Tag: Crime Book Reviews

The Night In Question- Susan Fletcher (Bantam 2024)

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Cosy crime is a genre I dip my toe into occasionally.  I’ve not read the biggest hitter in this area, Richard Osman, but I would hazard a guess that this very healthy market is being aimed at with this, UK author Susan Fletcher’s ninth novel.  This Whitbread First novel award-winning author who made a big impact with her debut “Eve Green” back in 2004 should have good commercial success with this, especially when it arrives in paperback.

The setting is Babbington Hall Residential Home and Assisted Living and main character 87 year old Florrie is negotiating life in her wheelchair access apartment as a recent arrival after having to have part of her leg amputated.  She looks back on a life full of adventures and forward to more in her new home.  Throughout her life she lived with a dark secret, which no-one now living knows about.  Can she finally get to grips with this in what is likely to be her last place of residence?

Florrie is a sparky character with a strength and determination not apparent from her outer appearance and finds herself in the centre of things when a tragedy occurs at Babbington Hall.  She, alongside retired teacher Stanhope Jones start sleuthing to investigate events.  There’s a good set of characters including a couple of gossipy sisters-in-law, a Polish Goth carer, Magda, and an unconventional vicar all with their part to play.  I’m always a little resistant to being pulled into the fictional worlds in this type of crime novel but it did happen and the combination of potential crime at the Home alongside Florrie’s reviewing of her life up to that point is well balanced and works effectively.  Information is discovered at just the right pace to allow the characters, especially Florrie, who is very much the star of the piece to shine through.  I’d imagine this is different in tone and style to the type of novels the author has published before but she should certainly win converts to her writing.

The Night In Question is published in hardback by Bantam, an imprint of Transworld/Penguin Books on 18th April.  Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

Firewatching- Russ Thomas (2020)

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This debut crime novel launched a series featuring DS Adam Tyler.  The 29 year old heads up a cold crime unit and when a body is found bricked up in a wall in an old vicarage in a village outside Sheffield he joins the investigation team and finds himself much more personally involved than he expected.

Tyler is a bit prickly and struggles with the overlap between personal life and work. A gay officer who followed his father into the force he is still at the end of snide comments from some of his colleagues and his responses to these potentially won’t help him in his career.  He does have the support of senior officer DCI Diane Jordan but in this case he certainly tests her patience.

 I don’t feel I’ve completely got the measure yet of Tyler as a character but there’s certainly potential here for the author to develop him in further instalments.  Style-wise, I think the novel also takes a little while to settle- the village setting gives it a traditional cosy-crime feel, at one point I think I forgot it was set in the present day but the characters and case reflect a darker edge and it takes a while for it all to meld together and not feel out of place.  There’s a mixture of police procedural, thriller and whodunnit which does settle in.

Unexplained fires are occurring around the murder scene which may or may not be related but the perpetrator is recording these events on a blog site.  Two elderly ladies are receiving disturbing letters and one of them has memory problems which gives an interesting perspective to the case.

Things tie up nicely in unforeseen ways.  There’s the odd high-tension scene which is overegged somewhat and Tyler finds himself in awkward situations more often than you might expect.  I did, however, find myself being drawn into this and the mixture of styles does end up giving it a richness which is highly satisfactory.

Since this 2020 publication the author has produced two more Adam Tyler novels (with another scheduled for April 2024) which I am certainly keen to read.  Now characters have been established I think there’s potential here for a really strong crime series.

Firewatching was published by Simon & Schuster in 2020.

Force Of Nature – Jane Harper (2017)

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Australian-based author Jane Harper made a surprising huge splash with her 2016 debut “The Dry” (see what I did there?) which scooped Crime Book Of The Year awards in Australia and over here.  It introduced financial crime expert Aaron Falk, although it took him very much out of his professional comfort zone, as he returned to his small home town and became embroiled in a murder-suicide case involving a close friend.  I really appreciated the author’s handling of this whodunnit with the additional tensions of a community in crisis intensified by severe drought.  A 2020 film adaptation wasn’t as good as the book, as it was just a little bit, for want of a better word, dry.

The author has gone on to continued acclaim and commercial success with five published novels to date.  This is the second of three to feature Aaron Falk.  It has a different feel, is more standard thriller fare, and for me does not work as well.  A team bonding exercise for a family-run company BaileyTennants in the hostile Giralang Ranges goes wrong when of a group of five women only four return.  It just so happens that Aaron Falk is investigating the company for financial wrongdoings and his main contact within the company is the missing woman, so he together with new partner, Carmen, get very involved, although I’m not sure why they needed to be at the site where the woman went missing nor did I fully understand what they were investigating and what they needed from her.

