Play Dead by Angela Marsons

 "Kim knew she would do what she always did. Throw herself into the next case that landed on her desk."

 

This well-written British crime thriller takes place in the Black Country in the West Midlands of England at the Westerley body farm. D.I. Kim Stone is called to the site when the fresh body of a young woman is discovered. Then a second body is found, and Kim suspects they have a serial killer on their hands.

This is the fourth book in Marsons' D.I. Kim Stone series. And while I haven't read any of the previous novels, I was able to jump into this one without feeling lost. It was clear there were details about Kim Stone's life that I didn't know, but that only made me want to go back and read the previous books in this series. Because despite Kim's brusqueness and lack of ability to play nice with others, I liked her. Her job is pretty much her life, though she does have a cute dog named Barney; and with every case her focus is on getting justice. She's not a warm and fuzzy person, but she's a good detective. And the mystery she's trying to solve in this one is interesting and unexpected. I guess I have another series to add to my TBR list, because I'd like to see what happens next in Kim's life. But first I want to check out the three previous novels which all sound as good as this one.

Happy Reading!

A Supernatural Mystery...

Title & Author:  Friend of the Devil by Stephen Lloyd

Setting:  Danforth Putnam, an elite boarding school located on a private island off the coast of New England.

Main characters:  Sam, an insurance investigator and former marine who's tough, perceptive, sarcastic, haunted, and funny; and Harriet, a teen reporter with epilepsy who's determined, smart, and spunky, Sam's looking into the theft of a rare book, and Harriet's investigating an incident of bullying when their paths intersect. Dark and strange things at Danforth Putnam surprise them both.

My thoughts:  This book is a fun combination of mystery, detective fiction and supernatural horror. There's good suspense and lots of humorous moments, and it reads fast. I loved Sam's snarkiness and Harriet's stubborn fearlessness. And there's a very explosive demonic twist at the end that I was NOT expecting. But I thought it was a good one. I ended up really liking this book. It's an entertaining summer read. 

Happy Reading!

 

Vanishing Girls by Lisa Regan

Detective Josie Quinn's life is a complete mess:  she's been suspended from the police force for using excessive force, her husband, who's also on Denton's police force, cheated on her but won't sign their divorce papers, her new boyfriend wants to marry her, a TV reporter won't stop hounding her, and she doesn't know what to do with all the free time she's got on her hands.

What she really wants to do is help find Isabelle Coleman, a teen who's gone missing. When another girl who's been missing for over a year unexpectedly turns up, Josie thinks the two cases are connected. But she's been forbidden from investigating either one. Only it's not in her nature to just stand by and watch, even if getting involved means jeopardizing her career. Or even her life. Because there's something going on in Denton, something dark and dangerous.

My thoughts:
There's a lot to like about this one: a well-developed, complicated main character, good pacing, unexpected twists and turns, a chilling mystery, and a suspenseful ending. This is the first book in Regan's Detective Josie Quinn mystery series, and it's an excellent read. I really enjoyed it. And I'm looking forward to reading the other books that follow. Here's hoping they're all as good as this one.

Happy Reading!

Murder and Mystery...

What do you get when you combine one snowbound train, one rich American found stabbed to death in his own locked sleeping compartment, one world-renown mustachioed detective, and twelve unrelated passengers who are all now murder suspects? Agatha Christie's classic mystery Murder on the Orient Express. After studying the dead man's compartment and interviewing the other passengers one by one, it's up to Hercule Poirot to solve the murder and apprehend the killer before the snow is cleared from the tracks, or the murderer strikes again.

"We know now all that we can know," said Poirot. "We have the evidence of the passengers, the evidence of their baggage, the evidence of our eyes. We can expect no further help. It must be our part now to use our brains."

I'm so glad that Agatha Christie's novels are still in print because I love reading them. I love her crisp prose, her well-drawn characters, and her ever-puzzling mysteries. I also love her sense of humor. Like when Mary Debenham, an English governess, first sees Poirot with his "enormous moustaches" and "egg-shaped head" and thinks to herself that he's "a ridiculous-looking little man. The sort of little man one could never take seriously." Christie can be unexpectedly funny. And Murder on the Orient Express is one of her best. I thoroughly enjoyed going on this bookish ride as Hercule Poirot figured out the who, what and why. I haven't read all of Christie's novels (yet), but here are three of my favorites if you want to give her books a try: The Seven Dials Mystery, Cat Among the Pigeons, and Sparkling Cyanide. 

Happy Reading!

From my TBR shelf...

Author Anthony Berkeley helped usher in the Golden Era of detective fiction. The Poisoned Chocolates Case is his 5th novel. It revolves around the exclusive Crimes Circle Club whose six members have an interest in murder, detection and criminal psychology; as an intellectual exercise, they've decided to solve a recent murder that has Scotland Yard stumped. The club members give themselves one week to study the case and come up with their own solutions, which they'll then present at their next meeting.

The crime they are trying to solve begins with a simple box of chocolates which is delivered anonymously to Sir Eustace Pennefeather at his club, the Rainbow. Not wanting them himself, he passes the chocolates onto Graham Bendix, who then gives them to his wife. Neither knows that the chocolates have been poisoned until Mrs. Bendix dies. It seems the intended target was Sir Eustace, but who would want to murder him? That's what the Crimes Circle intends to figure out.

It's a fun premise for a murder mystery. As each club member presents his or her solution, you as the reader learn a little bit more about the murder, but never enough to solve it completely, especially when the other members quickly refute the others' premises. I thought it was an interesting way to tell a story. And I liked Berkeley's style of writing and his sense of humor, like when he writes that candidates for the Crimes Circle Club "must have a brain and be able to use it" or when he writes that Mrs. Bendix "was not so serious-minded as not to have a healthy feminine interest in good chocolates". Is this the best murder mystery ever written? No. But it is a good one, and I enjoyed reading it. (With a box of chocolates nearby!) And because this book is "Older Than My Mom" it fills another Reading Bingo square which is an added bookish bonus. (Although it could also be in the running for the Ugly Cover square.)

Happy Reading!

Read this!

Title: Five by Ursula Archer
First Line: The place where his left ear used to be was throbbing to the rhythm of his heartbeat.
Genre: Psychological thriller
Setting: Salzburg, Austria

My thoughts: It's the murderer who drives this mystery, geocaching tantalizing clues to direct the police, especially detective Beatrice Kaspary, to the next victim. An incident from her past connects Beatrice to the killer, at least in his mind; now she must find a connection between the victims before more people die. But the clues the killer leaves are not easy to figure out, and Beatrice feels like she's always one step behind.

Reading this book is like watching a suspenseful game of chess between the detectives and the killer, where the uncertainty and importance of each of their next moves keeps you turning the pages far into the night. But Archer also develops her main characters so well that I was completely caught up in their personal lives and interested in their past histories. It's a good mix. And the killer was very unexpected. I love it when I find an author I haven't read before who ends up delivering such a riveting read; this book is an original and suspenseful mystery, and one that I liked a lot.

Happy Reading!