrassment.

That becomes more than understandable once Hole works out that the only reason powerful government officials have chosen him for the assignment is because they were confident he will fail. And that knowledge makes Harry even more determined to succeed by getting to the bottom of the murder and capturing the killer. I’d almost forgotten how much I’d enjoyed this book, as I’d forgotten so many details since reading it the first time years ago.

Harry Hole has long been one of my favorite police protagonists because he is so unique. Hole is almost a prototypical antihero, a main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes. However, I’d say it is almost impossible not to like and feel empathy for him. Harry is damaged goods, and for good reason as those of us who’ve read the first book in the series, The Bat, understand. He’s an alcoholic, quarrelsome, antisocial, and intractable. But for all his faults—or maybe because of them—Hole is very good at his job, which has him pursuing monsters and psychopaths. In this novel, Harry even goes on the wagon, giving up alcohol because he is so determined to succeed to prove those wrong who expect him to fail.

This book has all of Nesbø’s customary darkness and luridness from murder to prostitution to pedophiles. We learn that there is even a darker secret than that connected to the dead ambassador that the Norwegian government is desperate to keep under wraps. And Hole couldn’t care less—he has a murder to solve.

Jo Nesbø succeeded Stieg Larsson as the go-to Scandinavian crime writer on the strength of the Harry Hole novels. Even if you don’t consider yourself a fan of Scandi and have never read Nesbø, you shouldn’t give him a miss. Nesbø produces quality crime fiction books for the same reason as authors like Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Harlan Coben, and James Patterson do. It’s the same secret sauce—strong and complex characters, imaginative plotting, ample action, and a detective who uses realistic problem-solving skills to solve a mystery and bring the baddies to justice. Still, what sets Nesbø apart is his ability to inject suspense into his stories. I’ve literally grown so uncomfortable with the suspense while reading a Nesbø book, I’ve had to put it aside for a while to recover my equilibrium before continuing to read.

While you can read Cockroaches without having read the first book in the series, there’s good reason to start with The Bat and read the series in order. That way you get the full benefit of Hole’s backstory and better understand why he is the person he is. Cockroaches doesn’t disappoint. It’s a gripping read throughout where the momentum builds to a satisfying and surprising conclusion that will leave you eager to read the next book in the series.

Vintage Books, a division of Random House, first published Cockroaches on January 1, 1998. I purchased the print copy of the book used for this review, representing my honest opinions.

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Book Review: Robert B. Parker’s Bye Bye Baby by Ace Atkins

Robert B. Parker's Bye Bye Baby by Ace Atkins—Classic Spenser.

Robert B. Parker became one of my go-to authors almost two decades ago after I read my first Parker book. I’ve enjoyed reading his Jesse Stone, Sunny Randall, and particularly his Spenser novels. Then, sadly, Parker died in 2010. To my delight and that of many of his fans, his heirs and publishers found and commissioned other authors to continue those popular series and Parker’s legacy.

I’ve read all thirty-nine of the Spenser books written by Parker, and his fortieth, Silent Night (2011), unfinished at the time of his death. His longtime agent, Helen Brann, completed that one. Yes, a few books felt a little formulaic and tired. But I can’t recall disliking any of them, and kept buying and reading them. So it thrilled me when the Robert B. Parker estate chose award-winning author Ace Atkins (The Ranger, 2011, etc.) to continue the series. I just wasn’t ready to give up Spenser.

Atkins’ first Spenser novel, Lullaby (2012), was a very readable, well-written book. But despite the ravings of the New York City reviewers, the transition from Parker to Atkins wasn’t nearly as seamless as they claimed. Atkins didn’t quite capture the essence of the character in that first novel and Spenser just didn’t seem like Spenser. But with each new installment, Atkins improved his interpretations of Spenser and the other characters until his Spenser versions became virtually indistinguishable from the originals. That’s why it disappointed me to read on Atkins’ Twitter feed that Bye Bye Baby, his tenth Spenser novel, is his last, since he feels it’s time to turn his attention to other projects.

BYE BYE BABY

by Ace Atkins

Publisher Penguin Random House

from January 18, 2022

Genre(s): Mystery & Suspense

ISBN 9780593328514

Pages 320

Carolina Garcia-Ramirez is a rising star in national politics, taking on the establishment with her progressive agenda. Tough, outspoken, and driven, the young congresswoman has ignited a new conversation in Boston about race, poverty, health care, and the environment. Now facing her second campaign, she finds herself not only fighting a tight primary with an old guard challenger but also contending with numerous death threats coming from hundreds of suspects.

