Archive for the ‘murder’ Tag
Sarah and Adam Morgan have been married for 10 years. She’s a successful Washington, D.C., defense attorney; he’s a struggling writer. While professing their love to each other, it’s clear not everything is ideal. She works too much, often missing commitments made to Adam. He’s often on his own. So much, in fact, he’s having an affair. Sarah learns about Adam’s infidelity after he’s accused of murdering his paramour.
Author Jeneva Rose’s The Perfect Marriage has an abundance of twists and turns; in fact, there are too many. There are plenty of obvious suspects besides Adam; there are also characters who suddenly become suspects. The latter really weren’t necessary to add to the mix, but there they are.
Rose also requires her readers to suspend a lot of disbelief. First, Sarah insists on representing her husband. The likelihood of this being allowed is too slim to fathom. Then there’s Adam’s mother who worms herself into situations that also would be unacceptable in criminal cases. The most egregious element of all is the manipulation of the reader’s trust.
Initially, Rose’s characters, particularly Sarah and Adam, are sympathetically portrayed. It’s difficult not to root for them, even though they are far from perfect. Yet, Adam’s imperfections are the most detailed, so at some point it’s easy to wonder what Sarah sees in him.
The relationships with other characters, including the investigating officers, Sarah’s personal assistant and Sarah’s office nemesis all play into the blindsiding outcome.
The strikeout in the word perfect is intentional.
The Perfect Marriage
Three bookmarks
Blackstone Publishing, 2024
375 pages
Kalmann An Icelandic Mystery
by Joachim B. Schmidt
Kalmann Odinsson, 33, is a man with special needs man: mentally he hasn’t progressed beyond that of a six-year-old; he’s uncoordinated and socially awkward. He lives alone in the small town of Raufarhofn, Iceland, nearly 400 miles from the country’s capital.
Fishing is the primary industry and because of the small population, everyone knows everybody. Most are sympathetic to Kalmann who considers himself the town sheriff. He wears a cowboy hat and has a badge to prove it. He also carries an antique Mauser pistol.
For most of Kalmann’s life, his Grandfather was his constant companion, but the elder man was moved to a senior care facility in another town. Kalmann’s mother also moved away, but frequently checks in on her son.
The best times of his life were those times spent with his Grandfather, which helps explains why Kalmann is as self-sufficient as he is. Although he visits his Grandfather weekly, his absence is deeply felt.
The novel is told from Kalmann’s perspective which is both humorous and, at times, heartbreaking. When he discovers blood while hunting for an Arctic fox, a mystery unfolds. First, whose blood and where is the body?
Despite his limitations, Kalmann is often insightful; and perhaps because of them, he is also frustrated. This is similar to my reaction while reading. This is due largely to the novel’s pacing, which is, at times, laborious. In developing Kalmann’s character in such tedious detail, the author, unfortunately, lets the mystery at hand take the back seat.
Kalmann: An Icelandic Mystery
Bitter Lemon Press, 2022
301 pages
Three bookmarks
Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood blends 1940s noir with humor thanks to its New York City setting and irreverent narrator, Will – short for Willowjean.
Will ran away as a teen and joined the circus becoming an adept knife-throwing performer. Her skills saved the life of Lilian Pentecost, a successful private investigator with a recent multiple sclerosis diagnosis, caught in a dangerous situation.
Soon, Will has left the circus and is working as Lilian’s personal assistant, which results in a dramatic lifestyle change for the younger woman. In addition to a salary and training, Will gets room, board and new kinds of adventures as she hones her own investigative skills
Three years after taking Will under her wing, Lilian is hired to solve a high profile case, one involving the murder of Abigail Collins, matriarch of a wealthy family. Of course, there are plenty of suspects to go around including Harrison Wallace, CEO of Collins Steelworks, and Abigail’s psychic friend. Becca and Randolph, Abigail’s adult children, also contribute to the intrigue, as do some employees of the wealthy family.
Lilian’s experience is evident in her calm, deliberate approach. Will’s role involves research and interviewing possible suspects; however, she’s also inclined to follow her gut, which doesn’t always have good results.
Clandestine relationships and other secrets keep the detectives on the alert. There’s even a bit of romance between Will and Becca. Spotswood has crafted a fast-paced who-dunnit with entertaining characters. Plus, Will’s sardonic humor makes it a fun read.
Fortune Favors the Dead
Four Bookmarks
Doubleday, 2020
321 pages
Ann Patchett is one of my favorite authors, so when she praised Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke I added it to my reading list. I’m glad I did.
A young white local woman is found dead in Lark, a rural East Texas town, a week after a Black man was discovered dead, and questions begin to surface – primarily among the Black community. The man’s death draws little attention, but the second one leads Texas Ranger Darren Mathews to suspect a connection between them.
