Tag Archives: crime fiction

#BookReview ‘The Secrets of Gaslight Lane’ by MRC Kasasian #crime

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I found the first few chapters of The Secrets of Gaslight Lane confusing and was still confused at the end. This is partly because it is fourth in the The Gower Street Detective series by MRC Kasasian and I haven’t read the previous three, but partly because the author seems to confuse the reader on purpose. MRC KasasianTwo murders are to be solved, one new, one ten years earlier, involving the same family, in the same house. I got both events totally confused. March Middleton is the god-daughter of ‘personal detective’ Sidney Grice. It is London, 1883 and this series is billed as an alternative ‘Holmes and Watson’ detecting duo. Grice is a pedantic character, a bit like Sherlock Holmes but without the charm. I found his arrogance and language intensely irritating. March’s way of dealing with his rudeness is to plough her own furrow, defending herself and occasionally going her own way. I liked March, I kept reading because of her. We see the story from her point of view.
The duo is employed by Charity Goodsmile to investigate the murder of her father. Grice and Middleton visit the scene of the crime and what follows is told in minute detail, unlike any other detective novel I have read. Grice’s arrogant questioning of suspects is based on his super-human ability to analyse detail, but I wasn’t convinced. For example, when a suspect answers Grice’s question Grice says this answer is only one of the fourteen possible answers. He does not explain the other thirteen answers and I wonder if the author chose a number at random.
A little too pleased with its own cleverness and a little too long.
If you want to start at the beginning of the series, the first is The Mangle Street Murders.

If you like this, try:-
‘The Quick’ by Lauren Owen
‘A Death in the Dales’ by Frances Brody #7KATESHACKLETON
‘The Truth Will Out’ by Jane Isaac

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE SECRETS OF GASLIGHT LANE by MRC Kasasian via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-25R

#BookReview ‘The Private Patient’ by PD James #crime

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Published in 2008, The Private Patient turned out to be the fourteenth and last in the Adam Dalgliesh detective series by PD James and there are flashes which make me think James knew that. It wasn’t to be her last novel, though. Death Comes to Pemberley, published in 2011, was to be her last. She died in 2014 at the age of 94. PD JamesIs The Private Patient her best Dalgliesh novel? For me, no. I think the thirteenth in the series, The Lighthouse, is the best. Other favourites are Devices and Desires and Original Sin.
The Private Patient takes a while to get going. The first few chapters tell us about the victim, Rhoda Gradwyn, who we know will die at a private clinic in Dorset. Rhoda has a facial scar which she will have removed in surgery at Cheverell Manor. The intriguing thing for me is that Rhoda tells her surgeon she has no further need for the scar, but this seemed to get buried in the explanation of Rhoda’s background and that of the staff at the Manor. Of course, once the murder happens, the story moves rapidly. This is an old-fashioned English murder story set in a private cosmetic surgery clinic where it seems everyone has something to hide. The characterization is a little clichéd, perhaps James’ use of her own background is more evident here than in earlier novels.
We get more this time about Kate Miskin which I enjoyed, more beyond her origins which James has told us about before. If James had been younger, I can quite see that she would have retired Dalgliesh and started a new series based on Miskin.

Read my reviews of the other Adam Dalgliesh mysteries:-
COVER HER FACE #1ADAMDALGLIESH
A MIND TO MURDER #2ADAMDALGLIESH
UNNATURAL CAUSES #3ADAMDALGLIESH
SHROUD FOR A NIGHTINGALE #4ADAMDALGLIESH
THE BLACK TOWER #5ADAMDALGLIESH
DEATH OF AN EXPERT WITNESS #6ADAMDALGLIESH
A TASTE FOR DEATH #7ADAMDALGLIESH
DEVICES AND DESIRES #8ADAMDALGLIESH
ORIGINAL SIN #9ADAMDALGLIESH … read the first paragraph HERE
A CERTAIN JUSTICE #10ADAMDALGLIESH
DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS #11ADAMDALGLIESH
THE MURDER ROOM #12ADAMDALGLIESH … read the first paragraph HERE
THE LIGHTHOUSE #13ADAMDALGLIESH

Here are my reviews of the two Cordelia Gray mysteries:-
AN UNSUITABLE JOB FOR A WOMAN #CGRAY1
THE SKULL BENEATH THE SKIN #CGRAY2

And two other books by PD James:-
INNOCENT BLOOD

If you like this, try:-
‘Eeny Meeny’ by MJ Arlidge #1HELENGRACE
‘The Vanished Bride’ by Bella Ellis #1BRONTEMYSTERIES
‘Due Diligence’ by DJ Harrison #1JENNYPARKER

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE PRIVATE PATIENT by PD James: the last Dalgliesh http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1VR via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘Little Boy Blue’ by MJ Arlidge @mjarlidge #crimefiction

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Little Boy Blue ends on such a cliffhanger I wanted to start reading the next straightaway. As the end approached I kept thinking ‘it won’t end like that, it can’t end like that.’ Hide and Seek, sixth in the DI Helen Grace series by MJ Arlidge, is published in September, so not too long to wait. MJ ArlidgeThis is a chilling tale, one that pulls you in and turns the pages. I’d just finished a heavy literary book and needed a contrast, this book certainly provided it. As a television writer, Matthew Arlidge certainly knows how to manage tension and the pacing of his series is managed like television episodes. So perhaps it is not a surprise that Little Boy Blue ends on such a cliffhanger that it could actually be called part one of a two-part series.
The murders – yes plural, isn’t it always? – take place in Southampton’s shady world of BDSM, the world of sexual role play, bondage, dominance and submission. The first victim is someone known to Helen Grace and her instant reaction to hide this acquaintance is at the centre of this hurtling story of murder and secrets. What sets this series apart? The character of Helen Grace is intriguing and complex, we learn more about her in each book. She has a complicated, damaged past but instead of turning to the dark side, she always strives to do the right thing.
The stories are not standalone narratives, each book ramps up the tension and intrigue from the previous novels as the twists in Helen’s complicated life, her relationship with her colleagues and the politics of policing contribute to future tension. Events described in book one become relevant in book five. To get the best out of Little Boy Blue you need to understand the back story to Helen Grace and her team.

Read my reviews other books in this series:-
EENY MEENY #1HELENGRACE
POP GOES THE WEASEL #2HELENGRACE
THE DOLL’S HOUSE #3HELENGRACE
LIAR LIAR #4HELENGRACE
HIDE AND SEEK #6HELENGRACE
LOVE ME NOT #7HELENGRACE
DOWN TO THE WOODS #8 HELENGRACE

If like this, try:-
‘The Silent and the Damned’ by Robert Wilson #2FALCÓN
‘The Blood Detective’ by Dan Waddell #1BLOODDETECTIVE
‘Blood Med’ by Jason Webster #4MAXCAMARA

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview LITTLE BOY BLUE by MJ Arlidge @mjarlidge http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1ZB via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death’ by @mc_beaton #cosycrime

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When a newly-retired PR executive arrives in the Cotswolds expecting a quiet retirement, she finds real life in Carsley is not as she expected. First of all, no-one likes her. Second, no-one seems to give a fig about who she is. Third, she is bored. And so begins Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, first in this addictive series by MC Beaton. MC BeatonDesperate to make friends, she enters a village baking competition. Except Agatha can’t bake. So she buys a quiche and enters it as her own. So what, you may think. Lots of people probably do that. But when the competition judge dies of poisoning, Agatha is the key suspect. Desperate to clear her name, she turns detective.
And so a new crime series is born, featuring an overweight, pompous and self-important woman who always thinks she knows best. Why is this series so good? Because Agatha always gets her come-uppance and the story is very funny. A circle of village characters – her cleaner Doris, the vicar’s wife Mrs Bloxley, the deliciously disgusting elderly couple the Boggles, the real policeman Bill Wong – and London PR friend Roy, all contribute warning voices when Agatha gets carried away with her theories. And, there are lots of references to Agatha Christie. A policeman warns her: “You really must leave investigations to the police. Everyone has something to hide, and if you are going to go around shoving your nose into affairs which do not concern you, you are going to be hurt.” In true Agatha fashion, she ignores him.
This is a long series, lots more to read.

