A Murder in Springtime by Martin Walker

 

First Line: The young boy's thin arms started to tremble under the strain.

For the first time, Bruno Courrèges must be recused from investigating a murder case when a woman is found dead on his friend Pamela's patio. The victim was new to the area and had taken a job at the local nursing home. There was no time for her to have made enemies or any real friends.

The police assign their rising star rookie, Fabien Panton, to the case, and Bruno is happy for him to take the lead. There are too many distractions for him at the moment: his spluttering relationship with Laura Segret, a film crew that's descended on the Dordogne, and a group of opinionated small business owners in St. Denis.

Unfortunately, Bruno never seems able to catch a break. When Fabien learns that the victim is connected to his own past, Bruno must step in to help solve the crime.

~

I distinctly remember complaining in my last review of a Bruno Chief of Police mystery that the books had been focusing on the investigations and had very little to do with the food and camaraderie that are two of the reasons why I enjoy this series so much. Well, A Murder in Springtime fixes that. 

Although the mystery concerning the woman who was killed is an interesting one, for the most part, it remains in the background so the focus can shift to the preparation of delicious food and sharing it with friends. This made me happy because, since the very first book, the characters have become part of my literary family.

Another focal point that I liked was Bruno's attempt to revitalize his small village of St. Denis. Neighboring towns have stolen away many shoppers and tourists, and St. Denis' markets, shops, and business owners are suffering. Bruno comes up with some very good ideas, but human nature tells us that not everyone is going to be on Bruno's side. 

Speaking of characters, I hope this is the first of many appearances for Fabien Panton, the man sent to St. Denis to investigate the murder. He's quite the personality and fits in well with the others.

Here I am, all caught up again and waiting for Bruno's next case. If you want to be transported to southwestern France, pick up these books. They are so filled with Gallic charm that I read them with a French accent.

A Murder in Springtime by Martin Walker

eISBN: 9798217207978

Alfred A. Knopf © 2026

eBook, 288 pages

Police Procedural, #19 Bruno, Chief of Police

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley

Mark Four More as Read

 

Here I go again, trying catch up on reviews of the books I've read. I am determined to get current, although this post isn't going to be the one to do it.

These are shorter reviews, mainly just my thoughts. If you'd like a synopsis or more information about a book, just click on the link in the book title to be taken to Amazon US.

It's time to get this show on the road!

The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

Historical Fiction, 365 pages

eBook purchased from Amazon

Rating: A+

My Thoughts: I loved this dual timeline novel about the Lyons family. The 1913 timeline features the Lyons family, living in an apartment in the New York Public Library since Mr. Lyons is superintendent there. His wife, Laura, wants to be more than the traditional wife and mother, and while this creates tension, even more appears when valuable books are stolen from the library.

In 1993, Sadie Donovan is curator at the New York Public Library and the granddaughter of Laura Lyons, the famous essayist. Rare books, notes, and manuscripts for the exhibit she's running begin disappearing, causing her to team up with a private security expert. The investigation soon becomes personal. 

The inner workings of the library, the characters of Laura and Sadie, the mystery of the disappearing books and manuscripts, the dual timelines all combined to create a read that kept a stranglehold on my attention. A Best Read of 2025.

Artemis by Andy Weir

Science Fiction, 335 pages

eBook purchased from Amazon

Rating: A

My Thoughts: I absolutely loved Weir's previous novels, The Martian and Project Hail Mary, so I had to pick up this book about Earth's first and only lunar colony. We learn all about the ins and outs of the colony through the eyes of young Jazz Bashara, who's not above trying to commit the perfect crime in order to improve the quality of her life.

I liked the local cop's solution to a domestic violence case, and his use of a spray bottle made me laugh. I also enjoyed Jazz's voice. She drew me right into the story and kept me there. 

I do love the way Andy Weir's mind works, but he is a passionate technophile, and sometimes his descriptions of how things work in space can be a bit much. Fortunately, those parts are easy to skim through. I am definitely looking forward to what that mind of his cooks up next.

Carved in Blood by Michael Bennett

#3 Hana Westerman police procedural, 306 pages

eBook purchased from Amazon

Rating: A

My Thoughts: I continue to enjoy this series set in New Zealand. I'm learning a lot about the Maori culture through the strong plots and even stronger character of Hana Westerman. 

In this third book, Hana has been working with her father to help young locals to earn their driver's licenses-- those licenses being passports to their futures. When Hana's ex-husband is murdered, she's brought in to solve the case. 

This is an excellent series that I hope goes on for a good long time.

An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker

#18 Bruno Chief of Police, 305 pages

Digital galley from Net Galley

Rating: B

My Thoughts: It's always a pleasure to visit with Bruno, the police chief of the small French town of St. Denis. (I always read these books with a French accent!) As Bruno works to solve the murder of a successful businesswoman, readers are treated to good food and good friends. And sparks fly between Bruno and Jilly, a woman who happens to have a basset hound just like he does. 

Will Bruno, who never has good luck in the romance department, finally find love? I'm looking forward to finding out.

There you go-- four more reviews that get me a bit closer to catching up. Have you read any of these? Which ones? What did you think? Of course, inquiring minds want to know!

