REVIEWS FROM CAROL HOWELL
MURDER IN LASCAUX
BETSY DRAINE and MICHAEL HINDEN
University of Wisconsin / Terrace Books October 2011
Art history professor Nora Barnes is having the time of her life. She's researching a little-known early 20th Century artist whose family owns a chateau in the Dordogne region of France. To gain access to the dead artist's journals, she and her husband, both foodies from Northern California, have signed up for a cooking class at the chateau. To add more excitement to the adventure, they've wangled an impossible-to-get entry into the famous cave at Lascaux, home to some of the world's most renowned prehistoric drawings. The cave exceeds Nora's expectations, but the unfathomable murder of one of their fellow-tourists brings the trip's pleasure to an abrupt halt. It's a variation of a "locked-room" murder; the local police are suspicious of the pair as the cave's restricted access means the list of suspects is a very short one. Added to the cops' suspicion is the "coincidence" that two other survivors from the tour are also booked into the same cookery class. The victim was a civil servant who dealt with antiquities, and having four Americans in such a proximity makes the cops think "stolen prehistoric artifacts ring". Nora and husband Toby feel they have no option but to act as amateur detectives, or risk being subjected to the icy hand of French justice. A second murder heightens the tension, and the sleuths find that the clues add up to a dangerous number. Their investigation is set against a fascinating backdrop of beautiful countryside, charming medieval villages and ruins, a delightful rustic fair, and a generous amount of Perigord's famous food. The descriptions are delightfully detailed, and they brought back many happy memories of my own cave excursions (and meals) in that area. This is a charming French countryside cozy, with very authentic and likable characters and an interesting plot that blends the past with the present.
PIRATE KING
LAURIE R. KING
Bantam Books September, 2011
Mary Russell, Sherlock Holmes' young wife, reluctantly agrees to sail to Portugal (suffering mal de mer all the way) to determine if the English movie company, Fflytte Films, is involved with nefarious crimes that seem to follow in its wake. As an assistant to an assistant director, she becomes enmeshed in the day-to-day dealings of the company which intends to make a movie-within-a-movie of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera, The Pirates of Penzance. This sets the tone for the whole book, which turns into a giant romp, with innocent yellow-haired maidens, villainous pirates (one sporting a hideous scar), obsessed movie moguls, exotic harems and a foul-mouthed parrot. There's a Portuguese translator who assumes multiple personae, much as Russell herself does with more subtlety, and everyone in the cast of characters is either more so or not quite what they seem. Holmes takes a backseat to his clever spouse, and her foibles as well as her ingenuity are spotlighted. In this 11th of the Holmes/Russell series, the author takes a giant leap sideways out of her usual genre. Where prior books had only occasional touches of wit and humor, this one oozes it. Some of the scenes are laugh-out-loud funny; others get a chuckle, and all thoroughly entertained me. Generally, over-the-top burlesque can be tedious, but this one gets top marks. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
THE VAULT
RUTH RENDELL
Scribner September, 2011
Retired at long last from the Kingsmarkham police, Reg Wexford and his wife are spending time in the coach house of daughter Sheila's elegant London home. Wexford's at loose ends without his job, and is delighted when a chance meeting with a former colleague results in his becoming an unpaid consultant on a provocative case. Remains of four people were found when the manhole cover was removed from an old coalhole on a very chic property called Orcadia Cottage. Three of the dead have been there over a decade, but one young woman was interred within the last few years. Working with the local coppers, Wexford gets to use all of his sleuthing skills, augmented by the technical talents of his new associates as well as his insight into human nature, to try to uncover the identities of all of the victims, and that of the murderers. As is typical in a Wexford work, family issues loom large and provide a distorted mirror of the major plot line - in this case, violence to a family member and an analysis of the nature of relationships. Intermingled with the investigation is Wexford's love of exploration of the richness of London's neighborhoods and sights, and a good deal of the enjoyment of this book lies in sharing his joy of discovery. Rendell's devoted readers will recognize that this book is a follow-up to A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES, but knowing in advance some of the facts that Wexford struggles to uncover in no way diminished my enjoyment. (Getting there really is half the fun!). Rendell and Wexford are always superbly entertaining, and my only quibble is that it all ends too quickly.
