Review of "A Darker Domain: An Inspector Karen Pirie Mystery" by Val McDermid

In this 2nd book in the 'Inspector Karen Pirie' series, the cold case cop looks for a man who disappeared 22 years ago and a kidnapped baby boy who's been missing for over two decades. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

The 1984 coal miners' strike in Great Britain hit the Scottish town of Newton of Wemyss very hard.



Miners' families had no heat, no food, and no hope. In desperation, a few blacklegs (scabs) went south to work in the mines of Nottingham, England. The scabs were scorned and despised by Newton townspeople, and the families they left behind were vilified.



So.....when miner Mick Prentice disappeared from Newton in 1984 his wife Jennie and daughter Misha assumed he'd gone scabbing and wrote him out of their lives forever.

Jump ahead to 2007 and Misha's little son Luke is dying from leukemia and in dire need of a blood marrow transplant.



Unable to find a compatible donor among local family members, Misha tries to locate her father.....and discovers he never went to Nottingham. So after 22 years Misha goes to the police and declares Mick Prentice a missing person.

Detective Inspector Karen Pirie, a cold case cop who tends to go her own way, dives into the inquiry. However she has to hide this from her disapproving boss, Assistant Chief Constable Simon Lees - who's been nicknamed 'The Macaroon' and considered a 'numpty' (bit of a fool).



ACC Lees doesn't want to spend money on this old case, and his interactions with Karen are the funniest parts of the book.

Karen is soon assigned an additional cold case. More than two decades ago an heiress named Catriona Maclennan Grant and her infant son Adam were kidnapped. Catriona's father, Sir Broderick Maclennan Grant, agreed to pay a huge ransom, but the handover went wrong. In the confusion Catriona was killed, the kidnappers escaped, and baby Adam disappeared.



Now, 20-plus years later, a freelance journalist named Bel Richmond is vacationing in Italy when she happens upon a clue to the Catriona kidnapping. The journalist parlays her discovery into an interview with the reclusive Sir Broderick Maclennan Grant, who reports the clue to the cops and insists that DI Pirie handle the case.



Grant also asks Bel to (secretly) gather more information in Tuscany.....perhaps thinking of dispatching a little frontier justice. Bel readily agrees to go, hoping to get a book deal - or even a movie - out of the whole business.

Meanwhile, DI Pirie and her partner - DS Phil Parhatka - juggle the two cases.



To locate Mick, the detectives speak to his family and friends as well as officers of the old National Miner's Union. They also ask the Nottingham police to interview the scabs who settled there years before. To find Catriona's kidnappers, the cops talk to her father and ex-boyfriend and get help from the carabinieri in Italy.

As the investigations proceed new information and discoveries come to light regarding both inquiries.

The story alternates between the past and present, so we learn what was going on in the characters' lives twenty years ago and how the investigations are proceeding now.

To say much more would give away spoilers. I will say, though, that there's a little flirty tension between DI Karen and DS Phil. However Karen - who sees herself as plain, chubby, and rumpled - doesn't really believe Phil could be romantically interested in her.

As the investigations into the two cold cases proceed some readers may think they know how things will turn out....but there are some big surprises. I'd recommend the book to mystery fans.



(I've read McDermid's non-fiction book Forensics: What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA and More Tell Us About Crime - which is excellent.)



Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Through the Evil Days: A Reverend Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne Mystery'" by Julia Spencer-Fleming

In this 8th book in the 'Reverend Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries', Russ and Clare look for a kidnapped child. The series does have an arc for the main characters, but the mystery can be read as a standalone.

*****

In this mystery/thriller set in upstate New York, the first part of the book is a mystery: the cops are trying to find out who kidnapped a child, Mikayla, who recently had a liver transplant and will die without her medicine.



Once the suspects are identified, the remainder of the book is a thriller as the cops set out to rescue the girl and catch the perps during 'the ice-storm of the century.'



Meanwhile, the Reverend Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ van Alstyne have now married and are about to set off for their honeymoon in a mountain cabin.





Unfortunately, just as they start honeymooning the ice storm hits and Russ and Clare are coincidentally drawn into the kidnapping case. Much hardship and drama ensues heightened by the fact that Clare is pregnant and Russ isn't thrilled about it.

Back home in Millers Kill, Police Officers Hadley Knox and Kevin Flynn - who have romantic mishaps/tensions of their own - are on the case as well. During the investigation, Hadley is also coping with troubles at home since her ex-husband has shown up wanting money and threatening to take their kids if he doesn't get it.



