Celebrating Mysteries: Europe

 

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

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

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

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

England

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

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

Salt Lane is book two

Deadland is book three

Grave's End is the fourth book

There are currently five books in this series.

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

The Merchant's House is the first book

The Armada Boy is the second

An Unhallowed Grave is the third

The Funeral Boat is the fourth

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

Finland

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

Snow Angels is the first book

Lucifer's Tears is the second

Helsinki White is the third

Helsinki Blood is the fourth

 

There are only four books in this series.

 

 

France

 

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

 

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

Murder in the Marais is the first book

Murder in Belleville is the second

Murder in the Sentier is the third

Murder in the Bastille is the fourth

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

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

Bruno Chief of Police is the first book

The Dark Vineyard is the second

Black Diamond the third

The Crowded Grave is the fourth

There are currently thirteen books in the series.

Greece

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

The Pericles Commission is the first book

The Ionia Sanction is the second

Number three is Sacred Games

The Singer from Memphis is the sixth.

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

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

 

 Murder in Mykonos is the first book

Assassins of Athens is the second

Prey on Patmos is the third

Target: Tinos is the fourth

There are currently eleven books in the series.

Iceland

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

Snowblind is the first book

Blackout is the second

The third is Rupture

The fourth is Whiteout

There are six books in the series.

Italy

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

 

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

 

 The Shape of Water is the first book

The Terra-Cotta Dog is the second

Third is The Snack Thief

Fourth is Voice of the Violin

 

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

 

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

Scotland

 

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

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

The Blackhouse is the first book

The Lewis Man is the second

The Chessmen is the third

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

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

Cold in the Earth is the first book

The Darkness and the Deep is the second

The third is Lying Dead

Number four is Lamb to the Slaughter

 

There are nine books in this series.

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

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

Next up at a future date: Asia!

Helsinki Blood by James Thompson

First Lines: July eleventh. A hot summer Sunday. All I want is some goddamned peace and quiet.

Inspector Kari Vaara's career in law enforcement has been the polar opposite of easy. He's still recuperating from the severe injuries he sustained in Helsinki White as well as recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumor. He may still be a wreck physically, but one of the side effects of the tumor and its removal-- feeling no emotions whatsoever-- is slowly fading, and Vaari feels himself becoming a bit more comfortable in his own skin.

He'd feel even better if his American wife weren't suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Kate, after ignoring him for weeks, has dropped off their infant daughter Anu and then disappears. But no matter how bad things get, Vaara feels that he deserves it-- and he wants to redeem himself. Possible redemption arrives in the form of an Estonian woman who begs Vaara to find her daughter, Loviise. Loviise, a young girl who suffers from Down Syndrome, has been enticed to Helsinki with promises of a better job, and her mother fears that she's fallen prey to human traffickers. For an understaffed police department, Loviise is just one more missing girl. For Varra, she's a chance to prove that he's capable of being the man he once was. He soon finds himself playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with enemies old and new.

I have been a fan of James Thompson's books from the very first, Snow Angels, and this is one series that I do recommend people read in order. His main character, Inspector Kari Vaara, is made to walk through fire, and if you pick up a book at random to read it, you're probably going to miss too much for you to fully appreciate what he's going through. Furthermore, this is not a comfortable series to read. The picture Thompson paints of both Helsinki and of Finland is often depressing and violent, but through all four books, he's never let me forget that beauty has always been there and is worth fighting for.

The inspector is a good man capable of doing terrible things-- and he does do them. Vaara reminds me of how many of the best "good guys" have a touch of the criminal about them. There's almost something mythic about this character-- the insurmountable odds he faces, how he is scarred as he fights monsters both real and imagined, how he always strives to do right and feels remorse and the need to atone when he doesn't measure up to his own standards (and those of his beloved wife).

The success of these books will definitely depend upon each reader's comfort zone. If you don't like violence, don't read these books. If reading about a good man doing bad things makes you uncomfortable, stay away. And if you don't like the idea that there are men in high government positions all around the world who are corrupt and capable of the most heinous crimes, James Thompson is not for you. However, if you savor complex, dark, gritty, beautifully written stories about a flawed man determined to be and to do good, I highly recommend James Thompson.

