Doctored Evidence (2004) Donna Leon An elderly woman is discovered brutally murdered in her apartment. Suspicion immediately falls upon her maid, who has disappeared, and a man-hunt ensues. The interesting thing about this story is the book pretty much opens with the shocking injustice, rather than ending with it, the way these books normally do. […]
A Sea of Troubles (2001) Donna Leon I have no idea how I read this story out of order. The first time, I read it later, because of the order at which Penguin published this series. This time, however, there was no reason, except that the books ended up out of order. And when I […]
Uniform Justice (2003) Donna Leon This is an exceptionally depressing story. It starts with a young man–a boy, really–found dead. Hanging in the restroom of a military academy. Yeah. Depressing. Suddenly he had a vision of what it must have been for the Moros to attempt to remove evidence of Ernesto’s presence from their homes, […]
Willful Behavior (2002) Donna Leon One of Paola’s students asks her if Brunetti can answer a legal question for her. Brunetti says he can’t give her a clear answer without knowing more about her question, and the answers she does give him only lead to more questions. It also sidles up to a subject about […]
Friends in High Places (2000) Donna Leon When Commissario Guido Brunetti is visited by a young bureaucrat investigating the lack of official approval for the building of his apartment years earlier, his first reaction, like any other Venetian, is to think of whom he knows who might bring pressure to bear on the relevant government […]
Fatal Remedies (1999) Donna Leon This is one of my least favorite Brunetti stories, for a very specific reason. The story opens with Paola breaking the window of a travel agency. She does it for noble reason–she wants to make people aware of how these businesses were promoting the sex trade to third world countries. […]
A Noble Radiance (1998) Donna Leon A body is discovered in mountains–a body that had been hastily buried in a shallow grave some time before. The only immediately identifying feature is a signet ring–the ring of a family whose son had been kidnapped and held for random two years before. This was an especially dark […]
Quietly in Their Sleep/Death of Faith (1997) Donna Leon This was published as Death of Faith in Great Britain. So if you come across that, it’s the same as Quietly in their Sleep. Brunetti is surprised by a young woman who comes into his office, asking him to look into the deaths of five of […]
Acqua Alta (1996) Donna Leon This story returns to Brett and Flavia, who we met in the first book, Death at La Fenice. Brett has returned from China, only it appears that someone is not happy for her to have returned. It is the time of acqua alta, or high water, in Venice. The sirens […]
Death and Judgment (1995) Donna Leon This is a very dark story. In fact, considering my mood, I probably should have chosen something completely different to re-read. Attorney Carlo Trevisan was shot on the train, his body discovered right before the train reached the next station. There seem to be no obvious suspects, but the […]
Dressed for Death (1994) Donna Leon A body is discovered in Marghera–the industrial sector near Venice. It’s discovered because one of the worker’s in the slaughterhouse saw a pair of red high heeled shoes that he assumes were abandoned by one of the prostitutes who work in the area, and hoped they were clean and […]
Death in a Strange Country (1993) Donna Leon A body if found in the canal and all signs point to it being an American. ‘Ah, that could be it,’ the doctor said. ‘An American.’ ‘What?’ ‘Why he’s in such good shape,’ Rizzaldi answered… ‘That might explain it. They’re always so fit, so healthy.’ Together, they […]
Death at La Fenice (1992) Donna Leon (A Commissario Brunetti Mystery) When I saw this on sale as an eBook deal of the day on Amazon, I snatched it up. I am slowly coming to prefer eBooks to paper books, and am always glad to get favorites in electronic format. I first stumbled across Commissario […]
Whispers Under Ground (2012) Ben Aaronovitch Peter Grant is slowly getting used to being a copper for the Folly. The addition of Lesley as a new apprentice both gives Peter someone to work with, and eases some of the loneliness of working for a man who is much much older than he looks. I’m really […]
Moon Over Soho (2011) Ben Aaronovitch Peter Grant is not just a constable in the London’s Metropolitan Police, he’s also the Met’s only apprentice magician. And while he’s governor/master is recovering from being shot, Peter’s on his own probably more than he should be. So it is Peter who is called in when Dr. Walid […]
Midnight Riot (2011) Ben Aaronovitch Peter Grant wants to be a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Unfortunately, his tendency to be distracted looks like it’s going to head him into the Case Progression Unit. Until one night he comes across a witness to a crime no one else has talked to. Too bad that witness […]
The Dance of the Seagull (2013) Andrea Camilleri I really love the Inspector Montalbano series. In fact, I received this ARC yesterday when I got home from work, started reading it, and continued reading until I was finished, despite it being past my bedtime on a work night. :) Salvo Montalbano is getting old. He […]
Vulture Peak (2012) John Burdett Sonchai is in over his head now. Colonel Vikorn has decided (was ordered?) to run for governor of Bangkok. Because General Zinna controls the local trade in body parts, Vikorn has decided that wiping out selling of illegal body parts is the way to make his name and propel himself […]
Beastly Things (2012) Donna Leon I love this series. I love spending time in Venice with Commissario Brunetti and has family, I love all the characters he deals with, and I love the complexity of his family and co-workers. It’s funny, but for the most part, the mysteries take a back seat to everything else […]
Drawing Conclusions (2010) Donna Leon I love Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti series. Brunetti is a mostly honest police detective who works in a mostly dishonest and entirely complex system. He is also in love with his wife and has two decent kids, and has co-workers who respect him. Of course, everything isn’t perfect. His boss […]
About Face (2009) Donna Leon I checked my shelves and noticed I didn’t have About Face. The reason I didn’t see it is because I’d gotten it on clearance in hardback. So, it’s just as well I now have it in paperback. And of course, once I started reading, I had to finish re-reading it. […]
The Age of Doubt (2008/2012) Andrea Camilleri I think one of the things I like about this series is that Andrea Camilleri hasn’t felt the need to rehabilitate Montalbano–he’s still a bastard, and still talks without thinking, but he’s also still good at his job, despite the fact he has to be close to retirement […]
Exit Music (2007) Ian Rankin I’d put off reading Exit Music, the last Rebus book, for several months. Because it is the last Rebus book, and I wasn’t ready for it yet. Rebus, of course, ends his story the way he began it: stubborn, contrary, and in trouble. A Russian poet is found dead, and […]
Bryant & May Off the Rails (2010) Christopher Fowler I have to admit, I put off reading this book for several months, and once I picked it up, put it down several times before I could actually get into the story. This has absolutely nothing to do with the story, and everything to do with […]
Naked City (2011) edited by Ellen Datlow This collection of urban fantasy stories has several of my favorite authors, so it was a no-brainer to get. The bad thing is that I’ve been reading this collection for several months, so I now have no idea what the stories at the start of the anthology were […]
Bangkok Tattoo (2005) John Burdett After rereading Bangkok 8, I felt the need to reread Bangkok Tattoo. It’s not as good as Bangkok 8, which I love. But it’s still good. Previous review.
Bangkok 8 (2003) John Burdett Yeah, this is a reread, but it’s on sale on Amazon as an eBook for $1.99. I couldn’t resist. Here’s my first review, which tells you a tiny bit about the story: https://klishis.com/reading/archives/486. The nice thing about eBooks is it’s easier to mark passages that tickle my fancy. So this […]
The Naming of the Dead (2006) Ian Rankin This is the penultimate Rebus novel. I have Exit Music left, and then I’m done. The G8 has come to Edinburgh, and almost every cop in Britain has descended upon the city, to help provide security for the heads of state that are coming. Except, of course, […]
Fleshmarket Alley (2004) Ian Rankin As he slowly approaches retirement, Rebus finds himself pushed more and more to the sidelines. When St Leonard’s closes, Rebus and Siobhan are sent to Gayfield Square, where they didn’t particularly need another Detective Inspector. Siobahn is slightly better off, but her long association with Rebus can’t do her very […]
The Potter’s Field (2008) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli I fear that the end of the Inspector Montalbano may be in sight. Of course, since it’s at least three years from publication to translation, even when the series ends, I’ll have another book coming. Unless this was the last book. I hope this isn’t […]
Dark Entries (2009) Ian Rankin, Werther Dell’Edera I have a conflicted relationship with John Constantine stories. I love the idea of who Constantine is, but for some reason the stories always fall short of my expectations in some manner. But when I saw that Ian Rankin–whose John Rebus mysteries I love–had written a Constantine graphic […]
A Question of Blood (2003) Ian Rankin Once again, Rebus is in trouble. A thug who was bothering Siobhan has turned up dead, and Rebus has made himself a prime suspect. Because Rebus is partially out of commission with badly scalded hands, Siobhan ends up driving him around when he’s called in as an expert […]
Resurrection Men (2002) Ian Rankin Rebus has done it this time. He’s finally put himself in limbo of sorts–a last chance “retraining” course for cops who can’t keep themselves out of trouble. This “last chance” group is referred to as the “Resurrection Men”–a group who are being given once last chance to revive their careers. […]
The Falls (2000) Ian Rankin The daughter of a wealthy banker disappears, and all the police are placed on high alert to help in the search. Her boyfriend–with whom she had a fight the afternoon before disappearing–expects he’s the prime suspect, but a search of her email turns up a mysterious webmaster with whom she […]
Set in Darkness (2000) Ian Rankin Detective Chief Superintendent Watson has just months left until retirement, and wants to keep Rebus out of trouble until that time passes, so Rebus is put on the committee looking at the new Parliament building/old hospital. But as nothing goes smoothly with Rebus around, a skeleton is discovered boarded […]
Dead Souls (1999) Ian Rankin Inspector Rebus is not having an easy time of it. Pedophiles on trial and perhaps released back into the community. A serial killer shipped back to Edinburgh after he is released from prison in the United States, a missing person’s case to which he is inadvertently drawn, a continued rocky […]
The Hanging Garden (1998) Ian Rankin The story starts in the middle, moves back to the beginning, and then moves forward again. So we discover quite quickly that Rebus is in the middle of an investigation of a possible WWII war crime, a war is breaking out between the organized crime groups, and Rebus’ daughter […]
The Godfather of Kathmandu (2010) John Burdett Several years ago I feel in love with Bangkok 8. Sonchai is a fascinating complex character and the city in which he lives is a character in the book as complex as he is. So I was happy to see The Godfather of Kathmandu arrive. I had waited […]
The Iron Khan (2010) Liz Williams I stumbled across The Snake Agent in 2007, and since then have eagerly bought books in the Detective Inspector Chen series whenever they came out. However, at some point finding those books was getting to be more and more difficult. Scuttlebutt has it that Night Share Books (the original […]
Black and Blue (1997) Ian Rankin Inspector Rebus is paying for his actions in the last book. He’s been sent to one of the worst precincts in the area, supposedly to help them with their move and because another DI is out on medical leave, but Rebus knows why he’s there–even if no one else […]
Let it Bleed (1996) Ian Rankin The book starts with a car chase–a chase Rebus wants no part of–that leads to the death by suicide of the two teenagers they were chasing. This is followed by the death of an ex-con who just got out of prison. Neither suicide makes any sense to Rebus, and […]
Mortal Causes (1994) Ian Rankin This is the sixth Inspector John Rebus book. It’s the Edinburgh Festival, and everyone is working extra shifts. Unfortunately for Rebus, on his Saturday night shift someone discovers the body of a man who was tortured and executed and it looks like it might be a sectarian/gangland murder, something that […]
The Black Book (1993) Ian Rankin The fifth Inspector John Rebus book starts with Rebus being kicked out by Patience, he has been placed on a task force he doesn’t think will succeed, his brother Michael reappears in his life, and Brian Holmes being attacked and found unconscious. Trying to discover what could have lead […]
The Track of Sand (2007) Andrea Camilleri translated by Stephen Sartarelli Despite the fact he is quite frequently a right bastard, I am terribly fond of Montalbano. Salvo awakes from a bad dream, and so wanders out to the beach behind is house to clear his head only to discover a dead horse–a horse that […]
A Question of Belief (2010) Donna Leon It’s summer in Venice, and Brunetti wishes that all criminals would take a vacation with the rest of the country, to allow them to escape the oppressive heat. But even if the criminals were to take a break, two different problems that may or may not be crimes […]
About Face (2009) Donna Leon Brunetti and Paola are invited to a formal dinner at her parent’s house. During the dinner, Brunetti is seated across from an arresting woman–her facial features are frozen–rumor says through too much plastic surgery. Brunetti is unsure how to take this woman, but when she begins to speak of books, […]
Bryant & May on the Loose (2009) Christopher Fowler At the close of Victoria Vanishes, the PCU was disbanded, the staff placed on leave, and Bryant remains at home, barely able to get out of bed and slowly slipping away. However, the accidental discovery of a body by a staff member at loose ends brings […]
Willful Behavior (2002) Donna Leon I really hate the way this series is released/re-released in the US. This book was originally published in 2002, but I wasn’t able to get my hands on it until this year. Which is frustrating, since it obliquely referred to events in the previous book, which was not the book […]
Strip Jack (1992) Ian Rankin When a raid on a brothel operating secretly in Edinburgh nets a local MP, Inspector Rebus thinks things feel a little off–Gregor Jack isn’t the kind of MP you’d expect to find at a brothel, and his reaction during the raid isn’t precisely what Rebus would have expected. From there, […]
Hide and Seek (1990) Ian Rankin After reading his anthology A Good Hanging, I decided to pick up another of Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus books. I had ’em in the house, just never got around to reading any further in the series, because the first two books I read were quite dark, and I wasn’t […]