If you liked Red (the Bruce Willis movie where someone is trying to kill off the retired black-ops team and they decide to fight back), Killers of a CIf you liked Red (the Bruce Willis movie where someone is trying to kill off the retired black-ops team and they decide to fight back), Killers of a Certain Age might be up your alley.
Here we have an all-woman team of assassins who've been working for 40 years with a secret organization, called the Museum, to take out Nazis and other villains. Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie are now being retired by the Museum and are given an all-expenses paid vacation as a send-off. It turns out to be planned as more of a send-off than the four women signed up for! They go into hiding together to figure out who's planned their demise and how to get the order for their deaths revoked ... or assassinate the people who gave the order.
I noticed a couple of plot inconsistencies (they say at one point that the Museum doesn't want innocent bystanders being killed, but then what's up with (view spoiler)[the whole blow up the entire cruise ship part of the plot (hide spoiler)]?
It's kind of a beach book, not deep but a fun read ... at least if you like murder mysteries and don't mind a high death count. And I loved Helen Mirren in Red and this is kind of like her times four. Hard to go wrong with that!
Hard to put down while I read it; equally hard to believe once I finished it.
Beth Bradford is a CIA analyst who's been spending years searching for aHard to put down while I read it; equally hard to believe once I finished it.
Beth Bradford is a CIA analyst who's been spending years searching for a highly elusive Iranian spy they call the Neighbor. But suddenly she comes to a huge turning point in her life: her youngest child leaves for college; she and her husband sell their house; he announces that he's leaving her at the same time (their marriage had long been in trouble but she thought they were going to try to work things out). And worst of all for Beth: The CIA has abruptly put her out to pasture, taking her off the Neighbor case and sending her to teach new hires.
Well. Beth just KNOWS she's getting close to cracking the case and figuring out the Neighbor's identity. So she keeps pursuing the case as best she can, given that all of her access to confidential files has been revoked and her co-workers no longer even want to talk to her.
She's a stubborn woman, I'll give her that.
When Beth's suspicions turn to the wife of the family that moved into her old house and is integrating herself into the neighborhood, things start to heat up. But is Beth on the right track or not?
Overall it was a fun read with a lot of twists and turns, but I got a little tired of situation after situation with Beth sneaking around and ignoring all the rules while everyone seems to be out to thwart her. And the final revelations about what was really going on left me a bit unsatisfied.
It's a fun "beach" type read. I recommend it if you'd like a homegrown spy thriller with lots of tension and twists....more
Agatha Christie was an extraordinary mystery writer, and several of her earlier works are now free on Project Gutenberg, where I was poking around a fAgatha Christie was an extraordinary mystery writer, and several of her earlier works are now free on Project Gutenberg, where I was poking around a few days ago to see what new books from 1926 are now in the public domain and available for downloading there. I got sucked into this collection of eleven early short stories featuring Christie's favorite detective, Hercule Poirot. The stories are a bit of a mixed bag but it was still fun reading, and Agatha Christie still fools me pretty much every time.