Helsinki Blood by James Thompson

ISBN: 9780399158889

G.P. Putnam's Sons © 2013

Hardcover, 320 pages

Police Procedural, #4 Inspector Kari Vaara mystery

Rating: A

Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers program

March 2013 New Mystery Releases!

February was one for the record books. I had one week of sheer reading nirvana with wonderful stories written by such authors as Colin Cotterill, Leighton Gage, Deborah Crombie, and Pamela Beason. It was a reading frenzy here! On Thursday, I'll post my review of a fascinating non-fiction book about two women who raced each other around the world-- see? I do read other genres!

February also made it into my record book because it's the first time since I moved to Phoenix in 1976 that I've seen the ground covered in snow. Technically it was graupel-- soft hail-- but it looked like snow to me!

March is going to be another splendiferous month for us here at Casa Kittling, and as always, I'm hoping to fill it with more excellent reads. The following are my picks of the new mysteries being released next month. They're grouped by release date, and I've provided all the information you'll need to find them at all your favorite book spots. Let's see what they are!

=== March 5 ===

Title: Bowled Over

Author: Victoria Hamilton

Series: #2 Vintage Kitchen mysteries set in Michigan

ISBN: 9780425251928

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "Vintage kitchenware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton has been estranged from her high school best friend Kathy Cooper since they were teenagers, but she never knew what turned Kathy against her. After fireworks at a Fourth of July picnic, Jaymie discovers the body of her former friend in the park. On the ground nearby is Jaymie’s own Depression-era glass bowl, broken in two.

With her fingerprints all over the bowl and a troubled history with the victim, Jaymie suddenly finds herself at the top of the list of suspects. Did the killer intend to frame her for the murder? If so, she is ready to mix it up, because solving crimes is vintage Jaymie Leighton…"

Title: Murder Below Montparnasse

Author: Cara Black

Series: #13 in the Aimée Leduc P.I. series set in Paris, France

ISBN:  9781616952150

Publisher: Soho Crime

Hardcover, 326 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "When Aimée’s long-term partner and best friend Rene leaves their detective agency for a new job in Silicon Valley, Aimée knows she can handle the extra workload. At least, that what she tells herself. Repeatedly.

But all bets are off when Yuri Volodya, a mysterious old Russian man, hires Aimée to protect a painting. By the time she gets to his Montparnasse atelier, the precious painting has already been stolen, leaving Aimée smelling a rat. The next day, Yuri is found tortured to death in his kitchen. To top it all off, it looks like Aimée isn’t the only one looking for the painting. Some very dangerous people are threatening her and her coworkers, and witnesses are dropping like flies. Now Aimée has to find the painting, stop her attackers, and figure out what her long-missing mother, who is on Interpol’s most wanted list, has to do with all this—fingers crossed she wasn’t Yuri’s murderer, despite clues pointing in that direction.

Obviously, Rene doesn’t need to worry. Aimee has things under control."

Title: Assaulted Pretzel
Author: Laura Bradford
Series: #2 Amish Mystery set in Pennsylvania
ISBN: 9780425252000
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages

Synopsis: "The quiet town of Heavenly is buzzing with excitement over the latest guests at the local inn, Sleep Heavenly. Toy manufacturer Rob Karble is in town to meet the members of the Amish community who will soon be crafting a new toy line for his company. But when word gets out that Karble intends to use the Amish designs without employing the Amish to make them, someone sends the interloper to his final reward.

No one wants to believe anyone from the Amish community could commit such an act, but as Claire and Detective Fisher have learned, no one is above sin—or suspicion."

Title: Peach Pies and Alibis

Author: Ellery Adams
Series: #2 Charmed Pie Shoppe mystery set in Georgia
ISBN: 9780425251997
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "Ella Mae LeFaye’s Charmed Pie Shoppe is wildly popular in Havenwood, Georgia—which is not surprising since Ella Mae can lace her baked goods with enchantments. The shop’s extraordinary success seems destined to continue when Ella Mae meets an engaged couple who hire her to handle the dessert buffet at their wedding.

But Ella Mae has a lot on her plate. She is also searching for the origin of her magical powers—and hoping to determine if the spark of attraction she feels for the handsome Hugh Dylan is authentic or just her new abilities gone awry.

