Faithful Place by Tana French

Author Tana French just keeps getting better and better.

I first began reading her work last year when I picked up her much-lauded debut mystery novel In the Woods. With the caveat that I don't read mysteries often, In the Woods was like nothing I'd ever read before. Complex, atmospheric and creepy, it plunged me into the main character's traumatic past and present-day psychological unraveling with little mercy.

There were times I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing on end — not from overdone violence or hackneyed terror devices but French's amazing way of showing us glimpses of the unknown without ever giving us the luxury of a big reveal. In French's capable hands, I'm not quite sure I'd survive a big reveal.

French has since released three more books in what's known as the Dublin Murder Squad series: The Likeness, Faithful Place and, most recently, Broken Harbor. I just finished Faithful Place and am looking forward to delving into Broken Harbor. The more I read her, the more I like her work. Each story has featured compelling characters grappling with unique, gripping scenarios both internally and in real life.

In each of these installments, French takes a character introduced in the prior book in the series and gives them their own chance to shine. Nevertheless, newcomers to the Dublin Murder Squad should have no problems following Faithful Place because there aren't any allusions to earlier books.

Faithful Place follows hard-bitten Dublin undercover investigator Frank Mackey, who returns reluctantly to the serpent's den he once called home.

Twenty-two years ago Frank and his young love Rosie Daly had planned to run away together. But Rosie never showed that fateful night. Brokenhearted, Frank had always assumed she'd decided to go it alone. He left Faithful Place that night as well and has never looked back. But now Rosie's packed suitcase has surfaced, suggesting she never made it out and perhaps met a more sinister end than anyone ever expected.

In his burning quest to find out what happened, Frank reluctantly returns to the dysfunctional family fold, dredging up all kinds of unwelcome memories about his alcoholic father, abrasive mother and his siblings. French portrays their relationships with an artistry that will leave you breathless in the way the Mackeys spasm between nuclear-level toxicity to scenes of familiar domesticity. It is utterly exhausting and utterly believable. Resentments and secrets run deep in this family and this blue-collar street.

Skirting the official investigation surrounding Rosie's fate, Frank exerts his considerable skill, chutzpah and rage to draw out the real story. The mind games he plays reveal his impressive repertoire at reading people and getting them to talk.

Complicating matters further are Frank's rocky relationships with his ex-wife and daughter. He walks a precarious balancing act trying to spend time with them while ferreting out the facts at Faithful Place. It's no surprise he struggles to maintain some semblance of self-possession as past and present collide. And you're inside his head the entire time, struggling simultaneously to make sense of it all.

The Five Red Herrings: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery / by Dorothy Sayers

All Lord Peter Wimsey wanted for his holiday in the highlands was to sleep late, reflect on his misspent youth, catch some trout and possibly fit in a round of golf. The quaint village that he and Bunter take up residence is actually a type of artist colony where an assortment of painters--all a bit odd but talented in their own way--have set down roots. One among them isn't really odd though, he's just mean. Campbell Quick is a barrel-chested, red-bearded Scotsman with a temper to match his drinking habits and a peevishness overshadowing any artistic skill he possesses. "He's a devil when he's drunk and a lout when he's sober", they all say. So when he turns up dead in the river the day following an evening in which he rowed with six of his fellow artists, the question for Lord Peter is to find out which one of them murdered Campbell, a man best characterized by Wimsey's eulogy, "Nothing in his life quite became him like the leaving of it." To do so the gentleman sleuth and his crafty manservant will need to eliminate the five artists,  the "five red herrings", who had the motive and possibly the means but not the opportunity to dispose of the undesirable Campbell.

If you didn't know him, it might be easy to overlook Lord Peter Wimsey as a minor fictional sleuth from the golden age of mystery fiction. The amateur "gentleman detective" is nothing like the big names of the period--Poirot, Maigret, Mason, etc.--who are all 'in the business' so to speak, all detectives by trade with solid credentials and proper training. And though he usually shirks the perception as quickly as it's made, Wimsey can come off as something of a nosy, entitled aristocrat. He doesn't work at job or need money, his butler does everything for him short of clip his toenails and though he's an amateur criminologist of the highest order, he has no real reason other than avid interest to associate himself with crime and murder. But while not featured in the sheer volume of fiction occupied by a Poirot or a Perry Mason, he's aged as well as any of them, his "mind like a razor", discernible eye for detail and inimitable charisma winning over hoards of readers. Always the bon viveur with an incurable optimism and contagious confidence, Wimsey can't help but, well, project 'whimsy' everywhere he goes, winning as much respect as admiration and garnering appeal with his sophisticated charm and personality. It's here where Sayers, with her manifestation of the 'gentleman detective,' really distinguished herself, managing to create an admirable, truly estimable character from someone with a manservant, lots of money and lots of free time--later works would see Wimsey take a seat in the House of Lords but for the most part he's just another member of the idle rich set bouncing around Europe's glamorous hotspots. It's harder than it looks because with a few discrepancies, the svelte, polished protagonist might have easily become a buffoon like Bertie Wooster or even a distancing snob, something like James Bond maybe. But it's nothing like that. When people are difficult, Wimsey is class and composure personified. Where they might feel inferior, he deftly erases social barriers. Where there's a case to be solved, he never oversteps his authority but never capitulates to official crime solvers who sometimes resent the butting-in of a posh member of the nobility. He may not be officially affiliated with law enforcement, but he's amply capable, has a free maneuverability, abundant resources and is never afraid to get his hands dirty--all things which make the books, every one of them, serious fun. (MYS SAYERS)