When her chief of staff reaches out to Spenser for security and help finding the culprits of what he believes to be the most credible threats, Garcia-Ramirez is less than thrilled. Since her first grassroots run, she’s used to the antipathy and intimidation women of color often face when seeking power. To her, it’s all noise. But it turns out an FBI agent disagrees, warning Spenser that Garcia-Ramirez might be in real danger this time.

It doesn’t take long for Spenser to cross paths with an extremist group called The Minutemen, led by a wealthy Harvard grad named Bishop Graves. Although Graves is a social media sensation, pushing an agenda of white supremacy and toxic masculinity, he denies he’s behind the attacks. As the primary nears and threats become a deadly plot, it’s up to Spenser, Hawk, and a surprise trusted ally to ensure the congresswoman is safe. This is Spenser doing what he does best, living by a personal code and moral compass that can’t ever be broken.

Kyle Rosen, chief of staff for Congresswoman Carolina Garcia-Ramirez, hires Spenser, the consummate knight errant Boston P. I. to provide security and help identify those who represent the most credible threats to the congresswoman’s safety. Garcia-Ramirez, an outspoken rising star in national politics on the eve of a tight primary, has received many death threats in response to her progressive and liberal agenda centered on race, poverty, health care, and the environment. An exchange between Spenser and a reporter (Wayne Cosgrove) in Chapter 6 outlines the congresswoman’s agenda.

“She [Garcia-Ramirez] also knows I have a realistic view of her agenda.”

“Meaning?”

“Where do I start?” Cosgrove said. “Free college and healthcare for all, a living and respectable minimum wage, a green Boston with zero carbon emissions, a massive restructuring of law enforcement. All great talking points, but how much can she realistically accomplish for her district?”

Reminiscent of Rachel Wallace (Looking for Rachel Wallace, 1980), when her publisher, John Ticknor, hired Spenser for a similar assignment, the fearless and self-directed Garcia-Ramirez is less than thrilled about Rosen hiring Spenser to protect her. She resists the idea, but as he did with Wallace, Spenser wins her over. He and longtime sidekick Hawk provide security for the congresswoman while Spenser does the sleuthing to sniff out and neutralize the credible threats. Predictably, considering who Spenser is protecting, the baddies turn out to be a white supremacist group called “The Minutemen,” run by a guy named Bishop Graves.

The action heats up when the FBI gets involved and the Boston special agent in charge, Bobby Nguyen, tries to force Spenser off the case. But despite the uncooperative congresswoman and interference from Nguyen, the intrepid Spenser perseveres. He painstakingly identifies the key players threatening Garcia-Ramirez and puts into motion his own plan to neutralize the threats.

Bye Bye Baby is classic Spenser. With Hawk watching his back, Spenser gets into the usual number of violent confrontations on the way to achieving justice and upholding his personal code of honor. Love interest Susan Silverman lends support with her psychiatric insight. Once again, Ace Atkins captures the essence of the Spenser novels, complete with beloved characters like Susan, Hawk, Belson, Quirk, and Pearl, the wonder dog (version 3.0). Zebulon Sixkill even makes an appearance.

Despite the passing of his creator, I’ve appreciated that Spenser and his world have remained for the past ten years. As he has done with the previous nine books, Atkins does a great job here providing an imaginative plot while retaining the characters and relationships that keep these novels familiar, comforting, and enjoyable to read. And we all need something dependable to rely on in this crazy, polarized, and pandemic plagued world.

The biggest difference I’ve noticed in the last couple of Spenser books I’ve read is that Adkins has leaped forward in time and Spenser is now in the 21st century where the internet now exists and mobile phones have replaced pay phones and the like.

Most of Parker’s books, including those written in the 1990s and 2000s, were set firmly in the seventies and eighties. That has allowed me to continue choosing to ignore the fact that Spenser, a Korean War veteran, has aged little since he first appeared in 1973. I prefer to think of him as a sporty 40-year-old. But moving the Boston P. I. into the 21st century and drawing attention to it by referring to current events makes it increasingly difficult to indulge this suspension of belief. I could be wrong, but maybe Atkins feels he has stretched credibility for the character as far as it will go and that’s part of the reason he is retiring from the series. This makes me wonder if this is finally the end of Spenser, which makes me aware I’m still not ready to give him up.

As in previous installments in the series, the story line and characterizations offer more of the same with few surprises, but Bye Bye Baby is classic Spenser, and an enjoyable read for fans of the series.

Penguin Random House publishes Bye Bye Baby by Ace Atkins from January 18, 2022. I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher via Net Galley used for this review, representing my honest opinions.

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Review: Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Rat of Sumatra by Paul D. Gilbert

Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Rat of Sumatra by Paul D. Gilbert—The game is afoot.

