C. J. BOX – Nowhere to Run. Putnam, hardcover, April 2010. Paperback reprint: Berkley, April 2011.

Genre:   Licensed investigator. Leading character:  Joe Pickett; 10th in series. Setting:   Wyoming.

First Sentence:   Three hours after he’d broken camp, repacked, and pushed his horses higher into the mountain range, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett paused on the lip of a wide hollow basin and dug in his saddlebag for his notebook.

   Game Warden Joe Pickett is making the last pass before going home through the territory he has been covering for the past year. He’s following up on reports of vandalism and other hunter’s game butchered out. He doesn’t expect to run into twin brothers who resent being asked to follow the rules and nearly cost Joe his life.

   He also doesn’t expect the only reason he escapes is a woman who may have been an Olympic contender but disappeared. His determination to enforce the law and to possibly rescue the woman sends Joe, with his friend Nate, back into the mountains and an old-West showdown.

   Box writes books that are entertaining, exciting and occasionally touching. He also writes book that make you think about the bigger issues and does it in such a way that doesn’t preach or become didactic, but makes you weigh both sides of the question and make your own choice. That is a real talent.

   The character of Joe Pickett is one of an average man; very human, married, loves his family, loyal to his friends. He learns he is not invincible, but believes in his job even it’s dangerous and, perhaps, not smart… “It’s my job. I do my job.”

   Even his wife, Marybeth, acknowledges his job is who he is… “You do what you do because you’re hardwired for it. You get yourself into situations because you have a certain set of standards…”

   That relationship and those principles give Joe the structure that defines him. The interaction between Joe and the other characters is believable, and occasionally humorous.

   In this book, Box has given Joe two very challenging enemies; both in terms of surviving against them, but opposition of views on issues that are very timely. One thing, of which I am becoming very tired, is the overuse by authors of the ignorant, obstructive, jealous superior official. Yes, I know it all-too-often exists, but it has become rather cliché.

   The pacing is wonderful; it fluctuates between tension and rest. Box’s descriptions demonstrate his knowledge and love of Wyoming, and shares that with us by taking us along and letting us see what Joe sees, both in terms of its beauty and potential danger.

   The dialogue has a natural flow and refreshingly little profanity. This is a very good story. I became so involved, it was a one-sitting read for me and I am now anxious for the next book.

Rating:   Very Good.

        The Joe Pickett series —

1. Open Season (2001)

2. Savage Run (2002)
3. Winterkill (2003)
4. Trophy Hunt (2004)
5. Out of Range (2005)
6. In Plain Sight (2006)

7. Free Fire (2007)
8. Blood Trail (2008)

9. Below Zero (2009)
10. Nowhere to Run (2010)

S. J. BOLTON – Blood Harvest. Bantam Press, UK, hardcover/softcover, 2010. US edition: St. Martin’s Press, hardcover, 2010.

Genre:   Suspense. Leading characters:  Rev. Harry Laycock / Dr. Evi Oliver / ensemble; standalone (3rd book). Setting:   England.

First Sentence:   “She’s been watching us for a while now.”

   Reverend Harry Laycock has come to his new parish which includes Heptoncough in the Yorkshire Pennines. Here there is an old church, a very old church a village which still carries out the old traditions and where young girls have disappeared or died.

   One of the girls died in a house fire, but her mother, Gillian, never accepted her death and constantly roams the moors at night. Psychiatrist Evi Oliver is trying to help her put her life back together.

   Tom Fletcher and family have moved to the village having bought the only new house built in many years. It was built on the old Church’s land, next to the graveyard. They all learn that events of the past are still part of the present.

   Although I really liked Ms. Bolton’s first two books, this one knocked my socks off. Everything about it was so well done, it’s hard to know where to start.

   Even from the page before the prologue, I was captivated. I am not a particular fan of prologues, but this one really worked. I was introduced to a number of the significant characters who immediately jumped off the page and made me want to know more about them.