Running For My Life: My Journey in the Game of Football and Beyond / by Warrick Dunn

Just after midnight on January 7, 1993, Cpl. Betty Smothers of the Baton Rouge Police Department was helping a local store clerk institute a night deposit at a nearby bank when both women were ambushed by two gunmen who shot and ultimately killed Smothers. The violent incident was notable not just because a loyal police officer was killed--only the fifth Louisiana policewoman ever--but because Smothers was the single mother of five children, the oldest being Catholic High Senior football standout Warrick Dunn. The previous fall Warrick, a quarterback, corner and kick returner, had guided Catholic to its first ever state championship game and later signed a letter of intent to play football at Florida State. With the death of his mother, he assumed his role as head of his family even as he would enroll at FSU later that same year. Dunn instantly became a key component of a backfield which included Heisman trophy winner (and Warrick's roommate) Charlie Ward, helping lead the Seminoles to their first ever National Championship almost a year to the day of his mother's death. The rest of the story is something of a legend, Dunn breaking all manner of school rushing records, winning awards and receiving accolades on his path to a standout pro career where he won a Super Bowl as part of the Tampa Bay Bucs and was a three time Pro Bowl selection.

But this story's not really about football. No book which opens with a man confronting his mother's murderer on death row can really be about a game. And even though Dunn's story, his athletic career included, is something of an improbable feel-good tale of overcoming obstacles, the book's not a publicity piece or an overdramatized memoir weighed down by sentiment. The narrative is a truly down-to-earth confessional from a humble, soft-spoken man who managed to parlay a horrendous tragedy into an opportunity for love, forgiveness and a chance to help those in need. Since 1997, the Warrick Dunn Family Foundation has helped thousands of underpriveleged single parent families find help with basic needs assistance and the "Homes For the Holidays" portion of the non-profit has given the gift of home ownership to thousands in the Greater Baton Rouge area, Tampa Bay, Tallahassee and Atlanta. Dunn is now a minority owner of the Atlanta Falcons. (796.332092 DUNN)

Wicked Autumn: A Mystery / by G.M. Malliet

There's a reason retired MI5 agent Max Tudor is now a village vicar in the tiny hamlet of Nether Monkslip. There was a time and place for his former life of adventure and espionage, a period in his past when tracking down criminals and terrorist threats was his only calling. But then a horrific accident changed everything forever and now he's perfectly happy to mentor and minister provincial types on matters of faith. So it's something of a minor inconvenience when one of his congregation is found stabbed to death at the Harvest Fayre and Max finds himself in the middle of a murder case. Granted, the victim was one of his less popular parishioners. Wanda Batton-Smythe, the mean, bossy leader of the Women's Institute of Nether Monkslip was most certainly not very well-liked. With a penchant for inciting fear and exposing weakness in seemingly every acquaintance she ever made (even her husband, a former Army Major, seems thoroughly cowed under his wife's authoritarian demeanor), Wanda was a woman which more than a few townspeople might've enjoyed ridding themselves of. But when the two detectives from the county's police task force arrive on the scene, no one seems remotely interested in giving evidence. It's even difficult for Max, operating behind the scenes, to surmise on a possible suspect. Wanda's enemies, though plentiful, aren't so aggressive that they'd attempt any kind of physical assault. And then to kill her?

Agatha award winner Malliet brings the goods in this cozy mystery which even includes a fold-out map of the village in the binding. Quirky characters and sequences are given mileage by a hefty dose of metaphorical inserts ("her voice filling the room like a sonic gun", "her hair clipped short around protuberant ears, she resembled a Chihauhua puppy abandoned in a snowdrift" or "the woman stared at the cover like Queen Victoria being handed a pamphlet on early contraceptive techniques"). Not that it's unwelcome or even misplaced. Malliet knows how to write cozy. Which is to say she writes with a splendid sort of moderation, a perfect blend of comically cute descriptions and indelibly charming technique. Readers will enjoy the author's take on village life and its colorful individuals while at the same time won't be lulled into boredom by predictable circumstances. Max Tudor is the right kind of protagonist to confront such surroundings, an outsider who's understandably been converted to domestic small town life and yet remains an introspective, spiritual man keen on the deeper elements of human nature. That he's a handsome eligible bachelor amid the cooing eyes of all the available parish women makes things even more interesting. (MYS MALLIET)

Snow Angels / by Stewart O'Nan

Born in Pittsburgh in 1961, Stewart O'Nan graduated with a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from Boston University and nearly a decade working and teaching in the field prior to taking up writing at the prodding of his wife. Although he's been a successful novelist in the years since he began writing, perhaps his most notable accomplishment was the book Faithful, based on the World Series run of the 2004 Boston Red Sox he penned along with Stephen King. O'Nan would call the effort "the luckiest thing I've ever done". His first novel Snow Angels, published in 1994 to great applause, follows a Pennsylvania teenager who's parents are in the process of getting a divorce.