More than 91 years after Doyle’s death, Sherlock Holmes continues to intrigue both readers and writers. Once Doyle’s copyrights expired, many fiction authors began writing modern Sherlock Holmes adventures. Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Rat of Sumatra by Paul D. Gilbert is the latest such book I’ve read.

Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Rat of Sumatra

by Paul D. Gilbert

Publisher Joffe Books

from September 24, 2019

Genre(s): Mysteries & Detective

ISBN 978-1-78931-204-1

Pages 226

Autumn 1898. London. A scandal in the making.

Dockworkers are stunned by the arrival of the Matilda Briggs, a long overdue tea cutter returning from Calcutta. Abandoned by its crew, the dust-covered vessel has seems to have drifted into a vacant berth guided by an unseen hand.

The only member of the crew aboard is a lone cabin boy in the throes of death, following a murderous attack. The ship’s log has also vanished without a trace. All that remains is a series of indecipherable markings have been scratched into the ship’s decking.

Sherlock Holmes and his faithful Watson are called to divest the Matilda Briggs of its secrets, only to be subtly warned off by the ship’s insurers. Then a young man appears at 122B Baker Street with a mysterious packet from his missing father — who disappeared journeying to London from Calcutta. A confounding conspiracy seems set to boil over.

What was in the cargo besides innocent tea chests? Will the violence and rebellion that follow shift the tides from the favour of the Great Detective?

Is the world finally ready for this tale?

____________________________

Inspired from Conan Doyle’s most famous untold mystery, acclaimed Sherlockian Paul D. Gilbert expands the reach of Britain’s favourite sleuth in his most intriguing tale yet.

At 221B Baker Street in London resides a man named Sherlock Holmes. Of course, almost everyone knows who Sherlock Holmes is. Even those who haven’t read one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories or novels featuring the famous detective have likely at least seen or read one of the myriads of adaptations of Holmes and his adventures.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle first introduced his iconic consulting detective character in A Study in Scarlet in 1887. Sherlock Holmes then appeared in a series of short stories that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle penned and that The Strand Magazine published from 1887 to 1927. Eventually, Doyle’s works totaled 56 short stories and four novels.

Like Doyle, Gilbert’s writing style truly brings Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. John Watson, to life. He also makes Holmes appear to be an actual genius, which I think is difficult to convey through writing. True to the original stories and books, Gilbert presents Sherlock Holmes as an enigma, his deductive thought processes interesting but almost impossible for readers to fathom. Also true to the originals, Gilbert tells this adventure through Watson’s point of view as a memoir about Sherlock Holmes.

As Sherlock Holmes is a consulting detective, police detectives often visit him to help with cases, and that is how this book opens. Detective Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard, who appears in several Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle, comes to Holmes for help on a case involving a ship, the Matilda Briggs. Dock workers arrived at work to discover the ship occupying what was supposed to be an empty berth and not moored. When they boarded the vessel, the workers found only one crew member on board who was injured and later died. Having no idea what had happened to the rest of the crew or why the ship seemed abandoned, the ship insurers, on Lestrade’s recommendation, hired Holmes to investigate the mystery. As in Doyle’s stories, Gilbert uses the interactions between Holmes and the detective to add some comedy to the mystery story that helps keep readers entertained and to give us more insight into Holmes’ personality.

As Holmes begins work on the “ship of ghosts” mystery, a young man (Daniel Collier) appears at his rooms seeking Holme’s help with his father’s disappearance. Predictably, the two cases turn out related and what Holmes learns from Collier helps him solve the Matilda Briggs case.

Collier’s part of the story is the only part of the book I didn’t like much. Gilbert uses a series of letters Collier had received from his father to provide readers with information that ties the two cases together. This technique used sparingly to provide some backstory is fine. But here, the reader gets far too much of it. I tired quickly of Collier reading the letters for Watson and Holmes’ benefit and frankly even resorted to skimming through the last of it. Despite a few important details, the entire letter bit distracts from the narrative. I’d rather have seen this handled in a different, more effective way. But thankfully, overall, I found the book an enjoyable read despite the lengthy letters, and I found it true to the style Doyle used in the original Sherlock Holmes tales. The modern stories of Sherlock Holmes that remain true to the classics as this one does are quite entertaining to read.

Joffe Books published Sherlock Holmes and the Giant Rat of Sumatra from September 24, 2019. I purchased the copy of the book used for this review, representing my honest opinions.

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Review: Winterkill by Ragnar Jónasson

Winterkill by Ragnar Jónasson—The captivating final installment in the Ari Thór Arason whodunit series.