Darren’s career and marriage are on the rocks. He grew up in the area, but left for college, law school in Chicago and eventually life in Houston to pursue a career in law enforcement. When he first arrives, Darren isn’t officially involved in the murder investigations. Local authorities resist the idea they’re related and resist his presence.
Locke’s fast-paced and timely novel addresses racism and justice that is neither heavy-handed nor underplayed. With the exception of a few stereotypical characters, most are interesting, intelligent and very human rich with strengths and plenty of foibles. Even those whose bigotry is never masked have some (limited) interesting qualities. Ironically, what they all have in common is love.
This may seem contradictory, but the various relationships among those related to the victims as well as Darren’s history with the region reflect unexpected tenderness in an otherwise harsh situation.
Darren’s tenacity, despite his flaws, and the subplot involving a long-ago romance make for an engaging narrative that’s more than a mystery.
Bluebird, Bluebird
Four Bookmarks
Mulholland Books, 2017
303 pages
A book with few likeable characters such as Paula Hawkins’ A Slow Burning Fire, is difficult to recommend. Granted, the mystery element is strong with several suspects, but it almost doesn’t matter who-dunnit if there isn’t one for whom to root.
When the body of a young man, Daniel, is found brutally stabbed on a London houseboat the immediate suspect is Laura who was seen leaving his place covered in blood shortly before the body is discovered. Yet other suspects include Miriam who lived on the neighboring boat, and Carla, Daniel’s once-estranged aunt.
The back stories for these major characters factor into the present-day mystery. Laura was in a serious bicycle accident as a child and has dealt with anger management issues ever since.
Miriam is without friends or family. As a teenager she was abducted, and these many years later she remains a broken, unkind person.
Carla, the deceased man’s aunt, had a tenuous relationship with him based on guilt for how she treated his mother/her sister. Fifteen years earlier, Carla’s three-year-old son died while in the care of her sister. Her nephew discovered the child’s body.
Hawkins offers plenty of credible twists throughout, including several instances where it seems obvious, beyond a reasonable doubt who killed Daniel.
Laura is befriended by Irene, an elderly woman (who interestingly lives next door to Carla’s late sister’s home). For the younger woman, this is significant: Irene genuinely cares about her. Consequently, Irene is finally a character the reader can actually appreciate.
A Slow Burning Fire
Three Bookmarks
Riverhead Books 2021
306 pages
A detailed narrative about a British warship in the 1700s might not sound like the most gripping read. However, David Grann has crafted a compelling story about the power of the sea, the determination to survive and an unexpected outcome.
Relying on journal entries from several men aboard the HMS Wager, Grann provides different perspectives of what occurred. The Wager was part of a fleet on a secret mission during the Britain’s War with Spain.
However, before the ships ever left port, a shortage of crewmen and illness delayed the ability to set sail. This foretells of an ominous outcome.
Unrelenting storms and conditions while making the passage around Cape Horn, scurvy, loss of life, a tyrannical captain and separation from the rest of the fleet are just the beginning of the misfortunes, including the shipwreck. The survivors land on a desolate, mountainous island they name after their lost vessel.
The journals bring the seamen to life and the existence of their writings address the question of who survives, so no spoiler alert is needed. What’s intriguing is how long they endured the harsh conditions, the steps taken to leave the island, the factions established by those efforts and, perhaps most captivating is what happens once the men do return to England (and not all arrive together).
The publication of several conflicting accounts of what occurred resulted in charges and countercharges thus leading to a court martial. Its outcome is as surprising as the sailors’ impressive ability to survive.
The Wager: A tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
Four Bookmarks
Doubleday, 2023
329 pages, includes notes, bibliography, index and list of illustrations
The one-time punk rocker, tattooed, cigarette smoking, gay Sister Holiday, doesn’t fit the mold when it comes to Catholic nuns. In Margot Douaihy debut novel, Scorched Grace, she’s a member of the Sisters of Sublime Blood order, which runs the Saint Sebastian School where she’s the music teacher. The convent adjoins the school.
When not one, but two fires and two deaths occur at the school, Sister Holiday initiates her own investigation convinced authorities aren’t moving fast enough to find the culprit – and avoid potential further harm to her school and church community.
Set in New Orleans, the storylines moves between Holiday’s past and what at first appears as her new-found faith. In fact, one of the strengths of Douaihy’s writing lies in slowly revealing the nun’s deepening convictions, in spite of her rebellious personality and the obstacles she encounters in her attempts to solve the crimes.
The list of suspects is credible, even as evidence points to Sister Holiday herself. The investigating police officers are convinced of her guilt. While the fire investigator, Magnolia Riveaux, is less ready to pin the blame on Holiday.
