The Ritual Bath (1986) Faye Kellerman Rina Lazarus is a young widow with two sons who teaches at the yeshiva and who helps maintain the mikvah–the bath used for ritual cleansing. Peter Decker is a detective for the LAPD, and is called out when a rape occurs at the yeshiva. “A rape in Jewtown,” Marge […]
Mission for a Queen (2016) Tracy Grant Set in London and Europe in the summer of 1818 Malcolm and Susanne/Melanie have fled London, along with their children, Raoul, and Laura, while the friends back on London try to piece together what happened, and keep their disappearance as quiet and boring as possible. David and Simon […]
The Monkey’s Raincoat (1987) Robert Crais I read this series while I was recovering from my broken ankle, so I had very little memory of this book. In fact, I was 87% through the book before I came across a scene and thought “I remember that!” Those were definitely some very good drugs I was […]
Shores of Desire (1997) Tracy Grant Set in Scotland and Europe in 1815 There are actually three primary characters in this story: Robert, Emma, and the War with Napoleon. Emma was used to dealing with everyday injuries, wounds from fights and falls and accidents. Save when Allan had been invalided home, his wounds already neatly […]
Dark Angel (1994) Tracy Grant Set in Spain and England in 1813 Still out of sorts and not sure what I’m in the mood for, I went for something completely different: historical mystery/romance. I think one of the things I particularly like about Tracy Grant’s stories is that the children are an integral part of […]
Rivers of London Volume 3: Black Mould (2017) Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan This comic occurs between Foxglove Summer and The Hanging Tree . It’s also how Peter ends up working more with Sahra Guleed, who I also adore. And I love how snarky both of them are about the racism they deal with […]
The Rook (2012) Daniel O’Malley I spent what felt like an entire day starting a book, then putting it aside because THAT was not what I was in the mood for. Or what I thought I might want to read I don’t have as an ebook. Whine whine whine. So I opened up Calibre and […]
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? (2016) Paul Cornell (Shadow Police) This is the third Shadow Police book, and finds the group in sad shape. The three other members of his team were standing apart from one another, looking off in different directions, like they were an indie band posing for an album cover. Quill is troubled […]
A Perilous Undertaking (2017) Deanna Raybourn Set in London in 1887. The second Veronica Speedwell mystery finds Veronica and Stoker preparing for an expedition–until their benefactor breaks his leg tripping over his giant tortoise. This leaves both cranky with each other until a new mystery is dropped in their laps. Veronica is summoned to the […]
The Hanging Tree (2017) Ben Aaronovitch I just went back and checked, and I pre-ordered this August 2015. The publication date of this book got pushed back a lot. Yes, there were three (almost complete) comics published in the interim, but I know that didn’t appease a lot of people. Me? I’m good with it. […]
A Curious Beginning (2015) Deanna Raybourn Set in London in 1887 This had been on my wishlist for awhile, because although I found her other series vaguely annoying (both not so annoying that I didn’t read multiple books) this seemed right up my alley. As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee, Veronica […]
Strange Shores (2010/2012) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Victoria Cribb Hear that wooshing sound? That was the foreshadowing of the previous two books AND events in this book going right over my head. I finished the book, blinking in surprise at the ending, and then I thought for a moment and wondered why I was surprised–this […]
The Ghoul Vendetta (2017) Lisa Shearin I adore this series. It’s so fun and enjoyable–despite all the ghouls and monsters. The nephew of a vampire lord is kidnapped at an elite yacht party Mac is attending with Rake (the wealthy goblin businessman and dark mage she’s sort-of dating, but still isn’t sure about.). This is […]
Black Skies (2009/2012) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Victoria Cribb This story is set parallel to the previous, Outrage and the detective is Sigurdur Óli. I decided to buckle down and finally read this. There are several different threads to this story, which made it easier for me to read once the story got going. First, […]
Outrage (2008/2011) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Anna Yates Erlunder has taken a leave of absence and headed east to where he grew up, leaving Elínborg in charge of a bloody murder–a murder where the victim is found in possession of Rohypnol and clearly had sex shortly before he died. This is an interesting book on […]
Hypothermia (2007/009) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Victoria Cribb When a woman arrives at her friend’s lake house, she is horrified to discover her friend’s body hanging from the rafters. The dead woman had been seriously grieving since the death of her mother, and everything points to suicide, except that something doesn’t seem quite right. An […]
Arctic Chill (2005/2009) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder and Victoria Cribb This story opens with the finding of a dead child. ‘Where do you think he’s from?’ Sigurdur Óli wondered. ‘He looks Asian to me,’ Elínborg said. ‘Could be Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese,’ Sigurdur Óli reeled off. ‘Shouldn’t we say he’s an […]
