Review: Follow the Money by Bob DeGeorge

Synopsis: Welcome to San Jose, the hi-tech capital of Silicon Valley, where the streets are lined with silicon instead of fruit trees. But beneath the shiny facade of this city lies a dark and dangerous underbelly that can easily turn the so-called 'safest large city in America' into a lie. Seasoned San Jose Police Department police detectives Rex Johnson and Kat Sanchez know this all too well as they navigate through the treacherous world of crime in their city.

From sex crimes to financial fraud, they've seen it all. But their latest case is unlike anything they've encountered before. As they dig deeper into a seemingly simple counterfeit check scam, they uncover a tangled web of Asian Organized Crime, led by a ruthless Vietnamese crime boss who will stop at nothing to become the ultimate kingpin of San Jose.

As their investigation heats up, so does the danger. With their families at risk and a psychopathic criminal mastermind on their trail, Rex and Kat must race against time to take down this crime boss before it is too late for them and the city they have sworn to serve and protect.

Follow Detectives Rex and Kat as they navigate through the dangerous streets of San Jose in this thrilling tale of crime, corruption, and survival. If you enjoyed books like John Connely's 'Bosch' series, then you won't want to miss this first in the series gripping crime novel set in the hi-tech world of Silicon Valley.

~ ~ ~

Just not for me - it felt like a (poor) serialisation more attuned to the TV than print. Too much going on that it just felt ... off. I quickly lost all interest, skimming through the chapters to at least make it to the end. I wish I hadn't bothered - I should have set it aside after the first few chapters and moved onto something else.

Will not be pursuing book two.

Review: Evil In High Places by Rory Clements

Synopsis: The closer you get, the further you have to fall.

Munich, 1936. All eyes are on the Bavarian capital for the upcoming Olympic games. As athletes fight for gold and the Nazis fight for power, Detective Sebastian Wolff faces a battle of his own.

A famous actress has disappeared and Wolff has been ordered to find her, fast. But Elena Lang is no ordinary film-star: she is the mistress of Joseph Goebbels - Hitler's right-hand-man in the party that Wolff despises.

But corruption runs deep in Munich and Elena is just the first to go missing. In a search that will take him from high society to the city's darkest corners, Wolff is about to learn just how easily the hunter becomes the hunted: this is a city on the brink of war, and some enemies are better left alone.

~ ~ ~

Who do you trust when a stray word or action could mean a death sentence.

This is the second in a series, the first book being "Munich Wolf", which I do recommend reading before this one as it will give the reader move of an anchor for this second book. Both books are set in 1930s Germany, when the Third Reich was in the ascendant, war was not yet a reality, and the Olympic Games would be used by Hitler as an opportunity to promote his government and ideals of racial supremacy.

Into this cauldron of conspiracy, suspicion, corruption, paranoia, elitism and racism, is a solid police procedural wherein our main character, Sebastian Wolff is at odds with the party line, and his Sergeant, Hans Winter, has a secret that could end not only his career but his life.

Both men are sent to investigate the disappearance of film star Leila Lang, and are required to conduct their investigation without treading on the toes of the German aristocratic elite and the dreaded SS. Against this, the reader is confronted by the treatment and persecution of Jews, the support given to Hitler from elements of the British aristocracy, and the growing control over all levels of society that was beginning to be more forcefully exerted and enforced.

The narrative is full of " .. twists and turns as tight as the winding bend up to Schloss Stark ...".

This is a compelling work and one I would liken to by that of author Douglas Jackson, whose books are set in late 1930s Warsaw.

Review: Blood Roses by Douglas Jackson

Synopsis: As the Nazis roll into Warsaw, a serial killer is unleashed…

September 1939. A city ruled by fear. A population brutalized by restrictions and reprisals. Amid the devastation, another hunter begins to prowl. What are a few more deaths amid scores of daily executions?

Former chief investigator Jan Kalisz lives a dangerous double life, forced to work with the occupiers as he gathers information for the fledgling Polish resistance. Even his family cannot be told his true allegiance.

When the niece of a Wehrmacht general is found terribly mutilated, Jan links the murder to other killings that are of less interest to his new overlords. Soon, he finds himself on the trail of a psychopathic killer known as The Artist. But, shunned as a Nazi collaborator, can he solve the case before another innocent girl is taken?

~ ~ ~

My initial thoughts upon immediately finishing this book were that it was:

• well written
• evocative
• engaging
• great read
• start of a thrilling new series
• and I was left wanting more

This thriller is set at the time of the Invasion of Poland by German, Russian and Slovak forces (1 September 1939 - 5 October 1939). Polish forces were stretched thinly along defensive lines, and supply lines were poorly protected. Although the Polish military had prepared for conflict, the civilian population remained largely unprepared. The German invasion saw atrocities committed against Polish men, women and children. The German forces (both SS and the regular Wehrmacht) murdered tens of thousands of Polish civilians.  The Leibstandarte SS were notorious throughout the campaign for burning villages and committing atrocities in numerous Polish towns, including massacres. A campaign of ethnic cleansing was organized by multiple elements of the German government, resulting in tens of thousands of Polish civilians being shot at 760 mass execution sites by the Einsatzgruppen.

