Review of "The Girl and The Gravedigger: An Inspector Leopold von Herzfeldt Mystery" by Oliver Pötzsch

  

 

 

Vienna, Austria, 1894: The Vienna Museum of Art History is the repository of numerous treasures from ancient Egypt - some on display, and some stored for future study.



A recently arrived mummy would have lain undisturbed in the storage room for years if a larcenous cleaning woman hadn't found the room inadvertently unlocked.





The cleaner, having heard mummies were buried with jewels and gold, unwrapped the relic's bandages, looking for valuables. Instead, the woman found the dead body of Egyptologist Alfons Strössner, with green emeralds in his eye sockets. The cleaner's screams echoed throughout the building.



The death of Professor Strössner adds to rumors of a curse, because other Egyptologists who'd recently opened an Egyptian tomb - and removed the contents - had also died.

Stylish Police Inspector Leopold von Herzfeldt - who's an advocate of 'new' investigative methods, and who doesn't believe in Egyptian curses - gets the Strössner case.



When Leo interviews Professor Strössner's daughter Charlotte - who looks like Cleopatra- she expresses complete bewilderment. Charlotte thought her father was in Egypt doing research, and she even produces letters Strössner sent from the Middle East.



Further investigation leads von Herzfeldt to the Vienna Archaeological Society, whose members include Austria's rich and elite, including Archduke Rainer Ferdinand.



This pretentious crowd doesn't appreciate Leopold coming around, but he perseveres, makes startling discoveries, and eventually unveils the truth.

In addition to the killing of Professor Strössner, the Vienna police are concerned with two other cases. One is the death of a zookeeper in the lion's cage, which is blamed on an African chief in an 'ethnic' exhibit.



Police Detective Von Hertzfeld gets embroiled in the zookeeper's murder by his girlfriend, Julia Wolf, who works as a crime scene photographer and a chanteuse.





Julia believes the African chief arrested for killing the zookeeper is innocent, and she wants Leo to help the man.

Vienna's other police investigation involves a serial killer who's murdering handsome young male prostitutes and cutting off their genitalia.



The serial killer case draws in the entire police department, and Leo and Chief Inspector Paul Leinkirchner become the lead detectives. This is tricky because Leo has Jewish ancestry and Leinkirchner is openly antisemitic.





During the serial killer investigation, Leo - who always dresses in the height of fashion - (literally) gets down in the dirt and mud in his best suit. (I winced at the despoilment of this finery and hoped Vienna had good cleaners. 😊)

As events progress, perpetrators are uncovered, and there's even a 'Hercule Poirot' moment when Leo reveals a surprising miscreant.



One of the most interesting characters in the story is Augustin Rothmayer, a gravedigger at Vienna Central Cemetery. Rothmayer is a brilliant eccentric who's writing a book called 'Death Rites Around the World'.



Colorful excerpts from Rothmayer's book are scattered through the novel. For example, in ancient Egypt, a dead pharaoh's wife and servants were killed and buried with him. (Nothing in this world would have induced me to marry a pharaoh. 😠) Rothmayer helps with all the police investigations in his own unique fashion.



Besides penning an engaging police procedural, author Oliver Pötzsch gives us a peek at the ambiance of old Vienna. The story mentions a tasteful 'upper class' brothel; a homeless encampment in the sewers; horsecar trams; the Imperial Court Library in the Hofburg palace; theater shows; expensive restaurants; nightclubs; and more. All this is a nice complement to the story.



I enjoyed the novel and recommend it to mystery fans.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Rupert Bush, who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Oliver Pötzsch, and HarperAudio for a ARC of the book. 

 Rating: 4 stars 

Review of "Wolf Worm: A Suspense/Horror Novel" by T. Kingfisher

 

Author T. Kingfisher is well-known for her horror novels, and this is her latest macabre story. If you're easily creeped out, or have an insect phobia, this isn't the book for you.

****

It's 1899, and thirty-year-old Sonia Wilson is a naturalist and artist who worked with her father until he died. Afterwards, with no good job offers, Sonia was obligated to teach watercolor painting in a Wilmington, North Carolina girls' school, a low-paying job with no future prospects.



Consequently, Sonia is happy to accept a job offer from the entomologist Dr. Matthias Halder, who needs an illustrator for his book about parasitic insects.



Dr. Halder sends Sonia a train ticket, but there's no one waiting at the Chatham, North Carolina train station when Sonia arrives in the late afternoon.



There IS a banner reading 'Home of the World Famous Chatham Rabbit.' Sonia later learns Chatham rabbits are famous for being the main ingredient in delicious stews.




Rabbit Stew

Dr. Halder's residence, Halder House, is ten miles from the train station, and Sonia is getting ready to walk when she's offered a buggy ride with Mr. Asa Phelps. Mr. Phelps is a grim, God-fearing man who tells Sonia it's not safe to walk in the evening, because there are devils in the woods. Sonia is skeptical about this story, but little does she know!!



After Sonia gets to Halder House, she meets the staff: Mrs. Kent, a Black woman, is the housekeeper/cook;



Mr. Kent, a White man, is the caretaker/handyman;



and there's a young maid called Sally.



There's also a cat named Smiley, who rules the roost.



The mixed race couple, the maid, and the cat are friendly to Sally, in contrast to Dr. Halder - a rigid man prone to shouting, who's concerned only with his 'very important' work.



In Halder House, Sonia is installed in quarters called 'the studio', whose previous occupant left behind paints, brushes, palettes, sketchbooks, beautiful paintings of insects, and more.



Dr. Halder gives Sonia her assignments, to paint Cochliomyia hominivorax, the screwworm fly (aka botworm fly); screwworm fly larvae; other botflies; and more.