In 1974, Arthur Parkinson is fourteen years old and not exactly enjoying life. Along with having to grow up in a generally dreary Pennsylvania town, Arthur is currently witnessing the disintegration of his parents's marriage. His father's moved out of the house and in with a new girlfriend and his mom just can't seem to handle it. Not that he's especially close to them in the first place. On more than one occasion, they seem to completely forget about Arthur, failing to pick him up from school or at his part-time job then arguing between them over who's fault it was. His job isn't so bad actually. He gets to work with Annie, his former babysitter and lifelong crush, who's a good friend even though she's married with a small child. Unknown to Arthur, however, is that everything's not quite OK for Annie at the moment. Her husband Glenn, her high school crush, is mentally unstable and has a bit of a drinking problem. Recently just out of a psychiatric hospital and currently living with his parents, Glenn wants to see the couple's daughter Tara more and even patch things up with Annie who, unbeknownst to anyone, is having an affair with the husband of a co-worker. It doesn't take too long for the pot to boil over and everything to become one big mess. When Tara goes missing one afternoon, all hell breaks loose with Glenn a suspect and the whole town set out to search for the missing girl. And that's when Arthur makes the discovery that will change everything.

Snow Angels is eerily similar to Rick Moody's The Ice Storm (FIC MOODY), a book later made into an award-winning film by Ang Lee starring Kevin Kline and Elijah Wood. Both were published in 1994, both are set in the 1970's, take place amidst obvious winter weather in the northeastern US and they both feature high domestic drama of a tragic nature. And still there's more. Each offer the same sort of intersecting family crises involving adults and infidelity cross cut by curious adolescents engaged in early relationships. In all factuality, this seems merely a coincidence with no real recognition of the fact other than a fledgling article about both books being a sort of Yuppie fiction. The style and narrative of Snow Angels is a little different from Ice Storm. Alternating chapters present Arthur in the first person and then the Marchand clan in omniscient third person. It's not something you see a lot of books and on the whole it works OK; if there's a problem with the novel it's not the prose. It's the way the intended character intersection doesn't quite make it. The circumstances don't really meet and it's more a case of two individual stories than one well integrated plot. Snow Angels is also a 2007 movie starring Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell which has received generally favorable reviews. (FIC O'NAN)

Ties That Bind / by Phillip Margolin

After graduating from American University, Washington D.C. in 1965, Phillip Margolin joined the Peace Corps in Liberia where for two years he assisted with the ongoing humanitarian aid in West Africa. Following that, he attended law school at NYU, actually teaching junior high school in the South Bronx to support himself, and eventually earned his degree in 1970. He then moved to Oregon to work as aid to the Portland district attorney and subsequently, from 1972 to 1996, worked as a private practice lawyer specializing in criminal defense cases both at the trial and appellate level where he covered over 25 homicides, several of which involved the death penalty. A steady stream of legal thrillers, appearing since 1978, have made Margolin well-known in crime fiction circles where his Amanda Jaffe novels have been among his most popular.

Portland lawyer Amanda Jaffe's still recovering from her latest high-stakes trial, one which threatened not only her career but her life, when she's asked to defend Jon Dupre, a known drug dealer and pimp now accused of murdering a U.S. Senator. The case seems a slam dunk for the prosecution. Not only is Dupre accused of murdering a the Senator, but he was also witnessed stabbing and killing his former defense attorney right in the jailhouse! Dupre ardently claims his innocence. He says he's being framed for the murder of the senator and that jailhouse incident was self-defense, statements no one but Amanda can begin to believe and even she has her reservations. There is one thing which lines up with Dupre's story: scratch wounds and bruises on his arms and chest giving some credibility to the self-defense plea. But why would Dupre's own attorney, a man trying to defend him against charges of another murder, try to kill him?

Things aren't quite what they seem. In fact, they're more treacherous than Amanda could've ever imagined. As Amanda starts to dig further into the incident involving Dupre's former lawyer, a connection starts to unravel between her client's case, issues surrounding Dupre's escort service in particular, and some of the city's highest ranking officials. Some of these high-powered elite are ones Amanda has crossed paths with, and in some cases, are people she currently works with. The deeper in she wades, the more she comes to realize that these men in high places will do anything to protect themselves, their reputations and their way of life. Finding justice for Jon Dupre won't be easy, but Amanda's used to the odds being against her and steadily plows ahead, putting herself and her client in harm's way at every turn.

Margolin's is a decent writer and his story is enough to keep the reader interested, building the drama through enough twists, turns and scandals to push the protagonist and to the limit. But while the premise itself, a big city prostitution ring servicing the high-powered elite, is a good jumping off point but aspects of the story lack continuity. The characters, even Amanda, come off a bit awkward and it might take readers a little too long too become familiar with all of the story's various players, both the big shots and the small fries, none of whom are especially well-developed. Plus the book as a whole might even have been better without a few of the sidestories. Other than that Ties That Bind is an entertaining, fast read, and though nothing memorable, it's definitely enough of a thrill ride to satisfy fans of John Grisham, Steve Martini or Scott Turow. (FIC MARGOLIN)

Roseanna: A Martin Beck Mystery / by Maj Sjowell

Though modern times have seen the emergence and continuing wave of crime fiction from Scandinavia, it wasn't long ago that few would have lent scant appraisal to a detective novel originating from countries like Sweden, Norway or Denmark. Now it's almost the other way around. Highlighted by the mammoth

success of Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy, "Nordic Noir" has gained a prominent place in mystery circles, new titles and authors seeming to emerge every year with intriguing plots and characters moored in the generally cold and dark atmosphere of the region. But before the Millenium Trilogy, or any of the other notable works, there was the husband and wife writing team of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo. Their Martin Beck mysteries burst onto the scene in 1965 with Roseanna and continued the series until 1975 when Wahloo died. The Laughing Policeman even won an Edgar in 1970. Roseanna is a book tinged with intrigue, fascination and suspense, subtly doing what so many other mystery authors have tried and failed at over the years to accomplish: describe people and society tangled up in hostilities which inevitably lead to violence, crime and punishment.

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One summer in the lakes region of Sweden, a young woman is dredged up in a canal, dead and presumably murdered. An autopsy confirms that she was also molested. Nothing is known about her origin and with no one coming forward with any information, the case soon grows cold. Detective Martin Beck of the country's Special Homicide Commission is about to shelve it when, through a near accident, it's discovered that the girl is an American tourist named Roseanna McGraw. With aid from Interpol, Beck and his subordinates are able to trace the girl back to her permanent residence in Lincoln, Nebraska where she worked as a librarian. Having no way to conduct an investigation overseas, the Swedes rely on American Detective Lieutenant Kafka to interview McGraw's friends and neighbors, soon learning that the girl was something of a free-spirited libertine who'd been traveling across Europe alone following a falling out with her roommate. She had been aboard a Swedish canal cruise ship at the time of her death.

The new information leads Beck and his department to narrow the suspects down to passengers aboard the ship and finally to a man they think might have done it. But without any evidence they'll need to catch him in the act. Roseanna has been called one of the best police procedurals ever written with Martin Beck listed among the great fictional detectives of literary history. It's a very concise book with noticeably little extraneous material interfering with the plot. It's also pretty dark and graphic. Almost forecasting the thematic associations their successors would incorporate a generation later, the authors portray Sweden as a very sedated country on its surface, its citizens rather passive and reserved to a point. But beneath this somber veneer lies a world where the darkest human evils are capable of being unleashed and where crimes of the most heinous nature inevitably crop up. Beck himself is a character who mirrors this dichotomy. At once a tranquil family man whose henpecking wife never lets him alone, he's also a master investigator, methodical and meticulous until the moment of critical engagement when his skillful maneuvers extract the truth. (MYS SJOWALL)

Breaker's Reef / by Terri Blackstock

When the body of well-liked teenager Emily Lawrence is murdered in the quaint coastal village of Cape Refuge, GA, it sets the whole town aghast. Virtually everyone was connected to the Lawrence family in one way or another and all feel the brunt of the shock. Police Chief Matthew Cade tries to handle things as best he can, going on the few leads he's got while trying to keep his overeager deputy Scott Crown from bumbling things up. But when another murdered body--a second girl--turns up, everyone in Cape Refuge including Cade and his amateurish squad comes to the solemn conclusion that it's the same perpetrator--a serial murderer who's likely to kill again. Several suspects emerge including a newly arrived novelist named Marcus Gibson whose eccentricities, including skulking around town in the middle of the night, odd former relationships and scatterbrained thoughts, lend many to pin him as the culprit.
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Another thing tying Gibson to the case is Sheila Caruso. An ex-con and single mother of two teenagers, Sheila has been working as a secretary for the Gibson when she suddenly makes a startling discovery about author and his selective subject matter which includes an scenario from one of his earlier novels which matches the circumstances of the second murder almost exactly. A close friend of Chief Cade, Sheila lets him in on the details only for new evidence to turn up targeting Cade himself as the murderer. Someone seems to have it in for both Cade and Sheila, a notion confirmed when Sheila's daughter Sadie goes missing. Soon things in Cape Refuge escalate to an almost unbearable pitch with the tension testing Sheila's faith in a way she never could have imagined.
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This is the fourth and final installment in Blackstock's Cape Refuge series and is a good testament as to why she's been such a unique success. Christian fiction isn't always this multi-dimensional; many associate the genre almost solely with sentimental love stories and prairie sagas. But Blackstock isn't afraid to explore darker material of vice and violence or depict life's less pleasant or downright awful situations while mixing in the themes of grace and redemption. And while the content surrounding the two grisly murders is nowhere near as explicit as other more mainstream thrillers are apt to describe it, the book is nonetheless an exciting tale of mystery and suspense, its fast-paced narrative as well as its emotional and spiritual conflicts making for a good read. Readers unfamiliar with the author or the series shouldn't worry about catching up on things as Blackstock does a good job to ease the backstory along as she's providing the details of the present situation. (FIC BLACKSTO)

Zeroville / by Steve Erickson

Ike Jerome, nicknamed "Vikar", arrives in Hollywood in the summer of 1969 with nothing but an extremely odd tattooo on the back of his bald head. The image shows a silhouetted image of two movie stars: Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in a rendering of a scene from the film A Place in the Sun. As a man haunted by a severely restricted, irregular past and largely unfamiliar with his own identity, Vikar is a curious character even amidst the counterculture of the day. He's a bit edgy too, erratic at times, confrontational and frequently violent (especially when it comes to misunderstandings about his tattoo). He's coherent enough though and at times ironically intellectual, his psyche seemingly held together by a curious mixture of conviction and fascination over his passion in life--the world of the movies.

