A Lack of Temperance by Anna Loan-Wilsey

First Line: It was chaos.

It's 1892. Self-described typewriter Hattie Davish has been paid to work for a Mrs. Edwina Trevelyan of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. She boards the train in Kansas City, and when she arrives in the resort town, the very first thing she sees is the American Women's Temperance Coalition (AWTC) trying their best to demolish a saloon. By the time she gets to the Arcadia Hotel, Hattie has learned that Mrs. Trevelyan is the president of the AWTC.

After a short battle of wills with a AWTC member, Hattie assumes control of Mrs. Trevelyan's correspondence, but the woman herself seems to have disappeared. Hattie does as much as she can with the letters and telegrams, then she sets out to find her employer. Shortly thereafter, she finds the woman's body, and when an arrogant woman in the temperance organization tells her she can go home, Hattie refuses. She's been paid for a week's work, and she's going to stay to help find her employer's killer. What Hattie hasn't planned for is that-- by her conscientiousness, she's putting her own life in danger.

Author Anna Loan-Wilsey sets her stage immediately by having Hattie Davish witness the demolishing of a saloon. I can't remember any other fiction book I've read using the background of the women's temperance movement, and as I began reading A Lack of Temperance, I had to wonder why. All the various members created a microcosm of motives, which is perfect for a mystery.

Her choice of Eureka Springs, Arkansas was also inspired. The Victorian resort town's treacherous, twisting streets, steep stairs, luxurious hotels, and many hot springs fired my imagination and created many locations for Hattie to investigate.

Hattie Davish is a young, spirited woman who-- as a traveling private secretary-- is a bit ahead of her time. She's a workaholic who can forget to eat or rest, and in her spare time she loves to explore, finding plants to add to her catalogue. Hattie is meticulous in her work habits, to the point of being what we would call OCD today. Throughout her investigation, she settled her mind by sitting at her typewriter creating lists of facts and lists of questions. It's no wonder this young woman attracts all sorts of other characters to her-- including handsome young doctor, Walter Grice.

I did find the identity of the killer to be a bit obvious, but as a debut book with an 1890s traveling secretary as the main character, I think this series is set up for a very interesting, enjoyable run. I look forward to reading more books about Hattie and to learning more about her mysterious benefactor, Sir Arthur Windom-Greene.

A Lack of Temperance by Anna Loan-Wilsey 

ISBN:  9780758276346
Kensington Publishing Corporation © 2012
Paperback, 304 pages

Genre: Historical, Cozy Mystery, #1 Hattie Davish mystery
Rating: B-
Source: NetGalley

Crying Blood by Donis Casey

First Line: There was no place left to hide.

It's the autumn of 1915 in rural Oklahoma. Taking advantage of a lull before it's hog butchering time, Shaw Tucker, his brother James, and their sons go on a hunting trip. Deciding that a derelict farm their stepfather bought years ago should be a prime location to find game, they're shocked when one of the dogs retrieves an old boot-- with the human foot bones still inside. The dog then leads the men to a shallow grave that contains a skeleton with a bullet hole in its skull.

Knowing they've got to go get the sheriff in the morning, men and boys go back to camp and bed down for the night. Sometime later, Shaw wakes up to see a pair of moccasin-clad feet walking past his tent. Giving chase, Shaw loses track of the visitor so completely he wonders if he dreamed the whole thing... including the part where he could swear a ghostly voice called him by name. Dream or no dream, once Shaw's home, he just can't shake the experience.

They're back on the Tucker farm hardly any time at all when Shaw realizes someone followed him home. It's a young Creek Indian boy who says his name is Crying Blood. Crying Blood insists that he followed the Tuckers home so he could find the white-haired man who killed his brother. Shaw ties the boy up in the barn and leaves for a couple of minutes. When he returns, he discovers that someone has thrust a lance through Crying Blood's heart. The law is on the killer's trail, but Shaw has a hunch that he knows the identity of the white-haired man. The only thing he has to do is avoid the eagle eye of his wife Alafair in order to confront the killer on his own terms.

I was in a quandary with this book. It's part of one of my favorite series, a series that I tend to savor-- reading one only when the next in the series has been published. (I always keep a few books that I know I'm going to love in reserve.) However, when I  managed to obtain a galley of the next book being published in November, I knew I had to read Crying Blood. There is no way I'm going to read this series out of order!

Why, you ask? Because Donis Casey has created one of the deepest, richest cast of characters in fiction. Alafair Tucker and her husband Shaw have ten children, ranging in age from mid-twenties to three. The children all have their own personalities, and as they grow, they change... just like real people. The twelve Tuckers aren't the only cast members either. There are Alafair's and Shaw's parents, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, in-laws and almost in-laws. With a cast this large, you'd think you would need a score card, but you don't.

This large cast is a very real part of the world they live in: Oklahoma farm country at the turn of the twentieth century. It allows the author to shift the focus of her stories from one part of the family to another, as she has done here in Crying Blood. In earlier books in the series, Alafair has been at the heart of the story. Here she takes a backseat to her husband, Shaw, but she still makes her presence felt-- especially when she accompanies the sheriff on a journey in Ford Model T.

By shifting the focus of the story from Alafair to Shaw, we get to see the very real-- and very strong-- bond between the two, and the night that a sleepless Alafair wanders the farmhouse in the wee hours of the morning, knowing that her husband is in harm's way, will bring a lump to any loving partner's throat.

Donis Casey writes an excellent historical mystery series. She immediately whisks the reader into the world of turn-of-the-century Oklahoma farmers, and she creates strong, believable mysteries for her characters to solve. She's also adept at adding a bit of humor in the right places. All that, and she supplies period recipes at the back of the book. In each of her books, Casey provides food for the body, food for the mind, and food for the soul. If that sounds like a winning recipe to you, pull a chair up to the Tuckers' table. There's always room for more.

Crying Blood by Donis Casey

ISBN: 9781590588338

Poisoned Pen Press, 2011

Paperback, 248 pages

Genre: Historical Mystery, #5 Alafair Tucker mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.

An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd

First Line: I stopped just outside the ward and leaned my head against the cool wood of the doorframe.

It's the spring of 1918. Not only are Bess Crawford and all the other nurses and doctors having to contend with an unending stream of wounded men from the front lines in France, they have to battle another killer: the Spanish Influenza.

A trusted orderly takes Bess to the area in which the dead are kept before they taken out for burial, and he shows her that there is one more dead soldier than there should be. After checking the records and looking at the man's body, it becomes clear to Bess that this man (a friend of the family) has been murdered, but before she can tell the commanding officer of her suspicions, she falls victim to the flu and is taken to England to recuperate.

When she is strong enough to return to duty, she keeps her promise to the orderly and informs her father, the "Colonel Sahib," of what happened, but there's not much that can be done. The soldier's body has been buried, and the only other person who saw the body-- the orderly-- has hanged himself.

Bess knows that something's just not right, that someone believed "one unmarked grave more or less wouldn't be noticed," so she begins to piece together what little information and evidence she can. But when another nurse dies, and someone very nearly succeeds in killing Bess herself, she knows that she somehow has to stay safe from this very determined killer so justice can be done.

This series continues to get stronger-- especially when the books (like this one) have so many scenes in the war zone in France. Battle not only shows Bess at work, it heightens the feeling of danger. The writing duo of Caroline and Charles Todd ratchet up the danger and suspense even further with the killer who seems to see all, know all, and be everywhere at once. Bess isn't safe, and neither is anyone who tries to help her.

I came nowhere close to deducing the killer's identity, and I actually breathed a sigh of relief when the capture was signed, sealed and delivered. The series is also hinting rather strongly at possible romance in Bess's future. Possible, that is, if Bess ever realizes what's right under her nose!

If you have yet to read any of these Bess Crawford mysteries, give this one a try. It stands very well on its own, but don't be surprised if you want to go back and read the others once you've finished An Unmarked Grave. I also highly recommend this series for any readers who are fans of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series or Suzanne Arruda's Jade del Cameron books.

An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd

ISBN: 9780062015723

William Morrow and Company   ©2012

Hardcover, 272 pages

Genre: Historical Mystery, #4 Bess Crawford mystery

Rating: A

Source: Amazon Vine

Miss Lizzie by Walter Satterthwait

First Line: The days were longer then, in that long-ago summer at the shore, and the air was softer, and the sunlight more golden as it winked and wobbled off a bluer sea.

It is 1921 and Prohibition has just begun. Thirteen-year-old Amanda Burton is staying with her father, stepmother and older brother in a house along the Massachusetts coast.

Amanda finds out their next-door neighbor is the notorious Lizzie Borden, the woman who was acquitted of taking a hatchet and cutting her father and stepmother to pieces. Amanda meets Lizzie, and they become friends-- meeting almost every day so Lizzie can teach the young girl card tricks.

Amanda and her brother loathe their stepmother, and when Amanda wakes up on the hottest day of the summer to find the woman hacked to bits in a bedroom in their house, suspicion falls squarely on the shoulders of neighbor Lizzie. Amanda doesn't believe that Lizzie did it (she doesn't believe Lizzie killed her parents either), and with Miss Lizzie taking the initiative to hire both a lawyer and a Pinkerton detective, the unlikely pair sets out to find the real killer. Their investigation uncovers a nest of secrets. All they have to do is find the guardian who's willing to kill to keep his--or her-- secrets hidden.

Satterthwait's writing style captured me from the first paragraph, and another scene set in the fog actually had the hair standing on the back of my neck. The story is told by a much older Amanda who seems very nostalgic for the innocence she had during those days. As the story progresses and suspicion shifts from one person to another, the reader can easily begin to doubt all the characters-- even Amanda herself.

Satterthwait's poetic style brings the era to life in a swiftly moving plot that shifts nimbly through the fog of secrets and suspicions until the reader is deliciously lost. Amanda and Miss Lizzie are now one of my favorite detective duos, and I have more of the author's books on their way to my doorstep.

Miss Lizzie by Walter Satterthwait

ISBN: 9780312034009

St. Martin's Press  ©1989

Hardcover, 342 pages

Genre: Historical Mystery

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap

The Sky Took Him by Donis Casey

First Line: The train out of Muskogee was very nearly empty.

Alafair Tucker is going to Enid, Oklahoma, accompanied by her oldest and youngest daughters, Martha and Grace. Lester, the husband of Alafair's sister, Ruth Ann, is dying, and the family is gathering. When they arrive, Alafair learns that her niece Olivia's husband Kenneth has chosen a very inconvenient-- and thoughtless-- time to go on an extended business trip. When he doesn't return on the scheduled date, Alafair has a hunch that all is not well.

The hunch is proved correct: Kenneth is found dead. Everyone is convinced that the most ruthless businessman in Enid-- Buck Collins-- is responsible. So convinced in fact that the investigation begins and ends with him. But Alafair doubts that things could be as simple as that.

Once again, Donis Casey takes us back to Oklahoma in the 1910s, and with a family like the Tuckers, I always savor my visits. (Probably because the Tuckers remind me so much of stories I've heard of my own grandparents and great-grandparents.) Casey gives the reader a true feeling-- without going overboard-- of what life was like during that era. Although I loved the glimpses into a company dealing with early refrigeration units, Enid's Cherokee Strip celebration, and the work involved in drilling for oil, it's her characters, their behavior and their relationships from which I derive the most enjoyment in this series.

The Sky Took Him is no exception. We get to know Martha's beau, Streeter McCoy, but the stars among the new characters are Lu, a tiny Chinese lady, an oil man named Pee Wee Nickolls and his dog, Muddy. They stole every scene in which they appeared.

As each of Alafair's ten children grows to adulthood, Alafair has to get used to seeing them as grown-ups with adult feelings and reactions. I found this process with her oldest daughter, Martha, to be the most touching one so far. One scene toward the end of the book illustrates one of the strengths I find most compelling in Donis Casey's books. Martha has just been in a room with three generations of women in her family. After going upstairs, she happens to look in a mirror to check her hair:

The same face she had just seen on the women downstairs was staring back at her.

