Mickey Haller has only experienced the feeling once, but it’s addictive and he desperately wants to experReview first posted on mysteryandsuspense.com
Mickey Haller has only experienced the feeling once, but it’s addictive and he desperately wants to experience it again. The thrill of releasing an innocent victim of the criminal justice system, someone who has been falsely imprisoned. The adrenaline rush was incomparable as the victim, Jorge Ochoa, was finally cleared, the prison doors thrown open and he walked out a free man to be greeted by his waiting family. A moment to savour, Haller called it the resurrection walk.
Haller is known in Los Angeles circles as the Lincoln Lawyer, because he eschews the use of an office, preferring to store his case files in the boot of his car. He’s temporarily being supported by his half-brother, ex-LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch. Harry is suffering from a form of bone cancer and this employment has enabled Haller to get him enrolled in a clinical trial programme at UCLA Med, where he’s receiving radioisotope treatment. Bosch’s role is that of investigator, and also part-time driver for the lawyer. He’s also overseeing the search for the next injustice case for his boss, sifting through the many letters that have been sent to Haller following Ochoa’s release. His job is to highlight those he believes to be worthy of a closer look. One case he pitches to the lawyer is that of Lucinda Sanz, who accepted a nolo condendere (or no contest) plea, a way of avoiding a potential life sentence. She’d been charged with killing her husband, a sheriff’s deputy, five years ago following a domestic dispute. There was just something in the letter that spoke to Bosch. Lucinda had never admitted guilt, in fact she’d always asserted her innocence. She’d accepted the plea on the advice of her lawyer, who convinced her that the risk of receiving the maximum sentence at trial was just too great. So instead she’d accepted an eleven year sentence, something that at least offered her a life after prison. But now she has good reason to want to leave before her term is served.
Through his novels, Connelly has created a world in which his various protagonists (currently Haller, Bosch and Renee Ballard, a serving LAPD detective) co-exist. Each have their own series of books, but ‘guest’ appearances in each other’s stories are not unusual. This is most clearly a Lincoln Lawyer tale, the set-piece court scenes being the obvious highlights, though the narrative follows both he and Bosch in almost equal measure. It’s broken down into sections, with Haller plotting how he plans to challenge and ultimately undermine the state’s case against Sanz alternating with Bosch's actions in undertaking the investigative legwork. The relationship between the two men here is noticeably different to their interactions in earlier books: now Haller is clearly the boss and the decision maker, and though they seem to work well together it does feel a little odd to see Bosch in this rather subservient role, overseen by the often brusque Haller. In addition, Bosch is somewhat conflicted by working for the defence lawyer given he’s spent his whole career to date on the side of the prosecutor, and to add to this the act of violence he’s investigating was perpetrated against an officer of the law.
Nobody makes a crime fiction story flow quite like Connelly does, and here he once again demonstrates his mastery of the craft. At no point does he release his iron grip on the narrative. Actions taken are rational and precisely placed within the story. Each reaction is realistically played out, and every character is totally believable. There are no false notes here. There are a couple of minor cases tidied up along the way, and Ballard even makes a brief appearance, but all eyes are really focused on the Sanz case. It’s far from clear that a meaningful argument can be made for her release, as reasonable doubt is not the bar that has to be reached – proof of innocence is required to win the day here. However, Haller and Bosch are determined to give it their best shot, despite a degree of intimidation from sources unknown. They also know that should they get the case in front of a judge, there remain a number of outcomes in play, including the re-introduction of a potential life sentence for Lucinda.
It’s a Lincoln Lawyer story, so you know they’ll get it to court somehow, and when they do what a brilliantly choreographed courtroom dance it proves to be.