On October 30, 1939, Higher SS and Police Leader in General Government Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger ordered the mobilization of the pre-war Polish police into the service of the German authorities. The policemen were to report for duty or face severe punishment. The main reason for the restoration of the Polish police was the inability to maintain order under wartime conditions, the lack of knowledge of the Polish language by German policemen, as well as the undecided fate of the occupied Polish lands, the formation of the so-called residual state, Reststaat, was still under consideration.  The police was finally formed on December 17, 1939, by order of Governor General Hans Frank.

Into this turmoil falls Jan Kalisz - a patriotic soldier and police officer of the pre-war Polish Police Force. Wounded in action against the Germans, Kalisz is visited in hospital, in secret, and is made an offer - one he cannot really refuse - and one that must remain secret from all, including work colleagues and his family. Thus Kalisz leads a double life - as a collaborating police officer and a supporter of the fledgling Polish resistance.

Investigating a series of (at first) seemingly unconnected murders, Kalisz is brought into the fold of the Germans and is eventually paired with the lawyer, Ziegler. However, Kalisz soon comes to the realisation that solving the mystery of the serial killer known as The Artist may cost him both personally and professionally.

There is a cadre of writers who set their protagonist in these same times - Furst, Kerr, Gardner - and Jackson slots in nicely. Suffice to say, this first in a series does not disappoint. Highly Recommended.

Next in the series:

• Blood Uprising
• Blood Vengeance
• Blood Enemy

Review: Britain's Most Prolific Burglar by Martyn R Beardsley

Synopsis: Harry Edward Vickers, aka Flannelfoot, was possibly Britain’s most successful ever burglar. Not financially - he stole cash and low-value items (even, bizarrely, false teeth!). The success was in his hundreds of burglaries spread over many years without being caught. The lives of career criminals are invariably dotted with prison sentences, but thanks to his caution and cunning, Flannelfoot operated night after night, year after year with an impunity which embarrassed the police.

In the twenties and thirties, Londers were deserting the overcrowded capital for the burgeoning suburbs of ‘Metroland’. Flannelfoot was equally attracted to these areas, and one of his hallmarks was to steal a bicycle at the scene of his last break-in of the night and cycle to the nearest tube station.

Burglars and burglaries are never glamorous, but one reason why the Flannelfoot saga engendered fascination more than fear is that he was never confrontational, never violent, and in fact so stealthy that few ever saw him.

His one-man crime epidemic led to Scotland Yard assembling a team more used to solving murders than the plundering of gas meters. After a lengthy and painstaking investigation, a carefully planned night-time surveillance operation involving several teams of officers led to the sensational capture of Flannelfoot.

Flannelfoot routinely features in crime anthologies and was the subject of a feature film, but this is the first full biography of the man who became a legend in his own lifetime.

~~ ~

Whilst the premise appealed to me greatly, the narrative seemed to take as long as Flannelfoot's career of crime. Much could have been left out and thus condensed to make it a more "readable" story. Less is best in this instance.

Beardsley adds into the narrative, the careers of two of the more prominent detectives who would have much to contribute to Flannelfoot's criminal demise - these being Walter Hambrook (who I was more interested in) and Thomas Thompson.

The narrative itself fluctuates between that of Flannelfoot (Henry Vickers aka Henry Williams), until it converges on events that would see Flannelfoot brought to justice. Beardsley finishes off with a final assessment on those involved in the case, discusses the spate of copy-cat crimes, and Flannelfoot as portrayed in the media.

As I mentioned, there was some things that could easily have been left out to keep the flow of the narrative going - I dislike it when I feel that the author is "forced" to reach a set page number a book in order for publication. I personally would rather read 100 pages of actual content than 200 or more pages on waffle.

Truce-crime fans will enjoy reading this anyway.

Review: Philanthropists by Rozlan Mohd Noor

Synopsis: While COVID-19 rages, the killings don’t stop—a new Inspector Mislan thriller.

Eight months after the assassination attempt that nearly ended his life, Inspector Mislan Latif is back on twenty-four-hour duty with his assistant, Detective Sergeant Johan Kamaruddin, when the call comes in: double murder in a house in the police district of Sentul. The two dark-skinned men were killed identically, execution-style. In the master bedroom of the rental, in plain sight on the bed, is almost three pounds of drugs, while no identfying documents, wallets, phones, and the like are to be found. No shots were heard, or the neighbors won’t admit to hearing them, but someone called the killings in to notify the police. In the area, drugs are rampant and also foreign nationals, legal and illegal. If the vics were foreign, without papers, where do they start?

Just as Mislan and Jo begin to dig into the case, they face an unprecedented hurdle. COVID-19 is spreading in the country at an alarming rate, prompting a nationwide Movement Control Order. Pursuing their leads in spite of the new restrictions, the investigators come into contact with members of the underworld and the refugee community, before realizing that the real culprits may be closer than they think.