What's On My Radar

 

I haven't been sharing the books that are on my radar. Shame on me! You know that it's my aim in life to ensure your book wish lists are as fat and sassy as mine. *wink*

I'm cooling my heels waiting for some maintenance work to be done in the house, so this is the perfect time to share some of those books with you. Let's get started!

Available in March!

The Case of the Elusive Bombay Duck by Tarquin Hall

This is the sixth book in one of my very favorite series. It features private investigator Vish Puri who lives in New Delhi, India. I love the humor, and I love the mysteries, but there are other things that make this a special series for me. One, it turned me on to Indian cuisine. (Yum!) Two, it gives a light-hearted yet true-to-life depiction of Indian life. Three, it was the first series to turn my attention to India itself.

Synopsis: "When Vish Puri, India’s Most Private Detective, learns he’s won the long-coveted International Detective of the Year award, it’s supposed to be a secret. But within hours, it seems all of Delhi knows – and his indomitable Mummy-ji announces she’ll be coming with him to the ceremony in London, never mind that she’s not been invited.

To add to his woes, a senior government bureaucrat gives him an undercover mission he can’t refuse. Puri is tasked with tracking down India’s most-wanted fugitive: a billionaire pharmaceutical fraudster codenamed Bombay Duck, who’s rumoured to be hiding in the British capital.

Puri’s only spending a week in London . . . and he’s already promised his wife he won’t work during their once-in-a-lifetime trip. In desperation, he enlists the help of his reluctant nephew Jags and dives headfirst into the case. But can Puri hook the Bombay Duck and bring him to justice – all the while keeping his investigations secret from his wife and meddling mother?

Packed with the sights, sounds and flavours of both New Delhi and London, author Tarquin Hall – who divides his time between India and the UK – delivers an irresistible read for fans of Alexander McCall Smith, Harini Nagendra and Jesse Sutanto."

Available in April!

The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper

I've had a lifelong love of dollhouses and miniatures, so the title of this book immediately caught my attention. Then I read the synopsis and knew I had to read it.

Synopsis: "Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books and walls of art. But Tildy’s life takes an unexpected turn when she, first, learns the library is on the verge of bankruptcy and, second, discovers two exquisite never-before-seen dollhouses.

After finding clues hidden within these remarkable miniatures, Tildy sets out to decipher the secret history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the process. Her journey introduces her to a world of ambitious and gifted women in Belle Époque Paris, a group of scarred World War I veterans in the English countryside, and Walt Disney’s bustling Burbank studio in the 1950s. As Tildy unravels the mystery, she finds not only inspiring, hidden history, but also a future for herself—and an astonishing familial revelation.

Spanning the course of a century, The Library of Lost Dollhouses is a warm, bright, and captivating story of secrets and love that embraces the importance of illuminating overlooked women."

Available in May!

The Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb

Brendan Slocumb is another author who's rapidly become a favorite. A talented violinist, his mysteries are filled with music and the Black experience. 

Synopsis: "Curtis Wilson is a cello prodigy, growing up in the Southeast D.C. projects with a drug dealer for a father. But through determination and talent, and the loving support of his father’s girlfriend, Larissa, Curtis claws his way out of his challenging circumstances and rises to unimagined heights in the classical music world—even soloing with the New York Philharmonic.

And then, suddenly, his life disintegrates. His father, Zippy, turns state evidence, implicating his old bosses to the FBI. Now the family—Curtis included—must enter the witness protection program if they want to survive. This means Curtis must give up the very thing he loves most: sharing his extraordinary musical talents with the world. When Zippy’s bosses prove too elusive for law enforcement to convict them, Curtis, Zippy, and Larissa realize that their only chance of survival is to take on the cartel themselves. They must create new identities and draw on their unique talents, including Curtis’s musical ability, to go after the people who want them dead. But will it be enough to keep Curtis and his family alive?"

Available in June!

Bad Lands by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

This is another series that I love, combining mysteries, thrills, history, archaeology, and one of my favorite places: New Mexico.

Synopsis: "In the New Mexico badlands, the skeleton of a woman is found—and the case is assigned to FBI Agent Corrie Swanson. The victim walked into the desert, shedding clothes as she went, and died in agony of heatstroke and thirst. Two rare artifacts are found clutched in her bony hands—lightning stones used by the ancient Chaco people to summon the gods. 

Is it suicide or… sacrifice? 

Agent Swanson brings in archaeologist Nora Kelly to investigate. When a second body is found—exactly like the other—the two realize the case runs deeper than they imagined. As Corrie and Nora pursue their investigation into remote canyons, haunted ruins, and long-lost rituals, they find themselves confronting a dark power that, disturbed from its long slumber, threatens to exact an unspeakable price. "

Available in July!

An Enemy in the Village by Martin Walker

Yet another favorite series that I've loved from the very first book. Bruno and all his friends are part of my fictional family now. I've learned so much about southwestern France from Walker, and-- like Tarquin Hall's Vish Puri series-- these books are perfect foodie mysteries!

Synopsis: "When Bruno stumbles upon a motionless figure in a car parked at a scenic overpass on the ridge of the Vézère valley, he’s ready to investigate. Inside, he finds a suicide note and the dead body of Monique, a successful businesswoman who rented châteaus to wealthy expats. It seems like an open-and-shut case.

