"November always seemed to me the Norway of the year."
~ Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), American poet |
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New and Recently Released!
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| The Cinderella Killer: A Charles Paris Novel by Simon BrettMystery. It's just a few weeks before Christmas when American sitcom star Kenny Polizzi arrives in Eastbourne to act in a traditional English pantomime (even though he doesn't know what one is). He's there because he's trying to get away from a variety of troubles in the U.S., including a soon-to-be ex-wife, an obsessed groupie, and a drinking problem. Aging actor and sometime-sleuth Charles Paris helps the charming Kenny navigate the cultural differences in England in his witty 19th outing, an effort that tangles him up in the actor's complicated relationships...and in a murder. Earlier this year, prolific author Simon Brett was presented with the CWA Diamond Dagger, one of the highest accolades for crime writers. |
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| Fighting Chance: A Gregor Demarkian Novel by Jane HaddamMystery. In a very personal case, retired FBI agent Gregor Demarkian breaks his own rules about consulting work when his best friend, elderly Philadelphia parish priest Tibor Kasparian, is accused of murder. The police have their reasons for arresting Kasparian: he was, after all, found alone with the murder victim, he was holding the murder weapon at the time, and a cellphone video seems to show him using it. He also refuses to say anything in his own defense. But Demarkian isn't called the Armenian-American Hercule Poirot for nothing, and fans of fair-play mysteries like those by Agatha Christie will enjoy the excellent plotting in this 29th Gregor Demarkian appearance. |
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| Autumn Killing: A Thriller by Mons KallentoftPolice Procedural. Troubled Swedish police superintendent Malin Fors is still recovering emotionally from the events of her last case (see Summer Death, the 2nd in the series featuring her, for details). But when the new owner of a nearby castle is found stabbed and floating facedown in his moat, the single mom must figure out who killed the ruthless businessman. As Malin and her partner gather an abundance of suspects, her drinking gets even more out of control. Fans of Stieg Larsson's bestsellers will appreciate this novel's pacing and intriguing characters, but readers who'd like a faster paced Swedish police procedural featuring a female detective should try Helene Tursten's Irene Huss mysteries or Kristina Ohlsson’s Fredericka Bergman mysteries. |
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| The Killer Next Door by Alex MarwoodCrime Novel. People who have nowhere to go still have to go somewhere. Six such people have ended up at 23 Beulah Grove, a rundown south London boardinghouse that's taken care of by a lecherous landlord who accepts cash and doesn't do background checks. Things go from bad to worse for the furtive tenants when they are forced into an uneasy alliance by a terrible accident. And then it becomes clear that one of them is a killer. Packed with dark humor, unrelenting suspense, and realistically troubled characters, The Killer Next Door is a "taut, fascinating tale that's not for the weak of stomach" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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| The Scent of Death by Andrew TaylorHistorical Mystery. Edward Savill, a London clerk from Britain's American Department, arrives in British-held New York City in August 1778, and finds it to be hot, crowded, and ravaged by several fires (possibly set by desperate American rebels). Within hours of stepping foot on land, Savill's involved in the murder investigation of a Loyalist gentleman killed in an unseemly part of town. Residing with the well-to-do Wintour family, whose son has disappeared behind enemy lines, Savill is drawn to the missing man's unforgettable wife, even as tensions rise during the Revolution. Originally published last year in the U.K., this atmospheric mystery won the 2013 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Award. |
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Anne Perry is acclaimed for her well-researched, richly detailed historical mystery series that probe social issues and the underside of Victorian society. If you haven't read Perry's books before, it is best, but not essential, to start with the 1st in each of her series. The Cater Street Hangman introduces upper-class Charlotte Ellison and police Inspector Thomas Pitt, who eventually marry. The William Monk series begins with The Face of a Stranger, as the amnesic police detective investigates a murder and meets Crimean War nurse Hester Latterly. For the last decade or so, Perry has also published an annual Christmas novel; this year's is A New York Christmas and features the daughter of Charlotte and Thomas Pitt.
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| The Alienist by Caleb CarrHistorical Mystery. In 1896, New York City Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt asks his old friend Laszlo Kreizler, an alienist (i.e. a psychologist), to help solve the horrendous murders of some of the city's lost children, many of them immigrants. Kreizler agrees and joins forces with a journalist, two Jewish brothers, and an aspiring policewoman. The team uses radical techniques -- such as fingerprinting and psychological profiling -- to try to catch a killer. If you like the historical details of Perry's books and enjoy a New York City setting, this acclaimed bestseller will please (there's also a sequel, The Angel of Darkness). |
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| A Place of Execution by Val McDermidMystery. Taking place in the 1960s and the 1990s, A Place of Execution follows police Inspector George Bennett as he investigates the disappearance of 13-year-old Alison Carter during the Beatlemania years, and crime journalist Catherine Healthcote, who writes a book about the case three decades later. What happened to Alison, the stepdaughter of the local squire, who'd gone out to walk the dog and never returned? Does her disappearance have anything to do with two other missing girls in a nearby area? As Bennett tries to find out, he discovers the insular villagers don't have much to say. Though Val McDermid writes books with more modern settings, Anne Perry fans who don't mind leaving the Victorian era should appreciate her dark, atmospheric tales written in elegant language with strong characters. |
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| Shinjū by Laura Joh RowlandHistorical Mystery. In late 17th-century Japan, Sano Ichirō, a samurai and police detective, goes against his superior's orders in order to investigate the suspicious double drowning of a peasant man and a noblewoman. The two were supposedly star-crossed lovers, and the official reason for death is shinjū, a double love suicide. But as Sano looks deeper, he uncovers an intricate plot of political intrigue and murder. Though this 1st book in the popular Sano Ichirō series is a decided change in time and place from Anne Perry's novels, her fans will still find accurate historical and social details and the same serious tone. The 18th Sano novel, The Iris Fan, comes out in December. |
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| Murder on Astor Place: A Gaslight Mystery by Victoria ThompsonHistorical Mystery. Following a routine delivery of a newborn in a turn-of-the-century New York rooming house, midwife Sarah Brandt discovers that another boarder, a young girl, has been murdered. Despite the girl's family, which mysteriously wields their influence to stop the police investigation, N.Y.P.D. Sergeant Frank Malloy teams up with Sarah to hunt for the killer, which forces Sarah to revisit the upper-class background she left behind and still disdains. Those who appreciate Anne Perry's detail-rich stories and examination of class differences among romantic couples will want to meet Thompson's sleuthing pair. This is the 1st novel in the well-researched Gaslight series; the latest, Murder in Murray Hill, was released earlier this year. |
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