July 2021 New Mystery Releases!

 

Since I can't get out in the pool until the open wounds on my leg finally decide to heal and stay healed, I'm glad I've feathered my nest here in the living room. I'm feeling more connected to the neighborhood and have even started adding books to a nearby neighbor's Little Free Library. 

 

And may I just say that this "connected-ness" wouldn't be possible if not for the new windows we installed a couple of years ago. There's no way in the world I could've sat here in the living room with the curtains open and not roasted alive-- even with the air conditioning on. But now, here I sit, watching the neighbors come and go, counting the new arms the cactus is growing, and keeping track of all the visiting bees and hummingbirds at the fairy duster bush.

Of course, that's not all I'm doing while I'm sitting in pampered comfort. I'm getting a lot of reading done as well, and you know what that means. That means that I have to keep a lookout for new books to read!

The following list contains my picks of the best new crime fiction being released throughout the month of July. I've grouped them according to their release dates, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon.

Let's see if I've chosen any that are on your own wish lists!

=== July 1 ===

Title: Death and Croissants

Author: Ian Moore

Series: #1 in the Follet Valley amateur sleuth series set in rural France

230 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Richard is a middle-aged Englishman who runs a B&B in the fictional Val de Follet in the Loire Valley. Nothing ever happens to Richard, and really that’s the way he likes it.

One day, however, one of his older guests disappears, leaving behind a bloody handprint on the wallpaper. Another guest, the exotic Valérie, persuades a reluctant Richard to join her in investigating the disappearance.

Richard remains a dazed passenger in the case until things become really serious and someone murders Ava Gardner, one of his beloved hens... and you don’t mess with a fellow’s hens!

Unputdownable mystery set in rural France, by TV/radio regular and bestselling author Ian Moore – perfect for fans of Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club."

=== July 6 ===

Title: An Irish Hostage

Author: Charles Todd

Series: #12 in the Bess Crawford historical series set in Ireland during the years immediately following World War I.

336 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "The Great War is over—but in Ireland, in the wake of the bloody 1916 Easter Rising, anyone who served in France is now considered a traitor, including nurse Eileen Flynn and former soldier Michael Sullivan, who only want to be married in the small, isolated village where she grew up. Even her grandmother is against it, and Eileen’s only protection is her cousin Terrence who was a hero of the Rising and is still being hunted by the British. 

Bess Crawford had promised to be there for the wedding. And in spite of the danger to her, she keeps that promise—only to be met with the shocking news that the groom has vanished. Eileen begs for her help, but how can Bess hope to find him when she doesn’t know the country, the people, or where to put her trust? Time is running out, for Michael and for Bess herself, and soon her own life is on the line. With only an Irish outlaw and a man being hunted for murder on her side, how can she possibly save herself, much less stop a killer?" 

 

 

Title: The Hollywood Spy

Author: Susan Elia MacNeal

Series: #10 in the Maggie Hope historical series set in California in 1943.

368 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "Los Angeles, 1943. As the Allies beat back the Nazis in the Mediterranean and the United States military slowly closes in on Tokyo, Walt Disney cranks out wartime propaganda and the Cocoanut Grove is alive with jazz and swing every night. But behind this sunny façade lies a darker reality. Somewhere in the lush foothills of Hollywood, a woman floats lifeless in the pool of one of California’s trendiest hotels.

When American-born secret agent and British spy Maggie Hope learns that this woman was engaged to her former fiancée, John Sterling, and that he suspects her death was no accident, intuition tells her he’s right. Leaving London under siege is a lot to ask. But John was once the love of Maggie’s life . . . and she won’t say no.
 
Maggie struggles with seeing her lost love again, but what’s more shocking is that her own country is as divided and convulsed with hatred as Europe. The Zoot Suit Riots loom large in Los Angeles, and the Ku Klux Klan casts a long shadow everywhere. But there is little time to dwell on memories once she starts digging into the case. As she traces a web of deception from the infamous Garden of Allah to the iconic Carthay Circle Theater, she discovers things aren’t always the way things appear in the movies—and the political situation in America is more complicated, and dangerous, than the newsreels would have them all believe." 

Title: People Like Them

Author: Samira Sedira

Standalone psychological suspense set in France

192 pages

 

Synopsis: "Anna and Constant Guillot live with their two daughters in the peaceful, remote mountain village of Carmac, largely deaf to the upheavals of the outside world. Everyone in Carmac knows each other, and most of its residents look alike--until Bakary and Sylvia Langlois arrive with their three children.

Wealthy and flashy, the family of five are outsiders in the small town, their impressive chalet and three expensive cars a stark contrast to the modesty of those of their neighbors. Despite their differences, the Langlois and the Guillots form an uneasy, ambiguous friendship. But when both families begin experiencing financial troubles, the underlying class and racial tensions of their relationship come to a breaking point, and the unthinkable happens.

With piercing psychological insight and gripping storytelling, People Like Them asks: How could a seemingly "normal" person commit an atrocious crime? How could that person's loved ones ever come to terms with it afterward? And how well can you really know your own spouse?" 

Title: Palm Springs Noir 

Editor: Barbara Demarco-Barrett

Short Story Anthology set in Palm Springs, California

304 pages

Synopsis: "Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct location within the geographic area of the book.

Palm Springs Noir features brand-new stories by: T. Jefferson Parker, Janet Fitch, Eric Beetner, Kelly Shire, Tod Goldberg, Michael Craft, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Rob Roberge, J.D. Horn, Eduardo Santiago, Rob Bowman, Chris J. Bahnsen, Ken Layne, and Alex Espinoza.

From the introduction: The best noir writers make us feel the heat of the sun, the touch of a lover. Setting can be gritty but can also be sublime, no longer relegated to urban locales and seedy hotel rooms but also mansions and swimming pools. Hence, Palm Springs, which may seem like an odd setting for a collection of dark short stories--it’s so sunny and bright here. The quality of light is unlike anywhere else, and with an average of three hundred sunny days a year, what could go wrong?...

The stories in this collection come on like the wicked dust storms common to the area. More than half are by writers who live here full-time; all have homes in Southern California. They know this place in ways visitors and outsiders never will. These are not stories you'll read in the glossy coffee-table books that feature Palm Springs's good life. There is indeed a lush life to be found here, but for the characters in these stories, it’s often just out of reach."

 

 

 === July 8 ===

 

 

Title: The Dying Day

Author: Vaseem Khan

Series: #2 in the Persis Wadia historical series set in India

400 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "For over a century, one of the world's great treasures, a six-hundred-year-old copy of Dante's The Divine Comedy, has been safely housed at Bombay's Asiatic Society. But when it vanishes, together with the man charged with its care, British scholar and war hero, John Healy, the case lands on Inspector Persis Wadia's desk.

Uncovering a series of complex riddles written in verse, Persis - together with English forensic scientist Archie Blackfinch - is soon on the trail. But then they discover the first body.

As the death toll mounts it becomes evident that someone else is also pursuing this priceless artefact and will stop at nothing to possess it . . .

Harking back to an era of darkness, this second thriller in the Malabar House series pits Persis, once again, against her peers, a changing India, and an evil of limitless intent." 

=== July 13 ===

Title: Butcher Pen Road

Author: Kris Lackey

Series: #3 in the Bill Maytubby & Hannah Bond police procedural series set in Oklahoma

200 pages 

Synopsis: "On Oklahoma's Big Rock Prairie, a deaf boy finds a body in Pennington Creek. Johnston County Deputy Hannah Bond and Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Sergeant Bill Maytubby find a crime scene where nothing seems to fit -- from the dead angler's oversize waders to the kind of fish in his creel. They scour the creekside brush, then hit the road for Texas in a widening search for the killer.

On the Big Rock, a towering bearded man is building a limestone replica of Roman Jerusalem for a Christian passion play. His cronies, who are in league with an interstate fraud ring, want the boy to disappear now.

Flying an ancient rented Cessna, Maytubby takes fire from a suspect he is tailing, while Bond combs river trails for traces of the killer.

While Maytubby and Bond try to protect the deaf boy and his mother from the crime ring, an improbable ally materializes from the prairie oak thickets, wielding a monstrous shotgun."

=== July 20 ===

Title: Fatal Family Ties

Author: S.C. Perkins

Series: #3 in the Ancestry Detective series set in Texas

336 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books. 

Synopsis: "Lucy is just about to tuck into a plate of tacos at her favorite Austin joint, Big Flaco’s, when she gets an unexpected visit from her former―and least-favorite―co-worker. Camilla Braithwaite hasn’t gotten much friendlier since the last time Lucy saw her, but that doesn't stop her from asking a favor. In her hand is a newspaper feature on an ancestor, a civil war corporal―and a liar, according to the article. Charles Braithwaite is depicted as a phony and a deserter, and Camilla wants Lucy’s help clearing his name.

Lucy would prefer to spend her free time with her new beau, special agent Ben Turner, but takes the case, making no promises that Camilla will like the outcome of her investigation. Camilla leads Lucy to the Texas History Museum, where their first clue is a triptych painting, passed down in the Braithwaite family for generations, one panel of which has disappeared. But before Lucy can get much further, a member of the Braithwaite family is murdered in his own bed, and another panel of the painting found missing.

There are no shortage of suspects among the Braithwaite clan―including Camilla herself. This case will take Lucy to Houston and back again as she works to find the truth, and catch an elusive killer."

=== July 26 ===

Title: The Bookshop Murder

Author: Merryn Allingham

Series: #1 in the Flora Steele cozy series set in England

256 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "The young man with the shock of white-blond hair lay spread-eagled on the floor, surrounded by fallen books. His hand reached out to the scattered pages, as though he was trying to tell her something.

But who is he? How did he come to be killed in Flora’s ordinary little bookshop? Flora finds out he was staying at the Priory Hotel, and when the gardener suddenly dies in its beautiful grounds only a few days later, she is certain that something untoward is happening in her quiet village by the sea.

