The Enigma Affair by Charlie Lovett

 

First Line: It wasn't just the bullet passing by Patton's left ear that concerned her.

 

When small-town librarian Patton Harcourt's early morning baking is rudely interrupted by bullets whizzing past her ear and thudding into her brand-new refrigerator, she has little choice but to trust the mysterious assassin who shows up in her kitchen. 

 

While evading two German killers, Patton and the assassin, Nemo, form an alliance that takes them to Bletchley Park in England and then on a white-knuckle chase through Europe. There is something deathly important about an undecrypted message sent on one of the Third Reich's Enigma machines, and Nemo, Patton, and Patton's former lover, Ruthie Drinkwater, must find out what it says before white supremacist Ingrid Weiss does.

 

What does a message about Heinrich Himmler's research into alchemy have to do with the balance of world power? That's what Patton and Nemo must risk everything to find out.

 

~

 

I've read all of Charlie Lovett's books (except his earliest) and enjoyed them all. He became a must-read author for me when I finished his The Lost Book of the Grail. Lovett is a master of the literary mystery; however, The Enigma Affair is a departure for him-- an out-and-out thriller with whizzing bullets, edge-of-the-seat chases, witty repartee, and loathsome villains. I enjoyed every second of it.

The ensemble cast is excellent. It's soon apparent that Patton Harcourt is not your usual small-town North Carolina librarian, and Nemo (once you get a bit of his backstory) is one of the most sympathetic assassins you'll come across. Then there's Ruthie Drinkwater, who works at Bletchley Park; Alex Lansdowne, the owner of a very large collection of Nazi memorabilia; and Jean Simpson, a librarian who finds herself joining this motley crew after she becomes incensed over some stolen library books. As the cast grows-- each member adding an important element to the group's chances for success-- the witty dialogue between them provides laughs and lightens the darkness of the overall quest... because learning about Himmler's brand of alchemy has the power to suck all the light from a room. (On a personal note, if I thought any of the characters to be unnecessary, it was Ruthie Drinkwater, but your mileage may vary.)

If you're in the mood for a chase across Europe to save the world from chaos, hop aboard The Enigma Affair. It's too much fun to miss, and I certainly look forward to what Charlie Lovett will come up with next!

The Enigma Affair by Charlie Lovett

eISBN: 9781665047098

 Blackstone Publishing © 2022

eBook, 367 pages

Standalone Thriller

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies by Adriana Licio

 

First Lines: "Do you really mean we should go through there?" Concetta Natale Passolina, known simply as Etta to her friends, stopped the old yellow Fiat 500 in the middle of the road, careless of the traffic behind them.

 

Two newly retired teachers find themselves traveling from southern Italy to Rothenburg, Germany for a month-long vacation, courtesy of something called homeswapping. Etta still doesn't know how she let Dora talk her into this scheme, and she's certainly not a fan of letting strangers stay in her own home. But she has to admit that the Rothenburg house is perfect and they have friendly, helpful neighbors.

 

The two women are enjoying their daily forays into the town; there is so much to see and do. Signing up for a tour led by the Night Watchman of Rothenburg, Dora and Etta are stunned when they find his body while other members of the tour group are taking photographs nearby. A second murder leads the police to their prime suspect: the son of the two women's next-door neighbors. Etta and Dora can't believe the young man had anything to do with the killings, so both decide to add a bit of sleuthing to their holiday plans.

 

~

 

Most cozy readers know that there's a bit of formula to this niche of mysteries. One of the "rules" seems to be that the amateur sleuth tends to live in a small town and all the murdering and sleuthing happens there. Then I stumbled across Adriana Licio's first Homeswapper mystery, The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies, in which two retired teachers solve a crime while on vacation in Germany. That really piqued my interest because not only would a series like this solve the age-old problem of "Cabot Cove Syndrome," it would give me a chance to learn about other places, and that would certainly please my inner armchair traveling sleuth.

 

Dora and Etta are two recent retirees who have little money yet a great desire to travel and see the world. Dora, the empathetic and intuitive one, learns about homeswapping and persuades Etta, the extremely judgmental one, into participating. It's perfect for their needs. They save money yet get to stay in a nice home for an extended period of time which lets them really explore an area.

 

This first book in the Homeswapper series kept my interest throughout, and I enjoyed following the two as they roamed the medieval streets of Rothenburg. I learned about several things, like shame masks, and I was perversely delighted to watch Etta (who tended to rub my fur the wrong way) have to put up with the addition of Leon the Basset Hound to their merry little band.

I'm definitely going to be taking a look at the other books in this series to see where Etta and Dora continue their travels.

The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies by Adriana Licio

ASIN: B08DD8C46D

The Hometravellers Press © 2020

eBook, 180 pages

 

Cozy Mystery, #1 Homeswappers mystery

Rating: B

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

Sisters of Night and Fog by Erika Robuck

 

First Line: How could I think returning to this place would be a good idea?

