In our new edition of Crime Review (www.crimereview.co.uk) this week we have 16 reviews, together with Sarah Hilary in the Countdown interview hot seat. We’re on Twitter at: Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia This week’s reviews are: THE ENGLISH SPY by Daniel Silva, reviewed by Arnold Taylor A terrorist plants a bomb on a luxury motor yacht, killing all on board including a popular princess of the British Royal Family. MI5 turns for help to Gabriel Allon of the Israeli Intelligence Services. GRAY MOUNTAIN by John Grisham, reviewed by Chris Roberts Young New York lawyer Samantha Kofer makes a dramatic career change with a move to West Virginia, where her clients battle rapacious and ruthless mining companies. MAKE ME by Lee Child, reviewed by Linda Wilson Jack Reacher gets off a train in the middle of the Oklahoma prairie, and finds more than he bargained for in the strangely watchful town of Mother’s Rest. THE SERPENTINE ROAD by Paul Mendelson, reviewed by John Cleal The heiress of a billionaire industrialist is murdered in an apparent race-hate crime. Colonel Vaughn De Vries of the Special Crimes Unit investigates and finds a morass of corruption – and a link to an event in his own past he would rather forget. VERTIGO by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, reviewed by Arnold Taylor GÈvigne, a married man, contacts an old friend, a former policeman, after many years. He asks him to carry out an investigation into the behaviour of his wife, who is given to dream-like states and periods of apparent absence from the material world. THE EMPIRE OF NIGHT by Robert Olen Butler, reviewed by Chris Roberts American journalist and spy Kit Cobb travels to Germany early in 1915, on the trail of an English knight suspected of working for the German cause. WATER ANGELS by Mons Kallentoft, reviewed by Ewa Sherman A married couple are found murdered in their home, and their adopted five-year-old daughter has vanished. Inspector Malin Fors, struggling with her own demons, starts to investigate. THE FIFTH HEART by Dan Simmons, reviewed by John Cleal Sherlock Holmes, under cover following his alleged death at Reichenbach Falls, prevents American author Henry James from committing suicide and enlists him to investigate a suicide and a plot to destablise the United States. JOURNEY UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN by Keigo Higashino, reviewed by Chris Roberts A pawnbroker is found murdered in an abandoned building in Osaka in 1973. Detective Sagagaki’s initial efforts fail to achieve a result, but after 19 years he is still on the trail of two young people connected to the crime. THE ALBINO’S TREASURE by Stuart Douglas, reviewed by John Cleal Holmes and Watson are asked to investigate the vandalising of a picture at the National Portrait Gallery and are sucked into a morass of politics, crime and killings. HEARTBREAKER by Tania Carver, reviewed by Linda Wilson DI Phil Brennan’s marriage seems to be on the rocks and he’s deteriorating fast, losing himself in the welcoming arms of too much booze. And that’s not good when he’s got a brutal killer to track down. THE DEAD DOG DAY by Jackie Kabler, reviewed by Sharon Wheeler TV reporter Cora Baxter has both personal and professional problems, after her boyfriend dumps her and her boss from hell is murdered. PENANCE by Theresa Talbot, reviewed by Linda Wilson DI Alec Davies investigates the death of an elderly priest on the altar in a Glasgow church, while TV journalist Oonagh O’Neill delves into some of the Catholic church’s unpalatable secrets. WITH OUR BLESSING by Jo Spain, reviewed by John Cleal The body of an elderly woman is found crucified in a Dublin park and DI Tom Reynolds must solve a killing which has its roots in Ireland’s darkest past. BIG BAD WOLF by Nele Neuhaus, reviewed by Sylvia Maughan Chief Detective Superintendant Pia Kirchoff has no lead to follow up, although a brief visit to an old school reunion results in more than she expects. 13 MINUTES by Sarah Pinborough, reviewed by Linda Wilson Teenager Natasha dies for 13 minutes after a plunge into an icy river. No one, not even Natasha, knows what she was doing in the woods at night or how she ended up in the water. Best wishes Sharon
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Crime Review Update
We Have Lost Another
Legendary musician Prince has died per TMZ, his publicist, and numerous news sources. .
WELCOME TO HELL ~ by Glenn Walker: The Man Who Fell to Earth 1987
WELCOME TO HELL ~ by Glenn Walker: The Man Who Fell to Earth 1987: The Man Who Fell to Earth ~ I haven't seen the David Bowie version of this film in decades, so when I saw it on the schedule, I immed...
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
MRI Done
MRI completed and back home. Sandi is in tremendous pain in her back from being on the table too long as there were various issues caused solely by employee stupidity. I'm exhausted and hurting.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
WELCOME TO HELL ~ by Glenn Walker: A Million Ways to Die in the West
WELCOME TO HELL ~ by Glenn Walker: A Million Ways to Die in the West: A Million Ways to Die in the West ~ Steven Spielberg once predicted the death of the superhero movie , saying it would soon go the way of...
Review: "The Necessary Murder Of Nonie Blake: A Samuel Craddock Mystery" by Terry Shames
The Necessary Murder Of Nonie Blake is the latest in the Samuel Craddock Mystery Series by
Terry Shames. As the title makes clear Nonie Blake had to die. Why and who did
it are the main questions that drive much of this book from start to finish.