~ ~ ~

The sixth in the Inspector Mislan series, and in this instance it is not only criminals that the team have to contend with but Covid and all its implications. Mislan and his team investigate a double homicide, but as the investigation progresses, links to others are noted. Their investigations come full circle, much to their surprise and the outcome is not what is anticipated.

Noor brings all his knowledge from his own career in the police force to create well rounded characters and scenes that the reader will easily find themselves immersed. I am really enjoying this series and cannot wait for the next one!

Occupation Series by Chris Lloyd

Taken from the CRA Newsletter:

Layers of Research by Chris Lloyd

There is only one rabbit hole that is deeper and more relentless than researching for a novel. And that is asking a historical novelist about their research. Never, under any circumstances, do it. You may never escape.

I write the Occupation series, featuring Eddie Giral, a French police detective in Paris under the Nazi Occupation. To get the story right calls for a lot of research. This ranges from the general – the major events of the war – to the specific – the occupying authorities and the French police, rationing and criminality. To get the atmosphere and the setting right calls for much more targeted research into the day-to-day minutiae of people’s lives under Nazi rule. Where other writers have a social life, I have layers of research.

The bottom layer is immersive research. This is where I spend hours staring at photos of people of the period, what they’re wearing, where they work, how they move about the city. Films released at the time are a great source of getting a sense of the place and period. Eddie used to moonlight at jazz clubs, so I listen to the jazz he would have listened to.

The next layer up is general research. If my story takes place in autumn 1940, as in the case of Paris Requiem, I need to know what was happening in France and elsewhere and decide how much of it Eddie could have known, given censorship and restrictions.

Next up is specific research. As I set each book at a specific time during the Occupation, the bulk of the research goes into what was happening in Paris during that particular time. What laws were passed, what groups were being persecuted, which senior Nazis visited the city. I look for specific events and curiosities, such as French prisoners going missing from a Paris prison and interpret that through Eddie. His investigation turns up the same truth as the research gave to me but cast through his prism.

Finally comes the targeted research. This comes mainly from diaries and interviews. Recorded memories of people who lived through the Occupation are essential. This is what creates the atmosphere – what it was like to queue for bread, the silence of the streets without cars and buses, the sound of boots on cobbles.

Uniting all of the above, there is one underlying piece of research that is both extremely important and extremely enjoyable – walking Paris. If you want to bring all the strands of your research together, you need to walk the streets your characters walk. Just don’t ask me to talk about it. As I will. At length.

Read more about Chris and his books here.

Review: Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo

Synopsis: Kosuke Kindaichi arrives on the remote Gokumon Island bearing tragic news – the son of one of the island’s most important families has died, on a troop transport ship bringing him back home after the Second World War. But Kindaichi has not come merely as a messenger – with his last words, the dying man warned that his three step-sisters’ lives would now be in danger. The scruffy detective is determined to get to the bottom of this mysterious prophesy, and to protect the three women if he can.

As Kosuke Kindaichi attempts to unravel the island’s secrets, a series of gruesome murders begins. He investigates, but soon finds himself in mortal danger from both the unknown killer and the clannish locals, who resent this outsider meddling in their affairs.

Loosely inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, the fiendish Death on Gokumon Island is perhaps the most highly regarded of all the great Seishi Yokomizo’s classic Japanese mysteries.

For those unfamiliar with this series, it is about time that you invest in it. You can find the full list HERE - included those few that have been translated into English.

The style is fairly consistent - and one the author Seishi Yolomizo explores well - deep, dark family secrets, which when brought into open, give birth to jealousy, greed and ultimately ... murder. And here again, we have all those elements: a family saga of love and hate, revenge and redemption; many suspects but always one whom you are least likely to suspect; a suspenseful mystery, tied together by a long narrative that conveys the essence of the story, location and characters to perfection.  This is Yokomizo's trademark.

Kato-sensei as Kindaichi

This time, the grisly deaths appear to form some sort of dramatic countenance - and Kosuke is said to have remarked: "... The inhabitants of this island, do they all think this way - as if everything's like some kind of drama ..."

Throw into this murderous mix some pirates, returned and repatriated servicemen, local politics and scandal, and you have all the ingredients for a truly satisfying murder mystery.

I cannot recommend this series enough, with our detective, Kindaichi, who according to the local policeman, looks more like a criminal than a world famous detective!

Review: Souless by Rozlan Mohd Noor

Synopsis: Early morning in Jalan Alor, one of the city’s red-light and tourist hotspots controlled by the Triads. A junkie’s scream of horror and the commotion that follows brings down the police, first a patrol car, and then, after what the officers see, Inspector Mislan and Detective Sergeant Johan from Special Investigations. The body in the duffle bag had been dumped in a back alley. The junkie who found the bag thought he’d hit the jackpot. The rats probably thought the same. But it was acid that took the young woman’s face and burned the flesh on her fingers, and something unknown caused the marks on her skin of what appears to be torture.With no papers, no fingerprints, no face, and a body removed from the original crime scene, Mislan must build his case and find who committed this atrocity. The woman’s body seems to have been a message. But by whom? For whom?

This unsettling case will take Inspector Mislan and his team from Kuala Lumpur to the Land of Smiles, and from a dark alley to the dark web and a place where humans are made soulless.

In this outing, Mislan and Johan find themselves up against a baffling case - a murdered girl, with no visible signs of identity. Who killed here and why.? Their investigations will lead them into the seedy world of human trafficking, where the stakes are high, and the clientele influential. These people, Mislan observes, "... are souless, living on income from sex slaves ..". As mentioned, power and influence hold sway, and we know Mislan is not one for following the rules, putting offside those that could help him and increasing the antagonisism of those that want him out of the way.

Mislan's personal life takes a back seat to this investigation - his son is away with his ex-wife, his lover, Dr Safia is becoming distant, and Mislan seems more wrapped up in the case to notice what is going on around him.

There are many loose ends that need tying up before this case can be solved by Misland nad his team - but in the process, will Mislan be one of them?

A decent follow on for this series set in Kuala Lumpur - and the setting makes a nice change from the predominance of Euro-centric crime fiction.

Big Trouble in the “93”: Olivier Norek’s Banlieue Trilogy

From CrimeReads:

Welcome to the Paris of Olivier Norek, former French cop for eighteen years who reached the rank of Capitaine in one of Paris’s toughest banlieues (technically ‘suburbs’, but invariably indicating tough housing projects on the outskirts of major French cities). Norek has now turned crime writer but he’s still inhabiting those dark streets and criminal worlds.

In Norek’s novels Seine-Saint-Denis police are an insignificant satellite operation looked down upon, if indeed ever noticed, by the mighty Brigade Criminelle bedded down in central Paris at the Quai des Orfèvres, HQ of the Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de la Préfecture de Police de Paris (DRPJ Paris). Its legion of “grands fromages” make decisions from on-high that create tensions and anger in the tower blocks. Political and social engineering decisions that mean life, death, budget cuts, or hassle for those who actually have to police Seine-Saint-Denis. And so, say bonjour to SDPJ.93 Groupe Crime 1.

read more here @ CrimeReads

see also my review of Norek's The Lost & The Damned

Review: The Heretic by Liam McIlvanney

Synopsis: From the award-winning author comes a much-anticipated sequel to the Scottish Crime Book of the Year The Quaker …

Glasgow 1975

A deadly fire

An arson attack on a Glasgow warehouse causes the deaths of a young mother and child. Police suspect it’s the latest act in a brutal gang warfare that’s tearing the city apart – one that DI Duncan McCormack has been tasked with stopping.

A brutal murder

Five years ago he was walking on water as the cop who tracked down a notorious serial killer. But he made powerful enemies and when a mutilated body is found in a Tradeston slum, McCormack is assigned a case that no one wants. The dead man is wearing a masonic ring, though, and Duncan realizes the victim is not the down-and-out his boss had first assumed.

A catastrophic explosion

As McCormack looks into both crimes, the investigations are disrupted by a shocking event. A bomb rips through a pub packed with people – and a cop is killed in the blast. The cases are stacking up and with one of his own unit now dead, McCormack is in the firing line.

But he’s starting to see a thread – one that connects all three attacks…

Following on from "The Quaker", "The Heretic" sees DI Duncan McCormack return from London back to the Serious Crime Squad based at Temple Police Station. He is not a welcome figure, despite having caught two serial killers, one of which was a serving police officer; his colleagues are quick to label his a "grass" and a "scab"; he is not a local so will always be considered an outsider.

However, McCormack's prime target is local crime boss Walter Maitland, who seems to be made from teflon, as nothing sticks This raises questions as to why Maitland is always one step ahead of the police - is the game rigged?. At the height of the "cleansing workers" strike, a vagrant is brutally murdered and left, with no identification, amongst the piles of garbage (trash), in the hopes of not being immediately found. McCormack is quickly taken off the Maitaland case and handed the less glamourous murder by his boss, DCI Haddow, who hates McCormack with a passion.

Crime has spread its tentacles, like a giant octopus, into all facets of local life, so that solving one unremarkable murder will take McCormack and his team full circle and back to their main quarry. Many seemingly unrelated threads are slowly woven together to form a cohesive, yet disturbing outcome.

McIlvanney's narrative is as gritty as the landscape itself: all the violence, social and religious prejudices and sectarianism of the time are to be found here. His characters display all the complexities and foibles of humanity: flawed, corrupt, ambitious, fragile, human.

Image by Nick Hedges

The 1970s and early 1980s were dark periods as steelworks, coal mines, engine factories and other heavy industries went out of business, leading to mass de-industrialisation. This led to mass unemployment and high levels of urban decay, with great swathes of derelict and contaminated land. The tenement housing on the peripheral had been built quickly, cheaply and with few amenities, and at length became run down and by the mid-70s were slums that could put Victorian England to shame. The streets were granite-setted, noisy, but solid; the population tightly packed in apartments that are mostly small, dark and dirty. Poor social housing, high levels of unemployment and poverty and the lack of social mobility scarred the landscape.