 

Despite her family in Florida begging her to return to the United States, Virginia d’Albert-Lake decides to stay with her French husband because-- if they keep their heads down-- they should be safe. In London, Nineteen-year-old Violette Szabo has seen too much tragedy in her short life, and she's determined to do her bit to defeat the Germans. She enlists in the SOE.

 

Both women are part of the Resistance against the Nazis, but their work comes to a grinding halt when they are brought together in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. The decisions they make now are going to not only change their own lives but the lives of many others as well.

 

~

 

Based on true stories of the lives of an American socialite and a British secret agent, Sisters of Night and Fog shows the triumph of the human spirit through years of sacrifice, deprivation, and horror. The author, knowing that most of us would not know these stories, scattered a chapter here and there throughout the book about a nameless woman returning to Ravensbrück concentration camp for a ceremony in 1995. I think readers were supposed to be kept on tenterhooks, wondering which one of these two women survived. It didn't take me long to make up my mind since the Robuck did such an excellent job of describing each woman's personality.

 

Sometimes it can be the smallest detail that brings a book to life for me, and that's what happened to me while reading Sisters of the Night and Fog. A small detail, something I'd never given a second's thought brought home how brilliant the Nazis were at degrading and humiliating human beings who did not meet their ideals. The small detail involves blood, and that's all I'm going to say. 

The first half of the book drags as the author sets the scene, and the pace doesn't begin to pick up until both women actively start participating in fighting the Nazis. After reading what these people had to do to survive and to emerge victorious, I only hope we never have to face such a situation again. We've been so spoiled since World War II that I wonder if we still have such strength and determination within us. 

Sisters of Night and Fog by Erika Robuck

eISBN: 9780593102176

Berkley © 2022

eBook, 480 pages

 

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

The Vermeer Deception by Jennifer S. Alderson

First Line: Kurt Weber gazed out the tenth-story window, taking in the first leaves of spring budding on the tree outside his doctor's office.

When Zelda Richardson finds a lead about a missing portrait by Johannes Vermeer, no one expects her to find the painting. No one believes she can do it: not her parents visiting from America, not her boyfriend, not her boss private detective Vincent de Graaf, and not the rightful owner of the Nazi-looted artwork-- but she does.

When Zelda tries to pick up the portrait, she finds the art dealer dead and several frames smoldering in his fireplace.  Was the Vermeer a fake? Everyone else seems to think so, but Zelda refuses to give up. Can she discover the truth?

I love art and art history. When I came across The Vermeer Deception, I couldn't resist reading it. "Art history mysteries" are one of my favorite subgenres of the mystery world. (Iain Pears' Jonathan Argyll mysteries like The Bernini Bust are wonderful.) However, I found Jennifer Alderson's book to be mostly annoying.

The one thing I did enjoy about the book was the information I gleaned about the men Hitler sent out to loot Europe of its art treasures. That was good. Unfortunately, that was the only thing. By the fourth book in a series, the doubts about a person's abilities should be dying out. Not here. No one-- not even her boss-- thought she knew what she was doing. Personally, I'd ask Vincent the boss that, if she's so inept, why is she still on the payroll? The other characters, like Zelda's mother and boyfriend, were also infuriating, and finding errors such as arms that were flaying instead of flailing didn't help.

The ending, which isn't tied up in a neat little bow, didn't bother me. What bothered me the most were the characterizations and a rather amateurish writing style. Needless to say, I'll be looking for art history mysteries elsewhere.

The Vermeer Deception by Jennifer S. Alderson

ASIN: B082R5XZQC

Traveling Life Press © 2020

eBook, 191 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #4 Zelda Richardson mystery

Rating: C-

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

 

The Words I Never Wrote by Jane Thynne

First Line: There's no point in pretending.

Juno Lambert can't resist buying the 1931 Underwood typewriter that once belonged to famed journalist Cordelia Capel. Once she gets home, she opens the case and discovers an unfinished novel that compels her to go to Germany to fill in the gaps of the story of Cordelia and her sister and the secrets that lie between them.

Jane Thynne's The Words I Never Wrote employs a dual timeline that often can work beautifully, but in the case of Juno and the Capel sisters, it doesn't work quite as well.

For me, Juno is the weakest link. Her up-and-coming film star boyfriend's desertion to Hollywood has made her indecisive, and more than compulsion, her decision to go to Germany to uncover the Capel sisters' story seems to be simple avoidance. And speaking of that boyfriend of hers, every move he makes, every word he speaks is utterly predictable. It would have been better if he wasn't in the book at all, leaving Juno to follow her passion more naturally. (Or this timeline could have been left out entirely, leaving more time for the intriguing Capel sisters.)