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This collection includes: 1. "The Adventure of 'The Western Star'" - written warnings are sent to two women, an American movie star visiting London and a British lady, ordering them to turn over their identical, valuable diamonds (the Star of the East and the Western Star) ... or else. Solid thumbs up for the mystery element. Minus points for the casual use of racial insults to describe Chinese people (keep in mind this was written in the early 1920s, so this kind of thing comes with the territory). 2. "The Tragedy of Marsdon Manor" - a middle-aged man dies in a strange way, leaving a beautiful young wife behind. Was it suicide? 3. "The Adventure of the Cheap Flat" - a very nice apartment is rented for a suspiciously low price. Poirot too is suspicious. Nefarious dealings ensue. 4. "The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge" - Mr. Havering, a baronet's younger son, consults Poirot and his friend Hastings about the murder of his wealthy uncle at their hunting box in the country. Poirot is ill, so the intrepid Hastings goes to the lodge with Havering, sure he can solve the mystery as well as Poirot could. Hastings is, of course, wrong. 5. "The Million Dollar Bond Robbery" - an enjoyable story featuring a cross-Atlantic voyage and a million dollars in Liberty bonds stolen from a locked chest on board. The chest was in the custody of a nice young banker, who’s now in hot water. His distraught fiancee begs Poirot to figure it out. I came thisclose to figuring it out, and a little more pondering probably would have done it. Still, a good story. 6. "The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb" - this story plays with the popular idea of a deadly curse against those who open ancient Egyptian tombs. Several people die. A solid mystery. 7. "The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan" - How did wealthy Mrs Opalson's opals pearls get taken from jewel case in her hotel room while her maid and the hotel chambermaid were right there, except for about 15 seconds a couple of times when the maid stepped into a connecting room? I like these stolen jewels mysteries, and this is a tricky one. 8. "The Kidnapped Prime Minister" - The British Prime Minister needs to attend a secret peace conference in France, but someone first tries to shoot him and then kidnaps him on the way. Another interesting one that I had half-figured out ... 9. "The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim" - A banker mysteriously disappears from his country home one afternoon, and soon after it is found that the safe in his home has been forced open and emptied. More stolen jewels! plus money and bonds. Christie is at her trickiest here. I thought I had the answer but I was barking up the wrong tree. 10. "The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman" - an Italian count staying in England is murdered, his head crushed by a small marble statue. How then did he telephone his doctor for help? And what is one to make of the remains of the dinner found in the count's apartment? Only Poirot knows. 11. "The Case of the Missing Will" - I really enjoyed this one! No murder, stolen jewels, or other dastardly crimes for a change, just a sneaky, rich dead uncle who wants to make his niece prove herself in order to inherit his wealth. Not being stupid, she turns the case over to Poirot.
3.5 stars overall. Not bad at all for a freebie if you like little mystery bites, though I think I like Christie's full-length novels better....more
4.5 stars. This is really a pretty great SF detective murder mystery, with an original near-future setting and an interestingly convoluted plot that (4.5 stars. This is really a pretty great SF detective murder mystery, with an original near-future setting and an interestingly convoluted plot that (despite some initial doubts I had), worked out to a very satisfying ending. A worldwide pandemic has killed many and left a significant number of the survivors completely physically disabled. These Haden’s Syndrome survivors can mentally control robots (called “threeps” after C3P0) using an implanted neural net.
A new arena game called Hilketa — in which Haden-controlled threeps tear the head off of a threep on the other team and score a goal with it — has become popular. It’s satisfyingly violent but nobody actually gets hurt. Until people mysteriously start dying. A pair of FBI agents, one of them a Haden named Chris from a very wealthy family, investigates along with their partner, a bulldog of a detective named Leslie Vann.
You could read Head On standalone, but for better context and to get to know the main characters, I recommend starting with the prequel novelette Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome (which is free online at Tor.com) and/or the first book, Lock In, if possible....more
A solid mystery set in a fascinating near-future world, where a pandemic has caused permanent "lock-in" for a substantial part of the world's populatiA solid mystery set in a fascinating near-future world, where a pandemic has caused permanent "lock-in" for a substantial part of the world's population. Their brain is still active, but they can't move their bodies at all any more - permanently. Their lives are immeasurably improved by robot bodies that their minds can inhabit, as well as human ones who can temporarily host the minds of the locked-in. They also have an active online society.
With all this going on, it's especially hard to tell who is behind some murders and corporate sabotage. Technology and ethics collide in this intelligent mystery.
Not my favorite of Scalzi's works, but I liked it and the main character, an FBI agent who is one of the locked-in, well enough that I'll go pick up the next book....more
I picked up this book up on a Kindle sale because I've been on a bit of a Susanna Kearsley binge lately. She wrote the first of this set of four interI picked up this book up on a Kindle sale because I've been on a bit of a Susanna Kearsley binge lately. She wrote the first of this set of four interlocking novellas, by four different historical fiction authors, about the long history of a magnificent but cursed gold watch and the people who come into contact with it over the centuries.
The watch's story begins (at least for the reader) in 1733 Italy, in Kearsley’s story “Weapon of Choice,” which I was delighted to find out has two couples from prior Kearsley novels as its main characters, Anna and Edmund from The Firebird and Mary and Hugh from A Desperate Fortune, along with a political assassin whose plot the four of them are trying to foil. Lots of fun.
