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Review

Betrayal at Blackthorn Park

by Willy Williams

It’s November 1940, and Evelyne Redfurn has returned to her London boarding house after six secretive, grueling weeks of training to be a Special Investigations Unit (SIU) agent for the British government’s Special Operations Executive (SOE). But before she can relax with her roommate and best friend, Moira, she’s called up for her first assignment. Hoping to be parachuted into occupied France (her mother was French), Evelyne is disappointed when she is sent instead to investigate the possibility of theft at a weapons research and development facility in rural Sussex. Worse, her handler is her old sparring partner, David Poole. On Evelyne’s first night, however, a routine probe becomes a murder case after she stumbles upon the body of Sir Nigel Balram, the leader of the engineering team at Blackthorn Park. His death appears to be an act of suicide, but drawing on the sleuthing skills she honed in A Traitor in Whitehall, Evelyne and David race to identify a killer before Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s impending visit. The clever and resourceful Evelyne is an appealing protagonist, who struggles to maintain her close friendships without revealing her double life as a spy. Her budding chemistry with David is obvious but doesn’t distract from the main plotline. Fans of Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope series will delight in following the adventures of a promising new World War II spymaster.

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Review

Death and the Old Master

by Brian Kenney

Set in the rarefied atmosphere of a Cambridge college, this excellent mystery has Detective Chief Inspector Arthur St. Just interrogating a wide assortment of characters—from the college porters to art historians, from curators to super-rich American graduate students—all to discover who killed Sir Flyte Rascallian, the master of his college and a renowned art historian. Why kill Rascallian? Because, we are led to believe, he may have recently inherited a Rembrandt, unleashing no end of speculation. Excellent art mysteries are always rich in atmosphere and complex in plot, and Death and the Old Master does not disappoint, bringing the reader as far back as the Monument Men (and Women) who worked during World War II to recover and restore stolen cultural treasures. A sophisticated and effortless read that is one of Malliet’s very best.

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Review

Whiteout

by Brian Kenney

I’ve always been a fan of ice thrillers, and Burnett’s Whiteout is perfectly terrifying in every way. When we meet Rachel, an Oxbridge scientist, she’s living alone in a tiny tent in Antarctica. She can’t reach anyone, and the only broadcast she can receive is a public service announcement from the BBC stating that there has been a nuclear attack and not to leave your home. But even if the world no longer exists, Rachel soldiers on, collecting samples every day, if only to retain a feeling of normalcy. There’s plenty Rachel doesn’t understand, but even more that the reader must struggle to put together. Add to this Rachel’s guilt-ridden memories of leaving behind her baby girl and husband and nature’s increasing violence that seems to want to destroy her, and you have a recipe for a meltdown. Burnett is a genius with pace, and the book gains speed as Rachel manages to push past one obstacle after another to the final confrontation. Pack all the down you have, you’re going to need it.

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Review

Murder Takes the Stage

by Brian Kenney

Mysteries and the theater make for wonderful marriages—there are scores of examples—and this recent contribution from Colleen Cambridge is completely on point. Agatha Christie and household have temporarily moved from her country estate, Mallowan Hall, to London. The exiles include Phyllida Bright, Christie’s housekeeper (and so much more, including amateur sleuth). But Phyllida is a bit stressed out. She has a love/hate relationship with London—something is making her nervous—plus there is the staff to manage, including the temporary faux-French chef. But enough with the escargot, there’s a murder (Archibald Allston in the Adelphi Theater) followed by another (Benvolio at the Belmont Theater). See where this is headed? Death by alliteration, unless Phyllida gets there in time. This delightful mystery provides a fun look at London’s historic theaters, a glimpse at London’s LGBTQ nightlife, a splendid dénouement right out of a Christie novel, and most remarkably of all: a love interest for Phyllida. Lots of fun to be had here.

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Review

The Matchmaker

by Henrietta Thornton

Nura Khan has taken over Piyar, her grandmother Khala’s matchmaking business, which is a mix of old and new. Matchmaking is traditionally how young people in her Pakistani American community find their spouse, but Nura will only work with the prospective bride or groom, not their parents, and the young couple meets and dates before marrying. Nura grew naturally into the role; her father died before she was born and after her mother died in an accident, she went to live with her loving, successful aunt Khala, eventually taking over the Atlanta business. She loves the work, but there’s a problem: she’s single, and for a matchmaker who’s already reached the ripe age of 31, it’s not the best look. That’s why she brings Azar, her childhood friend who at one point almost became more—how she wishes it did!—to the many events involved in desi wedding celebrations. A worse problem arises when Piyar’s matches start to go terribly wrong and the business is getting trashed on social media. It’s a dangerous path to finding out who could have a grudge against Nura, one that brings in handsome doctor Azar and Nura’s lovable circle of friends and employees. Desi readers, fans of the reality shows dedicated to matchmaking, and everyone who loves a mystery and romance combo will savor YA author Saeed’s first novel for adults.