The story of Cordelia and her sister Irene is very strong. Cordelia's career in journalism begins in 1936 Paris with fashion columns in the newspaper. But she's very politically motivated, so she doesn't describe fabrics and hemlines for long. Cordelia's older sister Irene takes a much more glamorous route. Irene marries a German industrialist and finds herself in a lakeside mansion in Berlin. The sisters are close and exchange letters, but when Cordelia learns that Irene's husband is a Nazi sympathizer, she insists that Irene takes a stand against Nazism and leave Berlin. Irene chooses to stay, and Cordelia breaks off communication.

Thynne paints a vivid portrait of Nazi Berlin before, during, and after the war that I found fascinating. How the two sisters spent the war years also kept me turning the pages, as I wondered how long it would take the younger, idealistic Cordelia to learn that there is more than one way to take a stand for what you believe in. The only other thing in The Words I Never Wrote that bothered me-- besides Juno the present-day narrator-- was the feeling that, no matter how much I learned about Cordelia and Irene, I still wasn't being let in. These two characters were still standing back and not sharing their lives fully-- and I wanted them to. I wanted to tell them that the Gestapo wasn't sitting in the room with me. I wanted to feel as though I were sharing their lives, and I wasn't being allowed to. It's this aloofness and Juno that make me like Thynne's story... but with serious reservations. Your mileage could certainly vary.

The Words I Never Wrote by Jane Thynne

eISBN: 9781524796600

Random House © 2020

eBook, 384 pages

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: C+

Source: Net Galley

 

The American Candidate by M.J. Lee

First Line: For some reason, she stopped in the middle of the wooden bridge and clutched her wicker basket closer to her chest.

When genealogist Jayne Sinclair is hired to research the family history of a potential candidate to be President of the United States, she is immediately plunged into danger. The man who commissioned the research is shot dead in front of her, and now Jayne is forced to run for her life.

Why was the man killed? Who is trying to stop the American candidate's family past from being revealed? This is something Jayne must find out, all while trying to stay alive.

Although The American Candidate is the third book in a series, it can easily be read as a standalone-- and I know that matters to some readers who don't necessarily want to "sign up" for a series. I have enjoyed every book so far, and that's primarily due to the main character, Jayne Sinclair. She's a former police officer, and that training and background serve her well not only in pursuing her investigations but whenever her assignments put her in danger.

There is plenty of danger in this book as Jayne is forced to go underground in Manchester-- the city she considers her home turf. The two timelines work together well: the present day and the second during World War II. In fact, the World War II timeline brought to light some things that I was unaware of, but I'm not going to go into any detail because once I start, I may give something away.

If you have the slightest interest in history, in fast-paced mysteries, and in strong, intelligent female characters, you should give M.J. Lee's Jayne Sinclair series a try. These books are really good.
  

The American Candidate by M.J. Lee

ASIN: B073RPZ55D

Amazon Digital Services © 2017

eBook, 359 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #3 Jayne Sinclair Genealogical mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

Morgue Drawer: Do Not Enter! by Jutta Profijt

First Line: The Renault Kangoo van was wedged between the narrow piers under the bridge like a boil in a butt crack, but the driver's seat was empty.

Pascha is the ghost of a twenty-five-year-old car thief who, for some unknown reason, didn't "walk into the light." He's stuck in the environs of a morgue in Cologne, Germany, and the only living person who can hear him is Martin, the coroner. Trouble is, Martin doesn't want to hear Pascha and has gone to great lengths in an attempt to tune him out.

Since Martin would rather spend time with his girlfriend, Pascha has been hanging around hospital rooms and accident sites hoping to meet another spirit who will stay a while and keep him company. He gets more than he bargained for when four small children are gravely injured in a car accident and put into induced comas, setting their spirits free to roam. In addition, the teacher driving the van seems to have vanished. Now Pascha is a very reluctant babysitter and an extremely eager detective.

I've been enjoying this series. The voice of Pascha has been alternately hilarious, touching, and exasperating-- and the attempts of Martin to tune him out can be funny as well. I feel for both these men; I understand Pascha's loneliness, and I can certainly understand Martin's frustration at being the only person who can hear this restless ghost-- especially since they are polar opposites in temperament.

As the series progresses, Pascha has found that his boundaries have changed a bit, and he takes advantage of that in an attempt to keep boredom at bay. He's found that he enjoys the "company" of a police detective named Gregor since he likes helping out during investigations, but Gregor can't hear him, and Pascha has found it increasingly difficult to get Martin to cooperate.