The second novella jumps to Edinburgh in 1830, where Lady Darby (the main character in a long-running mystery series by Anna Lee Huber) tries to figure out if the watch is responsible for an outbreak of disease in the city. Meh. I was a little bored.
Then we go to 1870 for the third novella, where the watch is implicated in a series of violent murders in a well-to-do area of London. Violet Harper, an undertaker (from another series by Christine Trent), unfortunately dug up the watch from where Lady Darby had thrown it in a grave many years before, when moving a body to a new grave. Violet gets involved in trying to figure out why the watch temporarily stops (!) an hour before each of these murders. Fairly interesting novella.
We finally end up in a small English village during WWII, where the watch may be the object of a search by a murderous Nazi spy. A former Spitfire pilot, now with MI5, reluctantly joins forces with a local gentlewoman, Rachel Townsend-Smythe, to investigate. This fourth novella, by C.S. Harris, felt a bit rushed at novella length, but it was well-written and makes me inclined to go read more by Harris.
The first and last novellas are definitely a step above the middle two in writing style, for my money. But it was worth the price for those two stories, and for the chance to meet up with Anna and Edmund from The Firebird later in their lives.
A friend gave me a whole set of Madeleine Brent's old historical romantic suspense novels a few years ago, and I've been gradually going through them.A friend gave me a whole set of Madeleine Brent's old historical romantic suspense novels a few years ago, and I've been gradually going through them. They invariably involve a plucky young British woman of genteel birth who finds herself either in an exotic foreign country or a highly unusual career, along with a large side helping of mystery, suspense and romance (which guy is the good guy who truly loves her and who is the secret murderer???).
In this version of Brent's formula, we have Bridget (Bridie) Chance, whose entire placid, proper Victorian life is upended when her father is killed in France in the course of trying to steal some valuable jewels. Bridie Cannot. Believe. what her father has been accused of, but no one else seems to have that trouble. And now there are detectives as well as other less savory sorts sniffing around for her father's jewel stash (there's gotta be one, right?). Bridie and her younger sister Kate are also now entirely destitute and thrown on the mercy of the world and a few unexpected friends.
The author made a weird big thing out of Bridie's overly expressive, mobile face — I'm picturing kind of a female Jim Carrey here — and so it wasn't surprising that she finds a job that takes advantage of that. It's certainly not a "proper" job for a Victorian lady, but it did make for some interesting reading.
Brent takes entirely too long to get to the exciting part of the story in this novel, but once the plot finally kicked into gear it was a very hard book to put down. In fact, I didn't put it down and whipped through it in one evening. Brent (a pseudonym of author Peter O'Donnell) isn't really a great author, but is a very competent storyteller. A reasonably fun read if you like old-fashioned romantic suspense novels....more
4.5 stars. This is such a fun, fascinating mashup of a murder mystery, humorous boy-band dynamics and The Island of Dr. Moreau. The boy band here is a4.5 stars. This is such a fun, fascinating mashup of a murder mystery, humorous boy-band dynamics and The Island of Dr. Moreau. The boy band here is a group of five half-human, half-animal young men, all with very different personalities and quirks. The murder victim is their overbearing band manager, who's found clawed to death after a party in a hotel where lots of people were high and/or drunk. He was a truly awful person that lots of people wouldn't mind seeing dead. Everyone's a suspect!
Daryl Gregory is brilliant when he's on. Half a star off because the science fiction parts are so totally unbelievable; you just kind of have to roll with it. But it's otherwise a very smart, funny book with some great personalities and a solid murder plot to back it up.
Full review to come! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy of the ebook.
Content advisory: Sex, drugs, some gore, and F-bombs litter the pages like confetti. I still got a kick out of it. ...more
3.5 stars for this 1947 thriller/suspense novel, set in the mountains of Italy in the post-WWII era ... so it’s [image] The Dolomite mountains in Italy
3.5 stars for this 1947 thriller/suspense novel, set in the mountains of Italy in the post-WWII era ... so it’s a safe bet that there will be a bunch of Nazis menacing our hero. British journalist Neil Blair, recently released (demobbed) from the army, is having a hard time finding a decent job. He happens to run into his former superior officer, Engles, who offers him a job ostensibly writing a film script in an isolated ski chalet in the Dolomites, but Blair’s real job is to keep his eyes open and report anything unusual. If a usable script comes out of the trip too, so much the better.
