Review: The Adventures of the Murdered Midwife by Liese Sherwood-Fabre

Synopsis: Arthur Conan Doyle provided few details on Holmes' boyhood. His ancestors were country squires, his grandmother was the sister of the French artist Vernet, and he had a brother named Mycroft - seven years his senior.

Recently, a cache of documents has been discovered detailing, in Sherlock's own hand, his early forays into criminal investigation.Only weeks into his first year at Eton, Sherlock's father calls him and his brother back to Underbyrne, the ancestral estate.

The village midwife has been found with a pitchfork in her back in the estate's garden, and Mrs. Holmes has been accused of the murder.

Can Sherlock find the true killer in time to save her from the gallows?

~ ~ ~

After a few false starts with other authors taking on Holmes, I actually found myself enjoying this take on the young Sherlock. What begins as simply a case of proving his mother innocent of a crime,young Sherlock, and indeed the Holmes clan, embark on solving the actual crime as the body count rises.

The author provides an insight into the young Holmes, fresh from being dragged away from his first year at Eton, to join older brother Mycroft (dragged away from Oxford Uni much to his chagrin) and uncle Ernest in collectively solving these local crimes.

For me, however, it is Mrs Holmes who is the stand out - she is obviously the one whom young Sherlock will emulate - and you can feel the author's guiding hand in his development as a detective. As Sherlock himself says "... mother always taught me a detached mind produced better results ...". We also are treated to the first glimpses of the skills Holmes will develop and use in his latter years - disguises, consorting with all class of people, powers of observation and evidence collection, a little criminal activity, and his one-up-manship against the local constabulary.

All in all, this is a fine start to a new series and one I am looking forward to investing in.

Review: James Bong - Agent of Anarchy by Todd Borho

Synopsis: My name is James, James Bong!

Follow the daring exploits of James Bong, a former MI6 spy turned renegade, as he defies authority and takes on daring missions alongside his trusty team. With the brilliant hacker K, the fiery blogger Miss Moneybit, and the mysterious AI Symphy at his side, Bong navigates a world of danger and intrigue, leaving a trail of laughter in his wake.

But as Bong and his team push the limits of what's possible, they soon find themselves pursued by their former employers, determined to put an end to their rebellious antics. Will Bong outsmart his adversaries and emerge victorious, or will he be caught in a web of deceit and betrayal?

Packed with cutting-edge technology, pulse-pounding suspense, and laugh-out-loud humor, “James Bong" is a must-read for fans of sci-fi adventure and spy thrillers alike.

~ ~ ~

A spoof of the James Bond spy genre,written as a play - minimal stage direction, characters of very little substance, plenty of humorous dialogue that doesn't overtax the little grey cells. A pastiche to while away an hour or so. Cue Leslie Nielsen.

Review: The Ruffler's Child by John Pilkington

Synopsis: Introducing Thomas Finbow – falconer to Sir Robert Vicary and Lady Margaret of Petbury, Berkshire. He keeps his mind sharp and his body primed as he goes about his duties with the diligent confidence of one who once served Queen and country.

When Nathaniel Pickering, Lady Margaret’s older brother is found murdered, Thomas takes her away to London, in search of gryfalcons. Lady Margaret being a keen lover of the sport of falconry herself, Thomas hopes it will help distract his mistress from her grief, however once they reach the city it becomes apparent that much bigger things are at play – and the murder of Master Pickering was just the beginning…

Thomas's astute mind is unable to ignore the clues, and in uncovering some dark secrets, he places himself - and his mistress - in grave danger. Now a target himself, Thomas must face some of London's most notorious criminals, in a battle of both brain and brawn.

~ ~ ~

For some reason, I had thought I had come across this series prior to now - and realised that it was published some twenty years ago and there are seven books in the series - The Ruffler's Child being the first.

Widowed Thomas Finbow, a former solder, is falconer to a local lordly couple. The death of the lady's brother sets both Thomas and Lady Margaret off to London to see what brother Nathaniel may have left behind by way of clues to why he was killed.

Thomas remains behind to investigate, following leads,discovering long-hidden secrets, that result in many a misfortune for our gallant falconer. Along the way, we learn a little about the Dutch community that settled in London at this time - which I found most enlightening.

England in the 1580s was a period of rising internal (see Mary Queen of Scots) and international political tension, particularly with Spain. In addition, the government - headed by Queen Elizabeth I and her Council - dealt with religious tensions from both Catholics and radical Puritans, while managing the economy which was benefiting from new Atlantic trade routes but facing financial strains from war.

Pilkington immerses the reader to the underbelly of London in the 1580s which included a mix of licensed and unlicensed establishments like taverns, alehouses, and brothels, alongside organized crime and poverty. London was home to what we would now refer to as organised crime - "dissolute, loose and insolent people" harbored in various disorderly houses, including gambling dens, brothels, and illicit taverns.

During this period, there was a growing Dutch community in England consisting primarily of Protestant refugees fleeing religious persecution in the Spanish-controlled Netherlands. These "strangers" formed distinct communities, established their own churches, and contributed to the English economy through new industries like silk and lace weaving. While generally welcomed for their skills, they faced some social friction with the local English population - this is also touched upon. 