BLACK DIAMOND
MARTIN WALKER
Alfred A. Knopf August, 2011
In the little Dordogne village of St. Denis, Chief of Police Bruno Courrèges has become a truffle-hunt enthusiast, encouraging his faithful dog Gigi to sniff out the precious loot. His truffle mentor, Hercule Vendrot, is also an animal-hunting enthusiast, and the pair share a custom of spending the day with good food and companionship while they acquire some game for their larders. But this year, something goes terribly wrong, and Vendrot is brutally murdered. Trying to solve the crime leads Bruno into the murky world of decades-past French/Vietnamese politics, and he finds that the victim was a leading figure in those activities. Things get even more complicated when a Vietnamese local is viciously attacked during a village market, and other Asian businesses throughout the region are also being targeted with violence. Even the truffle business isn't immune from criminal activities, as it appears that the local treasures are being comingled with inferior products. But wait - there's more. There's the upcoming mayoral election where Bruno's incumbent boss is being challenged by Pons père and son for the job, themselves at each other's throats over the closure of the father's lumber mill causing substantial local job loss. Bruno's current lover seems to be growing romantically interested in the younger Pons, and Bruno's former lover appears on the scene unexpectedly, looking as enticing as ever. While sorting through all of these issues, Bruno maintains his customary low-key savoir-faire, and manages to create a number of amazing culinary delights at opportune moments which add piquancy to the overall ambiance. Truly a bon-bon of a book.
TWELVE DRUMMERS DRUMMING
C. C. BENISON
Delacorte Press October, 2011
Tom Christmas is the new spiritual leader of the small southern English village of Thornford Regis. Recently relocated from Bristol with his young daughter, the pair are trying to put behind them the painful memory of Tom's wife's vile and as yet unsolved murder. When the village's vicar inexplicably disappeared, Tom grabbed the opportunity to move. But charming little villages can be deceptive, and the cozy spring fair provides a backdrop for the death of a local teen, Sybella Parry. Tom himself discovers her corpse, bizarrely shoved into an enormous Japanese drum, and the locals rapidly begin to chatter their conjectures about likely perpetrators and their motives. Although she'd had drug problems in the past and sported Goth attire, to the consternation of the traditionally traditional of the village, her father, an ex-rocker who'd made enough money to live in comfortable, if reluctant, retirement, is adamant that she'd been clean in recent months. Enter coppers Blessing and Bliss from the neighboring town of Totnes, and they begin the conventional plodding murder investigation. Tom finds himself taking on an undercover role, partly because he was the first on scene, but mainly because his own painful experience with the police led him to doubt their competence. As he attempts to construct a timeline of everyone's activities just before the murder, Tom unearths long-hidden secrets and buried intrigues which only confirm that there are no secrets kept for long. By the time Tom unmasks the villain, the entire village has been scrutinized, and the reader can eagerly anticipate that this could happily be the first of many enjoyable ventures in the countryside with the good vicar. There are lots and lots of loose ends left dangling, intentionally I hope, and Tom's realization that it may well be time to break out of his widower's shell looks like a promising subject for exploration. RECOMMENDED.
FAMILY WAY
MICHAEL Z. LEWIN
Five Star December, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4328-2542-3
Nation Day is an annual event in the historic city of Bath, England, where the citizenry of one neighborhood secede and declare their independence with a humongous street party. In the thick of it is the Lunghi family, three generations mostly living together, who revel in their Italian heritage and participate in the family business - a detective agency. The day starts out with Angelo, son of the patriarch of the clan, visiting a new client while his sister, Rosetta, takes on a group of troublemaking teenage girls who are intent on breaking the rules of the street celebration. Actually, on this special day, each member of the family has their own adventures: one is involved in the discovery of a corpse; another has the start of a heart-throbbing romance; another gives chase to a burglar; one scuffles with and captures a drug-dealing creep. The interconnectivity of these exploits is cleverly and whimsically woven together within a brief time period, except for a short coda a few days later which ties up all loose ends. The dialogue amongst family members reads like the best of family sitcom scripts (with heavy Italian vernacular and malaprops galore) as do the familial relationships and the astonishingly realistically self-involved teens. This is a very entertaining and all-too-brief third entry into a series well worth the very short reading time. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
THE BONES UNDER THE BEACH HUT
SIMON BRETT
Five Star Mysteries November, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4328-2568-3
When Carol Seddon sublets a beach hut in the upscale Southern England community of Smalting, the last thing she expects to encounter is a murder. However, under the little hut in which she wants to entertain her granddaughter, human remains are found. Of course, Carole and her neighbor Jude feel compelled to do their own investigating, and they've got a wide cast of characters from which to choose. The original tenant of the hut, young Philly Rose, is overwrought and almost destitute, having been abandoned by her married boyfriend. His deserted wife is a gorgeous Gorgon, totally self-involved and visibly enraged at her spouse. Then there are the caretaker and security officer of the beach huts, a mismatched pair of creepy weirdos of whom one could easily believe any villainy. And, of course, the President of the Beach Hut Association is a pompous twit straight out of Dickens with a pitiful sycophant of a secretary. When at last the police manage to identify the bones, the amateur detectives must refocus their search, as old secrets have also been dug up. This is the twelfth in the Fethering series featuring an up-tight civil servant retiree and her New Age spacey neighbor, and Brett's attention to their characters, as with the rest of the ensemble, is always meticulous and usually caustic. The snobbisms of the local towns are on full display, and are worth many appreciative reader chuckles. The mystery is a little thin, but with Brett, getting there is more than half the fun. A splendid entry in this highly readable cozy series. RECOMMENDED.
THE CHALICE OF BLOOD
PETER TREMAYNE
Minotaur Books November, 2011
A locked-door murder in a 7th Century Irish abbey - just what Sister Fidelma needs to focus on so she can continue avoiding her at-home problems. The crime appears impossible - a death behind a door with the only key locked inside; a window too high and small for anyone to enter or leave; and no secret entries into the room. The victim, Brother Donnchad, was a devout and scholarly monk, recently returned from the Holy Land. His behavior had been strange, and he'd become so morose and distant that even his mother couldn't break through his silence. The local abbot wants Fidelma and her husband, Brother Eadulf, to investigate and identify the murderer, and the pair agrees to their own truce in order to work together and comply with the abbot's wishes. But even before they get to the crime scene they are attacked, saved by the quick actions of their bodyguard. Once they are safe in the abbey, they note that Abbot Iarnla is dominated by his steward, Brother Lugna, whose religious views appear increasingly and startlingly alien, out of step with the customarily tolerant and flexible Celtic Church. Their fellow religieux seem generally discontented but unwilling to voice their concerns, and even reconstructing the events leading up to the crime is slow-going and almost painful. But violence doesn't stop with one killing, and even Eadulf appears to be a target of some dark plot. The sleuths must exercise all of their skills to unravel the monastic goings-on, all the while trying to avoid their feelings about the apparent impending demise of their marriage. Hearing the duo air their differences in a painfully frank manner is realistic and long overdue, and the cliffhanger ending simply guarantees the reader yet another medieval Celtic adventure.
DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY
P. D. JAMES
Alfred A. Knopf December, 2011
The master mystery writer P. D. James provides a continuation of Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Darcy are happily wed and comfortably ensconced at their lavish estate, Pemberley. Plans for the annual ball, named in honor of Darcy's deceased mother, are well in hand when, the night before the event, the unthinkable happens! Young (and much-disgraced) Bennet sister Lydia arrives uninvited and hysterical. En route to the house, her husband Wickham has quarreled with his comrade-in-arms, Captain Denny, and now Denny is found dead in the forest, with Wickham drunk as a skunk and sobbing over the corpse and declaiming that he's killed his friend. He's carted back to Pemberley where the wheels of justice speedily turn and he's put on trial for murder, now proclaiming his innocence. Darcy's world is turned on its head - he knows that Wickham is a villain capable of treachery, lechery and dishonorable behavior. But is he capable of murder? He's a "brother" by marriage to Darcy, for whom the customary filial obligations are counterbalanced by Wickham's history of malfeasance; so what is truly required of Darcy in this complex scenario? James and Austen merged together - sounds like a match made in Heaven! Not so much. Missing is James' lyrical painterly skill to create mood and setting. And now Austen's biting wit is shrewish rather than shrewd. Most of Austen's characters become edgy with age, and only Elizabeth's supremely uninvolved father stays the course. Truthfully, they may be slightly more realistically portrayed in this pastiche, as time has a habit of accentuating the traits that existed in youth. But I felt that neither James nor Austen really benefited by this volume, and that's a letdown - and a surprise.