"It's like we're all the same woman," she said aloud. Suddenly, she was struck with the idea that she was standing at the very end of a long, unbroken line of women that went all the way back to Eve, all with one great soul, moving forward through time.

Yes, these books are excellent, with their tried-and-true recipes of the era, their depiction of a forgotten time, and their absorbing mysteries that Alafair insists on solving. But they're also for all of us who've ever looked into a mirror and seen a resemblance to a long line of men and women going all the way back to the dawn of time. We've asked the same questions for millenia: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and I love how Alafair Tucker answers them.

The Sky Took Him by Donis Casey

ISBN: 9781590588345

Poisoned Pen Press  ©2011

Paperback, 252 pages

Genre: Historical Mystery, #4 Alafair Tucker mystery set in 1910s Oklahoma

Rating: A 
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen

The Boy Who Stole the Leopard's Spots by Tamar Myers

First Line: It was much cooler in the canyon that lay in front of, and below, the village.

Legends surround the birth of twins to a king in the Belgian Congo of the 1920s. This was the time when headhunters and cannibals still followed the old ways, a time when the birth of twins was a bad omen that must be dealt with swiftly. Due to his cunning, the king's twins both survived and grew to manhood.

Fast forward to the late 1950s. As independence for the Congo grows nearer, even the remote town of Belle Vue becomes acquainted with the stirrings of upheaval. Self-professed spiritual leaders travel through almost daily, speaking to large groups of natives, telling them of the delights to come-- to when they will inherit all the goods of the whites and all their knowledge of how to operate the technology. Some whites are nervous, others-- like Madame Cabochon-- who were born in the Congo and have lived there all their lives, seem willing to fight for their rights to remain in their homeland.

Into this unsettled time for Belle Vue arrive some strangers, a huge snake, and a horrendous storm that literally divides the town in half. As one person, then another, dies, it becomes obvious to readers that someone is willing to kill as many times as it takes for a secret to remain buried.

Tamar Myers' parents were missionaries; she grew up in the Belgian Congo. Her young American missionary, Amanda Brown, shows readers how difficult it could be to get used to the climate, the people, and the customs. In this book, Amanda has definitely become romantically involved with the police chief, Captain Pierre Jardin, and the natives who work for her-- Cripple and Protruding Navel-- are up to their usual tricks. Amanda is learning the language, she's learning the customs, and she feels as though she's becoming friends with Cripple, although there's still a lot she must learn from the wise little woman with the twisted back.

If you're looking for a traditional whodunit where the characters are actively out and about searching for clues, you're not going to find it here. The mystery, the clues, the resolution, all unfold gradually, naturally. Everything has been woven into this colorful fabric of story, and if one thread is pulled loose from the rest, the entire book suffers. Myers is skillful at her honest portrayal of the Congo during that era without becoming overly graphic, but it's the character of Cripple who shines brightest over this entire series of books.

If you've read all of Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, and are looking for something in the same vein, try Tamar Myers' books set in the Congo (The Witch Doctor's Wife, The Headhunter's Daughter, The Boy Who Stole the Leopard's Spots). I wouldn't be at all surprised if-- like me-- you prefer reading about Amanda Brown and Cripple!

The Boy Who Stole the Leopard's Spots by Tamar Myers

ISBN: 9780061997730

William Morrow and Company  ©2012

Paperback, 304 pages

Genre: Historical Mystery, #3 Amanda Brown mystery set in the Belgian Congo of the late 1950s

Rating: B+

Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewer's Program

A Double Death on the Black Isle by A.D. Scott

Title: A Double Death on the Black Isle
Author: A.D. Scott
ISBN: 9781439154946
Publisher: Atria Books, 2011
Paperback, 384 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery, #2 Highland Gazette mystery
Rating: A+
Source: the publisher

First Line: Cycling across the suspension bridge over the wide, fast-flowing river Joanne Ross looked down-- no, no bodies.

The people living on the Black Isle in Scotland are oftentimes a contentious bunch. The Tinkers are trusted by no one, but their services are badly needed because so many Highlanders died a decade before in the Second World War. The fishermen there have nothing in common with the farmers, and the villages keep themselves apart from the town. When two deaths occur on the same day that involve the same families from the same estate, all the inhabitants of the Black Isle have theories as to what really happened.

Joanne Ross has been given the prize assignment of reporting on these murders, but she feels there may be a conflict of interest. After all, the woman at the very heart of both deaths is one of her closest friends. Joanne knows the story could be her big break, and as a woman-- and a single mother-- in the Highlands of the 1950s a good job like this is almost unheard of. As the staff of The Highland Gazette begin their investigations, secrets are uncovered that will change this remote corner of Scotland.

Author A.D. Scott has said that she is "a huge fan of writers who can transport you to a time and place where you feel you know a landscape intimately from the author’s description – even if it is a landscape completely foreign to you." This is exactly the type of book she writes. The staff of the newspaper are so well-drawn that one feels as though one's leaving a group of dear friends by the time the last page is turned. They also make working on a small town newspaper staff in the Highlands of that era come to life.

Both murders kept my interest throughout the book, and the fact that the second one had no firm resolution except in individual readers' minds made me smile. Not everything in life is tied up with a pretty bow at the end, and I do like that to happen occasionally in the books that I read.

Two characters shine especially brightly in A Double Death in the Great Glen: Joanne Ross, a woman who's lived in an abusive marriage for ten years before sending her husband packing. Not only does she have to contend with a man who enjoys using her as a punching bag, but she has to contend with society's and her family's opinions as she tries to begin a new and better life for herself and her daughters. She is an endearing-- and sometimes maddening-- character. Joanne refuses to behave the way that we readers would like, but she is slowly coming around to a true sense of her own worth and capabilities.

The second character is Joanne's friend, Patricia Ord Mackenzie. In turns charming, intimidating, manipulative and vulnerable, she always remains enigmatic-- and extremely intriguing. So much so in fact, that I wouldn't mind at all if she appeared again in a future book.