But Bruno can’t shake the feeling that something sinister lurks underneath this tidy narrative. After he delivers Monique’s final messages to those most important to her, malicious gossip about Bruno begins to spread through the village. One thing leads to another, and soon Bruno faces pressure to resign from the job. Despite this disturbing turn of events, Bruno remains Bruno, never one to turn down a fine meal with good company in the French countryside. In the course of inquiry, he meets Laura—and her dog, which happens to be the same breed as his beloved basset hound. As sparks fly and Bruno realizes just how much he has at stake, he races to find out what really happened to Monique, before he loses his badge, his new love—or something even worse."

Now... I know some of these books are already on your wish lists, but did I manage to add one or two more? Inquiring minds would love to know!

A Linkless Weekly Link Round-Up

 

One of the reasons I've cut back my blogging time is because I am having more trouble with my leg. New wounds opening. Lots of pain. Doctors rescheduling and relocating procedures to ensure that I spend most of my day getting shaken to bits on the Dial-a-Ride bus. If it sounds like I'm a bit down, I am. But I won't stay that way. (Too boring!)

 

I'm not about to give anyone a complete list of things I'm grumpy about, but the icing on the cake came a few minutes ago when I tried to respond to comments here on the blog. Every once in awhile, Blogger seems to delight in making its users rip out their hair. At least I seem to have found a way past its shenanigans. When it wouldn't let me reply to comments on the browser I prefer (Firefox), I simply switched to Chrome and didn't have a single problem. (Probably because Chrome and Blogger are both Google products.) I learned the wisdom of having more than one browser available on my computer from working on The Poisoned Pen Bookstore's Pinterest boards.

Anyway, I am in no mood to sit here for a couple of hours putting together a link round-up, so I'll catch you up on what I've been reading instead. Short reviews, with links to the books' synopses on Amazon US if you want to read them.

 

 

What I've Been Reading

 

 

 

Holly by Stephen King

464 pages

Rating: A+

 

My Thoughts: Holly Gibney is one of my favorite characters, and it's been a joy to watch her grow and develop. This is the story of an investigation carried out by a hypochrondriac in the time of Covid (Holly). King knows how to create villains that you love to hate, and it was easy for me to root for Holly as she slowly pieced together the clues it took to bring those killers down.

 

Moreover, I loved the last line; it gave me Holly Hope that there will be more from her. 

Death of a Dormouse by Reginald Hill

363 pages

Rating: B 

 

My Thoughts: When Trudi Adamson's husband is killed in a car accident, she soon learns that she's basically been sleepwalking through her life for years. It was mind-boggling to me how clueless she was to everything going on around her. Trudi has a steep learning curve, and as she learns who she can trust, I wondered just how much I could trust her. 

 

This was a good story, well told. I would've liked it better if I hadn't had such a strong reaction to Trudi and her blissful oblivion to the world around her. 

A Grave in the Woods by Martin Walker

289 pages

Rating: C+ 

My Thoughts: A visit with Bruno is always a pleasure, but this entry in a favorite series of mine felt decidedly lackluster. Moving on from the atrocities of World War II, cryptocurrency, climate change, disaster preparedness? Check, check, check, and check. There's a question mark about Bruno's future as well, but the most telling factor in the book was the one dinner scene-- someone else did almost all the cooking!

This may be lackluster, but I'll be eager to read the next installment in Bruno's story.

A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson

272 pages

Rating: A+

 

My Thoughts: I was in the perfect mood for this book. It was filled with twists that I didn't see coming and characters that came to life with each turn of the page. A woman afraid of heights who commits suicide by jumping off a balcony... A wife who begins to think her husband is a serial killer... The only person that wife can turn to for help... I lapped it all up. The only thing that didn't quite set well with me was the appearance of P.I. Henry Kimball as a sort of deus ex machina at the end. But I certainly do enjoy the way Peter Swanson's mind works!

Paper Cage by Tom Baragwanath

320 pages

Rating: A

 

My Thoughts: I rapidly fell under Lorraine Henry's (Aunty Lo's) spell. Records clerk in the basement of the local police station, everyone who works with her goes out of their way to remind her she's an outsider. 

 

Aunty Lo identifies strongly with the Maori and any other marginalized person, and when the police don't seem overly concerned about the disappearances of two Maori children, Aunty Lo finds herself teaming up with Justin Hayes, a police officer from the city to find them.

 

Even though one of the bad guys wasn't a surprise, I loved the setting, I loved Aunty Lo, and I'm definitely looking for more from Tom Baragwanath.

 

 

Amberwell by D. E. Stevenson
222 pages

Rating: A+

My Thoughts: Written in 1955, I found Amberwell suited my mood perfectly for a charming and delightful (I know-- I don't use those words often) tale of a wealthy, eccentric family in their Scottish country house from the 1920s to the end of World War II. 

There's another book continuing with the characters, but I'm not sure I'll follow up with it. Sometimes the glow of the original is enough for me. Make sense?

 

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

400 pages

Rating: B+

 

My Thoughts: "The Cartographers is a work of fiction, but its inspiration is rooted in truth. This story is for anyone who's ever opened a map and gotten lost in it." Well, I've loved maps since I was a small child, and I can still get lost in one. As a child, I always wanted at least one road map every time my accompanying grownups would stop at a gas station. (The pleasure of sitting in the backseat and being the first one to unfold it!)