THE TEMPLAR MAGICIAN
P. C. DOHERTY
Minotaur Books November, 2011
Doherty's latest historical mystery is set in the Holy Land and England of the mid-12th Century. Templar Edmund de Payens and his comrade Philip Mayele are guarding Raymond, the Count of Tripoli, when assassins strike and murder their charge. The ensuing chaos and bloodshed is gruesome, and the pair gets caught up in the bloody political intrigue of the times. Although Jerusalem is, for the moment, under the control of the Crusaders, the Templar Order has evolved from a fighting arm of the Church to a wealthy power in their own right. The Grand Master orders the two Templars to investigate the brutal crime, and their quest for truth repeatedly puts them in the gravest danger until, finally, they are sent to England to trace the real villain to his lair. England itself is in the throes of civil war over the kingship, with the competing powers harshly decimating the countryside and population to win the crown. The Templar Order seems to be playing both ends against the middle, but watching carefully to maximize its power base. Filled with more violent deaths and subterfuge layered upon subterfuge, de Payens gradually awakens to the fact that he is being used as a pawn in the struggle. Doherty has replicated a setting of great color and detail, and the book often felt more like a display of historical detail and arcane knowledge than a well-plotted mystery. Much of the book is taken up with protracted descriptive passages, and the story line is relatively unconvincing. I somewhat enjoyed the color - but felt I was wading against the tide. Definitely different from Doherty's customary fast-paced historical romps.
FOREVER RUMPOLE: THE BEST OF THE RUMPOLE STORIES
JOHN MORTIMER
Viking November, 2011
Rumpole returns in a new collection of fifteen short stories and a fragment of a new and unfinished one. Horace Rumpole is the quintessential quirky barrister, practicing his own version of law in the English courts and tolerating no fools lightly, especially when they are the "old darlings" on the Bench dispensing disapproving comments aimed at him. Rumpole is a cigar-smoking sartorially slovenly slurper of cheap red wine, idiosyncratic in his ways and a confirmed iconoclast. (The unforgettable Rumpole TV series featured Leo McKern in the title role.) The members of his chamber work sometimes with but mostly around him in a critical fashion, and he is seemingly oblivious to their censure. His wife, Hilda, "She Who Must Be Obeyed", occasionally attempts to influence his ways, with no obvious signs of success. Yet their union is a solid one, and throughout these stories there are flashes of what might be taken for affection between them. Many of the tales feature the notorious London petty criminal families, the Molloys and the Timsons, whose lifestyles give Rumpole enough business to support his own. Their animosity outdoes the Hatfields and the McCoys, and Rumpole is all too well cognizant of their many hostilities and failings. Members of his Chambers also appear regularly in his stories, including the pompously inept Erskine-Jones, whose self-delusions and inadequacies are mockingly endured by Rumpole. This collection spans the many years of his career, and the plots are always interestingly convoluted and his philosophy wonderfully cynical yet heartfelt. Full of laughs and occasional moments of poignancy, these stories are all BLACK DIAMONDS.
HERALD OF DEATH
KATE KINGSBURY
Berkley Prime Crime Trade PBO 11/11
It's holiday season at the Pennyfoot Hotel and, as usual, the place is filled with the hustle and bustle of the impending season, complete with wonderful food, fabulous decorations and murder. Unusual, however, is the request from the local police constable that Cecily Baxter, owner of the hotel and successful amateur sleuth, help with finding the killer who has taken the lives of three victims. The copper is eager to make an arrest so that he and his wife can follow through with their holiday plans to go to London. Keen to be in on the hunt, Cecily obtains the reluctant concurrence of her stodgy but loving husband and ventures into the snowy outdoors to the nearby village to interview the surviving families and possible villains. But this case is quite different from her other ones, as none of the victims have any obvious connection with the others, and the deaths vary by method. Only the fact that the victims have a missing lock of hair and are decorated with a gold angel-shaped sticker links them together. True to form, Cecily carries on with her mission while the other denizens of the hotel prepare for the Christmas guests. Many familiar characters people the pages, including indomitable Gertie and her young twins, housemaid Pansy, who is completely smitten with stable manager Sam, vigilant Mrs. Chubb, who oversees the "downstairs" crew, and Clive, jack-of-all trades who's always there to fix the unfixable. The mostly lovable cast of supporting characters provide a welcome backdrop to the investigation, and help supply the details of England's Edwardian country lifestyle, which make this series so totally enjoyable. RECOMMENDED.