Then Ella Mae discovers a high-standing member of the community dead, and a wedding guest becomes seriously ill at the event she’s catering. Now she’ll have to use all her sleuthing skills and culinary talents to prove her pies don’t contain a killer ingredient . . ."

Title: The Christie Curse
Author: Victoria Abbott
Series: #1 Jordan Kelly mystery set in New York State
ISBN:  9780425255285
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared—making headlines across the world—only to show up eleven days later at a spa under an assumed name. During those eleven days, did she have time to write a play?

Jordan Kelly needs a new job and a new place to live. She’s back in Harrison Falls, New York, living with her not so law-abiding uncles, in debt thanks to a credit card–stealing ex and pending grad school loans.

Enter the perfect job, a research position that includes room and board, which will allow her to spend her days hunting down rare mysteries for an avid book collector. There’s just one problem: her employer, Vera Van Alst—the most hated citizen of Harrison Falls.

Jordan’s first assignment is to track down a rumored Agatha Christie play. It seems easy enough, but Jordan soon finds out that her predecessor was killed while looking for it, and there is still someone out there willing to murder to keep the play out of Vera’s hands. Jordan’s new job is good…but is it worth her life?"

Title: A Dying Fall
Author: Elly Griffiths
Series: #5 Dr. Ruth Galloway mystery set in England
ISBN: 9780547798165
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Hardcover, 400 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "Ruth Galloway is shocked when she learns that her old university friend Dan Golding has died tragically in a house fire. But the death takes on a sinister cast when Ruth receives a letter from Dan written just before he died.

The letter tells of a great archaeological discovery, but Dan also says that he is scared for his life. Was Dan’s death linked to his find? The only clue is his mention of the Raven King, an ancient name for King Arthur.

Then Ruth is invited to examine the bones Dan found. Ruth travels to Lancashire–the hometown of DCI Nelson–with both her eighteen-month-old daughter, Kate, and her druid friend, Cathbad, in tow. She discovers a campus living in fear of a sinister right-wing group called the White Hand. She also finds that the bones revealed a shocking fact about King Arthur–and they’ve mysteriously vanished. When Nelson, visiting his mother in Blackpool, learns about the case, he is drawn into the investigation, especially when Ruth and his beloved Kate seem to be in danger. Who is willing to kill to keep the bones a secret?"

Title: The Good Cop
Author: Brad Parks
Series: #4 Carter Ross mystery set in New Jersey ISBN: 9781250005526
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Hardcover, 336 pages

Synopsis: "As long as Newark Eagle-Examiner reporter Carter Ross turns in his stories on deadline, no one bats an eye if he doesn’t wander into the newsroom until 10 or 11 in the morning. So it’s an unpleasant surprise when he’s awakened at 8:38 a.m. by a phone call from his boss, telling him a local policeman was killed and to get the story. Shaking himself awake, Carter heads off to interview the cop’s widow. And then he gets another call: the story’s off, the cop committed suicide.

But Carter can’t understand why a man with a job he loved, a beautiful wife, and plans to take his adorable children to Disney World would suddenly kill himself. And when Carter’s attempts to learn more are repeatedly blocked, it's clear someone knows more than he's saying about the cop's death. The question is, who? And what does he have to hide? Carter, with his usual single-minded devotion to a good story—and to the memory of a Newark policeman—will do whatever it takes to uncover the truth."

=== March 8 ===

Title: Tainted Mountain

Author: Shannon Baker

Series: #1 Nora Abbott mystery set in Arizona

ISBN:  9780738734224

Publisher: Midnight Ink

Paperback, 360 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books. 

Synopsis: "All Nora Abbott wants to do is make enough snow to save her ski resort from the drought that is ravaging Northern Arizona. But now her husband has been murdered; angry protestors have occupied her mountain; her overbearing mother has blown into town; and energy tycoon Barrett McCreary has launched what might just be a hostile takeover of the cash-strapped resort. 

  To make matters worse, the local Hopi tribe claims making snow on the mountain will upset the balance of the earth, so Nora turns to the ruggedly handsome Cole Huntsman for help. The only trouble is that Huntsman seems to be playing from both sides of the deck. And when a fortune in uranium claims are at stake, double-dealing is a deadly strategy."

=== March 12 ===

Title: Paging the Dead

Author: Brynn Bonner

Series: #1 Family History mystery set in North Carolina

ISBN: 9781451661866 

Publisher: Gallery Books

Paperback, 304 pages

Synopsis: "Genealogist Sophreena McClure is an expert at unearthing other people’s secrets. Using old documents and photographs, Soph and her business partner, Esme Sabatier—also a gifted medium—trace family histories and create heritage scrapbooks. Their latest client, Dorothy Pritchett Porter, is thrilled with their research into Morningside’s most prestigious clan. But before Dorothy can proudly display her new scrapbooks on Founders’ Day, she’s found murdered. It seems the ties that bind can also strangle, for Dorothy has been killed using the Pritchett family pearls.Pegged as prime suspects, Sophreena and Esme turn their investigative skills from the dearly departed to the alive and dangerous, hoping to pin down the real killer among Dorothy’s kinfolk. Sophreena’s scrapbooking club members, crafty in more ways than one, pitch in to help. As the Pritchett ancestral roots turn out to be more tangled than anyone suspected, Sophreena wonders just how many skeletons lurk in this family closet—and whether she and Esme are destined to join them. . . ." 

=== March 19 ===

Title: The Leviathan Effect

Author: James Lilliefors

Series: #2 Jon Mallory thriller based in Washington, D.C.

ISBN:  9781616952495 

Publisher: Soho Crime

Hardcover, 352 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Homeland Security Secretary Catherine Blaine receives a frightening communication from a hacker identified only by the pseudonym Janus. The message is the latest in a series correctly predicting natural disasters around the world—disasters that, Janus claims, were manufactured, not natural at all. And, according to the email, unless the United States does as Janus instructs, another disaster is coming—a Category 5 hurricane that will hit the Eastern Seaboard and destroy the lives of tens of millions of people.

Unaware of the crisis in Washington, investigative journalist Jon Mallory stumbles on a list of seven prominent scientists who have been murdered over the past dozen years. When the person who gave him the list disappears herself, Jon realizes he has unwittingly become part of a deadly chain of events and contacts his brother, private intelligence contractor Charles, for help. Meanwhile, Catherine Blaine has also come to Charles for help tracking down the hacker Janus and uncovering the frightening new weather technology that threatens the world."  

Title: The Missing File

Author: D.A. Mishani

Series: #1 Inspector Avraham Avraham mystery set in Israel

ISBN:  9780062195371 

Publisher: Harper

Hardcover, 304 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "In The Missing File, Israeli detective Avraham Avraham must find a teenage boy gone missing from the suburbs of Tel Aviv in this first volume in a fresh new literary crime series by D. A. Mishani.

Crimes in Avraham’s quiet suburb are generally not all that complex. But when a sixteen-year-old boy goes missing and a schoolteacher offers up a baffling complication, Avraham finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew about his life.

Told through alternating points of view, The Missing File is an emotionally wrought, character-driven page-turner with plenty of twists and turns. It’s a mystery that will leave readers questioning the notions of innocence and guilt, and the nebulous nature of truth."

=== March 21 ===

Title: Helsinki Blood

Author: James Thompson

Series: #4 Kari Vaara mystery set in Finland

ISBN: 9780399158889

Publisher: Putnam

Hardcover, 320 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Kari Vaara is recovering from the physical and emotional toll of solving the Lisbet Söderlund case when he’s approached with a plea: an Estonian woman begs him to find her daughter, Loviise, a young woman with Down syndrome who was promised work and a better life in Finland . . . and has since disappeared.

One more missing girl is a drop in the barrel for a police department that is understaffed and overburdened, but for Kari, the case is personal: it’s a chance for redemption, to help the victims his failed black-ops unit was intended to save, and to prove to his estranged wife, Kate, that he’s still the man he once was. His search will lead him from the glittering world of Helsinki’s high-class clubs to the darkest circles of Finland’s underground trade in trafficked women . . . and straight into the path of Loviise’s captors, who may be some of the most untouchable people in the country.

As Kari works his new case, a past one comes back to haunt him when powerful enemies return to settle unfinished business. In a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, he is propelled toward a reckoning in which the stakes are life or death . . . and only the victors will be left standing."

