The Cuckoo’s Calling is a mystery-crime novel written by Robert Galbraith, the pen name for J. K. Rowling. The story does not resemble Harry Potter in any way. Reviews of the book were good so it was with no specific expectations that I read through the book. My first response was to marvel at the quality of the writing. There … Continue reading →
Elizabeth is Missing is a mystery novel with an unreliable narrator, Maude Horsham. She is in her late 80’s and has dementia. She is convinced her friend is missing, although she has no short term memory and is often confused. She sticks to her belief and the case of the missing friend becomes mixed with a 70 year old mystery, … Continue reading →
Quiet in her Bones is a mystery – thriller set in Aukland, New Zealand. It is told in the first person, telling the story of a writer whose mother disappeared ten years earlier. Almost all of the events of the mystery take place in a cul-de-sac of well-to-do families who have a number of secrets that are gradually hinted at, … Continue reading →
The Cadfael stories are medieval mysteries set in England in the mid 12th century. Brother Cadfael, a Benedictine Welsh monk, is the central character. Before entering the life of a monk in his 40s he was a soldier and a sailor, lived in Palestine, had relationships with several women, and had a wide range of experiences from his travels. When … Continue reading →
The Guest List is a mystery novel written in the tradition of Agatha Christie and a series of subsequent cozy-mystery writers. The setting is on an isolated island off the coast of Ireland. The events are part wedding for the central characters. Friends, family, and associates are invited and have to be transported by a private boat to the Island. … Continue reading →
The main character in Bluebird Bluebird is a black Texas Ranger who works for the State on a variety of types of crimes. He leaves East Texas to pursue a profession which escapes the small-town racism, injustice, suspicion, and the pervading code of silence. But he returns to the town of Lark to investigate two murders. The book is a … Continue reading →
I had read The Other People and enjoyed it so I decided to try another book by C.J. Tudor. The Burning Girls mixes several genres – thriller, mystery, horror/fantasy, and moody psychological suspense. The setting is in a small English town, Chapel Croft. The main character is the Reverend Jack Brooks who comes to the village for a temporary position, … Continue reading →
Red Dragon is a serial killer – FBI profiler thriller, the first of the Hannibal Lecter series. It was published in 1981 and since that time there have been many books, TV series, and movies that have taken a similar premise, so even though this was a fresh story forty years ago, it has been copied many times since. The … Continue reading →
The Dry is a brisk-moving dark mystery set in the Outback of Australia. Aaron Falk is a federal agent who returns to his home town for a funeral, but then is asked to help out in the investigation into why his friend allegedly killed his family. In the small town, there are old memories and unsolved crimes that may be … Continue reading →
When I read that the Estate of Agatha Christie had authorized Sophie Hannah to continue the Hercule Poirot stories, I was intrigued. I read about the book The Killings at Kingfisher Hall and I decided yo give it a go. Because I have been a long-term fan of the Hercule Poirot books and the Agatha Christie’s Poirot series, … Continue reading →
Gone, Baby, Gone is another visceral, but rewarding novel by Dennis Lehane. We can expect him to provide plot twists, surprises, revelations, and moral ambiguity. Another author would write a thriller based on the premise – little girl kidnapped, police attempt to trace what happened, family hires a detective agency, conflict between police and PIs, thriller elements, then a conclusion. … Continue reading →
James Lee Burke has been an author worth following for over 50 years. He was written over 40 books and has won many awards and received many accolades. His best known series are the Dave Robicheaux crime stories. I have read a few over the years, but I can never remember the plots of the stories and I will explain … Continue reading →
Kingdom of the Blind is the 14th book in the Inspector Gamache Series, written by Louise Penny. All of her books are well-written, cleverly designed, and enjoyable throughout. Some of the same characters are again in this novel – from the village of Three Pines, from Gamache’s family, and from the Sûreté du Quebec. Penny intertwines 3 stories together, one … Continue reading →
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane was written in 2003. It was made into a movie in 2009, but it was a movie I had not watched and so I knew very little about the book. I had previously read Mystic River and had admired it, finding the whole reading experience to be moving, but very visceral. I had done some … Continue reading →