Winterkill by Ragnar Jónasson is the sixth book and last installment in his Dark Iceland series featuring Siglufjörður police officer Ari Thór. Ragnar, who has built a well-deserved reputation as a master of his genre, delivers another engaging and darkly claustrophobic tale.

This is probably one of my favorite Dark Iceland novels. It starts with something a bit familiar before segueing into something of a surprise that whisks readers somewhere we didn’t expect.

Jónasson offers a strong and pervasive sense of place here, as usual, as he richly describes life in wintry, dark Iceland.

Winterkill

by Ragnar Jónasson

Translated from the French edition by David Warriner

Published by Orenda Books

from October 12, 2020

Genre(s): Mystery & Detective

ISBN 9781913193461

Pages 240

A blizzard is approaching Siglufjörður, and that can only mean one thing…

When the body of a nineteen-year-old girl is found on the main street of Siglufjörður, Police Inspector Ari Thór battles a violent Icelandic storm in an increasingly dangerous hunt for her killer … The chilling, claustrophobic finale to the international bestselling Dark Iceland series. 

Easter weekend is approaching, and snow is gently falling in Siglufjörður, the northernmost town in Iceland, as crowds of tourists arrive to visit the majestic ski slopes.

Ari Thór Arason is now a police inspector, but he’s separated from his girlfriend, who lives in Sweden with their three-year-old son. A family reunion is planned for the holiday, but a violent blizzard is threatening and there is an unsettling chill in the air.

Three days before Easter, a nineteen-year-old local girl falls to her death from the balcony of a house on the main street. A perplexing entry in her diary suggests that this may not be an accident, and when an old man in a local nursing home writes ‘She was murdered’ again and again on the wall of his room, there is every suggestion that something more sinister lies at the heart of her death… 

As the extreme weather closes in, cutting the power and access to Siglufjörður, Ari Thór must piece together the puzzle to reveal a horrible truth … one that will leave no one unscathed.

As Winterkill unfolds, we find Ari Thór, a police officer in the small Icelandic coastal town of Siglufjördur, troubled by his separation from his wife, Kristín, and young son, Stefnir. Six months before, Kristín moved to Sweden with the boy to further her medical training at a university there. Ari Thór doesn’t begrudge her pursuing her ambitions even though it means she must study abroad. But he worries how the long separation will affect his relationship with Stefnir. Also, now in his thirties, Ari Thór is contemplating his career, whether he should remain in Siglufjördur permanently, or move to Reykjavík to further his career. Overlooked the first time he applied for the post after his former boss and mentor Tómas transferred to Reykjavík, Ari Thór is now the inspector in charge of the Siglufjördur police.

The book opens on the Thursday before a long Easter weekend, and Ari Thór is eagerly awaiting the arrival of his wife and son, who are on their way back to Iceland for a holiday visit. But he’s distracted from his personal concerns and the impending visit by a death. A passerby finds the body of a young woman lying in the street in a pool of her own blood. It’s clear that the woman plunged to her death from a great height. What isn’t clear is whether she fell accidentally, jumped, or was pushed. Ari Thór investigates and quickly identifies a high balcony of a house fronting the street as the logical place the woman plunged from to her death. Then, as he gathers the evidence, it seems more and more certain the nineteen-year-old woman took her own life.

Initially, I expected a similar story line to that of Whiteout, the fifth book in the series, where a suspected suicide turns out to be a murder. But here Jónasson takes us in a completely unexpected direction. The inciting incident (death of the young woman) segues into three other parallel police inquires, which cuts significantly into the precious time Ari Thór hoped to spend with his family, especially his son. The relatively mundane crime solutions don’t detract from Jónasson’s impressive ability to make human despair palpable and spin a story that keeps the reader engaged. As is often the case when I pick up a Jónasson book. I couldn’t put this one down and finished it in one sitting. This book seemed to have a slightly different tone to the others in series, perhaps because it was translated into English from the French version instead of from the original Icelandic.

I appreciated the writing here and the haunting secrets Jónasson teases out. I’m sure it will appeal to many who appreciate whodunits with a slower pace and atmospheric setting.

Orenda Books published Winterkill by Ragnar Jónasson on October 12, 2020. I purchased the copy use for this review, representing my honest opinions.

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Book Reviews

The Murder Club by Nikki Crutchley

The Murder Club by Nikki Crutchley—A scintillatingly suspenseful thriller by one of New Zealand's top crime fiction authors.

Kia ora! Here I introduce you to another book from my personal TBR stack by one of New Zealand’s most outstanding crime fiction writers, and one my favorite authors. The Murder Club is the third book I’ve read by author Nikki Crutchley. It’s a Miller Hatcher novel shortlisted by the Ngaio Awards 2021 for best novel.

