The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

 

First Line: Writing in the Boston Public Library had been a mistake.

 

Winifred "Freddie" Kincaid goes to the Boston Public Library to sit in the Reading Room to work on her novel. Everything comes to a grinding halt when a woman's scream shatters the quiet.

 

The scream throws Freddie into new friendships with three people sitting at the table with her-- Cain McLeod, Marigold Anastas, and Whit Metters-- and when they learn that a woman's body was found in the library, they decide to work together to find the killer. Each one of them has his or her own reasons for sitting at the table. It just so happens that one of them is a murderer.

 

But which one?

 

~

 

The joy of Sulari Gentill's The Woman in the Library is that it's a story within a story within a story, and each successive chapter reveals one or two more puzzle pieces for readers to ponder. I could compare the unfolding of the plot to peeling back the layers of an onion, but not only is that comparison worn out, but it also doesn't really fit. No, this story is a beauty, and much more like the slow but certain blossoming of a rose, petal by soft, scented petal.

 

A series of emails from Australian writer Hannah Tigone to Leo Johnson tells readers that Hannah is in Australia writing a novel about a murder set in the Boston Public Library and Leo is her American contact who reads Hannah's manuscript and searches out locations and offers tips on clarification.  But that's not the only thing going on with the Hannah and Leo layer. The Freddie/Cain/Marigold/Whit layer also blossoms with the steady infusion of kernels of information about each character. These stories play off each other beautifully.

The Woman in the Library is one of those books that you can't talk about very much without giving something away, so I'll just say this: I decided right at the beginning to let myself become a leaf caught in a current in the river. This means that I didn't bring out my deerstalker hat and magnifying glass in order to solve the mystery before the characters in the book had a chance to. No, I simply went along for the ride and enjoyed every page. Once the rose that is The Woman in the Library has completely blossomed, there was nothing left to do but marvel at the story Gentill created. Wow!

 

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

eISBN: 9781464215889

Poisoned Pen Press © 2022

eBook, 292 pages

 

Suspense, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: Net Galley

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

 

First Line: When Jory opens the curtains, the day is light and gray, the radio playing a half-known song.

 

On New Year's Eve, 1972, a boat pulls up to the Maiden Rock Lighthouse with relief for the keepers. No one comes out to greet them. When the entrance door-- locked from the inside-- is battered down, the lighthouse is empty. All three keepers are missing. The table is set, ready for a meal. The Principal Keeper's log notes a storm raging outside when the weather has been clear all week. And all the clocks are stopped at 8:45.

Twenty years later, a writer visits the keepers' wives, determined to write a book about what really happened at Maiden Rock Light. Will he be able to solve the mystery?

~

Emma Stonex's The Lamplighters moves between the wives' stories and the mens' last weeks together in the lighthouse. From one narrative to the next, secrets are uncovered, truths are revealed... and sometimes twisted into lies. Readers really have to keep on their toes. Whose narrative should be believed? What on earth really happened? I really liked the fact that this novel is based on a true story. This actually happened. Things like this are a feast for the imagination, and the author's interpretation is an intriguing one.

Stonex has the perfect setting: Maiden Rock, a tower light set on a rock miles from the coast of Cornwall. "Sailors' legend had it she was built on the jaws of a fossilized sea monster." Being fifteen miles southwest of Land's End, it almost sounds like "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here," doesn't it? One of the things that the author does best is to have her characters tell us the differences between being a keeper on a lighthouse on the coast where he has a snug house nearby to live in, possibly with his wife and children, and being a keeper on a tower light, one of those slender columns rising off a rock out in the open sea. Let me tell you, I'd have to be in full-out hermit mode to even consider being a keeper of a tower light.

Although all sorts of imaginative rumors swirl around the keepers' disappearance, it rapidly becomes apparent that the dynamics between the men are what's at fault. There's nothing supernatural about it at all. All readers have to do is read the varying stories the wives tell and watch the men interact with each other in the lighthouse, but it's far from easy to deduce what really happened.

There's a lot to like about The Lamplighters, and I really wish that I'd enjoyed it more. Problem is, I'm the type of reader who has to have just one character that keeps my attention, even if it's the bad guy. The further I read, the less I cared about any of the characters. It became a mere quest to find out what really happened, why and how those three men seemed to vanish without a trace.

The Lamplighters is a worthwhile read for the setting alone, and as for the characters, your mileage may certainly vary.

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

eISBN: 9781984882165

Viking © 2021

eBook, 352 pages

 

Suspense, Standalone

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi

 

First Lines: Spain, 1930. The two suspects sat on mismatched furniture in the white and almost featureless lounge, waiting for something to happen.

 

Former professor of mathematics Grant McAllister once sat down and wrote out the rules of a proper murder mystery. Let's face it, all murder mysteries have rules. There must be a suspect, a victim, a detective... McAllister then sat down and wrote seven stories to illustrate each one of the rules; however, only a few privately printed copies of the book exist. Young, ambitious editor Julia Hart has found one of those copies and wants to bring McAllister's stories to a much wider audience. To do that, she's tracked him down to the remote Mediterranean island where he lives.