Morgue Drawer: Do Not Enter! deals with the very real problems with the drug trade as well as within immigrant communities and the mystery is a strong element in the book, as it has been in all the others in the series. However, the tone has changed, and at first I found it extremely annoying. It wasn't the fact that one of the children's spirits was a racist (although it didn't help). What bothered me was how Pascha had changed. It was almost as if that one child's behavior had set him free to express other, nastier, parts of his personality. Pascha's attitude is much darker in this book, and when it dawned on me why, I smiled. Profijt really thought through the progression of Pascha's character.

If the only person you could talk to was someone who couldn't stand you and went through all sorts of machinations to avoid you, wouldn't that get to you after a while? If you couldn't do the things you really love in life-- like go out with pretty girls or drive fast cars-- wouldn't you find your attitude changing for the worse? That's what's happening here, and it sets up the last book of the series beautifully. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Morgue Drawer: Do Not Enter! by Jutta Profijt

Translated from the German by Erik J. Macki.

eISBN: 9781477826409

Amazon Crossing © 2014

eBook, 313 pages

Police Procedural, #4 Morgue Drawer mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear

First Line: The day was bright, the air crisp, with sunshine giving an impression of imminent spring, though as soon as a person ventured out from a warm, cocooned indoors, a nip in the chill outdoors soon found its way to fingertips and toes.

It's early 1938, and Maisie Dobbs is back in England, staying with friends while she looks for a new home. Naturally, it's only a matter of time before she's approached by Huntley and MacFarlane of the Secret Service. The German government has agreed to hand over an important British subject who's been incarcerated in Dachau for two years-- but only if a family member comes to Munich to collect him. The imprisoned man's wife is dead and his daughter is bedridden, but fortunately, Maisie bears a striking resemblance to the daughter. How can Maisie say no?

As Maisie was told in a previous book, once you've done the British Secret Service's bidding, you're done for. They will just keep coming back no matter how many times you say no. That person was telling Maisie the truth: she keeps saying no, the Secret Service merely smirks and hands over her railway tickets. At least the time she spent in Spain has helped her overcome the worst of her grief, and she feels ready to re-enter her old life and be with her friends and family once more.

Being in Munich in 1938 gives Maisie a very clear picture of what is to come. It goes without saying that the Germans don't release the Englishman in a timely manner, and Maisie has to keep her composure and her cover while the Nazis play cat and mouse. This is a good, solid mystery that puts the reader right in the middle of a world that's on the brink of going completely mad.

I don't think Winspear is capable of writing a bad book, but I have to admit that, after reading A Dangerous Place, almost all the luster has been knocked off this series for me.  This was always a series in which I bought and read each new book as soon as it came out. I was so invested in Maisie! But my feeling of being betrayed is staying with me even though I realize I'm being a bit silly. After reading Journey to Munich (which I did not buy), I am still two books behind, and I feel no urgency whatsoever to catch up. This may very well be the last book I read in this series. And now I feel as though I'm in mourning.

Journey to Munich by Jacqueline Winspear

ISBN: 9780062220608

HarperCollins © 2016

Hardcover, 304 pages

Historical Mystery, #12 Maisie Dobbs mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Paperback Swap


 

I Am Your Judge by Nele Neuhaus

First Line: He saw her coming.

The murder of an elderly woman who was shot and killed while out walking her dog prevents Detective Pia Kirchhoff from leaving on her long-awaited honeymoon when scheduled. When another eerily similar murder occurs, Kirchhoff abandons all thoughts of leaving her short-handed department outside Frankfurt, Germany. Two more murders follow. None of the victims had enemies and all were well-respected and genuinely liked. 

No one seems to know why these people have been singled out, but Kirchhoff and her partner Oliver von Bodenstein realize that the sniper-- who calls himself "The Judge"-- does have a mission. They have to piece clues and facts together to find out what that mission is before anyone else dies... and what they uncover will shock them profoundly.

I've read other books in the Kirchhoff and von Bodenstein series and have enjoyed them for the two main characters and the books' plots. Once again, author Nele Neuhaus has created a really good storyline that takes a lot of deduction to put everything together, and it's one in which readers witness the sacrifices dedicated police officers often have to make in their personal lives, but-- ultimately-- I Am Your Judge just was not my cup of tea. 

My reasons for this are mostly subjective, beginning with the title. I am a contrary soul, and when someone tells me point blank that he/she is my judge, I beg to differ. In addition, one of the storylines that I do not care for at all is the one in which the sins of the fathers are visited upon their children. I say, if you have a serious problem with your father and think he needs to die, then kill him, don't kill someone who doesn't have a thing to do with the situation. As you can see, Neuhaus did get a firm grip on my emotions with her plot and her killer, but it wasn't necessarily in a good way. It also didn't help that this book suffers from too much middle and could easily have lost around one hundred pages to tighten it up and heighten the suspense. 

Yes, my dislike of this book is mainly subjective, so keep this in mind when you're trying to decide whether or not to read it. Your hot buttons may not be the same as mine.