But are the two deaths connected? And is someone at the hotel responsible – the nervous cook, the money-obsessed receptionist, or the formidable manageress?

Determined to save her beloved bookshop’s reputation and solve the murder mystery, Flora enlists the help of handsome and brooding Jack Carrington: crime writer, recluse and her most reliable customer.

As the unlikely duo set about investigating the baffling case, guilty faces greet them at every door. And they soon realise there’s more than one person hiding secrets in Abbeymead…

The start of a brand-new murder mystery series featuring bookshop owner Flora Steele and crime writer Jack Carrington. Fans of Agatha Christie, Faith Martin and Joy Ellis will love this perfect cozy murder mystery novel. An utterly addictive story that will have you guessing until the very end." 

Well, that's an interesting lineup of books, isn't it? A new Bess Crawford. A new Maggie Hope. The second in Vaseem Khan's new historical series featuring a female police officer in India. And some new faces. I'm looking forward to diving right in.

How about you? Which titles are already on your own wish lists? Did you find any new ones to add? Inquiring minds would love to know!

The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths

 

First Line: There's so much blood, that's what he always remembers.

 

Dr. Ruth Galloway is now the head of the archaeology department at the University of North Norfolk, and if you want to make her froth at the mouth, just mention metal detectorists. Her opinion of amateur archaeologists couldn't be lower. When she learns that a metal detectorist club called the Night Hawks has uncovered Bronze Age artifacts on a beach, she rushes over to protect the site from their destructive attentions.

But those artifacts aren't the only things to be discovered: the body of a young man has washed ashore nearby. Soon after, the Night Hawks discover the murder-suicide of a scientist and his wife in their home at Black Dog Farm. The property has long thought to be haunted by the Black Shuck, a huge dog that's the harbinger of death.

As DCI Harry Nelson works the case of the dead man on the beach and the murder-suicide on the farm, the two cases start to weave together. The more they weave themselves together, the closer they get to David Brown, the new lecturer Ruth has recently hired, a person who has the annoying tendency to show up wherever Ruth is.

~

The books in Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series always seem to be brushed with a liberal amount of fairy dust, and although the pandemic seems to have knocked off some of that magic this time around, The Night Hawks is still a book capable of making readers forget the outside world.

Ruth is back home and learning just how much paperwork a university head of department has to deal with and how much diplomacy is often required. Her new lecturer, David Brown, has a pet theory that Neolithic immigrants came to England bringing with them a disease that wiped out the native Britons. He'll talk about it at length to anyone who'll listen. Ruth knows that this particular theory needs to be kept under wraps, not only because it will portray Neolithic Britons as people of color (gasp!) but it will also bring out the anti-immigrant nutters. All this could be disastrous for funding.

Meanwhile, DCI Harry Nelson has his work cut out for him, and it's not just those two cases he and his team are working. The women in his life seem to be expecting a lot from him. Michelle, Ruth, his three daughters... but more importantly the women he works with. Judy is doing her usual exemplary work, but it's his boss, Jo, who's really pushing him to retire-- and Nelson. Does. Not. Want. To. 

Griffiths keeps readers guessing with the two investigations Nelson and his team are working, and I love how she weaves in the legend of the Black Shuck, but for me, the focus is always on Ruth and Nelson. Sometimes it's just tiny details like Ruth watching Young Montalbano on the telly when she's got a spare hour or two to herself. But in The Night Hawks, Nelson grabs a lion's share of my attention. He's finally beginning to wonder how long he can go on living two lives, and he finds advice from a surprising source. 

Now all we have to do is wait to see what he does with that advice. Bring on the next book quickly, please!

The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths

eISBN: 9780358237013

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt © 2021

eBook, 368 pages

 

Police Procedural, #13 Dr. Ruth Galloway mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

The Keepers by Jeffrey B. Burton

 

First Line: I spent the bulk of the call with my eyes shut, thinking I was still asleep and in some kind of lucid dream.

 

"The Finders" is Mason "Mace" Reid's pack of dogs trained to find dead bodies. The star of the pack is Vira (short for Elvira), a golden retriever. Called out from his home on the outskirts of Chicago, what Mace and Vira find in Washington Park at 3 in the morning starts a chain of events that soon has them running for their lives.

 

Mace and Chicago PD officer Kippy Gimm find themselves in a nightmare of treachery and corruption, not knowing whom they can trust on their quest for justice. 

~

Jeffrey Burton's second Mace Reid K-9 mystery is fast-paced and filled with tension and suspense as readers try to outguess Mace and Kippy. Are they asking for help from the right people, or are they walking right into a trap? This aspect of The Keepers certainly kept me turning the pages even though I usually knew when they were headed right for that trap. 