Their narrative and the search is interspersed with the events of the hike that went wrong and I did get a little frustrated with the structure of working up to something exciting and then switching to the other narrative strand. Falk felt a little tacked on in this occasion and I think the book could have worked just as well as a stand-alone.  There was also the issue that I did not care that much about the BaileysTennants management and the employees undertaking the team building.  Midway through we move away from the intensity of the ranges to allow a sub-plot to develop and it was here I felt myself getting more involved and I took that with me when we returned to the search for the missing woman.  I did want to know what happened and there were twists I did not anticipate but after the impact “The Dry” made this felt more like standard genre fiction which was fun to read but unlikely to make that much of a lasting impression.  

Force Of Nature was published in 2018 by Little, Brown.  I read the Abacus paperback edition.

Death Under A Little Sky – Stig Abell (Harper Collins 2023)

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Although I have never read either of Stig Abell’s non-fiction works and have seen him only briefly on TV I was actually quite excited to read his debut novel- a literary crime thriller.  Stig is without doubt a high achiever – a double first English degree from Cambridge led to him joining the Press Complaints Commission, which doesn’t seem the most natural route to the role of the managing editor of The Sun newspaper and from there he went on to become the editor of The Times Literary Supplement.  He has since been the Launch Director for Times Radio where he presents the Breakfast Show.  I was intrigued by this mixture of the literary and the mainstream – here is a man who is able to put his ideas across and he is equally at home with the academic as popular culture (he’s also quite easy on the eye) and here he is opting to write a novel within the crime genre because of his deep love of detective fiction.  Could this be where he falls flat on his face?  Not as far as I am concerned as this novel is very good indeed.

We meet main character Jake Jackson at the start of the novel getting out of a taxi in the middle of nowhere in an unspecified part of the English countryside.  He walks to a house he has inherited from an uncle where he intends to embrace a solitary, rural life, giving up his career in the police.  As much as it is a crime thriller this is a novel of escaping and of adapting to circumstances, all feeling rather relevant in this post-Covid 19 world.  Jack is going to wing it- he is happy to give up technology, has no transport and no real survival plan.  What he does have is his uncle’s impressive library of detective fiction which Jake believes initially will do.  I really like this man.

However, this is a crime novel and things will not stay quiet, even though for a considerable time the thriller aspect just simmers alongside Jake’s coming to grips with his new life but slowly the author ramps up the pressure and we get a highly satisfactory crime fiction set-up.

As you might expect it is well written and the grounding Jake has in police-work and detective fiction gives the novel a huge respect for the genre which elevates it onto a higher level.  Stig Abell knows exactly what he is doing here- his love and absorption of crime novels and his years of professional analysis of literary works is so evident and has resulted in this first-class example.  Is there anything this man does not excel in?

Death Under A Little Sky is published by Harper Collins on 13th April 2023.  Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

The Mysterious Case Of The Alperton Angels – Janice Hallett (Viper 2023)

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Janice Hallett’s sparkling debut “The Appeal” ended up at number 4 in my current Books Of The Year.  I rarely go so overboard for a crime novel but I so loved its quirkiness, its characterisation and its misdirections which had me making the wrong assumptions all over the place within a work which felt both fresh and classic.  At the time I did wonder if the author would be able to achieve this again with a second novel which had a similar unusual narrative style.  “The Twyford Code” featured potential secret messages from an Enid Blytonesque writer which gave it great heart and although I felt it lacked a little bit in readability compared to the previous work, the cleverness of misdirections led to a highly satisfactory reading experience and a four star rating.  But would she pull it off a third time?  I really hoped so.

“The Mysterious Case Of The Alperton Angels” consists of research material for a true crime novel which is located in a safe.  The author Amanda Bailey was commissioned to write a new slant on a case of eighteen years previous of a cult ritual suicide/murder which almost led to a baby being sacrificed.  At the same time her one-time colleague and rival Oliver Menzies is commissioned to explore the same case for another publishing company.  Here we get their e-mails, research, found materials including associated fiction and transcripts of interviews around the case.  This is darker territory than the previous novels and I do like dark but I became less convinced as the book progressed that the theme suited this format as well as in the previous books.

The first half I was loving but then it felt like it was getting bogged down with too much material and I could feel my enthusiasm waning and the author’s extrication from this did not feel as impressive as it was in “The Twyford Code”.  I wasn’t surprised to read that one of the acknowledged inspirations was Michelle McNamara’s “I’ll Be Gone In The Dark” a true account of how an American true crime writer became obsessed with her work and there were references to other UK crimes and real life figures which I actually felt a little unsettling on this occasion.

There is still humour and great relish in the writing but this is undeniably darker and I must admit to missing the effervescent feeling I got from “The Appeal”.

Janice Hallett is a clever crime writer and has been a real find for me and does deserve Richard Osman comparable sales with her cunning quirky take on British crime, but didn’t quite hit home with this book in the way I was hoping she would.  I’d be interested to see if she deviates from her format with her next book, I must admit to being a little nervous here about diminishing returns.

The Mysterious Case Of The Alperton Angels was published by Viper Books on 19th January 2023.  Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

Devil’s Way – Robert Bryndza (Raven Street Publishing 2023)

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This is the first of the titles I highlighted in my “Looking Forward” post. Over three novels Robert Bryndza has established a very impressive crime series featuring Private Detective Kate Marshall and her assistant Tristan. Kate has moved on from her horrific back-story which featured in the first book “Nine Elms” and has settled to sleuthing in Devon whilst running a campsite she inherited in order to stay financially solvent.

After three books all of which felt quite different in tone to one another and which certainly displayed the author’s skills at crime writing he can’t be blamed for taking his foot off the gas a little with this 4th in the series and producing a solid, satisfactory work which is not as quite an exceptional read as the first three but would definitely be a fan-pleaser.

As in “Darkness Falls” the case here involves a long-time missing person.  Here it is a three year old boy who has been missing ten years by the time Kate and Tristan get the case from a grandmother desperate for closure.  The plot is not as rich nor as intense as in the other novels and the twists did not surprise me as much, in fact, unusually for me, I had things sorted fairly early on.  What still works well, and why this book was no way a disappointment to me is the relationship between Kate and Tristan.  Here Kate shows vulnerability with a near-fatal accident early on which switches the dynamic slightly between the two.  Aside from the case I just enjoy these lead characters and I’m sure there’s a lot more mileage in their detective work.

Devil’s Way was published on 12th January 2023 by Raven Street Publishing.  Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

The Twyford Code – Janice Hallett (2022)

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One of the great finds for me this year is Janice Hallett.  Expect “The Appeal” to feature in my Top 10 Books of the year.  I was a little behind only getting to this 2021 publication in January this year when I was fulsome in my praise. I said, “If we are considering this debut in the “cosy crime” genre then this is the best “cosy crime” book I have ever read.”  At the time this second novel was imminent and I did ponder “It will be interesting to see if she gets away with it twice or whether this book works so well as it is a fresh, original one-off.”

I decided, seeing this is now out in paperback that it was time to find out.  The bulk of the book is transcripts from audio tapes recorded by Steve Smith, an ex-prisoner whose literary skills demand this type of communication.  It is intended as a record for his probation officer and involves a teacher who inspired Steve as a youngster, Miss Isles, or missiles as the not always reliable transcript puts it, and her disappearance from his school.  Not long before Steve had found a copy of an Enid Blytonesque book by once popular author Edith Twyford on a bus and he, his teacher and school friends are drawn into a mystery of whether Twyford used her books to communicate in code.  A mystery which Steve aims to solve 40 years later.

That’s enough about plot but once again this is so tightly structured which is disguised by her gimmicky-appearing layouts.  Flicking through the book, as with “The Appeal” it looks like a quick read but it’s not because this reader in particular got really into it, looking back, referring to other places in the book, with plot and structure both much denser than they originally appear.  I think with this, compared to the debut, the readability is a little more compromised. In “The Appeal” we were drip-fed more clues which kept the interest up alongside its excellent characterisation.  Here, all the clues the reader might need are there but you might have to wait for them.  There was the odd moment when the image of Dusty Bin from the nonsensical 1970s game show “3-2-1” sprung into my mind (if you were around at the time you will see what I am getting at with references to clues within clues and misdirection which was the show’s ultimately very frustrating gimmick).  Also, it might seem that a glib statement of “Dan Brown meets Enid Blyton” might initially seem fitting but does a disservice to the sheer skill of this story-teller. 

I think a copy of “The Appeal” and this would make an ideal Christmas gift for crime/mystery fans as the puzzling, enigmatic style would be superb for the armchair detective in that period between Christmas and New Year.  It would also look very stylish (I love the UK cover art of both books).  It is like umpteen games of Cluedo, murder mysteries, classy seasonal TV crime adaptations and Christmas Cracker puzzles all rolled into literary joy.  Third book from Janice Hallett “The Case Of The Alperton Angels” is out in January and I can’t wait.

The Twyford Code was published by Viper in 2022.  The paperback edition is now available.  

Darkness Falls – Robert Bryndza (2021)

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This is the third book in Robert Bryndza’s Kate Marshall series.  Last time round I praised what I saw developing into a high-quality crime series.  This standard has been maintained.