The Draining Lake (2004/2007) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder A skeleton has been found in Lake Kleifarvatn–a skeleton with a hole in its skull and a rope tied to a piece of defunct Soviet spying equipment around its waist. The story shifts back and forth between the present-day search for the murderer and the […]
Voices (2003/2006) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder A hotel worker is found dead in the tiny closet in which he lived in the hotel. His drawers are down and he has been stabbed repeatedly. ‘Is he up or down?’ Erlendur asked. ‘Up or down?’ the fat manager puffed. ‘Do you mean whether he’s gone […]
Silence of the Grave (2003/2006) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder The second Inspector Erlendur book finds Erlendur, Sigurdur Óli, and Elínborg called to a construction site, where a boy has found a human bone. A quick inspection discovers more bones–a skeleton dating back to probably WWII. The skeleton is to be dug up by […]
Jar City (2000/2004) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder Inspector Erlendur works for the Reykjavík police, and he and his colleagues are called to an apartment where and old man was murdered. The elder son, 9 years old, was not as cautious as his father and quick as a flash he was in the neighbour’s […]
The Water Room (2004) Christopher Fowler The second Peculiar Crimes Unit finds everyone at loose ends until the Met assigns them new cases, as they set up their new offices. Afraid that they’ll lose the few people they have if they aren’t kept busy, Bryant and May give them errands based upon requests friends and […]
Full Dark House (2003) Christopher Fowler Bryant & May met during the bombing of London during WWII, when May joined the force and was set to the Peculiar Crimes Unit, where Bryant was the lead detective. The story starts in the modern day, when the PCU office has been blown up and it is believed […]
Ghosts in the Snow (2004) Tamara Siler Jones Dubric sees ghosts. But not all ghosts, just the ghosts of the murdered. Cursed by the Goddess Malanna after his wife’s murder forty-three summers before, Dubric had long struggled to ignore the horrid images of wrongful death. … He often wondered if he solved their murders to […]
Street Magicks (2016) edited by Paula Guran I believe it took me less than a year to finish this anthology. Hopefully this is a new trend for me. “Freewheeling” by Charles de Lint “A Year and a Day in Old Theradane” by Scott Lynch “Caligo Lane” by Ellen Klages “Socks” by Delia Sherman “Painted Birds […]
Beyond the Pale: A Fantasy Anthology (2014) edited by Henry Herz I probably started reading this right after it came out, and got hung up on a single story. Two years later I decided to skip through the stories that didn’t interest me and finish the anthology. “Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela” by […]
Bad Intentions (2008/2010) Karin Fossum translated by Charlotte Barslund Three young men go out on a lake at night. One–the young man on release from the psychiatric hospital–falls into the lake. One of the two remaining men keeps the other from going into the lake after their friend, and contrives a complicated story about how […]
The Water’s Edge (2007/2009) Karin Fossum translated Charlotte Barslund A married couple, out for their weekly walk, pass a strange man exiting the area, and then stumble upon the body of a young boy. One of the things I especially like about Inspectors Sejer is that his thinks a good deal about the victims and […]
Black Seconds (2002/2007) Karin Fossum translated by Charlotte Barslund I read a bunch of Inspector Sejer mysteries a couple years ago, but when I picked this one up and realized that the murder victim was going to be a child, I went to something else. So there’s your upfront warning. The victim is a child. […]
The Impossible Dead (2011) Ian Rankin The second Malcolm Fox book finds the Complaints in Kirckaldy investigating officers who worked an officer was just convicted and who during that officers trial couldn’t seem to remember any details regarding the incidents that led to the conviction. Paul Carter was the reason they’d come to Fife. Carter […]
The Complaints (2009) Ian Rankin Malcolm Fox works in The Complaints, Complaints and Conduct – Professional Standards Unit, the British version of Internal Affairs. They investigate crooked cops, and are usually despised by other cops. “I hate to say it,” she laughed, “but you do look like a cop. I think it’s the posture, or […]
The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories (2015) Ian Rankin ‘Dead and Buried’ (2013) ‘Playback,’ ‘The Dean Curse,’ ‘Being Frank,’ ‘Concrete Evidence,’ ‘Seeing Things,’ ‘A Good Hanging,’ ‘Tit for Tat,’ ‘Not Provan,’ ‘Sunday,’ ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ ‘The Gentleman’s Club,’ ‘Monstrous Trumpet’ from A Good Hanging (And Other Short Stories, Featuring Inspector Rebus) (2002) ‘My […]
The Severed Streets (2014) Paul Cornell (Shadow Police) Well done, Paul Cornell, well done. He turned round and saw that he’d encountered the long legs of a man in black jeans, black T-shirt and black leather jacket who was sitting in a discreet corner of the bar, his mobile phone in his hand. He had […]