 

I loved all the information about cartography, but... as the real identity of each character was revealed, I wasn't surprised, and I really didn't buy into the "reality" of a little town called Agloe.

I feel a bit guilty about these short reviews, but I hope you enjoy them anyway. Have you read any of these books? Which ones? Did you have the same reactions to them as I did? Inquiring minds would love to know!

It's time to get this leg up. Enjoy your weekend!

September 2024 New Mystery Releases!

September is a month with many new books that crime fiction readers should enjoy. I have reviews due on some of them, so I'm not going to waste any more time-- I need to get back to reading!

 

I've grouped my choices for the best new books according to their release dates, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon.

Let's see if I can tempt you with any of my picks. September may turn out to be another book-budget-busting month!

 

=== September 3 ===

Title: Death at the Sign of the Rook

Author: Kate Atkinson

Series: #6 in the Jackson Brodie series set in England

320 pages

Synopsis: "Welcome to Rook Hall. The stage is set. The players are ready. By night’s end, a murderer will be revealed.

In his sleepy Yorkshire town, ex-detective Jackson Brodie is staving off boredom and malaise. His only case is the seemingly tedious matter of a stolen painting. But Jackson soon uncovers a string of unsolved art thefts that lead him down a dizzying spiral of disguise and deceit to Burton Makepeace, a formerly magnificent estate now partially converted into a hotel hosting Murder Mystery weekends.

As paying guests, impecunious aristocrats and old friends collide, we are treated to Atkinson’s most charming and fiendishly clever mystery yet, one that pays homage to the masters of the genre—from Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers to the modern era of Knives Out and Only Murders in the Building."

Title: Where They Last Saw Her

Author: Marcie R. Rendon

Standalone set in northern Minnesota

336 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

 

Synopsis: "Quill has lived on the Red Pine reservation in Minnesota her whole life. She knows what happens to women who look like her. Just a girl when Jimmy Sky jumped off the railway bridge and she ran for help, Quill realizes now that she’s never stopped running. As she trains for the Boston Marathon early one morning in the woods, she hears a scream. When she returns to search the area, all she finds are tire tracks and a single beaded earring.

Things are different now for Quill than when she was a lonely girl. Her friends Punk and Gaylyn are two women who don’t know what it means to quit; her loving husband, Crow, and their two beautiful children challenge her to be better every day. So when she hears a second woman has been stolen, she is determined to do something about it—starting with investigating the group of men working the pipeline construction just north of their homes.

As Quill closes in on the truth about the missing women, someone else disappears. In her quest to find justice for all of the women of the reservation, she is confronted with the hard truths of their home and the people who purport to serve them. When will she stop losing neighbors, friends, family? As Quill puts everything on the line to make a difference, the novel asks searing questions about bystander culture, the reverberations of even one act of crime, and the long-lasting trauma of being considered invisible." 

Title: The Whitewashed Tombs

Author: Kwei Quartey

Series: #4 in the P.I. Emma Djan series set in Ghana

336 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

 

Synopsis: "Marcelo Tetteh, a twenty-seven-year-old LGBTQ+ activist, is butchered one night after being lured on a dating app to a deserted building site. With rampant homophobia in Ghana, Marcelo’s wealthy father doesn’t trust the Ghana Police Service to find the killer, so he goes to the Sowah Private Investigators Agency for help, partly because he still feels guilty for disowning his son when he came out.

PI Emma Djan is assigned the case but quickly learns of a complication that prevents her from teaming up as usual with Jojo, her trusted colleague. Emma is the only one at work who knows Jojo is gay, and now he reveals something else: for some time, Jojo was dating Marcelo, the victim.

Working with Manu, whom she’s never gotten along with, Emma goes undercover in the International Congress of Families, a powerful organization seeking to criminalize homosexuality in African countries. As Emma infiltrates the ICF, she uncovers a web of deceit and hypocrisy and discovers that the mastermind behind the murders is someone much closer than she ever imagined. Emma must race against time to unmask the killer, protect the vulnerable LGBTQ+ community, and bring justice to the victims, all while navigating the dangerous waters of politics, power, and personal secrets." 

Title: French Quarter Fright Night

Author: Ellen Byron

Series: #3 in the Vintage Cookbook cozy series set in New Orleans, Louisiana

256 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

 

Synopsis: "It's Halloween in New Orleans, and the staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum is setting up a fantastic haunted house tour for their visitors. But when flashy movie star Blaine Taggart and his entourage move into the mansion next door, gift shop proprietor Ricki James-Diaz gets a fright of her own.

While Ricki is excited about the potential business the tours will bring to her vintage cookbook shop, she's less thrilled by former friend Blaine's arrival in town. Then Bon Vee's prop tomb becomes a real tomb for Blaine's nasty assistant, and suddenly everyone at Bon Vee is a murder suspect. There isn't a ghost of a chance one of them committed the crime, but with NOPD busy tackling the mischief and mayhem generated by the spooky holiday, it falls on Ricki and her friends to catch the killer.

As the Big Easy gears up for the Big Scary, it seems everyone has skeletons in their closets. Can Ricki reveal the shadowy killer before someone else becomes part of the Halloween horror show?" 