The Murder Club centers on three lives—all affected differently by the same murder and who become entwined with a small-town killer desperate for infamy. And what a delightful read it was.

The Murder Club

by Nikki Crutchley

Published by Oak House Press

from August 31, 2020

Genre(s): Detective & Mysteries, Women Journalists, New Zealand Fiction

ISBN 9780473505929

353 pages

A dead body. An anonymous letter. This is only the beginning.

‘Not all evil, on the surface, is ugly and menacing. It doesn’t always lurk in city centres after dark. It mows your lawns, frequents your local pub, takes its kids to school and contributes to communities.’

When the first letter arrives saying that ‘tonight it begins’, journalist Miller Hatcher ignores it. But then the body of a murdered woman is discovered, strangled, a scarf around her neck.

Cassie Hughes has always vowed to find the man who murdered her mother. Cassie knows he’s out there and wants him to pay, and Miller agrees to bring the cold case back into the public’s eye.

Logan Dodds has been obsessed with true crime ever since his sister was murdered thirty years ago. He has turned his obsession into a career and has created the True Crime Enthusiasts Club and his newest venture, True Crime Tours.

The lives of Miller, Cassie and Logan – all affected differently by murder – become entwined as The Scarf Killer, desperate for infamy, and Miller’s attention, makes his mark on the small town of Lentford.

I discovered Cambridge author Nikki Crutchley in 2018 when I read the books shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Awards that year. The committee had selected her first Miller Hatcher book, Nothing Bad Happens Here, as a finalist in the 2018 Ngaio Marsh Awards. I’ve been a fan ever since. So it was a genuine pleasure to again meet journo Miller Hatcher and Detective Sergeant Kahu Parata as they work together on another murder mystery.

Crutchley sets this book in the imaginary town of Lentford, a small rural community near Hamilton. Having spent time in the Hamilton area, I fully appreciated the taut authenticity of the town Crutchley created for this book. Small town crimes have always held a special fascination for readers. Small towns are supposed to be safe—nestled away from the rabble, the violence, and the vice more common in the big cities. But a killer is on the loose in Lentford.

After strangling a young woman (Tamara Jenson) in the murder the book opens with, the suspect delivers a chilling message to Miller. The letter writer takes credit for the murder and says it won’t be the last.

In this sequel to Nothing Bad Happens Here, Miller is still a journo, but after severe problems with alcohol, she has suffered a fall from grace. The New Zealand national magazine First Look editor had dismissed her after an alcohol-fueled incident. So, Miller has taken a job as a reporter for the small local paper Lentford Leader and is trying to make a fresh start. In the letter, the killer makes clear they are after notoriety and familiar with her reporting on the murders in Castle Bay (the first book). They want Miller to tell their story after the killing is done in Lentford.

Miller takes the letter to Kahu, who has come to Lentford to oversee the hunt for the killer. She and Kahu have been friends since the Castle Bay tragedy.

The killer keeps their word, and the murders continue, as do the letters to Miller after each one. More young women turn up strangled inside their homes.

The intriguing subplot of the book concerns another murder that happened years past in Lentford. Someone abducted a woman, and her family never knew for sure what had happened to her until authorities discovered the woman’s skeletal remains buried near an abandoned diary outside Lentford fourteen years later. The victim’s daughter, Cassie Hughes, now an adult, has been obsessed with finding her mother’s killer since the police never solved the murder. Cassie became so obsessed that she ended up in a mental healthcare facility after violently assaulting a man she had mistaken for her mother’s killer. After her release from the facility, she moves to Lentford with her troubled girlfriend Tiff, also a former patient at the facility. Somewhat predictably, we learn as the story plays out, the past murder intersects with the current ones.

Miller Hatcher is a strong but flawed female lead. She is a recovering alcoholic, struggling to remain sober. But she is fascinating and empathetic. After a harrowing incident in Castle Bay and her mother’s death that Miller had trouble coming to grips with, she turned to alcohol for solace, and it nearly ruined her promising journalism career. The job with the Lentford Leader is a second chance, but Miller also views it as a step-down and punishment for her past mistakes. Crutchley excels at the complex characterization required to engage readers, resulting in a book that’s truly impossible to put down. The myriad anxieties her characters feel—fear for their safety, the community’s fear for the safety of young women like the killer is targeting, and the resident’s fear for their community’s reputation—are entirely relatable. A sense of dread and foreboding permeates the narrative. We know more murders are coming, and Lentford seems on the verge of imploding. Her characters are nuanced, complicated, and never stereotyped.

The quick smart pacing, escalating tension, and a truly dramatic finish combine to make The Murder Club a delightfully entertaining read. The book grabs the reader from the start and doesn’t let go.