=== March 26 ===

Title: Leaving Everything Most Loved

Author: Jacqueline Winspear

Series: #10 Maisie Dobbs mystery set in England

ISBN:  9780062049605

Publisher: Harper

Hardcover, 352 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "In Leaving Everything Most Loved by New York Times bestselling author Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs investigates the murder of Indian immigrants in London.

The year is 1933. Maisie Dobbs is contacted by an Indian gentleman who has come to England in the hopes of finding out who killed his sister two months ago. Scotland Yard failed to make any arrest in the case, and there is reason to believe they failed to conduct a thorough investigation. The case becomes even more challenging when another Indian woman is murdered just hours before a scheduled interview. Meanwhile, unfinished business from a previous case becomes a distraction, as does a new development in Maisie's personal life.

Bringing a crucial chapter in the life and times of Maisie Dobbs to a close, Leaving Everything Most Loved marks a pivotal moment in this outstanding mystery series."

What a phenomenal month of reading we have in store for us! I can't wait to get my hands on so many of these! Of the books by authors who are new to me, I think I'm most anxious to read The Christie Curse and Tainted Mountain. I'm not even going to start raving about all the ones by some of my favorite writers!

What about all of you? Which of these books are you adding to your own wish lists? Do tell!

Helsinki White by James Thompson

Title: Helsinki White
Author: James Thompson
ISBN: 9780399158322
Publisher: Putnam, 2012
Hardcover, 336 pages
Genre: Police Procedural, #3 Inspector Kari Vaara
Rating: A-
Source: The author

First Line: It's May second, a sunny Sunday, a chilly spring evening.

The national chief of police wants Kari Vaara to head a black ops unit intended to put the drug dealers in Helsinki out of business. Any money confiscated will be divided between the chief of police, various political figures, and Vaara and his team-- with the bulk of the money being used to finance the entire operation. Vaara agrees because he truly feels that this is his best chance to do good. First though, he has other business to attend to-- namely that of welcoming a brand-new baby daughter into his life... and brain surgery.

Vaara can't wait to be rid of the blinding daily migraines he's had for over a year. He doesn't even care about the side effects the doctors tell him of. In fact, he has other, elective, surgery done at the same time. All surgeries are a success, especially the one to remove the brain tumor. The unfortunate side effect is that Vaara is now an emotional zero. He feels nothing. Vaara watches his two hand-picked team members get a little over-zealous with the violence, and although he warns them to be more careful, it's as though nothing's happened. His beloved wife Kate finds out what's going on, and her behavior begins to change. Vaara looks on with a dispassionate eye.

Those looking for the Kari Vaara of the previous two novels, Snow Angels and Lucifer's Tears, will not find him here. Surgery has rendered him monochromatic, an emotionless sociopath, and the world about which he tells us is made even more chilling by Vaara's impassive narration.

Vaara's henchmen are good at what they do. The drugs disappear from Helsinki's streets, and the dealers turn on each other as their money and contacts dry up. While the other two target the drug dealers, Vaara's recuperation means that he's focused on other matters; in particular a year-old kidnap and murder, and the recent murder of a woman who was a staunch advocate of immigrants' rights.

As in so many other countries, there is a rising tide of racial hatred in Finland as thousands of immigrants from Africa, Asia and the Mideast flock there to live. To have Vaara listen to bigots spout disgusting racial slurs and not even bat an eye makes the entire experience almost surreal.

As I mentioned before, if you've read Thompson's previous two novels featuring Kari Vaara and you're expecting a "more of the same" novel, you are not going to get it. Surgery has changed him, and it's anyone's guess as to whether or not he will ever return to his old self. Thompson believes that the times are a-changing, and the days ahead aren't necessarily going to be pretty. The "new" unsettling Kari Vaara of Helsinki White is the perfect harbinger of doing the wrong things for the right reasons, for the well meaning amongst us being taken advantage of by the corrupt, by this age of technology making hatred every bit as easy to spread as love and acceptance.

To have a character whom we know is a good guy to stand quietly in the middle of this maelstrom as his marriage disintegrates, as his career crumbles, and as he sees all the overwhelming corruption around him, adds a layer of horror to Helsinki White that would not have been there if Vaara had been his old self. If you can leave any preconceived expectations you may have at the door before you begin reading this book, you're in for an excellent-- if disquieting-- read.