=== September 10 ===

Title: Death at the Sanatorium

Author: Ragnar Jónasson

Standalone thriller set in Iceland

320 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

 

Synopsis: "1983

At a former sanatorium in the north of Iceland, now a hospital ward, an old nurse, Yrsa, is found murdered. Detective Hulda Hermannsdottir and her boss, Sverrir, are sent to investigate her death. There, they discover five suspects: the chief physician, two junior nurses, a young doctor, and the caretaker, who is arrested following false testimony from one of the nurses, but subsequently released.

Less than a week after the murder, the chief physician, is also found dead, having apparently fallen from a balcony. Sverrir, rules his death as suicide and assumes that he was guilty of the murder as well. The case is closed.

2012

Almost thirty years later, Helgi Reykdal, a young police officer, has been studying criminology in the UK, but decides to return to Iceland when he is offered a job at the Reykjavik police department―the job which detective Hulda Hermannsdottir is about to retire from.

He is also a collector of golden age detective stories, and is writing his thesis on the 1983 murders in the north. As Helgi delves deeper into the past, and starts his new job, he decides to try to meet with the original suspects. But soon he finds silence and suspicion at every turn, as he tries to finally solve the mystery from years before." 

Title: The Examiner

Author: Janice Hallett

Standalone mystery set in England

480 pages

 

Synopsis: "University professor Gela Nathaniel must make her new master’s program in multimedia art succeed. If it doesn’t, then Royal Hastings University will cut her funding and she’ll be out of the job she loves. The six students in this inaugural course will be key to that success…but how well has she selected the team?

The students include a talented young sculptor who is determined to graduate with top grades, a former gallery owner with limited artistic skills, a single mother more interested in a paycheck than homework, a people pleaser who struggles with technology, a marketing executive suffering from burnout, and a successful artist who seems rather overqualified for the program.

At the end of the academic year, when the examiner arrives to grade the students’ final project, he finds himself asking what happened. Because if someone in that course isn’t in mortal danger, then they are already dead. But who, and why?

He wants us to read through the students’ coursework, texts, message boards, and final essays to see if we can find the answers. Only one thing is certain: nothing about this course has been left to chance, and each of these students has their own very different agenda." 

=== September 24 ===

Title: The Hitchcock Hotel

Author: Stephanie Wrobel

Standalone thriller set in the White Mountains of the East Coast

352 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittlng: Books

Synopsis: "Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan. He is the founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains dedicated to the Master of Suspense. There, Alfred offers his guests round-the-clock film screenings, movie props and memorabilia in every room, plus an aviary with fifty crows.

To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, he invites his former best friends from his college Film Club for a reunion. He hasn’t spoken to any of them in sixteen years, not after what happened.

But who better than them to appreciate Alfred’s creation? And to help him finish it.

After all, no Hitchcock set is complete without a body."

Title: Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II

Author: Abbott Kahler

Standalone historical non-fiction set in the Galápagos Islands

352 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books

 

Synopsis: "At the height of the Great Depression, Los Angeles oil mogul George Allan Hancock and his crew of Smithsonian scientists came upon a gruesome scene: two bodies, mummified by the searing heat, on the shore of a remote Galápagos island. For the past four years Hancock and other American elites had traveled the South Seas to collect specimens for scientific research. On one trip to the Galápagos, Hancock was surprised to discover an equally exotic group of humans: European exiles who had fled political and economic unrest, hoping to create a utopian paradise. One was so devoted to a life of isolation that he’d had his teeth extracted and replaced with a set of steel dentures.

As Hancock and his fellow American explorers would witness, paradise had turned into chaos. The three sets of exiles—a Berlin doctor and his lover, a traumatized World War I veteran and his young family, and an Austrian baroness with two adoring paramours—were riven by conflict. Petty slights led to angry confrontations. The baroness, wielding a riding crop and pearl-handled revolver, staged physical fights between her two lovers and unabashedly seduced American tourists. The conclusion was deadly: with two exiles missing and two others dead, the survivors hurled accusations of murder.

Using never-before-published archives, Abbott Kahler weaves a chilling, stranger-than-fiction tale worthy of Agatha Christie. Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the march to World War II, with a mystery as alluring and curious as the Galápagos itself, Eden Undone explores the universal and timeless desire to seek utopia—and lays bare the human fallibility that, inevitably, renders such a quest doomed." 

Title: A Grave in the Woods

Author: Martin Walker

Series: #17 in the Bruno Chief of Police series set in France

304 pages

 

Synopsis: "When Abby, an American archaeologist, arrives in St. Denis on the heels of her divorce, she hopes to make a new life for herself as a specialist guide for visiting tourists. So when a local British couple discover a grave from World War II on their property, Abby is able to put her training to good use. As it turns out, in the grave are the remains of two German women and an Italian submarine officer who had a big secret to hide. The women are suspected of having had links to the German garrison in Bordeaux during the war. It’s up to Bruno, just recovered from a gunshot wound earlier in the year, to unravel the mystery—and its contemporary relevance. His task is made more difficult by the horrible heat-dome summer, which is raising the temperature for miles around, as unprecedented amounts of rain drench the Massif Central and threaten increasingly dramatic floods
.
As Bruno drills to the heart of the case, matters get even more complicated when both Abby’s financially distressed ex-husband and a mysterious dashing Italian naval officer arrive, with very different ideas in mind. Once again, Bruno is left to serve the guilty their just rewards, and his friends, some sumptuous Perigordian cuisine." 

=== September 30 ===

Title: Opal

Author: Patricia Wolf

Series: #3 in the Lucas Walker police procedural series set in Australia

320 pages

 

Synopsis: "DS Lucas Walker is out bush with his little sister Grace from Boston. They're fetching his cousin Blair, who's been mining boulder opal in Kanpara. The town is tense with rumours of a big opal find, and Blair wants out.

But Kanpara is in Channel Country, and when the three try to leave the next day, they find themselves completely cut off. A deluge far north has flooded the rivers overnight, making the roads impassable. Then Blair receives a shocking phone call.

Two bodies have been found, brutally murdered.

Trapped, with a killer in their midst, Walker is in a race to uncover the murderer before the water recedes. And when Blair is arrested by local police, the stakes couldn't be higher. With all his focus on clearing his cousin's name, will Walker see how much danger his sister is in before it's too late?

The third thrilling installment in the gripping and bestselling DS Lucas Walker series is full of breathtaking twists and dark turns - for fans of Jane Harper, Cara Hunter and Chris Whitaker." 

Quite a selection, eh? Which books do you have your eyes on? Inquiring minds would love to know!

On My Radar: Martin Walker's A Grave in the Woods!

 

Today, I want to talk about a book that I suspect many of you already have on your wish lists. I've been a fan of Martin Walker's Bruno, Chief of Police series since the very first book, and it's hard to believe that the seventeenth will be released in a few months. If I'm lucky, he'll appear at The Poisoned Pen again. I never will forget the time he sat down with Denis and me for a wonderful chat before his event.

Let me tell you more about the book!

Available September 24, 2024!

Synopsis:

"When Abby, an American archaeologist, arrives in St. Denis on the heels of her divorce, she hopes to make a new life for herself as a specialist guide for visiting tourists. So when a local British couple discover a grave from World War II on their property, Abby is able to put her training to good use. As it turns out, in the grave are the remains of two German women and an Italian submarine officer who had a big secret to hide. The women are suspected of having had links to the German garrison in Bordeaux during the war. It’s up to Bruno, just recovered from a gunshot wound earlier in the year, to unravel the mystery—and its contemporary relevance. His task is made more difficult by the horrible heat-dome summer, which is raising the temperature for miles around, as unprecedented amounts of rain drench the Massif Central and threaten increasingly dramatic floods
. 
As Bruno drills to the heart of the case, matters get even more complicated when both Abby’s financially distressed ex-husband and a mysterious dashing Italian naval officer arrive, with very different ideas in mind. Once again, Bruno is left to serve the guilty their just rewards, and his friends, some sumptuous Perigordian cuisine."

 

I love this series for the mysteries, the history, the setting, the food, the characters... need I go on? If you aren't already acquainted with Bruno, I highly recommend these books!

A Château Under Siege by Martin Walker

 

First Line: Bruno Courrèges, chief of police for the Vézère Valley in the Périgord region of France, was deeply fond of the medieval square of Sarlat, but he had never seen it from this angle before.

 

When the town of Sarlat stages a reenactment of its liberation from the British in the Hundred Years War, the play's French hero, Brice Kerquelin, is stabbed and feared fatally wounded. Was the stabbing the result of a prop malfunction or something more sinister? The wounded man is in line for the top job in the French intelligence service after all. 

 

Bruno Courrèges is given the task of protecting the victim's two daughters as well as his old Silicon Valley buddies who are in town for a reunion. One of those friends soon goes missing, and Bruno thinks there may be a link to the French government's attempts to build a chip industry in Europe.

 

~

 

One of the reasons why I enjoy Martin Walker's Bruno, Chief of Police series so much is that I get a non-US view of the world and how a country like France fits into that world. (In A Château Under Siege, I also learned a surprising fact about South Dakota.) 

While learning how to stage a historical reenactment, I watched Bruno as he worked to learn who would want to kill Brice Kerquelin. Bruno has his fingers on the pulse of his hometown of St. Denis. He is a vital part of life there; he knows everyone and everyone knows him. That's one of the things that makes him such a good policeman. He's also an excellent coordinator of various French law enforcement and government agencies, which is why he's been given much more responsibility.

But A Château Under Siege isn't merely about working with official departments and solving the mystery. There are also the things that long-time fans of this series have come to love and expect. We meet an adorable six-year-old named Patsy who has a secret friend. We have virtual ringside seats to one of Bruno's homecooked feasts (would they were real!), and we even get to watch Bruno's friends attempt a romantic intervention for their friend.

If you enjoy strong mysteries with a beguiling sense of place and wonderful characters, you need to immerse yourself in the world of Bruno Courrèges, Chief of Police of the village of St. Denis in southwestern France. Bon appétit!

A Château Under Siege by Martin Walker

eISBN: 9780593319819

Knopf © 2023

eBook, 304 pages

 

Police Procedural, #16 Bruno Chief of Police mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

August 2023 New Mystery Releases!

 

With the temperatures creeping ever closer to the 120°F mark, common sense tells me that one of the best things I can do is to stay indoors with a plentiful supply of cold drinks and good books. As of this writing, I don't even have to call Dial-a-Ride to take me to my weekly doctor's appointment since he's taking a well-deserved week off in San Diego. (San Diego is one of the favorite getaways for Arizonans to beat the blistering summer heat of the Sonoran Desert.)

Speaking of blistering heat, I just have to shake my head at some people. The temperatures have been over 130°F in Death Valley, and adults with small children have been lining up in the blazing sun to have their photos taken by the park temperature gauge. Hopefully, none of them break down. Services are few and far between in that area (I've been there and NOT in summer), and I'd bet the farm that many of them didn't pack any water or other necessities just in case. 

Sensible me, with my ice water and stacks of books, decided to look for new books. You know. In case those stacks start running low. The following are my picks of the best new crime fiction being released in the month of August. I've grouped them by their release dates and the covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon. 

Let's see if you've already been tempted by some of my picks... or if I managed to add new ones to your list!

=== August 1 ===

Title: Evergreen

Author: Naomi Hirahara

Series: #2 in the Japantown historical series set in post-World War II California.

312 pages

 

Synopsis: "It’s been two years since Aki Ito and her family were released from Manzanar detention center and resettled in Chicago with other Japanese Americans. Now the Itos have finally been allowed to return home to California—but nothing is as they left it. The entire Japanese American community is starting from scratch, with thousands of people living in dismal refugee camps while they struggle to find new houses and jobs in over-crowded Los Angeles.

Aki is working as a nurse’s aide at the Japanese Hospital in Boyle Heights when an elderly Issei man is admitted with suspicious injuries. When she seeks out his son, she is shocked to recognize her husband’s best friend, Babe Watanabe. Could Babe be guilty of elder abuse?

Only a few days later, Little Tokyo is rocked by a murder at the low-income hotel where the Watanabes have been staying. When the cops start sniffing around Aki’s home, she begins to worry that the violence tearing through her community might threaten her family. What secrets have the Watanabes been hiding, and can Aki protect her husband from getting tangled up in a murder investigation?" 

 

 

=== August 3 ===

Title: The Killing Place

Author: Kate Ellis

Series: #27 in the DI Wesley Peterson police procedural series set in England.

400 pages

 

Synopsis: "November. With the tourist season well and truly over in South Devon, Detective Inspector Wesley Peterson is looking forward to a quieter month in the CID. But when a man is shot dead on Bonfire Night, he finds he has a disturbing murder case on his hands.

The body of Patrick North was found in woodland connected to Nesbaraton Hall, a grand estate dating back to the eighteenth century. North worked for the Smithson family who now own the estate. The family are away on holiday, however when an anonymous letter threatening to abduct the Smithson son is uncovered, Wesley fears North's death might have been collateral damage in a kidnap plot.

Meanwhile, archaeologist Dr Neil Watson discovers a hidden grotto on land that was once part of the Nesbaraton estate. Evidence of past rituals and the shocking discovery of a skeleton raise questions about strange occurrences, past and present, on the land.

Then, just when Wesley's team seem to be making progress in their investigation, a resident of the nearby village is killed in a near-identical shooting to North's. A race is on to find the ruthless killer, before they strike again . . .

Whether you've read the whole series, or are discovering Kate Ellis's DI Wesley Peterson novels for the first time, this is the perfect page-turner if you love reading Ann Cleeves and Elly Griffiths." 

Title: Day's End

Author: Garry Disher

Series: #4 in the Paul Hirsch police procedural series set in Australia.

368 pages

*UK Release

Synopsis: "Constable Paul Hirschausen's rural beat in the low hills of South Australia is wide. Daybreak to day's end, dirt roads and dust. Every problem that besets small towns and isolated properties, from unlicensed driving to arson.

But now, just as Hirsch has begun to feel he knows the fragile communities under his care, the isolation and fear of the pandemic have warped them into something angry and unrecognisable. Hirsch is seeing stresses heightened and social divisions cracking wide open. His own tolerance under strain; people getting close to the edge.

Today he's driving an international visitor around: Janne Van Sant, whose backpacker son went missing while the borders were closed. They're checking out his last photo site, his last employer. A feeling that the stories don't quite add up.

Then a call comes in: a roadside fire. Nothing much - a suitcase soaked in diesel and set alight - but two noteworthy facts emerge. Janne knows more than Hirsch about forensic evidence. And the body in the suitcase is not her son's."

Title: Kill for Me Kill for You

Author: Steve Cavanagh

Standalone thriller set in New York City

368 pages

 

*UK Release

 

Synopsis: "One dark evening in New York City, two strangers meet by chance.
Over drinks, Amanda and Wendy realise they have so much in common.

They both feel alone. They both drink alone.
And they both desperately want revenge against the two men who destroyed their families.

Together, they have the perfect plan.
If you kill for me, I'll kill for you..." 