This then is the social and political landscape into which the reader is drawn. Events build to the dramatic climax wherein the secret and the identity of the "ruffler's child" is revealed - and the connection to Lady Margaret's family is established.

A good first novel, not an overly long read but one which is nicely paced out to keep the narrative and action perpetually flowing. Looking forward to investing in the rest of the series.

Review: The Last Days by Lindsay Jacob

Synopsis: It is the year 833, and in the land of the East Angles, the rains have failed. The poor pray and starve. Then foreign hermits enter the north of the kingdom. They preach that God’s wrath has fallen upon the people because the king and the head of the Church are heralds of the Antichrist and have allowed sin to flourish. In the fevered atmosphere, lives are taken.

In the kingdom’s south, a boy with royal connections commits an inexplicable crime. The situation spirals out of control, and murder follows. The body of one of the victims is rumoured to have caused a miracle, drawing starving folk to surround the abbey where the body lies. In desperation, the ealdorman calls on Father Eadred—a simple priest with an ability to solve murders— to investigate the crimes.

Eadred throws himself into the task, risking his sanity and life to discover the truth. He uncovers a vile plot, where Christians and pagans are entangled in a volatile web. Eadred rushes from one end of the kingdom to the other, in an attempt to prevent the final crime.

But has someone beaten him?

~ ~ ~

I have read the first in the series but missed the second - this one is the third mystery.

One of the key themes in this mystery is the concept of "the last days". The concept of the "last days" varies across religions, but generally refers to a final period before an end-time event, often involving a final judgment. In Christianity, this period includes signs like moral decline, false prophets, and a coming tribulation before a final judgment and Christ's return.

"... it is a time of false prophets and deceivers ..."

All of these elements are present - church corruption, religious turmoil, vice, crop failure, drought, war, famine. As a sign of religious favour, the people and the church look to miracles as a sign that all will be well. It also means that the site of the miracle may become a place of pilgrimage, drawing in more income (and prestige) for the religious establishment.

However, murder has been committed against a royal personage and Eadred is sent forth to investigate. He comes up against a community shrouded in superstition and a regression to pagan ways, itinerant heretics preaching the end of the world, and suddenly - a miracle amid the bloodshed.

Once Eadred looks like he may have a firm grasp on events, things take a turn as egos vie for dominance, and church and state vie for the power of the people. Will Eadred solve the mysteries at hand or become one of the victims himself .... only time will tell.

This is a well constructed mystery that often takes one step forward and two steps back as the various cases Eadred must solve overlap, and his thoroughness in investigating often has him going hither and thither. The 9th century is depicted well with the ongoing battle of church and state for the souls of those under its protection and as detailed within, when all else fails, the people resort to the "old" religion of the ancestors. Despite Christianity's spread, there were still pockets resistance and a resurgence was on the horizon!

Jacob engages and immerses his readers without appearing to be providing a history lesson. A good little mystery series.

Review: The Tailor of Riga by Jonathan Harries

Synopsis: I had absolutely no intention of getting into the family business. As I told my father the night he enlightened me on what my ancestors had been up to for over a thousand years, "Sticking a curved dagger into someone's liver ain't quite my cup of tea."

As it turned out, I had no choice. When your family's been assassinating reprobates and other loathsome individuals for seventy generations, you have a certain obligation.

So, while it was a little disconcerting to hear how dear old granny would have become a prostitute if Grandpa Joe hadn't whacked one of Germany's top agents just before the start of World War I, it certainly piqued my interest. Of course, as I discovered, prostitution and murder were pretty de rigueur for my family.

After all, it was my great-grandfather who was hired by the British secret service to kill Jack the Ripper and my mother's cousins who took part in the attempted assassination of Lenin.

My only regret when I finally took up the family sica was not eliminating Jean-Bedel Bokassa just before he crowned himself Emperor of the Central African Empire and ate my two friends.

But we all make mistakes.

~ ~ ~

A rather curious (and dubious) tale of the author's discovery of his "real" family history.

"When your family's been assassinating reprobates and other loathsome individuals for seventy generations, you have a certain obligation."

Harries takes us on a journey of discovery - that he is descended from a long line of assassins dating back to Biblical times - and showcases a couple of incidents out of what is no doubt many acts of subterfuge and murderous expediency, de rigueur.

For those who definitely like their humour accompanied by satire, witticisms, anecdotal snippets of questionable historical accuracies and fallacies, then this is for you.

Looking forward to reading more of the exploits in the next books in the series: The Carpet Salesman from Baghdad, The Bodyguard of Sarawak, and The Correspondent of Petrograd.

Review: Rebellion by Philip Yorke

Synopsis: It is 1643.  The bloody English Civil War has been raging for almost a year and Parliament is facing defeat.  In desperation, it orders army officer, Francis Hacker, to spearhead an audacious plot to bring down the tyrant, King Charles.  Courageous and loyal, Hacker is drawn into a deadly deceit that could cost him everything he holds most dear…

~ ~ ~

Historical fiction with grit as the true drama and horrors of the English Civil War are brought to life in the pages of Yorke's book.