Of course, the biggest draw to this book and series for me is the canine one. The fact that Mace names his dogs after songs is endearing. His dogs are Elvira, Delta Dawn, the rambunctious puppy Billie Joe, Maggie May, and the alpha male named Sue. (Johnny Cash, anyone?) Probably the thing I love most about Mace's relationship with his dogs is that he listens to them. There's another series set in Los Angeles that I'm tiring of even though the stories are really good. Why am I tiring of them? Because every time the man's dog alerts him to danger, the man ignores him (and usually gets beaten up). Idiot! There's none of that stupidity here.

If you're in the mood for engaging, fast-paced stories filled with talented working dogs and the human who trains and works with them, find yourself the two books in this series, The Finders and The Keepers. I'm looking forward to Mace and Vira's next assignment.

 

The Keepers by Jeffrey B. Burton

eISBN: 9781250795861

Minotaur Books © 2021

eBook, 288 pages

 

Police Procedural, #2 Mace Reid K-9 mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Net Galley

Win a Copy of William Shaw's The Trawlerman!

 

William Shaw's Alexandra Cupidi police procedural series set in the marshlands of southeastern England is one of my top recommendations for crime fiction lovers. Setting... story... characters... this is a series to sink into and savor. 

The latest book in the series, The Trawlerman, for some reason is difficult to find here in the US, and when I learned that, I knew I had to give away my gently read UK copy so another fan would have a chance to enjoy it, too. Here's more about the book:

Synopsis:

"The naked corpses of Aylmer and Mary Younis are discovered in their home. The only clues are a note written in blood and an eerie report of two spectral figures departing the crime scene. Officer Jill Ferriter is charged with investigating the murders while her colleague Alex Cupidi is on leave, recovering from post-traumatic stress.

The dead couple had made investments in a green reforestry scheme in Guatemala, resulting in the loss of all their savings. What is more disturbing is that Cupidi and Ferriter's disgraced former colleague and friend Bill South is also on the list of investors and the Younis's were not the only losers.

Despite being in counselling and receiving official warnings to stay away from police work Cupidi finds herself dragged into the case and begins to trawl among the secrets and lies that are held in the fishing community of Folkestone. Desperate to exonerate South she finds herself murderously compromised when personal relationships cloud her judgement."

Now it's time to get down to the basics!

 

~~~ What You'll Win ~~~

One hardcover UK edition of William Shaw's The Trawlerman.

 