Winona Blake, or Nonie, is legendary
in Jarrett Creek, Texas and nearby areas. It has been twenty years since she
left town and eventually wound up in a mental institution far to the north up
near Dallas. When she was 14 all those years ago she tried to kill her younger
sister. It wasn’t horseplay as she meant for her sister to hang until dead. If
it hadn’t been for the quick action of her brother Charlotte Blake would have
died that day.
Instead, it is Charlotte
Blake, who calls Chief of Police Samuel Craddock to report the latest
family tragedy. Her sister drowned in the stock pond behind their house. The home of the reclusive Blake family located
a few miles down a gravel road out past the cemetery on the north side of town
is about to be a very active crime scene. When Craddock gets out there it is
very evident to him that the main cause of Nonie’s death is certainly not
drowning. She took a significant blow to
the head that also crushed her cheek and broke her jaw. The force that was used
far exceeds what she could have generated by a simple fall against a tree or the
ground before sliding into the water. This was not an accidental drowning by
any means. Figuring out who did it and why are the primary points of an
investigation that leads Samuel Craddock on a trail of secrets going back
decades.
While that is the main plot there
are secondary plots building off previous events and ongoing characters/situations
in this highly entertaining series. Along with that, author Terry Shames had
added a new character in the form of a female deputy, Marie Trevino, sent in by
the state to assist as Samuel Craddock sees fit. She has her own way of doing
things and that attitude is going to push Craddock to up his game.
The Necessary Murder Of Nonie Blake features yet another engrossing and complicated mystery in
this long running cozy style mystery series. Macavity Award Winner for Best
First Mystery author Terry Shames continues to deliver in each successive
installment of the series much like what Texas author Bill Crider (prominently
mentioned on the book cover) has done in his Sheriff Dan Rhodes Series,
Terry Shames has created a sense of family with these characters. It doesn’t
take a reader long to feel like he has known Samuel, Lorretta, and numerous
others for years once one starts reading the books.
A
Killing At Cotton Hill
started everything off. Five books later, The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake
keeps a great series rolling forward at a great pace.
The Necessary Murder Of Nonie Blake:
A Samuel Craddock Mystery
Terry Shames
Seventh Street Books
2016
ISBN# 978-1-63388-120-4
Paperback (also available in eBook
format)
258 Pages
$15.95
Material supplied by the publisher
in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Do Ebook Preorders Work?
A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Do Ebook Preorders Work?: So I've been trying out Kindle preorder pages for some new books (including my latest horror thriller WEBCAM , which launches today), ...
One Too Many Straws
I know there are folks way worse off, but I am so fed up. Hospital just
called, and according to the voice mail from some pre registration
clerk, we have to pay at least $175 Wednesday for them to allow Sandi
to have the MRI. Money we don't have.
A Bookseller Recommends: Alight (A Trilogy x2)
A Bookseller Recommends: Alight (A Trilogy x2): Pro: An excellent second installment in the trilogy Con: Trouble with some descriptions, but maybe that's just me. I also wish ...
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: LEAVING NECESSITY SOUNDS EASIER THAN IT IS
A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: LEAVING NECESSITY SOUNDS EASIER THAN IT IS: Please welcome a new friend, Margo Bond Collins, who I met when we joined the COME LOVE A COWBOY anthology at http://amzn.com/B01D5876UK...
Smashwords: 2016 Smashwords Survey Reveals Insight into the Ha...
Smashwords: 2016 Smashwords Survey Reveals Insight into the Ha...: Welcome to the fifth annual 2016 Smashwords Survey! This is hot off the presses. Last Thursday I revealed the Survey results at the RT Bo...
TEXAS BOOK LOVER: MONDAY ROUNDUP: Texas Literary Calendar, April 18 ...
TEXAS BOOK LOVER: MONDAY ROUNDUP: Texas Literary Calendar, April 18 ...: Bookish events in Texas for the week of April 18 - 24, 2016: Special Events: Texas Library Association Annual Conference , Houston, A...
Monday With Kaye: "The Stages" by Thom Satterlee
While the quote on the back of
the print edition The Stages by Thom
Satterlee is attributed to Suspense Magazine the text quoted comes from Kaye
George’s review below as Kaye gets us started off on another week….
The Stages by Thom Satterlee
Within a few pages, I fell in love with
this book. It has a most unusual sleuth. Daniel loves pastries and Kierkegaard,
misses Mette, his mentor who has been murdered, and is a person with
Asperger’s. I personally would define him as moderately severely autistic. He
is functioning, but has a tough time relating to people. This is not helped by
being an American working in Denmark, one who understands but does not speak
Danish.
Mette, who was his girlfriend many years
ago, was most recently his boss at the Søren
Kierkegaard Research Center in Copenhagen. She was diligently working on his
people skills and he recalls them as he works to find out who killed Mette.
Daniel has found out the most about himself, however, through his studies of
Kierkegaard, who may have been afflicted much as Daniel is.
The police officer investigating the
case, Ingrid Bendtner, asks Daniel to be a mole at the Center to find out who
the killer is and who has stolen a valuable newly discovered manuscript.
Through Daniel’s tangents, typical for people like him, we find out much about
Kierkegaard, but also a lot about his own condition.
The mystery is structured in Stages,
which has a particular meaning to students of Kierkegaard. This novel was an
ambitious undertaking and couldn’t have been done better.
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