During 1642 - 1643, the King and his supporters will still on the political chessboard, pitching battles along the length and breadth of the country against Cromwell's Parliamentarians. Battles were fought and won and lost on both sides, and the futility is well depicted. It is the human loss that is tragically represented- friends and family, once allies, now foes; religious and political beliefs held steadfast by some, and picked up and cast away with indifference by others; and the family drama of loss and grief. Yorke portrays the times in all their grisly glory.

This is the first in a series featuring Parliamentarian soldier Francis Hacker, a man driven by the convictions he upholds - both personal, political and religious. An outstanding historical novel that touches on this divisive period on English history. Looking forward to book two - Redemption.

Note: read in 2020 / reviewed added 2025

The Bucharest Dossier by William Maz

Synopsis: Bill Hefflin is a man apart—apart from life, apart from his homeland, apart from love ...

At the start of the 1989 uprising in Romania, CIA analyst Bill Hefflin—a disillusioned Romanian expat—arrives in Bucharest at the insistence of his KGB asset, code-named Boris. As Hefflin becomes embroiled in an uprising that turns into a brutal revolution, nothing is as it seems, including the search for his childhood love, which has taken on mythical proportions.

With the bloody events unfolding at blinding speed, Hefflin realizes the revolution is manipulated by outside forces, including his own CIA and Boris—the puppeteer who seems to be pulling all the strings of Hefflin’s life.

~ ~ ~

I love espionage / spy thrillers and this one is right up there with some of my favourite authors.

It has been a while since I first read this and its sister book, but both still resonate. It is the story of a naive young CIA analyst caught up in a game played by those higher up for their own ends. A man, whose own life is shrouded in mystery and who is far from being honest with those around him, who is thrust into a world where identity is a commodity, loyalty questionable, corruption pervasive, and conspiracies abound.

The writing is slick, engaging, and ready to send you hither and thither during the years of revolution in Ceausescus' Romania of the 1980s. What fully immerses the reader in the narrative is the author's ability to posit parallels from his own early life into the text, giving such a sense of realism.

A great first book,which I followed immediately with the second - The Bucharest Legacy.

Review: Blood's Game by Angus Donald

Synopsis: London, Winter 1670. Holcroft Blood has entered the employ of the Duke of Buckingham, one of the most powerful men in the kingdom after the king. It is here that his education really begins. With a gift for numbers and decoding ciphers, Holcroft soon proves invaluable to the Duke, but when he's pushed into a betrayal he risks everything for revenge. 

His father, Colonel Thomas Blood, has fallen on hard times. A man used to fighting, he lives by his wits and survives by whatever means necessary. When he's asked to commit treason by stealing the crown jewels, he puts himself and his family in a dangerous situation - one that may end at the gallows. As the machinations of powerful men plot to secure the country's future, both father and son must learn what it is to survive in a more dangerous battlefield than war - the court of King Charles II.

~ ~ ~

I adore the character of Colonel Thomas Blood - so who could not reciprocate with his offspring!

A riotous adventure at the time of the Restoration of King Charles II (c.1670s). It is the story of both Colonel Thom Blood and his offspring, Holcroft Blood.  Angus Donald's narrative is fresh, exciting and always action-packed; his characters walk on the wild-side of life, and can be both detestable and likeable at the same time.

This is a period I am delving more into as a reader, and one that I am enjoying immensely. This will not be my last foray and I am looking forward to further exploits in the upcoming books - "Blood' s Revolution and Blood's Campaign.

Note: I read and reviewed this for both Goodreads and NetGalley back in 2020 and since then, have added all three books to my own personal library.

Review: Gumshoe - The Mortimer Angel Series by Rob Leininger

Move over Mike Hammer and Sam Spade - there's a new kid in town, and his name is Angel .... Mort Angel.



Gumshoe:

Missing for nine days: the mayor and district attorney of Reno, Nevada. Their vehicles were found parked side-by-side at Reno-Tahoe International airport. Did they fly somewhere together? They aren’t on any flight manifests. Did they take off with a big pile of the city’s money? If so, city accountants can’t find it. Were they murdered? There’s no sign of foul play. Their disappearances have finally made national news.

Enter Mort Angel, 41, Reno’s newest gumshoe, a private-eye-in-training at his nephew’s investigative firm. Just four hours into his new career, Mort finds the mayor---dead, and in the trunk of his ex-wife’s Mercedes. Did Mort kill the mayor? Did Mort’s ex? A news-hungry nation wants to know.

As events begin to spin out of control, Mort realizes things have been out of control since the night before he started his new career, the night he found the unknown naked blond in his bed . . .

Gumshoe For Two:

In the style of Dashiell Hammett , ex-IRS agent turned gumshoe-in-training, Mortimer Angel, is approached by a beautiful hooker, Holiday, in a casino bar in Reno. Mort first met Holiday two months ago, but now learns that she's not really a hooker. She's a college engineering student, searching for her younger sister, Allie, who disappeared three months ago. Having seen Mort in the news, Holiday knows he's a PI who finds missing persons. 

While in the bar with Mort, Holiday gets an unexpected phone call from Allie, who says she's in Gerlach, a small town in Nevada. The call is cut off. Holiday hires Mort on the spot, dragging him off to Gerlach. When Mort finds a connection between Allie and US Senator Harry "Liar" Reinhart, a presidential candidate who vanished without a trace three days ago, things quickly turn deadly ... very deadly.

Gumshoe On The Loose:

IRS agent-turned-PI Mortimer Angel is relaxing in a hole-in-the-wall bar in a Reno casino when an attractive young girl hires him to find out who left her a cryptic message demanding a million dollars. At the girl’s house, Mort finds the body of missing rapper Jonnie Xenon―Jo-X to his legions of fans―hanging from the rafters with two bullet holes in him. Mort is shocked when he learns the identity of the girl’s father―and even more shocked when the father hires him to investigate the murder.

Mort, being Mort, accumulates a few felonies as he follows the clues to Las Vegas. And along the way, he picks up an alluring young assistant who changes his life―in every conceivable way.

Gumshoe Rock:

Early in July, northern Nevada’s senior Internal Revenue Service agent, Ronald Soranden—disliked by every agent in the Reno IRS office—vanished without a trace. In September, he makes a dramatic reappearance, of sorts. His skull—stripped clean and white—is dropped through the slashed top of a Mustang convertible. The vehicle belongs to Lucy Landry, PI Mortimer Angel’s gorgeous young assistant now working with him on a seemingly unrelated embezzlement case.

But Mort is a former IRS field agent in Reno. He’d done his time during the tyrannical reign of Soranden, quitting, he says, “when I discovered I have a soul.” Now that his former boss’s head has appeared, he and Lucy find them themselves under the annoying surveillance of a pair of IRS enforcement agents.

When the FBI are brought in to investigate the murder, Mort and Lucy realize shocking details about their own case—primarily Soranden’s involvement. It becomes evident that events and suspects of the embezzlement case and Soranden’s murder are heavily entangled with those enmeshed in an ugly case of blackmail. Mort and Lucy are roped tighter and tighter into the Soranden investigation while they grapple with the deadliest situation of their PI careers. Mortimer Angel has been in harrowing, lethal situations before and has suffered incalculable losses, but none more horrifying than the trap embedded in Gumshoe Rock.

Gumshoe In The Dark:

Blackmail, murder, and a pretty girl on the run Nevada's attorney general is missing. At dusk on a deserted Nevada highway in a thunderstorm, ex-IRS agent and PI-in-training Mortimer Angel comes across a pretty, scantily-clad girl—Harper Leland. She's cold and alone, thirty miles from the nearest town. When Mort offers her a ride, she orders him out of his truck at gunpoint. She tries to take off, but he cuts the valve stem on the rear tire. Realizing she's in trouble, he wants to help—but with no spare tire, he devises a creative way to get them out of the hills—slowly, precariously balanced on three tires. 

On their way down, a rough-looking man stops and asks Mort if he has "seen anyone up in the hills." Mort realizes the guy is after Harper, who is hiding in the truck. Thus begins a cat-and-mouse chase in northeast Nevada that continues even after Mort finds the attorney general—Harper's mother—dead in the trunk of a car. In time, Mort's wife, Lucy, is also pulled into the case, which becomes the deadliest of Mort's career.

~ ~ ~

Mortimer (Mort) Angel is a 40-something, newly minted and rather green private detective who was an IRS (internal revenue service) employee in a previous lifetime. Mort is taken on by one Ma (aka Maude Cleary) the best PI in Neveda, though both he and she soon wonder what he has gotten himself into.

Mort - our narrator - is a magnet for trouble (and chicks, always scantily clad) - which amounts to the same thing in Mort's world, which transcends the underbelly of Reno, Nevada. Mort has a knack for finding people .... well, their body parts actually, which seem to land right in his lap, much to the chagrin of local law enforcement, who have Mort firmly in their sights.

Unfortunately, I was not able to get a hold of the first in the series, but the books following provided enough references that I had no trouble picking up at book two.

Leininger's nuanced narrative is raw and punchy, paced well as the action slowly gathers speed to its inevitable conclusion. Mort is provided with some gritty and yet humorous dialogue- such as:

" ... a hooker walks into a bar .... " (literally)

" ... this investigation had become a hydra, with tentacles all over the place ..."

" ... evil was tracking me down like a yeti hunting meat ... "

" ... Internal Revenue was a "service" like Schwarzenegger was a terminator, so ... maybe not ... "

Each book has a well woven story, littered with noirish references, a little tax talk, and where everything borders on the illegal.  There are plenty of hair-raising escapes for the resourceful Mort, who at times seems to be channeling his inner MacGyver. It is usually in the last 100 pages that things really pick up, and both the narrative and events are quite deftly turned on their ear before - like a boulder rolling down a hill - the damage (and body count) is revealed. 

This is a great series, well worth investing in and a must read for lovers of noir detective fiction!