~~~ Who's Eligible ~~~

Due to the high cost of postage, only those of you who live in the U.S. are eligible to enter and win this book. 

~~~ The Rules ~~~

• Send an email to kittlingbooks(at)gmail(dot)com.
• The subject header of your email must read SHAW GIVEAWAY.
• The body of your email must contain your name and mailing address.
• Get your entries to me no later than noon, Sunday, July 4, 2021.

 

The winners will be announced Sunday evening, July 4, 2021, and the book will be in the mail to the winner by Tuesday at the latest. 

Now it's time to fill my inbox with entries! Good Luck!

A Making Lemonade Weekly Link Round-Up

 

I'm writing this on Wednesday, sitting here at the window and having the rare treat of watching it rain. I can't remember the last time that happened, and for once it's a summer rain that's gentle and every drop is soaking in. A bird landed on an arm of the cactus right outside, spread its wings out and just sat there for a long minute before shaking itself and flying away. A hummingbird flew up to a different arm and sipped from the water running down. 

Today we finally got some good news concerning Denis's worrying eye infection. That crap just kept growing back on his cornea and was beginning to damage it. The eye doctor made an appointment for him with a specialist (the same doctor who handled my cataract surgery) and put what she called a "bandage contact" on the eye. He went back to see her today, and the infection is completely dead. The spots on his cornea should heal themselves, and if he gets the all-clear when he goes back Friday (the day you'll be reading this), he won't have to go to the specialist. Good news at last!

I'll end this by showing you some more photos of my nest here in the living room. The first will show you that I know a thing or two about getting comfortable. It will also show you a long-distance shot of my laptop stand. The other two photos will be closeups of that laptop stand. Not only does it perform as named, it holds my book/Kindle and thus prevents head/facial injuries in the event I nod off while reading. It also holds my phone which I use to listen to audiobooks. The holes in the metal are handy for threading my needlepoint yarn through and hanging my embroidery scissors from while I listen and stitch.

I know I was forced to do it, but I think I've managed to make some tasty lemonade from my lymphedema lemons.

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• From Jeopardy! to Wheel of Fortune, this archive will preserve game show history.
• Yes, you can recycle magazines. Here's how.
• How the pandemic has revealed the promise and peril of life lived online.
• How stories change when they move from page to voice.
• Learning about life from crime fiction.
• On letting go of toxic silence and acknowledging the hardships of mental illness.
• Yes, Marlon Brando, eclectic bibliophile, wrote in his books.
• In the UK, authors can earn royalties on secondhand books for the first time.
• Publishing's cancel culture debate is boiling over.
• Why yarn lovers are good mystery solvers.
  

 

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Is this Florida island home to a long-lost Native American settlement?
• This fancy footwear craze started a "plague of bunions" in medieval Europe.
• A 7,000-year-old letter seal found in Israel hints at ancient long-distance trade.
• The world's most valuable coin sells at auction for $18.9 million.
• Archaeologists discover-- and crack open-- an intact 1,000-year-old chicken egg.
• And while we're talking about them, how about the 1,700-year-old Roman eggs that were found in England?
• Infrared reveals Egyptian mummies' hidden tattoos.
• Archaeologists found hair dye bottles used by self-conscious Civil War soldiers posing for portraits.

 

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• Harley, a Goldendoodle living in Virginia, saved a fawn from drowning and then refused to leave its side.
• Shades of Jonah! A Cape Cod lobster diver was swallowed by a humpback whale and then spat back out.
• An Oregon woman calls out her pet cat Esme for stealing from the neighbors with a "My Cat Is A Thief" yard sign.
• Humans, we've shrunk the whales.
• The winners of the 2021 BigPicture Natural World Photography competition show the resilience of nature.
• Puppies are born ready to communicate with humans.
• Let's celebrate the first Tasmanian Devils born in the wild on the Australian mainland in 3,000 years.
• The monkeys at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport are the descendants of zoo escapees.

 

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• These are America's twenty deadliest national parks.
• The gothic elegance of Venice in the winter.
• Fire destroyed 10% of the world's giant Sequoias last year. Can they survive climate change?
• Here's the latest list of the nation's most endangered historic places.
• French Polynesia's Teti'aroa has been an A-lister retreat for centuries.

 

►Fascinating Folk◄

• The many cons of Joseph Weil, AKA the Yellow Kid.
• The Angels of Bataan: the World War II nurses who survived three years in a Japanese prison camp.
• Virginia Apgar: the doctor who saved countless newborn babies by inventing the Apgar score.
• Bill Clinton: I always wanted to be a writer but doubted my ability to do it.
• Author Kerry Greenwood's life in crime.

 

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 93 names have been retired for Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms. Is yours one of them? (Mine isn't.)
• Mysteries and thrillers about marriages gone wrong.
• Eleven old words and phrases for depression.
• Eleven odd bits of Victorian sex advice.
• Authors on the children's books that inspired them.
• Fictional serial killers you can't forget.
• Eleven novel facts about War and Peace.
• 77 strange, funny, and magnificent book titles you've probably never heard of.
• 18 of the most anticipated books coming out this summer.

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

Stay safe. Stay healthy. And don't forget to curl up with a good book!

Killman by Graeme Kent

 

First Line: The twenty naked young virgins undulated slowly in front of Sister Conchita and the morose visiting female academic on the plateau next to the waterfall above the saltwater village.

 

It is young Sister Conchita's misfortune to find the drowned body of Papa Noah, head of the Church of the Blessed Ark, outside the ark he's been building with so much care. Since this is the third death by drowning on the island of Malaita (two of them with no nearby source of water), rumors immediately begin to circulate that there is a Japanese soldier, a killman, on the loose unwilling to admit that the war has been over for fifteen years. Within days, Sister Conchita's mission is inundated with islanders in search of a safe place from the killman.