Read my reviews of some of the other novels in the Agatha Raisin series:-
AGATHA RAISIN AND THE VICIOUS VET #2AGATHARAISIN
AGATHA RAISIN AND THE POTTED GARDENER #3AGATHARAISIN
AGATHA RAISIN AND THE WALKERS OF DEMBLEY #4AGATHARAISIN
AGATHA RAISIN AND THE MURDEROUS MARRIAGE #5AGATHARAISIN

If you like this, try:-
‘ELIZABETH IS MISSING’ by Emma Healey
‘THE LOVE SONG OF MISS QUEENIE HENNESSY’ by Rachel Joyce
‘THE HUMANS’ by Matt Haig

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview AGATHA RAISIN AND THE QUICHE OF DEATH by @mc_beaton http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1IY via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘The Blood Detective’ by Dan Waddell #genealogy #crime #mystery

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I raced through The Blood Detective, a hybrid mixture of crime and genealogy mystery. Author Dan Waddell is also a journalist and genealogist, having written The Genealogy Handbook to accompany the Who Do You Think You Are? television series. So, he knows his stuff and it shows. Dan Waddell Usually a crime novel features a lead detective and team, here we have two lead characters: Detective Chief Inspector Grant Foster, and genealogist Nigel Barnes.
Waddell’s plotting is ingenious. The past really does come back to haunt the present. There is a serial killer in West London who leaves a clue carved into the skin of his victims. This clue prompts DCI Foster to call on the specialist help of researcher Barnes. The murder hunt takes parallel paths: Foster chases living suspects, Barnes searches the archives for the true 1879 story of a serial killer, his victims and their descendants. What is the link? The final chapters are a thrilling race against time.
I really enjoyed this. The linking of historical and present-day crime was clever, and the characterization was convincing and not of the stereotypical detective form. An enjoyable mixture of fast-moving crime novel with genealogical research and historical gems about this particular part of London, its transformation from Victorian times to the 21st century, and its dark history of crime.

Here’s my review of the second book in this series by Dan Waddell:-
BLOOD ATONEMENT #2BLOODDETECTIVE

If you like this, try:-
‘In the Blood’ by Steve Robinson
‘Innocent Blood’ by PD James
‘The Irish Inheritance’ by MJ Lee #1JayneSinclair

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE BLOOD DETECTIVE by Dan Waddell via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1Tp

#BookReview ‘The Lighthouse’ by PD James #crime

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Over the years, the character of Commander Adam Dalgliesh has become a real person. Helped by the TV series of PD James detective novels, whenever I read a Dalgliesh book I see the face of actor Roy Marsden. The Lighthouse, the 13th in the series of 14, is perhaps her best. There is no doubt that as the series progressed, the writing acquired depths earning it the label ‘literary fiction’. A lot of the action is in the mind, intellectual detection. The Lighthouse is a long way from Cover Her Face. PD JamesThis is another closed room mystery. The room is an island off the North Cornish coast, a secure, secluded get-away-from-it-all holiday destination for politicians, celebrities and entrepreneurs. Dalgliesh, with his team Kate Miskin and Francis Benton-Smith, become residents on the island with its small number of suspects. Dead, is a famous writer, Nathan Oliver, found hanging by a rope from the railings of the lighthouse. Nothing, from this point, is as it seems. All the island’s guests, residents and staff could have a motive. Oliver was not generally liked. But you can rely on James to unwind a story which brings unexpected depths, difficulties and an unpredictable motive for murder. Many of the suspects are unlikeable, but unpleasant people are not necessarily capable of killing someone. Set against the island location, its isolation, mists, tides and birds, are the peculiarities of the residents and their reason for being on the island. Is that where the answer lies?
Quarantined on the island because of infectious illness, a second murder ups the stakes. Tangled throughout the detection are the relationships between Kate and Benton, Dalgliesh and girlfriend Emma, and the detail and politics of policing.

Read my reviews of the other Adam Dalgliesh mysteries:-
COVER HER FACE #1ADAMDALGLIESH
A MIND TO MURDER #2ADAMDALGLIESH
UNNATURAL CAUSES #3ADAMDALGLIESH
SHROUD FOR A NIGHTINGALE #4ADAMDALGLIESH
THE BLACK TOWER #5ADAMDALGLIESH
DEATH OF AN EXPERT WITNESS #6ADAMDALGLIESH
A TASTE FOR DEATH #7ADAMDALGLIESH
DEVICES AND DESIRES #8ADAMDALGLIESH
ORIGINAL SIN #9ADAMDALGLIESH … read the first paragraph HERE
A CERTAIN JUSTICE #10ADAMDALGLIESH
DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS #11ADAMDALGLIESH
THE MURDER ROOM #12ADAMDALGLIESH … read the first paragraph HERE
THE PRIVATE PATIENT #14ADAMDALGLIESH

Here are my reviews of the two Cordelia Gray mysteries:-
AN UNSUITABLE JOB FOR A WOMAN #CGRAY1
THE SKULL BENEATH THE SKIN #CGRAY2

And another PD James novel:-
INNOCENT BLOOD

If you like this, try:-
‘The Blood Detective’ by Dan Waddell #1BLOODDETECTIVE
‘A Fatal Crossing’ by Tom Hindle
‘The Silent Twin’ by Caroline Mitchell

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE LIGHTHOUSE by PD James via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1VN

#BookReview ‘The Murder Room’ by PD James #crime

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Written in 2003 The Murder Room, the 12th in the Adam Dalgliesh crime fiction series by PD James, is preceded by an excerpt from TS Eliot’s poem ‘Burnt Norton’:
‘Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.’ PD James Time is a theme layered throughout this book. Its setting is the Dupayne Museum on Hampstead Heath, so historical time is represented by the exhibits at the museum. Time, recently passed, is examined and re-examined as part of the murder investigation. Time future, is represented by the theme of Adam Dalgliesh’s love for Emma and his courtship of her, a path not easy or untroubled.
Like all Dalgliesh novels, murder happens within a tight community. The Dupayne Museum has a small community of owners, staff and visitors. At first glance the victims are not clearly attached to the museum, but this is a James novel: of course they are, we just don’t know how yet.
The murder doesn’t happen for quite a while as James takes her time introducing us to the circle of potential victims and criminals, their connection to the museum and their life outside it. There is an air of the past about it, as if it was written in the thirties, an antidote to modern fast-paced modern crime novels so in itself representing a portrait of changing crime fiction. Time is given to characterization, setting, motivation, and not to dramatic action scenes: more Christie and Sayers than James or Rankin.
In the course of reading The Murder Room, I considered why I enjoy reading detective novels and what I take from them. I like the mystery, the tension of the chase, the fitting together of disparate elements. I do not like violence, graphic sex or language. But most of all, I like the examination of human nature, the contradictions, the surprises, the privacy of the mind laid bare. PD James excels at all of this; she remains my favourite author of crime fiction, and Adam Dalgliesh my favourite detective.

Click the title to sample the first paragraph of THE MURDER ROOM.

Read my reviews of the other Adam Dalgliesh mysteries:-
COVER HER FACE #1ADAMDALGLIESH
A MIND TO MURDER #2ADAMDALGLIESH
UNNATURAL CAUSES #3ADAMDALGLIESH
SHROUD FOR A NIGHTINGALE #4ADAMDALGLIESH
THE BLACK TOWER #5ADAMDALGLIESH
DEATH OF AN EXPERT WITNESS #6ADAMDALGLIESH
A TASTE FOR DEATH #7ADAMDALGLIESH
DEVICES AND DESIRES #8ADAMDALGLIESH
ORIGINAL SIN #9ADAMDALGLIESH … read the first paragraph HERE
A CERTAIN JUSTICE #10ADAMDALGLIESH
DEATH IN HOLY ORDERS #11ADAMDALGLIESH
THE LIGHTHOUSE #13ADAMDALGLIESH
THE PRIVATE PATIENT #14 ADAMDALGLIESH

Here are my reviews of the two Cordelia Gray mysteries:-
AN UNSUITABLE JOB FOR A WOMAN #CGRAY1
THE SKULL BENEATH THE SKIN #CGRAY2

And two other books by PD James:-
INNOCENT BLOOD

If you like this, try:-
‘The Shadows in the Street’ by Susan Hill #5SIMONSERRAILLER
‘Due Diligence’ by DJ Harrison #1JENNYPARKER
‘The Truth Will Out’ by Jane Isaac 

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE MURDER ROOM by PD James via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1QP

#BookReview ‘Dead Simple’ by Peter James @PeterJamesUK #crime #Brighton

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A plot that twists and turns, a dramatic beginning, a likeable detective in Roy Grace and a cleverly-drawn setting. Brighton is full of potential for a crime writer looking for a setting and it is clear Peter James knows and loves the Sussex seaside city. Dead Simple is a page-turner with clever ideas and a couple of twists I didn’t see coming. Peter JamesThe story opens with a stag night which does not go to plan, a missing groom, a car crash, an absent best man and a frantic bride. As the horrible realities of the situation become clear, with no witnesses and no clues, the police struggle to find the missing groom before the wedding on Saturday. But a few things do not ring true and that, coupled with Detective Superintendent Roy Grace’s controversial use of a medium, bring fresh, if confusing, clues.
Peter James has created an authentic police community which feels real from page one, this is not the first in a series where the first novel is about setting the scene and the context. James hits the ground running with a believable detective. Roy Grace is a maverick, and I like him. James spends a day a week with the Sussex Police Force and this experience is evident on every page without shouting ‘research’.
I’ve found a new favourite crime writer. This is a long-running series.

And here’s my review of THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL, also by Peter James.

If you like this, try:-
‘Nightfall’ by Steven Leather #1JACK NIGHTINGALE
‘Unnatural Causes’ by PD James #3ADAMDALGLIESH
‘The Vows of Silence’ by Susan Hill #4SIMONSERRAILLER

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview DEAD SIMPLE by Peter James @PeterJamesUK http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1QB via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘The Killing of Polly Carter’ by Robert Thorogood #crime

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The Killing of Polly Carter is second in the ‘Death in Paradise’ series by Robert Thorogood, and the first that I have read. I picked it up, unaware of the TV series of the same name, so I am playing catch-up. Robert Thorogood My first reaction was that it seemed lightweight, but the story and the characters pulled me in. This definitely fits into the comfort crime category so effectively occupied by MC Beaton. Detective Inspector Richard Poole is a man out of place. An English policeman on a tiny Caribbean island, he is a proper chap who persists in wearing leather shoes and woollen suits even at the height of the summer heat. His team is small and their resources are limited, which makes this more of an old-fashioned tale as they put together clue after clue. The setting is luscious.
Supermodel Polly Carter is dead, is it suicide or murder? In the true Agatha Christie fashion, of whom Thorogood is a childhood fan, this is a ‘closed room’ mystery where few people have the opportunity and motive. One by one, each of Polly’s family and friends are suspected, cleared then suspected again. In true Christie fashion, when the culprit is unveiled I thought ‘oh of course’ without actually guessing the identity correctly.
The book covers are beautiful.

Here are my reviews of books in the Marlow Murder Club series by the same author:-
THE MARLOW MURDER CLUB #1MARLOWMURDERCLUB
DEATH COMES TO MARLOW #2MARLOWMURDERCLUB
THE QUEEN OF POISONS #3MARLOWMURDERCLUB

If you like this, try:-
‘An Uncertain Place’ by Fred Vargas #8COMMISSAIREADAMSBERG
‘No Other Darkness’ by Sarah Hilary #2MARNIEROME
‘Business as Usual’ by EL Lindley #1GEORGIECONNELLY

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE KILLING OF POLLY CARTER by Robert Thorogood http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1Tj via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘The Silent Twin’ by Caroline Mitchell @Caroline_writes #crime

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Blackwater Farm, an isolated farmhouse outside the town of Haven, is a creepy place: things move, are thrown and rattle, and not just because of the wind. In The Silent Twin by Caroline Mitchell, the new owners of the farm, a young couple with identical twin daughters, have plans to convert the place. But all is not well. Caroline MitchellWhen nine-year old Abigail goes missing, the cracks become ravines. Detective Constable Jennifer Knight is a policewoman, a Family Liaison Officer with an unusual skill. This is the third book in the Knight series by Caroline Mitchell and the first I have read, so it was a while before I realized she is a psychic. Jennifer is not an unreliable narrator as such, but her ‘take’ on things for me at times conflicted with what I expected from a police investigation. Is she a psychic first or a police officer?
Everyone has something to hide and at one point I suspected each member of the family and their inner circle as the murderer. The story is told from three main viewpoints – Joanna, the young mother; Jennifer, who seems rather mysterious; and diary entries by an unknown person – and so starts the guessing game. Whose diary is it, whose viewpoint can be trusted?
If you often read crime fiction, then Jennifer will not seem a reliable narrator of a murder investigation. She belongs to a specialist team often on the periphery of the main case. In The Silent Twin, her commanding officer often seems to be operating to another agenda. But it is an interesting premise, a detective story that is just a little bit different.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK

If you like this, try:-
‘Eeny Meeny’ by MJ Arlidge
‘A Death in the Dales’ by Frances Brody
‘Business as Usual’ by EL Lindley

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview THE SILENT TWIN by @Caroline_writes via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1WI