Tag Archives: detective

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

12 Monday Aug 2019

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In 1945 Barcelona, Daniel’s father brings him to a special library to pick out a book, which he will then be responsible for guarding. The book he chooses attracts attention from several other interested parties, some good, some evil. This page-turner has mystery, adventure, romance, a colorful cast of characters, and celebrates books. A fun summer read!

“One gorgeous read.” –Stephen King

“ Anyone who enjoys novels that are scary, erotic, touching, tragic and thrilling should rush right out to the nearest bookstore and pick up The Shadow of the Wind. Really, you should.”
—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

“Gabriel Garcia Marquez meets Umberto Eco meets Jorge Luis Borges for a sprawling magic show.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Wonderous… masterful… The Shadow of the Wind is ultimately a love letter to literature, intended for readers as passionate about storytelling as its young hero.” —Entertainment Weekly (Editor’s Choice)

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The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

21 Friday Jun 2019

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This is a standalone title. Griffiths writes a couple of mystery series, including the popular Dr. Ruth Galloway series.

Her books are set in East Anglia and the landscape (urban settings in this title) are always a component of her work. Something that I particularly appreciated about this suspenseful book was its homage to The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins — I want to re-read that now. Griffiths uses three narrators to tell the story, which works well, as the reader can see the blind spots and the different perspectives that each character/narrator has.

“Utterly bewitching. This atmospheric, intricate thriller, a pitch-perfect modern Gothic, chilled my blood and warmed my heart. As unforgettable as it is original.”—A.J. Finn, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

“My heart is still pounding after finishing Elly Griffiths’ The Stranger Diaries. As with her other books, this is fiercely intelligent, warm, human and at times, funny. But unlike her others, this is a stand-alone. Her first and I hope not her last. The Stranger Diaries picks up where the great Gothic thrillers of the past leave off.  At once a homage to that great literary form, and a re-imagining.  It is goose-bump spooky, smart, and haunting, in every sense.  I loved this book!  And you will too.”—Louise Penny, #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery series

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Unto Us a Son is Given (Commissario Guido Brunetti) by Donna Leon

17 Monday Jun 2019

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When an elderly family friend is urged to bequeath his fortune to a specific heir before suddenly dropping dead, Commissario Guido Brunetti untangles a disturbing mystery from the victim’s past.

“Hers is an unusually potent cocktail of atmosphere and event.”―New Yorker

“For those who know Venice, or want to, Brunetti is a well-versed escort to the nooks, crannies, moods, and idiosyncrasies of what residents call La Serenissima, the Serene One . . . Richly atmospheric, [Leon] introduces you to the Venice insiders know.”―USA Today

“Each year brings the delight of a new Commissario Guido Brunetti novel, and this twenty-eighth book featuring the ever-reflective Venetian detective does not disappoint . . . As always, the skillful Leon weaves deft plot threads . . . Along the way, murder and perfidy abound, providing Brunetti with numerous investigative challenges. Ultimately, Brunetti muses about the profound nature of family ties and the danger of family secrets, inviting readers to do likewise.”―Library Journal (starred review)

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The Widows of Malabar Hill (A Perveen Mistry Novel) by Sujata Massey

04 Tuesday Jun 2019

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2019 American Library Association Reading List for Mystery: Winner and Top Pick
Winner of the 2019 Mary Higgins Clark Award
Winner of the 2019 Lefty Award for Best Historical Novel
Winner of the the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2018
An ABA IndieNext Selection
A Washington Post Best Audiobook of 2018
A WBUR On Point Best Book of 2018

1920s Bombay,India: Perveen Mistry, Bombay’s only female lawyer, is investigating a suspicious will on behalf of three Muslim widows living in full purdah when the case takes a turn toward the murderous.  Inspired in part by the woman who made history as India’s first female attorney, Perveen has experienced how women are silenced and following her sharp sleuthing instincts races to ensure that no innocent women or children are in danger. I can’t wait to read her next novel in the series,The Satapur Moonstone, available May 2019.

“A sneaky feminist masterpiece wrapped up in a cozy whodunit . . . just genius.”
—WBUR’s On Point

“I’ve been complaining for several years now that we don’t have enough competent female leads in mystery series, and Sujata Massey has delivered with The Widows of Malabar Hill. I was taken in by this Law and Order-esque tale set in lush, swing-era Bombay, and I loved seeing Perveen proceed with a cool head and a fiery heart. Readers looking for a strong female heroine, a vivid setting and a strange mystery will find it here.” —The News Tribune

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The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

03 Friday May 2019

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This is the fourth in a series of popular police procedurals about Stockholm police superintendent Martin Beck, a likeable, flawed and deeply human police detective.  In this story Beck seeks the murderer of nine passengers on a Stockholm bus, one of whom was his best detective.