While she's dealing with a packed mission and a visit from a formidable man known as the bishop's fixer, Sergeant Ben Kella has his own problems. He's been taken to task by the elders of the islands for his absence and his neglect of local problems. It's not Kella's fault that his superior has sent him on one useless assignment after another for months at a time, but the elders refuse to accept excuses from their custom-law enforcer-- a type of island law enforcement officer who takes the islanders' various religious beliefs into account as he dispenses justice.

There's a potentially deadly religious confrontation brewing in the Solomon Islands, and Sergeant Ben Kella and Sister Conchita are right in the middle of it.

~

Graeme Kent's Sergeant Ben Kella and Sister Conchita historical mystery series is perfect for the armchair traveler, and it's so good that I'd almost give my right arm to have more than three books in the series. The first book, Devil-Devil, was a Best Read of 2011, the second, One Blood, was a Best Read of 2012, and Killman came very close to being a Best Read this year. I am so glad I found it while doing some research.

I am of an age where I remember Japanese soldiers being found in the jungle in areas like the Solomon Islands, either not knowing or refusing to believe that World War II was over twenty and thirty years after the fact. Since Killman is set in the Solomons in 1960, this is a perfect thing to incorporate in a mystery involving mysterious deaths.

Another strong element in the mystery is that of religion. Christianity (and not just Catholicism) has a strong hold in the Solomon Islands, but there are still many who hold on to their pagan beliefs with their strong attachments to the natural world. What Kent brought to life for me was the very real danger of a type of religious war involving the differing beliefs of Christians and of those peoples living in saltwater villages as opposed to those living in the bush (jungle). 

The various religions aren't the only things that Kent brings to life. The Solomon Islands themselves play a major role. I can feel myself walking along a beach and breathing in the sea air... or being covered in sweat and slapping mosquitoes as I travel through the jungle and up into the mountains. There are political aspects to life in the islands. The Japanese are showing interest in the natural resources to be found there, and the Americans are showing interest in the Japanese. It's a land still struggling through the aftermath of World War II. Of all the equipment left behind by both the Japanese and the Americans. Of all the wreckage littering land and sea from the battles for Guadalcanal and the other islands. 

Kent does such a marvelous job of putting readers in the midst of life in the Solomons. Of the tremendous navigational skills of the Polynesians. Of the eighty different dialects spoken there. Of the towering banyan trees, symbols of eternal life. And of island occupations such as that of tree shouter. It is such a rich culture! One of the characters is an academic gathering island songs for a book she's writing. Kent uses her as an example of the danger academics can face in traveling to remote areas on fact-finding missions. (Whom do you trust to tell you the truth?)

The major thing that makes learning about the area so enjoyable is the pair of Sergeant Ben Kella and Sister Conchita. A young Catholic nun from Boston, Sister Conchita chose her name because she thought she was going to be posted to South America, and she wanted a name that the people would find familiar. She thought wrong, but she has adapted to life in the South Pacific beautifully and has become the mainstay of the mission. She also has a flair for deduction which Sergeant Ben Kella reluctantly admits is useful. As Sister Conchita shows us life from an outsider's point of view, Kella has the insider's side of the story, and it's the blending of the two that makes this series so special.

I could wax poetic about this book... the entire series... for page after page, but I won't. This is a series that I hope all of you will give a try, especially if books with a strong sense of place are your favorites. Give island life a try. You can't have two better guides than Sister Conchita and Sergeant Ben Kella.

Killman by Graeme Kent

eISBN: 9781472104762

Constable & Robinson © 2013

eBook, 272 pages

 

Historical Mystery, #3 Sergeant Ben Kella & Sister Conchita mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri

 

First Line: He found himself in a dense forest with Livia, having no idea how they got there.

 

When wealthy widower Cosimo Barletta is found dead with a gunshot wound to the neck, his past is opened to scrutiny as Inspector Montalbano and his team work to find the man's killer. And what a past it is. Barletta has spent a lifetime cruelly extorting beautiful young women to become his mistresses, and if that weren't enough, it becomes obvious that his wealth was based upon greed and corruption. It might take Montalbano extra time to sort through all the people Barletta has done wrong in order to find the killer. But if anyone can do it, the wily inspector can.

~

In a series that has run as long as Andrea Camilleri's has, not every installment is going to be a barnburner. That is the case with A Nest of Vipers. In his Author's Note, Camilleri admits that the plot of this book is very similar to that of The Paper Moon, the difference being that he became stronger in writing about a certain topic in A Nest of Vipers. I could tell you what that topic is, but it would give away too much of the story. Personally, I think it's one that doesn't need multiple covers due in part to the fact that it can be too easily deduced.

Speaking of deduction, Salvo Montalbano is never at his best when confronted with beautiful young women. One after another, he is brought face to face with drop-dead gorgeous young things as he tries to work his way through all the dead man's mistresses. They are prime suspects after all. Also, in previous reviews I've made it very clear that I don't like Montalbano's longtime girlfriend, Livia. She can't cook. She's vindictive. She hates Montalbano's housekeeper. And--worst of all in my book-- she lives to pick fights with the inspector. But... if you are one of the many who believe fighting adds spice to any romance, this relationship will be right in your wheelhouse.

For me, the saving grace of A Nest of Vipers is its humor. From the gold standard dialogue of Catarella to the coroner whose aspiration in life is to perform Montalbano's autopsy to the inspector's finding a new home for his mountains of paperwork, there are plenty of smiles, chuckles, and outright laughs to be found.

If only there hadn't been an overload of estrogen. Poor Montalbano has so much trouble dealing with it.

A Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri

Translated from the Italian by Stephen Sartarelli

ISBN: 9780143126652

Penguin Books © 2017

Paperback, 272 pages

 

Police Procedural, #22 Inspector Montalbano mystery

Rating: C+

Source: Paperback Swap

Celebrating Mysteries: Europe

 

First of all, I just want to say Thank You to everyone for their response to last week's first post in this series, Celebrating Mysteries: Africa & Australasia. Reading your tweets, emails, and comments added to my own Need to Read list just as I hoped it would, and it was gratifying to see how many readers love books with a strong sense of place.

Last year when the pandemic was raging, reading books set in far-off places kept my mind off the fact that I was a gnat's eyelash from going stir crazy. Reading mysteries set in places I knew well made me vigilant in checking the author's facts. Did they get everything right? Reading books set in places I've never been to helped satiate my wanderlust-- especially if they were set in places I never intend to travel to. 

I love learning about the landscape, the culture, and the food of other places. This world and the people in it are so diverse that the more I learn, the more connected I feel to others. There's no way I can express how much I appreciate authors who can bring another place, another culture to life for me. The only way I can try is to list some of my favorites. 

This week, I'm concentrating on the countries in Europe. There are big gaps in my list, and I'm hoping that you can fill in some of them with your comments. I found that, although I do have many favorite authors whose books are set in Europe, their emphasis seems to be more on character and story rather than putting much emphasis on place. The following authors are my favorite exceptions to that. Clicking on the link in the book's title will take you to my review.

England

William Shaw, compared to many others on my favorites list, is a relative newcomer, but I've been recommending his Alexandra Cupidi series to anyone who will listen. The setting of the marshlands of southeastern England plays a large role in these books. It's a haunting landscape, an elemental landscape, one that reminds me of watching Patrick McGoohan as The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh as a child. It's the perfect setting for Shaw's marvelous characters and stories.

The Birdwatcher is the first book in the series (although it's not always listed as such)

Salt Lane is book two

Deadland is book three

Grave's End is the fourth book

There are currently five books in this series.

I've been a fan of Kate Ellis's Wesley Peterson mysteries for years. She writes a marvelous series with two timelines. One set in the past and one in the present day. The area around Dartmouth plays a role in these books in both the present and the past. I can't begin to tell you how much I've learned about England's past by reading these enjoyable stories.

The Merchant's House is the first book

The Armada Boy is the second

An Unhallowed Grave is the third

The Funeral Boat is the fourth

This series currently has twenty-four books. There are no links to reviews for the first four because I started reading them long before I began blogging, but you can check out my review for the later Dead Man's Lane to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Finland

James Thompson wrote a police procedural series set in Finland featuring Kari Vaara, who began as a police chief in Lapland and later moved to Helsinki as a detective. The series was cut short by Thompson's untimely death. This American-Finnish writer taught me a lot about the people and landscape of Finland in his hard-hitting mysteries.

Snow Angels is the first book

Lucifer's Tears is the second

Helsinki White is the third

Helsinki Blood is the fourth

 

There are only four books in this series.

 

 

France

 

It's a little-known fact that I began my college career as a French major; therefore, when I read mysteries set in France where the setting is so good that I begin thinking in French, I know they're good. There are two series set in France that have that effect on me.

 

If you want to feel as though you're in Paris, all you have to do is read Cara Black's Aimée Leduc series. Aimée is a private investigator who knows how to accessorize, and she'll take you through the mean streets of Paris, one arrondissement at a time. 

Murder in the Marais is the first book

Murder in Belleville is the second

Murder in the Sentier is the third

Murder in the Bastille is the fourth

There are currently nineteen books in this series. I've jumped around in my reading which is why there are no links to reviews for Sentier and Bastille.

Anyone who's been reading my blog for a long time knew that Martin Walker's Bruno Chief of Police series would definitely be on this list. I fell completely in love with the very first book. Of all the mysteries with a strong sense of place, I think Walker takes the cake. I've learned so much about the Périgord, its history, its people, the culture, and the food! I've learned the hard way that it's not a good idea to be hungry when I pick up a Bruno mystery. Yikes!

Bruno Chief of Police is the first book

The Dark Vineyard is the second

Black Diamond the third

The Crowded Grave is the fourth

There are currently thirteen books in the series.

Greece

When I think of mysteries set in Greece, two authors immediately spring to mind. If I want to be transported to ancient Greece, I definitely want Australian author Gary Corby to be my tour guide. I've had a front-row seat at the Olympic Games, and I've narrowly escaped death at sea in a trireme. Not only does Corby have me walking the mean streets with his two sleuths, his sense of humor can keep me laughing, too.

The Pericles Commission is the first book

The Ionia Sanction is the second

Number three is Sacred Games

The Singer from Memphis is the sixth.

There are currently seven books in the series, and I hope there will be more.

When I want to travel to modern Greece, the silver-tongued devil himself, Jeffrey Siger, is my preferred guide. From politics to food to history to gorgeous landscapes to the merest facial expressions, I've learned so much about the Greece of today while enjoying the investigations conducted by Andreas Kaldis and his crack team.

 

 Murder in Mykonos is the first book

Assassins of Athens is the second

Prey on Patmos is the third

Target: Tinos is the fourth

There are currently eleven books in the series.

Iceland

Longtime readers will also know that I sing the praises of Ragnar Jónasson regularly. Jónasson has taught me quite a bit about that amazing country, especially the remoter regions, and-- you know me-- the remoter the better I always say. Jónasson has written some standalones as well as a fantastic trilogy, but it's the series featuring Ari Thór Arason, the young police officer in the far north of Iceland who's probably taught me the most about his country: food customs, landscape, weather, winter darkness... It's an alien place to me which makes it all the more special to learn about it in this series.