   I am also not usually a fan of ensemble casts. Again, this worked. Although Harry, the antithesis of a stuffy vicar and for whom I would have provided a different surname, and Evi, the physically impaired, intelligent and independent psychiatrist, are the pivotal characters, all characters were alive and their interactions realistic.

   Dialogue is such an important element of a story. Ms. Bolton has a skill with dialogue that echoes in cadence the speech of the characters. As well as establishing a strong sense of place, she incorporates the history and traditions of the area.

   Combined with all these ingredients, what caused me to read this 421 page book in eight straight hours was the author’s voice and the plot. The first half of the book is an amazingly skillful balance of humor… “I haven’t had this much success with a woman since I got drunk at my cousin’s wedding and threw up over the maid of honour.” … and underlying, delightfully creepy menace.

   There is a real sense of “things that go bump in the night” which made me happy I was reading the book during the day.

   The second half of the book moved to police and forensic investigation, and a race-against-time fear, while the climax was filled with an increasingly ratcheted tension and surprises right up to the very end.

   One observation is that Ms. Bolton does have a penchant for her female protagonists to be somehow physically impaired. While the overcoming of the particular impairment shows the character’s strength and resolve, it can also become formulaic or even cliché over time.

   However, as this is a general observation and not a criticism of this particular book, it does not impact my rating at all. In this case, it greatly added to the suspense. This really was an exceptional, “wow” book and one I shan’t soon forget. I cannot wait for Ms. Bolton’s next book

Rating:   Excellent.

      Novels by S(HARON) J. BOLTON —

1. Sacrifice (2008)

2. Awakening (2009)
3. Blood Harvest (2010)

E. LOUISE CUSHING – Murder Without Regret. Arcadia House, hardcover, 1954.

   During a party after the reading of a will, one of the guests presumably commits suicide. Barbara Hillier finds the corpse and aids Inspector MacKay of the Montreal police in the investigation of an undoubted murder later.

   Striving as always to say something good about any novel, I can report that this one has very large type and a great deal of space between the lines. Thus, it’s only about a 30-minute waste of time.

    Bibliographic Data:   [Taken from the Revised Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin.]

CUSHING, E. LOUISE. Pseudonym of Mabel Louise Dawson. Inspector Richard MacKay appears in all four books below.

       Murder’s No Picnic (n.) Arcadia House, 1953.
       Murder Without Regret (n.) Arcadia House, 1954.
       Blood on My Rug (n.) Arcadia House, 1956.
       The Unexpected Corpse (n.) Arcadia House, 1957.

LEA WAIT – Shadows at the Fair. Pocket, paperback reprint; 1st printing, July 2003. Hardcover edition: Scribner, July 2002.

   Since Lea Wait herself is a long-time antique dealer, one specializing in prints, it comes as little surprise that Maggie Summer, her detective heroine in this, the first in a series, is one also. An antique dealer, that is, specializing in prints.

   And that’s the part of the story that’s the most fun to read, even though most of Maggie’s discussion of her stock in trade and other shop talk with her customers is quite irrelevant to the mystery — the death of another dealer who’d set up at same Rensselaer Antique Show as Maggie.

   In fact, both customers and dealers are beautifully portrayed in all of their foibles and eccentricities, of which (from my own personal experience) customers and dealers have many. To put it mildly. Also right on in terms of characterization is Ben, the mildly retarded nephew assisting one of Maggie’s friends, who’s also set up at the show.

   Which brings me to the part I didn’t care for so very much. Ben is accused of the murder — which allows the show to go on, with (as the police say) the killer caught. A fatal flaw for many a cozy: there’s far too much laughing and joking and kidding around when murder’s been done — with poor Ben sitting there alone in the lockup.

   I was also ready to add another source of dissatisfaction, that of predictability, but I have to tell you that while the first two-thirds of the murder investigation falls into that particular category, I did not see the ending coming. My socks are still on, but it opened my eyes a little wider.

   And so. With all of the pluses and minuses added in, subtracted off and weighed up against each other, the bottom line? An average sort of mystery, but with a nudge or two in the right direction, one that could have been improved upon immensely. There’s promise here, but apart from the antique dealer background, the rest is fairly uneven, at best.