Review: The Lewis Trilogy by Peter May

The Blackhouse

The Isle of Lewis is the most remote, harshly beautiful place in Scotland, where the difficulty of existence seems outweighed only by people's fear of God. But older, pagan values lurk beneath the veneer of faith, the primal yearning for blood and revenge.

When a brutal murder on the island bears the hallmarks of a similar slaying in Edinburgh, police detective Fin Macleod is dispatched north to investigate. But since he himself was raised on Lewis, the investigation also represents a journey home and into his past.

Each year the island's men perform the hunting of the gugas, a savage custom no longer necessary for survival, but which they cling to even more fiercely in the face of the demands of modern morality. For Fin the hunt recalls a horrific tragedy, which after all this time may have begun to demand another sacrifice.

The Lewis Man

A MAN WITH NO NAME. An unidentified corpse is recovered from a Lewis peat bog; the only clue to its identity being a DNA sibling match to a local farmer. A MAN WITH NO MEMORY. But this islander, Tormod Macdonald - now an elderly man suffering from dementia - has always claimed to be an only child. A MAN WITH NO CHOICE. When Tormod's family approach Fin Macleod for help, Fin feels duty-bound to solve the mystery.

The Chessmen

Fin Macleod, now head of security on a privately owned Lewis estate, is charged with investigating a spate of illegal game-hunting taking place on the island. This mission reunites him with Whistler Macaskill—a local poacher, Fin's teenage intimate, and possessor of a long-buried secret. But when this reunion takes a violent, sinister turn, Fin realizes that revealing the truth could destroy the future.

The Black Loch

A MURDER

The body of eighteen-year-old TV personality Caitlin is found abandoned on a remote beach at the head of An Loch Dubh - the Black Loch - on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. A swimmer and canoeist, it is inconceivable that she could have drowned.

A SECRET

Fin Macleod left the island ten years earlier to escape its memories. When he learns that his married son Fionnlagh had been having a clandestine affair with the dead girl and is suspected of her murder, he and Marsaili return to try and clear his name.

A TRAP

But nothing is as it seems, and the truth of the murder lies in a past that Fin would rather forget, and a tragedy at the cages of a salmon farm on East Loch Roag, where the tense climax of the story finds its resolution.

~ ~ ~

I have read the first three in the series, and all stories follow on from the previous - I have yet to read the fourth instalment. These are not your typical police procedural nor detective fiction; but there is certainly mystery, crime, drama.

The stories are a look into the darker side of a small enclosed, almost claustrophobic community, with long hidden secrets, whose community, like the island itself, is not without scars, and no-one remains untouched by tragedy. The truth of murder lies in a past best forgotten.

The Blackhouse sees the return to Lewis of Fin Macleod, sent to investigate a local death. His presence brings to light that long buried secrets from the past, which is a catalyst for the crimes he is sent to investigate. Even Fin himself has secrets so deeply buried that he has forgotten them.

The Lewis Man delves into the past of another island family with the discovery of the bog-body of a murdered man. But are those revealing what they know reliable narrators.

The Chessman deals with past events linked back to Fin's university days and a local rock band.

May has a way of slowly luring in the reader until they find themselves fully immersed in not only the narrative and characters, but the island of Lewis itself. May's prose is dark and brooding, at times even menacing, that one almost feels the isolation and harsh ruggedness of the Outer Hebrides.

For those with an interest in family drama with long hidden secrets, this series is one for you.

Review: The Bishop Murder Case by SS Van Dine

Synopsis: After solving the Greene murders, Philo Vance has taken a well-earned holiday in Switzerland. Returning to New York City he finds his old chum, District Attorney Anthony Markham, up against a bizarre series of murders inspired by children’s nursery rhymes. 

The first murder, involving a beautiful young woman and a private archery range, was apparently based on “Who Killed Cock Robin?”; it is followed by more hideous deaths referencing “Mother Goose.” But Philo Vance is not a man to be fobbed off with points to juvenilia. Markham and his colleagues may be worried that a certain Mr. H. Dumpty is riding for a great fall, but Philo Vance suspects a connection to a rather more sophisticated writer.

~ ~ ~

The fourth in the series with the Benson Murder Case, the Canary Murder Case & the Green Murder Case all preceding. There are - including this one - twelve books in the series, all set in the 1920s and 1930s. I read all of these quite, quite some time ago and enjoyed them all.

Vance is portrayed by his creator as "a stylish — even foppish —dandy, a New York bon vivant possessing a highly intellectual bent." A homage to Sherlock Holmes, Vance even has his own Watson in the form of one Van Dine (friend, legal advisor, narrator, chronicler). Author Van Dine often has Vance monocled, impeccably attired (gloves, hat, top coat), and his speech frequently tended to be effete, affected, quaint and whimsical. He is invariably accompanied by and works with: DA Markham, Sgt Heath, Dr Doremus, Van Dine (his Watson), and Currie (his valet).

In this outing, the nursery rhymes of Mother Goose provide a backdrop for murder, which Vance, using his vast and unique knowledge of subjects obscure, will solve for the police.

Each tome is accompanied by a cast of characters and murder scene to assist the reader follow the narrative.