 

But as they go over each of the stories, Julia, who's keen to understand the author, begins to realize that the older man is hiding from his past. And there's more. Each story has inconsistencies that don't add up. Julia thinks that they are more than just oversights, mere mistakes. These inconsistencies may be clues to something, and Julia Hart is determined to find out what it is.

~

Alex Pavesi's The Eighth Detective is an homage to the classic detective story, and I enjoyed every bit of it. Each of the seven stories is a winner, and when Julia began dissecting them, forgive me if I was rather pleased with myself that the same things that puzzled me were the inconsistencies that she'd found. 

But it's not just the stories that held my interest throughout the book. The characters of Grant and Julia did as well. It didn't take me long before I had a list of questions about them. Why was Grant tucked away on such a remote island? Why was it so important that Julia track him down, and surely it was more than her job as an editor that kept her picking away at each tiny item in the stories that didn't make sense to her. Between the stories and the dynamics between Julia and Grant, my mind was very happily occupied, and I loved the twist at the end. 

In the mood for puzzles? The Eighth Detective will serve up plenty of them on a silver platter. Enjoy them if you dare!

The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi

ISBN: 9781250755933

Henry Holt & Company © 2020

Hardcover, 304 pages

 

Suspense, Standalone

Rating: A-

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet. 

The Child by Fiona Barton

First Line: My computer is winking at me knowingly when I sit down at my desk.

When a tiny skeleton is discovered buried on the grounds of an old house that's being demolished, journalist Kate Waters knows that this is a story that deserves much more attention than a throwaway sentence or two in her newspaper. As she investigates, she finds connections to a sensational crime that happened decades earlier: a newborn baby was stolen from the maternity ward in a local hospital and never found.

But Kate learns that there is even more to the story, and she is quickly drawn into the lives, and the pasts, of the people who once lived in the neighborhood. Ultimately becoming the keeper of three women's secrets means Kate is constantly walking the tightrope between what she can and cannot tell.

Fiona Barton's The Child is a story that rapidly draws you in and won't let you go until everyone's secrets have been revealed. The style of this book is reminiscent of Kate Atkinson in the manner in which the story unfolds. Told in alternating chapters by Kate and the three women involved-- Angela, Emma, and Jude-- the voices may not be particularly distinctive, but their stories kept me guessing clear through to the end.

Barton definitely has a knack for creating memorable characters and strong storylines. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
 

The Child by Fiona Barton

eISBN: 9781101990506

Berkley © 2017

eBook, 384 pages

Suspense, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

The Voices Beyond by Johan Theorin

First Line: The ghost ship came gliding out of the darkness across the black waters of the Sound, giving way to nothing and no one.

It is summer on the beautiful Swedish island of Öland, and visitors are arriving in their thousands to enjoy the sun and the water. Among the visitors is young Jonas Kloss, who's looking forward to staying with his aunt and cousins. But one moonlit night when he takes a small boat out on the water, a ship looms out of the darkness and the horror the young boy finds on board has him fleeing for his life.

Jonas finds himself on the doorstep of elderly Gerlof Davidsson, a man of the sea and native to Öland. Once Gerlof is able to convince Jonas to talk to him, the old man knows that this summer will be like no other. The Homecomer has returned, and he's waited a lifetime to exact his revenge. 

I loved the previous three books in Theorin's Öland Quartet. The man is a master at creating complex characters and building suspense. Unfortunately The Voices Beyond fell flat for me. Gerlof was still his charming curmudgeonly self with his loneliness and painfully aching legs, and young Jonas was wonderfully complex as well. And that setting! Theorin is also a master at building a setting so vivid and detailed that it counts as one of the characters in his books.

Where the book fell flat was in its pacing. The point of view was constantly shifting from Gerlof to Jonas to a young musician named Lisa to the Homecomer himself who spoke both from the present day and from the time of Stalin's reign of terror. The constant shifting didn't confuse me at all, but the very short chapters moving from one character to the next actually slowed the pace down to a crawl and made the book a chore to read.

As a whole, would I still recommend the Öland Quartet? Yes, I would. The first three  (Echoes from the Dead, The Darkest Room, and The Quarry) are superb, and who knows? The slow pace of The Voices Beyond may not bother you at all. For anyone with a fondness for Scandinavian crime fiction, evocative settings, and complex characters, Johan Theorin's Öland Quartet should not be missed.
   

The Voices Beyond by Johan Theorin

Translated from the Swedish by Marlaine Delargy

ISBN: 9780857520067

Doubleday © 2015

Paperback, 475 pages

Suspense, #4 Öland Quartet

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Waterstones, Cambridge, UK

 

Countdown to Death by Iain McChesney

First Line: It was only a matter of time.

Ten strangers have been lured to a remote Scottish island and the estate of the wealthy and reclusive Lord Black. What brings them all together? They've each received a letter accusing them of having committed crimes. Only a short period of time elapses before their one escape off the island disappears, and they begin being picked off one by one. Who's the killer?

I'm always a sucker for a remote island off the coast of Scotland, but once past the setting in Countdown to Death, I was faced with McChesney's version of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Although the author's treatment of the story is well-done, I'm the type of reader who needs more than a puzzle to solve in the mysteries I read.