Descriptions of the Big Easy, the humidity and other characters are vivid. Sister Holiday is tenacious and the authorities consider her a pest. Her relationship with the other nuns (there aren’t many) are a way the author deftly merges the past and present. Sister Holiday is, indeed, the sum of her history: colorful tats and all.
Based on the subtitle, Sister Holiday isn’t being cloistered anytime soon.
Scorched Grace: A Sister Holiday Mystery
Three-and-a-half bookmarks
Gillian Flynn Books, 2023
307 pages
Bodie Kane, a successful podcaster living in Los Angeles, returns to her alma mater, a private boarding school in New Hampshire, to teach a podcasting and a film class. The trek down memory lane reveals several unresolved issues; including questioning her role in what she now suspects is the wrongful conviction of the school’s athletic trainer for the murder of her high school roommate.
In I Have Some Questions For You, Rebecca Makkai has crafted an engaging narrative by combining elements of a murder mystery with the transience of memory.
When two of her students choose the murder as their podcast topic, Bodie is both intrigued and uncomfortable, although the former soon overrides the latter. Bodie is forced to examine her own past at the school.
As narrator, Bodie occasionally addresses questions to an unknown reader. The identity is eventually revealed, but the inquiries help guide her as she learns more about the night of the murder, initially viewed as suicide. She considers the school’s eagerness to settle the matter and the possible culpability of numerous students and faculty.
Makkai’s characters are intelligent and credible thanks to an array of foibles. Bodie is separated from her husband with whom she’s maintained a friendly relationship. When he’s called out on social media as sexual predator, Bodie unwittingly comes to his defense, which leads to a new set of problems. All of this comes down to power and privilege, themes further raised as the students’ podcast assumes a life of its own.
I Have Some Questions For You
Four Bookmarks
Viking, 2023
438 pages
At slightly more than 500 pages, A Place of Hiding by Elizabeth George is heavy reading, but only in terms of physical weight. Rather, this lengthy mystery is engaging with plenty of possible suspects and motives – perhaps too many.
Set primarily in Guernsey in the English Channel, China River is convinced by her ne’er-do-well half-brother, Cherokee, to join him on a trip to England (from Southern California) to deliver architectural drawings to wealthy landowner Guy Brouard. Soon after their arrival, Brouard is murdered and China is arrested.
Cherokee reaches out to China’s friend, Deborah St. James and her husband, Simon, to help exonerate his sister. This is only the beginning of a long list of characters, some interesting, some entertaining and many extraneous. Consequently, attentive reading is necessary or it’s easy to lose track of who’s who.
Brouard’s back story is a major element of the mystery: he and his sister were sent from France as children at the onset of World War II. Their bond is scrutinized far more than River and Cherokee’s. However, it is only one of several relationships examined.
In spite of the numerous players, including Brouard’s son, his ex-wife, his past lovers, the local police, the cook, the groundskeeper, a teenage boy and his abusive older brother, among many more, the author deftly illustrates why each might be guilty. As the novel progresses, her portrait of Brouard changes shape as more about him is revealed.
Learning the motive is less interesting than discovering the murderer.
A Place of Hiding
Four Bookmarks
Bantam Books, 2003
514 pages
In Sara Blaedel’s The Midnight Witness, set in Copenhagen, the strangled body of a young woman is found in a park. Before long, a journalist investigating drug trafficking is discovered dead in a hotel alley. Questions soon arise: Could these cases be related but how?
Detective Louise Rick is initially assigned to the young woman’s case; later, she’s transferred to the second murder.
Blaedel’s writing is engaging thanks to well-crafted characters. Louise is smart and despite her expertise she’s often diminished because she’s a woman; nonetheless, she has worked her way through the ranks to become a detective. Her best friend Camilla Lind, a journalist investigating the same murders, is set on establishing a connection.
The author provides enough detail about the women’s lives without it overshadowing the who-dun-its. Both are single, although Louise is in a long-term relationship with a man who’s been offered a job in Scotland wanting her to join him. She’s confronted with the personal vs professional battle many women face. Camilla is earnest in her journalistic role, but also is often not taken seriously due to her gender. She’s motivated to prove otherwise.
As they pursue the cases in their respective roles their bond is strained. The tension between the two is palpable. Even as Louise becomes increasingly frustrated with her friend’s involvement she can’t help being concerned for Camilla’s safety.
A third murder victim not only amps up the police efforts, but also raises suspicions about possible leaks among everyone involved in the investigation.
The Midnight Witness
Almost four bookmarks
Grand Central Publishing, 2018
284 pages
The Blue Page Special 