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Vikar is an obsessive, almost possessed devotee to the movies, having only seen his first real film at the age of 16--his rigidly pious, overbearing father disallowing all forms of popular entertainment. He has since become enraptured by all things silver screen; the actors, directors, cinematography, production design, etc. all drawing him almost trance-like back to the the theater, often multiple times in one day. Now in Hollywood, a place Vikar is sure he will find people to share his love for the cinema, he discovers the world around him to be oddly clueless. The hippy landscape on which he's landed is largely disassociated from moviemaking, instead focused more on drugs, sex, music and progressive activism. In addition, it's a culture now targeted by the authorities owing to the recent Manson family murders. Vikar, ever conspicuous with his peculiar appearance and vagrant status living as a tramp in the Hollywood Hills, has even been interrogated on suspicion of his own involvement with the crime even as he's never heard of Charles Manson or his "family"

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Zeroville is an exquisite literary experience. Reminiscent of Don Delillo or Thomas Pynchon with its unconventional structure--terse 1 or 2 paragraph chapters and idiosyncratic subject matter--the novel is a refreshing work by a talented writer, equally provocative and entertaining at every turn. The author of award-winning novels like Amnesiac, Arc d'X and The Sea Came in at Midnight, Erickson's work has been described as apocalyptic for its rendering of themes involving dysfunctional societies and isolated characters. Zeroville carries this notion to a new level with a familiar place and time inhabited by quite a unique individual surrounded by a world seemingly on the edge of destruction. (FIC ERICKSON)

Hardly Knew Her: Stories / by Laura Lippman

Laura Lippman's long entertained readers with her mystery novels featuring Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan. Her loyal fans will be sure to enjoy her first published collection of short stories, brief, flighty episodes as inventive and sassy as the plots and entanglements she depicts in her novels. Initially, Lippman observes a versatile collection of women getting into all sorts of drama, schemes and mayhem; from murder-accessory babysitters, drug deals gone wrong and retiree-aged adult entertainers, even a high profile working girl who, in addition to her soccer mom commitments, is currently embroiled in a treacherous cat-and-mouse game involving a deathrow inmate.

The rest of the book follows similar, if slightly more pragmatic, suit. Stories focus on murders, scams, betrayals and fiendish plots all perpetrated by sly, world-savvy women eager to see wrongs righted, rights returned and scales evened. From sleek, classy career women to housewives and normal teenage girls; the characters all have a knack for getting themselves into scrapes involving some the criminal elements most detestable characters. Feminism is a clear, well-represented theme in this book in which women seek revenge on their male counterparts, either through devious underhanded dealings, clever manipulations and well-conceived acts of sudden violence. Lippman brings reality to her characters, most of which are sympathetic on at least one leve. Most maintain some type of integrity and endings to most of the tales are even-handed, characters and circumstances fitting tightly into each story's context.

The Reader / by Bernhard Schlink

Post World War II Germany was both a pivotal time and place; the country ravaged by war, its population decimated, its people torn and relationships severed. In Berlin, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is on his way home from school one day when he suddenly falls ill, collapsing on the side of the street and awakening later to find himself in the company of his rescuer, a beautiful woman named Hannah Schmitz. Despite the fact that she's a war widow twice his age, Hannah and Michael are soon entangled into a passionate love affair, the two forming an almost ethereal bond, sharing their lives, secrets, pasts and most intimate of intimacies. It lasts three months until the day Hannah inexplicably disappears, vanishing without a trace.

It is ten years before they meet again. When Michael does once again finally see his beloved--who he’s only been obsessing about every day for the last decade--he is a law student at the university and Hannah is in court, standing trial for an unspeakable crime Michael was never aware of. Only now, as the trial progresses, does Michael realize the terrible secret Hannah has been guarding all these years, a secret she has up to now considered too shameful to tell anyone, even Michael. Schlink, a former judge turned full-time author who lives in Berlin, has crafted a breathtaking tale of love, passion and coming of age. An Oprah Book Club book and bestseller following its release in Germany in 1995, The Reader is a compelling read, “ensnaring both the heart and mind”* with its moving tale about a young man's confrontation with love and the loss of innocence.

*L.A. Times Book Review

Jar City: A Reykavik Thriller / by Arnaldur Indridason; trans. by Bernard Scudder

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Ten years ago, no one would have considered Scandinavia a hotbed of mystery and crime literature. Recently though, Nordic crime fiction writers from countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark and even Iceland (a country of only 200,000 residents) have become a fixture on bestsellers lists. Icelandic crime novelist Arnaldur Indridason, winner of the 2005 Gold Dagger award, is the author of the bestselling Detective Erlendur series, which as of 2009 includes ten novels. His 2006 novel Jar City follows Erlendur as he investigates the murder of one of Reykavik's oldest residents. .

