An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd

First Line: I'd just brought a convoy of wounded back to England, and as I walked into Mrs, Hennessey's house in the cool of early morning, I thought what a haven of tranquillity it was.

It's the autumn of 1918, and Nurse Bess Crawford has returned to London with some wounded soldiers who needed her care. She's barely had time to go to her flat when she's told that her assistance is required on another matter. A wounded soldier confined to a wheelchair will be going to Buckingham Palace to be decorated by the King, and the soldier has asked for Bess's help. 

Although Bess doesn't remember the soldier, she thinks nothing of it and accepts the assignment, in great part because it will extend her leave by a day or two. The award ceremony goes without a hitch, but when Bess goes to the man's hotel room the next morning to see that he's ready to go back to the convalescent hospital, she finds that he's vanished. Both the Army and the nursing service hold Bess responsible for the missing soldier, and to make matters worse, the man is spotted in Shropshire where he's been accused of killing a man. Knowing that a patient in her charge has committed murder becomes even more important to Bess than her reputation, and she won't rest until she solves this puzzle. Even if it means her life. 

I've long been a fan of Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series, and this book has a truly intriguing mystery. First of all, how did a man confined to a wheelchair manage to vanish without a trace? Secondly, how could he have committed murder? And why? This plot really had my deductive juices flowing.

Unfortunately An Unwilling Accomplice is probably the weakest book in the series, and it has everything to do with its too-large cast and its very uneven pacing. The story is good for showing readers just how determined (or stubborn) Bess Crawford is and how seriously she takes her profession. She becomes obsessed with finding out what happened and risks getting into even more trouble with the Army and the nursing service.

But the pacing of this book is almost its undoing. For much of the time the story drags out interminably, adding many secondary characters who are easy to confuse. Just when I would wonder if anything significant were ever going to happen-- BAM!-- the pace would click into breakneck speed for a bit before slowing back down to a crawl. It's a shame because-- as I've already said-- the mystery is a good one.

I'm still far from tiring of Bess Crawford, and it's the autumn of 1918. What is she going to do once World War I is at an end? I look forward to what Charles Todd may have in store for us.
   

An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd

eISBN: 9780062237217

William Morrow © 2014

eBook, 357 pages

Historical Mystery, #6 Bess Crawford mystery

Rating: B-

Source: Purchased from Amazon. 

Bitter Creek by Peter Bowen

First Line: Du Pré's sleep dissolved; he heard bacon sizzling in a pan, he rolled to Madelaine and found her gone.

Madelaine's son, Chappie Plaquemines, hasn't had an easy transition from serving in Iraq. When his lieutenant comes to Montana to convince Chappie to accept a medal, he and Du Pré have to find him first. Once he's located, a trip to a sweat lodge is in order, and it's there that things become a little strange.

Otherworldly voices within the lodge begin talking of a place called Bitter Creek and of a band of Métis who were last seen trying to escape from General Black Jack Pershing's men in 1910. The men decide to look for Bitter Creek, which leads Du Pré to the last living survivor of the massacre. Led by the frail, ancient woman, Du Pré finds that he and the others are about to uncover some long-buried secrets that no one in the area wants brought to light. Chappie, Patchen and Du Pré know what they're getting into, but they also know that the massacre victims deserve both justice and to finally rest in peace.

I have long been a fan of Peter Bowen's series. It's been several years since the last book (Nails) was published, so I was thrilled to see this one. It brings back everything I love about these books, although some of those things might not be for everyone.

Bowen writes about the Métis, a group of mixed French and Native American people, living in the wilds of Montana. The author does an excellent job in giving us a feel for the pidgin English they speak. The words that are left out give the Métis' speech a French cadence that is part of their heritage. I love it, but I can see why it might prove to be an annoyance to other readers. The Métis also often have outspoken views and ways of doing things. For instance, Du Pré's grandchildren are growing up to be fine human beings despite parenting of which many modern experts would disapprove. The Métis are a proud people-- independent spirits-- and for all intents and purposes, they are left alone now, mostly because they live where no one else wants to.

Bowen has created an excellent cast of characters that I love to read about. The old cowboy Booger Tom is the focus of most of the humor in Bitter Creek, thanks to a water buffalo named Eustace. The war between those two is hilarious.

The focus of this book is the 100-year-old mystery of exactly who was responsible for the massacre of the band of Métis trying to escape to Canada, and Du Pré and the others are dealing with the descendants of the people who were probably responsible. This creates a lot of tension as the story progresses because the reader is never certain what those people are willing to do in order to keep century-old secrets buried. Those scenes of Booger Tom and Eustace provide much needed levity.

There's also a modern-day murder in Bitter Creek, but it definitely takes a backseat to the old mystery. In fact, it almost feels tacked on-- as if Bowen wanted to prove that not all country sheriffs are stupid (and they're not).