However, if you're in the mood for solving a quick, light puzzle this could very well be the perfect read for you.
  

Countdown to Death by Iain McChesney

ASIN: B015P90ZIM

Wayzgoose Press © 2015

eBook, 207 pages

Suspense, Standalone

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.    

Entry Island by Peter May

First Line: It is evident from the way the stones are set into the slope of the hill that industrious hands once toiled to make this pathway.

When Detective Sime Mackenzie is told to board a flight from Montreal to Entry Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, he does so without a trace of regret. His life there is one of loneliness and what-could-have-beens.

The investigation of which he is to be a part involves the murder of the wealthiest of the tiny island's 130 inhabitants, and it seems to be a simple matter of formality. The crime has all the earmarks of a crime of passion with the victim's wife as the killer. But when Mackenzie meets the woman, he is convinced that he knows her even though they've never met. Already the odd man out in this case, things take an even more bizarre turn when his insomnia is broken by strange dreams of a long ago past on an island in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland-- a past in which the alleged murderer has a leading role. As a result of these dreams, Mackenzie's conviction turns to obsession as the evidence against the widow mounts. Sooner or later, Sime Mackenzie will have to choose between duty and destiny.

Entry Island is a terrific blending of two story lines: the classic murder investigation in Canada, and the Highland Clearances on the Isle of Lewis in the 18th century. Both are so well written that I couldn't tell you which is the stronger, but I can say that the scenes on the Isle of Lewis are beautiful, brutal, and heartstopping. May has always been a skilled storyteller, but since he's  begun writing of the Outer Hebrides, it's as though his heart and his emotions are flowing right onto the page. (His Lewis Trilogy is not to be missed!)

The two story lines run side-by-side, and events gradually converge without any obvious signs of how they're coming together. Sime is the perfect conflicted detective and part of an investigative team that includes his ex-wife-- a very uncomfortable and painful situation. May skillfully creates tension with his two main characters. While Mackenzie is a man the reader wants to support completely, the object of his obsession is clearly not as trustworthy to us as she is to the detective.

The marvelous sensory feast of place (both Scotland and Canada), a strong and intriguing main character, two vivid plot lines... part mystery, part historical novel, part romance... Entry Island is a powerful novel that should not be missed.

A few words of warning: This is a US-based book blog, and I've just written a review of a book that's only available in the UK right now. If you can't get your hands on a copy now, put it on your wish list. You won't regret it!

Entry Island by Peter May

ISBN: 9781782062202

Quercus © 2013

Hardcover, 544 pages

Suspense, Standalone

Rating: A+

Source: NetGalley, UK Release


 

The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard

First Line: Abby Reynolds braked her truck on the icy highway, startled by what she imagined she saw off to the side of the road.

Out in a blizzard that swept through Kansas in late January 1987, young Rex Shellenberger is helping his father search for newborn calves when he stumbles upon the naked, frozen body of a beautiful teenage girl. That discovery will change his life and the lives of all those around him.

In the two decades following the never-identified girl's death, locals begin to refer to her as "the Virgin of Small Plains," and stories of miracles are told by those who faithfully tend her grave. Gradually, her legend spreads beyond the confines of the little town.

Seventeen years after her death, Mitch Newquist returns to Small Plains, and all the tensions and secrets that have been buried for so long begin to bubble to the surface. Three families and three friends will be forced to face the consequences of actions taken during that long-ago snowstorm.

The Virgin of Small Plains is the age-old story of the loss of innocence, the loss of trust, the loss of faith. Young Rex Shellenberger found the dead girl, and his friend Mitch Newquist disappeared the very next day-- stirring rumors that Mitch was the killer. Rex never believed those rumors, and neither did his friend (and Mitch's girlfriend) Abby Reynolds. None of the three friends ever recovered from that event, and as Nancy Pickard's tale unfolds, it soon becomes abundantly clear that their fathers-- as sheriff, judge and doctor three of the most powerful men in Small Plains-- know a lot more about that night than they've ever told anyone. Abby Reynolds becomes the catalyst. For seventeen years, she's felt "like a triangle with one side missing," and she's tired of it. She wants answers, she wants closure, and she wants a name and justice for the Virgin of Small Plains. Little does she know that she's about to take a stick to a very large hornet's nest.

What makes this book so good is Pickard's lyrical writing style and her eye for the telling detail. She's created a bit of a romance and a bit of a gothic tale, but it works. Her use of weather to create atmosphere and suspense is top notch, and her characters made themselves at home in my head. I grew up in a small farm town, and I could easily see the events of this book happening there. The only thing that prevents me from giving Pickard's book an all-out rave review is the fact that I put the pieces together very early. But the poetic writing, the setting, and the characters-- including a grey conure named J.D.-- packed such a punch that I really didn't mind the lack of surprise. I have another book by Pickard, The Scent of Rain and Lightning, sitting on my shelf, and I look forward to reading it.

The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard

ISBN: 9780345471000

Ballantine Books © 2007

Paperback, 368 pages

Suspense

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap 

The Back Road by Rachel Abbott

First Line: From the moment the cupboard door was slammed shut, trapping them both inside, she knew something was different.