I Am Your Judge by Nele Neuhaus

Translated from the German by Steven T. Murray.

ISBN: 9781250071682

Minotaur Books © 2016

Hardcover, 416 pages

Police Procedural, #7 Kirchhoff & von Bodenstein mystery

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet.

The Countess of Prague by Stephen Weeks

First Line: It was in late February, when the melting mountain snows had swollen the banks of the Vltava.

It's 1904, and in the city of Prague there happens to be a rather bored young aristocrat-- the Countess Beatrice von Falklenburg. Her polite but impoverished marriage has become devoid of love, and even flirting with handsome men and sending them meaningless little love notes has lost its allure. 

When the body of an old man who used to be under the command of her military uncle is fished from the river, she takes to the role of detective with relish-- trying on disguises, calling herself Trixie, and going undercover on a train journey to Paris and London. Her very first investigation eventually finds her in the spa town of Marienbad, where Edward VII of England and his nephew Kaiser Wilhelm are scheduled to meet.

This is the first in a ten-book series of the Countess Beatrice von Falklenburg's adventures which will take her from 1904 to 1914 when World War I breaks out and changes the world she knows forever. The Countess of Prague gives readers an excellent flavor of the times, but it got off to a shaky start-- mainly due to Trixie herself. 

I had to remind myself several times that this book relates the beginning of Trixie's life as a spy/detective because her upper-class snobbery and some of her hare-brained stunts exasperated me greatly. (The stunts mainly because they showed a lack of common sense, but then--as I kept reminding myself-- she's led a sheltered life.)

I also found the plot to be overly convoluted, to the point where I began to lose interest, but the redeeming features saved the day. What redeeming features? The humor, for one, made me smile. The second redeeming feature was the secondary cast, in particular her servants, Müller and Sabine. This is where actually working with those two and seeing them as human beings rather than pieces of furniture makes Trixie begin to change for the better. The servants' willingness to work with her on her clandestine mission shows more than just employee obedience, too. 

Once the countess began to grow into her chosen role of spy and detective, the reading became much more enjoyable, and I do look forward to her next adventure.
 

The Countess of Prague by Stephen Weeks

eISBN: 9781464208454

Poisoned Pen Press © 2017

eBook, 303 pages

Historical Mystery, #1 Countess of Prague mystery

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley 

The Cleaner by Elisabeth Herrmann

First Line: Martha Jonas stood in front of her open wardrobe and pressed the Bakelite headphones even more firmly to her ears.

Judith Kepler is a crime scene specialist. She is a master at cleaning the most gruesome crime scenes and turning them back into habitable spaces. 

At one such scene, Judith comes face to face with her past. The murder victim knew Judith's secret: as a child she was sent to an orphanage under mysterious circumstances, and to this day she does not know the identity of her parents, but she does know that the East German secret police were always hovering in the background.

In the quest to learn both her true identity and what happened to her parents, Judith begins to ask questions. Now she's the target of some very powerful people...and her life will never be the same.

In a narrative that moves between the present day and East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Elisabeth Herrmann has created a fascinating character. Judith Kepler has many hidden depths, and she continues to surprise readers as the story progresses. In addition, a question is raised that's tangential to the plot; nevertheless, it made me wonder why I'd never thought about it before. What happens when spies and other covert operatives get old? 

Despite the questions raised and the strength of Judith's character, the pace of this book is glacial-- which could have been fixed by tightening the story (to the tune of about one hundred pages). If you're in the mood for a multi-faceted main character in an extremely slow-moving story, The Cleaner could very well be the perfect book for you.

The Cleaner by Elisabeth Herrmann

Translated from the German by Bradley Schmidt

ISBN: 9781786580207

Bonnier Zaffre © 2017

Paperback, 400 pages

Thriller, Standalone

Rating: B-

Source: the publisher

 

Kindred by Steve Robinson

First Line: He wished now that he had taken the road.

For years, genealogist Jefferson Tayte has used his skills to reunite families and to uncover their pasts. There's been only one person he's been unable to help: himself. But now he's following leads given to him by his late mentor, and they've led him and Professor Jean Summer to Munich, Germany.

Once in Munich, they've barely begun to scratch the surface when their search leads them directly into some dangerous secrets of World War II-- secrets that someone is more than willing to kill for.

Steve Robinson's genealogical sleuth Jefferson Tayte has uncovered many family secrets and solved many crimes throughout this series, and it was a pleasure to see that he was finally getting the chance to discover the identity of his own parents. 

With a few chapters written from the perspective of 1940s wartime Germany, Tayte is quickly drawn into Nazi secrets and fascist organizations. If he finds the truth, it may not be what he wants to hear, but as Robinson (and hopefully everyone else) well knows, our ancestors are a mixed bag of good people and bad. No exceptions.