I loved spending time with Du Pré and the others. I've missed them-- and I'm hoping that Bowen may have a Montana story or two left to tell us in the future.

Bitter Creek by Peter Bowen

eISBN: 9781497685123

Open Road Media © 2015

eBook, 237 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #14 Gabriel Du Pré mystery

Rating: A-

Source: NetGalley 

May 2015 New Mystery Releases!

It's the time of year when I try to get all the housecleaning and reorganizing done so I can ignore it during the summer. (Domestic goddess I'm not.) I have to keep plenty of oranges in stock so all the baby birds will be well fed, and I have to trim a few shrubs as well. But that doesn't mean that I forget to look for new and interesting books to read each month. Got to keep that wish list updated, don't you know!

Here are my picks of the new crime fiction being released in May. They're sorted by release date, and I've included all the information you'll need to find them at all your favorite "book procurement" sites. Book synopses are courtesy of Amazon. Happy Reading!

=== May 5 ===

Title: Thin Air

Author: Ann Cleeves

Series: #6 in the Shetland Island police procedural series

ISBN: 9781250069948

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Hardcover, 400 pages

Synopsis: "A group of old university friends leave the bright lights of London and travel to Shetland to celebrate the marriage of one of their friends. But, one of them, Eleanor, disappears--apparently into thin air. It's mid-summer, a time of light nights and unexpected mists. And then Eleanor's body is discovered lying in a small loch close to the cliff edge.

Detectives Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves are dispatched to investigate. Before she went missing, Eleanor claimed to have seen the ghost of a local child who drowned in the 1920s. Her interest in the ghost had seemed unhealthy--obsessive, even--to her friends: an indication of a troubled mind. But Jimmy and Willow are convinced that there is more to Eleanor's death than they first thought.
Is there a secret that lies behind the myth? One so shocking that someone would kill--many years later--to protect?" 

Title: Rock With Wings

Author: Anne Hillerman 

Series: #2 in the Bernadette Manualito police procedural series set on the Navajo nation of Arizona and New Mexico

ISBN: 9780062270511

Publisher: Harper

Hardcover, 336 pages

Synopsis: "Doing a good deed for a relative offers the perfect opportunity for Sergeant Jim Chee and his wife, Officer Bernie Manuelito, to get away from the daily grind of police work. But two cases will call them back from their short vacation and separate them—one near Shiprock, and the other at iconic Monument Valley. 

Chee follows a series of seemingly random and cryptic clues that lead to a missing woman, a coldblooded thug, and a mysterious mound of dirt and rocks that could be a gravesite. Bernie has her hands full managing the fallout from a drug bust gone wrong, uncovering the origins of a fire in the middle of nowhere, and looking into an ambitious solar energy development with long-ranging consequences for Navajo land.

Under the guidance of their mentor, retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, Bernie and Chee will navigate unexpected obstacles and confront the greatest challenge yet to their skills, commitment, and courage."

Title: Deadly Desires at Honeychurch Hall

Author: Hannah Dennison

Series: #2 in the Honeychurch Hall cozy series set in England

ISBN: 9781250007803

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Hardcover, 304 pages

Synopsis: "When the body of a transport minister is discovered in the grounds on Honeychurch Hall, suspicion about his unusual demise naturally falls on the folks in the village. After all, who could possibly want a high-speed train line built in their front yard? 

News of the murder soon reaches our heroine Kat Stanford's nemesis Trudy Wynne. A ruthless tabloid journalist and the ex-wife of Kat's discarded lover, Trudy is out for revenge. She is also interested in exposing--and humiliating--Kat's mother Iris, who is secretly the international bestselling romance writer Krystalle Storm.

As the body count begins to build, Kat becomes inextricably embroiled in the ensuing scandal. Is the minister's death the result of a local vendetta, or could it be connected to her mother's unusual (to say the least) past?" 

Title: See Also Murder

Author: Larry D. Sweazy

Series: #1 in the Marjorie Trumaine historical series set in 1964 North Dakota

ISBN: 9781633880061

Publisher: Seventh Street Books

Paperback, 253 pages

Synopsis: "1964—Life on the North Dakota farm hasn’t always been easy for Marjorie Trumaine. She has begun working as a professional indexer to help with the bills—which have only gotten worse since the accident that left her husband, Hank, blind and paralyzed. When her nearest neighbors are murdered in their beds, though, Marjorie suddenly has to deal with new and terrifying problems.

Sheriff Hilo Jenkins brings her a strange amulet, found clutched in the hand of her murdered neighbor, and asks her to quietly find out what it is. Marjorie uses all the skills she has developed as an indexer to research the amulet and look into the murders, but as she closes in on the killer, and people around her continue to die, she realizes that the murderer is also closing in on her." 