Helsinki White at Amazon.

Helsinki White at The Book Depository.

Helsinki White at Your Favorite Indie Bookseller.

March 2012 New Mystery Releases!

I may be stitching up a storm, scrubbing down the house in preparation for a greatly anticipated house guest, and enjoying this great weather, but that doesn't mean that I'm not keeping my eye on the new mysteries that are going to be published in March! In fact, my trouble has been to narrow down the list of the books I want to tell you about.

There's a bumper crop of new crime fiction that I can't wait to get my hands on, and now's the time to share the bounty with all of you.

As usual, the books are grouped by release dates, and I've included the information you'll need to find them at all your favorite book spots. Hopefully I've chosen a title or two that you just can't do without either. Happy reading!

===March 1===

Title: Murder in the Afternoon

Author: Frances Brody

Series: #3 in the Kate Shackleton series set in 1920s Bradford, England 

ISBN:  9780749954871

Publisher: Piatkus

Paperback, 400 pages

*UK paperback release*

Synopsis: "Young Harriet and her brother Austin have always been scared of the quarry where their stone mason father works. So when they find him dead on the cold ground, they scarper quick smart and look for some help.

When help returns, the quarry is deserted and there is no sign of the body. Were the children mistaken? Is their father not dead? Did he simply get up and run away?

It seems like another unusual case requiring the expertise of Kate Shackleton. But for Kate this is one case where surprising family ties makes it her most dangerous – and delicate – yet…" 

This series is being recommended for those of us who love Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series.

Title: The Magic Line

Author: Elizabeth Gunn

Series: #4 in the Sarah Burke series set in Tucson, Arizona

ISBN: 9780727881168

Publisher: Severn House

Hardcover, 192 pages

Synopsis: "Detective Sarah Burke is called to a mass shooting in a quiet residential street; it looks like a ‘home invasion’ gone very wrong. There are several dead bodies but the crime scene just doesn’t make sense – until one of the ‘dead’ victims suddenly escapes and another man is seen running from the house . . . Once again, as well as juggling her complicated home life, Sarah Burke is faced with a ballistics mystery to find out exactly what went down – and why."

===March 6===

Title: Murder at the Lanterne Rouge

Author: Cara Black

Series: #12 in the Aimée Leduc series set in Paris, France

ISBN:  9781616950613

Publisher: Soho Crime

Hardcover, 320 pages

Synopsis: "Aimée Leduc is happy her long-time business partner René has found a girlfriend. Really, she is. It’s not her fault if she can’t suppress her doubts about the relationship; René is moving way too fast, and Aimée’s instincts tell her Meizi, this supposed love of René’s life, isn’t trustworthy. And her misgivings may not be far off the mark: Meizi disappears during a Chinatown dinner to take a phone call and never comes back to the restaurant. Minutes later, the body of a young man, a science prodigy and volunteer at the nearby Musée, is found shrink-wrapped in an alleyway—with Meizi’s photo in his wallet.

Aimée does not like this scenario one bit, but she can’t figure out how the murder is connected to Meizi’s disappearance. The dead genius was sitting on a discovery that has France’s secret service keeping tabs on him. Now they’re keeping tabs on Aimée. A missing young woman, an illegal immigrant raid in progress, botched affairs of the heart, dirty policemen, the French secret service, cutting-edge science secrets and a murderer on the loose—what has she gotten herself into? And can she get herself—and her friends—back out of it all alive?"

Title: Adrift on St. John

Author: Rebecca M. Hale

Series: #1 in the Mystery in the Islands series set on the island of St. John

ISBN: 9780425246658

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages

Synopsis: "No one knows better than resort manager Pen Hofstra that the idea of a tropical paradise is an illusion. So when a young woman named Hannah Sheridan disappears off the island of St. John, she is not surprised that all is not what it seems to be. Pointing out Hannah's resemblance to the Amina Slave Princess from the 1733 slave revolt on St. John--whose ghost is rumored to haunt the island--the local community quickly latches on to the belief that her spirit is behind the sinking and the disappearance...."

Title: Murder Buys a T-Shirt

Author: Christy Fifield

Series: #1 in the Haunted Souvenir series set in Florida

ISBN: 9780425246665

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime

Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages

Synopsis: "Glory Martine has inherited her uncle's Florida souvenir shop, one stuffed with collectibles, mementos of times gone by--and ghosts--who, like her customers, refuse to let go of the past. But things take an even more unexpected turn when a local football hero dies far too suddenly and suspiciously. Now, Glory has to uncover the truth before someone makes her history...."

Title: Plunder

Author: Mary Anna Evans

Series: #7 in the Faye Longchamp archaeological series set in Louisiana

ISBN: 9781590589298

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Hardcover, 250 pages

Synopsis: "Time is not on Faye Longchamp's side. She and her husband Joe are working near the mouth of the Mississippi, researching archaeological sites soon to be swamped by oil. The Deepwater Horizon disaster has morphed her run-of-the-mill contract job into a task that might swamp her fledgling company. It isn't helping that an injured babysitter has left Faye to work with a toddler underfoot.

An adolescent girl is drawn to Faye, perhaps because she idolizes the confident archaeologist. Young Amande is bright and curious, and a poverty-stricken life on a houseboat with an eccentric grandmother doesn't look like a good to get the education Amande deserves. When the girl's grandmother and her no-account uncle are murdered, her prospects worsen. With only two known relatives--neither of them much more respectable than the dead uncle--Amande seems destined for neglect or worse.

Soon, Faye and Joe find themselves among people fighting hard for Amande's pathetic inheritance: a raggedy houseboat, a few shares of stock, and a hurricane-battered island that's not even inhabitable. Pirate-era silver coins are found and disappear. Shadowing it all is the fact that there's a murderer on the loose. But why should Faye be surprised by such shady events, here in these watery lands settled by the greatest pirates of them all? And the oil slick looms, because this country is still being plundered, after all these years...."

===March 13===

Title: The Book of Lost Fragrances

Author: M.J. Rose

Series: #4 in teh Reincarnationist series

ISBN: 9781451621303

Publisher: Atria Books

Hardcover, 384 pages

Synopsis: "Jac L'Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances--and of her mother's suicide--she moved to America. Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with it's financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing--leaving a dead body in his wake--Jac is plunged into a world she thought she'd left behind.

Back in Paris to investigate her brother's disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L'Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation - or is it just another dream infused perfume?"

Title: The Girl Next Door
Author: Brad Parks 
Series: #3 in the Carter Ross series set in New Jersey
ISBN:  9780312667689
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Hardcover, 336 pages

*Upcoming review and author interview on Kittling: Books*

Synopsis: "Reading his own newspaper’s obituaries, veteran reporter Carter Ross comes across that of a woman named Nancy Marino, who was the victim of a hit-and-run while she was on the job delivering copies of that very paper, the Eagle-Examiner. Struck by the opportunity to write a heroic piece about an everyday woman killed too young, he heads to her wake to gather tributes and anecdotes. It’s the last place Ross expects to find controversy—which is exactly what happens when one of Nancy’s sisters convinces him that the accident might not have been accidental at all.

It turns out that the kind and generous Nancy may have made a few enemies, starting with her boss at the diner where she was a part-time waitress, and even including the publisher of the Eagle-Examiner. Carter’s investigation of this seemingly simple story soon has him in big trouble with his full-time editor and sometime girlfriend, Tina Thompson, not to mention the rest of his bosses at the paper, but he can’t let it go—the story is just too good, and it keeps getting better. But will his nose for trouble finally take him too far?

Brad Parks’s smart-mouthed, quick-witted reporter returns in The Girl Next Door—another action-packed entry in his award-winning series, written with an unforgettable mix of humor and suspense."

===March 15===

Title: Helsinki White

Author: James Thompson

Series: #3 in the Inspector Vaara series set in Finland

ISBN: 9780399158322

Publisher: Putnam Adult

Hardcover, 336 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books*

Synopsis: "Two days after their daughter is born, Kari Vaara drops a bombshell on his American wife, Kate: He has a brain tumor . . . and he's been handpicked to run a rogue black-ops unit, using crime to fight crime.

