Book review: The Abduction by John Reid

The Abduction by British author John Reid is the seventh book of the entertaining and suspenseful DCI Burt mystery series set in London.

One thing John Reid does and does well is he constructs gripping, complex plots with multiple threads that he always ties together perfectly at the end. The Abduction is no exception. I enjoyed reading the previous book in this series, The Norwich Murders, and meeting Reid’s likeable and engaging cast of characters. So, I was happy to accept this book for review and to get reacquainted with them.

The Abduction (DCI Burt #7)

by John Reid

Published by Pegasus Publishers

on October 27, 2022

Source: Publisher

Genre(s) Mystery & Thrillers

ISBN 9781800164642

332 pages

A soldier retires from the army and is recruited into a mysterious government unit and a young woman is abducted and murdered. These completely separate events become central to DCI Steve Burt´s latest and most devastating case.

DCI Steve Burt, whose Special Resolutions Unit is under threat of closure by his new boss, is reluctantly given the abduction case which soon becomes a murder investigation.

The abducted girl is the daughter of a high court judge, who is told his daughter will be returned if he finds the defendant in his current trial not guilty, but Steve thinks the man on trial isn’t important enough to have a judge’s daughter kidnapped. Something isn’t right, but what?

The young woman’s death takes the DCI on a journey involving murder and corruption and the team begin to unearth apparently unrelated events that, when put together, draw them back to a previous investigation.

Meanwhile one of Steve´s officers feels there is a different side to the investigation and decides to follow her own course of action without supervision, with disastrous consequences.

DCI Steve Burt, head of the Special Resolutions team at New Scotland Yard, is facing uphill battles on at least two fronts. First, his new boss, Commander Daphne Bloom, who replaced Burt’s old mentor and friend, Alfie Brooks, wants to disband his independent team. Despite the unit’s enviable clearance rate that leads the MET, Special Resolutions don’t fit with Bloom’s organizational chart ideas. And then, Burt’s team draws a politically charged missing person case when Suzan Plough-Henderson, daughter of a High Court judge, goes missing.

The pressure ratchets up when Burt’s team uncovers evidence showing someone abducted the young woman and Bloom continues her unwarranted heavy handed administrative interference while Special Resolutions works to find and free the judge’s daughter. And if there isn’t enough on his plate already, Burt and his team determine that their past major case and some of the same players may bear heavily on their new one.

There’s a lot going on here as Burt and his team revisit a past murder, try to find Suzan Plough-Henderson before she suffers harm, and understand more about how the abductions ties into their most recent major case, made more difficult because of Commander Daphne Bloom’s meddling.

It all works here because it’s all part of the plot (and the same case) so it’s not distracting focusing on several investigative threads at once which miraculously fit together at the end. That’s quite an accomplishment, especially since Reid even adds to the mix a Jason Bourne-like character, a retired British soldier recruited by some secretive clandestine and off the books British intelligence agency to assassinate suspected enemies of the crown. Reid sets a fast pace from the beginning, and it doesn’t let up until the very end. And he offers some very clever twists along the way.

The Abduction is a page turner of the first order that will have readers saying bring on DCI Burt #8.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher used for this review, which represents my own honest opinions.

Buy Links

Not yet available

Book review: House of Tigers

A chilling locked room mystery novella that will make your skin itch long after you turn the last page. House of Tigers by William Burton McCormick is dead good.

I’ve been a William Burton McCormick fan since reading his engaging, intelligently written thriller KGB Banker (2021). So, when the publisher offered me his latest novella, House of Tigers, I was eager to read it. This is the third of McCormick’s books I’ve read, and as much as I enjoyed the others, this one is my favorite so far. McCormick takes crime fiction fans places few others do, and this book, set in Siberia, is no exception.

House of Tigers

by William Burton McCormick

Published by Wildside Press

on August 26, 2022

Genre(s) Mystery & Thriller, International Crime

ISBN 9781479466597

97 pages

Ilya Dudnyk, a corrupt but romantic Russian police inspector, is trapped inside his oligarch employer’s Siberian mansion with an unknown killer, a duplicitous Latvian journalist chained to his arm, and an apocalyptic insect plague raging for hundreds of kilometers beyond the smoke barriers and barricaded windows. Can Ilya track down the killer before he is the next victim? Or will the endless swarms find a way inside and all are consumed by a hundred trillion ravenous, blood-sucking mosquitoes? An Honorable Mention for the Black Orchid Novella Award, “House of Tigers” is published here for the first time ever!

As the story unfolds, a corrupt Russian police inspector, Ilya Dudnyk, braves swarms of blood-sucking mosquitoes on an apocalyptic scale to drive to the remote Siberian mansion of the oligarch who employs him to do his dirty work. Torrential rains and abnormally warm weather have spurred a mosquito infestation that is terrorizing the region. We learn the swarms of ravenous mosquitos are murderous. A man exposed to them would die in half an hour from blood loss. So, once Dudnyk arrives safely at the mansion, he must take refuge from the insects there with the mansion’s inhabitants, making virtual prisoners of them all. But to his surprise, he learns the inhabitants have an actual captive who turns out to be a trespassing Latvian journalist. And then, one by one, the bodies drop. With the complication of the interloping journalist handcuffed to his wrist, Dudnyk must investigate multiple murders and identify the killer.

It’s hard to imagine a read better tailored to crime fiction fans who enjoy a murder story where the killer uses far more creative ways of disposing of their victims than the usual gun or knife. House of Tigers combines two of my favorite kinds of crime fiction: suspense and mystery. The concept of a thriller and mystery story set against a foreboding Siberian Wilderness backdrop intrigued me. I couldn’t wait to see how McCormick incorporated the killer mosquitos into the mix, and he well exceeded my expectations. This is a binge-worthy story of suspense with dark and weighty undercurrents. McCormick strikes an excellent balance between the melancholy and gloom of the remote setting and the humor he always includes in his stories, and the breezy pacing keeps the reader turning the pages.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher used for this review, which represents my own honest opinions.

Buy Links

Book review: A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin

Flawless plotting and impeccable characterization describe A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin, the new Inspector Rebus novel.

Scottish author Ian Rankin has many series and standalone books under his belt and I’ve intended to read his books for years. However, for reasons unknown, A Heart Full of Headstones, featuring his most famous character, John Rebus, is the first of Rankin’s titles to appear on my to be read pile. I prefer to read books in a series in order. But I kept hearing about this one, probably because it’s the first Rebus novel since 2020 and highly anticipated. So when I saw advanced review copies were available, I immediately requested the book. Happily, the publisher approved the request. About a dozen pages in, I fully realized what I’ve been missing by not reading Ian Rankin until now. He is indeed an astonishingly good writer. Sadly, I can’t say how this Rebus novel stacks up against the past ones. All I can say is this one is so good that I intend to find out. And this time, sooner rather than later.

A Heart Full of Headstones (An Inspector Rebus Novel #24)

by Ian Rankin

Published by Little, Brown

on October 18, 2022

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Genres(s) Mystery & Thriller, Mystery & Detective, Private Investigators

ISBN 978-0-316-47363-7

353 pages

John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.

But what drove a good man to cross the line?

Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke may well find out. Clarke is tasked with the city’s most explosive case in years, an infamous cop, at the center of decades of misconduct, has gone missing. Finding him will expose not only her superiors, but her mentor John Rebus. And Rebus himself may not have her own interests at heart, as the repayment of a past debt places him in the crosshairs of both crime lords and his police brethren.

One way or another, a reckoning is coming – and John Rebus may be hearing the call for last orders…

Rankin opens with a prologue that shouldn’t have been surprising given the blurb. Had I paid more attention to the summary, I might have realized what was going to happen. Or at least maybe happen. Instead, it shocked me a bit that the book began with Rebus in the dock in a courtroom on trial and facing prison. It shocked me a little initially since I knew he was a retired police detective. But, of course, the opening grabbed my attention and made me want to know more. Rankin then takes us back in time in the first chapter to the beginning of the story that plays out during the rest of the novel. From there, I couldn’t put the book down.

There are several related story lines, which make the plot complex, but the author expertly weaves them together in due time and it all makes sense. Rankin provides all the back-stories and histories we’ll need to understand the plot, jogging the memories of dedicated Rebus fans while adroitly bringing new readers like me up to speed. Even without ever reading another Rebus novel, I never felt lost. He also includes a spot-on rendering of the pandemic experience for both the individual characters and the country. The effects of the pandemic echo through the story, but always in subtle ways. This contributes to helping us feel the story is real life with all its randomness and difficulties.

I found John Rebus an intensely interesting character. By this time, he is a long since retired Edinburgh police detective inspector, but still prowls the grittiest sides of the city as a private detective. And now his past is coming back to haunt him. He is an utterly believable mixture of foibles and messy contours, a flawed, cynical former policeman, often gruff but with a wry sense of humor. He has a strong platonic friendship with his former colleague and protégé, Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke, another intriguing principal character in the book and series. And she is the driving force in the narrative as she leads the investigation into a case that eventually overlaps with a private inquiry Rebus takes on, which makes him a target of both some hardened criminals and his former police colleagues.

A Heart Full of Headstones is a dark, gritty, and engrossing tale that fans of crime thrillers will enjoy. I enjoyed it so much I’ve already purchased the first book in the John Rebus series so that I can start at the beginning with the Rebus character.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley used for this review, which represents my own honest opinions.

Buy Links

Book Review: Deadly Shores by Kerry Buchanan

Deadly Shores by Kerry Buchanan is another worthy page-tuner with loads of pain for the characters and loads of thrills and suspense for readers. Buchanan’s writing is again the stand-out for me in this twisty, intriguing tale.

I’ve read both of Kerry Buchanan’s previous books and she gives us something different with each outing. Her latest, Deadly Shores, is no exception. While there is still plenty of suspense, a twisty plot, and the realistic and engaging cast of characters we’ve learned to expect from her, this one seems to lean more strongly into police procedural territory, which I loved. Buchanan has impressive story-telling ability and hits the mark with strong attention to detail every time. She is one author I’m always eagerly awaiting the next book from.