A young girl is hit by a car and left for dead on a back road outside Little Melham, sending shock waves ripping through the village. What really happened that night puts nurse Ellie Saunders' marriage and the safety of her children in danger, and her neighbor, former detective Tom Douglas, learns that it's impossible to ignore his policeman's instincts. He's positive that what happened to that young girl was much more than an accident.

It was difficult for me to get into this story at first. The Back Road has a large cast of characters, and although I didn't have any trouble keeping them straight, I just plain didn't like any of them and almost hoped that they were all guilty of something so there would be a mass arrest and they'd be charged with something... anything. Ellie Saunders and her husband Max are living the good life: two beautiful children, plenty of money, a wonderful, newly renovated home... you get the picture. But Ellie is emotionally needy, and Max has a tendency to be an idiot. They've surrounded themselves with other bright young things of the upwardly mobile set, and all of these friends have amassed a wealth of secrets and indiscretions due to their overwhelming sense of entitlement. I was definitely having a rough time slogging through this cast. It wasn't until Ellie's sister comes for a visit and neighbor Tom Douglas enters the picture more fully that the light began to shine at the end of my tunnel.  

The Back Road could stand to be tightened up a bit. It takes too long for the characters' motivations to begin coming to light. Once they do, the story comes to life, the pace quickens, and I was hooked. If you're a patient sort of reader, this could be the book for you. There's definitely a payoff at the end.

The Back Road by Rachel Abbott

ISBN: 9781477807750

Thomas and Mercer © 2013

Paperback, 376 pages

Suspense, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: publicist 

The Heat of the Moon by Sandra Parshall

First Line: I drive slowly past a familiar house where strangers now live.

Until the rainy night when a Basset Hound named Maude is hit by a car, veterinarian Rachel Goddard was happy with her work at an animal hospital in McLean, Virginia. As Maude's owner rushes the dog to the hospital, Rachel finds herself trying to comfort the woman's terrified three-year-old daughter. Rachel is reminded of her own sister as a very young child, and the entire episode triggers flashbacks that make her feel as though she's losing her mind. Even the animal hospital's new head doctor, Luke Campbell, can't take her mind off these visions, and Rachel begins to search for answers-- against the express wishes of her controlling mother and her sister.

I read this book while snowed in in a small Yorkshire farm cottage while my husband and I were on vacation. Even though I was not happy about being unable to head out to our next destination, I found that Sandra Parshall's first Rachel Goddard mystery took my mind off the delay-- which was a very welcome turn of events.

This is a book in which you'll soon know the identity of the "villain." Parshall's Mommy Dearest is a memorable one indeed. What makes the pages turn is your need to find out exactly what Rachel's mother did and why she did it. As you get a bit deeper in the story, you may wonder why on earth Rachel let her mother control almost every aspect of her life, but never underestimate the persistence of a very young child who's faced abandonment to cling to what's familiar.

Luke Campbell does provide romantic interest throughout the book, but he's also there for Rachel to realize that she's not losing her mind and that she does have a future worth fighting for.

As I read The Heat of the Moon, I thought it was a standalone novel, but soon learned that it's the first book in a series centered on Rachel. I'm glad. I came to like Rachel very much, and I am definitely looking forward to reading more about her now that she can put the past behind her. 

The Heat of the Moon by Sandra Parshall

ISBN: 9781590583807

Poisoned Pen Press © 2007

Paperback, 292 pages

Suspense, #1 Rachel Goddard mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased at Barnes and Noble

The Perfect Ghost by Linda Barnes

First Line: Teddy, you would've been proud of me.

Em Moore is the writing half of the celebrity biography team of T.E. Blakemore. Em is brilliant at writing but shy to the point of being agoraphobic. She has always relied on her partner Teddy Blake, who is a wizard at interviewing people and being the public "face" of the team. When Teddy is killed in an automobile accident, Em is devastated, and she has to fight to convince the publisher that she's capable of finishing the interviews-- and the book-- which is an "autobiography" of famed film director Garrett Malcolm.

Staying in a small cottage on the Malcolm estate, Em slowly becomes accustomed to conducting the much-needed interviews-- and it's not long before she begins to hear the faint rattling of skeletons in the Malcolm closet. But Em is still on shaky emotional ground. When the police begin looking into the accident that caused her beloved Teddy's death, will she be able to handle it?

The Perfect Ghost is my first encounter with Linda Barnes' writing. I have yet to sample any of her series books featuring Carlotta Carlyle. My reactions to this book were mixed. I like Barnes' style of writing. She can paint a scene and bring it to life vividly. I also enjoyed the voice of Em Moore and the careful building of her character. I identified her very early on as an unreliable narrator, which spoiled the surprise that the ending of the book depends on for almost all its success. If that one thing hadn't happened, I think I would have enjoyed this book a great deal more. However, with her writing style and powers of characterization, I know I will be reading more of Linda Barnes' books.