It’s possible to read this book without having read the first in the series, but you’ll only end up wanting to read Nothing Bad Happens Here because Miller and Kahu are characters that are a pleasure to discover, and you’ll want to capture their entire backstory.

Oak House Press published The Murder Club on August 31, 2020. I purchased the copy of the book used for this review, representing my honest opinions.

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Book Reviews

Book Review: Look Closer by David Ellis

Look Closer by David Ellis—The illusion of a normal, wealthy Chicago couple constructed and demolished on a grand scale.

Look Closer is the first book I’ve read by author David Ellis, and I was impressed with the writing. The novel is cleverly plotted and fast-paced, just what I look for in a suspenseful thriller. It considers complex issues— family, trust, loyalty, and manipulation—and draws on themes around greed, long-standing grudges, and revenge.

Look Closer

by David Ellis

Publisher: Penguin Random House

on July 05, 2022

Genre(s): Suspense & Thriller, Crime Mysteries

ISBN 9780399170928

464 Pages

From the bestselling and award-winning author comes a wickedly clever and fast-paced novel of greed, revenge, obsession—and quite possibly the perfect murder.

Simon and Vicky couldn’t seem more normal: a wealthy Chicago couple, he a respected law professor, she an advocate for domestic violence victims. A stable, if unexciting marriage. But one thing’s for sure … absolutely nothing is what it seems. The pair are far from normal, and one of them just may be a killer.
 
When the body of a beautiful socialite is found hanging in a mansion in a nearby suburb, Simon and Vicky’s secrets begin to unravel. A secret whirlwind affair. A twenty-million-dollar trust fund about to come due. A decades-long grudge and obsession with revenge. These are just a few of the lies that make up the complex web…and they will have devastating consequences. And while both Vicky and Simon are liars, just who exactly is conning who?
 
Part Gone Girl, part Strangers on a Train, Look Closer is a wild rollercoaster of a read that will have you questioning everything you think you know.

Look Closer unfolds in multiple time frames with much of the focus on Halloween night in 2022, and the days and weeks before and after. Also, the book focuses on two characters, Simon and Vicky–in the past and present. We learn theirs is a marriage of two people who met when they were both at low points in their lives and came together for mutual support.

“It started with small talk, what she does for a living, how long we’ve been married, and pretty soon I was opening up about Vicky’s childhood, growing up in poverty in West Virginia, running away from home at seventeen, getting hooked on drugs and doing degrading things to support herself. How she was a mess when I met her, but so was I in different ways, both of us adrift and helping each other back to the shoreline.”

This theme of relationships–their flaws and fragility–is also reflected in a third timeline, years before Simon and Vicky met. Ultimately this story is about secrets, lies, and betrayals. Ellis gives us snippets of past events that lead up to and provides the catalyst for things that alter the character’s lives forever.

Simon and Vicky couldn’t seem a more normal and realistic couple. But are they? They seem wealthy with a stable marriage. He’s a respected law professor hoping to become tenured. Vicky works for a Chicago domestic violence victim advocacy organization. Simon loves her, but he knows Vicky doesn’t love him back. Vicky cares about Simon, but isn’t in love with him and knows she isn’t the right woman for him. They both know they are housemates more than a couple. Then some startling things occur, a sea change.

By happenstance, Simon runs into the woman (Lauren), his first love, who broke his heart decades earlier. He hadn’t known she was back in town. Simon avoids her at first but can’t forget her and the memories of their shared past. Then he obsesses about her. Eventually, he engineers a meeting with her. They talk. One thing leads to another, and although they are both married, a steamy affair ensues. Simon contemplates leaving Vicky when he learns Lauren has an unhappy marriage and says she wants to be with him. There’s a sense of irony here in that Vicky has her own plans for the future that don’t include staying with Simon. She’s counting the days until a date she’s been waiting on arrives. Then Vicky can walk away with what she has wanted from the start and truly live the life she wants.

The present here plays out against a backdrop of mutual grief. Although Simon’s mother died (suicide) over two decades earlier, his sense of loss is still very strong. He blames his father for his mother’s death and still holds a grudge, even though his father is long dead. And Vicky feels grief too over her older sister’s suicide, who left behind a husband and two daughters. Vicky struggles with blaming herself for not saving her sister.

Although Ellis offers us a great cast of characters and–ultimately a myriad of twists around the secrets everyone is keeping–the strength for me here is nothing is ever as it seems in this book. And the reader does not truly appreciate that until the end. That’s what makes this book so spectacularly good. The writing is exceptional and the plotting outstanding and imaginative. Ellis grabs your interest by the throat in the first pages and doesn’t let you go until the end.