     The Maggie Summers “Antique Print Mysteries” series —

Shadows At the Fair (2002)
Shadows On the Coast of Maine (2003)
Shadows On the Ivy (2004)

Shadows At the Spring Show (2005)

SUSANNE ALLEYN – A Treasury of Regrets. St.Martin’s Press, hardcover, April 2007.

Genre:   Historical mystery. Leading character:  Aristide Ravel; 4th in series; 2nd published (see below). Setting:   France, 1797.

First Sentence:  Since the twenty-fourth of Frimaire, Aristide Ravel had dreamed at least a dozen times of the guillotine.

   It begins with the poisoning death of Martin Dupont, the controlling head of a large household. A servant girl, Jeannette Moineau, is arrested. A member of the house, Laurence, asks the police for help as she does not believe the girl is guilty.

   Police investigator Aristide Ravel agrees to work with her, also discovering there is another link between them from the past. As others die, Ravel continues to search for motive believing if he finds the motive, he’ll find the killer.

   Ms. Alleyn does know how to bring post-Revolution Paris alive. Best of all, we come to know the period from the characters; their memories, the awkwardness in speech tying to confirm to the new forms of address, the new calendar and the challenges living day-to-day. It is enough past the Revolution that there is not the high level of fear, but recent enough that you sense people’s uncertainty.

   Aristide is a complex and interesting character, but although his back story was provided, he never really came to life. In spite of the personal connection between him and Laurence, I sensed no chemistry or emotional connection. Even at the end, rather than being left with a sense of curiosity, I found I didn’t particularly need to know what happens. For the other characters, perhaps because there were so many of them, none of them were well developed.

   The story has a very powerful opening. Fascinating information is provided on the different figures involved in the Revolution, and the impact on the monetary structure. The plot, however, was very slow until about half-way through. As we progressed, I felt there was a rather too convenient twist and huge leaps in logic made to bring us to the proper conclusions.

   In spite of the positive elements, and there were some, I did not find this book as engrossing as the previous books in the series. Had this been the first book I’d read of this series, I might not read another.

   Fortunately, I have read the other two books published so far, and I loved them. I have great hopes that the next book will restore my faith in this author.

Rating:   Okay.

       The Aristide Ravel series:

1. Game of Patience (2006)    [Book Three; 1796]

2. A Treasury of Regrets (2007)    [Book Four; 1797]
3. The Cavalier of the Apocalypse (2009)    [Book One; 1786]
4. Palace of Justice (2010)    [Book Two; 1793]

LUIZ ALFREDO GARCIA-ROZA – The Silence of the Rain. Picador, trade paperback reprint, July 2003. Hardcover edition: Henry Holt & Co., July 2002.

   This moody sort of detective novel was first published in Brazil and translated from the Portuguese, and to start matters off in the right direction right from the beginning, I highly recommend it to you.

   It begins in a mildly light-hearted fashion, as a mix-up over a wealthy executive’s suicide in a parking garage leads Inspector Espinosa of Rio de Janeiro’s First Precinct into handling the case as though it were a murder.

   (Not unlike Columbo of TV fame here in this country, we are privy to certain events that Espinosa is not, and even by the end of the case he is still running through endless speculations as to what actually happened.)

   The mood becomes gradually edgier, though, until page 121, which is where the reader is confronted with the realization, rather forcibly, that this is no cozy, and never was. Reading mysteries taking place in other countries also makes you realize that the rules are often totally different. Here’s a quote from page 161:

   And from page 238:

   Espinosa is, the dead man’s widow decides, a rare bird, a cultivated policeman. He is attracted to her. She is so wealthy she does not seem to notice. Espinosa is a reader of Dickens and Thomas De Quincey, is afflicted by loneliness and self-doubts, and he is also better than decent as a reader of character.

   Complicating matters is the million-dollar life insurance policy the dead man had recently taken out, followed by the disappearance of his secretary Rose.