Crime in general, but murder especially, is a rarity in the insular, self-contained island nation of Iceland, a country so small that everyone calls everyone else by their first name. So when one of the city's oldest residents, a man called Holberg, is found murdered in his Reykjavík apartment, everybody knows about it but few are talking when 50-year-old detective inspector Erlendur Sveinsson, a chain-smoking, divorced father of one, is called in to investigate. Holberg, it turns out, was no pleasant old man; Erlendur soon finds out about several vicious rapes likely perpetrated by him over the years, those crimes possibly being linked to two wrongful deaths and a suicide of the girls involved. The twisting search full of stubborn witnesses and crotchety old loners soon brings Erlendur to an abandoned forensic lab, "jar city". So named for housing an assortment of old research organs, the lab may have certain forgotten tissue samples which could hold some pivotal answers towards the case.

Meanwhile, Erlendur's personal life is fraught with its own problems. His daughter Eva, periodically on and off methamphetamines, is pregnant and never quite settled enough for Erlendur to find out where she's staying or what her exact situation is. Still paying alimony to his out-of-the-country, married again ex-wife, Eva is all Erlendur has for family and while she barely speaks to him, he's eager to make things right with her.

Like many popular mystery series, the character of Erlendur is rendered in the most familiar manner possible as a method of bridging the gap between reader and authority figure--in this case a detective who investigates murders. But Indridason's writing renders Erlendur not so much as obligatorily flawed as a character perfectly fitted to his situation. Iceland's not New York, LA or London; but it's also not small town USA or a cozy English country village. It's its own defamiliarized, isolated-unlike-any-other-place-on-earth locale with its own peculiar identity, customs, practices and secrets. No one but Erlendur could fit this scenario because no one else knows not only the city locals but the entire island. The story exposes Erlendur's familiarity with Icelandic culture, its atmosphere with its inclusive attitudes and colloquial customs which bind witnesses to their mistrust, indignation and obstinacy and makes for one well-conceived, expertly written mystery.

M (DVD) 1931 / a Fritz Lang film starring Peter Lorre

"Do you mean to say that you have to kill?"

In a 1930's-era German city, a series of brutal child murders has gripped citizens in the clutches of terror. Fully aware of a madman preying on children, parents take special care to guard their school-aged kids, exacting a strict curfew and other protective measures around the clock. Yet all their vigilant efforts prove useless when the killer strikes again, this time in broad daylight swiping a young girl off the streets, killing her and dumping her dead body in a city park. Uproarious with outrage, residents clamor for the murderer's capture coercing the police commissioner to approve the most intense level of law enforcement. Within hours multiple patrolmen are on every corner of the city, periodically interrogating residents on a more or less random basis and enhancing infiltration of the city's criminal element in a desperate attempt to corner the villain. Meanwhile the city's organized crime outfit, their operations stagnated by hypervigilant law officers, decide the situation must end; the killer must be caught in order to alleviate the heightened police presence. Employing lines of communication known only to members of the criminal underground and enlisting the aid of homeless street-dwellers, heads of the various racketeering factions throughout the city cooperate to seek out the identity of the murderer and ultimately remove him from the picture.

In what's predominately considered to be his greatest film, renowned German director Fritz Lang presents a masterpiece of a early auditory cinema in this harrowing portrayal of the frenzied atmosphere surrounding a chilling set of serial murders. Loosely based on the real case of serial killer Peter Kurten, the "Vampire of Dussledorf", whose string of murders and sexual assaults in 1929 set the entire country on edge, M is an enchanting, masterful artistic creation, hauntingly engaging with its dark subject matter, social commentary, psychological suspense and brilliant acting by a young Peter Lorre. (DVD M)

Brighton Rock / by Graham Greene

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"Before Hale had been in Brighton three hours, he knew they were going to kill him." (p.1)

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At seventeen, Pinkie Brown, so named for his immensely pale complexion, is an up-and-coming gangster in the underworld of 1930's Brighton (UK). Though his slight build and unimposing visage would lend few to consider him a dangerous criminal, that is exactly what he is. Able to influence the actions of men much older than he himself and never thinking of backing down, Pinkie is a veritable sociopath, pathologically programmed to feel nothing but willful aggression, contempt, greed and disgust towards everyone. Currently, having just killed a middle-aged man in broad daylight after finding him out as traitor, Pinkie covers his tracks by feigning attraction for the one witness to his heinous crime, the delicate waitress Rose. As he steadily begins to gain influence, Pinkie puts in motion his plan to take over the city's organized crime outfit on a permanent basis.

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But Brighton isn't all it seems. Amid the exuberant facade of bright lights and tawdry amusements, the seaside resort town, primarily seen as destination for weekenders and low-level retirees, appears a non-threatening locale. Yet beneath the veneer of leisure, celebration and showy attractions, the criminal element has long permeated the atmosphere, subversively coordinating the vices of gambling and prostitution for years, adding a more sordid form of enterprise to Brighton's thriving resort-town ways. If Pinkie is to succeed in his endeavors, he must take down the top dogs who've long been on the scene, operating in the shadows for as long as he's been alive.
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Greene is a wonder, truly a master of characterization and one of the world's most unacclaimed treasures. This book is a testament to his unmatched skill. Nowhere in the fiction of the twentieth century is such depth of conscience given a voice and seldom has such an attribute of the human condition been seen through a character like Pinkie--a violent criminal convinced of the power of his own actions yet strangely heedful to the doctrine of atonement and eternal damnation. The book's prose, its stream of conscious (and conscience), the tenuous ties between criminals, the rule of law which sets honour among thieves vs. true and unconditional love are all carefully woven into the tapestry of this gem of literature. It's not hard to see why Greene is compared to the likes of Dostoyevsky, Goethe, Milton and Hesse, with his deft adherence to the nature of evil and the threadbare influence of love juxtaposed to it, a true scribe of his times.