I found this book a gripping, entertaining read, and I definitely want to read more of this author’s work. For those who love trying to figure out whodunit before the cops in the novel do, remember one thing. In Look Closer, nothing is ever as it seems. And that’s a big reason why it’s one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year.

Penguin Random House will publish Look Closer by David Ellis from July 05, 2022. I received an advance reader’s copy of the book from the publisher via Net Galley used for this review, representing my honest opinions.

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Book Review: The Match by Harlan Coben

The Match by Harlan Coben—A solid thriller with a host of intriguing characters.

I’m new to Harlan Coben’s books, with The Match being the first I’ve read. But it won’t be my last. His long and celebrated career as a novelist suggests he consistently produces quality work and this, his latest novel suggests the same. The Match, the second book is Coben’s Wilde series, offers a solid and satisfyingly suspenseful plot and a host of intriguing characters.

The Match

by Harlan Coben

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Hatchette Book Group)

from March 15, 2022

Genre(s): Thriller & Suspense

ISBN‎ 9781538748336

352 pages

From the modern master of suspense comes a gripping new thriller in which Wilde follows a tip that may finally reveal the truth behind his abandonment only to end up in the sights of a ruthless killer.

After months away, Wilde has returned to the Ramapo Mountains in the wake of a failed bid at domesticity that confirms what he’s known all along: He belongs on his own, free from the comforts and constraints of modern life.

Suddenly, a DNA match on an online ancestry database brings Wilde closer to his past than he’s ever dreamed, and finally gives Wilde the opening he needs to track down his father. But meeting the man leads to more questions than answers. So Wilde reaches out to his last, most desperate lead, a second cousin who disappears as quickly as he resurfaces, having experienced an epic fall from grace that can only be described as a waking nightmare.

Was his cousin’s downfall a long time coming? Or was he the victim of a conspiracy as cunning as it is complex? And how does it all connect to the man once known as The Stranger, a dangerous fugitive with a growing following whose mission and methods have only turned more dangerous with time?

Thirty-five years ago, Wilde, our main character, was discovered living alone in the woods at an age doctors estimated to be between six and eight years old. He had no memory of parents or caregivers. After his rescue, he was raised by foster parents. The book opens with Wilde somewhere between forty and forty-two.

Deciding to learn something about his origins, Wilde submitted a DNA sample to a genealogy website and locates his sixty-one-year-old biological father (Daniel Carter). But when he visits Carter, Wilde discovers his father never knew he existed. Carter says Wilde must have been conceived during a one-night stand during Carter’s military service in decades past. Learning nothing from his father, Wilde tries to follow up with another contact from the genealogy site, and second cousin, who he eventually identifies as Peter Bennett.

Unfortunately, it proves more difficult to connect with Bennett than Wilde expects. Bennett, a one-time reality television star, caught in a scandal and canceled, has disappeared. Bennett’s sister believes he took his life, but Wilde is unconvinced. He keeps looking and enlists the help of his foster sister and his deceased best friend’s mother, a high-powered attorney, to help. When someone murders a retired cop who had trolled Bennett after his fall from grace, Wilde’s cousin becomes a suspect. But Wilde can’t let it go and continues the search, only to end up in the sights of a ruthless killer.

I like that Coben provided the background on Wilde at the beginning for the benefit of readers like me that haven’t read the first book in the series. And I’m sure those who have, also appreciated it since it likely continues Wilde’s character arc from the first book. There are a few other threads in this book beyond the main story—Wilde’s relationships with his foster sister (Rola Naser), David’s (his dead best friend) widow (Laila), his godson (Matthew), and David’s mother, renowned criminal defense attorney Hester Crimstein—that offer readers more access to who Wilde is and the man he is. Another intriguing and important thread concerns a group of six people led by a man named Chris Taylor. The group identifies and wreaks vengeance on destructive trolls they learn about who harass and torment innocent people online. The group plays a significant role in the overall plot.

Coben offers twist upon twist in this face-paced, well-written thriller with an imaginative plot that keeps readers guessing as the suspense builds to the ultimate climax. I found the book hugely entertaining and satisfyingly suspenseful. Now I plan to pick up the first book in the series to catch up before the next one comes out. Fans of other mystery and thriller writers like Baldacci and Crais will feel right at home with Coben’s writing style. I can’t believe I haven’t read him before and appreciate another reviewer friend who recommended Coben to me. If you’re new to Coben as I was, The Match is not a bad place to get acquainted.

Grand Central Publishing publishes The Match by Harlan Coben from March 15, 2022. I received an advance reader’s copy of the book used for this review from the publisher via Net Galley, representing my honest opinions.