Deadly Shores (Detectives Harvey & Birch Murder Mystery Book 3)

by Kerry Buchanan

Published by Joffee Books

on April 26, 2022

Source: Purchased

Genre(s) Mystery & Thriller, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural

ISBN ‎9781804052303

302 pages

TWO SHIPS IN THE NIGHT.

ANOTHER DEAD BODY.

NO SAFE HARBOUR.

A wave lifts the stern of the boat, rigging groans in protest and a crash comes from down below, as the wails of the cargo rise above the howl of the storm.

It’s a wild Christmas Day on the rugged Northern Irish coast. But there’s no time for turkey and pud with the family for Detectives Harvey and Birch.

DS Aaron Birch leans into the wind and driving sleet. Thick, scudding clouds make the streets of Lisburn almost as dark as early evening

Then he gets the tip-off. Smugglers coming into a boatyard in Bangor.

Birch and DI Asha Harvey head to the marina. They expect to find drugs. But the evidence points to something far, far worse.

When one of the couriers is found murdered in his hotel room, they realize they are facing in a deadly storm of corruption and criminal depravity. Will they sink or swim?

The book opens with a bang as the prologue grabs our attention. A woman named Clara is at the wheel of a boat on a treacherous, stormy North Atlantic passage bound for the northwest coast of Ireland. With the decks awash with saltwater, another massive wave sweeping the deck would have tossed her over the rail into the sea had her lifeline not brought her up short. We’re not sure what this is all about, but a woman alone on an angry sea teetering on the fine line between life and death is more than adequate to grip our attention and get our pulse pumping. Of course, we learn much more about Clara and what she is about as we get deeper into the story and then the thrilling opening makes all the sense in the world.

We’re reunited with DC Aaron Birch and later DI Asha Harvey, the engaging leads from the previous books in the series. Both barely survived encounters with some corrupt police colleagues in the previous book, Small Bones. Buchanan offers adequate backstory from that book so that readers entering the series with this one won’t feel lost. She strikes a nice balance between the crimes-at-hand and past events impacting on recurring characters, so this book can work as a stand- alone. But readers who appreciate a fuller context might want to read Small Bones first.

Our lead characters are no longer partners since Harvey has received a promotion and transferred from the police station where they both worked together under Chief Superintendent Yvonne Patterson to the Bangor station in North Down. To Birch’s delight, after Patterson gets a tip-off from an informant about a large drug delivery destined for Bangor’s patch, she sends Aaron there to liaise with DI Harvey for the investigation, giving him the chance to work side-by-side once again with his friend and former partner.

Birch and Harvey begin their investigation, and it isn’t long before the first body drops when someone murders a suspected drug courier. Immediately, the investigation grows in scope and complexity. Both the action and suspense build from that point, keeping us turning the pages until the satisfying end. Both Birch and Harvey develop romantic interests (in others) in this book, which made for an interesting subplot, but the romance part never overshadows the primary plot which centers on drugs, murder, and bent cops.

Here, Buchanan again offers readers likeable leads, well-drawn, realistic supporting characters, and another intriguing plot with several twists and turns to keep us guessing. As much as I enjoyed her first two books, this one is my favorite of the series so far since it seems to enter the realm of a police procedural (my favorite genre) more strongly than the others. And it’s definitely one of my favorite books of the year. Fans of crime thrillers with a strong police procedural flavor should give this one a read.

I purchased the copy of this book used for this review, which represents my own honest opinions.

Buy Links

Book Review: Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight by Riku Onda

Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight  by Riku Onda is a radically bewildering but completely mesmeric and refreshingly original psychological thriller that is full of unpredictable twists and surprises.

Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight is the first book I’ve read by Japanese author Riku Onda. I received a copy of the book for review in my latest shipment from Bitter Lemon Press. Since I very much enjoyed the only other crime novel by a Japanese author I’ve read, I was eager to read this one. Onda is certainly a talented and emotive writer, but I wasn’t as enamoured with the substance of the book as much as with the brilliantly elusive and bewildering and definitely unconventional form. This may not be the best book I’ve read this year, but it is certainly the most fascinating. Onda’s writing is stunning with strong character development and a story arc perfectly paced to produce suspense.

Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight

by Riku Onda

Translated by Alison Watts

Published by Bitter Lemon Press

on July 26, 2022

Source: Publisher

Genre(s) Psychological Thriller

ISBN 978-1-913394-592

204 pages

Set in Tokyo over the course of one night, Aki and Hiro have decided to be together one last time in their shared flat before parting. Their relationship has broken down after a mountain trek during which their guide died inexplicably. Now each believes the other to be a murderer and is determined to extract a confession before the night is over. Who is the murderer and what really happened on the mountain?

In the battle of wills between them, the chain of events leading up to this night is gradually revealed in a gripping psychological thriller that keeps the reader in suspense to the very end.

As the book unfolds, we meet its two narrators, Hiro and Aki, who are spending one last night together in the Tokyo apartment they have long shared. They are now set to move on with their lives separately. The movers have already taken nearly everything away, and the pair are using a suitcase as a table for their last meal and drinks shared together. Onda switches back and forth between the two narrators with each chapter, which permits us to see things from their respective points of view.

The initial impression we get is that the two were romantically involved, but have now drifted apart. But when we discover the bond between them that has been challenged as more past secrets come to light, we realize this isn’t a former couple spending one last night together hoping to gain closure over a failed romance. Hiro and Aki have something to talk over, one specific thing that they both want to understand. A year earlier, a man died, and each of them suspects the other killed him. During this last night spent together in the apartment they have shared, both now hope to persuade the other to admit to a murder. Onda uses a very effective set-up for a story as it provides attention-gripping tension from the very start.

As the story plays out, we realize the true nature of Aki and Hiro’s relationship and its history isn’t what we first assumed. Indeed, it’s far more complicated than a failed romance. Like peeling back the layers of an onion, Onda slowly reveals the hidden parts, leading us from one surprising discovery to the next. For example, we learn the dead man was a mountain tour guide that Aki and Hiro had hired for a hiking trip. On the hike, the guide suggested making an unplanned rest stop and had then fallen from a cliff edge to his death. While the authorities had ruled it an accident, Aki and Hiro were not together when the man fell, and each has reason to believe the other was responsible for the guide’s death. Things grow increasingly complicated as we learn the identity of the guide, and that Aki and Hiro booked the tour under assumed names, hoping to get this particular guide assigned to them.

The truth about Aki and Hiro and a death that may or may not have been a murder slowly emerges, step by step. The nature of the story shifts as each additional detail emerges. But it is soon clear that Aki and Hiro can’t escape from the past. At best, they can only hope to figure it out, both what happened to the guide a year earlier and some other things from much longer ago. In working it all out, they both discover considerably more than they bargained for.

This is a solid, suspenseful tale with plenty of clever twists and many unpredictable turns along the way. The imaginative presentation has almost a labyrinth-like quality, continually tempting us to believe we have worked out what’s really going on, only to learn we are wrong when we stand again and again before a blank wall after taking the wrong path.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher used for this review, which represents my own honest opinions.

Buy Links

Book Review: Outback by Patricia Wolf

Absorbing, affecting, and stark Australian noir at its best describes Outback by Patricia Wolf, her debut novel.

I’ve felt a powerful attraction to Australian noir since first discovering the outstanding Australian television crime series Mystery Road, a spin-off from Ivan Sen’s feature films Mystery Road and Goldstone. So, when I read the summary of Outback by Patricia Wolf, I was keen to read it and discovering it was available for review, I immediately requested the book.

While Wolf’s character, DS Lucas Walker, isn’t an Australian Aboriginal copper like the Jay Swan character of Mystery Road, Walker is a former bushie. He’s back in outback Queensland, where he grew up, on compassionate leave from his undercover assignment with the Australian Federal Police in Canberra to care for and spend time with his terminally ill grandma, who raised him.

I saw much similarity between this book’s story line and those of the Mystery Road television series episodes in the sense of how Wolf’s brilliantly descriptive prose introduces us to the hot semi-arid climate, red dirt environment, and people inhabiting rural north western Queensland in a comparably powerful way to how the television series does it visually. She captures it perfectly, illustrating for the reader how the vast, stark, and often environmentally inhospitable Australian outback is at once both foreboding and breathtakingly beautiful simultaneously. That comes as no surprise once we learn the author grew up in the area she chose as the setting for her debut crime novel.

Outback

by Patricia Wolf

Published by Embla Books and imprint of Bonnier Books UK

on November 28, 2022

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Genre(s) Thrillers & Suspense, Australian Noir

ISBN 9781471411700

Two missing backpackers. One vast outback.

DS Lucas Walker is on leave in his hometown of Caloodie, taking care of his dying grandmother. When two young German backpackers, Berndt and Rita, vanish from the area, he finds himself unofficially on the case. But why all the interest from the Federal Police when they have probably just ditched the heat and dust of the outback for the coast?

As the number of days since the couple’s disappearance climbs, DS Walker is joined by Rita’s older sister. A detective herself with Berlin CID, she has flown to Australia – desperate to find her sister before it’s too late.

Working in the organised crime unit has opened Walker’s eyes to the growing drug trade in Australia’s remote interior, and he remains convinced there is more at play.

As temperatures soar, the search for Berndt and Rita becomes ever more urgent. Even if Walker does find the young couple, will it be too late?

Outback does not disappoint. The shocking and tense prologue effortlessly pulls us into the story and sets the scene for what’s coming. Wolf cinematically captures the dichotomy of life in rural Australia, the harshness of the unremitting dry heat and drought, and the close camaraderie between neighbors and townsfolk.

DS Lucas Walker is at his grandmother’s place in northwest Queensland where he grew up taking a few months of compassionate leave to spend with his grandma, who suffers from terminal cancer. But his boss, Chief Inspector Rutherford, at the organized crime unit of the Australian Federal Police telephones Walker with an assignment. Rutherford tells him to assist the local police with the investigation of the disappearance of two young German backpackers, Berndt Meyer and Rita Guerra. The pair went missing in Walker’s vicinity while on their way to jobs at a remote cattle station. At first Walker is dubious his supervisor only wants him to help with a routine missing persons case while on leave, but then decides he’s happy to take on the job since it’s something productive to do and he doesn’t expect it to amount too much.

But once Walker looks into the investigation, he wonders what is really going on and what he’s got himself into. He finds the local police officer in charge, Chief Constable Grogan, strangely suspicious and less than fully cooperative. Walker concludes there is much more to the story than Rutherford led him to believe.

Some might consider Wolf’s use of the unwelcoming local copper with a chip on his shoulder something of a cliché, since it seems it has become an overused staple of the genre. Yet I don’t take issue with it. Local coppers who are uncooperative with outside investigators from the big city, even bent ones, I think are a trope for Australian noir, something fans of the genre expect. And in this case, the questionable character of Chief Constable Grogan is an integral part of the plot.

After first working side by side with Grogan on the case, Walker becomes as suspicious of the man as Grogan seems of him. To Walker, Grogan’s unfriendly behavior seems like more than only resentment over an unwelcome outsider intruding on his home turf. But at first, Walker doesn’t work out just how sinister the circumstances motivating Grogan’s behavior truly are.

Although Walker’s undercover story is that his role with the Federal Police focuses on financial crimes, he’s a seasoned narcotics investigator. Knowing that every rural town has its secrets, Walker can’t help but wonder if the disappearance of the two backpackers is linked to the local narcotic trade. In time, he uncovers information that strengthens his theory.

The sister of one of the missing backpackers, Barbara Guerra, arrives in Australia and contacts Walker. Guerra is not only a deeply concerned family member, but also a Berlin police detective sergeant who wants to take an active role in the investigation. Walker tries to discourage her, but she persists, so he gives in and allows her to assist. I liked the addition of Barbara Guerra as his unofficial colleague and think the book is stronger for having her to act as Walker’s foil. Also, despite Guerra’s unswerving focus on finding her little sister before it’s too late, unquestionable mutually felt sexual tension develops between the two detectives. Although they never act on it, this contributes to adding interest and pushing the plot forward.

Wolf does an impressive job with her characters, with Walker and Guerra, as well as the extended supporting cast. All are well-developed and realistic and none dissolve into stereotypical cliches. There is enough backstory offered for the principal characters without being overdone. I really liked Lucas Walker. Wolf draws him wonderfully, a man affected by his past but not in the cliched “flawed protagonist” way so prevalent in crime fiction today. His relationship with mother is fractured, which is why his grandma raised him after his mother moved to Boston to pursue her career, but Wolf presents the story in an understated way which is achingly touching.

There isn’t really a whodunit part in this novel, as we learn straightaway why the backpackers went missing and who is responsible, but that takes nothing away from the well-developed plot since Wolf adds plenty of twists to the plot to continue ratcheting the suspense little by little until it becomes most intense. And despite what is revealed early in the novel, we’re interested in how it will all play out. The unexpected revelations as the book moved toward the final climax also intrigued me.

I would enjoy meeting DS Lucas Walker again, and the ending seemed to leave plenty of room for Outback to become the first in a series. I hope that’s the case, since Patricia Wolf is an excellent storyteller and I’m keen to read more of her work. This book is perfect for fans of Australian crime fiction and authors like Jane Harper.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley used for this review, which represents my own honest opinions.

Patricia Wolf has been a journalist for more than 15 years. She is a regular contributor to titles, including The Guardian, The Financial Times, The New York Times and The Telegraph, among others. Formerly a design columnist at The Independent and the Lisbon correspondent for Monocle magazine, she covers subjects ranging from design, art and culture to travel, politics and human interest pieces from around the world. In 2021, Patricia was announced as the winner of the $100,000 Nine Dots Prize and a book deal with Cambridge University Press. Outback is Patricia’s first work of fiction.

Author Patricia Wolf

Buy Links

Book Review: .45-Caliber Perfume by Leo W. Banks

Greed, sex, and murder combine in .45-Caliber Perfume by Leo W. Banks, a gritty, face-paced, and entertaining contemporary noir tale.

One thing Leo W. Banks does exceptionally well is the way he uses a well-chosen word or phrase that does so much to paint a scene or create a mood, a hallmark of the best noir fiction writers.

Most of us rise above our baser instincts, but not so for the main characters in .45-Caliber Perfume. It’s a story about a shady politician and two women in his life, all who act on their baser instincts, so we can’t help but be fascinated. We learn all three have secrets and hidden agendas which set them on a collision course. This, along with the terse, snappy dialogue and suspenseful plotting, gives the reader no chance to get bored.

.45 Caliber Perfume

by Leo W. Banks

Published by Brash Books

on August 29, 2022

Source: Publisher (via author)

ISBN 9781954841499

Genre(s) Thriller & Suspense, Noir Crime Fiction

226 pages

Arizona businessman Henry Belmont’s senate campaign is looking good. The cash contributions are rolling in and Mary Rose Cleary, his sexy, young campaign manager and mistress, is happy to handle the flow, as long as she can secretly pocket her cut. Complicating the picture is Henry’s conniving wife Barbara, a fading beauty with a secret criminal past and a deadly agenda. But Mary and Barbara share more than a bed with handsome Henry. They both love guns, money and sex…and know how to use them to get what they want. Now, in the brutal heat of a Phoenix summer, the lives of this scheming trio will collide in a violent explosion of betrayal, greed and murder.

Henry Vincent Belmont (Vin the Chin), we learn, was once an all-conference college football star with his sights set on the NFL until a knee injury crushed the dream. Now he is a self-made Phoenix businessman running for the United States Senate, motivated by the same things as most politicians, profiting from influence peddling and the thirst for fame and power. The two principal women in his life are his wife Barbara and his campaign manager Mary Rose Cleary. As might be expected, Mary is the common denominator in the story between Henry Belmont and his wife, Barbara. Mary manages not only Henry’s campaign fundraising, she is also his mistress, dreaming that once Henry gets elected, he’ll dump Barbara, marry her and take her to Washington with him. But no one knows her husband as well as Barbara does. She knows all about his philandering ways and Barbara has ambitions of her own that don’t include Henry.

Banks alternates between Mary and Barbara as narrators, so we hear from both the women and he produces believable and individual “voices” for each which I found compelling. It allows us to see the events and situations unfold from their individual points of view. We learn what they think about Henry, each other, and gain insight into their specific characters (or lack thereof), motivations, and agendas.

Ostensibly, Mary Rose Cleary at the beginning, despite her selfish motivations, is committed to Henry and helping him succeed. But once she discovers Henry’s secrets and that she won’t realize her dreams, that facade falls away quickly. Mary isn’t quite the nice girl and dedicated assistant we first believed she was, but a rather shady, conniving, and vengeful person who intends to get what she believes she deserves. As secrets get revealed and the lies uncovered amidst alcohol-fueled and illicit sexual trysts, we learn the unvarnished truths about two women with troubled pasts and hidden agendas. I’m uncertain we can find a single likeable character in this book, someone to feel sympathy for or root for. But understanding they are all on the edge of moral breakdown (or have already completed it), their actions are understandable.

There’s a sense of predictability here and I think readers will clearly see where this book is going. After all, the reason most of us strive to rise above our baser instincts is because we know we would get burned in the end if we didn’t. But not so for the main characters here. This is a story about all three acting on their baser instincts, so we can’t help but be fascinated despite knowing things probably won’t end well for them. And Banks throws in enough surprises, it’s good fun for all.

Our verdict is .45-Caliber Perfume is a safe bet if you’re in the market for a gritty, suspenseful, noir fiction read where the combination of sex, greed, and murder moves the plot along masterfully. Just don’t expect light to triumph over darkness or good to win out in the end.

I received a copy of the book used for this review from the publisher via the author, which represents my own honest opinions.

Buy Links

Book Review: Death at Paradise Palms by Steph Broadribb

Death at Paradise Palms by Steph Broadribb is an exceptionally entertaining read that is mostly cozy, yet a solid whodunit.

Death at Paradise Palms by Steph Broadribb is the second book in the Retired Detectives Club, featuring four retired residents of The Homestead Retirement Community in Florida. It’s an exceptionally entertaining read that is mostly cozy, yet a solid whodunit. The premise is probably a little far-fetched, but the novel is pure escapism, so I tried not to overthink the practicality of retired folks (albeit all former law enforcement) gallivanting about after armed, murderous kidnappers.

Death at Paradise Palms (The Retired Detectives Club Book 2)

by Steph Broadribb

Published by Thomas & Mercer

on October 11, 2022

Source: Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley

Genres: Crime Fiction

ISBN: 9781542027526

Pages: 316

It looks like an open-and-shut case―until one of the Retired Detectives disappears…

When movie producer Cody Ziegler goes missing from The Homestead’s Millionaires’ Row, his wife, retired actress Olivia, immediately claims there’s foul play afoot. A million-dollar ransom demand soon follows, with clear instructions not to involve the cops. In desperation she enlists the help of Moira, Rick, Philip and Lizzie, aka the Retired Detectives Club.

Racing against the clock, the four retirees set to work. Sure, Cody had enemies―there’s a disgruntled employee, a jilted film-maker and a hundred other people who know how much he’s worth. But when it emerges that Cody’s apparently perfect marriage isn’t what it seems, even Olivia isn’t above suspicion.

When Cody’s car turns up in a nearby lake with a shocking surprise inside, the case becomes even more complicated. But with Philip and Lizzie’s marriage on the rocks, and threatening notes sending Moira into a spin, the Retired Detectives Club risks falling apart before getting any closer to the truth.

Can Moira and the gang find Cody before it’s too late? Or will this case see them lose in more ways than one?

Broadribb introduces us to a primary cast of four – a former DEA agent (Rick), a British ex-DCI (Moira), and a married British couple (Philip and Lizzie), an ex-DCI and ex-CSI, respectively. I haven’t read the first bestselling book in the series, Death in the Sunshine, but references in this one suggest here we have the same group of retired detectives investigating crimes that the local cops either can’t or are unwilling to investigate. While I don’t think it matters if you’ve not read the first book in the series, that one might give the reader more context since authors often spend significant time in first books building the backstories and personalities of the regular characters. Still, Broadribb gives us ample information about the characters, so we never feel lost entering the series with the second book.

While here we seem to have a protagonist by committee since all four main characters seem to have equal weight, the book unfolds in third person from the point of view of Moira Flynn, but we get the points of view of the others and Broadribb spends plenty of time developing them all. We learn not only the roles they play in the investigation, but get personal side stories for all four that help give us clearer perspectives of them that help us see them as real people we come to care about. Still, I found Moira the most interesting character in the group because I found her side story more compelling and sympathy provoking. Rick Denver is also a likeable, realistic character and his budding romantic interest in Moira adds much to the story. I didn’t really like Philip and Lizzie Sweetman much at the start. Philip seems to have an inflated idea of his own importance. His wife Lizzie, holding onto an old grudge bitterly and tenaciously, uses it as an excuse to treat her husband harshly. I felt little sympathy for either until near the end of the book when circumstances forced them both to finally became more likeable.

The retired detectives are in fine form and there are a few laugh-out-loud moments interspersed among the more serious issues Broadribb touches deftly on, such as ageing, life after retirement, and relationships.

We’re offered a simple missing person case at the start when a former Hollywood star, Olivia Hamilton Zeigler, hires the retired detectives to find her missing husband Cory. But when Olivia receives a ransom demand, the case turns into a kidnapping case. Still, the team stays on the case since Olivia doesn’t trust the police and refuses to involve the authorities. Broadribb’s writing and characterization are incredibly engaging and the reader feels as if they are as involved in the case as the cast.

As mentioned, a team of amateur sleuths, even retired law enforcement types, probably wouldn’t take on an active kidnapping case, but it’s certainly good fun and an enjoyable page-turning read. If you’re a fan of Miss Marple or Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series, you’re sure to enjoy this book.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for review purposes.

Available on

Book Tour: Harm by Sólveig Pálsdóttir

Adroit storytelling, vivid relatable characters, and a twisty plot makes Harm by Sólveig Pálsdóttir a winner for mystery and detective fans.

A book tour organizer friend (who knows my love for Nordic crime fiction) suggested I’d like Harm by Sólveig Pálsdóttir and she certainly wasn’t wrong. Usually, I wait about a week before my spot on a book tour to read the book so the details are still fresh in my memory when I write the review. But I was so eager to dive into this one after reading the blurb, I read it early in the month of September. This is the first book I’ve read by the Icelandic author, and it won’t be my last because I loved everything about it. The twisty plot was worthy of an Agatha Christie novel and it was a pleasure to meet the vivid, relatable characters.

Harm

by Sólveig Pálsdóttir

Translated by Quentin Bates

Published by Corylus Books

From August 27, 2022

ISBN 978-1-9163797-8-7

Genre(s) Mystery & Detective, Nordic noir

240 pages

From the publisher

When wealthy doctor Ríkarður Magnússon goes to sleep in his luxurious caravan and doesn’t wake up, detectives Guðgeir Fransson and Elsa Guðrún are called to the Westman Islands to investigate what looks like murder.

Suspicion immediately falls on Ríkharður’s young, beautiful and deeply troubled girlfriend – but there are no easy answers in this case as they are drawn into family feuds, disgruntled friends and colleagues, and the presence of a group of fitness-obsessed over-achievers with secrets of their own.

As their investigation makes progress, Guðgeir and Elsa Guðrún are forced to confront their own preconceptions and prejudices as they uncover the sinister side of Ríkharður’s past.

Imagine a young woman’s shock when she wakes to discover her boyfriend, wealthy doctor Ríkarður Magnússon, a man twenty years her senior, is lying in bed beside her in their caravan dead. Complicating the situation are two things. First, the young woman, Diljá had given him something at bedtime to make certain he slept soundly so that she could slip away to spend the night in the company of another man. And she has a troubled past including diagnosed mental illness. All she can think of is no one will believe she intended Ríkarður no harm and considers fleeing before his death gets discovered. And that’s what she does, which puts her at the top of the suspect list once the police begin investigating the death of Ríkarður Magnússon as a possible homicide. Detectives Guðgeir Fransson and Elsa Guðrún arrive at the scene on the Westman Islands from Reykjavik to investigate. After interviewing two other couples that Ríkarður and Diljá had come to the Westman Islands to spend time with and discovering the victim’s girlfriend Diljá has disappeared and taken the ferry back that morning, they find her behavior suspicious. The police eventually find Diljá and remand her into custody in Reykjavik. But after interviewing her and some fresh developments come to light, Guðgeir and his team begin to doubt Diljá’s guilt. Masterful storytelling, vivid relatable characters, and a twisty plot makes Harm by Sólveig Pálsdóttir a winner for mystery and detective fans. My verdict, get it.

Corylus Books published Harm by Sólveig Pálsdóttir in English in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2022.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher for review.

Sólveig Pálsdóttir

Sólveig Pálsdóttir trained as an actor and has a background in the theatre, television and radio. In a second career she studied for degrees in literature and education, and has taught literature and linguistics, drama and public speaking. She has also produced both radio programming and managed cultural events. Her first novel appeared in Iceland in 2012 and went straight to the country’s bestseller list. She has written six novels featuring Reykjavík detective Guðgeir Fransson, and a memoir Klettaborgin which was a 2020 hit in Iceland. Silenced (Fjötrar) received the 2020 Drop of Blood award for the best Icelandic novel of the year and was Iceland’s nomination for the 2021 Glass key award for the best Nordic crime novel of the year. Harm (Skaði), published in October 2021 in Iceland, made it to the bestseller list just like the previous books, and is her third novel to appear in English, following The Fox and Silenced. She took part in several crime fiction and literary festivals such as Bristol’s CrimeFest, Newcastle Noir, Aberdeen’s Granite Noir and Iceland Noir. Sólveig lives in Reykjavík.

Quentin Bates has professional and personal roots in Iceland that run very deep. He worked as a seaman before turning to maritime journalism. He is an author of a series of nine crime novels and novellas, the Reykjavik detective featuring Gunnhildur (Gunna) Gísladóttir. In addition to writing his own fiction, he has translated books by Lilja Sigurðardóttir, Guðlaugur Arason, Einar Kárason, Óskar Guðmundsson and Ragnar Jónasson. Quentin was instrumental in launching IcelandNoir, the crime fiction festival in Reykjavik.

Translator

Book review: To the Sea by Nikki Crutchley

To the Sea is another entertaining thriller and worthy page-turner from 2021 Ngaio Marsh Award shortlisted New Zealand author Nikki Crutchley.

I loved Nikki Crutchley’s first three books, Nothing Bad Happens Here, No One Can Hear You, and The Murder Club. I’ve had a copy of this one, To the Sea, for months and months after going to a good bit of trouble to buy a copy after the publisher released it in Australia and New Zealand. But since I’ve had a constant flow of read for review books this year and feel an obligation to give those the priority, I’ve only just got to Crutchley’s latest release. It’s such a brilliantly written book, it feels a bit confronting and challenging to review it since I wonder if I can even do justice to it. It’s a thriller, but one with almost a literary feel. I read this easily in a sitting and it’s certainly the kind of story that induces you to do so. Crutchley builds steadily to the action-packed climax, but she paces it so perfectly it never drags. This book and the events within feel so real that it’s as if we readers are glimpsing real life struggles, hidden secrets, pain, and anger.

To the Sea

by Nikki Crutchley

Published by: Harper Collins

on December 01, 2021

Source: Purchased

ISBN 978-1-4607-6043-7 (Paperback)

Genre(s) Thrillers and Suspense

312 pages

A compulsively readable suspense thriller from Ngaio Marsh Award shortlisted author, Nikki Crutchley, which will keep you guessing and reading up until late into the night.

Iluka has been the only home that 18-year-old Ana has ever known. The beautiful wild pine plantation overlooking the Pacific Ocean where her grandfather builds furniture, her aunt runs an artists’ retreat and her uncle tends the land, is paradise, a private idyll safe from the outside world.

But the place holds a violent secret and when a stranger arrives, Ana will need to make a choice: to protect everything – and everyone – she holds dear or tell the truth and destroy it all.

An atmospheric, suspenseful, dark and twisty thriller in the tradition of Daphne du Maurier, Paula Hawkins, Anna Downes and JP Pomare.

The book opens with a flashback to twenty-three years before the present day. A man named Hurley survives a near fatal boating accident at sea that claimed the life of his best friend. Hurley emerges from the experience believing the sea took his friend but spared him to give him a second chance at life, and he undergoes a marked personality change. Much to his wife’s chagrin, he sells his business and the family home and moves his wife, daughter, and son to a secluded seafront, pine covered property he names Iluka. Hurley also changes the names of his wife and children, giving them names associated with the sea. The family subsists on sales of the furniture Hurley builds from the pine trees on the property, the operation of an artist’s retreat bed-and-breakfast, and by tending the land. While Hurley and his thirteen-year-old daughter believe Iluka and the near hermit-like existence of the family idyllic, his wife never adjusts to it and eventually makes plans to leave with their young son. But thanks to Hurley, Iluka is a bit like the Hotel California. You can check in anytime you like, but can never leave. Not alive. When he discovers his wife had packed to leave, he murders her, but arranges it to look like a suicide and the local authorities accept that was what happened. The story continues to switch back and forth between the past and present, teasing out the family secrets that help us soon understand that there is nothing idyllic about Iluka at all. The sinister place inhabited by a troubled family with shocking secrets would be right at home in a Stephen King horror novel. More murders happen and as the macabre family secrets get revealed to the reader, the suspense builds and builds until the end. Ana, Hurley’s eighteen-year-old granddaughter is the main character. I enjoyed the complexity of her relationship with her grandfather and mother. Crutchley does a fabulous job of giving readers insight into the life of someone who loses her innocence once she discovers the family secrets about gruesome events that occurred before her birth, and how she struggles to make sense of it all against the backdrop of the home her family raised her to love and protect at any cost. This is another great read from Crutchley. Her writing seems effortless, or at least reading it makes it seem so. There are some deeper themes on offer, including the right versus wrong and good versus evil. Crutchley throws in a few surprises on cue for good measure, teases out the secrets along the way, and gives readers a splendid climax.

To the Sea is another entertaining thriller and worthy page-turner from 2021 Ngaio Marsh Award shortlisted New Zealand author Nikki Crutchley.