The Perfect Ghost by Linda Barnes

ISBN: 9781250023636

Minotaur Books © 2013

Hardcover, 320 pages

Suspense, Standalone

Rating: C+/B-

Source: NetGalley

Scare the Light Away by Vicki Delany

First Line: I stood outside the hardware store at the unmarked intersection.

Widow Rebecca McKenzie has returned to Hope River, Ontario, after an absence of thirty years to attend her mother's funeral. Thirty years ago she was escaping from an abusive childhood and a psychopathic grandfather, and she's never wanted to go back. But here she is, amongst the family members she left behind so long ago, and she can see how much things have both changed... and remained the same. This is a visit that Rebecca vows will be short, but when asked by her father to go through all her mother's things, she discovers that her mother had kept diaries since she was seventeen.

At first reluctantly, but then more and more voraciously, Rebecca reads her mother's diaries, and learns of her mother's experience as a bride during World War II, as this young woman brings a baby to a new country, watches her husband change once he's back home, and experiences those family dynamics for herself.

All the while, the police of Hope River are searching for a missing girl, and the townspeople have already made up their minds as to the identity of the person responsible: Rebecca's charming brother Jimmy. Some of those people aren't shy about letting their feelings be known, and as the days pass, Rebecca finds herself and other members of her family to be in very real danger.

Once I began reading Scare the Light Away, I found it difficult to stop. I, too, come from a small town, and twenty-five years elapsed before I went back. Although my situation was very different from Rebecca's, I found it easy to put myself in her place and to feel her reluctance to be back where she grew up. The reader knows almost from the first page that something is very wrong in Rebecca's family, but Delany takes the time to set her stage and bring out her characters before any real information is given. It's important to get to know Rebecca and to see how much she can be trusted as a narrator before continuing on with the story. I enjoyed that process very much.

Much the same process is used when bringing out the diaries. Rebecca's mother's story is brought forth a scene at a time, and months or years can pass between these glimpses. Between Rebecca's story and her mother's, the reader begins filling in the gaps, and the suspense that has been building continues to grow. Delany never relies too much upon those diaries, but makes the reader rely on both Rebecca, her mother, and the reader's own observations to piece everything together.

With my small town background, I found the behavior of the more violent residents of Hope River to not only ring true, but to be downright chilling. The combination of the strong character of Rebecca, her mother's diaries, and the present-day crime proves to be an engrossing one. Vicki Delany not only knows how to write excellent series, she writes thrillers that can't be put down, too. Whether you're a series reader or one who prefers standalones, I urge you to read (at least) one of this talented writer's books.

Scare the Light Away by Vicki Delany

ISBN: 9781590589922

Poisoned Pen Press © 2005

Paperback, 250 pages

Suspense, standalone

Rating:A

Source: Purchased as an eBook from Amazon.

Sanctum by Denise Mina

First Line: I'm shocked.

29-year-old Lachlan Harriot is in a state of disbelief. His ambitious wife Susie, a forensic psychiatrist, has just been found guilty of the murder of serial killer Andrew Gow, who was in her care. In the next two weeks, Lachlan must find grounds for an appeal, or Susie will be given a life sentence, depriving her of her home, her husband, and her two-year-old daughter.

Lachlan is convinced of Susie's innocence, and against her express wishes, each night he trudges up the stairs to Susie's sanctum sanctorum-- her study-- where he goes through all her papers. Sitting at the computer, he painstakingly transcribes her case notes, her interviews with Gow and his new wife Donna, and the press clippings from the trial. As he works, he soon finds out that he's raising more questions than he answers, and that the lines between perception and reality, between responsibility and culpability, are blurring.

Before I go any further, I need to clarify something. I read the UK edition of this book, which was published as Sanctum in 2003. This same book was published in the US as Deception, so if you think you've just discovered a Denise Mina book that you haven't read, be careful! Although the US title is more straightforward, I prefer Sanctum because it's much more evocative of the layers to be found within this book.

Mina wrote this book in diary form, beginning and ending with disclaimers that these diaries were found and purchased by her as the highest bidder and as the collector of true crime stories. Make no mistake: every word was written by Mina. Few writers can create such in-depth character studies.

And this is exactly what Sanctum is-- a multi-layered, revealing character study told by a young man who's not all that likable but definitely fascinating. As his self-appointed task consumes more and more of his time, he begins piecing small clues together, and he begins to doubt. As he types away at the computer, he wonders if he ever really knew his wife. Just how self-deluding could he have been? Watching the lies and cover-ups unravel to reveal the truth beneath is mesmerizing.

If you love a well-developed mystery that unfolds inexorably to its conclusion all the while limning a character that you'll come to know better than you know yourself, Sanctum is a book that you will savor.

Sanctum by Denise Mina

ISBN: 9780553813296

Bantam  ©2003

Paperback, 368 pages

Genre: Suspense

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Book Depository.

The Watch by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya

First Lines: One. Two. Three. Four. I count the moments and say the Basmala in my head.

The American soldiers in Combat Outpost Tarsándan deep in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan have just been through a fierce all-night battle. Several of them have been killed. The survivors are exhausted, upset and on edge. It is not the best time for Nizam to come to claim the body of her brother, but that is exactly what she's done.

