Review of "Carthage: A Novel: " by Joyce Carol Oates

Cressida Mayfield, a troubled, immature 19-year-old college student, goes missing from the small city of Carthage, New York.



Brett Kincaid, a badly injured, decorated Iraq war veteran who was previously engaged to Cressida's sister Juliet, is suspected of being involved in the disappearance.



Cressida's parents, Zeno and Arlette, are shattered by the tragedy as is Brett's embittered, neurotic mother, who accuses all and sundry of wronging her "war hero" son. We find out about the lives of these characters, what happened to Cressida, and the devastating consequences of her disappearance.





Can't say too much more without giving away spoilers so I'll just say the story points out how much we may not know about people close to us. Good book, worth reading.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Blind Goddess: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Mystery" by Anne Holt

In this first book featuring Police Detective 'Hanne Wilhelmsen', the investigator and her partner look into two murders.

*****

A young Dutchman is accused of killing a drug dealer in Oslo, Norway.....



…..and insists on being represented by Karen Borg, the lawyer who found the body.



However Borg is a civil, not criminal attorney, and defense lawyer Peter Strup tries to horn in on her client.



The Dutchman refuses to change lawyers though and exhibits fear of attorneys and lockup.

Soon afterwards another attorney, the disreputable Hansa Larsen, is shot to death. Police officers Håkon Sand and Hanne Wilhelmsen connect the murders of the drug dealer and shady lawyer.



Moreover, they find clues in the lawyer's house that lead them to suspect a huge drug-dealing conspiracy that involves lawyers and maybe even high government officials.

The police follow complex clues to unearth the culprits but have a very difficult time trying to bring them to justice. There's a lot of blather about the Norwegian court/justice system which slows down the story and the climax is very drawn out as well.



The book has some interesting characters/relationships that add to the story: married lawyer Karen and her friend Detective Håkon have a romantic attraction; Detective Hanne is gay and lives with her girlfriend. There's an intrepid reporter chasing after a scoop. And there are plenty of lawyers, good and bad. I thought it was just an average mystery/thriller.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Song of Solomon: A Novel" by Toni Morrison

This beautifully written book about a black family living in Michigan has a little of everything - magic, ghosts, eccentrics, murderers, lovers, and more. 



Jumping back and forth in time. it tells the story of Milkman Dead, who after growing up indulged and self-centered in a northern, industrial city comes to discover something of his ancestry and roots in the rural south. A fascinating story filled with wonderful interesting characters. 💖

Highly recommended to fans of literary fiction.

Rating: 5 stars   

Review of "Shallow Graves: A Location Scout Mystery" by Jeffery Deaver

John Pellam is in Cleary, New York to line up locations to film a Hollywood movie. Some residents are excited, hoping to land a part in the film. Other residents - for reasons of their own - want John and his partner Marty to go away forever. Harassment ensues and before long Marty is dead in suspicious circumstances.



The town honchos expect John to pack up and leave but he insists on hanging around to investigate his partner's death. In the course of his investigation John meets a variety of people, including: 

A horny hippy;



A pretty real estate agent and her family; 



A hostile mayor; 



 A tough sheriff; 

Some thugs, and so on. 

The story has a rather mundane "secrets in a small town" theme but it has some interesting twists. This is an average mystery, good for a bit of diversion.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Touch and Go: A Novel" by Lisa Gardner

Three members of a wealthy family - Justin and Libby Denbe and their teenage daughter Ashlyn - are kidnapped and an assortment of law enforcement personnel, including state police, FBI, and a private security agent work day and night to try to locate them.



Justin has been unfaithful; the Denbe's have marital problems; and Ashlyn has secrets. The book's POV alternates between the wife Libby.....and Tessa, the private security agent. I didn't enjoy the book much and had to push myself to finish it.



Kidnapping themes are my least favorite suspense theme and a lot of the characters in the story were unsympathetic or downright unlikeable. The ending is probably supposed to be a shocker but it doesn't totally pan out that way. Just not my kind of story.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "A Turbulent Priest: An Inspector Peach Mystery" by J.M. Gregson

 

In this 4th book in the 'Inspector Peach' series, the detective looks into the murder of a scandalous priest. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

An unusually ferocious rainstorm unearths a murdered corpse in Lancashire, England and Detective Inspector Percy Peach and Detective Sergeant Lucy Blake discover the victim was a local priest.





During their investigation the detectives learn that the priest was suspected of molesting boys in the church youth club. Of course the shocked and angry families of the boys become suspects in the murder. Moreover, the priest seems to have been associated with a child porn ring, the members of which are anxious not to be exposed. Could they have shut up the priest so he didn't get an attack of conscience and report them?

Plenty of suspects in this cozy mystery, and some interesting characters. The detectives have a nice rapport between them and I liked the priest's housekeeper, a devoted lady determined to see the best in the priest and to defend his reputation.



I thought the book was an enjoyable light mystery, fine for passing a few hours.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "The Dead In Their Vaulted Arches: A Flavia de Luce Mystery" by Alan Bradley

Flavia de Luce is a brilliant young girl whose knowledge of chemistry is on par with many Ph.Ds. Flavia uses her abilities to investigate murders, and delights in solving crimes ahead of the police. In this sixth book in the series Flavia once again uses her skills to track down a killer.

The book could be read as a standalone but it's much better to start with book one and go on from there.

*****

Twelve-year-old Flavia de Luce and her family are at the train station awaiting the return of a relative when a mysterious man gives Flavia a cryptic message for her father.



Before long the man is dead, his mutilated body lying under the train. Thus begins a Flavia de Luce novel that is more of an espionage story than a murder mystery.



Nevertheless, Flavia is up to her usual tricks in this book, cooking up exotic chemical experiments to reanimate the dead and to decipher hidden messages. As always, Flavia is also plotting to best the local police with her superior detective skills.



The book is filled with interesting characters, including Mr. de Luce's faithful manservant (and jack of all trades) Dogger, eccentric relatives, quirky acquaintances.....



.....and Flavia's sisters.





I was a little annoyed by Flavia's continuing arrogance and (often-expressed) high opinion of herself and I found the convoluted espionage tale slightly confusing. Nevertheless it was an okay light read.

Rating: 3 stars