=== May 7 ===

Title: Sidney Chambers and the Forgiveness of Sins

Author: James Runcie

Series: #3 in the Grantchester historical series set in 1960s Cambridgeshire, England

ISBN: 9781408862209 

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Hardcover, 416 pages

Synopsis: "The loveable full-time priest and part-time detective, Canon Sidney Chambers, continues his sleuthing adventures in 1960's Cambridge. On a snowy Thursday morning in Lent 1964, a stranger seeks sanctuary in Grantchester's church, convinced he has murdered his wife. Sidney and his wife Hildegard go for a shooting weekend in the country and find their hostess has a sinister burn on her neck. Sidney's friend Amanda receives poison pen letters when at last she appears to be approaching matrimony. A firm of removal men 'accidentally' drop a Steinway piano on a musician's head outside a Cambridge college. During a cricket match, a group of schoolboys blow up their school Science Block. And on a family holiday in Florence, Sidney is accused of the theft of a priceless painting. Meanwhile, on the home front, Sidney's new curate Malcolm seems set to become rather irritatingly popular with the parish; his baby girl Anna learns to walk and talk; Hildegard longs to get an au pair and Sidney is offered a promotion. Entertaining, suspenseful, thoughtful, moving and deeply humane, these six new stories are bound to delight the clerical detective's many fans." 

=== May 12 ===

Title: Dry Bones

Author: Craig Johnson

Series: #11 in the Sheriff Walt Longmire series set in fictional Absaroka County, Wyoming 

ISBN: 9780525426936 

Publisher: Viking

Hardcover, 320 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "When Jen, the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found surfaces in Sherriff Walt Longmire’s jurisdiction, it appears to be a windfall for the High Plains Dinosaur Museum—until Danny Lone Elk, the Cheyenne rancher on whose property the remains were discovered, turns up dead, floating face down in a turtle pond. With millions of dollars at stake, a number of groups step forward to claim her, including Danny’s family, the tribe, and the federal government. As Wyoming’s Acting Deputy Attorney and a cadre of FBI officers descend on the town, Walt is determined to find out who would benefit from Danny’s death, enlisting old friends Lucian Connolly and Omar Rhoades, along with Dog and best friend Henry Standing Bear, to trawl the vast Lone Elk ranch looking for answers to a sixty-five million year old cold case that’s heating up fast." 

Title: Anatomy of Evil

Author: Will Thomas 

Series: #7 in the Barker and Llewelyn historical series set in Victorian London

ISBN: 9781250041050

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Hardcover, 336 pages

Synopsis: "Cyrus Barker is undoubtedly England's premiere private enquiry agent. With the help of his assistant Thomas Llewelyn, he's developed an enviable reputation for discreetly solving some of the toughest, most consequential cases in recent history. But one evening in 1888, Robert Anderson, the head of Scotland Yard's Criminal Investigation Department (CID), appears at Barker's office with an offer. A series of murders in the Whitechapel area of London are turning the city upside down, with tremendous pressure being brought to bear on Scotland Yard and the government itself. 

Barker is to be named temporary envoy to the Royal Family with regard to the case while surreptitiously bringing his investigative skill to the case. With various elements of society, high and low, bringing their own agenda to increasingly shocking murders, Barker and Llewellyn must find and hunt down the century's most notorious killer. The Whitechapel Killer has managed to elude the finest minds of Scotland Yard--and beyond--he's never faced a mind as nimble and a man as skilled as Cyrus Barker. But even Barker's prodigious skills may not be enough to track down a killer in time." 

=== May 19 ===

Title: The Ghost Fields

Author: Elly Griffiths

Series: #7 in the Dr. Ruth Galloway and DCI Harry Nelson series set in England

ISBN: 9780544330146

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Hardcover, 384 pages

Synopsis: "Norfolk is suffering from record summer heat when a construction crew unearths a macabre discovery—a downed World War II plane with the pilot still inside. Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway quickly realizes that the skeleton couldn’t possibly be the pilot, and DNA tests identify the man as Fred Blackstock, a local aristocrat who had been reported dead at sea. When the remaining members of the Blackstock family learn about the discovery, they seem strangely frightened by the news.

Events are further complicated by a TV company that wants to make a film about Norfolk’s deserted air force bases, the so-called Ghost Fields, which have been partially converted into a pig farm run by one of the younger Blackstocks. As production begins, Ruth notices a mysterious man lurking on the outskirts of Fred Blackstock’s memorial service. Then human bones are found on the family’s pig farm. Can the team outrace a looming flood to find a killer?" 

Title: Six and a half Deadly Sins

Author: Colin Cotterill

Series: #10 in the Dr. Siri Paiboun historical series set in 1970s Laos

ISBN: 9781616955588

Publisher: Soho Crime

Hardcover, 256 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "Laos, 1979: Dr. Siri Paiboun, the twice retired ex-National Coroner of Laos, receives an unmarked package in the mail. Inside is a handwoven pha sin, a colorful traditional skirt worn in northern Laos. A lovely present, but who sent it to him, and why? And, more importantly, why is there a severed human finger stitched into the sin’s lining?