   Besides an almost other-worldly atmosphere and surroundings, there are enough twists and turns of the ensuing plot to keep any detective story buff more than satisfied, even with the aforementioned Colombo-like prologue.

   There is also an ending I know I’ve never read before — I couldn’t possibly have forgotten a scene like this, and if you read the book, as I’m strongly suggesting, you won’t either.

   And yes, the telling of tale does switch back and forth between first person and third. Just in case you were wondering!

       The Inspector Espinosa series —

1. The Silence of the Rain (2002)
2. December Heat (2003)

3. Southwesterly Wind (2004)
4. A Window in Copacabana (2005)

5. Pursuit (2006)
6. Blackout (2008)
7. Alone in the Crowd (2009)

JOSEPH L. BONNEY – Murder Without Clues. Carrick & Evans, hardcover, 1940. Digest-sized paperback: Green Dragon #16, 1940s, condensed.

   An amateur pugilist who plays the violin, dabbles in chemistry, smokes pipes when he’s pondering, deduces expertly, investigates crime, and has a roommate named Watson.

   Yes, as you surmised, I am alluding to Simon Rolfe, who regards Sherlock Holmes as an “incompetent bungler.” There are differences, of course; Rolfe reads mostly, perhaps only, of the works of Montaigne.

   While he criticizes some of Holmes’s deductions, Rolfe himself occasionally falls short in exercising that talent. For instance, Watson tells Rolfe that he does a lot of typewriting and moons about when he’s trying to straighten out a plot sequence or characterization. Rolfe responds: “You’re a writer, then?”

   In this novel, either the first or the second of two featuring Rolfe — I’d deduce the first, since he meets Watson in this one — the police are baffled by a locked room stabbing at the home of a former vaudeville memory champion.

   Not only was the room locked, with untracked snow outside the windows, but all the inhabitants of the house have alibis, including the man the stabbed woman accuses of the murder just before she dies. The weapon, which could not have been removed from the house, cannot be found.

   An interesting detective, appearing in not a lost gem of the literature necessarily, but nonetheless a good read.

    Bibliographic Data:   [Taken from the Revised Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin.]

BONNEY, JOSEPH L. (1908?-1989?)

       Murder Without Clues (n.) Carrick 1940 [Simon Rolfe]
       Death by Dynamite (n.) Carrick 1940 [Simon Rolfe]

       Look to the Lady! (n.) Lippincott 1947

MARTIN WALKER – The Dark Vineyard. Quercus, UK, hardcover, 2009. Knopf, US, hardcover, July 2010.

Genre:   Traditional mystery/police procedural. Leading character:  Captain Bruno Courrèges; 2nd in series. Setting:   St. Denis, France.

First Sentence:   The distant howl of the siren atop the Marie broke the stillness of the French summer night.

The alarm on the top of the Mairie (city hall) of St. Denis calls Police Chief Bruno Courrèges and the volunteer squad out to a fire of a field and large barn.

Upon investigation, Bruno learns the fire was arson and the property being used to develop GMO (genetically modified organisms) crops; specifically, drought-resistant grape vines.

The Californians are coming, wanting to buy a large part of the valley, which would bring jobs and produce varietal wines. Someone wants to stop it through vandalism and maybe murder.

More and more, I look for good mysteries that rely on the mystery and on well-drawn characters rather than overt violence. This is just such a mystery.

Walker brings the Pergord area, the fictional town of St. Denis, and the people to life with descriptions so evocative, you’re inclined to pack a bag. Walker’s inclusion of information on GMOs, the impact of climate change on the wine industry, the cost of land, and more enhances the story, without ever bogging it down. Discover exceptional wines by exploring the wide range available on sites like qkawine.com.

Bruno is one of the best protagonists I’ve read in awhile. He knows and cares the people and about whom Walker causes you to care as well. Bruno is savvy to what works with them, solution-oriented, his military training stands him well and he loves his community.

What I most appreciate is his good working relationship with his counterparts and superiors. The plot is well constructed. Walker does use a number of French terms; most I understood through the plot and only a couple did I have to look up, but it added veracity to the story.