“A tantalizing, intricate tale.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Sjöwall and Wahlöö write unsparingly and unswervingly. . . . Their plots are second to none.”—Val McDermid

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Fogland Point by Doug Burgess

15 Friday Mar 2019

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Another selection from the Weston Mystery Book Discussion group!

David Hazard wanted nothing more than to forget his renegade family and the foggy New England village “on the wrong side” of Narragansett Bay where he grew up. When sudden tragedy brings him back to Little Compton to care for his grandmother during her struggle with dementia, he discovers her fragile memories may hold the key to a bizarre mystery half a century old – and perhaps to the sudden and brutal murder right next door.

“Elegant prose, a veritable Chinese box of puzzles, and authentic, well-rounded characters make this a standout.” (starred review) (Publishers Weekly)

“Drop everything and read this book. A terrific story in a terrifically honest voice – it’s intelligent and original, hilarious and heartbreaking, evocative and charming. A beautifully written tale of murder, dementia, family, love – and surprises! Standing ovation.” (Hank Phillippi Ryan, Bestselling, award-winning author)

“Fogland Point is first-class fiction, a multilayered and original mystery underscored by fine writing, fully developed characters, and a wonderful sense of place. Doug Burgess writes with humor and poignancy while creating an eerie, atmospheric tale that is sure to please.” (Michael Koryta, New York Times bestselling author of How It Happened)

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The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook

22 Friday Feb 2019

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Another Weston Public Library Mystery Book Discussion pick!

In 1926, the exotic Miss Elizabeth Channing arrives in Chatham , Massachusetts, to teach art at the Chatham School, a private school for the rebellious sons of well-heeled families. The headmaster assigns his son, Henry, to assist Miss Channing in getting settled into her new home, a cottage on Black Pond. To the dismay of the community, Miss Channing begins keeping regular company with another teacher at the school, Mr. Reed, a veteran of the Great War who is married and has a small daughter. The affair begins slowly, but it sparks unimaginable romance in young Henry’s fervid teenage imagination and leads to murder, suicide, jail, and loneliness for those involved directly and indirectly. Cook’s novel takes the form of Henry’s memoir–an attempt to understand what led to tragedy at Black Pond.

Like much of Cook’s previous work, it is the story of how our secrets control our destinies. This is a powerful, engaging, and deeply moving novel, highly recommended for all who enjoy well-crafted, genre-bending crime fiction. –Booklist

“Thomas Cook’s night visions, seen through a lens darkly, are haunting” – New York Times Book Review.

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A Crime in the Neighborhood: a Novel by Suzanne Berne

18 Monday Jun 2018

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Another Weston Mystery Book Club choice and also a New York Times Notable Book. Set in the Washington, D.C., suburbs during the summer of the Watergate break-ins, Berne’s assured, skillful first novel is about what can happen when a child’s accusation is the only lead in a case of sexual assault and murder.

“A remarkable first novel…that captures the history of child-parent relations for the last quarter of a century.”–The New York Times Book Review “Like Alice McDermott’s That Night and in the tradition of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Suzanne Berne has crafted a child’s disillusionment that mirrors a greater disaffection.”–Newsday

“The ethical issues that unfold as a result are at least as absorbing as Marsha’s own guilt and fascination over her act of false accusation. Berne’s skill with language and her talent for evoking believable, all-too-human characters add to this fascinating story of evil and fear, and the unexpected consequences they engender.” — Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates

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Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

26 Saturday May 2018

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This is a fun, twisty murder mystery within a murder mystery.  It’s got some hallmarks of a classic Agatha Christie and a touch of the modern thriller as well.  Two mysteries for the price of one, and both are very engrossing.

Each of the narratives in Magpie Murders is engaging and fluid, each with its own charm, though Horowitz’s joyful act of Christie ventriloquism is, in particular, spectacularly impressive. – Washington Post

Magpie Murders is an ingenious, twisting tribute to the sleepy English countryside murder and will thoroughly entertain readers of old fashioned detective thrillers. – New York Journal of Book

An ingenious funhouse mirror of a novel sets a vintage ‘cozy’ mystery inside a modern frame – Wall Street Journal

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Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

04 Friday May 2018

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When murder strikes a remote hamlet in the Shetland Islands, and the body of a teenage girl turns up in the winter snow, Inspector Jimmy Perez launches an investigation into the killing that takes him into the heart of sinister secrets from the past.

Book One of the Shetland Island Quartet (Shetland Island Mysteries)

“Chilling…enough to freeze the blood.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“Deserves the top crime writer’s prize in the United States this year. Don’t miss this standout.” —Rocky Mountain News

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