McCormack is heard to remark that "..... crime rises, like the bloody heat ..".  Strathclyde Police was the territorial police force which formed as a result of the amalgamation of eight regional police forces in 1975. Crime was mostly gang related and insular - as former head of Strathclyde's Serious Crime Squad, Joe Jackson relates:

"They only worked with the guys from their area and it was very hard to break into that. We could always get some people who would be grasses and we could work on that, plus there would be decent people in the areas who would help us build a picture of who was in the gangs and who was associated with them. But it was a tough game."

The Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 finally enabled women to be recruited on the same terms and conditions as men. Women were finally incorporated into the same line management structures, undertaking similar work to their male colleagues, for the first time. Up to this period, female officers could only join as part of a "completely separate" unit known as the Policewomen's Department which was seen as a "support" for male officers, remaining in the office, doing the admin work, and up to 1968, forced to retire when they were married. Nevertheless challenges remained in relation to cultural attitudes and equal representation - read more in this 2017 interview with retired Detective Chief Inspector Nanette Pollock in The Herald.

McIlvanney, as I have mentioned, has nailed the time period, and despite multiple references, I would definitely recommend reading "The Quaker" first. Looking forward to reading more.

Review: The Sleeping Car Murders by Sébastien Japrisot

Synopsis: A beautiful young woman lies sprawled on her berth in the sleeping car of the night train from Marseilles to Paris. She is not in the embrace of sleep, or even in the arms of one of her many lovers. She is dead. And the unpleasant task of finding her killer is handed to an overworked, crime-weary police detective named Pierre Emile Grazziano, nicknamed Grazzi, who would rather play hide-and-seek with his little son than cat and mouse with a diabolically cunning, savage murderer. 

My first by this particular author and I can honestly say that I really enjoyed this French mystery.

Having expanded my reading to authors scattered far and wide, writing about their own countries, and all with their own distinctive style, I was able to quite easily adapt to this author's style of writing. It would be imprudent of the reader to assume that all author's write the same - and much also comes down to the quality of the translation.

I was initially drawn to this particular tome as it put me in mind of Agatha Christie - which is no bad thing. The premise is quite simple - a woman is murdered on an overnight train travelling from Marseille to Paris; the suspects are narrowed down to those who shared the sleeping coach with her; the police investigate; a motive and killer are eventually revealed and the mystery is solved. Simple - maybe; interestingly formatted - very much so (see below).

This could fall under the auspices of a "police procedural" novel - as we follow Detective Pierre Grazziano (or "Grazzi" to use the nickname he is often referred by) and his offsider, Gaubert.  I really enjoyed the narrative and the format - each chapter heading was the berth number of each of the passengers. 

And the passengers themselves are a motley bunch: a salesman, a struggling actress, a truck driver, a typist, a housewife.  As each of the passengers is duly investigated to check for a connection to the victim, to pry out that piece of the puzzle or secret they are withholding, or establish a motive - one by one they are .... eliminated.  It seems that Grazzi is always that one step behind but eventually there is light at the end of the tunnel.

As I mentioned, I really did enjoy this and love expanding my reading beyond the standard UK and US offerings, exploring how other writers present similar mysteries on their own patch!

Trans: Francis Price

Andrea Camilleri: A Crime Reader’s Guide to the Classics ‹ CrimeReads

Neil Nyren provides Crimereads and devoted readers with the essential guide to Andrea Camilleri's "Inspector Montalbano" series of books.

“Are you trying to bust my balls?”

The speaker is Inspector Salvo Montalbano, head of the fictional municipality of Vigàta, Sicily’s, police department, and in the 28 novels and two short story collections written by Andrea Camilleri and published in Italian and English…someone always is.

The criminals, from petty to monstrous, who occupy his frustrating days (and sometimes alarming nightmares); the Mafia thugs who spread their tentacles into every Sicilian institution; the corrupt politicians who march hand in hand with them; the witless press that blindly supports whatever government is in charge at the moment; the colleagues who, for all their police skills, can’t help but complicate his life at times; the suspicious Commissioner who seems intent on complicating his life at all times; the lady friend in Genoa with whom he can’t seem to get through a phone conversation without squabbling; the succession of beautiful women he meets during his cases who offer serious temptations and, all too often, deceptions – all these people light his fuse, but do not deter him. 

With a mix of sardonic humor, cynicism, stubbornness, compassion, a nose for crime, and a very personal sense of justice, Montalbano dyspeptically perseveres through all the tragicomedy that imbues his beloved island, reminding us that incidents – and people – are often not what they seem, and that sometimes refusing to obey an order is a virtue, not a sin.

read more here 

@ Crimereads

@ Wikipedia

Review: The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon

Synopsis: One rainy morning Commissario Brunetti and Ispettore Vianello respond to an emergency call reporting a body floating near some steps on the Grand Canal. Reaching down to pull it out, Brunetti's wrist is caught by the silkiness of golden hair, and he sees a small foot - together he and Vianello lift a dead girl from the water.

