Archive for the ‘mystery’ Tag
Initially, Trust by Hernan Diaz is confusing. There are four different parts to the novel, but it works to think of this as four mini- books in one.
The different elements are: Bonds; My Life; A Memoir; and Futures. Each has a different author, but all about Andrew and Mildred Bevel.
“Bonds, A Novel by Harold Vanner,” opens Diaz’s series. It was written in 1937 as a work of fiction about Benjamin and Helen Rask, their wealth and lifestyle, set mostly in New York City. It’s the roaring ‘20s, but the couple, neither flaunt their wealth nor seek attention. Helen, does however, fund foundations and is a patron of the arts.
Next, “My Life by Andrew Bevel”, is a series of the wall street tycoon’s life intended as the basis of a novel, but in this context appears as a haphazard assortment of half-finished notes. This is meant to counter Vanner’s novel, based on the Bevels; it took a while to figure this out.
The third part is written by a newly introduced character, Ida Partenza. She’s hired by the now elderly Andrew Bevel to tell what he considers to be the “true” story about the Bevels. She’s given limited access to records and transcripts. Bevel wants Ida to portray their lives as he sees fit, which isn’t necessarily the way things happened. This is something Ida soon realizes, until she finds the final segment: “Futures written by Mildred Bevel,” which is more of a diary, but connects all of the components while resolving any residual confusion.
Of course, Diaz is the author of Trust in its entirety. It’s best described as a mystery and a reflection on the past. What we want to recall isn’t always the way things actually were.
Trust
Three and three-quarters bookmarks
Riverhead Books, 2022
402 pages
As in her subsequent novel, Wild Dark Shore (reviewed here earlier this year) , Charlotte McConaghy integrates climate change and intrigue but this time it’s Once there Were Wolves. Both works also include challenging romantic relationships.
Inte Flynn, a biologist, is part of a group charged with reintroducing 14 wolves to the Scottish Highlands. The locals are not happy with the possibility of their livestock becoming prey and have little interest in hearing what value the wolves have for the environment. This leads to distrust between the scientists and residents.
It’s not long before a man is murdered, which many attribute to the wolves. Inte has her doubts. While she works to disprove the townspeople’s fears she becomes romantically involved with the local police chief. Both are mysterious about their pasts.
Inte has brought her twin sister, Aggie, with her to Scotland and their past slowly unfolds, with the novel’s main focus remaining on the town’s reaction to the wolves and the murder. There’s heartache in each element of the narrative, particularly involving Aggie.
McConaghy’s pacing, the alternating chapters of past and present events make this an engaging work. It’s a tense, beautiful and haunting story about different types of relationships, the environment and what it means to trust. The landscape is sorrowful and richly described. This is historical fiction with the potential to serve as a wake-up call regarding our environment.
Once There Were Wolves
Four bookmarks
Flatiron Books, 2021
256 pages
The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives is one of those titles that both intrigues and leaves one skeptical about what to expect.
Set in 1966 Southern California, author Elizabeth Arnott strategically references popular songs, fashion and events of the era to set the scene, which takes some edge off this thriller. The three main characters are, indeed, the ex-wives of infamous serial killers now incarcerated.
Their husbands’ notoriety has made the women’s lives difficult; they have few friends and the relationships they do have are mostly misguided. None of the women had a clue regarding the dangerous, and gruesome, lives their husbands led away from home.
Bev is the only one of the three with children; she believed he was the family-man he projected to her and those in their circle. Brash Margo’s husband was former would-be-politician. Elsie works as a clerk at a Los Angeles newspaper (with aspirations to be a reporter). Each man was convicted of horrifically killing multiple women. It’s not entirely clear how the ex- wives met but they do form a bond as victims in their own right.
When several young, local women are found murdered, Bev is the first to suspect there’s a connection; one that’s soundly dismissed by the police. Law enforcement is convinced gangs are involved; Bev is certain one man is responsible. This is when she and her friends begin their own investigation.
The engaging, well-paced narrative leaves one wanting to double check that windows and doors are locked at night.
The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives
Four Bookmarks
Berkley, 2026
312 pages with acknowledgements
Hollow Spaces, the title of Victor Suthammanont’s debut novel, refers to the emptiness created by emotions such as grief, anger and at times even love.
It’s been 30 years since Brennan and Hunter Lo’s father, John, was acquitted of murdering his lover, they were young children. Yet, for the last 30 years, the unresolved question of whether he was actually guilty or not has divided them.
Brennan only saw the good in her father while Hunter saw only the bad. Their mother, who was betrayed by her husband’s infidelity, did little to help either of her children work through their feelings. Instead, the siblings, who had rarely gotten along, decide to look for the answers to determine whether John was guilty of murder or not. Agreed is the concession that one will acknowledge the other was right all along.
Many witnesses are no longer alive and old police records not easily accessible. Still, they embark on their own private investigation. Brennan’s an attorney; Hunter is a journalist. They’re both adept at research.
Along the way, they receive threats from unknown sources to quit pursuing their search. This makes them suspect they’re on to something.
The narrative is fast paced and characters are well developed, if not always likeable. Brennan comes across as condescending and Hunter is arrogant. Nonetheless, their efforts to know more about the circumstances that tore their family apart all those years ago are intriguing and compelling. In the process they discover they have more in common than once believed.