I've watched the author's storytelling skill grow with each book, and those skills were good to begin with. He's certainly become very adept at crafting well-paced, exciting action sequences. He's also created two strong and appealing characters in Tayte and Summer, and I enjoy watching them work together. 

However, I felt that the bad guy hired the wrong group of henchmen because they seemed a bit inept in their attempts to silence our two heroes. If they'd had  more skill, it would've ratcheted up the tension even more. I also recognized the main plot twist well in advance, but this did not ruin the book for me. Kindred is still an exciting read with a lead character that I've grown to care about during the course of the series. 

If you like excitement, history, good characters, and a fast-paced mystery, I hope you'll join me in reading Steve Robinson's Jefferson Tayte mysteries. Good stuff!
       

Kindred by Steve Robinson

eISBN: 9781503954694

Thomas and Mercer © 2016

eBook, 354 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #5 Jefferson Tayte Genealogical Crime mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley  


 

Morgue Drawer for Rent by Jutta Profijt

First Line: So if I were going to put a date on when the series of crises at the Institute for Forensic Medicine in Cologne began, it would  have to be July twelfth.

Much against his most profound wish, coroner Martin Gänsewein is once again thrown in with Pascha, the foul-mouthed spirit who refuses to leave the Cologne Institute of Forensic Medicine. Bodies from the local cemetery are turning up with organs missing, and Martin realizes he needs the assistance of Pascha in order to solve the case.

This third book in the series takes up right where Morgue Drawer Next Door left off. Cologne is in the midst of a horrible heat wave, asbestos is being removed from the Institute building, and the icing on this cake of complete havoc is the new head of the department, a bean counter referred to as "Piggy Bank" by all those under his lunatic thumb of iron. I am amazed at how the author has kept me intrigued with the idea of teaming an intellectual man of science with the deceased spirit of a hormone-fueled young car thief. This is a very odd couple indeed, and it works because these two do not remain static.

Martin is the only human Pascha can talk to, but Martin has a girlfriend he'd like to move in with-- and not share her with "the voice in his head." As Martin frantically tries to come up with a solution to his problem, he's putting his relationship with his girlfriend in jeopardy. Pascha never sleeps, and there's only so many movies he can watch in Cologne's theaters. He's taken to writing his memoirs and trying to get them published-- with extremely interesting results. Although Pascha's grammar has improved gradually in the series, his descriptions are often crudely hilarious, and I've come to look froward to them.

This series is succeeding with me because Profijt has her characters grow and change as various relationships develop-- and because it's obvious that she's having fun writing these books. However, I did have one area of concern in Morgue Drawer for Rent. Profijt does admit in a section at the back of the book that she takes some artistic license with a couple of subjects, but she took a bit too much for me. Her bending of the facts of asbestos removal and one other subject kept throwing me out of the story, and I'm no expert on either subject. Be that as it may, I'm enjoying this series too much to stop just yet!
   

Morgue Drawer for Rent by Jutta Profijt

Translated from the German by Erik J. Macki

eISBN: 9781611090420

Amazon Crossing © 2012

eBook, 315 pages

Paranormal/Humorous Mystery, #3 Morgue Drawer mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon. 

A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell

First Line: Echoes of my footfalls faded into the damp air of the Hall of the Unnamed Dead as I paused to stare at the framed photograph of a man.

All crime reporter Hannah Vogel is after is something interesting that she can write up for the newspaper, but as she walks through the Hall of the Unnamed Dead, what she finds cannot be printed: a photograph of her beloved brother's body. Hannah can't even claim the body for she doesn't have the necessary identification papers. All she can do is try to find his killer until her papers are in her hands once more.

The task is far from easy. It's 1931 in Berlin. It's tough to even survive, and the Nazis certainly aren't making it any easier. Ernst's lifestyle complicates matters as well. He was a cross-dressing singer in a seedy nightclub; a beautiful young man with many secrets, many lovers, and many opportunities to get into trouble. When five-year-old Anton appears on Hannah's doorstep claiming that she is his mother and Ernst is his father, all Hannah can think is, "What next?" The hunt for Ernst's killer and Anton's real parents takes Hannah right to the top ranks of the Nazi Party. If she takes one wrong step she won't be the only one to die-- little Anton will, too.

I've heard nothing but good things about Rebecca Cantrell's Hannah Vogel series, and I finally decided that it was time to put all that praise to the test. A Trace of Smoke passed with flying colors. What a sense of place and time! Reminiscent of "Cabaret," yet so much more. Cantrell makes crystal clear the grinding poverty, the sense of desperation and hopelessness that the vast majority of Germans had to face each and every day. Looming over all is an almost overwhelming feeling of tension and dread-- mostly brought on by my own knowledge of what is to come. That, to me, is one of the strengths of this book: Cantrell doesn't spell out this foreboding; she knows enough to state the facts and let the readers supply it for themselves.