A.D. Scott immerses her readers in the lives of her characters and in the landscape and mindset of the Highlands of Scotland in the 1950s. There is so much to savor: mother-daughter relationships, family loyalty, intricately plotted murders.... If you have yet to savor a book written by this talented writer, I urge you to do so. Once you've finished one of her stories, it takes a while to return to the present day!

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Aztec City of Spies by Simon Levack

Title: Aztec City of Spies
Author: Simon Levack
ISBN: 9781416502548
Publisher: Pocket Books, 2007
Mass Market Paperback, 335 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery, #3 Aztec Mystery featuring the slave Yaotl
Rating: A-
Source: Purchased from The Book Depository.

First Line: In my first few days in the slave-dealers' warehouse, I sought to escape my tormentors.


By the time the slave Yaotl no longer tries to escape those tormenting him, he finds himself up for sale. Expecting to be purchased by someone representing his former owner, Chief Minister, Lord Feathered-in-Black, Yaotl is stunned to see that there are two different groups bidding for him. Perhaps he's not slated for sacrifice after all.


Fortune smiles on him, and he is purchased by a former lover, Lily, who has plans of her own. They go to Tetzcoco-- the "second city" of the Aztec Empire, renowned for its poets, artists, and legendary kings. It's also a city torn apart by unrest and filled with spies because there are rival claimants to the throne. Lily's plans go awry after the discovery of a blood-soaked corpse and her arrest for murder. The clock is ticking; Lily's trial will be held in a matter of a very few days. It's up to Yaotl to find the evidence that will prove Lily's innocence-- if only he can evade the lethal traps that are all around him.


Levack's series is one that I wish more people would read. Yes, it does have marks against it in the popularity of book sales: (1) Not only is it an historical mystery, it is set in the last days of the Aztec Empire-- a culture about as far removed from our technology-driven age as possible. (2) It was a violent age, since the Aztecs did believe in human sacrifice. (3) The Aztecs had their own calendar, which is very different from our own. (4) The Aztec language, Nahuatl, dances trippingly over few of our modern tongues. That's a lot of marks against this series, isn't it? Yet, Levack makes the culture accessible for everyone. There are maps, a simple explanation of the Aztec calendar, and a short note about Nahuatl (which he uses very sparingly). They can be referred to as little or as often as needed. 


But really all that's needed is for the reader's mental roadblocks to be removed. So many crime fiction fans love solving mysteries in other countries and in other time periods, and that's exactly what this is-- armchair crime solving at its best. Levack sets his scenes so clearly that I feel as though I'm walking the streets with Yaotl-- and Yaotl is a marvelously drawn character. He is a former priest, so he's familiar with all the various classes of people who inhabit the Aztec world. He's a slave, and although there are strict laws about how slaves must be treated, he still has to be devious enough to avoid getting himself in danger. That very deviousness of his leads to quite a bit of humor. Life is serious in Yaotl's world: war, a rigid class system, religious sacrifice... all the more reason for people to find reasons to laugh. In Aztec City of Spies, Levack even gets to poke some fun at his former occupation, since lawyers and a murder trial are involved.


Levack's plotting is meticulous and really showed me what dangerous times these were for the people who lived them. Rival claimants for a throne... and the endless rumors of a strange hairy-faced, pale-skinned people who sailed across the Divine Sea to land on their shores. The Spanish have landed, but the Aztec have no idea how quickly time is running out for them. All Yaotl and the people he cares for can do is to try to survive one day at a time.


If you enjoy historical mysteries that feature a fascinating culture, excellent plotting, and a marvelous sleuth, I urge you to pick up one of Simon Levack's Aztec mysteries. Seeing an occasional word in Nahuatl is no different from stumbling over Scandinavian street names-- trust me, I know this first hand. Visit Levack's website where you'll find sample chapters of his books. See for yourself!

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A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd

Title: A Bitter Truth
Author: Charles Todd
ISBN: 9780062015709
Publisher: William Morrow, 2011
Hardcover, 352 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery, #3 Bess Crawford mystery
Rating: A
Source: Amazon Vine

First Line: A cold rain had followed me from France to England, and an even colder wind greeted me as we pulled into the railway station in London.

Bess Crawford has been given Christmas leave, and she's looking forward to time away from nursing the wounded and dying on the front lines in France. All she has to do is spend one night in her London flat before going home to her parents. Unfortunately she doesn't even get the front door to her flat open. A woman has taken shelter from the wind and rain in the doorway. Not only is she wet and cold, her face shows signs of a fist, and she's scared to death. Against her better judgement, Bess takes her in. Not only does she give the woman a place to stay, she lets the frightened stranger talk her into going home with her because she doesn't know how her husband (the man who hit her) is going to react.

Lydia lives out in Ashdown Forest, in a grand house called Vixen Hill. The landscape reminds Bess of the blighted land of France where war has destroyed every bit of grass and trees, and Lydia admits that it's so grim in winter that the place sucks the life out of a person. When they arrive, Bess finds a family gathered for a memorial service, and even though these people are grieving, there's still something in their behavior that makes Bess uneasy. When one of their number is found dead, Bess finds herself mired in the middle of murder.

The Ellis family of Vixen Hill is an interesting one. Many secrets and emotions are tied into the untimely death of a daughter many years ago. Just what those secrets are, and just what each family member's motivations are is what Bess has to find out in order to celebrate Christmas with her family.

This is the strongest book in this series so far. I think this is due, in part, to the fact that we finally see Bess as a nurse in France. In the other two books, she was on leave in England, but this time we see her performing her job, interacting with medical staff, doctors, soldiers, and officers, and moving from place to place in a war torn country. This makes her a more fully realized character, and I appreciated seeing this side of her.

Although this is the third book in the series, it stands alone well, so you don't have to worry about starting with the first book to keep your bearings. If you enjoy the Maisie Dobbs series written by Jacqueline Winspear, you should give Bess Crawford a try. Chances are, you'll like Bess, too.