Hollow Spaces
Three-and-three-quarters Bookmarks
Counterpoint, 2025
374 pages, includes acknowledgements
Claire Leslie Hall’s novel, Broken Country, is a study in class differences, miscommunication and reignited emotions, primarily love and guilt.
When Gabriel Wolfe reappears in Beth Johnson’s life years after their brief, but intense love affair ended, not only is her life uprooted, but so is everyone else’s in the small, rural English village (their country) where they live.
Despite the tragedy of losing their young son in an accident, Beth and Frank Johnson have a strong, seemingly healthy marriage. They work the family farm with Jimmy, Frank’s younger brother and they’re well-respected in their community. Gabriel is a well-known author from an affluent background who’s returned to his family’s estate with Leo, his young son in tow. He’s the same age as Beth’s son at the time he died.
Yes, this is a love story, but there is also an element of mystery. The character-driven plot is rich with descriptive images of the rural landscape and the deep-seeded emotions of Beth, in particular. This makes it more her story with the others as supporting actors. Nonetheless, each one is richly nuanced.
The narrative randomly alternates among the past, present and future. This serves not only to inform the reader about previous and existing relationships, but also hints at some of what’s to come. Thus, there’s much that is predictable here, particularly that Gabriel and Beth will once again be drawn to each. Fortunately, there is at least one major surprise that is bound to keep readers engaged.
Broken Country
Four bookmarks
Simon and Schuster, 2025
307 pages
After reading The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, I wanted to read more in the series of the same name. The Man Who Died Twice is the second of five that follow the crime solving escapades of Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim, septuagenarian residents of an upscale retirement complex in rural England.
The format is the same as the introductory novel. Chapters alternate between those written in third person voice and those told from Joyce’s perspective. Joyce is the character with heart, who sees the good in people. She’s a good foil to the hardened Elizabeth, a former M15 spy. There are also two plot lines.
One involves nabbing the young thug who mugged Ibrahim; the second is more complex because it brings Elizabeth’s past into the limelight. He ex-husband, also a spy, is accused of stealing diamonds from a man with connections to various worldwide crime organizations.
There’s plenty of humor, intrigue and even a little romance. Osman’s characters are intelligent and caring. This includes the two local police officers they befriended, and often irritated, in the first book. The writing is sharp and engaging as the author provides more insight into the characters’ histories. After all, who knew Elizabeth had an ex?! That isn’t all that’s revealed about their pasts.
Of course, there’s a murder to solve, perhaps even two. This, and efforts to bring Ibrahim’s perpetrator to justice, keep the foursome busy, the police wondering and some of the bad guys unaware of what awaits them.
The Man Who Died Twice
Four Bookmarks
Pamela Dorman Books, 2021
368 pages
Fun and clever are the best ways to describe Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia.
Tuesday is a 30-something researcher for a large Boston hospital; her job is to find potential high dollar donors. She’s a loner. Her only friends are Dex and Abby, her childhood best friend, who disappeared when they girls were 16.
Abby’s body was never found; through the years she pleads with Mooney to find her killer. Bold font serves as Abby’s voice, but only Tuesday (and the reader) know it. She never reveals the presence of Abby’s ghost. This is the parallel story to the engaging narrative involving the aptly named Vincent Pryce.
Yes, it’s far-fetched, but lean into it.
Although Pryce, a kind, eccentric billionaire, dies at a hospital fundraising event early in the novel, his presence is always close. His death makes the news, but what really creates the headlines is his bequest to the city: a treasure hunt for some of his fortune with numerous clues, including several references to Edgar Allan Poe.
Soon Tuesday’s circle expands to include Dorry, her teenage neighbor, and Edgar Allan Arches Jr., aka Archie, youngest son of the wealthy Arches family. Tuesday puts her researching expertise to work solving the clues – along with hundreds of other Bostonians. Of course there’s a villain added to the mix.
The result is a double mystery: how did Archie’s father die and who will find the hidden cache? There’s also a bit of romance and a lot of humor.
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts
Four bookmarks
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019
359 pages
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
In The God of the Woods author Liz Moore crafts a fast-paced, engaging mystery that addresses long-held family secrets and the bonds they stretch.
The novel deftly moves between two decades, primarily 1961 and 1975. One August morning of that latter year, at Camp Emerson in rural upstate New York, Barbara, a camper, is discovered missing. What ensues is a search involving local and state authorities.
Although it shouldn’t matter, there’s additional intensity involved in finding the girl: she’s the daughter of the camp’s owner; she’s also the sister of the young boy who disappeared from the same area long ago. The boy’s body was never found creating double intrigue.
Moore’s narrative includes the parents’ histories, how the camp came to exist, vivid descriptions of the environs and several distinct, interesting and strong females. Chief among them are Barbara’s camp counselor, the camp director and a female investigator on her first case. Barbara’s character is also well developed. She comes across as a self-assured teen whose parents give her little attention and is in the shadow of her brother who went missing years before she was born.
Barbara’s family is wealthy and demanding; she’s viewed by her parents, particularly her overbearing father, as a trouble maker. Her mother is easily dismissed by those around her; she’s lost in grief and dependent on pills and alcohol.
There are plenty of theories and possible suspects in both missing persons’ cases, which adds to the whodunit. Yet, Moore’s playbook is far from formulaic.
The God of the Woods
Four Bookmarks
Riverhead Books, 2024
478 pages
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