This is not a fast-paced, guns-blazing, cars-racing story. It is one which builds upon itself through characters with a subtle tension as the story progresses.

I did identify the villain, but not until three quarters of the way through the story, at which point I felt it was somewhat deliberate, but I didn’t guess the motive until it was revealed.

Once I started this book, I found impossible to put down. This was a very good read and one I highly recommend.

Rating:   Very Good.

The Bruno Courrèges series —

1. Bruno, Chief of Police (2008)

2. The Dark Vineyard (2009)
3. Black Diamond (July 2010)

JAMES HILTON – Was It Murder?   Paperback reprint: Bantam #29, 1946. Hardcover edition: Harper & Brothers, US, 1933. Other reprints include: Dover, trade paperback, 1979; Perennial Library, pb, 1980. First published as Murder at School, by Glen Trevor: Benn, UK, hardcover, 1931.

   James Hilton’s only mystery is set in a boys’ school in England. It is interesting to compare it with Nicholas Blake’s mystery A Question of Proof, which has the same sort of setting. Both Hilton and C. Day Lewis, Blake’s real name wrote other kinds of literature and gained their primary reputation that way.

   Blake, in his first detective story, gives us the picture of an entire school and its operations, while Hilton prefers to concentrate on one segment. Hilton shows us just a corner of the physical domain: the headmaster’s house, the home of one of the married masters, a dormitory, and glimpses of the chapel and the Circle, a path around the perimeter of the school.

   His amateur detective, Colin Revel, is an “old boy” of Oakington, so it is not hard to find an excuse for his presence before there is widespread suspicion of murder.

   Blake’s detective is called in by a master under suspicion after murder has very obviously been done. Yet both fit well into the schools, get along with masters and boys, and don’t seem out of place.

   Revell is called in by the headmaster, Dr. Robert Roseveare when one of the younger boys is killed, apparently by acc1dent. Roseveare seems nervous, but as the investigation goes on and the accident seems to be precisely that, he is quite anxious to have Revell leave.

   Then a second boy dies, a brother of the first, in another ‘accident.’ Revell hastens back; the police are called in by the boys guardian, and evidence is found that this time it is murder.

   Suspicion naturally falls on the master, who inherits all the boys’ wealth. But there is no evidence. And there is a deathbed confession, and the police leave. But Revell is not satisfied and stays on.

   The cast of characters is small; suspicion never goes far from the one person. There is less a hunt for evidence than a delving into the high emotions of the people: love, jealousy, greed, fear, pride.

   Sophisticated readers of the 70s may guess the surprise solution before the end, but the writer keeps up the drama and the suspense; we can’t be sure. And when the final revelations come, they draw together all the skeins, and one puts down the book with a sigh of satisfaction.

Bibliographical Note:   It is not quite true, perhaps, that this book was Hilton’s only mystery, as there are three others listed under his name in the Revised Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin. Two are included only marginally, however, and the third may be a crime story without being a mystery, per se. For completeness, though, here’s the complete list:

  HILTON, JAMES. 1900-1954.

       -Rage in Heaven (n.) King 1932
       Knight Without Armour (n.) Benn 1933
       Was It Murder? (n.) Harper 1933.   See: Murder at School (Benn 1931), as by Glen Trevor.
       -We Are Not Alone (n.) Macmillan 1937

SHIRLEY TALLMAN – Scandal on Rincon Hill. St. Martin’s Press, hardcover, March 2010.

Genre:   Historical mystery. Leading character:  Sarah Woolson; 4th in series. Setting:   San Francisco, 1881.

First Sentence:   The nightmare began early on the morning of Sunday, December 4.

   Sarah Woolson is only the third female attorney to be licensed in California and is struggling to get her private practice off the ground.

   A brutal murder occurs on Rincon Hill, near her home, followed shortly by a second murder. Neither victim had been robbed. Both had attended the same party. Two young, very recently immigrated Chinese men are arrested, Sarah’s former client, powerful tong leader Li Ying, hires her to prove their innocence.

   At the same time, