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Z | Ann Cleeves
|  | Red bones : a thriller (2009)In the third installment of this Shetland Islands series, Inspector Jimmy Perez has doubts about the death of an elderly woman on the island who was shot late at night outside of her croft. The death is deemed an accident caused by a local man shooting rabbits after drinking too much. Meanwhile, at an archeological dig, a young woman working on a medieval site is found dead in a trench, apparently by suicide. Perez doubts that, too. The investigation features the young policeman Sandy Wilson, also a Shetland native, who helps uncover family secrets
that involve WWII connections with the Norwegian resistance, money coming from mysterious sources and commercial fishing. I love the description of the islands as well as the characters and their family connections. The mystery has a surprise ending, too. | | Reviewer: Liz Ferrari (January 2010)  Leave a comment | View comments (0)
You might also like: The Orkney scroll by Lyn Hamilton
Sacrifice by S J Bolton |
| Sara Paretsky
|  | Hardball (2009)Paretsky has written another page turner. As usual she incorporates social and political commentary. This mystery revolves around a missing person's case which takes the reader back to the Chicago riots in 1967. One of the book's themes is the history of racism in Chicago. Paretsky's detective protagonist, V. I. Warshawski, investigates people who knew the missing person. Her cousin inadvertently becomes involved with the case. Warshawski's work leads to the discovery of her family's secrets, some of which are dark, and the temporary disappearance of the cousin. This novel is as freshly written as the earlier Warshawski mysteries. It will appeal to readers with a Chicago interest. | | Reviewer: Suzanne Arist (December 2009) Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
| Ruth Rendell
|  | The monster in the box : an Inspector Wexford novel (2009)This Wexford tale does a lot of reminiscing: about his early years as a policeman, the courtship of his wife, Dora, and the changes in society and police work. Wexford has suspected the creepy Eric Targo of several murders that weren't solved, but had no proof. Over the years of his haunting by the "monster" Targo, he has risen in the police ranks, enjoyed a happy marriage, raised children and grandchildren. His current case involves a Muslim Pakistani family whose teenage daughter has gone missing. Wexford juggles the desire to be sensitive to immigrant life with the worry that the girl is the victim of forced marriage or even honor killing.
This novel isn't as sharply focused as some of Rendell's work, but for those who enjoy psychology and nostalgia, this is an engaging story. | | Reviewer: Liz Ferrari (November 2009) Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
| Peter Lovesey
|  | Skeleton Hill (2009)Lovesey's Peter Diamond stories are classic English police procedurals set in Bath and feature a middle-aged detective who goes his own brilliant way, frustrating his bosses and anyone expecting by-the-book investigation. This particular novel includes a lot of forensics as a skeleton is found during a reenactment of an English Civil War battle. Rather than being a 300-year-old war casualty, the skeleton is only 20 years in the ground and its discovery leads to fresh murders. Diamond is soon digging up past human trafficking crimes and the disappearance of a valuable racehorse. This should appeal to fans of Peter Robinson, Reginald Hill, John Harvey, and Ruth Rendell. | | Reviewer: Liz Ferrari (September 2009) Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
| Ann Cleeves
|  | White nights : a thriller (2008)The title refers to the summer nights in the Shetland Islands which never get dark at that latitude and cause restlessness and malaise among the inhabitants. Enter Jimmy Perez, police inspector for Shetland, who is faced with two murders. One of a stranger who came to an art gallery exhibition, broke down in sobs, claiming amnesia, and was found hanged the next morning. The other victim was a local young man, famous in the music world for his extraordinary fiddling, who had both friends and enemies in the village. Perez' investigation is supervised by ambitious Roy Taylor from Inverness who fails to understand island life and rhythms. He is forced to allow Perez to gather information from the locals in his own way. The mystery is interesting and wonderfully set in the stark, yet beautiful Shetland Islands. | | Reviewer: Liz Ferrari (July 2009) Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
| Jane Stanton Hitchcock
|  | Mortal Friends (2009)If you are looking for a summer read – a murder mystery without gore – Mortal Friends by Jane Stanton Hitchcock might fit the bill. Set in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C., we follow antiques dealer Reven Lynch and her long time friend Violet as they cope with a serial killer, the "Beltway Basher", in their midst. This fast- paced thriller has it all, betrayal, adultery, murder and mayhem involving socialites, senators, diplomats and detectives. Very entertaining. | | Reviewer: Kathleen Farrell (July 2009) Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
| James Lee Burke
|  | In the Moon of Red Ponies (2004)In a departure from his New Iberia crime novels, Burke sets this series in Montana. Former Texas Ranger Billy Bob Holland is now a lawyer with a nice family, but his first client, Johnny American Horse, a Gulf War hero and accused ecoterrorist, brings down a hornet's nest of corruption and shady dealings by some very influential, scary men. The plot takes some unsurprising turns, but includes nice psychological tension and a host of complex characters. Burke, two time winner of the Edgar Award for best crime novel, writes beautifully of the American West. | | Reviewer: Leslie Litoff (June 2009) Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
| Michael Stanley
|  | Carrion Death (2008)A skeleton is found in the game park in the Kalahari desert. Detective " Kubu" (Hippo) of the Botswana police - a man of ample proportions and great determinaton,is sent in to solve the crime. While Kubu is trying to identify the scant remains, a number of other people go missing. During the investigation, we are given insights into an international mining company, diamond smuggling, poaching, and various social issues in Botswana.The book is co-authored and the authors have extensive knowledge of the game parks. Carrion Death is the first in a series. The second is now published and is called "Second death of Goodluck Tinubu" | | Reviewer: Joan Blecher (May 2009) Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
| Reginald Hill
|  | The Price of Butcher's Meat (2008)In the the previous installment of the Dalziel and Pascoe series (Death Comes for the Fat Man), Det. Supt. Andy Dalziel was critically injured in a terrorist explosion. This novel describes his recovery in a convalescent center as his partner Peter Pascoe heads a murder investigation. The deceased was a titled lady in the seaside town containing the new, upscale medical facility, and she wasn't much mourned. Using her wealth to bully and manipulate everyone in her orbit, Lady Daphne Denham made lots of enemies. Dalziel puts his oar in the investigation regardless of his being on sick leave, but Pascoe has a new opportunity to run things. Much of the story and background is provided by a young woman observer in the form of emails, and Dalziel literally records his stream of consciousness on an MP3 player, so Hill is keeping up with the times. Fans of the series will be delighted to welcome back the likes of Wieldy, Franny Roote, Hat Bowler and other denizens of Reginald Hill's Yorkshire. | | Reviewer: Liz Ferrari (December 2008) Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
| Jacqueline Winspear
|  | An incomplete revenge: a Maisie Dobbs novel (2008)Set in 1930s England, the latest Maisie Dobbs novel continues her work as a private investigator who uses psychology skills to extract information from people. Her client wants to buy an estate and brickworks in a small Kent village, but is concerned about local petty crime and a spate of fires. During the hop-picking season in this rural area, temporary workers come from London and from Gypsy bands, giving the villagers a scapegoat for the trouble. But Maisie is suspicious of the nasty, bullying landowner and of the villagers' silence about a family killed in a zeppelin raid during WWI. I enjoy watching her means of gathering and analysing clues as well as the interesting recurring characters. It's a wonderful series. | | Reviewer: Liz Ferrari (July 2008) Leave a comment | View comments (0) |
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