After recovering from surgery, he gets to work. The black-ops unit is small, and reports directly to Finland's national chief of police. They have secrecy, autonomy, and the cash to buy all the high-tech gear. Soon the unit is cleaning house, robbing Helsinki's mobsters blind of their cash, dope, and illegal firearms. But Kari's team is too good, and their actions have unintended consequences. . . .


Meanwhile, Finland roils with hatred as its most extreme right political party gains popularity despite having no agenda besides xenophobia. When the country's leading immigrants' rights advocate is assassinated and her head sent by mail to the Finnish Somalia Network, the president assigns Kari to the murder. Cracking this case will involve the unsolved kidnapping of a billionaire's children, a Faustian bargain with a former French legionnaire-and Kate."

===March 27===

Title: Ashes to Dust

Author: Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

Series: #3 in the Thóra Gudmundsdottir series set in Iceland
ISBN: 9780312641740
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Paperback, 368 pages

Synopsis: "Named One of the Year’s Top Ten Crime Books in the UK… 

A Masterwork of Suspense from "Iceland’s Crime Queen" (The Scotsman)

 In 1973, a volcanic eruption buried an entire Icelandic village in lava and ash. Now this macabre tourist attraction proves deadly once again—when the discovery of fresh bodies casts a shadow of suspicion onto Markus Magnusson, a man accused of killing his childhood sweetheart. His attorney Thora Gudmundsdottir finds that her client has a most inventive story to tell. But the locals seem oddly reluctant to back him up… 

Filled with unforgettable characters, unexpected twists, and superb psychological suspense, Ashes to Dust is a superlative thriller from an acclaimed master of Nordic fiction."

Title: Elegy for Eddie
Author: Jacqueline Winspear
Series: #9 in the Maisie Dobbs series set in 1930s England
ISBN: 9780062049575
Publisher: Harper
Hardcover, 352 pages

Synopsis: "Maisie Dobbs—psychologist, investigator, and "one of the great fictional heroines, equal parts haunted and haunting" (Parade)—returns in a chilling adventure, the latest chapter in Jacqueline Winspear's bestselling series.


Early April 1933. To the costermongers of Covent Garden—sellers of fruit and vegetables on the streets of London—Eddie Pettit was a gentle soul with a near-magical gift for working with horses. When Eddie is killed in a violent accident, the grieving costers are deeply skeptical about the cause of his death. Who would want to kill Eddie—and why?


Maisie Dobbs' father, Frankie, had been a costermonger, so she had known the men since childhood. She remembers Eddie fondly and is determined to offer her help. But it soon becomes clear that powerful political and financial forces are equally determined to prevent her from learning the truth behind Eddie's death. Plunging into the investigation, Maisie begins her search for answers on the working-class streets of Lambeth where Eddie had lived and where she had grown up. The inquiry quickly leads her to a callous press baron; a has-been politician named Winston Churchill, lingering in the hinterlands of power; and, most surprisingly, to Douglas Partridge, the husband of her dearest friend, Priscilla. As Maisie uncovers lies and manipulation on a national scale, she must decide whether to risk it all to see justice done.


The story of a London affected by the march to another war years before the first shot is fired and of an innocent victim caught in the crossfire, Elegy for Eddie is Jacqueline Winspear's most poignant and powerful novel yet."

===March 29===

Title: The Professionals

Author: Owen Laukkanen

Standalone

ISBN: 9780399157899

Publisher: Putnam Adult

Hardcover, 384 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

Synopsis: "Four friends, recent college graduates, caught in a terrible job market, joke about turning to kidnapping to survive. And then, suddenly, it's no joke. For two years, the strategy they devise-quick, efficient, low risk-works like a charm. Until they kidnap the wrong man.

Now two groups they've very much wanted to avoid are after them-the law, in the form of veteran state investigator Kirk Stevens and hotshot young FBI agent Carla Windermere, and an organized-crime outfit looking for payback. As they all crisscross the country in deadly pursuit and a series of increasingly explosive confrontations, each of them is ultimately forced to recognize the truth: The true professionals, cop or criminal, are those who are willing to sacrifice . . . everything.


A finger-burning page-turner, filled with twists, surprises, and memorably complex characters, The Professionals marks the arrival of a remarkable new writer."


See what I mean? March is a marvelous month for mysteries!