Some Valentine's Day Mysteries

A Catered Valentine's Day: A Mystery with Recipes / by Isis Crawford

With orders piling up for Valentine's Day, catering sisters--and part-time sleuths--Bernie and Libby Simmons have teamed up with the 'Just Chocolate Sweet Shop' and its owner, recently widowed Marnie Gorman, to manage all the preparations. The girls are aware that with all the hustle and bustle it's easy for minor mishaps to happen, orders getting reversed and so on. But no one's calling it an accident when Marnie's dead husband Ted turns up in the wrong coffin in the wrong grave at the wrong funeral. Soon, as strange secrets about the deceased Ted start to emerge, Bernie and Libby can't help but become embroiled in another mystery, one which threatens to sour their oh-so-sweet plans for the perfect Valentine's Day. (MYS CRAWFORD)

Deadly Valentine / by Carolyn G. Hart
When bookstore owner/amateur sleuth Annie Darling and her husband Max were moving into their new home, she could never have imagined their new neighbors would be so friendly. Even a bit too friendly in the case of their next door neighbor, the voluptuous Sidney Cahill, who not only makes a pass at Max upon first acquaintance but seems to be on 'friendly' terms with every man on the block from what Annie gathers. It's an issue having a guarded Annie reconsidering whether to go to the neighborhood Valentine's Day bash. Reluctantly attending only to please her mother-in-law, Annie and fellow partygoers are shocked when Sidney is found dead--murdered--during the festivities. The ensuing investigation is chock full of motives and suspects as Sidney's flamboyant mannerisms have stirred the ire of more than a few jealous housewives. But Annie knows that to find out the truth, she must filter out all the preconceived notions and finger-pointing in order to pin down the real culprit in this, another spellbinding "Annie Darling (nee Laurance)" mystery. (MYS HART)

The Valentine's Day Murder / by Lee Harris

What better way to cap off the perfect Valentine's Day party than by taking a walk on a frozen lake? Or so Val and his two friends--Matt and Clark--thought when they set out. But when the dead bodies of a murdered Matt and Clark are discovered, an absent--and presumed fugitive--Val is pegged as the culprit. Before long, a rigorous manhunt ensues with police eager to capture Val and prove him guilty. Meanwhile, convinced of his innocence, Val's wife Carlotta pleads with investigating authorities concerning her husband's case only to be castigated and ignored. With time running out, a desperate Carlotta turns to the only person who will listen--ex-nun turned private investigator Christine Bennett, who may be the only person capable of discovering Val's whereabouts and proving his innocence. (MYS HARRIS)

Plum Lovin' / by Janet Evanovich

Despite a personal history loaded with mysterious men, Stephanie Plum still can't believe it when Diesel, a rogue character from her past and rival bounty hunter, shows up at her front door just days prior Valentine's. Even though Diesel only wants to comprimise on matters dealing with current target and personal friend Annie Hart, Stephanie still can't help mixing business with pleasure as both she and her sexy counterpart try and locate Annie. But someone else is on the trail too, someone whose intentions may not be so honorable. As the chase ensues, Stephanie Plum knows one thing is for sure, she's in for a little more than she bargained for on this particular Valentine's Day. (MYS EVANOVICH)

Serial Killer Investigations: the Story of Forensics and Profiling through the Hunt for the World's Worst Murderers

"Society wants to believe it can identify evil people, or bad or harmful people, but it's not practical. There are no stereotypes . . . The thing is, some people are just psychologically less ready for failure than others." -- Ted Bundy.

Whether grotesquely intriguing or singularly chilling, serial murder cases and serial killers have long held a fascination with the public, even as they contribute to less than 1 percent of murders committed annually. Infamous serial murderers from Jack the Ripper to Jeffrey Dahmer have invariably found their way into the spotlight, often remaining notorious cult phenomenon long after trials and executions have put an end to things. As bizarre as so many cases involving serial murderers have been (e.g., Manson Family), could there be a trait which distinguishes them all? What, if any, are the conditions or characteristics which give rise to such destructive antisocial behavior? And what evidence is there from past cases which could aid criminologists and forensic pathologists now?

In as concise a volume of facts, interviews and evidence as has ever been available on some of the world's most nefarious villains, Wilson details how each were tracked, caught and convicted, highlighting the ever-evolving investigative techniques which have been employed and extracted in the process. So just what is the common denominator? Is there one? It's all contained within as some of history's most notorious, cold-blooded murderers are scrutinized, analyzed and profiled; all rendering police detectives, federal investigators and behavioral psychologists with vital information for the present day. (364.152 WILSON)

Killshot / by Elmore Leonard

A resident-native of Detroit, Elmore Leonard began his career writing westerns before expanding into crime and mystery thrillers. Killshot follows a veteran assassin and his ex-con partner after their shakedown scheme is foiled by a middle-aged ironworker and his wife.