Turns out there’s an awful lot to report. Something valuable is stashed up in those mountains in or near the chalet, and there are several different players who will stop at nothing to get their hands on it.
The Lonely Skier shows its age sometimes, with stereotypical characters. But the thriller parts are generally done well, with the exception of a scene or two that I found too hard to swallow. Still, there’s a really hair-raising chase in the snowy, foggy mountains that I won’t soon forget, and a solid ending with a good twist.
1937 murder mystery featuring the indomitable Miss Silver. The twist here is that a man has already been convicted of the murder and has been in jail 1937 murder mystery featuring the indomitable Miss Silver. The twist here is that a man has already been convicted of the murder and has been in jail for a year, but Hilary Carew accidentally bumps into the murdered man’s servant (there’s a lot of lucky—or sometimes very unlucky—accidental meetings in this book), and the woman’s oddly guilty words start to make Hilary wonder. One thing leads to another, and soon Miss Silver gets involved.
It has its moments, but the story also gets bogged down by some clunky inquest transcripts, too many coincidences, and a romance subplot that I was giving the serious side-eye. Recommended only if you’re a fan of Golden Age murder mysteries.
February 2021 group read with the Retro Reads group!...more
4+ stars for this one - my favorite so far. Rhea Jensen, private investigator extraordinaire, has cut off her maybe/maybe not relationship with her ol4+ stars for this one - my favorite so far. Rhea Jensen, private investigator extraordinaire, has cut off her maybe/maybe not relationship with her old crush Ben, joined the church (LDS/Mormon), picked up and moved to Utah. Now she's doing her best to fit into the Utah lifestyle, which ... isn't such a comfortable fit. Her next-door neighbor Ty, a hot guy who's not active in his religion any more, isn't helping matters.
Rhea is trying to leave behind the sleazy PI field of work and her old boss who thinks he controls her life, but when her best friend Kay tells her about an interesting stalking case, Rhea can't resist getting involved.
Another fast-paced detective story from Sheralyn Pratt with an LDS twist to it, and this one flowed really well for me. The stalking case was very engaging, Rhea's friends Kay and Ty are smart, edgy and witty, and the romantic tension with Ty is great. Pratt does a great job integrating religion and romance without making either sappy. And we get a few answers about what all was going on with Ben.
3.75 stars for the title story, “Hunted Down.” In this shorter work from about 1860, Charles Dickens tries his hand at the detective genre (loosely sp3.75 stars for the title story, “Hunted Down.” In this shorter work from about 1860, Charles Dickens tries his hand at the detective genre (loosely speaking). This story is free to read online here at Project Gutenberg.
Mr. Sampson, the narrator, now retired from work, was formerly the manager of a life assurance (insurance) firm. After a brief discussion on how people can be deceiving ("Believe me, my first impression of those people, founded on face and manner alone, was invariably true. My mistake was in suffering them to come nearer to me and explain themselves away."), he settles into telling the story of his encounters with one Mr. Slinkton ... whose name, in classic Dickens-style, already gives you a hint of his slimy character.
Sampson dislies Slinkton on first sight - a lot of it, humorously, is tied to Slinkton's hairdo, which seems to make unspoken but firm demands on how people are to treat Slinkton. But Sampson gradually relents toward Slinkton. As they meet a few more times they discuss the sad case of Mr. Meltham, a young actuary whose girlfriend tragically died, as well as Slinkton's two nieces who have lived with him, one of whom has also passed away. Slinkton also becomes involved in obtaining life insurance from Sampson for another man, Mr. Beckworth. Slinkton's actions seem suspicious, but is he really a villain?
There are a few plot twists and surprises, including a narrator who isn't entirely reliable. Reading it a second time, I can see a lot of great double meanings hidden in Sampson's words. There's a typical Dickensian helpless maiden and a Victorian-type tragedy, along with a bittersweet wrapup.
It's an intriguing and quick read, worthwhile if you have any fondness for Victorian era mystery tales. Apparently it was inspired by Charles Dickens' familiarity with a scandalous case of a poisoner around that time. It's not quite up to the level of Wilkie Collins' or Arthur Conan Doyle's best, but there are some interesting psychological things at play in this story.