Nizam, the rest of whose family was killed by the bomb-dropping drone that took both her legs, insists on giving her brother a proper burial, but the soldiers can't trust her. She could be a spy, a lunatic, or a suicide bomber. Besides, the chain of command believes her brother to have been a Taliban leader, and his body is to be sent elsewhere to be made an example of. Nizam insists this isn't true and refuses to leave, forcing this  beleaguered group of soldiers to make a tough decision. What are they going to do? See this dilemma solely in terms of black and white-- or in shades of grey? Follow orders, or do what's right?

The story begins from Nizam's point of view, and the author immediately puts the reader on her side-- feeling her pain, her exhaustion and her grief. It is a powerful beginning which then shifts to the men inside the outpost. The clock is turned back a couple of days, showing the time leading up to the deadly attack and its aftermath, which explains the soldiers' emotional mindsets.

Chapter by chapter, we're introduced to them and to the Afghan interpreter assigned to the outpost. As the story advances and the reader compares the American point of view to Nizam's, the misunderstandings that lead to the final outcome are clear.

Some of the men are educated and have made at least a rudimentary effort to learn something about the area, its people, its customs and language. However, most of the soldiers are barely in their twenties and have chosen a life in the military for the paycheck. For these soldiers, it was a choice of the army or a "life in methland." They've made no effort to learn anything about the country they're in or about the people who live there. It's a recipe for disaster.

From the strong, emotional beginning, the book eventually began to lose some momentum for me. The author had a set way of introducing the soldiers, and this formulaic method made many of them appear one-dimensional. The exception to this was the interpreter, a young man who naively believed that all the soldiers were wealthy, well-educated, and in Afghanistan to fight for the ideals of freedom and justice. Since those are two things that he desperately desires for his country, when he's asked to interpret for the soldiers and for Nizam, too often he puts his own feelings above the need for accurate translation.

In the end, I found a great deal to admire in the book, but I believe the author tried too hard to get the point across that America must get out of Afghanistan. Nizam was in the right; the Americans were in the wrong. Seldom in life are things so cut and dried. How much more powerful the message would have been if truths had been dispensed with an even hand.

The Watch by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya

ISBN: 9780307955890

Hogarth   ©2012

Hardcover, 304 pages

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Rating: B-

Source: Amazon Vine

The Watchers by Jon Steele

First Line: At first sight, fifty yards off, he couldn't tell who it was walking through the rain, only that the slow-moving form emerging from the shattered village of Neuville-Vitasse was a British soldier.

Just before Christmas in the town of Lausanne, Switzerland, three people will meet in the ancient cathedral beneath which a secret was buried before time began.

Marc Rochat is the young man who calls the hour from the belfry of Lausanne Cathedral each night. He will tell you that he's "strong from the legs up"-- if he's not talking with the cathedral bells,  responding to the mews of Monsieur Booty, his cat, or running away from the bad shadows that are gathering.

The young American, Katherine Taylor, is living the tax-free, designer label dream in Switzerland. An extremely beautiful (and extremely high-priced) prostitute, she's just about to find out that her life is indeed too good to be true.

The third person is private investigator Jay Harper, who wakes up in a hotel room with no memory, a love of watching the History Channel, and a job in Lausanne that he has no choice but to accept.

Three very different people who eventually learn that they have one objective: save what little is left of paradise before all hell breaks loose.

If you're in the mood for something in the wham, bam, thank you ma'am genre, do not pick up this book. You won't like it. However, if you're in the mood for an atmospheric work of art in which each of the hundreds of layers is painstakingly applied until you find yourself lost in the canvas and the close intimate friend of its inhabitants Marc, Katherine and Jay... well, you've picked up the right book.

Steele sets his stage meticulously, so there's not much action until the 250 page mark, but I didn't care because he was bringing the town of Lausanne, its citizens, the cathedral, and those three main characters to living, breathing life. As Harper himself says, "Bloody hell, just keeps getting better."

Steele acknowledges in his book that he wrote the first draft of The Watchers in the belfry loge of Lausanne Cathedral. His writing shows a deep love and appreciation of the ancient timbers and bells. I didn't find it odd that the character of Marc listened and spoke to them. Things that old are going to have stories to tell, and someone needs to listen.

All three characters are beautifully realized, and it's difficult for me to choose a favorite between them. The book has a strong foundation consisting of historic fact, an ancient Jewish text, and the literary classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The only thing that didn't win me over completely was the ending. I was ready for something that would knock my socks off, and it fell a bit short-- probably so there would be enough pieces left for the sequels that are to follow!

If you want to pick up a book and lose all track of time, The Watchers is for you.

The Watchers by Jon Steele

ISBN: 9780399158742

Blue Rider Press  ©2012

Hardcover, 592 pages

Genre: Suspense

Rating: A-

Source: Publicist

Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton

Title: Afterwards
Author: Rosamund Lupton
ISBN: 9780307716545
Publisher: Crown, 2012
Hardcover, 400 pages
Genre: Literary Suspense
Rating: A+
Source: Amazon Vine

First Line: I couldn't move, not even a little finger or a flicker of an eye.

