Tags
families, FBI, investigation, missing persons, Sausalito (CA), Secrecy, stepdaughters, thriller fiction
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
13 Wednesday Oct 2021
Category Archives: mystery
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
03 Friday Sep 2021
Tags
authors, authorship, book plots, novelists, plagiarism, psychological, theft, truthfulness and falsehood
When a failed writer hears an amazing idea for a novel, he never imagines he’ll one day get the chance to take it for the plot of his own book. His book is a huge success, but someone else knows that it wasn’t really his idea. This suspenseful novel was a real page turner!
“As a longtime fan of Korelitz’s novels (including “You Should Have Known,” which was made into HBO’s “The Undoing”), I will say that I think The Plot is her gutsiest, most consequential book yet. It keeps you guessing and wondering, and also keeps you thinking: about ambition, fame and the nature of intellectual property (the analog kind).”―The New York Times Book Review
“Deep character development, an impressively thick tapestry of intertwining story lines, and a candid glimpse into the publishing business make this a page-turner of the highest order. Korelitz deserves acclaim for her own perfect plot.”
―Publishers Weekly (STARRED Review)
“’The Plot’ is wickedly funny and chillingly grim…it deserves to garner all the brass rings.”―The Wall Street Journal
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Justice and Mercy: a Post Civil War Mystery by Lea Wait
11 Wednesday Aug 2021
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The author, Lea Wait, died last year and was known for her cozy mysteries, though this one is an historical mystery. It was independently published. I really liked this book.
It’s April of 1865, disabled Civil War veteran lawyer Aaron Stone, visiting his Aunt Cornelia in upstate New York State and hoping to end the pain and nightmares only opium and morphine can mitigate, finds a bludgeoned body revealed by receding Erie Canal flood waters. He determines to identify the unknown man and bring peace to that man’s family.
Northern Spy by Flynn Berry
29 Tuesday Jun 2021
Tags
detective and mystery, Irish Republican Army, Northern Ireland, single mothers, sisters, suspense
A gripping, suspenseful page-turner that follows two sisters living in Northern Ireland. Once I started, this was hard to put down!
“[A] twisting . . . emotional thriller . . . Berry’s portrayal of Irish life is uncannily accurate . . . dropping readers headfirst into the emotions of living in conflict.” —Booklist (starred review)
“A chilling, gorgeously written tale of a modern community poisoned by ancient grievances . . . Berry is a beautiful writer with a sophisticated, nuanced understanding of this most complicated of places.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Thrillingly good . . . Flynn Berry shows a le Carré-like flair for making you wonder what’s really going on at any given moment . . . Berry won an Edgar for Under the Harrow in 2017. Here comes another contender.” —The Washington Post
“A taut and compassionate thriller . . . [and a] reflection on personal choice and consequence . . . A poignant and lyrical novel that asks what is worth sacrificing for peace.” —Kirkus (starred review)
Charity’s Burden by Edith Maxwell (A Quaker Midwife Mystery, 4)
26 Friday Feb 2021
For readers looking for an absorbing, leisurely-paced story which centers around women’s lives and issues, this bittersweet novel won’t disappoint. The book won the 2020 Agatha Award (presented for the cozy mystery subgenre) for best historical mystery. It is the fourth novel in local author Edith Maxwell’s Quaker Midwife series set in Amesbury, Massachusetts in the late 19th century.
“An intriguing look at life in 19th-century New England, a heroine whose goodness guides all her decisions, and a mystery that surprises.”―Kirkus Reviews
“Rose Carroll is a richly crafted and appealing sleuth. A terrific historical read.”―Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author
“The historical setting is redolent and delicious, the townspeople engaging, and the plot a proper puzzle, but it’s Rose Carroll―midwife, Quaker, sleuth―who captivates in this irresistible series debut.”―Catriona McPherson, award-winning author of the Dandy Gilver series
All the Devils are Here (Chief Inspector Gamache Series #16) by Louise Penny
19 Tuesday Jan 2021
Posted in 20th century, detective, Fiction, murder and investigation, mystery, suspense
Tags
Armand Gamache (fictitious character), attempted murder, billionaires, Canada, codes and cipher, conspiracies, detective, France, Paris, Quebec
Even though this is the 16th book in a series, you don’t need to have read the previous books to enjoy this mystery. Penny is expert at creating a sense of place. In these times when we can’t travel, revel in Paris sounds, tastes, sights. You’ll experience the underlying theme of all of Penny’s books: to Honor Thy Family ― the one you were born with and the one you’ve acquired during your lifetime.
“Armand Gamache seems as much a spiritual warrior as a homicide detective… What stays with the reader are the tender passages, the human insights, the reminders of what makes life worth living.”―Wall Street Journal
“As always, Penny’s mystery is meticulously constructed and reveals hard truths about the hidden workings of the world―as well as the workings of the Gamache family. But there’s plenty of local color, too, with a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower to escape surveillance and a luxurious suite at the Hotel George V for good measure. If you’re new to Penny’s world, this would be a great place to jump in. Then go back and start the series from the beginning.”―Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“Exceptional… Penny’s nuanced exploration of the human spirit continues to distinguish this brilliant series.”―Publishers Weekly (starred)
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The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
02 Monday Nov 2020
Posted in Fiction, mystery, United States
Tags
1950's, African American women, detective, mystery, passing (identity), racial indentity, sisters, Southern town, twins
“The Vanishing Half is an utterly mesmerizing novel, which gripped me from the first word to the last. It seduces with its literary flair, surprises with its breath-taking plot twists, delights with its psychological insights, and challenges us to consider the corrupting consequences of racism on different communities and individual lives. I absolutely loved this book.” —Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize winning author of Girl, Woman, Other
“[Bennett’s] second [book], The Vanishing Half, more than lives up to her early promise.. . . more expansive yet also deeper, a multi-generational family saga that tackles prickly issues of racial identity and bigotry and conveys the corrosive effects of secrets and dissembling. It’s also a great read that will transport you out of your current circumstances, whatever they are… Like The Mothers, this novel keeps you turning pages not just to find out what happens.” —NPR
“Bennett pulls it off brilliantly… Few novels manage to remain interesting from start to finish, even — maybe especially — the brilliant ones. But… Bennett locks readers in and never lets them go… Stunning…She leaves any weighty parallels — between, for example, racial and gender determinism — to the reader. Her restraint is the novel’s great strength, and it’s tougher than it looks… The Vanishing Half speaks ultimately of a universal vanishing. It concerns the half of everyone that disappears once we leave home — love or hate the place, love or hate ourselves.” —Los Angeles Times
“Bennett’s tone and style recalls James Baldwin and Jacqueline Woodson, but it’s especially reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s 1970 debut novel, The Bluest Eye.” —Kiley Reid, Wall Street Journal
Memento Park by Mark Sarvas
09 Friday Oct 2020
A Jewish son (American) can pry no family history from his Jewish father (Hungarian). Even when a painting stolen by the Nazis surfaces trying to be reunited to it’s rightful owners – in fact his family! He can elicit nothing from his hard-love father. Masterfully told, intricate relationships, scathing humor……an unpredictable ending awaits you.
“A riveting story–and, in Sarvas’s able hands, artfully told . . . Sarvas has created a gripping, twisty mystery that deftly tackles big questions–about the weight of history, the intricacies of identity, the often anguished love between parents and children…” –Barbara Spindel, Barnes & Noble Review
“Sarvas’s rich and engaging second novel is worth the decade’s wait since his first . . . Sarvas couples a suspenseful mystery with nuanced meditations on father-son bonds, the intricacies of identity, the aftershocks of history’s horrors, and the ways people and artworks can–perhaps even must–be endlessly reinterpreted.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“What does the next generation carry forward, and why is it so compelling? In his powerful novel Memento Park, Mark Sarvas explores the essential questions of history, its burdens, and legacies. The gifted novelist Sarvas takes us by the hand and tells us a story that demands to be heard.” –Min Jin Lee, author of Pachinko, finalist for the National Book Award
Black Water Lilies by Michel Bussi translated from the French by Shaun Whiteside
10 Friday Jul 2020
Tags
detective, Giverny (France), man-women relationships, murder investigation, mystery, opthamologists, Secrecy
A thrilling tale of murder that takes place in Claude Monet’s gardens in Giverny, France. The location provides a lush backdrop to this intricately plotted mystery that takes place over just 13 days in 2010. The ending is astonishing and you’ll be desperate to find others to discuss the outcome!
One of France’s most celebrated crime authors and winner of more than 15 major literary awards, I rushed to read his first novel, After the Crash.
“A work of genius befitting the masterpiece by Monet at its heart…. Bussi cleverly breaks all the perceived rules of plotting in a story containing riddles within riddles…. But every loose thread is meshed neatly together in the final pages until the jaw-dropping big reveal at the end. The result is simply stunning.”―Daily Express (UK)
“Bussi’s portrait of the difficulties of investigating a closed community is fascinating, and the novel ends with one of the most reverberating shocks in modern crime fiction.”―The Sunday Times (UK)
Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly
18 Monday May 2020
Posted in Fiction, murder, murder and investigation, mystery
Tags
cold cases, Harry Bosch (fictional character), murder and investigation, mystery, women detectives
Weston Public Library’s March 2020 choice for the Mystery Book Club.
Harry Bosch (retired detective) teams up with LAPD Detective Renée Ballard to face the unsolved murder of a runaway, and the fight to bring a killer to justice.
“Of the myriad things Connelly does superbly as a crime writer, perhaps one of the least heralded is his ability to bring characters together from different series…A guaranteed chart-topper.”— Bill Ott, Booklist (starred review)
“LAPD Det. Renée Ballard, first seen in 2017’s The Late Show, makes a welcome return in this outstanding, complex police procedural…Bosch and Ballard, both outsiders with complicated pasts, form a perfect partnership in this high spot of Edgar-winner Connelly’s long and distinguished career.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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