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A Small Death in the Great Glen by A.D. Scott

Title: A Small Death in the Great Glen
Author: A.D. Scott
ISBN: 9781439154939
Publisher: Atria Books, 2010
Paperback, 416 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Rating: A+
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.

First Line: He dressed the boy's body whilst it was still warm.

It's 1956 in the Highlands of Scotland. and the village that the Highland Gazette calls home probably believes it's filled with modern thinkers. After all, Italians and Poles have moved into the community, opened businesses, and been accepted by the villagers. Unfortunately, when the body of a young boy is pulled from a canal, everyone finds that they aren't quite as modern as they wanted to think. Gossip is rampant, and suspicions are cast at any newcomer to the area. The editor of the Gazette wants to change the sleepy paper into something with more hard-hitting news. He believes that he and his staff are going to be able to help the police in their investigation. What he doesn't know is just how much this investigation is going to change his staff and the community.

This book begins slowly and proceeds with great care in setting up the cast of characters and the area in which everyone lives. Once or twice I had a fleeting thought about when they were going to start focusing on the murder, but that's all they were: fleeting thoughts. A.D. Scott is masterful at setting her scene and each of her characters is built, brushstroke by brushstroke, with great care. A Small Death in the Great Glen is as much a character study as it is a mystery, so if you are a character-driven reader, this should definitely be your cup of tea.

The staff of the Highland Gazette is a brilliant bunch of characters-- every one fascinating in his or her own way. We have an escapee from the big city of Glasgow, the old Eternal Cynic, the cub reporter dreaming of his first big break, and an abused wife. We get to know each one during the course of the book, and each one is going to have a part in the investigation.

We're teased along with bits and pieces of the murder investigation, and a clue is left out in sight here and there, but once A Small Death in the Great Glen settles down to find the killer, the ride to justice is filled with twists and turns. I thought I had it all figured out-- but I only had it half right. Another thing I liked is that, although things are deadly serious, Scott lightens the tone with laugh-out-loud funny bits throughout. I know that once I've had a laugh about something the next shocking thing that happens hits me that much harder-- and makes me that much more reluctant to stop reading.

If you're in the mood for a mystery that builds slowly to a climax while it paints a vivid portrait of life in a provincial Scottish village AND creates a marvelous cast of characters, I'd say you were in the mood for A Small Death in the Great Glen. The next book in the series is due to be released at the end of September, and you'd better believe it's on my wishlist!

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The Brink of Fame by Irene Fleming

Title: The Brink of Fame
Author: Irene Fleming
ISBN: 9780312575441
Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2011
Hardcover, 256 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery, #2 Emily Daggett mystery
Rating: B
Source: the author

First Line: When Emily Daggett Weiss boarded the Twentieth Century Limited in the spring of 1914, bound for a brief sojourn in the West, one or two old biddies gave her the hairy eye.

Women just don't travel without a chaperone in those days, so Emily gets more than two hairy eyeballs looking in her direction along the route. Her husband has been out in Flagstaff, Arizona, scouting for a location to shoot their next picture and trying to locate some camels to use in the movie. When Emily inquires at the hotel registration desk, she finds out in no short order that her husband has lost their movie company in a poker game-- and he's taken an actress down to Mexico where he can get a divorce and marry the new love of his life. For Emily, the earth has just shifted on its axis.

Left penniless and alone, the former chorus girl is looking for ways to gather up enough money to return East on the train when she meets Holbert Bruns, who's in Flagstaff investigating something for movie mogul Carl Laemmle. Bruns persuades Emily to head West on the train instead. The case he's on is proving difficult, and Bruns thinks Emily can get information that he can't. Once he explains this to Carl Laemmle, Laemmle will be sure to hire her-- and once the case is over, Emily can concentrate on becoming a director of moving pictures.

In California, everything works out as Bruns predicted. Emily is hired as an additional investigator, and Laemmle is very interested in having her direct one of his films-- as soon as she helps locate his missing leading man. Once actor Ross McHenry is found, Emily's career as a director can begin.

Emily is a very winning character, and in trying to overcome her abandonment and in her reactions to various people and places in Los Angeles, she's often quite funny. I enjoy this series-- not only for Emily-- but for all the information about the early days of the film industry. If I have any complaint about The Brink of Fame, it's that most of the secondary characters are two-dimensional and never quite come to life. However, the setting and the main character are strong enough for me to overlook that for the most part.

Do you need to read the first book in the series in order to make sense of this second book? No. There's enough information given where everything makes sense, and not so much that it will spoil the plot if you decide to read the first. Fleming has struck gold in this mystery series that takes place during the early days of the movie industry, and I'm looking forward to reading more of her adventures in Hollywood.

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Midnight Fires by Nancy Means Wright

Title: Midnight Fires, A Mystery with Mary Wollstonecraft
Author: Nancy Means Wright
ISBN: 9781564744883
Perseverance Press, 2010
Paperback, 243 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery. #1 Mary Wollstonecraft mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.

First Line: The crossing from Holyhead to Dublin had been relatively calm, but just as the Irish coast came into view, a contrary wind blew up.

Mary Wollstonecraft is on her way to Mitchelstown Castle in County Cork to be a governess to Lord Kingsborough's daughters. To her, it is humiliating-- a fate most devoutly not to be desired. But with debts to pay and a pack of siblings who constantly turn to her as a source of money, she has no other option. She wants to work out the year she contracted for, to avoid having anyone find out just how much she lied about her qualifications, and to keep out of castle politics by writing a novel. Mary lives to write.

She doesn't even get off the ship before something happens. A young Irish sailor who'd just given her a letter to deliver to someone falls overboard and drowns. Mary could swear that she caught a glimpse of a knife-wielding man standing by the young Irishman, but with the weather being so foul, she must be mistaken.

Life at Mitchelstown Castle is not easy. The oldest daughter can't stand Mary at first, and the unhappy, self-centered Lady Kingsborough finds the proud and stubborn Mary difficult to deal with. When two more people at the caste die, Mary believes those two deaths tie into the death of the sailor, and she won't rest until she finds justice for all three.