It's Sports Day at Sidley House School. Grace Covey's eight-year-old son, Adam, has gone inside the school to bring out the birthday cake that he's sharing with his classmates while Jennifer, her seventeen-year-old daughter, is up on the third floor filling in for the school nurse. Grace has simply come to pick her children up at school, an ordinary, everyday task. But what began as a simple task turns into a nightmare when Grace looks up at the school and sees black smoke billowing out of the windows.

Sidley House School is on fire, and her children are inside.

"And then [Grace] was running at the velocity of a scream." As she comes to the school entrance, she sees that her son is outside and safe, but Jenny is still inside. Jenny needs her. And so Grace fights the heat and the smoke and the fear and the panic and the pain until she finds Jenny... but Grace doesn't have the strength to get them outside to safety. They are both rushed to the hospital. Grace has suffered severe head trauma, and Jenny has suffered bad burns and intense smoke inhalation.

This story is told by Grace as if she's talking to her husband, and she has quite the story to tell. You see, she and Jenny both have out-of-body experiences. They leave their battered bodies and follow their friends and loved ones. They hear what's being said, and although they can talk with each other, no one else can see or hear them.  A lot is being said because what was originally a tragic fire is really arson, and it also seems as though someone wants to make sure that Jenny dies. Did she see the person who started the fire?

Grace's sister-in-law, Detective Sergeant Sarah MacBride, in many ways is the hero of this book. Her family has been dealt a devastating blow. Sarah wants to make sure that her family survives, and she goes about it the only way she knows how: by doing her job. Sarah proves to be tireless at tracking down witnesses, at searching for clues, at reading interview transcripts and teasing out tiny inconsistencies and peculiar word choices. She simply will not give up.

Although the ultimate ending of the book really comes as no surprise, I enjoyed Lupton's meticulous plotting of the investigation. This is the sort of case which relies on listening to how people say things as well as listening to what they don't say. It is a case of nuance and shadow. Taken simply as a mystery, this is an excellent read. But Grace Covey takes this book beyond mystery and whodunit. As she watches her husband and son, as she talks with Jenny, and as she follows Sarah, she learns what extraordinary people her family members are. She learns about herself. And she learns that "the last of the senses to go is love."

This is an extraordinary read that kept me mesmerized from first page to last-- often with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. If you have someone in your life whom you love more than life itself, you will also be deeply affected by  this book. In her depth of characterization and psychological nuance, Rosamund Lupton reminds me of Louise Penny. Like Penny, Lupton can take subject matter that's profoundly sad and create something very beautiful and life-affirming. I was impressed by Lupton's first book, Sister. I am blown away by Afterwards.

The Wedding Gift by Kathleen McKenna

Title: The Wedding Gift
Author: Kathleen McKenna
ISBN:  9781611940527
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books, 2011
Paperback, 254 pages
Genre: Suspense, Paranormal
Rating: B-
Source: Net Galley

First Line: Well, if I didn't want to cry, I guess I would be laughing.

High school senior Leeann Worthier is a girl from the poor side of town who's learned to trade on her good looks to get the things she wants. One of the things she wants is a life on Easy Street, which she obtains by marrying the rich boy in town after graduation.

As a wedding gift, Leann's new in-laws give the couple the Willets House. On the surface, being given a mansion to live in sounds like a good deal, but the Willets House has a history. You see, one day about twenty years ago, Robina Willets killed her husband, her five children... and then committed suicide in that very house. A few years later, two boys dared each other to go in the house. One of the boys died-- Leeann's brother.

Leeann's not crazy about moving into the house, but it is beautiful, and it does have a nice big swimming pool.... It's not until Leeann learns that she and her new husband are living with a very unhappy and very dangerous spirit that Leeann becomes afraid.

Most readers are going to know within the first few pages whether or not they're going to like the book. Leeann tells her own story, and if you like her, you're going to like the book. McKenna nailed Leeann's character. In many ways, she's a typical teenage girl, obsessed with her looks, her clothes, and boys. Her father likes to drink, so the family's never had much, and Leeann learned at an early age that folks are usually quite nice to pretty girls. In turns she's ignorant, hateful, devious, laugh-out-loud funny, and has an honesty about herself that ultimately won me over.

Another element of the book that the author gets just right is what I call the Creep Factor. I don't scare easily, but the ghost in the Willets House had my flesh crawling and had me listening for faint, unusual noises in the house as I read. What's even better, readers learn that the ghost's story is actually heartbreaking, so there's a fundamental emotional shift from fright and repulsion to understanding and compassion.

A feisty, flawed narrator who's not afraid to speak her mind. A downright scary ghost worthy of compassion. And a big surprise when the identity of the person who caused it all is revealed. Leeann may turn some folks away at the door, but for those who are won over by her sass and honesty, there are genuine chills and thrills to follow.

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The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman

Title: The Most Dangerous Thing
Author: Laura Lippman
ISBN: 9780061706516
Publisher: William Morrow, 2011
Hardcover, 352 pages
Genre: Suspense
Rating: A-
Source: Publicist

First Line: They throw him out when he falls off the barstool.

Something happened one summer in Baltimore that made five best friends go their separate ways throughout the rest of school and on into their adult lives. When one of them dies and the rest slowly come together for the funeral, they begin to learn that the past never stays buried. It must be dealt with or there will be unwelcome consequences.

Once again Lippman does an excellent job at building suspense (just what happened that summer???) and diving into character and motivation. Those remembered days of childhood are every bit as clearly delineated as the present day trials the characters all have as grownups.

This book is a bit of a rarity for me-- and it's all due to Laura Lippman's skill as a writer. You see, I really didn't give a rap for any of the characters. There's not one single person in that book that I liked. If this leads to you believe that I hated this book, I wouldn't be surprised. But I did like it. Lippman makes that mysterious thing that happened on that long ago summer so compelling that I couldn't stop reading. I had to find out what happened and which of the characters were responsible.

Normally this character-driven reader prefers to have at least one character to like, respect, or admire.  In the case of The Most Dangerous Thing, I kept thinking to myself, "You're all one big batch of messed-up people. What did you do to get that way?" Lippman answered my question in one beautifully written page after another.

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In Search of the Rose Notes by Emily Arsenault

Title: In Search of the Rose Notes
Author: Emily Arsenault
ISBN: 9780062012326
Publisher: William Morrow, 2011
Paperback, 384 pages
Genre: Suspense
Rating: B+
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewer program

First Line: When I was a kid, I used to stop cold whenever one of those commercials came on.

Eleven-year-old best friends Nora and Charlotte used to go to Charlotte's house after school and spend the afternoon with their babysitter, teenager Rose Banks. When Rose disappeared without a trace, the girls knew they had to do something, so using old Time-Life books as their guide, they conducted their own investigation-- which led nowhere.

Now Nora is in her late twenties, married and teaching in Virginia. When she gets a phone call from Charlotte telling her that Rose's remains have been found, Nora doesn't really want to return to Connecticut where she and Charlotte became estranged and her teenage years were so troubled. But Charlotte can be a force to be reckoned with when she wants to be. Charlotte wants to join forces once again to find out what happened to Rose, and Nora reluctantly agrees to return. Nora was the last known person to see Rose alive, and she just doesn't feel ready to revisit her adolescence or the events surrounding Rose's disappearance. She's not back very long before long-buried secrets begin to emerge.

Almost from the beginning, I began to identify with Nora. Nora is a quiet observer, and it was obvious to me that she had suffered from depression. Charlotte is more in-your-face-- with an innate desire to be the winner, to be special. Charlotte is always probing for the facts, even though she doesn't really want to know what they're telling her. She likes to put her own spin on things.

Being no stranger to Time-Life books myself, the two young girls using them as a basis to conduct their investigation was amusing. They did indeed pick up clues along the way, but they were too young to interpret them. (And even though Rose isn't a part of the action very long, she's so well-drawn that you want to know what happened to her.) As adults, Charlotte is still digging for facts, but it's the more intuitive, more emotional Nora who very slowly begins to put things together.

In Search of the Rose Notes builds tension and suspense gradually and held my interest throughout. Nora and Charlotte were fully fleshed characters that I strongly reacted to-- Charlotte irked me to no end most of the time, and quiet Nora was really the winner, the special one. She found out what really happened to Rose all those years ago, and she found the strength to kick the toxic bits of her life to the curb and find happiness. As a mystery and as a character study, this book is a winner.

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The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Title: The Distant Hours
Author: Kate Morton
ISBN: 9781439152782
Publisher: Atria, 2010
Hardcover, 576 pages
Genre: Suspense
Rating: C
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: Hush... Can you hear him?

Three elderly sisters live in a crumbling castle in the south of England, closely guarding their secrets, until the chance delivery of a 50-year-old letter to the mother of London book editor, Edie Burchill.

As a teenager, Edie's mother was evacuated to Milderhurst Castle during the Blitz and lived with author Raymond Blythe and his three daughters, twins Persephone and Seraphina, and Juniper. When Edie has an opportunity to read her mother's letter and to learn that her mother actually lived with the author of her favorite children's book, The True History of the Mud Man, she naturally wants to learn all she can about her mother's time there, the castle, and the Blythes. The thick, sticky spiderweb of secrets she blunders into has been in place for decades, and as they are exposed to the light of day, there will be repercussions for them all.

I loved Morton's first two books, The House at Riverton and The Forgotten Garden. The author's descriptive, atmospheric writing swept me away into these stories for long periods of time, and when I came up for air, I had to blink a few times to bring the world into focus. Not so with The Distant Hours.

With the exception of The True History of the Mud Man-- a children's book written by one of the characters-- which is truly creepy and stirred the hair on the back of my neck, I was never transported by the story. The book felt too much like the gothic romances by Dorothy Eden and Victoria Holt I read as a teenager.

Although Morton's characterizations are as excellent as they were in her first two books, once the cast of characters was in place, it was relatively easy for me to decipher all the secrets and know what happened at Milderhurst Castle. And... since I wasn't transported by the story, the book felt bloated and very slow-moving.

Has this put me off Kate Morton's writing? No. Besides, I really wouldn't call this a "bad" book, merely an average one. I enjoyed her first two books so much that I'll still be watching for the next.

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