Armand Degas, a.k.a.“Blackbird”, knows stealth. Even if he weren’t half-Indian, he’d be aware of the indiscretions which get you caught or dead in this line of work. So how'd he end up next to this trigger-happy punk, fleeing the scene of a botched extortion scam with two witnesses left still breathing? The punk is none other than 30-year-old Richie Nix, a dumb-crazy sociopath who's somehow walking around free despite numerous arrest warrants. When a routine carjacking lands him a new cohort and some unlicensed firearms, it’s all he needs to collect on his $10,000 ‘insurance’ from a local realtor. Even when things get a little hairy—it’s OK; Richie’s never hesitated to take anyone out.

All her mother’s warnings about ironworkers couldn’t keep Carmen from wedding Wayne Colson. It wouldn’t be the last thing her mom was wrong about; eighteen years and her only complaint is Wayne’s seasonal devotion to hunting. Yet when a run-in with some bad guys furnishes their way into the witness protection program (and out of their house), even Carmen’s steady trust that Wayne will do the right thing can’t quiet her deepest fears, fears only heightened after meeting the dimwit US Marshal assigned to them.

No one writes dialogue like Elmore Leonard. If there's a literary equivalent to Quentin Tarantino, it's the veteran master, a man who pairs humor and violence as well as anyone. Not much on themes or symbolism, Leonard's concerned more with who's doing it and how rather than what's happening and why. Still there's an authenticity to Killshot however subtle, flowing through characters and dialogue as much as the third-person narrative. As tediously cautious as Armand is, it's easy to see how Richie's heedless, off-the-cuff attitude grabs his attention while for Richie, who rarely thought once--but never twice--about anything, it's Armand's cool demeanor and professionalism. Together they form a lethal if offbeat tandem of cold-blooded killers out to tie-up their loose ends. (MYS LEONARD)

The Abortionist's Daughter / by Elisabeth Hyde

Diane Duprey is a well-known (and well-worn) A.D.--Abortion Doctor. A center of controversy in a no-less controversial town, she's long been targeted by right wingers, pro-lifers, and aggressive evangelicals. So it's no surprise when her dead body's found floating in her indoor pool one night, still bleeding after a fatal blow to the head. While CSI types mull over evidence, it's her husband Frank who, having found the body, must bear the shock along with 19 year-old Megan--their only child. With the investigation going nowhere, it's obvious there's some alterior angles at the root of what appears a cold case; the only real lead pointing to Frank who refuses to reveal his whereabouts on the night in question.

For readers who like 'ending-first' mysteries, this recent standalone brings the goods with some edgy side-drama to boot. The child of liberals, Megan is no innocent and there must be something deeply disturbing Frank who persists in keeping quiet even though he's an attorney with the D.A.'s office! Secondary people also start to figure into things. Head of the pro-life coalition Rev. O'Connell has his self-evident reasons, but murder? Then there's Megan's ex--Branson, who's clean on the surface but, as we soon find out, can be kind of touchy about rejection.

This story's religious hypocrisy element was woefully unnecessary and it appears Hyde intended sympathy solely for Diane: Frank is a stick in the mud, Megan's integrity is called into question, and Branson is anybody's fool. Other than that, readers should be pleasantly surprised (maybe a little disappointed) with the outcome of this whodunit.

Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House / by M.C. Beaton

Alone again (naturally), saucy divorcee/amateur sleuth Agatha Raisin can get down to the serious business of 'being thoroughly done with the male sex'. Steadfast to the last, her resolve is firm after seeing her husband leave her for his latest fling. But even heartbreak can't keep her away from a good mystery; especially one where a wealthy dowager is found dead after a night alone in a (rumored-to-be) haunted mansion. And when her new next door neighbor--one Paul Chatterton--proposes they investigate together; all the obstinacy in the world couldn't stifle Agatha's curiosity...in more ways than one.

Prominent mystery author M.C. Beaton has garnered loads of praise writing about Agatha's adventures and romantic blunders, publishing over a dozen books in the series. Agatha is a sympathetic sleuth; middle-aged and single with a 'free-lance' career and realistic habits...besides trying her hand at the occasional whodunit. This caper is nothing but (relatively) harmless fun as Agatha and Paul trace down clues to find the real reason behind a wealthy widow's accident. Entertaining without (too much) predictability; 'Agatha Raisin' epitomizes liesure reading and should catch on with 'cozy' literature fans.

The Dead Father's Club / by Matt Haig

11-year-old Philip Noble has many, many horrible problems. Though for once, at least, being bullied at school is at the bottom of the list. His father’s death in a fatal car "accident” was only three months ago and his Uncle Allen is already making a play for his widowed mother. Angry and helpless, Philip suddenly encounters his father’s apparition who explains his death was no accident and only part of Uncle Allen’s plot to wed Philip’s mom, take over the family business and generally make everything worse. Now Philip must avenge his father's death (by murdering his uncle, duh) in order to free him from a limbo-like existence amidst other murdered fathers in “The Dead Fathers Club”.

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime meets Hamlet in this dark comedy/parody full of funny (sort-of) characters and believable circumstances surrounding supernatural events. Serious things like murder, robberies, and death only seem to enhance the humor as Philip applies himself to the task of murdering his uncle while sorting out his own life's details. Like in ‘Nighttime’ (or South Park), childlike innocence reflects badly on adults whose buffoonish behavior allows them little dignity. Yet child protagonist Philip is human too with his own foibles and a conscience that tends not to portray him as an outright hero evidenced when the plot eventually balances the scales without making anyone a victim.