=== August 8 ===

Title: Dead and Gone

Author: Joanna Schaffhausen 

Series: #3 in the Detective Annalisa Vega police procedural series set in Chicago

336 pages

Synopsis: "For Chicago police detective Annalisa Vega, Sam Tran’s death presents an ominous puzzle. The ex-cop turned PI is found hanging from a cemetery tree with a message across his chest that suggests someone holds a murderous grudge against the police. Annalisa suspects the real answer lies in one of Tran’s open cases. She believes he stumbled on a dark secret during his investigations and someone killed him to keep him quiet. Her own family harbors plenty of secrets, something Annalisa is reminded of when her brother turns out to be one of Sam’s last clients.

Vinny Vega hired Tran to find a dangerous stalker on his daughter’s college campus. Now Sam is dead and the stalker remains at large, with Annalisa’s niece Quinn firmly in his sights.

To protect Quinn, Annalisa begins tracing Sam’s steps back through his open cases, which include not only the campus stalker but also a brutal double homicide from twenty years ago. Did Sam finally find the killer? Did he uncover the stalker’s identity? Annalisa must figure out which secret got Sam killed, and fast, or someone else will die. Every move she makes brings her closer to the truth of Sam’s death, and closer to a murderer who will stop at nothing to remain free."

=== August 10 ===

Title: Death of a Lesser God

Author: Vaseem Khan

Series: #4 in the Persis Wadia historical series set in 1950s Bombay, India 

368 pages

Synopsis: "Can a white man receive justice in post-colonial India?
Bombay, 1950

James Whitby, sentenced to death for the murder of prominent lawyer and former Quit India activist Fareed Mazumdar, is less than two weeks from a date with the gallows. In a last-ditch attempt to save his son, Whitby's father forces a new investigation into the killing.

The investigation leads Inspector Persis Wadia of the Bombay Police to the old colonial capital of Calcutta, where, with the help of Scotland Yard criminalist Archie Blackfinch, she uncovers a possible link to a second case, the brutal murder of an African-American G.I. during the Calcutta Killings of 1946.

Are the cases connected? And if Whitby didn't murder Mazumdar, then who did?"

=== August 22 ===

Title: Dead Mountain

Authors: Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Series: #4 in the archaeologist Nora Kelly series set in New Mexico

400 pages

 

Synopsis: "In 2008, nine mountaineers failed to return from a winter backpacking trip in the New Mexico mountains. At their final campsite, searchers found a bizarre scene: something had appeared at the door of their tent so terrifying that it impelled them to slash their way out and flee barefoot to certain death in a blizzard. Despite a diligent search, only six bodies were found, two violently crushed and inexplicably missing their eyes. The case, given the code name “Dead Mountain” by the FBI, was never solved.

Now, two more bodies from the lost expedition are unexpectedly discovered in a cave, one a grisly suicide. Young FBI Agent Corrie Swanson teams up with archaeologist Nora Kelly to investigate what really happened on that fateful trip fifteen years ago—and to find the ninth victim. But their search awakens a long-slumbering evil, which pursues Corrie and Nora with a vengeance, determined to prevent the final missing corpse from ever coming to light."  

=== August 29 ===

Title: A Château Under Siege

Author: Martin Walker

series: #16 in the Bruno Chief of Police series set in the south of France

304 pages

 

Synopsis: "The town of Sarlat is staging a reenactment of its liberation from the British in the Hundred Years War when the play’s French hero, Brice Kerquelin, is stabbed and feared fatally wounded. Is it an unfortunate prop malfunction—or something more sinister? The stricken man happens to be number two in the French intelligence service, in line for the top job. Bruno is tasked with the safety of the victim’s daughters, Claire and Nadia, as well as their father’s old Silicon Valley buddies, ostensibly in town for a reunion. One friend from Taiwan, a tycoon in chip fabrication, soon goes missing, and Bruno suspects there may be a link to the French government’s efforts to build a chip industry in Europe—something powerful forces in Russia and China are determined to scuttle. Wading through a tangle of rivalries and secrets, Bruno begins to parse fact from fiction—while also becoming embroiled in some romantic complications, and, of course, finding time to put together some splendid meals." 

=== August 30 ===

 

Title: The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp

Author: Leonie Swann

Series: #1 in the Agnes Sharp humorous mystery series set in England

360 pages

 

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

 

Synopsis: "It has been an eventful morning for Agnes Sharp and the other inhabitants of Sunset Hall, a house share for the old and unruly in the sleepy English countryside. Although they have had some issues (misplaced reading glasses, conflicting culinary tastes, decreasing mobility, and gluttonous grandsons), nothing prepares them for an unexpected visit from a police officer with some shocking news. A body has been discovered next door. Everyone puts on a long face for show, but they are secretly relieved the body in question is not the one they’re currently hiding in the shed (sorry, Lillith).

It seems the answer to their little problem with Lillith may have fallen right into their laps. All they have to do is find out who murdered their neighbor, so they can pin Lillith’s death on them, thus killing two (old) birds with one stone (cold killer).

With their plan sorted, Agnes and her geriatric gang spring into action. After all, everybody likes a good mystery. Besides, the more suspicion they can cast about, surely the less will land on them. To investigate, they will step out of their comfort zone, into the not-so-idyllic village of Duck End and tangle with sinister bakers, broken stairlifts, inept criminals, the local authorities, and their own dark secrets." 

One thing's for certain: there's some good reading coming up during the month of August! Did any of my choices strike your fancy? Which ones? Inquiring minds would love to know!