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Book Review: Girls Who Lie by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Girls Who Lie by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir—Intricate plotting explores the deeper psychological dimensions of good and evil.

Girls Who Lie

by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

Translator Victoria Cribb

Published by Orenda Books

from May 22, 2021

Genre(s): Police Procedural, Nordic (Icelandic) Noir, International Crime Fiction

ISBN‎ 978-1-913-19373-7

348 pages

This second installment of Eva Björg Ægisdóttir’s Forbidden Iceland series examines dysfunctional family connections, and features toxic mother-daughter relationships that lead to murder as we meet girls who lie.

It occurred to me as I read this novel, something I like best about Ægisdóttir’s books is they are as much about human nature—the best of it and the worst of it—as about the solving of crimes. It’s this insight into human behavior that makes her books such addictive reads.

When a depressed, alcoholic single mother disappears, everything suggests suicide, but when her body is found, Icelandic Detective Elma and her team are thrust into a perplexing, chilling investigation.

When single mother Maríanna disappears from her home, leaving an apologetic note on the kitchen table, everyone assumes that she’s taken her own life … until her body is found on the Grábrók lava fields seven months later, clearly the victim of murder. Her neglected fifteen-year-old daughter Hekla has been placed in foster care, but is her perfect new life hiding something sinister?

Fifteen years earlier, a desperate new mother lies in a maternity ward, unable to look at her own child, the start of an odd and broken relationship that leads to a shocking tragedy.

Police officer Elma and her colleagues take on the case, which becomes increasingly complex, as the number of suspects grows and new light is shed on Maríanna’s past – and the childhood of a girl who never was like the others…

Breathtakingly chilling and tantalisingly twisty, Girls Who Lie is at once a startling, tense psychological thriller and a sophisticated police procedural, marking Eva Björg Ægisdottir as one of the most exciting new names in crime fiction.

I’ve been a fan of Icelandic novelist Eva Björg Ægisdóttir since reading her tantalizingly twisty debut novel, The Creak on the Stairs, which I very much enjoyed. Her latest, Girls Who Lie, is an intriguing read that unfolds in many time frames and from several points of view. Ægisdóttir effectively pulls this off through the use of short introductory sections that precede almost every chapter. They seem almost like prologues and give the reader flashbacks information that compliments the progression of the story, chapter by chapter. These sections are set off from the chapters themselves with italicized print. The narrator isn’t identified, but seems the same person each time. Sill, we can’t be sure since we don’t learn the person’s identity until near the very end.

After the brief chapter introductions, the book then reenters the present and follows an investigation that begins after two young boys staying in a nearby summer house with their parents find a woman’s body inside a cave in the Grábrók lava fields. It’s obvious she’s been there for some time. The authorities suspect the dead woman is a single mother named Maríanna who disappeared seven months previously after leaving an apologetic note for her daughter. Everyone assumes she took her own life. But once the forensics team and pathologist arrive, they determine someone murdered the woman who they identify as Maríanna.

Elma, an Akranes police detective, and her colleague Sævar get to work on the investigation. The police had investigated Maríanna’s disappearance seven months earlier, but since they believed she had disappeared voluntarily, they had put little effort into it. So, Elma and Sævar must again cover much old ground in order to find their footing before pushing the investigation forward.

Elma is a realistic and likeable main character. She is still adjusting to life in her hometown after recently moving back from Reykjavik and still coming to grips with the death of her former partner who took his own life. But she is now looking toward her future and deciding what she wants from it. She is involved romantically with her neighbor across the hall, but only in a casual sense. It’s clear she feels an attraction to her colleague, Sævar, and he seems to reciprocate. But Elma fears taking the relationship beyond friendship could make things awkward if it didn’t work out since they work together.

As much as I liked the debut novel in this series, I liked this one more. It seemed the plotting was more imaginative, the characters richer, and the pacing stronger. There was also more psychological depth as all sorts of mother-daughter implications manifest themselves and play out. As with the first book, there were plenty of tantalizing twists to keep the reader guessing and the pages turning. Also, there were more than a few surprises, especially near the end.

Even though the outcome of the investigation felt a little unsatisfactory in a justice-not-truly-served kind of way, I enjoyed how the book ended on a happy note. That left me eager to read the next novel in the series to see how Ægisdóttir builds on the ending to continue Elma’s character arc. Girls Who Lie is quality writing and an excellent read and further evidence of why Icelandic crime fiction continues to grow in popularity in international markets.

Orenda Books published Girls Who Lie by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir from May 22, 2021. I purchased the copy of the book used for this review, representing my honest opinions.

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