Review of "The Web: An Alex Delaware Mystery" by Jonathan Kellerman

In this 10th book in the 'Alex Delaware' series, the psychologist/sleuth is in the Marshall Islands for a working vacation. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

I've been a fan of Jonathan Kellerman's 'Alex Delaware' series for a long time, but the recent ones have gone downhill in my opinion. For that reason I decided to go back and read an old Alex Delaware novel, thinking I'd enjoy it.

In 'The Web', published in 2003, psychologist/LAPD consultant Dr. Alex Delaware is on an extended visit to the tiny South Pacific island of Aruk (in the Mariana Chain) with his girlfriend Robin Castagna and their French bulldog Spike. Alex has been hired by the isle's resident physician, Dr. Bill Moreland - who's been there since the end of WWII - to help organize his medical files and write a book. The nearby Bikini Atoll was used to test a hydrogen bomb in 1954, and the fallout from that had terrible medical consequences.



Moreover, Moreland tells stories about a local cat-woman (a female who behaved like a cat) and an unsolved case in which a woman on the island was horribly killed and cannibalized.

Moreland provides an office for Alex, an art studio for Robin, and a run for Spike. He also serves delicious food and drinks and arranges for recreational activities like swimming and snorkeling. During a tour of Moreland's very extensive estate, he shows Robin and Alex his lovely gardens as well as his 'invertebrate zoo', populated with giant hissing cockroaches, huge tarantulas, and other scary creatures.


Hissing cockroach


Giant tarantula

As they settle in, Alex and Robin become acquainted with other people spending time on the estate, including Moreland's divorced daughter Pam - who's also a physician; Moreland's assistant Dennis - who's a trained nurse; and a married couple who are PhD scientists. Robin and Alex also meet some of the local residents of Aruk, including the chief of police; a couple of merchants; a pushy journalist; and two ominous creeps who ogle Robin and make rude remarks.

Before long there are more suspicious deaths on Aruk; scary bugs get loose; Spike is infuriated by badly behaving humans; Moreland is seen sneaking around at night; an entitled U.S. Senator visits and throws his weight around; and Alex starts to suspect that Moreland lured him to the island under false pretenses. And of course Alex is right!!



As the story unfurls there are some big surprises, and I'd categorize them as unbelievable, lurid, and crass. There's also a lot of non-graphic romance between Alex and Robin - which isn't surprising because they're still at it fifteen years later. ❤

LAPD Detective Milo Sturgis, who's a regular character in this series, makes a brief appearance via phone calls - and I missed his big personality (and big appetite). 😊

The book has a 'horror' vibe, but it's in sync with other books in the series where Alex meets dangerous people. The story moves too slowly to be a gripping thriller - and Kellerman describes his characters' appearance and clothing in too much detail (as always) - but this is a serviceable mystery to pass a few hours with....and I cheered at the end.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Little Black Lies: A Novel of Suspense" by Sandra Block

Dr. Zoe Goldman, a psychiatric resident in a Buffalo hospital, has some problems. She has ADHD, controlled with medication; her adoptive mom is in a nursing home, suffering from dementia; her boyfriend, Jean Luc - a chemist in Washington, D.C. - seems to be distancing himself from her; and she has recurring nightmares about the night her birth mother died in a fire. In the disturbing dream Zoe is a little girl hiding from someone in a burning house.



Zoe, who was four years old when she lost her birth mother, remembers almost nothing about her. Zoe's adoptive parents said her mother was named Beth Summers, and gave Zoe a photo and a few records, but nothing else.



Zoe is desperate to know more and - thinking her bad dreams might provide clues - discusses them with her psychiatrist Sam.



Zoe even undergoes hypnosis in her search for clues. Zoe also asks her adoptive mom about Beth Summers, but her mom gets agitated and says she can't remember.

Meanwhile, Zoe is treating psychiatric patients in the hospital where she works.



One of them is Sofia Vallano, a striking black-haired, blue-eyed, thirty-something woman who's constantly reading magazines, filing her nails, or doing charcoal sketches.



Sofia's been in mental hospitals for 20 years, ever since she stabbed her mother to death as a teen. Part of Zoe's job is to assess Sofia's mental state, since the hospital is considering releasing her.

As the story unfolds, Zoe works hard to uncover clues about her past. She also continues to assess Sofia, which involves meeting Sofia's estranged brother Jack Vallano, who was stabbed in the eye by his sister. Jack says Sofia is too crazy to be released.

Eventually Zoe learns the truth about everything in a very dramatic surprise twist. The explanation of what happened, though - and the aftermath - isn't completely believable and I was a tad disappointed.

SPOILER  ALERT     SPOILER ALERT

Part of the explanation involves separating young orphaned siblings (would this really happen?) and the siblings not remembering each other at all. 

END SPOILER ALERT    END SPOILER ALERT

There are plenty of lighter moments in the book, especially when Zoe interacts with her fellow psychiatric residents, Jason and Dr. A - a foreigner struggling to master American idioms. There's even time for recreation, and Zoe drinks a lot of coffee in her brother, Scotty's, cafe; visits her mom in the nursing home; has some drama with Jean-Luc (though some of this doesn't ring true); has a few dates with an appealing E.R. doctor; goes jogging; etc.



Though the book has some problems, the story is entertaining and a good break from more grisly fare in the mystery/thriller genre. I'd recommend the book to mystery fans.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "And Justice There is None: A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery" by Deborah Crombie

In this 8th book in the 'Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James' series, the detectives investigate the death of a trophy wife and a cold case. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the series is a bonus.

*****

Detective Inspector Gemma James - who was partners with Superintendent Duncan Kincaid at Scotland Yard - has been transferred to Notting Hill Police Station. This eases the situation between Gemma and Duncan, who are romantically involved and moving in together.