At first I found Mary a bit of a handful myself. She is a very passionate young female who has a tendency to eye all the available young men in her vicinity. She spends so much time on visiting the nearby cottagers as well as on her investigation that I wondered where she found the time to teach those young girls anything, but she manages to get everything done. Mary's ability to get right up the noses of those aristocrats dancing attendance on Lord and Lady Kingsborough endeared her to me.

As for solving the mystery before Mary? Not a chance! The list of suspects was so long that I just buckled up and enjoyed the journey. Wright does an excellent job of depicting the people and the era in which they live. Having known a few things about Wollstonecraft (besides the fact that she's the mother of Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein), I liked how the author used the facts to create a lively, engaging character that I hope will take center stage in many mysteries to come.

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A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear

Title: A Lesson in Secrets
Author: Jacqueline Winspear
ISBN: 9780061727672
Publisher: Harper, 2011
Hardcover, 336 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery, Private Investigator, #8 Maisie Dobbs mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Amazon Vine

First Line: Maisie Dobbs had been aware of the motor car following her for some time. 

It's the summer of 1932, and Maisie Dobbs accepts an undercover assignment as a lecturer at a private college in Cambridge. It seems Scotland Yard and the Secret Service want her on campus to monitor any activities "not in the interests of the Crown." Their major focus is on controversial pacifist and college founder Greville Liddicote, but when he is found murdered, Maisie knows that she must conduct her own investigation into this as well.

This eighth book in the series finds Maisie at a crossroads. She has inherited some money and wants to use it wisely to benefit those for whom she cares deeply. She also finds herself open to new experiences, so she's ripe for the picking when Scotland Yard and the Secret Service come knocking.

With Maisie in Cambridge during the week and only in London on weekends, I found myself missing her assistant, Billy. Moreover, I found a subplot involving Sandra, a young woman who'd been in service to Maisie's former employers, very interesting. With Maisie spending much of her time on the road, this particular subplot wasn't fleshed out as fully as I'd hoped.

The major focus of the book is twofold: Britain's sometimes less than stellar conduct during World War I, and Maisie's discovery that the Nazi Party has been making inroads in England-- as some of her fellow lecturers show up regularly to party meetings. To her surprise, Scotland Yard and the Secret Service think her reports on the Nazi Party have absolutely no significance.

This emphasis on foreshadowing World War II, although promising great things in future books, made Maisie less interesting as a character. Even so, this is a strong, excellent series featuring an unconventional heroine. I look forward to Maisie's further adventures.

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The Headhunter's Daughter by Tamar Myers

Title: The Headhunter's Daughter
Author: Tamar Myers
ISBN: 9780061997648
Publisher: William Morrow, 2011
Paperback, 256 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery, #2 Amanda Brown mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Publicist

First Line: The gravel pits had been haunted for the past six years, ever since the first white woman drowned.

In 1945 an infant was left out by the gravel pits as a result of a botched kidnapping plot. The baby girl is found by a young Bashilele tribesman on his quest to claim the head of an enemy. The young boy takes the baby back to his tribe where she is raised as a member of his family-- even though her pale skin, straw-like hair and strange blue eyes mark her as being very different from the rest.

Thirteen years later, young missionary Amanda Brown hears the stories of a white girl living among the Bashilele headhunters. She enlists the help of the local police chief, Captain Pierre Jardin, and brings along the witch doctor's wife, Cripple, to act as translator. They find the young girl (now called "Ugly Eyes") and bring her back to the Missionary Rest House and "civilization". But the young white girl no longer belongs in Amanda Brown's world, and the secrets surrounding her birth and disappearance prove to be very deadly indeed.

Author Tamar Myers was born and raised in the Congo, so this is very familiar territory to her. (When reading the book, don't skip The Author Answers Some of Your Questions section at the end of the book where Myers talks about her life in Africa.)

The plot is well-paced and the mystery very intriguing. I didn't figure out the mastermind behind everything and did an "of course!" eye roll at the reveal.

Amanda is a good blend of strength and naivete. She truly wants to do the right thing even if that right thing doesn't coincide with what her judgmental elders believe-- and she has the delightful habit of speaking her mind before she can stop herself.

The book really shines in the setting and the clashing cultures. Myers delves a bit deeper into the Congo's tortured past as a colony under the rule of King Leopold II of Belgium and what the whites believe will happen when the Congo becomes independent in a couple of years.

The clashing cultures show to best advantage when Amanda's servants at the guest house try to decipher white behavior and dress. The scene where Cripple and Protruding Navel try to figure out how to put a bra on the young white girl is hilarious.

Returning to "civilization" after so many years, the young white girl probably has the best sense of the difference between the cultures:

The laughter of women as they set about doing their daily chores. Next to her mother, that is what Ugly Eyes had missed the most about village life. White people were so serious, their mouths perpetually pulled down at the corners, their foreheads so quick to pucker. Ugly Eyes did not know of a single village woman who bore vertical creases between her eyes, yet almost every woman at the party the night before had at least the beginnings of one.

I enjoy this series for its truthfulness, gentleness, humor and unpredictability. There is more than meets the eye between their covers. The lasting image of the books for me is the resident gargantuan crocodile who lives at the bottom of the ravine next to the Missionary Rest House. Seldom ever seen, the crocodile is well fed, since the rest house throws its garbage down there. In addition, there have been times that the unwary human has stumbled at the edge and fallen... never to be seen again.

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The Crocodile's Last Embrace by Suzanne Arruda

Title: The Crocodile's Last Embrace
Author: Suzanne Arruda
ISBN: 9780451231178
Publisher: Obsidian, 2010
Paperback, 400 pages
Genre: Historical, #6 Jade del Cameron mystery
Rating: A
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: From his hidden vantage point, the man watched the young American woman called Simba Jike.


Returning from a rather ill-advised trip to Europe where all destinations did nothing but dredge up painful memories, Jade del Cameron greets the sight of Kenya with two certainties: Africa is her home, and Sam Featherstone is the man she wants to spend her life with. When a letter arrives, Jade hopes it's from Sam, telling her the date of his return. Instead, she finds a message written in the hand of her long-dead fiance, asking "Why did you let me die?"

After witnessing a car going off a bridge and having more deaths follow, Jade begins an investigation that she believes is tied in with a fraudulent gold mine scheme, but when she learns that her old nemesis, Lilith Worthy has escaped from an English prison, Jade knows the case has just turned every bit as deadly as that huge, hungry crocodile that's been hanging around the foot of Fourteen Falls.

Although this Biscuit fan thought the cheetah was cheated out of his share of the spotlight in this book, I really did enjoy The Crocodile's Last Embrace. Arruda continues to draw more and more news and information of the period and the surrounding colonies into the books to give the reader an excellent sense of what life was like in Africa in the early twentieth century. For instance, this time we learned what Leopold, King of the Belgians, had his minions doing in the Congo.

These books just about have it all for me-- probably because I fell in love with and watched "Out of Africa" at least once per week while it was in the theatres here in Phoenix. To have an ongoing series of books dealing with roughly the same time frame, the same land, the wildlife, the early days of aviation and photojournalism is a delight.

The delight does not end with the aforementioned list. Arruda has a cast of characters that continues to adapt and grow with each new experience. Of course the major changes belong to Sam and Jade as these two fiercely independent people have to figure out if they can truly be together, but they aren't the only two who've changed through the passage of books. Just ask Jelani, the young Kikuyu boy befriended by Jade.

Speaking of younger characters, the young band of Girl Guides that Lady Dunbury is trying to gather under her wing? They're a hoot. Whenever those youngsters appeared, they made me laugh. I certainly hope they'll make another appearance in Jade's next adventure. I'll be looking for them (and Biscuit)!

The one thing most readers want to know about a book in a series is can they pick it up, read it, and not get confused if they haven't read any of the other books? In the case of The Crocodile's Last Embrace, readers should not have a problem, since Arruda included enough information from previous books to fill in the gaps.

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The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse

Title: The Winter Ghosts
Author: Kate Mosse
ISBN: 9780399157158
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2011
Hardcover, 288 pages
Genre: Paranormal, Historical Mystery
Rating: B
Source: LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program

First Line: He walked like a man recently returned to the world.

It is 1928, and Freddie is still mourning the death of his older brother in World War I. Traveling as a way to both learn and escape, he finds himself high in the French Pyrenees. He loses control of his car in a snowstorm and is forced to walk through the woods until he finds a small village where he can take refuge until his car is repaired.

Invited to a village celebration, Freddie meets the beautiful and ethereal Fabrissa who is also mourning the loss of loved ones. During the course of the night, Freddie and Fabrissa share their stories, and when dawn breaks, Freddie not only uncovers an ancient mystery, he also discovers his own role in the life of this remote village.

Having previously read Mosse's other two novels, Labyrinth and Sepulchre, I expected an engrossing tale densely layered with the atmosphere and history of the French Pyrenees. I was not disappointed. Almost from the moment Freddie stepped foot in the quiet, tiny village, the hairs on the back of my neck began to prickle. He was a young man so in need of being rescued-- and of being the rescuer-- that I couldn't help but keep my fingers crossed as he navigated the streets of an ancient place where nothing was really as it seemed to be.

The only quibble I have with this book is that, at one third the size of her previous two novels, I felt a bit cheated. The marvelous atmosphere had time to build only so far before the tale was finished, and my unease allowed to melt away like wisps of fog. If the book hadn't felt so rushed, I would now be waving it around in the air exclaiming, "You've gotta read this!"

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No Badge, No Gun by Harold Adams

Title: No Badge, No Gun
Author: Harold Adams
ISBN: 9780802775757
Publisher: Walker & Company, 1999
Paperback, 202 pages
Genre: Historical Mysteries, #15 Carl Wilcox mystery
Rating: B
Source: Purchased from Bookcloseouts.

First Line: It was hot in Jonesville just before noon as I was finishing up a window sign and looking forward to getting out of the sun and into a café, when these two characters came around and moved close, watching me.

Those two characters just happen to be the local pastor and his nephew, and they'd like him to check into the rape and murder of the pastor's niece. Carl Wilcox, ex-con, part-time bum, and itinerant sign painter is beginning to get a reputation in small town South Dakota for being able to solve crimes. Since this is the Depression, Carl can't afford to pass up the money, even though he's not trained as a private investigator:

"How'd you get into detecting?"


"Fell in. Being an ex-con, I was a suspect in anything that went wrong wherever I went for a few years, and I started figuring out who done it a couple of times when it kept me from getting stuck, and then one day Corden needed a temporary cop the worst way, and as somebody said, they got the worst kind. That sort of set up my bona fides, and I've been milking it ever since."

While Wilcox paints signs and woos the local school teacher, his investigative methods mainly consist of questioning every person he can think of and seeing what turns up. What turns up are several prime suspects, and Carl soon has to narrow down the list.

Adams has a lean comfortable writing style that drew me right in. It's a deceptively simple style because whenever I stopped to ponder what I'd read, I would realize that I'd gleaned much more than I thought was there.

Even though this is the fifteenth book in the Carl Wilcox series, I didn't feel lost. This book stands very well on its own, but it's so good-- and doesn't have the usual P.I. clichés-- that I fully intend to look up other books in the series.

It's almost the absolute end of the year, and I've found yet another gem!

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The Drop Edge of Yonder by Donis Casey

Title: The Drop Edge of Yonder
Author: Donis Casey
ISBN: 9781590585993
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2009
Paperback, 217 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery, Amateur Sleuth, #3 Alafair Tucker mystery
Rating: A+
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.

First Line: When I think about that day, Mama, here's what sticks in my mind.

One hot but pleasant evening in August 1914, a gunman ended a group's outing by killing Bill McBride, wounding Alafair Tucker's daughter, Mary, and kidnapping Bill's fiancee, Laura. Although the authorities are searching high and low for the bushwhacker, they can't seem to find him. As Mary recovers, a pall of sadness seems to hang over her, and her mother Alafair would do anything to put a smile on her daughter's face and to hear Mary's laughter.