Siri is convinced someone is trying to send him a message and won’t let the matter rest until he’s figured it out. He finagles a trip up north to the province where the sin was made, not realizing he is embarking on a deadly scavenger hunt. Meanwhile, the northern Lao border is about to erupt into violence—and Dr. Siri and his entourage are walking right into the heart of the conflict."

Title: Death Ex Machina

Author: Gary Corby

Series: #5 in the historical series featuring Nicolaos, an investigator in 461 BCE Athens, Greece

ISBN: 9781616955199

Publisher: Soho Crime

Hardcover, 336 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "It’s the time of the Great Dionysia, the largest arts festival of the ancient world, held each year in honor of Dionysos, the god of wine. But there’s a problem: A ghost is haunting Athens’s grand theater.

Nicolaos and his clever partner in sleuthing (and now in matrimony), the priestess Diotima, are hired to rid the theater of the ghost so that the festival can begin. With the help of Theokritos, the High Priest of Dionysos, they exorcise the ghost publicly, while secretly suspecting that a human saboteur is the actual culprit.

Their efforts to protect the theater fall short when one of the actors is found hanged from the machine used to carry actors through the air when they play the part of gods. It’s quite a theatrical murder.

As Nico and Diotima dig into the actor’s past, they discover all was not as it seemed. There are enough suspects to fill a theater. As the festival approaches and pressure mounts on all sides, can they hunt down the killer in time? Or will they simply have to hope for a deus ex machina?" 

Title: Little Black Lies

Author: Sharon (S.J.) Bolton

Standalone set in the Falkland Islands

ISBN: 9781250028594

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Hardcover, 368 pages

Synopsis: "In such a small community as the Falkland Islands, a missing child is unheard of. In such a dangerous landscape it can only be a terrible tragedy, surely...

When another child goes missing, and then a third, it's no longer possible to believe that their deaths were accidental, and the villagers must admit that there is a murderer among them. Even Catrin Quinn, a damaged woman living a reclusive life after the accidental deaths of her own two sons a few years ago, gets involved in the searches and the speculation.

And suddenly, in this wild and beautiful place that generations have called home, no one feels safe and the hysteria begins to rise.

But three islanders--Catrin, her childhood best friend, Rachel, and her ex-lover Callum--are hiding terrible secrets. And they have two things in common: all three of them are grieving, and none of them trust anyone, not even themselves."

Title: The Harvest Man

Author: Alex Grecian

Series: #4 in the Scotland yard Murder Squad historical series set in Victorian London

ISBN: 9780399166440

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Hardcover, 400 pages

Synopsis: "In The Devil’s Workshop, London discovered that Jack the Ripper was back, sending the city—and Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad—into chaos. But now it is even worse. Not only is the Ripper still at large, but so is another killer just as bad.

For Inspector Walter Day, it has been a difficult time. His wife has given birth to twins, his hostile in-laws have come to stay, and a leg injury has kept him at his desk. But when the Harvest Man begins killing, carving people’s faces off their skulls, the Yard knows they need Day in the field.

Not so Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith. Rash actions have cost him his job, but that doesn’t stop his obsessive hunt for the Ripper. When the mutilated bodies of prostitutes start turning up again, Hammersmith enlists the help of a criminal network to stop Saucy Jack, his methods carrying him further and further from the ideals of the Yard, so far in fact that he may never be able to find his way back.

Of course, the Ripper’s been playing a game with him—with Walter Day, as well. He is pushing both of them to their limits, and what happens when they get there . . . no one can say." 

=== May 26 ===

Title: The Storm Murders

Author: John Farrow

Series: #1 in the Storm Murders trilogy featuring Emile Cinq-Mars and set in Canada

ISBN: 9781250057686

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Hardcover, 320 pages

Synopsis: "On the day after a massive blizzard, two policemen are called to an isolated farm house sitting all by itself in the middle of a pristine snow-blanketed field. Inside the lonely abode are two dead people. But there are no tracks in the snow leading either to the house or away. What happened here? Is this a murder/suicide case? Or will it turn into something much more sinister? John Farrow is the pen name of Trevor Ferguson, a Canadian writer who has been named Canada's best novelist in both Books in Canada and the Toronto Star. This is the first of a trilogy he is writing for us called The Storm Murders trilogy. Each book features Emile Cinq-Mars, the Hercule Poirot of Canada, and extreme weather conditions." 

Wow! Another May is another month with an embarrassment of riches, isn't it?

Elly Griffiths. Craig Johnson. Colin Cotterill. Ann Cleeves. Four of my Auto-Buy authors followed by other personal favorites! Hmm... perhaps I should stay away from The Poisoned Pen for a while. What do you think?