Screwworm Fly


Screwworm Fly Larva

Later, Dr. Halder tells Sonia the screwworm fly is a parasite whose larvae (maggots) eat the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, such as horses, cattle, goats, sheep, humans, and so on. Dr. Halder goes on to describe screwworm infections, and - unfortunately for Sonia - she later encounters an infested raccoon.



Sonia settles in at Halder House, does her work, and meets the housekeeper's friend, Ma Kersey, an indigenous Lumbee. Ma Kersey is a healer and midwife, as well as source of supernatural lore about North Carolina, and stories about Dr. Halder.



Dr. Halder frequently wanders through the woods at night, and when Sonia - an inveterate nosybody - surreptitiously follows Dr. Halder, she sees him enter a locked shed.



Eventually, Sonia enters the shed herself, and the horror part of the book ensues.


Botfly larva on human skin

Before that time, however, Sonia's first person narration demonstrates a wry sense of humor, and a tendency to make fun of herself.



The novel has wonderful word-pictures of Chatham's woodsy scenery.....



......and nightmare-inducing descriptions of screwworm fly infestations.


Squirrel with a botworm infestation

I like the scenes of Sonia doing her watercolor illustrations, which provide a glimpse of how the artist works, and the problems she encounters. Who knew the color 'coral' was so hard to get right.😊

If you can keep turning the pages, this spooky story will take you strange places. Strictly for horror fans.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal, who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, T.Kingfisher, and Macmillan audio for a ARC of the book. 

 Rating: 4 stars 

Review of "At Midnight Comes The Cry: A Reverend Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne Mystery' by Julia Spencer-Fleming

In this 10th book in the 'Reverend Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries', Russ and Clare - who live in Miller's Kill, New York - confront members of a White militia in the area. The series does have an arc for the main characters, but the mystery can be read as a standalone.

*****

Background: The Reverend Clare Fergusson was a military helicopter pilot for ten years until she retired to become an Episcopal priest and a major in the National Guard.



Clare's husband, Russ Van Alstyne, was a military cop and then the police chief in Miller's Kill until recently, when he was forced to retire for political reasons.



As the story opens, the Thanksgiving-Christmas season is gearing up, and Clare and Russ are celebrating with their 8-month-old son Ethan. At the moment, the family is watching 'The Greenwich Annual Lighted Tractor Parade' at the home of a friend, and enjoying the spectacle.



In the midst of the procession, a float passes with a woman giving out candy, and holding a banner that reads White Families Unite! Blood and Soil Are Our Heritage! Diversity Is A Code Word For White Genocide. Then the float's driver unfurls a sign that says Keep America's Christmas White.

The spectators start shouting, and Russ's friend jumps on the vehicle and starts a ruckus.



Clare and Russ rush over to quell the disturbance, and Clare even manages to 'befriend' the banner-wielding White supremacist woman, whose name is Meghan Smith.



This amity gets Clare and Russ invited to a barbecue at the home of Meghan and her husband Rick Smith, where Clare and Russ meet members of a local White militia.



This turns out to be auspicious for two reasons: an undercover police officer is missing, and a woman needs help - and both situations involve White supremacists.

» Police Officer Kevin Flynn, who worked in Miller's Kill until he transferred to the Syracuse Police Department, is on leave and hasn't contacted his family for months.



From Assistant State's Attorney Yíxīn Zháo, who worked with Kevin in Syracuse......



......Russ learns that Kevin infiltrated a group of militia types upstate, in the Adirondack Park. Russ also finds out that the militia types call themselves 'Knox's Noble Train', and talk a lot about defending their liberties and their way of life.



With this information, Russ and Police Officer Hadley Knox - who was Kevin's girlfriend when he was a cop in Miller's Kill - plan to locate the militia's campsite in Adirondack Park, find Kevin, and get him out.



Russ and Hadley are joined by Native American forest ranger Paul Terrance, whose uncle - also a forest ranger - went missing in Adirondack Park.



Clare borrows a spotter plane, and flies Russ, Hadley, and Paul over the park to locate the militia's campsite.



Afterwards, Russ, Hadley, and Paul head into the wilderness, and find the body of Paul's uncle in a shallow grave.



Paul heads back to inform law enforcement agencies, and Yíxīn Zháo works on the bureaucratic side of arresting the guilty parties.



Meanwhile, Russ and Hadley locate the Knox's Noble Train encampment, and observe that the militia - whose members include law enforcement and military personnel - are organized, savvy, and well-protected.



The militia also has the makings of bombs and explosives, which they presumably plan to use. The 'good guys' just have to figure out what the target is, and how to stop the attack.

While all this is going on, Clare is back in Miller's Kill, attempting to help a woman in a domestic abuse situation.

» Tiny, a mother Clare met at the home of Meghan and Rick Smith, is married to Calvin March, a fanatical White supremacist. Calvin is controlling, barely lets Tiny leave the house, doesn't allow her to have any visitors, and hits her when he gets angry.



Clare makes it her mission to extricate Tiny from the abusive home, but Tiny is frightened, cowed, and unwilling to involve the police. As for Calvin, he's vengeful, wily, and a core member of 'Knox's Noble Train'. All this leads to big trouble.



As the story unfolds, Russ's and Clare's plotlines merge and lead to an exciting climax.

Like other books in the series, this novel is chock full of danger, action, and adventure. The story is also very relevant to current times, with bigots spewing toxic hatred.



Assuming the series continues, I'll be curious to see where Russ goes from here. Without his job as police chief, Russ is at loose ends, and he needs something to do besides helping raise baby Ethan.




This is an exciting adventure/suspense story, recommended to fans of the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley, Julia Spencer-Fleming, and Minotaur for an ARC of the book.

 

Rating: 3.5 stars