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Review

Heroic Measures

by Henrietta Thornton

Colonel Stephen Englehart is a great medical examiner, which in the bureaucratic backwardness of the U.S. Army means he’ll be promoted any day now to paper pusher. No, thank you. Besides, he has an ambivalent attitude toward the whole organization, given that his soldier father was mostly absent and the “uncle” who took over—his father’s fellow soldier who is now one of Stephen’s superiors—is chilly at best. Retirement is beckoning, but his plans are exploded by five corpses arriving at his base. Don’t autopsy them, comes the order. Just hold them until their storm-damaged plane is repaired. That’s weird enough, but then one of the dead seems to have been untouched by the grenade he was supposed to have been killed by, and a medical examiner’s worst nightmare comes true: the man opens his eyes. At the same time, Stephen’s sister, Major Sharon Englehart, is arriving in Germany, where Stephen is based, and the two will try to steal some time to meet…but she never arrives at her post. The secrets, lies, and fearsome technology behind this fast-moving, exciting novel will keep readers turning the pages as they also enjoy the sibling loyalty and Stephen’s sidestepping of military rules—including his affair with a subordinate. This is a great step into military and technothrillers for fans of Patricia Cornwell and other forensic crime authors, and an equally perfect introduction to more relationship-based novels for military fiction buffs.

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Review

The Tokyo Suite

by Brian Kenney

A deep investigation into the lives of two women: a mistress and her maid. Maju is one of scores of the “white army,” maids and nannies in São Paulo; she cares for young Cora, whose parents pay the child little attention. Fernanda, Cora’s mother and a successful TV executive, is uniquely self-involved; even when Maju and Cora disappear one day, Fernanda can’t stop obsessing over an affair she’s having long enough to focus on her own daughter’s abduction. Dad, meanwhile, has pretty much checked out. But once Fernanda does realize her daughter is gone, her whole world begins to cave in. Maju and Cora, meanwhile, have boarded a bus for a multi-day trip that Maju barely plans—they have limited food and money—and that begins to unravel after the first day. Each woman is confronted by a harrowing series of events that forces them to confront maternal guilt, poverty, and society’s expectations.

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Review

Follow the Butterfly

by Brian Kenney

Appreciate dark psychological thrillers packed with twists and turns? Then this book is for you. Clarissa Virtanen, a renowned but troubled therapist, who remains guilt-ridden over the death of a young patient, takes on Ida, another young client. Ida is one disturbing young woman: angry, damaged, messed up, full of suicidal ideations. But Clarissa believes she can help Ida, providing that Ida agrees to refrain from self-harm for six months—enough time for Clarissa to unlock her past, learn her secrets, and save her. But what Ida has in store are murderous secrets that she’s been harboring for years, and that may well be Clarissa’s undoing.

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Review

Gothictown

by Henrietta Thornton

Locals call small-town Juliana, Georgia, “Gentle Juliana.” New York chef Bille Hope calls it her family’s best chance at a new start after the pandemic finished her restaurant. The offer to move to Juliana is incredibly generous: the ad Billie spots says that the family can buy any vacant home in the town—look at those Victorian mansions!—for just $100 if they open a business there. Billie; her husband, Peter; and their daughter, Mere, are Georgia residents before you know it and even purchase a fabulous house that wasn’t supposed to be available. In no time, Billie’s new restaurant is booming, but so is the family’s fear that they have made a bad mistake. The house has a malevolent feeling and Peter is exhausted and depressed by his never-ending search for a dangerous open well that a strange neighbor tells them is on the land. While Billie begins to fall for the owner of the store next to hers, she also starts to investigate what’s really going on in the town and why she and Mere have the same nightmares about trapped, crying children, a puzzle that readers know a little about from the book’s sinister opening chapter detailing an event in the town’s early years. This has just the right amount of creepiness to add a scary but not terrifying element to the promised gothic tale, and the post-pandemic what-do-I-do-now feeling is spot on. Read this alongside Sylvie Perry’s The Hawthorne School and start looking gift horses in the mouth.

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Review

Against the Grain

by Willy Williams

Thirty-two years ago, curmudgeonly, old-school Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond of the Bath CID made his literary debut in the Anthony Boucher Award-winning The Last Detective, exonerating a woman accused of murder. Three decades later, the seasoned cop, much to his dismay, is under pressure to retire. For Diamond, whose identity is tied to his job, “retirement is the waiting room for death.” But his partner, Paloma, convinces him to accept his former colleague Julie Hargreaves’s invitation to visit her in the quaint village of Baskerville. Leaving the mean streets of Georgian Bath for rural Somerset, Diamond soon learns that Julie has an ulterior motive for his visit; unable to proceed further in her inquiries due to a physical disability, she wants her old boss to reexamine (unofficially) the manslaughter conviction of farm owner Claudia Priest for the suffocation death of a man in a grain silo. Julie suspects that the fatal accident was murder and that someone other than Claudia was responsible. Embarking on a busman’s holiday as an undercover detective, Diamond aims to solve his first village mystery, even if it means mucking in real mud (including reluctantly helping a cow give birth). As he tries on different amateur sleuthing hats (bumbling Columbo, nosy Miss Marple), he begins to learn things about himself that reveal there might be a possibility of a good life after retirement. MWA Grand Master Lovesey bids a fond farewell to his protagonist with this bittersweet series finale that mixes a cozy Midsomer Murders setting with colorful characters, surprising twists, and plenty of heart and humor.

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