And what do you think about my picks for May? Which titles have you thinking about hiding your credit cards? Inquiring minds would love to know!

The Children Return by Martin Walker

First Line: Benoît Courrèges, chief of police of the small French town of St. Denis and known to everyone as Bruno, had witnessed too much violent death.

Bruno is at a crossroads in his personal life, and it would seem that the small French village of St. Denis is at a crossroads of its own. Bruno is ready to settle down and raise a family, but none of the women in his life want the same thing. Those in charge of St. Denis have treated it like a treasure, but when an undercover agent on the trail of domestic jihadists is murdered right outside the village, it would seem that hatred and terrorism are trying to change the wonderful little town forever. This seems even more true when Sami returns. Sami is a local autistic youth who had been believed lost to Islamic extremism. St. Denis is suddenly right on the front line of the war on terror, and Sami is a pawn in a very deadly game.

One of the most charming things about the Bruno Chief of Police series has been that the small village of St. Denis seems lost in some sort of time warp, with more ties to the past than the present. In the tightly plotted seventh book in the series, the past and present collide to put a wary face on the future. 

Published in the UK as The Children of War, this book is all about the effects of war upon our most vulnerable. Walker once again highlights southwestern France's part in World War II by weaving in a storyline about two Jewish children who were hidden away outside St. Denis during the Second World War. The surviving sibling wants to reward the villagers for their kindness and bravery, but first she must see what they would do with their "inheritance." As Bruno gets his group of planners together, it's a wonderful way to show how the past can have a beneficial effect upon the future.

We need that happier remembrance because Sami represents the horrors of the war with Algeria-- how that war still affects France, and the fate of so many Muslim immigrants that have flooded into the country. Walker shows us the differences between how France and the U.S. fight the war on terror by bringing in Nancy Sutton, an American intelligence officer. Of course where Bruno is concerned, Nancy won't be able to remain solely as an example of truth, justice, and the American Way. Will Nancy be the right woman for Bruno at this stage in his life? It's something that we're just going to have to watch play out.

And while we're keeping an eye on Bruno and Nancy and wondering if everyone is going to be able to keep Sami (the gold mine of al-Qaeda intel) safe, we still have time to sample life in St. Denis. This time it's the vendage-- the grape harvest-- with its special celebratory food and wine. By continuing to show us various aspects of the culture and cuisine of St. Denis, the author reminds us why places like this need to survive-- and why it takes people like Bruno to keep them safe. In talking about murder and mayhem, Martin Walker has created one of the best crime fiction series going-- one that reminds us of kindness, decency, and rich full lives.
 

The Children Return by Martin Walker

(APA The Children of War) 

ISBN: 9780385354158

Alfred A. Knopf © 2015

Hardcover, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #7 Bruno Chief of Police mystery

Rating: A

Source: Amazon Vine 

I've Got Martin Walker Covered!

Tomorrow, one of my favorite authors has a book release in the US, and this novice book cover critic thought she'd trot out the US and UK covers for you to take a look at before you (hopefully) read my review of the book on Tuesday.

Martin Walker is a British author, so his books are released there first. There seems to have been some sort of hold-up with this book because the next Bruno Chief of Police novel, The Patriarch, will be released in August. Do I mind two Brunos in one year? Au contraire, mes amis!

This week's cover comparison is truly interesting because not only are the covers completely different, so are the titles, and that is a particular problem for someone like me who reads a lot of British fiction. I can be innocently browsing the shelves at The Poisoned Pen, come across a favorite author with a title I haven't heard of, and think I've got a brand-new book to read when the same book has been released under two different titles. Not my favorite thing as I'm sure you all understand!

Let's take a look...

Wow, day and night, eh?  It's obvious that the US and UK publishers are trying to appeal to two completely different audiences. I'm about to use a word that you've probably never seen me use before, so brace yourselves. I adore Walker's Bruno Chief of Police series. I love opening these books and immersing myself in French food, French wine, and French culture. But that's not all Walker has to offer. He writes of an area steeped in history, an area that has been shaped by various wars, and he often brings this history into his books. That's exactly what he's done in this latest novel.

The US edition is an obvious appeal to those readers who prefer the total French experience-- the kinder, gentler side of the Bruno series. We're treated to a glimpse of a French village, and the Bruno Chief of Police badge is prominently displayed. The Children Return is a rather ambiguous title. If you look at that cover, you might get the idea that the children are returning from a picnic.

But that's not what's going on at all.

The UK edition is appealing to the historical elements of Walker's story. The children who return in this book have actually been brutalized by war, be it World War II, France's war with Algeria, or the ongoing struggle with Islamic terrorists. This book truly deals with the Children of War, and the cover is stark and bleak. The sun coming up over the mountains reveals the raw truth as well as providing a ray of hope. The UK publisher chose a blurb for the top that emphasizes the fact that they think it's a thriller.

How different could the covers for the same book be?