Hannah is hampered in what she can do to investigate her brother's death because of her lack of identification. The reason why she doesn't have it proves which side of the Nazi question she's on. Furthermore, yes, her brother Ernst's life was "exotic," but that isn't the real issue here. His presence is clearly felt throughout the book because of Hannah's love and grief. I felt I knew this young man even though he's never seen alive. Another strong character is little Anton. He's an extremely brave, intelligent little boy who's experienced too much during his five years on earth.

Hannah is both the strength and the weakness in this book. The picture she paints of her world is vivid. I experienced what she lived through as I read each chapter. But Hannah's inner thoughts are a bit clunky from time to time. Too many scenes end with her in tears or almost in tears. It's far from being a deal breaker for me. If I had to live through what Hannah did, I'd be exhausted and probably on the verge of tears even before my brother was murdered.

What matters is that I was completely lost in Rebecca Cantrell's setting, characters, and story. She shows the best and the worst of the German character. In A Trace of Smoke, decent Germans-- Jew and Gentile alike-- are set against the Nazis, and I have to know what happens next.

A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell

ISBN: 9780765326904

Forge Books © 2010

Paperback, 320 pages

Historical Mystery, #1 Hannah Vogel mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.

Morgue Drawer Next Door by Jutta Profijt

First Line: I'm going to start this account with an incident that occurred before the plot of this book even began.

One of the worst things about being a ghost-- at least to former car thief Pascha-- is the loneliness. Medical examiner Dr. Martin Gänsewein has returned to work, but he still wishes he weren't the only person who can hear Pascha, and he's started trying to invent things that will make the young ghost keep his distance. Even Pascha's morgue drawer is occupied by a different body.

Things start looking up when Marlene is brought to the morgue drawer next door, but she's not the leggy blonde Pascha was hoping for. Marlene is the spirit of a nun who was killed in a fire that destroyed a wing of her medieval convent and home there in Cologne, Germany. Even though Marlene spends way too much time praying in the hospital chapel, Pascha does empathize with her because he believes that she was murdered. Now the two ghosts are determined to find the nun's killer, but there's only one problem: they can't do it without Martin's help. Yes, Martin... the man who wants to go back to the good old days when he knew ghosts didn't exist.

When I read the first book in this series, Morgue Drawer Four, I wondered just how long this premise would be able to last. After all, pairing the ghost of a poorly educated, outgoing young car thief with a highly educated, introverted and meticulous medical examiner does sound gimmicky. I'm happy to say that the premise is alive and well in this second book. The author keeps her idea fresh by changing it up a little. Martin is pretty much kept in the background, although he is at the heart of a running joke about his ghost-busting inventions. Instead, Martin's girlfriend Birgit has a much bigger part in the action-- and she plays her role well. 

Of course, the biggest change is bringing in a nun to pair with the irreverent Pascha. Marlene is such a polar opposite to the young man that it's fun to watch them get used to each other and finally begin to work together. While Martin remains a rather static character, Pascha does not. From being in the presence of people with much stronger morals and much more education than he's used to, readers can see how his language changes, how he thinks things through, and how his natural inclinations for compassion and doing what's right are growing stronger. It seems as though Pascha has to earn his wings before he can step into the light.

One scene in Morgue Drawer Next Door did not work for me. Pascha, Marlene, and Martin's girlfriend Birgit have gone off to try to catch a killer while Martin stays at home to work on an invention. I won't go into detail about the scene, but Martin's behavior just does not ring true to his character.

On the other hand, Pascha and Marlene find themselves in a situation that's familiar to crime fiction readers: they know whom the killer is, but there's no proof and a very real chance that the person will go free. However, these two crime fighters have a few tools unavailable to us mortals, and how they set about to force the murderer to confess is absolutely hilarious.

Jutta Profijt is proving to be a writer who can think outside the box-- and one who can make me laugh out loud as I read her books. I'm definitely looking forward to continuing with this series.

Morgue Drawer Next Door by Jutta Profijt

Translated from the German by Erik J. Macki.

eISBN: 9781611090406

AmazonCrossing © 2012

eBook, 296 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #2 Morgue Drawer mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon

Morgue Drawer Four by Jutta Profijt

First Line: I hope you'll read this account from top to bottom because it's the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and so on-- eh, I'm sure you've heard the saying.

If a person is shy and meticulous like Dr. Martin Gänsewein, the job of coroner is perfect. He can autopsy bodies in the Cologne morgue, order labwork and tests, and not be worried about any of his "patients" talking back to him. That is, until  young car thief Pascha Lerchenberg moves into morgue drawer #4. Once Pascha realizes two things-- (1) that his death has been labeled an accident, and (2) that Gänsewein is the only person who can hear him-- he won't leave Martin alone. Why? Because Pascha doesn't want his death to be remembered as a drunken accident. He was murdered, and since he can't prove it, it's up to Dr. Martin Gänsewein to do it for him.

Author Jutta Profijt has taken a quirky, offbeat idea, developed it, refined it, and served it up to perfection. The combination of cultured, intelligent, shy Dr. Martin Gänsewein and the boisterous, profane and practically illiterate Pascha Lerchenberg is the best pairing since Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar. There is also a stronger than normal sense of reader participation in the book. What do I mean by that? Working together as a team understandably takes Martin and Pascha quite a bit of time, and while Martin is working through the stages of avoidance, denial and acceptance and Pascha is figuring out what he can and cannot do, the reader can pick up the trail of clues these two characters need to follow.

At first Pascha is not a very likeable character. He has a completely selfish view of the world, and his limited skills center around grand theft auto. His desires and his impulses are the center of his universe. What is fun to watch is how he very slowly begins to change as he spends more and more time with intelligent, detail-oriented, true blue Martin. Pascha starts seeing the world from a very different perspective, and he even makes a concerted effort to improve his vocabulary. Of course, once Martin gets over the feeling that he's gone insane, his blinkered world view begins to expand as well, and it's amazing to see the lengths this reserved, almost innocent man will go to in order to bring a killer to justice.

I expected this book to be witty and funny-- and it is. I was surprised by how involved I became in the action and by how touching many of the scenes were. Erik J. Macki's work is superb, picking up many nuances that often get lost in other translated books. Morgue Drawer Four is a humorous mystery with unexpected depth, and I really look forward to reading the other "Morgue Drawer" books. My only reservation is that a premise like this may not be strong enough to support a long-running series. Sometimes short and sweet is best.

Morgue Drawer Four by Jutta Profijt

Translated from the German by Erik J. Macki
ISBN: 9781611090321

Amazon Crossing © 2011

eBook, 245 pages

Humorous Mystery, #1 Morgue Drawer mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Purchased as an eBook from Amazon.

Bad Wolf by Nele Neuhaus

First Line: He set down the shopping bag and put away his purchases in the tiny refrigerator.

It's a hot June day, and the body of a young girl washes up on a riverbank outside of Frankfurt. Her death was brutal, and she shows signs of long-term abuse, but the investigation is hampered because no one knows her identity. Weeks later a popular television host is beaten, raped, and locked in the trunk of her car. As Inspectors Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein begin digging deep into this second case, it looks as though the two cases may be related, but will they put the clues together in time to save someone close to Pia?

I can see why this series is so popular in Germany. Kirchhoff and von Bodenstein are two interesting and layered characters that I enjoy learning more about. Neuhaus knows how to craft a very complex plot with many subplots that slowly combine for a satisfying conclusion, and the translation by Steven T. Murray is excellent. However, Minotaur Books is doing something that drives me crazy: they are publishing the books in this series out of order. English-speaking readers first became acquainted with Kirchhoff and von Bodenstein with the publication of Snow White Must Die, the fourth book. The next book available to us is this one, and Bad Wolf is the sixth book in the series. A lot depends on the personal lives of the characters and their developing relationships with each other. To have the books available out of sequence means that readers following the series may be a bit confused, as I was until I did a bit of research and found out that my memory wasn't at fault. The good news is, if Bad Wolf is your first experience with Neuhaus, this isn't going to affect you at all.

This was a difficult book for me to read due to the subject matter, and if you are the type of reader who doesn't care for books that contain violence towards women and children, I would advise you to stay away. The violence is not gratuitous, but it is disturbing.

Most of the time, I love mysteries that unfold slowly, but after reading two-thirds of the book, I found that not to be the case here. At times I felt there were too many subplots-- Pia's husband has a visiting granddaughter, Pia's pregnant friend is going through a very rough time in her marriage, von Bodenstein is ready to buy a new house and start a new chapter in his life, the unidentified young murder victim, the television host who barely survived her own attack, a convicted pedophile out on parole... and more. I didn't have the slightest bit of trouble keeping all the story lines and characters straight, but I began to wonder if they were all necessary. I think my reaction may have been due to the fact that I realized very early on what was happening, and I just wanted the "bad wolves" to be put out of business. Permanently.

Although I did have a problem or two with Bad Wolf, I still enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to reading more in the series. Neuhaus has created some marvelous characters, and it's a pleasure to learn more about them.

Bad Wolf by Nele Neuhaus

Translated by Steven T. Murray

ISBN: 9781250043993

Minotaur Books © 2014

Hardcover, 416 pages

Police Procedural, #6 von Bodenstein and Kirchhoff mystery

Rating: B-

Source: NetGalley