The blended family will consist of Gemma and her little boy Toby; Duncan and his pre-teen son Kit; and - as it turns out - a cat and two dogs. In addition, Gemma and Duncan are expecting a child.

Gemma lands a big case at Notting Hill when Dawn Arrowood - the trophy wife of wealthy antique trader Karl Arrowood - is found with her throat slit.

Dawn had been having an affair with a pottery dealer called Alex Dunn, and Karl is suspected of killing his unfaithful wife - but there's no evidence against him.

Moreover, the brutal method of Dawn's death reminds Duncan of the unsolved murder of another woman, and the detective couple is soon working together on the dual cases.....which seem to be connected somehow.

Gemma learns that Dawn and Alex were part of a hippy-ish group of friends who met for coffee at Otto's Café every day. In addition to the lovers, the clique includes a gal who's a veterinarian and a man who runs a shelter for the homeless. The vet is thinking about opening a free clinic for homeless people's pets, which is a very difficult enterprise.

Also on hand are the café's waiter - who knows everyone in the neighborhood, and the café's owner - a Russian immigrant who's known Karl Arrowood for years....and is SURE Karl killed his wife!

As the story unfolds, the detectives' investigations in the present are interspersed with scenes from the past, when two immigrant families - one from Poland and one from the West Indies - became neighbors in Notting Hill.

Over the course of the book, we follow the fates of these Polish and West Indian families, and learn how they're connected to the crimes occurring now - and it's not a pretty picture. It seems that Notting Hill has a history of post-WWII black market shenanigans, along with smuggling antiques and drugs.

On the personal side, we observe Gemma and Duncan moving into their new digs and adjusting to life together; Duncan dealing with custody issues relating to Kit; and Gemma handling that old bugaboo - a male colleague who resents a woman boss and deliberately makes trouble for her.

I enjoyed the book. It's a good mystery that has clues dispersed throughout the narrative, perfect for the astute reader who likes to speculate about 'whodunit.'

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Whiskers in the Dark: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery" by Rita Mae Brown

Ricki Lake as 'Harry Haristeen' with Mrs. Murphy (cat) and Tucker (dog) 

In this 28th book in the 'Mrs. Murphy' series, amateur sleuth Harry Haristeen investigates several unnatural deaths with the help of her cadre of 'talking pets': the cats - Mrs. Murphy and Pewter; 



the corgi - Tucker; and the half-grown Irish wolfhound - Pirate. 



*****

The story, set in northern Virginia, ping pongs between the present (2018) and the time right after the Revolutionary War (1787).

In the present, Harry Haristeen and her best friend Susan Tucker are helping prepare the grounds at the 'Institute Farm' in Aldie, Virginia. The Institute will be the site of a fundraiser called 'Hounds F4R Heroes', being held to benefit veterans. The fundraiser will consist of a beagle hunt and a basset hound hunt, and fallen trees need to be cleared to make the area safe for running dogs and the humans that follow them.



A large number of Virginians are involved in the upcoming hunt, including prominent citizens who were formerly in the armed services or diplomatic corps. These include Arlene Billeaud -'Master of Blastoff Beagles', and Jason Holzknect and his wife Clare Holzknect- 'Joint Masters of Chesapeake Beagles.' Many other people will attend the hunt as well, either entering their dogs or just running along for fun.





In the meantime, a grave in the cemetery of St. Luke's Lutheran Church has been vandalized, and - when the grave is opened - a woman's body is found on top of two long buried caskets.



The caskets were interred in the late 1700s, and it's assumed the body (just bones by now) was thrown in at about the same time. What's really shocking, however, is that the body is wearing a pearl necklace and pearl and diamond earrings estimated to be worth at least $600,000.



Of course amateur sleuth Harry, who's intensely curious about odd occurrences, wonders about the dead woman - and hopes to figure out what happened to her.

The bejeweled body leads to flashbacks from 1787, when two large farms - called Cloverfields and Big Rawly - occupied the area.





The property owners, in addition to running their farms, constantly discuss the Constitutional Convention (occurring at the time) - and we get a big dose of history. Moreover a British prisoner who was captured during the American Revolution married one of the farmer's daughters, and - being an architect - designed St. Luke's Church.


Constitutional Convention

As was usual in the 1700s, both Cloverfields and Big Rawly used slaves. Some of the slaves in the story - like the butler, cook and weaver - seemed relatively content and some of the slaves - like the stable boys - became runaways. I was uncomfortable with the author's somewhat rosy-ish depiction of a slave-owning family - which has nothing but the slaves' best interests at heart. Really?? I suspect the author's loyalty to Virginia influenced the writing.



As we follow the 1787 storyline, we learn how the bejeweled woman came to be in St. Luke's cemetery.

In the chapters that jump back to the present, we find that events take an ominous turn and Harry soon has a lot on her plate. First Harry finds a body with a slit throat and later a body that APPEARS to have died from natural causes.....but Harry suspects foul play.



In between investigating the three deaths (one ancient and two current), Harry spends a lot of time talking about the Revolutionary War and the Civil War with her friends - all of whom are knowledgeable about the battles that occurred in Virginia. There's lots of chit-chat about where the soldiers' bodies are buried and whether ghosts haunt the battlefields. In fact the book is MUCH MORE historical novel than mystery.....with a good dose of basset hound hunting and beagle hunting thrown in.


Ghost soldier


Basset hound hunt


Beagle hunt

I was unsatisfied with the VERY skimpy mystery in this cozy, but I did enjoy the historical perspective - and I loved the cute animals and their antics. I'd recommend the novel to readers interested in American history as well as fans of Rita Mae Brown.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Rita Mae Brown), and the publisher (Bantam) for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars