The Dying Alderman by Henry Wade

by CarolNo Comments
The Dying Alderman is the first mystery I've read by Henry Wade; he's not a writer I'd heard of before, but it looks like most of his are out for Kindle now, so I'll probably pick up more. The Dying Alderman is a well-plotted mystery with characters who are nuanced and believable. There are three cops working the case, Race who is new to the job, Vorley who is steeped in local gossip and prejudices, and Lott, the outsider who can be a bit heavy-handed in his questioning of suspects. Each of the men brings something to the plate. My favorite was Race, but Lott's goading of Vorley is rather amusing at times. Lott and Vorley are focussed on two different suspects and each seems reasonable. Wade does a good job with the police procedural aspect, but doesn't leave us with the impression that police are perfect, instead we know some may have their own agendas that don't necessarily fit with finding the truth. The...
Read More

A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny

by Carol3 Comments
I love Penny's Gamache series and this one was even better than the last couple. Gamache has taken the position of Commander of the Sûreté academy, the last bastion of the corruption that has plagues the Sûreté and a place to stop the corruption in its earliest stages, with the training of the cadets. And of course, there's a murder. One of the professors is killed, and no one at the academy is above suspicion, including Gamache  and the cadets. It's a very personal mystery for Gamache and a complicated situation. Is murder sometimes justifiable? Is anyone beyond redemption?\ As always, it's the characters the drive the mystery. With several trips to Three Pines and the homicide at the school, we meet most of the old familiar characters we know and love, but the new folks are well-drawn. The people here are real, even Gamache. They have strengths, but faults too, loyalties and habits. There's also the mystery of the old map, why it was...
Read More

The Rook by Daniel O’Malley

by Carol2 Comments
Loved this book! Granted it's not perfect - there's a fair amount of info-dumping made palatable by the whole amnesia bit. It's kind of a paranormal, sci-fi-ish spy thriller, with a dollop or two of humor. As the blurb says, Myfanwy wakes up with no memory  surrounded by dead bodies. She is guided back into her life as one of the heads of a secret paranormal agency by letters she wrote to herself, having known she would lose her memory thanks to the warnings of a variety of psychics, including a duck. So she fakes her way, but also discovers she has an AWESOME power that the old her barely made use of. She's a character to root for, the underdog due to her amnesia and that people underestimate her and never truly respected the old her. Oh and she's facing an enemy who has been waiting for revenge on England for centuries and has all kinds of yucky, nasty and dangerous things/people/fungi...
Read More

Death Likes It Hot by Edgar Box

by Carol3 Comments
Death Like It Hot was a fun look at summer in the Hamptons in the 50s, in addition to being a decent mystery. I have to admit I liked Peter Sargeant, even if he was a bit chauvinistic. He was smart and funny and a good observer, an outsider who sees all the quirks and tensions. And the rich and comfortable have a lot of quirks. This is the only one of the three in the series I've read, but it stood on its own well. The mystery was okay. I think the author played fairly, that we knew most of the clues along with Peter. It felt like a standard mystery, which is fine. I like guest house mysteries, whether they be in the Hamptons or the English countryside. I did guess the killer, but only because it was the best option, not because I had it all figured out. The book was bit racier than I would have expected, more so than...
Read More

A Midsummer’s Equation by Keigo Higashino

by Carol2 Comments
Higashino might be one of my favorite authors. A Midsummer's Equation is the fourth of his mysteries I've read I've read. It's the third Detective Galileo translated into English but the 6th in the series. It doesn't matter; the ones I've read definitely stand-alone. As the blurb above says, Manabu Yukawa is at a run-down resort town to attend a conference when, surprise, surprise, someone gets murdered. Yukawa is a physicist - good at observing, logical, thoughtful, quiet. He's that character that knows what's going on but isn't going to brag about it. We also get to see his more caring side here. He becomes friends with a boy who is also staying in town and they have some very good scenes together. His concern for the boy is what pulls him into the case, and his natural tendency to get involved in mysteries - he is the series' star. A lot of mystery blurbs talk about a surprise twist, but Higashino actually lives up to...
Read More

The Sans Pareil Mystery by Karen Charlton

by Carol2 Comments
There were several good things about The Sans Pareil Mystery. I enjoyed learning about the theater in London in 1810 and it is interesting to note that both the San Pareil Theater and the woman running it did actually exist. The mystery itself was okay, although the clues were not necessarily as noticeable as the big flashing arrows saying "this is s bad guy." I like Lavender and Wood as a team, but Lavender seems older to me than young 30s, his attitudes and actions don't necessarily fit. Or maybe the reader's voice sounded older and that projected on to the main character? I had to remind myself that he was younger than I think. For the time period, it was also notable that women played central roles in the story, not just in the plot, but on the side-lines too. We meet women who have younger lovers, who support themselves and their household, who are brave, who are loyal, who...
Read More