Now's the really hard part. Which one do I prefer?

Neither cover lies. Each cover reveals a portion of the truth. Neither "truth"-- idyllic French village life or how people must deal with the aftermath of war-- overwhelms the other in the book.

I'd have to say that my vote could go either way depending on my mood. If all is right with my world, I can see myself choosing the US cover. If I'm not feeling so warm and fuzzy, I can see myself choosing the UK cover. Oh I see, you're going to make me choose one, are you? Okay, I will. I choose the UK cover. I may not agree that it's a thriller, but I think it's the more honest representation of what's inside the book.

Now it's your turn. Which cover do you prefer? US? UK? Neither one? Or does it depend on your mood? What's your take on the publishers choosing such different titles and covers? Inquiring minds would love to know!

A Quiet Weekly Link Round-Up

A crime fiction author recently moved here to the Phoenix metro area, and I've been enjoying her getting used to the desert via her Facebook page.

Today she came across her first lizard, which surprised her a little bit. She admitted that the critters would take a little getting used to.

As you can see in the photo, I've already gotten used to them. That's a baby tree lizard on my little finger. Every once in a while I have to fish one out of the pool, but the one in the photo spent a good part of the afternoon one summer sitting on my shoulder while I read a book. I must admit that it did tickle when he decided to run up into my hair.

This week is touched with sadness. I mourn the loss of a friend-- Barbara of Views from the Countryside. She died peacefully in her sleep with her husband by her bedside. Barbara, I'm proud to have known you. You will be missed.

And now for the links...
 
 

►Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough on the importance of librarians.
• What authors really think of publishers.
• Just the sort of post I love to read: what books authors tend to read for fun while they're writing-- and don't forget to read the comments! 
• An article about A Bone to Pick, the first Aurora Teagarden mystery movie recently televised on Hallmark Mystery & Movies. My opinion? Good production, but it certainly reminded me why I only read one book in that series!
• Have you seen this Taylor Swift parody video for National Library Week? 
• Thanks to Kathleen for making sure I saw this link about a Colorado haven for readers. There's more about the place on the Rocky Mountain Land Library blog.
• Here's an infographic of the most common mistakes in the English language. 
• The white woman who stood up for a Muslim couple was not showing a "white savior complex." (Whatever happened to just being a decent human being?)
• Personally, I think Random House owes the Goebbels' estate some royalty fees. How about you? (I see when I mentioned this on Facebook, no one replied. I must not have a popular opinion!)
• In the future, your veins could replace your passwords.
• Dino lover that I am, I'm looking forward to seeing Jurassic World and thought I'd share the latest trailer for the film.
• It can be a problem finding age-appropriate eBooks for readers with obstacles.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a chapel used by a pharaoh.
• A record dive has rescued $50 million worth of wartime silver from the ocean floor.
• All he wanted was to have a functioning toilet in his little restaurant. Instead he wound up uncovering centuries of Italian history.
• One of the things I love most about history is finding out the nuts and bolts of how people actually lived way back when. Let's just say... personal hygiene standards have changed a bit over the centuries! 
• A significant Pictish fort has been found off the coast of Aberdeenshire in Scotland. 
• Archaeologists have found evidence of pre-Columbus trade in a house in Alaska. Photos of the dig.  
• Another Brit with a metal detector. This time a Roman grave was found. Photos of the discoveries.
• Here's a jaw-dropping link: what the pins on this map represent makes you wonder how London is still around today.

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• 15 stunning examples of owl camouflage. Wow!
• Egyptians aren't the only ones who build pyramids. Spider crabs do, too!
• I'm going to have to pay a visit to Zao Fox Village in Japan.

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• I wouldn't mind traveling aboard the Hermione. (No, it has nothing to do with Hermione Granger!)
• 16 incredible library bars in London.
• Out of eight of the world's most stunning bridges, I've been across two.
• Hmmm... This job living in a haunted ghost town interests me!
• I might buy this famous haunted Victorian mansion in Massachusetts if (1) I had the money, and (2) it didn't look like the house on the hill above the Bates Motel!

►I  ♥  Lists & Quizzes◄

• Can you match these homes to the poets who lived in them?
• I don't necessarily agree with the choices, but the list of 10 books you'd probably find Outlander's Claire Fraser reading if she sneaked into a bookstore in 2015 is interesting.
• She Sheds: women's answer to the man cave.
• A slideshow of 12 bookmobiles that show the power of books and reading.
• How to become a better reader in 10 steps. 
• 27 clever ways to display your books.
• 11 beautiful bookmarks for bibliophiles.
• 9 of the worst habits of book lovers.
• A slideshow showing 10 movies that broke film taboos. 
• 30 copy editors tell us their pet peeves.

That's all for now. Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!

Have a great weekend, and read something fabulous!