This is a golden age detective novel - it is a novel of its own time, not ours. Enjoy it for what is represents - the foundations of the modern day private detective tomes - and a little bit of escapism. For unbeknownst to the world at large, the Great Depression was was about to descend - and escapism from the harsh realities of life would provide a little relief for many.

You can find both the films and radio plays still - enjoy!

Review: Murder in Constantinople by AE Goldin

Synopsis: A gripping, immersive historical murder mystery in which a wayward boy from London's East End is pulled into the hunt for a serial killer on the eve of the Crimean War.

London, 1854. Twenty-one-year-old Ben Canaan attracts trouble wherever he goes. His father wants him to be a good Jewish son, working for the family business on Whitechapel Road, but Ben and his friends, the 'Good-for-Nothings', just want adventure.

Then the discovery of an enigmatic letter and a photograph of a beautiful woman offer an escapade more dangerous than anything he'd imagined. Suddenly Ben is thrown into a mystery that takes him all the way to Constantinople, the jewel of an empire and the centre of a world on the brink of war.

His only clue is three 'The White Death'. Now he must find what links a string of grisly murders, following a trail through kingmaking and conspiracy, poison and high politics, bloodshed and betrayal. In a city of deadly secrets, no one is safe - and one wrong step could cost Ben his life.

~ ~ ~

"Murder in Constantinople" reads like a boys-own-adventure. There are political machinations, espionage, murder, secret societies, travel, war, criminal detection, and a naive hero blundering into situations beyond his abilities.

And if you suspend belief and accept it as such, you will find an enjoyable romp through 19th century Constantinople at the time of the Crimean War - where politics and high society meld, where "everyone from high to low has secrets, all tied together in an invisible web", where conspiracies abound, and a serial killer is on the loose. Can our young runaway find his feet whilst avoid being the target of a secret group of assassins .... only time will tell.!

The first in a new series, the scene setting begins here and once it gets going, the action follows.

Review: Desolation by Keith Moray

Synopsis: The Black Rood of Scotland, stolen. A coroner of York, murdered. An evil worse than plague itself, at large…

1361, York. As the country recovers from the war with France, and whispers that the pestilence has returned to England grow louder, fear is in the heart of every nobleman and commoner alike. Sir Ralph de Mandeville, ex-solider and newly appointed Justice of the Peace is sent to Langbarugh, just outside York, to investigate the murder of Coroner Sir Boderick de Whitby.

More deaths quickly follow, and while these are swiftly dealt with as plague victims, Sir Ralph and his two assistants Merek and Peter soon uncover something altogether more horrifying… A greater evil is at large in the northern wapentakes.

As panic escalates and the lines between plague and murder blur, Sir Ralph is thrust into a desperate race against time. Every shadow hides a potential killer, every cough could be a death knell. Can he unmask a murderer lurking in the terrifying shadow of the Black Death before they’re all consumed by a terror more sinister than any plague?

~ ~ ~

This series is set during the reign of King Edward III of England when the country was at war with France - the Hundred Years War.  The Black Death - or Plague - made its return - it would claim at least 20% of the population.  The Justices of the Peace Act was introduced, which created a new national role for justices of the peace (JPs) who were responsible for enforcing labor laws enacted in response to the economic changes caused by the Black Death.

The first in a new series wherein a number of local deaths is set firmly at the door of the plague - afterall, who in their right mind would look too closely at the putrefying corpse of a plague victim. However, it is the murder of a coroner and the theft of one of Scotland's most revered relics, that sets Ralph de Mandeville and his assistants on the trail of something more sinister.

There are many themes tackled in this tome - law and order, religion and superstition, necromancy and alchemy, doomsday preachers, murder, spite, and local jealousies and history.

Moray writes in an engaging manner, which slowly draws the reader in, setting the scene before our trio arrive to begin their investigations. A gentle history lesson to ensure the reader has a grasp of events and social customs of the period, is woven into the narrative - it is a subject not unknown to this author.  

Looking forward to the next installment in this new series.

Review: Feast for the Ravens by Sarah Hawkswood

Synopsis: Worcestershire, September 1145. A Templar knight is found dead in the Forest of Wyre, clutching a bloodstained document naming a traitor. Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll, and Underserjeant Walkelin must uncover whether the killing was personal, political, or the work of outlaws. They are surprised to find that the locals believe the killer to be the Raven Woman, a mythical shape-shifter said to haunt the woods. Then the knight is identified as Ivo de Mitton, who fled the shire many years ago, presumed guilty of the foul murder of his kin.

As the trio dig through legend and lies, they must determine the truth and bring a cunning killer to justice.

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This is book thirteen in the Bradecote and Catchpoll series, again, with the setting for this latest in firmly during the time of The Anarchy, and the city of Worcestor in 1145.

Bradecote, Undersherrif of Worcester, along with his serjeant, Catchpoll and underserjeant, Walkelin, are sent to investigate the murder of a Knight Templar, amid rumour and susperstition that he was killed by the Raven Women - "hrafm wif".

The murder has its roots in the past - and our trio must untangle these in order to solve the mystery set firmly in their present. Hawkswood again brings the themes of legend and logic, past and present, norman and saxon, into the narrative to deftly weave an entrancing narrative - or rather ".. knots within knots within knots ...".

Highly recommend starting at the beginning of the series as this will provide a much easier introduction into the characters, the setting, the history, though there is enough within this tome to let the reader get the feel for what has transpired before if they are jumping straight into this one.

See my review of book seven: Wolf at the Door

Review: Murder at the Black Cat Cafe by Seishi Yokomizo

Synopsis: Tokyo, 1947. The Pink Labyrinth is one of the bomb-scarred city's most shady neighbourhoods. There, in the dead of night a patrolling policeman catches a young Buddhist monk digging in the back yard of The Black Cat Cafe, a notorious brothel. In the shallow grave at his feet lie the dead body of a woman, her face disfigured beyond recognition, and the corpse of a black cat.

Who is the murdered woman, and how was she connected to the infamous establishment? And where did the dead cat come from, given that the cafe's feline mascot seems to be alive and well? The brilliant sleuth Kosuke Kindaichi investigates, but as he draws closer to the truth, he finds himself in grave danger...

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Murder at the Black Cat Cafe is a short story with an additional short story, Why Did the Well Wheel Creak?, included.

Kosuke Kindaichi, plays a prominent role in the first story - set in urban Tokyo - but has a almost secondary role in the subsequent mystery - set in familiar territory of rural Japan - appearing towards the end for the denouement.

Both stories feature a similar theme of mistaken or assumed identity, family drama, murder, greed, jealousy and rivalry, revenge, love and lust. The first is a "straight" Yokomizo mystery with Kindaichi investigating and the "author" retelling the tale after receiving a series of documents from him. The second is set out through a series of letters written by a sister to her brother, recounting daily events (and her suspicions) whilst he convalesces in a sanatorium.

Both are engaging mysteries, however, I found myself drawn more to the second one possibly as each letter comes with a greater sense or urgency or impending danger, building up the intensity of the narration.

Benjamin Wallace - Duck & Cover Series

Even a mushroom cloud has a silver lining.

Join the Librarian and his mastiff as he does his best to make the post-apocalyptic world a better place by protecting the weak,fighting injustice, squaring off against a group of former renaissance fair workers who have established a kingdom in the Rocky Mountains, and so on. 

Can one man make a difference in the face of such murderous cannibals and super smart bears? Probably not.

Visit Benjamin's website for more on this series.

Dirk Cussler - reflections 50 years on

From an article posted in CrimeReads:

In 1973, a paperback thriller was published by Pyramid Press, written by an aspiring writer from Southern California. The book opened with an antiquated World War I German Albatross biplane strafing Brady Air Force Base on the Greek island of Thásos, destroying its fleet of F-105 jet fighters. The attack is disrupted by the arrival of a lumbering PBY Catalina flying boat, whose pilot engages in an unlikely dogfight with the Albatross and somehow prevails. The Mediterranean Caper was the debut novel by my father Clive Cussler, and introduced the indomitable character of Dirk Pitt at the controls of the Catalina, along with his fictional employer, the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA).

Read full article here @ CrimeReads

My first introduction to both Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt was through his third novel, "Raise The Titanic". I needed to do a book report for school, and was definitely not into romance, having been raised with a healthy dose of murder and action adventure. This book still occupies a small corner of my mind even to this day.

Raise The Titanic: The President's secret task force develops the ultimate defensive weapon. At its core: byzanium, a radioactive element so rare sufficient quantities have never been found. But a frozen American corpse on a desolate Soviet mountainside, a bizarre mining accident in Colorado, and a madman's dying message lead DlRK PITT~ to a secret cache of byzanium. Now he begins his most thrilling, daunting mission -- to raise from its watery grave the shipwreck of the century!

Review: The Blazing Sea by Tim Hodkinson

Synopsis: The thrilling new Whale Road Chronicles Viking adventure. Einar and the Wolf Coats venture south, but danger and bloodshed is never far away.

Einar and the Wolf Coats have angered most of the kings of Northern Europe. With England no refuge, their only solution is to set sail across the Whale Road.

A chance encounter with a slave trader leads them to Muslim Spain, but what starts as a joyous homecoming for one of the crew ends in the Caliph's infamous dungeons.

The Mediterranean proves a perilous sea. Byzantine warships roam, armed with liquid fire that can torch man and ship alike. Viking mercenaries and pirate lords alike spill blood for gold or glory.

With a chance to retake his stolen kingdom of Orkney, Einar must first save an innocent life... and risk his own and those of his crew once more.

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Following adventures in 10th century Brittany, Ireland and Saxon England, Book 8 in the series finds Ulrich and his band of Ulfhednar in sun-soaked al-Andalus, and as prisoners of the Caliphate not long after their arrival. After managing to make their escape, they flee across the Mediterranean Sea, only to find themselves again prisoners ... this time at the mercy of the Byzantines and their deadly liquid (Greek) fire.

The motley band find themselves in the legendary Miklagarad (Constantinople) where Araltes (Harold), a Norwegian Imperial (or Varangian) Guard, makes them an offer they cannot refuse .... infiltrate one pesky pirate island.

Hodkinson's narrative leads Einar and the Wolf Coats on a merry adventure which sees Affreca infiltrate the harem of the pirate king to find the daughter of one of their own. Byzantine plots, pirates, capture and evasion, battles and heroics, Greek fire and gold keep the reader suitably entertained.

Another rollicking story in the legend of Einar and the Wolf Coats that will surely be recounted in the best Skaldic tradition by the fireside!

Review: The Labyrinth House Murders by Yukito Aatsuji

Synopsis: Miyagaki Yōtarō is one of Japan's most famed mystery writers, but several years ago he put down his pen and left the Tokyo literary world for a life of seclusion in the remote Labyrinth House, built by the notorious architect Nakamura Seiji. When four of the country's most exciting up-and-coming crime writers are invited to the house for Yōtarō's birthday party, they are honoured to accept. But no sooner have they arrived than they are confronted with a shocking death, then lured into a bizarre, deadly competition with each other...

As the competition proceeds, and murder follows murder, the brilliant Kiyoshi Shimada investigates. Can he solve the mystery of the house before all those trapped in its labyrinth are dead? And can you guess the solution before he does?

This is the third stand-alone book from the author of Decagon House Murders and Mill House Murders

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"... let the game of detection begin ..."

Four authors and a few other notable guests, are drawn to the mysterious Labyrinth House by its owner, famed author Miyagaki Yotaro.  His intent: to find a worthy successor to himself (and a substantial inheritance and writing kudos for the winner) after conducting a writing competition, to be judged at the conclusion.

However, shortly after arriving - a murder is announced - that of their host. Though shocked at this news, the writers are determined to proceed with their late host's wishes - afterall, a large inheritance is nothing to be sniffed at. However, things soon turn even deadlier as one author after another is found murdered ......

Kiyoshi Shimada leads the investigation, as the house's architect is revealed to be none other than Nakamura Seiji (creator of the Decagon House and the Mill House from previous books). This discovery sends Shimada on a new course of investigation - with plot twists and teasing reveals ultimately disclosing both the murderer and their motive.

However ..... that is never the true ending as an even more clever reveal follows, with Shimada having the final word.

Wonderful storytelling from Yukito Ayatsuji, who leads the reader into the labyrinth that is the author's own creative narrative, leaving them there, like his characters,  to solve the puzzle and find their own way out.

Review: The Adventures of Max Spitzkopf by Jonas Kreppel

Synopsis: Max Spitzkopf, the Yiddish Sherlock Holmes, “heads the famous Viennese detective bureau Blitz . . . He’s bold as a lion and takes the wildest risks.” Meet Max Spitzkopf: legendary private eye, undefeated foe of villains, and passionate defender of the Jewish people. No matter how hopeless or dangerous the case, when “the investigatory profession’s greatest artist” is summoned, justice is assured. Aided by his trusty assistant, Fuchs, super-sleuth Spitzkopf deploys equal parts physical bravery and intellectual ingenuity— not to mention a knack for stealthy disguise—to unpick evil conspiracies, outwit the canniest of criminals, and restore moral order to the world.

Giving a unique twist to a beloved literary genre, this complete collection of the fifteen Spitzkopf mysteries is also a vibrant testament to Jewish life, in all its variety, during the last years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Reading the tales, with every iota of their linguistic verve and historical charm preserved in Mikhl Yashinsky’s translation, it’s easy to see why the young Isaac Bashevis Singer thought them “masterpieces.”

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Highly engaging collection of fifteen short stories featuring a Jewish detective, written in the style of Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes". The stories are set in and around Vienna in the 1920s, and deal with issues pertaining to the Jewish community and their dealings with those who are outside it.

Max Spitzkopf is a well respected (licensed) detective, and is accompanied by his Watson - Hermann Fuchs - who always seems to get himself into one scrape after another, resulting in a bash on the head, imprisonment and escape. Spitzkopf is inundated with cases from the seemingly banal to issues of national importance. As Spitzkopf bemoaned to Fuchs: “I would need at least ten heads, along with twenty eyes, twenty ears, and twenty pairs of hands and feet, to take on all of the cases these people wish to drop into my lap.”

Themes dealt with include religious bigotry, racism, murder, revenge, persecution, marriage, gang violence, espionage, forged wills, kidnappings, disappearing persons, - so if you have read your Holmes, you will feel at home with Spitzkopf. Like Holmes, Spitzkopf makes use of his assistants to do the leg-work, dons disguises himself, and throws out red herrings when on the trial of his mark. All cases are solved when the detective takes centre stage to unveil the villains and lay the matter to rest. And the villains always receive their dues.

Each of the stories follows in sequence and this is indicated by references at the beginning of the next tale. They are each in turn set out with a number of small chapters. As Yashinsky points out in his introduction, the stories of Spitzkopf were originally written as fifteen ".. pulp-fiction pamphlets that told his stories and cost only twenty Austrian heller for each shabby little shocker of thrity-two pages, published in Kraków around 1908."

I welcomed the opportunity to explore and savour a new detective series and highly recommend investing some time with Spitzkopf, the Yiddish Sherlock Holmes.