Snowblind is the first book

Blackout is the second

The third is Rupture

The fourth is Whiteout

There are six books in the series.

Italy

Andrea Camilleri's long-running series featuring irascible Inspector Salvo Montalbano has been a favorite of mine since the first book. This series is more than a police procedural. The humor is often laugh-out-loud funny, and Camilleri-- through Stephen Sartarelli's masterful translations-- has taught me so much about the landscape, food, customs, and politics of Sicily. 

 

The last book in this series, Riccardino, will be published in September, and it will be sad to see the series end. These books are treasures.

 

 The Shape of Water is the first book

The Terra-Cotta Dog is the second

Third is The Snack Thief

Fourth is Voice of the Violin

 

There are thirty books in this series, and how I wish there could be more. Thank you for so much enjoyment, Mr. Camilleri.

 

My blog was just four months old when I posted the review for Voice of the Violin. You can also read my review of a much later book, A Beam of Light, if you are so inclined.

Scotland

 

My ancestral roots run deep in the mountains and glens of the Scottish Highlands, so it's no surprise that I'm partial to a well-written Scottish mystery series or two (or three or...) When I think of mysteries with a strong sense of place that are set in Scotland, two authors spring automatically to mind.

Author Peter May has written a fantastic trilogy set on the islands of the Outer Hebrides, and he brings that stunning, brooding landscape to life.

The Blackhouse is the first book

The Lewis Man is the second

The Chessmen is the third

Aline Templeton is the second author who springs immediately to mind when I think of mysteries set in Scotland. Let's face it, the big cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow get most of the crime fiction attention, but authors like Peter May and Aline Templeton know that the lesser known corners of the country are no strangers to criminal deeds. Indeed, Val McDermid refers to Templeton as "the crime czar of the Scottish small town." 

One of my favorite series is Templeton's police procedural featuring Marjory "Big Marge" Fleming who is a detective inspector in Galloway, which is in southwestern Scotland. If you want to get a feel for that part of the country, you'll get it in these books, and from different perspectives, for example, as Marjory's husband is a farmer who lost most of his animals to mad cow disease.

Cold in the Earth is the first book

The Darkness and the Deep is the second

The third is Lying Dead

Number four is Lamb to the Slaughter

 

There are nine books in this series.

Templeton also writes a series featuring Kelso Strang, a detective inspector who finds himself traveling from one Scottish village to another solving crimes. The first book in this (currently) three-book series is Human Face.

Thus endeth my list of European mystery series that have a strong sense of place. Now it's your turn. When it comes to Europe, which mystery series transport you to another country-- its landscape, its customs, its food? You added to my Need to Read list last time, and I'm counting on you to do it again this time. Inquiring minds need to know!

Next up at a future date: Asia!

Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood

First Line: The first time I met Lillian Pentecost, I nearly caved her skull in with a piece of lead pipe.

 

Little did circus runaway Willowjean "Will" Parker know that saving the life of Lillian Pentecost with her knife-throwing skills would change her life. She didn't realize that she was saving the life of New York City's finest and most unorthodox private investigator.

 

Pentecost's multiple sclerosis means that she's not able to keep up with her case load, and she wants to hire Will as her right-hand woman. In return, Will will receive a salary, room and board, and training in Pentecost's methods of investigation.

 

Three years later, the two are on the Abigail Collins case, the case of a rich woman who was bludgeoned to death with a crystal ball during a booze-laced Halloween party in her home. Rumors are flying that the woman was killed by the vengeful spirit of her husband, who committed suicide in the same chair in which Abigail's body was found. The police can't seem to find any answers, so the Collins family hires Pentecost. 

 

The case proves to be even trickier than Will expected. There's a spiritualist involved whom Pentecost has had her eye on for years, and then there's Becca Collins, the gorgeous daughter of Abigail whom Will finds herself falling for. Will the two investigators be able to navigate all the twists and turns in order to bring a killer to justice?

 

~

 

I feel as though Fortune Favors the Dead should win some sort of special award. You see, it's the first audiobook I've listened to that didn't put me to sleep in under thirty seconds. Granted, I wised up and had my knitting needles busy while I was listening, but I think the book would have kept me awake regardless. 

 

Stephen Spotswood has written an engaging story set in 1940s New York City that has a hint of noir, a dash of humor, and two unusual and mesmerizing characters in Willowjean "Will" Parker and her boss, Lillian Pentecost. It's not often that you read a mystery that involves a female circus runaway and a middle-aged woman with multiple sclerosis and a glass eye. Will is the book's voice, and that voice drew me right into the story with its sass and spark. She kept me listening as the story unfolded, and I didn't even particularly mind that the identity of the killer wasn't that difficult to deduce.

As a novice audiobook listener, it hasn't taken me long to learn that the narrator has a lot to do with a book's success. I found that the narrator of this book, Kirsten Potter, was perfect. Her Will was smart and sassy and her Lillian was calm and determined. She did a good job of creating different voices for all the characters even though I don't find that to be a necessity. (Just don't have a run-of-the-mill voice that drones.) In fact, I found Potter to be so good that Spotswood's series is one that I'll continue to follow in audiobook format. Now all I have to do is wait patiently for Pentecost and Parker to make another appearance. 

Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood

Narrated by Kirsten Potter.

ASIN: B085J1TKR2

Random House Audio © 2020

Audiobook. 8 hours, 31 minutes.

 

Historical Mystery, #1 Pentecost & Parker mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Audible.