I do feel, however, that there is a distinct change of tone in this book.  First in the series, “Nine Elms” was (too?) grisly and I felt the author’s reining in on this a little for “Shadow Sands” made it stronger than the debut.  Third book in and we have a fairly standard mainstream crime work with little of what made the first two so unsettling.  Perhaps the author feels he has put Kate Marshall through the wringer enough and here places the focus on a well-structured highly readable whodunnit.

At the end of “Shadow Sands” Kate and colleague Tristan were contemplating starting a private detective agency.  This has come to pass but with jobs few and far between they are also running a camp site in their Devon location, assisted by Kate’s teenage son Jake.  A missing female journalist cold case could be their saviour and help her distraught mother get some closure.  It soon becomes clear that the journalist was working on a story which might have caused her demise and this may be linked to a serial killer preying on young gay men.

As in the previous novels the relationship between Kate and Tristan is very strong and the author is right to bring the young gay male research assistant into clearer focus in this.  There were a couple of questionable motives here which grated just slightly but the pace builds nicely for an exciting last third.

I liked the change of tone in this book, it makes both the author and the series unpredictable – we soon tire of series which become formulaic.  Maybe some who found the first novel too dark to get through might like to revisit this series at this point.  I don’t mind whether the author goes back along the darker routes of the predecessors for the 4th novel.  I just know I will be wanting to read it.

Darkness Falls was published in December 2021 by Sphere and will be published in paperback on 29th December 2022.  The next in the series “Devils Way” is due to be published in hardback/ebook editions on 12th January 2023.

Slow Horses-Mick Herron (2010)

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It’s been quite a while since I started an established series.  Mick Herron’s “Slough House” spy novels now total 8 full length titles and four novellas, the latest, a Christmas themed short story “Standing By The Wall” was published this month.  With each full- length publication Herron’s reputation seems to grow and he is a regular on end of year best books lists.

Spy novels are not a genre I read often, a couple of Graham Greene’s in my teenage years, no John Le Carre’s.  I loved Helen Dunmore’s “Exposure” (2016) which dabbled with that world.  I always enjoyed BBC TV’s “Spooks” and this is what Herron’s series is often compared to.

Slough House is the nondescript looking workplace for the “Slow Horses”, ex MI5 staff who have somehow been found lacking and redeployed to less urgent duties.  Central to the novel is 29 year old River Cartwright who makes a serious mistake in a tube station bomb situation.  Head of this group of misfits is the unappealing Jackson Lamb who runs down his team to anyone who will listen but whose actions suggest he might think otherwise.  

We are introduced to the rest of the Slough House team and instantly the reader can tell there’s a lot of mileage in this series.  I was also surprised by the depth of this novel.  The characters, their motives, the language they use is so well-rounded and feels authentic but you cannot rush through this book.  It’s a slow, steady read which may frustrate those crime fans who want to get through their books quickly.

Plot-wise, a seemingly random youth is kidnapped and is being held hostage with an online video stream proclaiming he will have his head chopped off.  The Slough House team’s role is to remain in the background but circumstances change this dynamic.  I did enjoy this and recognise it as a strong start to a series which I will hopefully be reading more of soon.

Slow Horses was originally published by Constable in 2010.  I read a 2017 paperback edition published by John Murray.

The Hanged Man – Linda Mather (Joffe 2021)

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It’s unusual for me to read a mid-series title without having read the rest but here is Book 4 of the Zodiac Mystery series by Joffe author, Linda Mather, a long running but intermittent series which began with “Forecast Murder” back in 1994.

Central character here is Jo Hughes, an astrologist currently running a workshop at Alcott College in the Cotswolds.  She is with the recently appointed CEO of the college, Aoife, when they discover Seb, the financial director, hanging in the woods.  Is it suicide?  Jo becomes obsessed with finding out when another staff member disappears at the same time.

I think this setting marks a shift in the series.  It seems from the support systems Jo uses that prior to this she has been assisting a Private Detective, David Macy, in Coventry.  He has moved into debt collection and the new working environment for Jo places her in the middle of the situation and provides a fairly open-ended set-up for future novels.

It doesn’t match the luridness of the title and it is not consistently gripping.  The hanging and disappearance occur early on before these characters are established so it is quite easy not to care that much about them.  The astrological aspect is a good idea, but apart from it giving the reason to be at the college it seems a little tacked on and a tad unconvincing.  But there’s probably not that many readers who come in at Book 4, so they will know what to expect from the author and most will be satisfied with this title.  Plot-wise there are not many twists but it read well and although I didn’t totally feel drawn in by Jo’s experiences at Alcott College fans of this series would be happy with its resumption.  If you wish to get up to speed with this series before the fifth book arrives the publishers have put together the first three in a set at a bargain price (currently £1.99 on Amazon).

The Hanged Man was published in 2021 by Joffe.