The Dragon Conspiracy, Audible Version (2015) Lisa Shearin, narrated by Johanna Parker This is another audio book I finished earlier in the fall and forgot to review. The second SPI files book finds Makenna and Ian at a Gala opening at the Met, displaying a collection of rare gems that will soon be up for […]
A Voice in the Night (2012/2016) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli Inspector Montalbano is turning 58 and not in the least happy about it. From that moment on, he was going to stop taking public transportation, for fear that some young person might give him his seat upon seeing him. Then it occurred to […]
The Escapement of Blackledge (2016) Mary Robinette Kowal Set in alternate Regency London The Duke of Blackledge does NOT want to attend his coming-of-age birthday party, however, his mother is insistent. But there is only so much he can take, so he escapes to his laboratory where he works on his automatons, only to find […]
Shroud for the Archbishop (1995) Peter Tremayne Set in Rome in 664. The second Fidelma mystery finds Fidelma and Eadulf in Rome, where Eadulf is secretary to Wighard, Archbishop designate of Canterbury and Fidelma is to present various items to the Bishop of Rome. Again, Fidelma suffers culture shock as she sees the restricted rights […]
Absolution By Murder (1994) Peter Tremayne Set in England in 664 I’d read these years and years ago, and had been looking for the eBook versions to go on sale, but no joy, so I broke down and bought the first two ebooks. Sister Fidelma follows the Celtic Christian tradition, but more importantly to the […]
The Lost Child of Lychford (2016) Paul Cornell It’s December in Lychford, Lizzie’s first Christmas as Reverend of St. Martin’s–the busiest and most stressful time of the year in the church. “The song ‘I Believe in Father Christmas,’” she continued to Sue and Oliver, her elderly churchwardens, twelve hours later, at their weekly meeting round […]
The Holy Thief (1992) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1144. Two very different groups have stopped by the Benedictine abbey: a troubadour and his entourage, and a brother and a novice from Ramsey–seeing funds and help to rebuild the abbey and the city there, destroyed by Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex. But a […]
The Summer of the Danes (1991) Ellis Peters Set in Wales in 1144. This story is quite different from others in this series. Like the first, it is set in Wales, but instead of a peaceful search for a saint, there is a possibility of a fight between brothers and then invasion (by the Danes […]
The Potter’s Field (1989) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1143. The war between King Stephen and Empress Maud continues, and raiders have attacked East Anglia, sending the residents and the local Benedictines fleeing. The novice Sulien Blount is sent back to Shrewsbury both to escape the raiders and to consider whether he truly wants […]
The Heretic’s Apprentice (1989) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1143. William of Lythwood has returned from his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in a coffin. He died of illness on his return home, and his attendant Elave has brought his body back to his family. However, a visiting cleric raises doubts as to whether […]
The Confession of Brother Haluin (1988) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1143. Brother Haluin came to the abbey as a novice, and as a brother did penance beyond what it was believed he owed. But there are some born to do penance by nature. Maybe they, lift the load for some of us who […]
The Hermit of Eyton Forest (1987) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1142. The 14th Brother Cadfael book sees the Civil War still causing problems, and sees further reversals between the two contestants for the throne. Back at the Abbey, Cadfael has a new helper, another young novice. “Yes, I should think he might do […]
The Rose Rent (1986) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1142. The 13th Brother Cadfael mystery revolves around a property that had been donated to the Abbey by a widow, with an unusual stipulation. One white rose from that bush in her old garden, to be delivered to her on the day of Saint Winifred’s […]
The Raven in the Foregate (1986) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1141. The 12th Brother Cadfael mystery finds a new priest come to the local parish–a priest sent by bishop Henry of Winchester. Although he is educated and pious, it soon becomes clear that he is not well suited to being a parish priest. […]
An Excellent Mystery (1985) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1141. The town of Winchester has been destroyed in the war between Maud and Stephen, and the people–as well as the Benedictine brothers and nuns–have scattered across the country to wherever they can find refuge. Two monks arrive at the Abbey of Saint Peter and […]
The Pilgrim of Hate (1984) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1141 The 10th Brother Cadfael novel finds the Abbey preparing for the celebration of Saint Winifred, and pilgrims arriving in hopes of a miracle. This celebration is a reprieve from the civil war that has been tearing up the country for three years. I […]
Dead Man’s Ransom (1984) Ellis Peters Set in England and Wales in 1141. The civil war continues to tear through England, reaching back towards Shrewsbury, where Hugh and the local sheriff are sent off to fight against the Earls of Chester and Lincoln as well as a marauder from Wales. When the sheriff is taken, […]