I liked the first part of the book but got somewhat bogged down in the second part. For me prolonged scenes of slogging through ice and snow and tangling with the perps seemed like writing to a formula.



Readers who enjoy this type of action will probably love this book. All in all I thought the book had interesting well-drawn characters and a good plot but I found myself skimming through parts of the second half.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Missing: A Mystery" by Karin Alvtegen

Born into a life of privilege, Sybilla is now homeless. Sometimes she hangs out at a hotel bar and charms a visiting businessman into paying for her dinner and hotel room. One night Sybilla chooses the wrong man and he's found dead and mutilated the next morning.



Of course Sybilla is the prime suspect and her situation only gets worse when more victims are found murdered in a similar manner. Alvtegen does a skillful job developing the character of Sybilla by interspersing scenes from Sybilla's childhood with those of Sybilla's current life on the run.

It turns out Sybilla had an indifferent father and a difficult mother, and - it seems - suffered from some mental illness. Moreover, the motive for the story's murders was an interesting surprise and the resolution of the mystery made sense and was satisfying.

I'd recommend the book to mystery fans.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "Orange Crush: A Comic Novel" by Tim Dorsey

In this 3rd book in the 'Serge Storms' series, the notorious killer - who has amnesia -is involved in Florida politics. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Political chicanery in Florida takes a hilarious turn in this comic novel.

Florida Lt. Governor Marlon Conrad, who's handsomer than a movie star, is part of a political dynasty that knows how to get the job done - that is, get elected and get rich.



Marlon's father, expecting his son to enter politics, taught the boy to take graft from the rich and powerful, disdain the poor and disenfranchised, and fry criminals in the electric chair.....which is generally popular with the public.

Marlon has little interest in his job as Lt. Governor, preferring to play computer fishing games while his aides brief him on important events - using (at most) of 3 or 4 words per topic.



Marlon expects to have this cushy position for a few more years, but the sudden death of the Governor makes Marlon the Republican gubernatorial candidate overnight.



Because Marlon never registered for the Selective Service - a big no no that the press will exploit - he has to join the Army Reserves.



Marlon's not concerned since his high-level connections will keep him stateside and safe. Well.....things don't work out that way and the Lt. Governor is sent to Kosovo where - against all odds - he bonds with the men in his unit before most of them are killed. Marlon comes home a changed man who actually cares about people.

Marlon is now in the midst of the gubernatorial campaign and - to the horror of his aides - decides to visit the families of his dead army buddies.....in POOR PARTS of the state.



Even more ominously, Marlon has STARTED READING NEWSPAPERS and dismissed his bodyguards, limos, and drivers. Instead Marlon buys an RV with an 'Orange Crush' logo on the side and embarks on a statewide campaign tour....



…..toting his reluctant Chief of Staff Gottfried Escrow and his enthusiastic Press Secretary Jack Pimento.



Republican bigwigs desperately try to get Marlon to stick with the party strategy: execute someone in the electric chair and pander to the wealthy - especially Helmut von Zeppelin, the state's most corrupt and powerful businessman.



When Marlon baulks at von Zeppelin's demands the crook gets furious and.....(I don't want to give away spoilers).

Press Secretary Pimento, on the other hand, encourages Marlon to meander around Florida and visit touristy historical and recreational sites. Pimento seems a bit odd in general, and the reader soon learns he's the maniacal serial killer Serge Storms (from previous books) - who's suffering from amnesia.



The story is filled with amusing characters, including: Jackie - a trailer trash gal scheming to be Florida's First Lady;



Gomer Tatum - a Democratic gubernatorial candidate who stuffs his face 24/7;



Babs - Marlon's ventriloquist fiancé whose 'privates' talk like Howdy Doody;



Joe Blow - an 'average citizen' who's driven nuts by the press;



Ned Coppola - an ambitious 'filmmaker' who can only manage to sell 30-second political ads;



a Brazilian revenge killer who wears a Miami Heat jacket;



Detective Murphy - who's on the trail of the killer; and more.



Some of the funniest scenes in the book are the political debates between Marlon and Gomer, which end up in a televised WWF wrestling match between the two sides (this is as good a way to choose a governor as any I guess. LOL)

The book made me laugh out loud and I enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Suspect: A Thriller" by Robert Crais

In this first book in the 'Scott James and Maggie' series, the police officer and his K-9 dog do their initial training and investigate a crime.

*****

Police Officer Scott James is badly injured and his partner is killed when they inadvertently stumble into a heist on a Los Angeles street. Elsewhere, Maggie, a German Shepherd "Marine dog" is shot and injured while sniffing for explosives in Afghanistan.



Months later, after they heal, Scott and Maggie come together in the K-9 (cop/dog) unit of the Los Angeles police department.



Scott and Maggie train and bond under the tutelage of veteran handler Sgt. Dominick Leland. The bonding of man and dog is an important, touching, sometimes humorous part of the book as love and loyalty grows between the pair. 

Meanwhile Scott continues to investigate who pulled off the heist which almost killed him since the robbery/homicide cops seem unable to solve the crime. As clues and witnesses to the heist are uncovered they tend to be discounted, lost, etc. - it appears some folks don't want the crime solved.

Two of my favorite characters are Maggie and Sgt. Leland; nice to see a man who values his dogs so fervently. The book flows to a believable and satisfying conclusion. I always enjoy Robert Crais's books and this one doesn't disappoint.



Rating: 4 stars

Review of "The Last Kind Words: A Mystery" by Tom Piccirilli

Terrier Rand's family are "gentleman" thieves - no violence.



So when Terry's brother Collie goes on a murder spree resulting in the death of eight people, Terry leaves town, abandoning his girlfriend Kimmy.



Five years later, shortly before his execution, Collie asks to see Terry. Collie tells Terry that he's guilty of all but one of the murders, that of a pretty teenage girl. Collie wants Terry to find the real murderer.

Terry reluctantly looks into the claim while navigating the competing interests of various cops and crooks in his home town. Rather than being a straight murder mystery, however, the book is more an exploration of how a devastating act affects the other people in your life.






The characters - including Terry's card-shark uncles, Alzheimer afflicted grandpa, rebellious teenage sister, loving mom, and distracted dad - are well-drawn and interesting; one of my favorite characters was JFK - the family dog. The ending is a little too drawn out but this is a minor quibble. I enjoyed the book.



Rating: 3 stars

Review of "The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon: A No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Novel" by Alexander McCall Smith

In this 14th book in the 'No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' series, Mma Ramotswe has two cases to solve. The book can be read as a standalone but knowing the characters is a bonus.

*****

Mma Ramotswe's first case, brought by a lawyer named Mma Sheba, concerns the inheritance of a local farm. The deceased farmer's heir, a nephew, has shown up to claim the property. However Mma Sheba fears 'the nephew' may be an imposter, and asks Mma Ramotswe to investigate.



The second case involves Mma Soleti, owner of "The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon." When Mma Soleti moves her salon to a desirable new location she receives a package containing the feather of a ground hornbill - a symbol of bad luck. Soon afterward a rumor campaign starts, claiming that women who get facials at Mma Soleti's salon suffer irreparable damage. Mma Ramotswe agrees to look into the matter.



Normally, Mma Ramotswe's associate, Mma Grace Makutski, assists with investigations. But Mma Makutski is pregnant and about to take maternity leave. Thus, Mma Ramotswe has to tackle most of the inquiries alone.....though Grace offers valuable advice. As always, Mma Ramotswe uses her intuition and insight (along with a bit of luck) to solve the cases.



Like all books in this series, the story is more about the characters than the cases. Mma Makutski and her husband, Phuti Radiphuti, have moved into an elegant home. Unfortunately, venomous snakes like it too!



And Phuti's unpleasant elderly aunt is determined to enforce 'the old traditions' when Mma Makutski gives birth, which clashes with Grace's modern views.



Other ongoing characters make an appearance as well. Mma Ramotswe's husband, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, decides to be a 'more modern' husband and help with the cooking. (His heart is in the right place, but he tries to mash the potatoes before he cooks them. LOL 😃). Apprentice mechanic Charlie, known for chasing girls, takes an unexpected shine to Mma Makutski's new baby. (Can he be thinking of settling down?) Orphanage manager Mma Potokwane offers tea, fruitcake (and serendipitously.....a valuable witness). And so on.

In the course of the story Mma Ramotswe realizes how much she appreciates Mma Makutski's friendship, intelligence, and help. So, at the end of the book, Mma Ramotswe gives her employee a nice surprise.



I'd highly recommend the book to readers who like cozies, especially fans of Mma Ramotswe. I wouldn't suggest reading this book as a standalone though. It's best to start at the beginning and 'grow' with the characters.

Rating: 3.5 stars