My thanks to Little, Brown and Company for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon’s coastline sits the ancient city of Beirut. It wasReview first published on mysteryandsuspense.com
Situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon’s coastline sits the ancient city of Beirut. It was once the hub of intellectual and cultural life within the Arab Middle East and later became a major tourist destination, but from 1975 civil war and occupation changed all that. By the time Analise arrived in the city, in 2006, a year after the assassination of the country’s Prime Minister, it had become a very dangerous place indeed. She’d been recruited into the CIA via Georgetown University and had subsequently spent some time in Iraq before her current assignment. Now, following the abduction of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah forces, yet another war is in progress.
American Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, is expected to make a surprise visit to the city shortly in an attempt to broker peace. But the CIA, in partnership Mossad, Israel’s equivalent body, believe that a terrorist called Najib Qassem is plotting to assassinate her. A joint team has been set up in Beirut overseen by a pair of old hands, one from each agency – their brief being to kill Qassem before he can get to Rice. It’ll be tough, as he’s known to be a seasoned and watchful operator. The role allocated to Analise is that of planner, meaning she’ll need to get close enough to Qassem to understand his movements in order that a plan can be formulated that the team can execute. To this end, she’s managed to strike up a relationship with the assassin’s grandson through her volunteer role as an English teacher at the International College.
Through Analise, we watch events play out. She’s a confident young woman who is committed to her role but is nonetheless wary not only of Qassem and those around him but also of those that would appear to be on her side. Her old school station chief is fond of a liquid lunch and is suspicious of, and forever bickering with, his Mossad counterpart; all agreements between them seem to be hard fought. A Mossad agent who is working alongside her is prickly and difficult to communicate with, and she’s even caught a journalist who she’s struck up a casual relationship with snooping in her handbag. To make matters worse, now people from the Lebanese Internal Security Forces have suddenly started sniffing around, asking questions. Who can she trust – can she actually trust anyone?
Novels involving espionage can be tricky. There is always an element of smoke and mirrors in play and it seems that an extra level of concentration is required lest you get left behind, lost in a labyrinthine narrative. But though I didn’t manage to unpick all of the hidden secrets here, I did find it an enjoyable task to follow this tale – a work of fiction superimposed on historical fact – through to its very exciting conclusion. In the end it all made sense, all the dots satisfactorily joining up. It’s a novel that grabbed me in two ways, both positive: first and foremost it’s compelling story, one that gripped me from start to finish, but it also awakened in me a dormant interest in the complex politics of the Middle East. I found myself undertaking additional research, eager to better understand the forces and ideologies at play. This is a book that entertained me and educated me, or at least force me to educate myself. Both noble outcomes in my view.
My thanks to Pegasus Crime for supplying an ARC of this book in return for an honest review....more
From the murky waters of the dark net surfaces a group of killers who claim to be cleaning America of theReview first posted on mysteryandsuspense.com
From the murky waters of the dark net surfaces a group of killers who claim to be cleaning America of the worst of society. They target those that they despise, people who don’t fit into their model of who deserves a place in this country.
First to die is a predatory street crawler who is dispatched mano a mano by one of the gang. A lengthy press release follows advising where the body is to be found and promising more of the same. They’re calling themselves ‘The Five’. Soon, a further diatribe is released, announcing a second killing. Each time a victim is dispatched, the group say they will make a donation to a related charity, these donations being in the form of untraceable Bitcoin. The bodies are turning up at different locations across the country – victim three is found in Minnesota.
Virgil Flowers, an agent for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, receives an early morning call summoning him to the scene. On arrival, he spots a big lump leaning against an SUV. It’s his ex-boss Lucas Davenport. These days, Lucas is a U.S. Marshal with political connections, and he’s been directed to add his practical skills and renowned crime solving nous to the mix. But there’s very little to go on. The perpetrators seem to be very adept at leaving nothing behind that will aid those looking to identify them. Where will this group strike next, and given how little is known about them, how can they possibly be stopped?
In Davenport and Flowers, the author has two big but very different personalities who bounce off each other brilliantly. Their sharp and witty banter is one of the highlights of this book. As the hunt goes on the pair carry out a dance with the officers of the FBI, letting the special agents deal with the tiresome research while they knock on doors, sweat people and generally follow their noses. At heart they’re mavericks, enjoying the hunt and the adrenaline rush that goes with it. And something the author does very well here – it’s a trick he’s perfected over the years – is to tell the story throughout from the point of view of both the chasers and the chased. The result is that it feels like we, the reader, are often a step ahead of the law enforcement agencies as the action plays out. It’s a careful balance, but Sandford pulls it off superbly. He really is master of his craft.
There are some interesting developments here for followers of the long running series of books featuring Davenport and Flowers, such as Virgil starting to develop a new career as a writer of novels – could this bring an end to his life as a lawman? Also there’s a dramatic ending to this story that, too, poses a few questions as to what happens next for this pair. I’m hoping there’s a good deal more to come from both of them, either individually or in tandem. Crime fiction just wouldn’t be the same without them....more
A wife goes missing, but why? It’s all shrouded in secrets and lies.
Andrew is away at his cabin by the laReview first posted on mysteryandsuspense.com
A wife goes missing, but why? It’s all shrouded in secrets and lies.
Andrew is away at his cabin by the lake, fishing with his best friend and business partner Greg, leaving Brie at their Connecticut home for the weekend. But when he returns there is no sign of his wife. It’s a mystery that is to cast suspicion on Andrew – there had been some recent challenges to their relationship – and ultimately lead to his moving out of the town in which they’d lived and even changing his name in an effort to hide from those who would casts aspersions. Then six years later, in the area she once lived, there are sightings of a woman whose appearance is strikingly similar to Brie. Could it be that she’s somehow returned?
In addition to Andrew and Greg, the cast of characters includes Detective Marissa Hardy, who investigated the original disappearance – a humourless woman who strongly suspects that Andrew murdered Brie and disposed of the body – and members of Brie’s family. Brie’s mother is now terminally ill and is tended by her doting son and more infrequently by her bitter and vindictive daughter, who shares Hardy’s view of how things surely played out. Andrew has now set up home in a different town nearby, where he lives with his girlfriend and her troubled younger brother. Lives are complicated, there are strained marriages, career frustrations and unfulfilled ambitions. And amongst it all there is now this new mystery.
Andrew’s life has spiralled downward since Brie’s disappearance, at first he took to drinking too much and along the way he and Greg dissolved their partnership. Perhaps the core of the problems he had been having with Brie is that he’d been a fixer-upper of houses and they were continually living in a property that was in a state of semi-completion as Andrew prepared to flip it and move on to the next one, only to do it all over again. These days he is constantly on the chase to find the next job.
Barclay tells the story very cleverly, segmenting it in a way that the perspective seems to be ever changing. Andrew is forced to fight to save his new relationship as revelations re-surface and doubts and suspicions are aroused. Hardy is also back on the scene, snooping and sniping, whilst Brie’s bickering family alternate between hope and renewed bouts of grieving. It’s hard to know what’s going on. But then all starts to become clear as pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place, and in a dramatic finish it suddenly all comes together.
It’s a story that kept me guessing and retained my interest throughout, a conjuring trick of a novel in which nothing really made sense until it all did. Is it all ultimately believable? Well, perhaps not. But it’s definitely entertaining....more
On the author’s own website he’s posted a tribute to his late daughter, Pamela, who died in July 2020. ItReview first posted on MysteryandSuspense.com
On the author’s own website he’s posted a tribute to his late daughter, Pamela, who died in July 2020. It’s an extraordinarily moving piece, the absolute pain and despair experienced by a parent losing one of their children is manifest here. It’s no coincidence that in this book, his latest, the major character is a writer of the same age (85) living in the part of America Burke has now made his home and who is also grieving the recent loss of a daughter. The similarities go further: an upbringing in southern Louisiana and a long term struggle with alcohol (the dirty boogie, as he calls it) also feature in both of their lives. So when the publicity for this book states that it’s Burke’s most personal novel it’s easy to see the truth in this claim.
This is his thirteenth novel featuring a member of the Holland family. On this occasion we catch up again with Aaron Holland Broussard, who was first introduced to us in Another Kind of Eden. Aaron now lives on a large plot of land outside of Lolo, a small town in Missoula County, Montana. It appears from the start that his mind is somewhat scrambled by the loss of his daughter, Fanny Mae, and when he spots a young man spray painting a swastika on his barn door and shortly after intercepts a pair of brothers as they attempt to break into his house a chain of events is set in motion that, it seems, will ensure that things can only end badly.
There are rumours that a drug running killer known as Jimmie the Digger is operating in the area and soon one dead body turns up and then another. We meet a cast of characters, including the ex-Klansman father of the boy who painted the symbol on Broussard’s barn, each more unhelpful, unfriendly or downright threatening than the last. Even the local state trooper who calls on Aaron in relation to the barn incident appears distracted and dismissive. It seems that there’s no room for softness and empathy in this place, everyone has sharp elbows and hurtful words. Humour is a stranger here.
JLB is adept at exploring the history and origins of human cruelty and in the telling of this tale there are references to historical events that took place in Dachau, Nanking, Hiroshima, at Big Hole and on Pork Chop Hill. But the slaughter he refers to most often is that carried out on this piece of land in 1870 by a band of American soldiers. Led by Colonel Eugene Baker, the troops massacred a group of Piegan Blackfeet Indians on the Marias River. It turns out that the trooper who visited Broussard earlier, Ruby Spotted Horse, is a descendent of one of those killed that day.
As events unfolded I confess that I found it hard to interpret some scenes. Visions of new meetings with his daughter started to invade Broussard’s mind and as he, at last, seemed to have found an ally in Ruby he discovered that monsters from the past inhabit her basement. Are Aaron’s meetings with Fanny Mae a result of psychosis brought on by the medication he’s taking to fight anxiety and depression? Such events might be explained away thus, but as the supernatural became ever more integrated with what might be considered ‘real life’ it started to feel increasingly like viewing a Picasso painting: I thought I knew what I was looking at but I wasn’t quite sure.
The writing, as ever with this author, is wonderful. Words are placed with precision, creating amazingly colourful and highly textured images. The predominant feeling evoked here is that of the rawness, the utter sadness and the desperation experienced by Aaron resulting from the loss of his daughter, and of course this is an achingly personal emotion for the author. How readers feel about the way in which the story is told will, I believe, depend on their reaction to the metaphysical elements in play here. It’s a device Burke has used sparingly in the past but more extensively of late. Yet, for those who are able to embrace this style and can decipher the puzzle he presents, such is the power of this book that they might feel it is actually amongst the best he’s written.
My thanks to a Simon & Schuster for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
It’s in the title, we know this will be a mystery concerning identity. But the identity of whom?
The sReview first published on mysteryandsuspense.com
It’s in the title, we know this will be a mystery concerning identity. But the identity of whom?
The story starts with a statement from the police department of a Vermont town concerning a manuscript they’ve recently received in the post. We’re given scant detail but warned that some of the content is disturbing. What follows is the story contained in the document. It takes us back to the mid-nineteen-eighties and introduces us to Wayland Maynard, a boy who at the age of eight witnessed the suicide of his father. At age sixteen he started to have doubts concerning what he actually saw that day and we are now to hear his full account of what transpired.
Wayland lived with his often absent mother and his wayward younger sister. The small group of support characters we meet include his best friend Clay, his sister’s scumbag boyfriend and Juliette, a girl that Wayland fancies from afar but is afraid to approach. Wayland and Clay do what teenagers do, which includes snooping around and catching glimpses of events that titillate and disturb in equal measure. But Wayland’s real focus is in delving back into the events of that fateful day, armed with a piece of evidence he removed from the scene and has kept to himself ever since.
Having been furnished with the background we are now treated to a fairly detailed account of events which occur over a short period of time. Wayland, Juliette (who he is now at least engaging with) and Clay are all involved, though there seems to be little discernible structure to their efforts. By now the author is adopting a tone which is part gothic horror, with his recurrent use of grandiose and hyperbolic language, but tempered with intermittent sections which have a softer coming-of-age feel. It’s an interesting mix of moods we’re being we’re being teased to adopt. The story is well paced throughout but as pieces of the jigsaw start to fall into place it’s suddenly full speed toward a final reckoning. A big finish seems likely – and that’s exactly what we get.
There are some jaw dropping moments in this story, scenes that are truly shocking and at least one which is likely to prompt a double take from readers. But is it possible that there are just too many surprise revelations to fully process and accept? Perhaps, for some, but I think most readers will simply roll with the punches and soak it all up. At its heart it’s an old story, but it’s told in a way that feels fresh. It worked for me and managed to hold me in its grip throughout.
My thanks to Blackstone Publishing for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
In a novel full of power and intensity, we are introduced to Aaron Holland Broussard an aspiring writer wReview first posted on mysteryandsuspense.com
In a novel full of power and intensity, we are introduced to Aaron Holland Broussard an aspiring writer who is exploring the American West by hopping on freight trains. It’s the early 1960s and he’s currently working on a farm in Colorado. Aaron is a troubled man, plagued by nightmares, prone to non-substance induced blackouts and tormented by guilt over the death of a close friend in Korea. We also meet a feast of other interesting characters, including the beautiful Joanne McDuff, who works at a café in the small town nearby, Rueben Vickers and his son and Darrel, who are couple of local bullies, and a school bus full of drug taking travellers.
A number of sickening murders have taken place in the vicinity, typically these appear to be of prostitutes. Furthermore, the local lawman believes that his granddaughter was, some time ago, murdered by a serial killer and he has his suspicions regarding the Vickers family. He attempts to enlist the help of Aaron, who recently had a run in with Rueben, to do some snooping around. But Aaron’s attention is focussed on Joanne: he is attracted to her and she to him, but the situation is complicated by the fact that she already seems to be in some kind of a relationship with her art professor. It all adds up to a very combustible state of affairs and soon it all kicks off.
The interplay between many of the players is described by way of a series of terse encounters. Conversations between this group are almost universally harsh and sometimes difficult to interpret. But anyone familiar with Burke’s work won’t be surprised by this, it’s the way he always presents his stories. However, what may come as a surprise is the fact that here he chooses to include significant elements of magic realism in his story. This isn’t the first time he’s done this, of course, he’s used this device in a number of his Dave Robicheaux books, but never in such a pivotal way.
Reading any James Lee Burke novel is an experience: his prose is distinctive, his vocabulary extensive and his extravagant turns of phrase extraordinary. At times he makes you feel that you’re reading a long poem. His descriptions of people and places are often lengthy, comprising colours and smells and comparisons as they paint startlingly vivid pictures. Here, as often before, he provides images that are often dark and disturbing but as his narrative progresses his thoughts sometimes turn wistful as he recalls memories of the best of times. There is both darkness and light here, but in truth it’s mainly darkness. He writes of the battle between good and evil, often in an almost biblical way, and you sense that you will be led to a final conflict to rival that of Armageddon.
From the outset the author challenges the reader to accept the incredible, to embrace the possibility of the events he is about to describe. It’s most certainly a wild ride and don’t expect all of the loose ends to be neatly tied off, but if you can accommodate Burke’s wish you’ll be treated to an experience that only one of the finest literary voices out there can provide.
My thanks to Simon & Schuster for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review....more
For the thirtieth time Donna Leon takes us to Venice, with its multitude of picturesque canals and graReview first published on mysteryandsuspense.com
For the thirtieth time Donna Leon takes us to Venice, with its multitude of picturesque canals and grand palazzos but also its somewhat hidden criminal underbelly. This is the working patch of Commissario Guido Brunetti, a senior policeman who was brought up in this unique place and who still lives and works in the city. Regular readers will be used to the fact that these books profile the place, its ways and its people as much as any investigation Brunetti is engaged in, and in fact it sometimes takes a while to figure out precisely what crime is to be the focus of Guido’s attentions.
This time he is alerted to the fact that two injured and unconscious American girls have been left on the dock of the city hospital in the dead of night. Cameras at the hospital have caught the act and it isn’t long before two young local men have been identified as the perpetrators. But why would they do such a thing - is it simply the result of a reckless accident whilst joy riding or is there something darker going on here?
It seems that the Commissario’s case load is light at present as he’s able to devote virtually his full attention to this case, aided by his colleague Claudia Griffoni. Claudia has made regular appearances in recent instalments and the fact that she is a native of the southern city of Naples provides an ideal vehicle for the author to explore the potential for suspicion and discord between people from the different regions of this culturally diverse country. It’s not that Guido and Claudia aren’t friends – they are – it’s just that one has the benefit of being able to chatter away to the locals in Veneziano whilst the other is perceived to be a shifty Neapolitan, unworthy of the same degree of trust.
In between regular breaks for a coffee, and perhaps a brioche or too, Brunetti and Griffoni gradually come to realise that there are significant nefarious acts lurking in the shadows of this case. As always, Leon is able to bring a strong sense of local colour to proceedings. This is not a hundred miles an hour kick ass and solve the crime caper, it takes a slower, more mellow route. Along the way there is plenty of discussion about family, nepotism, love and loyalty and how these elements impact the way life is lived in this city, but make no mistake this tale still packs a significant punch. As the pieces finally fall into place we’re treated to an exciting and, to me, shocking finale.
If you’re in the mood for a thoughtful dose of crime fiction with a bit of culture mixed in, look no further.
My thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review...more
Review originally published on mysteryandsuspense.com
Lady Araba is a successful fashion designer who lives and works in Accra, a city on the Gulf of GReview originally published on mysteryandsuspense.com
Lady Araba is a successful fashion designer who lives and works in Accra, a city on the Gulf of Guinea and the capital of Ghana. It’s a big day as it’s the launch her latest fashion show but her assistant is in a panic as she’s failed to appear, on this of all days. As frantic calls are made in an effort to track her down, a worker at the guarded community where she lives spots Araba’s prone and blood covered body as he is delivering plant pots to her home.
At this point we’re taken back in time to when Araba as a young girl helped her aunt, Deli, design, make and sell clothes. This small scale operation proved to be the catalyst for Araba’s future ambitions. We also meet other members of the family: her dominant and abusive preacher father, her acquiescent mother and her brainiac brother. It becomes clear that Araba’s father always saw a future for his daughter in one of the learned professions but her aspirations and determined nature were to take her in a different direction.
We are also introduced to a respected talk show host called Augustus Seeza, a quick witted and handsome man who is to become Araba’s lover, at a point she herself has also become successful. Seeza’s father, an overbearing a high court judge and his mother, a doctor, both detest the fact that their son is in an extra-marital relationship with Araba. In addition to this on-off love affair, Seeza has one other compelling relationship… with booze.
Most of the above are later to become suspected of being involved in the murder for one reason or another, together with the worker who found the body. But oddly the one man nobody thought could have committed the crime – Araba’s personal driver – is actually arrested and charged with the murder by the chaotic and possibly corrupt local police force. It’s not until Araba’s aunt Deli approaches a local private investigator named Emma Djan, some ten months after the event, that she and her colleagues in the small firm she works for belatedly begin a proper investigation.
The tone of the story is somewhat whimsical, but with some darker undertones. The investigators receive a surprising degree of assistance from just about everyone they approach and soon they’ve compiled an exhaustive list of possible suspects. But hard evidence is difficult to come by, thanks mainly to the incompetent way police handled the evidence collected from the crime scene and possibly due to some external meddling.
In truth, it did all feel little slow in places and the constantly changing timeline, between the present and various points in the past, made the story telling a little lumpy. But I was captivated by the sweet nature of many of the characters and fascinated by the picture painted of life in this enchanting place, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. And the pace picked up in the last third of the book as pieces of the puzzle started, suddenly, to come together. If, like me, you’ve previously enjoyed Agatha Christie style whodunnit stories then I’m pretty sure you’ll get some pleasure out of this one too.
My thanks to Soho Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
The book opens with the discovery of a murder scene and then quickly steps back in time. Have we just Review first published on mysteryandsuspense.com
The book opens with the discovery of a murder scene and then quickly steps back in time. Have we just seen how the story will end and is it now just a question of how we get there? Perhaps, but beware - this is a book that will require you keep your wits about you, to be observant and to read between the lines. Even then I’ll be surprised if you’re able to predict how this one will play out.
We’re introduced to two people, both misfits in their own way. Jerry is a young man studying for a Film and Television degree at Glasgow University. He was brought up by his late grandmother in a village some thirty miles south of the city, his feckless mother having abandoned him early on. Having been lured into petty crime by a local hard case, he decided to leave that world behind following a burglary that went badly wrong. But though he enjoys his course, he’s struggling to adapt to living alongside students from more affluent backgrounds. Millicent is a seventy two year old former special effects make-up artist who has worked on numerous low budget horror films. She’s lost all of her confidence following a forced period of confinement and these days just the thought of popping into a café to buy a cup of coffee is likely to induce panic.
Jerry is keen to escape from his halls of residence and when a house sharing opportunity arises he finds himself thrown together with Millicent and two other elderly ladies. A shared love of films quickly cements a loose alliance between Jerry and Millicent. It’s now that the skeletons in their respective closets start to rattle: the reasons for Millicent’s prior confinement is a lurking timebomb whilst Jerry’s lawbreaking past might be about to catch up with him. From this point on the story goes into overdrive as events force the pair to take drastic action. Woven into the story is the search for a copy of a legendary horror film, apparently it’s so scary that it was banned from release and is surrounded by more rumours and supposed curses than Tutankhamun’s tomb. What a tangled web this is.
I was really drawn to the relationship between this young man and his much older sidekick. I found myself feeling sympathetic to the plight of both of them and the dialogue between them is sharp and funny too. And the action comes thick and fast in the second half of this story, with the slight downside that more and more characters are introduced (thus forcing me to resort to note taking in an attempt to keep up). But the flow, though complex and requiring the reader to swallow a couple of improbable coincidences, follows a logical enough path and ultimately the tale’s clever dénouement successfully ties off most loose ends.
Chris Brookmyre is fine writer, his successful series featuring investigative journalist Jack Parlabane is testament to his longevity and his standalone novel Fallen Angel is perhaps the best mystery I've read in the last couple of years. Here he provides a gripping storyline replete with expertly drawn characters, a good helping of dark humour and a plotline intricate enough to satisfy even the most avid armchair sleuth.
My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Review originally published on mysteryandsuspense.com
Bree Cabbat grew up with a cash strapped and anxious mother, obsessed with protecting her own secReview originally published on mysteryandsuspense.com
Bree Cabbat grew up with a cash strapped and anxious mother, obsessed with protecting her own security and that of her daughter. Bree had never met her father, who by all accounts was a piece of work, but as a gifted performer in amateur theatre she hoped that this might provide a gateway to the future life she dreamed of. But one day she met a man from a rich family and the mutual attraction was immediate. What followed was marriage, children and a privileged life in a nice house a few miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.
When we pick up the story, Bree has two school aged daughters and a brand new baby boy. Her own hopes of a career in musical theatre had never gotten off the ground but it seems that she’s passed her abilities on to her oldest daughter and today she is to attend a rehearsal for a production at her school. Her husband, Trey, is a lawyer and he’s going to be away on business for a few days. The day had started badly when Bree had woken to find a what she thought was a witch staring at her through her bedroom window. However, she’d tried to dismissed this thought as potentially the over active imaginings of a sleep deprived mum. But this was to be a fateful day. Later, as Bree sat enthralled by the action on stage, her sleeping baby is stolen and in place of Robert is a note instructing her to return home immediately and not to inform the police if she wants to see him again.
After a slow start the action had suddenly ramped up tenfold. A panicked search of the school confirmed Bree’s worst fears and hadn’t she spotted a figure suspiciously similar to the witchy woman from her bedroom window in the school car park earlier? With Trey away she is forced to lean on the help a male friend, whose daughter is also in the school production, for support. But what is she to do – to comply and return home might protect her son but shouldn’t she really ignore this and contact the police immediately?
I have to say that I was quite unprepared for the emotional rollercoaster ride I was now to be launched on. There’s a lot of raw emotion here and I was never quite sure how this was all going to end. Added to this there are a number of twists that stopped me in my tracks and made me re-evaluate the ever changing picture I was seeing. And the sense of urgency, of time passing too quickly, became a real thing for me as I found myself rushing back to the book at every opportunity such was my desire to track events, my brain working overtime trying to assess whether the actions being taken were the right ones.
I’m almost never totally satisfied with the ending in mystery novels and to some extent I’m still evaluating how I feel about this one. What I will say is that there’s a secondary narrative that makes its way into this tale which requires a degree of interpretation, though it’s pretty clear where the author is leading us. How readers react to this will, I feel, colour their feelings regarding the final outcome. Either way, I definitely found this to be a well-crafted and gripping story – in fact, it's one of the most interesting and absorbing books I’ve read in a long time.
My thanks to William Morrow and Custom House and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
Jack Brooks is the new vicar in the Sussex hamlet of Chapel Croft. Along with fifteen-year-old daughteReview first published on mysteryandsuspense.com
Jack Brooks is the new vicar in the Sussex hamlet of Chapel Croft. Along with fifteen-year-old daughter Flo, Jack has been persuaded to uproot from bustling city centre Nottingham to this quaint rural setting. On arrival Flo is quick to point out that the new chapel is ‘a dump’ and the dilapidated house next door, which is to be their home, does seem to be leaning somewhat precariously. It’s hardly inspiring. The locals seem a rather odd bunch too: there’s the rather creepy curate, a rude local farmer and a young lad called Wrigley who, not to put too fine a point on it, wriggles. If this weren’t enough, the place has a dark history as back in the rein of ‘Bloody’ Queen Mary two young girls who had hidden in the church which originally stood on the site of the present chapel were discovered, hounded out and burned. This act of religious persecution is still commemorated locally by the annual burning of wooden effigies.
Soon Flo is missing her friends and Jack is having a tough time transitioning to this very different environment. As we meet more of the locals and continue to learn about life in Chapel Croft it becomes evident that just about everyone seems to be hiding something. It’s clear that Jack, too, has a dark past that is hinted at but not yet fully disclosed. Events and discoveries now come thick and fast: there are ghostly sightings, a macabre package is delivered and Jack learns that thirty years ago two girls of a similar age to Flo went missing, their fate remaining a mystery to this day. The new role is quickly becoming part vicar and part detective as efforts become focused on trying to solve what feels like a rather grand puzzle.
Jack is a great character, at once as profane and as un-vicar like as you can imagine whilst at the same time possessing the deft people skills you’d associate with the role. And the relationship with Flo feels absolutely real, their interactions being deftly handled and often amusingly told. If I have a problem at all with this tale it’s that there are an awful lot of moving parts - interlocking storylines from the past and the present – and at times it just feels a little too busy. But ultimately the tension does rack up nicely toward a satisfying and surprising conclusion. It’s a story that held my attention throughout, made me smile and finally caused me to feel sad that my time with Jack and Flo had drawn to a close. I guess that’s a pretty good recommendation all on its own....more
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