The Right Side of Wrong by Reavis Z. Wortham

First Line: Constable Cody Parker's phone jangles him from a sound sleep at one in the morning.

Constable Cody Parker has to fight his way through an unusually heavy snowfall to answer a domestic violence call, but he never makes it. Instead, he's ambushed on a lonely country road and almost dead before he's found.

As Cody recovers, his uncle Constable Ned Parker begins piecing together disjointed bits of conversation and adding them to seemingly unrelated murders. As 1965 ends and 1966 works its way toward summer, Ned tries to keep his grandchildren Top and Pepper from getting underfoot. This is serious business. Somehow his peaceful little town of Center Springs, Texas is no longer a safe place to live, and Ned Parker intends to do something about that.

Reavis Wortham's Red River mystery series continues to solidify its position as one of my favorites. I'm torn between wanting to get caught up (I'm within one book of that goal) and wanting to save Vengeance Is Mine as one of my "go to books" in case I have a string of bad reading luck. Decisions, decisions!

In the mean time, I read The Right Side of Wrong much too quickly. I couldn't help myself. It has all the characters I've grown to love: Ned Parker, his wife Miss Becky, his grandson Top, his nephew Cody Parker, Deputy John Washington, and Judge O.C. Rains. An added bonus in this book is a new character, the mysterious Tom Bell, whom I immediately liked. For any of you already acquainted with this marvelous series, you will have noted that I didn't include Pepper in the group of characters I love. That little girl just plain annoys the stuffing out of me, and I wish Top would grow a spine and say no to her hare-brained schemes! 

Wortham's Texas in the mid-1960s is pitch perfect as always. Growing up in a rural farm community as I did, he can put me right in the middle of a scene with just one well-chosen word. (The word this time was "bobwire." That's what folks where I grew up always called barbed wire.) Center Springs is a microcosm of our country during the '60s, and The Right Side of Wrong shows us the beginnings of a problem that haunts us to this day and its effects on a small community. 

It also shows us how strong prejudice was then and that bigots still had the upper hand; however, we're also shown that the wall is beginning to crumble due to the behavior of people like the Parkers, Judge Rains, and John Washington.

Wortham knows how to write action scenes that will make your hands shake as you try to find a faster way to turn the pages. This time, our heroes travel across the Rio Grande into Mexico in an adventure so dangerous it curled my hair. Wow.

Now this time the Bad-Guy-in-Charge was rather easy for me to deduce, but as in all well-told tales, it's not always the who that makes the story, sometimes it's the how. Watching the judge and the Parkers figure out how to bring him down put a smile on my face.

Reavis Wortham can make you laugh. He can make you cry. He can make you remember your own childhood. He can also make you hunker down so deep inside a story that you don't want to come up for air. You can read these Red River mysteries as standalones and enjoy them, but I don't recommend taking that path. These characters are so wonderful that I strongly urge you to start at the beginning (The Rock Hole) because once you have, you won't want to miss a single chapter in their lives. Do you like Craig Johnson? Peter Bowen? C.J. Box? Donis Casey? William Kent Krueger's Ordinary Grace? If you do, chances are excellent that you'll like Reavis Wortham, too.

Now if I could only make myself stop staring at that lone Red River mystery sitting over there on that shelf....
 

The Right Side of Wrong by Reavis Z. Wortham

ISBN: 9781464201486

Poisoned Pen Press © 2013

Paperback, 307 pages

Historical Mystery/Thriller, #3 Red River mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.

 

  

Rope Enough by Oliver Tidy

First Line: The metronomic wipers beat away at the winter drizzle.

Detective Inspector Romney has the reputation for being difficult on his patch in Dover, England, but newly promoted Detective Sergeant Joy Marsh isn't going to let that bother her. She is determined to do the best possible job she can. 

It's good that she's willing to work hard because on her first day as Romney's sergeant a brutal crime occurs that will test everyone's resolve. It's long hours for all those assigned to this investigation, but only those in control of the budget-- and a few folks waiting at home-- seem to mind.

Rope Enough is a very well-paced, engrossing story that I enjoyed reading. There were just enough twists and turns in the plot to keep me guessing, and I have to admit that one of the things I was wondering about was the title of the book. It reminded me of a certain phrase. Did it mean what I thought it did? Yes, it did, and watching this investigation play out was time well spent.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was the excellent job Oliver Tidy did in showing the nuts and bolts of an investigation. In so many police procedurals, we hear of the numbers of policemen assigned to an investigation, but we very seldom ever find out what they're all doing. Tidy lets us know in such a  light-handed way that it doesn't bog down the flow of the narrative.

I also liked the character of Joy Marsh-- what little there was of her. She proves herself to be excellent at picking out stray, disjointed clues and putting them together to get the investigation back on track and moving in the right direction. I can see her going far. What disappointed me was the fact that we got to know very little about what really makes her tick. I want to know more, and I hope this is addressed in future books in the series.