Another group read with the Dickensians! group (which has some excellent commentary and analysis in the threads, BTW)....more
Martha Wells continues her popular and highly-acclaimed MURDERBOT DIARIES series with another novella, Fugitive Telemetry, which actually takes place before the only novel in the series so far, Network Effect. (So you could read this one before that novel, but you do need to read books 1-4 first.) At this point in time Murderbot, the introverted and snarky cyborg who is the narrator and the heart of this series, is a fairly new resident on Preservation, a planet outside of the callously capitalistic Corporate Rim. Murderbot is a companion to and protector of Dr. Mensah, one of the few humans Murderbot has gradually learned to trust. Although Preservation society isn’t entirely accepting of security bots (especially rogue ones like Murderbot that aren’t subject to human controls), it’s generally a very peaceful and progressive place.
So it’s a shock to everyone when the body of an unknown person is found in an isolated passageway of Preservation Station, the space station above the planet, clearly murdered. Station Security is charged with the investigation, with Senior Officer Indah in charge, but Mensah prevails on them to let Murderbot help, since it knows a lot more about murder than the local security force, and they want to make sure that GrayCris isn’t involved. Indah is annoyed (“but then she always looked like that when I was around”) and distrustful of working with a SecUnit. But when things get complicated, Murderbot is undeniably useful to have around.
Fugitive Telemetry is an engaging and enjoyable entry in the MURDERBOT DIARIES series, with a plot that stirs a murder mystery in with the regular science fiction adventure plot. As always, Murderbot’s snarky narration (liberally scattered with parenthetical remarks, which I love because I’m—obviously—partial to them myself) is one of the highlights. Sometimes there are even parentheses inside of parentheses:
(When we had first discussed the idea of me getting jobs as a way to encourage the Preservation Council to grant me permanent refugee status, I didn’t know very much about the kind of contract in which I was actually an active participant. (My previous contracts were rental contracts with the company, where I was just a piece of equipment.) Pin-Lee had promised, “Don’t worry, I’ll preserve your right to wander off like an asshole anytime you like.”)
(I said, “It takes one to know one.”)
I won’t say more about the mystery that drives the story, to avoid spoilers, but it’s a solid one, with a resolution that was both logical and a complete surprise, at least to me.
Fugitive Telemetry doesn’t really move the overall story arc forward in the way that most of the other books have, partly because it’s a prequel to the preceding novel and partly because Murderbot’s interactions with the initially hostile Indah have a been-there-done-that kind of feel. These are relatively minor complaints, though. Murderbot, though still a media-watching introvert, has come a long way from the SecUnit that had near-crippling social anxiety in All Systems Red. It interacts much better with humans now and even finds itself (somewhat begrudgingly) appreciative of its relationships with them, though its eye-rolling at humans’ logical inadequacies will probably never disappear … and that’s a good thing. We all could use a Murderbot in our lives to remind us of our shortcomings and protect us against corporate evils and other threats. Any new MURDERBOT DIARIES book shoots immediately to the top of my reading list — and it should yours as well!
Update #3: So my brother, another Murderbot fan, was coming into town about a week ago and let me know that he was VERY anxious to read Murderbot's next adventure. I thought, well, I can reread my ARC of Fugitive Telemetry and write my review for it and then loan him the book. Excellent plan! I'm on it!
The rereading part went great. The actual writing of the review ... not so much. So my brother left town, sadly, without the book, which is still sitting here on my coffee table.
Update #2: I just finished! Another fun Murderbot adventure! Review to come!
Update #1: AAAHHH, the ARC of this book just landed on my doorstep! I am SO EXCITED for a new Murderbot adventure!!
Initial post: More Murderbot coming! How awesome is that? Can we make 2021 come any sooner? I think we're all over and done with 2020 anyway......more
The Witness for the Dead is the long-hoped-for sequel to Katherine Addison’s marvelous and unusual 2014 fantasy, The Goblin Emperor, in which we met Maia, a half-goblin, half-elf young man who unexpectedly inherited the throne of the elf kingdom when his father, the emperor, was killed along with his brothers in an airship explosion. Thara Celehar, an elven prelate and a Witness for the Dead, was a minor character in that novel who investigated the airship accident at Maia’s request and eventually was able to unearth the truth of why it occurred.
The Witness for the Dead is more of a companion novel set in the same world, rather than a direct sequel, so it can be read as a stand-alone book, but it’ll give you a better grounding in this world if you read The Goblin Emperor first. This book picks up with Thara’s life some time after he has left the elven court, leaving behind a slight cloud of scandal — Thara is gay, and his married lover was executed for murdering his own wife. Thara has now moved to the city of Amalo and taken up his calling again as a Witness for the Dead.
A Witness for the Dead wears several hats, including murder investigator, priest and funeral director, but Thara also has the unusual magical ability to touch a dead body and sense memories and impressions from the spirit of the person who died. When a woman’s body is pulled out of the canal in Amalo, Celehar is asked to investigate to find out who she is — which doesn’t take too long — and who killed her and why, which is far more difficult to determine. For one thing, her bones aren’t telling Thara anything really useful, so he has to rely on other, more mundane investigative methods. For another, the woman was an opera singer who had an unfortunate habit of making an enemy of nearly everyone around her. One of her enemies is the in-house composer for the Vermilion Opera, Mer Pel-Thenhior, to whom Celehar is rather reluctantly attracted.
There are a couple of other interesting subplots that help to liven up this murder mystery novel. One involves a missing pregnant woman whose family believes that her husband killed her, eventually leading to a trail of questionable deaths. The other subplot concerns the wealthy Duhalin family whose patriarch has died, leaving behind some greedy heirs who are disputing which of two wills is the real one and which is the forgery. When Celehar announces his finding, based on touching the grandfather’s cremated ashes, it has repercussions for him as well as for the Duhalin family members.
To try to avoid the resulting trouble, Celehar is packed out of town and told to take care of a ghoul problem in a small mining town two days’ journey away. Ghouls start out eating dead meat but sooner or later switch to killing and eating the living. Celehar’s talents include the ability to quiet and rebury ghouls (more permanently the second time around), but the journey turns out far more exciting and dangerous than he expected.
Actually I found both of these subplots more intriguing than the main plotline. The opera singer’s scandalous ways couldn’t quite make up for the plodding nature of Celahar’s investigation. The main beauty of The Witness for the Dead isn’t in the main murder mystery plot, which is serviceable but not particularly memorable, but in Addison’s extraordinarily fine world- and character-building.
Like The Goblin Emperor, The Witness for the Dead is somewhat slow-paced but lovely in its detailed world-building. Addison has created a richly-imagined, steampunk-flavored fantasy world, slightly touched by magic, and brimful with vivid, realistic details, like stray cats that impatiently wait for handouts and teahouses with fragrant, exotic offerings. There’s a wide variety of skin tones and eye colors, especially due to the mixing between goblins and elves, which is far more prevalent here than in Maia’s court.
Addison’s characters are well-rounded and realistic. Thara Celehar is a particularly complex soul: he’s humble and shy, tending toward melancholy and isolation, and on the edge of poverty. At the same time, he’s a decent, kindhearted man who’s resolutely determined to be honest and to do his duty, even in the face of daunting opposition. He’s also rather awkward and ill-at-ease with others, even with the charming part-goblin Pel-Thenhior … who is, unfortunately for Thara, one of the chief suspects in the opera singer’s murder.
The Witness for the Dead isn’t as brilliant or delightful as The Goblin Emperor (few books are), but it’s still well worth reading if you were a fan of that book and have been longing to return to that world. If Addison writes more stories or novels set in this world, I’ll definitely be there for them.
I wasn’t at all sure this book was going to work for me when I realized that the plot revolves around financial fraud and almost all of the charactersI wasn’t at all sure this book was going to work for me when I realized that the plot revolves around financial fraud and almost all of the characters are deeply flawed at best and deliberately dishonest at worst. But I should have had more faith in the author of Station Eleven....more
4.5 stars! Dark waters indeed. This ship carries a cargo of murder and greed. [image] The 17th century Dutch galleon Batavia
Review first posted on Fant4.5 stars! Dark waters indeed. This ship carries a cargo of murder and greed. [image] The 17th century Dutch galleon Batavia
Stuart Turton’s debut novel, The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, was one of my favorite reads of 2018, a compulsively readable and wildly original murder mystery, an homage to Agatha Christie, with a science fictional wrapper. Turton’s second novel, The Devil and the Dark Water, is a highly twisty and eerie Sherlockian mystery, set in the seventeenth century on a large ship traveling from Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia) to Amsterdam. At first glance it’s not much at all like 7½ Deaths, except in the intricacy of the plot … and the way it mixes together different genres, and the vivid and complex characters who are far more than they first appear, and the insightful and subtle writing … well, perhaps his two books have more in common than I first thought.
The noble passengers who board the Saardam in Batavia in 1634 include Governor General Jan Haan, a ruthless leader who has been called back to Amsterdam to join the wealthy Dutch East India Company’s ruling body, the “Gentleman 17.” Haan’s entourage includes his deeply dissatisfied wife Sara Wessel, their bright young teenage daughter Lia, and Haan’s lovely and accomplished mistress Creesjie. Haan is also bringing along a manacled prisoner, a renowned and brilliant detective named Samuel Pipps, together with Pipps’ assistant and sometimes bodyguard Arent Hayes. Pipps is under sentence of death, to be carried out once they reach Amsterdam, though Pipps swears he has no idea why, and Haan isn’t saying. Haan is also packing a large, heavy box on the trip, holding something mysterious and extremely valuable, described only as the Folly.
Before the Saardam even sets sail, a shocking event occurs: a leper loudly warns the passengers and crew that the devil will also be sailing with them, and that the ship will never reach Amsterdam. When the leper perishes in flames and examination of the dying man discloses that his tongue was cut out, suspicion and fear begin to percolate and spread. Samuel Pipps is interested in solving this apparent murder, but since he’s locked in a tiny, foul cell on the ship, he’ll need the help of Arent to do it. Arent fears that he isn’t cut out for this work, but finds help from an unexpected person. They’re a rare source of light and good on a cursed ship where the crew is vicious, the passengers untrustworthy, and the devil “Old Tom” appears to hold sway.
For much of The Devil and the Dark Water, it’s unclear whether this is a supernatural fantasy or a secular whodunit, or both. Inexplicable events occur, Old Tom whispers enticingly to passengers to assist in his evil plans, and it’s easy for the characters and the reader to believe that something wicked and unworldly is at work.
But Turton takes his time weaving this story, pulling in characters’ backstories that both illuminate and mystify, and twining in social issue threads of inequality, sexism, and capitalistic greed.
The rich mistakenly believed their wealth was a servant, delivering them whatever they wanted.
They were wrong.
Wealth was their master, and it was the only voice they heeded. Friendships were sacrificed at its behest, principles trampled to protect it. No matter how much they had, it was never enough. They went mad chasing more until they sat lonely atop their hoard, despised and afraid.
The pacing bogs down at times with all the details and complexities, but Turton’s skillful writing pulls the reader into this tale. He gives clever nods to Sherlock Holmes and Watson, Treasure Island, and many other tropes of various genres, while breathing fresh life into them. With all the horror, greed, vengefulness and general darkness that haunts the ship and the people aboard it, they — and we — can still find reasons to hope for something better. It’s a marvelous story.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC for review!
3.5 stars. This is the first in a 6-book detective series, with an unusual LDS (Mormon) religious twist to it. I've enjoyed some of this author's late3.5 stars. This is the first in a 6-book detective series, with an unusual LDS (Mormon) religious twist to it. I've enjoyed some of this author's later books, so when I found that my local library had (most of) this series, I decided to check them out.
Our main character is private investigator Rhea Jensen, who despite being only in her twenties is already a highly accomplished investigator with a gift for breaking into homes and computers to find the evidence. The case she's working on in this first book is an embezzlement case that gets unexpectedly complicated and dangerous.
But as much or more time is spent on Rhea's personal life. She's gorgeous, talented and incredibly physically fit, but is stuck in a rut with a seemingly hopeless crush on her old friend Ben, an aspiring musician. Sometimes he acts like he wants her, and then he jumps into yet another relationship with another woman.
To make things more complicated, Rhea starts talking with some LDS missionaries on the street one day. At first she blows them off, but then things happen and she starts thinking, maybe she should take a harder look at this religion?
It's a bit of a quirky mix with these disparate elements, but the author handles them pretty well and she's a capable writer who can spin an interesting, fast-paced plot. This is in the LDS fiction genre and will probably appeal mostly to readers interested in that. ...more
The spooky adventures of Lucy and Oliver Tinker continue in The Alchemist’s Shadow, a sequel to last Final review, first posted on Fantasy Literature:
The spooky adventures of Lucy and Oliver Tinker continue in The Alchemist’s Shadow, a sequel to last year’s middle-grade haunted house novel by Gregory Funaro, Watch Hollow. The Tinker family — 11-year-old Lucy, 12-year-old Oliver, and their father — are settling in at the rural Rhode Island mansion, Blackford House, where they vanquished a supernatural foe in Watch Hollow. The Tinkers, originally the caretakers of Blackford House, now own the home, complete with its enormous clock that magically powers the house. At least, the Tinkers thought they owned the house, until the orphaned 12-year-old part-Japanese Kojima twins, Agatha and Algernon, show up with their British governess to take up residence, claiming that they’re the rightful heirs to the prior owner.
That’s bad enough, but within a day or so a terrifying minotaur-like monster appears in their beloved house, the twins’ governess disappears (killed by the monster, the children suspect) and the house itself begins to gradually transform into a labyrinth. After all, as Agatha observes, what’s a labyrinth without a Minotaur? Brick and wooden walls turn to grayish stone and seal off passageways, trapping the children in dangerous situations. Lucy and Oliver reluctantly realize that they’ll need the help of the twins to escape the new dangers that threaten to destroy their treasured magical house … and perhaps even them.
The Alchemist’s Shadow is a suspenseful, fast-paced story, if not quite as charming as the first book. The appealing carved wooden animals who form a part of the house’s magic clock, and who come to life, move and talk under the right (magical) conditions, play a lesser role in this sequel. The plot is a little disjointed and jumpy and doesn’t always make complete sense, like when the children decide to split their group apart in the now-haunted and monster-infested house. It felt like a horror film with teenagers inexplicably going off on their own when a killer’s on the loose. Still, there’s a lot to be said for scenes like the dining room chairs sprouting eyes and jagged teeth and chasing the kids around like a pack of wild dogs.
The children in The Alchemist’s Shadow include a couple of particularly memorable characters. Lucy is deeply devoted to her wooden clock animal friends. She’s impulsive, excitable, and struggles with making friends in her new town and getting along with other kids. Algernon doesn’t speak at all, due to the past trauma of losing his parents in a car accident. He always carries around a sinister-looking marionette called Samurai Kenzo, or Kenny. Lucy, steeped in the magical atmosphere of Blackford House, is convinced that Kenny is watching her and planning some evil.
Younger readers who like exciting, creepy tales should enjoy The Alchemist’s Shadow. It’s scary, but shouldn’t be too intense for all but the most sensitive middle-grade readers. There’s a heartwarming message of love and unselfishness that wraps up the story, along with a last-minute twist that opens the door for the next book in this series.
I received a free review copy from the author. Thank you!...more
3.75 stars. It's New Year's Eve 1941, and the wealthy Paradine family and their various relatives and in-laws have gathered at James Paradine's mansio3.75 stars. It's New Year's Eve 1941, and the wealthy Paradine family and their various relatives and in-laws have gathered at James Paradine's mansion to celebrate. But James has a surprise: he tells the family that someone has "betrayed the family interests" ... and that he knows who that person is, and the guilty person has until midnight to come to James' office and work things out with him. Several people go to his office, but for different reasons. And by the next morning, someone is murdered.
Miss Silver, a detective, is called in by the family to solve the murder mystery and maybe solve a few other problems while she's at it. (The main suspect is worried - with good reason - that the police will arrest them.)
I've read a couple of these old Miss Silver murder mysteries now. The mysteries aren't quite up to Agatha Christie's - at least not the ones I've read - but the characters are well-drawn and there always seems to be a troubled romance or two to work out along with the crime. :) Good old-fashioned fun.
The whole set of Miss Silver mysteries - there are 25 or 30 of them - is free online at the FadedPage website....more
Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽
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