Mary can't get rid of the idea that she has information that would help find her Uncle Bill's killer-- if only she could remember it-- but her head wound is slow to heal. She begins trying to find quiet spots away from everyone else, which drives her mother crazy. After all, the killer is still in the area.

Much of author Donis Casey's series (and her recipes) is based upon her own family history during the early days of Oklahoma. Life on a farm at the turn of the twentieth century is so wonderfully depicted that it reminds me of Sharyn McCrumb's Ballad novels set in Appalachia. The mother of twelve children, Alafair Tucker knows that the only reason why she's able to find the time to play detective is because the elder of her children are old enough to take care of their younger brothers and sisters as well as the house and the chores around the farm. Alafair is also lucky that the sheriff in Boynton has a relaxed and practical attitude towards her clue gathering:

"I don't know if it's just an accident or luck or what, but in the last couple of years, she's managed to find out things I couldn't that helped bring a couple of murderers to justice. I expect folks will tell her things they won't tell me, since she can't throw them in jail. But however she does it, I'm not too proud to stand back and see what she comes up with."

The mystery is a strong and interesting one in The Drop Edge of Yonder, especially since Alafair's daughter is in danger.  Each chapter begins with an excerpt from Mary's diary in which she writes everyday in an attempt to remember anything that may lead to the identity of her uncle's killer.

What impressed me the most in this book was the character of Alafair herself. While interacting with her daughter, Mary, and her youngest child, Grace, Alafair's behavior epitomizes the best in motherhood and can easily bring smiles or tears to a reader's face.

This series is one of my favorites, not only because of the plotting and characterization, but because the language and the setting reminds me of my own farming roots. If you're in the mood for an historical mystery series that sets you smack dab on farm wife/sleuth Alafair Tucker's porch for a chat and a glass of iced tea, look no further than Donis Casey's excellent books.

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Carte Blanche by Carlo Lucarelli

Title: Carte Blanche
Author: Carlo Lucarelli
Translator: Michael Reynolds
ISBN: 9781933372150
Publisher: Europa Editions, 2006
Paperback, 108 pages
Genre: Police Procedural, Historical Mystery, #1 Commissario De Luca mystery
Rating: D+
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.

First Line: The bomb exploded suddenly, with a ferocious blast, right as the funeral procession was crossing the street.

In the final year of World War II, as Mussolini's Italy is shattering to pieces, Commissario De Luca finds himself in charge of a murder investigation. The body of well-connected Fascist Rehinard Vittorio has been found stabbed to death and castrated-- and since he was also a drug dealer and philanderer, there is no lack of suspects in his death. The powers that be have promised De Luca their full cooperation... as long as De Luca arrests the "right" suspect.

The plot of this slender little volume moves at the speed of light and leaves precious little time for characterization. De Luca himself was the most sharply drawn, but even he would have been a bit fuzzy if I hadn't read the preface first.

The character of De Luca is based on an actual person who was a policeman in Italy for forty years-- from World War II to the 1980s. Lucarelli found the man to be fascinating:

...after having heard that man recount forty years of his life in the Italian political police, during which with every change of government he found himself having to tail, to spy on, and to arrest those who had previously been his bosses, the question came spontaneously to me: "Excuse me... who do you vote for?"

The man who inspired the character of De Luca always asserted that he was a policeman; politics simply weren't in his job description. Personally, I think he had to have had one of the most finely tuned senses of self preservation on record.

Although there is much to like in Carte Blanche, I found the problems to outweigh the pleasures. The brevity of the book does not lend itself to characterization or to a true sense of the time and place in which it occurs.  The bare bones plot reminds me of my shopping strategy during the holiday season: get in there, get it, and get out. (It also contained few surprises.)  It's likely that the book suffers when read by anyone who is not more fluent in Italian political history. The translation suffered occasionally when slang was involved.

That sounds like quite a bit of complaint for such a little book, and perhaps it is. The reason for it? The character of De Luca, the time period in which the book takes place, and Lucarelli's writing style itself all raised my expectations. After my reading experience with this first book in the trilogy I doubt that I will read the others. Of course... your mileage may vary!

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Curse of the Pogo Stick by Colin Cotterill

Title: Curse of the Pogo Stick
Author: Colin Cotterill
ISBN: 9781569474853
Publisher: Soho Crime, 2008
Hardcover, 256 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery, #5 Dr. Siri Paiboun mystery
Rating: B-
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.

First Line: As there were no longer any records, the Hmong could not even tell when they actually misplaced their history.

Dr. Siri and his boss have traveled to the north in Laos to attend a Communist Party meeting. Dr. Siri would rather undergo a series of root canals without anesthesia.

Back in Vientiane, a booby-trapped corpse intended for the 73-year-old coroner has been delivered to the morgue. Only Nurse Dtui's quick thinking saves everyone in the morgue from being blown to bits.

On their way back from the meeting, Dr. Siri is kidnapped by seven female Hmong villagers so that he can exorcise a demon from the headman's daughter. While Judge Haeng gives jungle survival a try, Dr. Siri has to arrive at the solution to the curse of the pogo stick.

I think this may be the first Dr. Siri mystery that I haven't rated an A-- and I'm feeling extremely disloyal. The wit and the humor are still here in abundance, but having Dr. Siri separated from his friends and co-workers for almost the entire book just doesn't work. Especially when a dinner has to be held at the end for readers to discover what was going on with the booby-trapped corpse and other incidents that occurred in Vientiane. One of the greatest strengths of this series is the interplay between all the characters. Without that the book feels out of kilter.

All series have a book that's not quite as strong as the rest, and in all honesty, if this had been the first Dr. Siri mystery I'd read, I would've loved it and rated it higher. It is still a wonderful read (I learned quite a bit about the Hmong culture), and I urge everyone to give this series a try. Cotterill has written a marvelous series that's one of my all-time favorites. 

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