But, inconceivably, no one has reported a missing child, nor the theft of the gold jewellery that she carries. Brunetti is drawn into a search not only for the cause of her death but also for her identity, her family, and for the secrets that people will keep in order to protect their children - be they innocent or guilty.

From the canals and palazzi of Venice to a gypsy encampment on the mainland, Brunetti struggles with institutional prejudice and entrenched criminality to try to unravel the fate of the dead child.

My second book by this author in as many days - and realise the well worn pattern of providing half a book on an "investigation" based on one character's concerns about another, before we actually get to the actual crime / mystery as detailed in the synopsis / blurb on back cover.

Definitely not pursuing this series any further - just takes too long to get to the actual mystery / crime that is supposed to be the whole basis for this book.

Edit: someone should really re-think these titles and this is definitely not suggestive of the content.

Review: Through A Glass, Darkly by Donna Leon

Sysnopsis: It is a luminous spring day in Venice, as Commissario Brunetti and Inspettore Vianello come to the rescue of Vianello's friend Marco Ribetti, who has been arrested while protesting against chemical pollution of the Venetian lagoon, only to be faced by the fury of Marco's father-in-law, owner of a glass factory on the island of Murano.

But clearly there is another victim who has uncovered the guilty secret of the polluting glass foundries of the island of Murano, and whose body is found dead in front of the furnaces which burn at 1400 degrees, night and day. The victim has left clues in a copy of Dante and Brunetti must descend into an inferno to discover who is burning the land and fouling the waters of the lagoon. A man is dead - but will politics and expedience prevent the killer from striking again?

This is my second Commissario Brunetti book from Donna Leon - obviously I have not read them in order. I picked this one and another up second hand, thinking I might get the series.

For me, however, this was a very slow moving police procedural - not really much happening in this one and - to be honest - nearly put it aside halfway through. The first part is spent following Brunetti and Vianello around as they follow up on some empty threats made by the father-in-law of a friend of Vianello, who happened to get arrested following a protest against environmental pollution at one of the Murano glass furnaces. 

The Lagoon of Venice is heavily affected by ecological and environmental problems strictly connected to the activities of man. The nation’s largest concentration of chemical plants and the very large agricultural region, that surround the lagoon, are the main sources of pollution by dumping their wastes directly into the basin. And to this the fact that the land is boggy and the city - whose buildings have not proper foundations - is slowly sinking as it was historically built on a natural marsh flood plain. This is one of the themes introduced and expounded upon throughout and really forms the main focus of the narrative.

It is not until nearly three-quarters of the way through that the murder victim makes an appearance and the traditional police procedural formula takes shape.

I just could not get the feel for Brunetti or his surroundings (despite the Venetian location) as I think I have come too late into the series. Will try again with the second book and see how I go.

Review: Brotherhood of the Shroud by Julia Navarro

Synopsis: The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud is the explosive international bestseller that mixes fact and fiction to tell the riveting story of one of the world’s most controversial relics—the Holy Shroud of Turin—and the desperate race to save it from those who will stop at nothing to possess its legendary power....

A fire at the Turin cathedral and the discovery of a mutilated corpse are the latest in a disturbing series of events surrounding the mysterious cloth millions believe to be the authentic burial shroud of Jesus Christ. Those who dare to investigate will be caught in the cross fire of an ancient conflict forged by mortal sacrifice, assassination, and secret societies tied to the shadowy Knights Templar.

Spanning centuries and continents, from the storm-rent skies over Calvary, through the intrigue and treachery of Byzantium and the Crusades, to the modern-day citadels of Istanbul, New York, London, Paris, and Rome, The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud races to a chilling climax in the labyrinths beneath Turin, where astounding truths will be exposed: about the history of a faith, the passions of man, and proof of the most powerful miracle of all….

This is two stories in one. The first is the story of the Turin Shroud and how it came to be whilst the second is set in modern-day times, following a team of investigators from the Italian Art Crimes Department as they look into a series of "accidents" at Turin Cathedral. Both stories run along side each other, so the narrative alternates as we progress.

So to the first narrative - the Turin Shroud. There is much history and mythos surrounding this particular relic that to discuss any of at here would be quite lengthy. Suffice to say that the Shroud is said to be the burial cloth of Jesus after the Crucifixion. Carbon dating on the shroud hints at a later date rather than the biblical one. So, which is right - well here Navarro offers an alternate theory. To explain her theory, she relates the tale of how the Shroud came to be in the possession of a small Christian community in biblical Edessa (modern day Urfa) which was ruled by the Abgarid dynasty - and of how it was lost before the narrative merges with the modern day "life" of the Shroud. To be honest, I do like an author / writer who explore an alternate to the traditional line of thought or "the party line" as it opens up opportunities to delve into potential resources used (which I have done) to develop and creative the narrative.

However, all is not so simple as there are two groups, each of whom have a vested interest in not only the Shroud but in its possession, and each are attempting to reclaim it for their own ends - one descended from the original guardians of the Shroud (based in Urfa) and the other from the Knights Templar, or rather their modern-day interpretation.

Enter Marco Valoni, Chief of the Italian Art Crimes Department and his team who are brought into investigate the latest attempt on the Cathedral of Turin. This act of arson has now prompted Marco to look deeper into previous attempts to find some link, some explanation.  As a side note, and it is only speculation on my part, but it is possible that the massive fire in the Chapel of the Holy Shroud in 1997 (which is still a mystery) may have been the catalyst for this story. The Chapel remained closed for over 21 years whilst repairs and restoration work was being carried out.

And so the reader is taken on the same course as the investigative team as they discover new "facts" and unravel the convoluted history of the Shroud - and the presences of these shadowy groups are slowly revealed.  It is in the following of the investigation that the reader is given a history lesson on the Shroud whilst at the same time getting an insight into the daily and private lives of the team. This side of the narrative was a little tedious and there was not much action going on to make it worthy of a true thriller. It is only as the team start to place the pieces together and move the players around the proverbial chessboard, that the action does pick up - though not until much later in the book.

I enjoyed it for what it is - I wouldn't say it was an action-packed thriller along the lines of a Dan Brown book, but it is still an decent enough read.  The ending did feel a little rushed, but the narrative does need resolution.  I bought my copy cheaply, second hand, have had it for a numbers of years, and this was my second reading.  Time to pass it on.

Navarro has another book out along similar lines - The Bible of Clay - which I haven't read.

Review: U Tube by Rozlan Mohd Noor

Synopsis: For fans of Jo Nesbo, Ian Rankin, and Michael Connelly, the third Inspector Mislan thriller takes the inspector to a netherworld of vicious sex crimes.

In this new thriller, Mislan and his assistant, Detective Sergeant Johan, are called to the scene of an ongoing investigation by D11, the Sexual & Child Abuse Investigation Division, that involves a series of rapes of successful young women.

What immediately jumps out in the first case D11's Inspector Sherry Azlina Syed Abdullah investigates is that the attack was filmed with a videocam. The perpetrator, gloved and masked, had gained access to the victim's apartment and was there with a cameraman, standing over her, when she woke in her bedroom. When the video appears on UTube with the legend that it is her "Salvation," the shame of it drives her to suicide. The second case involving the same M.O. has left a friend of the rape victim murdered at the scene, and that brings in the team from Special Investigations.

Forced by their superiors to combine efforts, with Sherry in the lead, Mislan struggles to rein in his maverick methods. But the video of the second assault is posted and then still another rape makes the news, leading to mounting public alarm. With pressure from above to close the case quickly, the two inspectors have no choice but to find the way to be effective together in order to track the source of the posts, identify what unites the victims, and discover the trail that will lead them to the shadowy figure who calls himself the Emancipator.

This is my second "Inspector Mislan" book - the first was "21 Immortals: Inspector Mislan and the Yee Sang Murders" - see below for link to my review and the background for both that and this book (so I won't go into detail here).

Readers who in the past have focused mainly on UK and US based crime fiction, should come into the international scene with an open mind. The reader cannot assume that the UK/US version is how policing and crime works elsewhere, and that the same cultural norms apply.

Having said that, this book focuses less on the personal life of Mislan but on his interactions with his fellow officers in their pursuit of a serial rapist who uses technology to highlight their crimes and taunt the police in modern-day Malaysia. Keeping the ever open mind, this book also explores a sub-culture, one that goes against the grain of existing "cultural norms", and yet the same prejudices and attitudes are strangely not that much more different than our own when confronted by things we do not fully understand. It is a slow build, however, even as more arrests are made, the team is no closer to solving the case. And as always, there is an abundance of food (leaving the reader particularly hungry) - though consider how much time UK/US based investigators spend in the pub or getting coffee.

Noor's experiences as a serving police officer come to the fore when describing both the landscape and its peoples, as well as the inner workers of the Malaysian police force. Well worth giving this series a go!

Review >> Melisende's Library - 21 Immortals

Review: The Milan Contract by Stephen Franks

Synopsis: ‘Except for the ugly brown bullet hole, the corpse could have been the image of the man in the mirror’.

Lukas Stolz, an ex-East German maths guru is shot dead outside the Hotel Napoli in Milan. But Lieutenant Raphael Conza soon wonders whether the bullet that killed Stolz was meant for someone else.

Conza’s investigations uncover a vital witness who may know the moped rider spotted leaving the murder scene. Another witness goes missing and someone is leaking details about the case.

The gang behind the murder will stop at nothing to cover their tracks and Lieutenant Conza finds himself fighting not only the assassins, but also powerful allies determined to protect them. He soon realises he’s out of his depth in pursuit of brutal killers in both Italy and the UK and has to reconsider his options after discovering a plot that could have international repercussions.

Here you have all the ingredients of a great crime thriller: espionage, sabotage, murder, revenge, hatred, blackmail, intimidation; plausible protagonists; powerful antagonists; shady killers; long held secrets dating back decades. And then there is Milan - a city that inspires and entices with its eclectic peoples and culture, a fast-paced metropolis that ignites the senses and yet harbours a darker underbelly that few are exposed to.

And just when you thought you knew where you were being led, you take a misstep and find yourself with more questions than answers.

A fantastic first novel - and cannot wait for more!

further reading:

• Milan Crime Stats
• Culture of Milan
• Milan Crime News

Review: The Basel Killings by Hansjorg Schneider

Synopsis: It is the end of October, the city of Basel is grey and wet. It could be December. It is just after midnight when Police Inspector Peter Hunkeler, on his way home and slightly worse for wear, spots old man Hardy sitting on a bench under a street light. He wants to smoke a cigarette with him, but the usually very loquacious Hardy is silent―his throat a gaping wound. Turns out he was first strangled, then his left earlobe slit, his diamond stud stolen. The media and the police come quickly to the same conclusion: Hardy’s murder was the work of a gang of Albanian drug smugglers. 

But for Hunkeler that seems too obvious. Hardy’s murder has much in common with the case of Barbara Amsler, a prostitute also found killed, with an ear slit and pearl stud missing. He follows his own intuition and the trail leads him deep into an edgy world of bars, bordellos and strip clubs, but also into the corrupt core of some of Basel’s political and industrial elite. More ominously, he will soon discover the consequences of certain events in recent Swiss history that those in power would prefer to keep far from the public eye.

The Basel Killings is the first (to be translated and published though fifth) in the Inspector Hunkeler series, set in Basel, Switzerland. This was my first real foray into the darker side of Swiss crime fiction - though definitely not my last. However, as I was unfamiliar with the city of Basel and other various locales, a town map would have been a great addition - but that's just me.

Mass murder or serial killings (ie: three or more excluding the perpetrator) are rare in Switzerland, and according to modern day studies, the violence is usually premeditated and ends with the suicide of the aggressor.  One of the conclusions from a study by the Psychiatric Service of Canton Basel Country found that these types of murders were “often they were motivated in their crime by a personal affront.”

Hunkeler is a member of the Kriminalpolizei or criminal investigation agency, of the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. The 26 cantonal police agencies and numerous municipal police agencies are not subordinate to federal authorities. Their commanding officers report to the head of the respective cantonal or municipal department of police, who is a member of the cantonal or municipal governing council.

Hunkeler is - we are told - old, divorced, alcoholic, out of shape and out of touch. With his girlfriend is away in Paris, he wanders the dark streets late at night. He is due for retirement and is barely tolerated by his more political savvy colleagues who know how to play the game. And this is why Hunkeler is at odds with the higher echelons of the police force, for he has the gall to mix with the lower class, rural, and foreign elements of the city.  

And this book tackles the problems of how the wider community views and treats these undesirables, especially when it comes to a willingness in solving (or turning a blind eye to) crime in these areas. Not only that, like all good detectives that a forged from a different mould, Hunkeler has his own methods - somewhat antiquated - that get results, much to the chargrin of his colleagues.

The Basel Killings is a great read, especially for those that like their protagonists flawed and plausible, slightly eccentric, and their surrounds as gloomy and depressive as the crimes being investigated.

read more:
Mass murder and consecutive suicide in Switzerland: A comparative analysis. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, A. Ilic, & A. Frei, (2019).

Wikipedia: Crime in Switzerland

Review: The Syndicate Six Murder by Geoffrey Osborne

Synopsis: A Jacobean mansion. A body in a chest.

Detective Superintendent Ralph Blade never liked Detective Harold Ashington. These two men had history. Ashington never forgave Blade for marrying his former girlfriend, Julie, and he was convinced the Blades’ son was his own.

Now Ashington is dead, murdered at the world-famous Police Staff College in the heart of rural Hampshire. And Julie can’t explain why she had planned to meet him on the night he died. Has a forgotten love triangle turned deadly?

But Ashington was a bully and a blackmailer, and widely disliked. There are plenty of other suspects — and all of them are either senior police officers or closely connected to the force. Then Blade’s prime suspect and one of his team are brutally attacked and left for dead.  Can Blade and his new second-in-command Detective Dorothy Fraser uncover who has motive, means and opportunity?

A pacey murder mystery set in a Police Training College where the victim, the suspects, and the investigators are all police officers. What could possibly go wrong!

Though by (my) normal standards this is a short book at only 164 pages, it feels much longer. The chapters themselves are not overly long though there is much to be gleaned from each.

I enjoyed the storyline and the fact that the author used a real location and object in which to set his crime. Bramshill was a world-famous Police Staff College situated in north-east Hampshire.  It laid claim to a large country estate, including a lake, and the Jacobean mansion where the recruits trained.

It is into this setting that we follow DS Ralph Blade and his team as they investigate the murder of a man for whom many will not shed a tear for the victim, Chief Superintendent Harold Ashington of Scotland Yard, was a truly despicable man, and as such, there is an over abundance of suspects and motives that need to be investigated. Chief among the list of suspects with a suitable motive is DS Blade and his family and for Blade, the motive, long thought buried in the past, surfaces and his family is drawn in. But Blade is not the only credible suspect - there are others, many others, including colleagues and the victim's own wife!

As with all police procedurals, the build up is slow and steady as we tag along with the investigating officers until all is ready to be revealed.