On the other hand, I got to know more about Detective Inspector Romney than I wanted. I didn't find him as difficult as his reputation at first made him appear to be, and I enjoyed watching him be in charge of the investigation. What I thought detracted from the story was the amount of detail given to the new woman in his life and their sex life. It may have spoken to his character, but it really didn't add much to the plot. When I compared what I learned about Romney and the amount of information given about his sergeant, I have to admit that I wondered why the series is called the "Romney and Marsh Files." 

Rope Enough also has a few problems with proofreading and editing. There are sections that need to be tightened, extra words that need to be removed, and annoying little errors like "there're" instead of "they're" and "it's" instead of "its."

While I have pointed out what I think to be weaknesses in the book, it still remains that Oliver Tidy can write a story that keeps me guessing and turning those pages. Characters can be balanced out. Nagging little glitches in grammar and editing can be fixed. But if you can't tell a story that people want to read.... Tidy can tell a story, and he has me wanting to read more.
 

Rope Enough by Oliver Tidy

ASIN: B00AIZ5ME6

Oliver Tidy © 2012

eBook, 236 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Romney and Marsh mystery

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

I've Got Susan Elia MacNeal Covered!

Here I am, book cover junkie-in-training, back with another two crime fiction covers to take a look at. 

I have to admit that the primary reason why I began to develop an interest in crime fiction book covers from US and UK publishers was to cut down on the number of duplicate titles I bought. That's really not a problem now, but I'm still interested in those book covers, and during the past few weeks it's easy for me to see that you are, too.

This week I'm being a tiny bit sneaky. Yes, I've read the book. In fact I've enjoyed the entire series, so I certainly don't mind bringing Susan Elia MacNeal's historical mysteries to your attention. Why am I being sneaky? You'll understand the second you see the book covers....

These are the US and UK covers for MacNeal's very first Maggie Hope mystery, Mr. Churchill's Secretary. At first glance, I wouldn't blame you for thinking that I'd put two copies of the same cover there for you to look at. But if you look closely, you'll see that there are subtle differences, and it's those differences that make me prefer one cover over another.

If you get right down to brass tacks, it doesn't make a bit of difference which cover you choose because they're so similar, but....

I give the edge to the US cover, and here's why. The UK cover has a sepia tone which yellows the image and gives it an historical look. I don't like that yellowed look. 

I also prefer the font on the US cover. It's crisper, and the font is what gives the cover its historical flavor. The font size and the placement of the author's name and the title also allows us to see the London skyline, which makes those planes droning overhead much more ominous.

What about you? Do you prefer one of these covers, or are they so similar that you just don't care? Inquiring minds would love to know-- either here in the comments, by email (kittlingbooks(at)gmail(dot)com) or on Facebook!

The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett

First Line: Wales could be cold in February.

Nine months after the death of his wife, antiquarian bookseller Peter Byerly relocates from North Carolina to the English countryside. He's trying to outrun his grief, but he's also trying to regain the pleasure he once found in collecting and restoring rare books.

While browsing in a shop, Byerly opens a book on Shakespearean forgeries and finds a Victorian watercolor of a woman who bears a striking resemblance to his dead wife. He is now obsessed with learning the picture's origins, and little does he know but the trail of clues is going to lead him all the way back to Shakespeare's day and a priceless artifact that could change what we know about the Bard's identity.

The Bookman's Tale is for book lovers, book collectors, book restorers, book historians, and Shakespeareans with all the knowledge it contains about these subjects as well as the almost fairy tale-like story of Peter Byerly. Peter has been burdened with crippling shyness his entire life. The only person who could make him forget that and start enjoying the world around him was his wife Amanda. His honesty and diffidence make him just the sort of main character for which a reader can grow to care. It wasn't long at all until I was cheering Peter on and wanting him to find joy in living again.

As Peter's obsession with the watercolor and its artist grows, he finds himself becoming acquainted with two eccentric families, the Aldersons and the Gardners-- a British version of the Hatfields and McCoys. In America, the Hatfields and McCoys tended to shoot each other, but the Aldersons and Gardners are much more civilized. Instead of firearms, these two families seem to rely on deception and double-dealing over the centuries to get the upper hand. This puts Byerly at a distinct disadvantage, and he has to take special care as he does his research.

This book was so enjoyable from first page to last that I almost didn't want to see it end. I do have a word of warning, however. The story has frequent changes in time period, setting, and point of view. I didn't find it at all confusing, but that was because I learned very early on to pay attention to the chapter headings that always told me when and where I was.

Charlie Lovett followed The Bookman's Tale with First Impressions which takes readers into the world of Jane Austen. He's shown that he has real talent for combining fascinating facts with spellbinding stories, and I eagerly await his third book.
   

The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett

ISBN: 9780670026470

Viking © 2013

Hardcover, 353 pages

Literary Mystery, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet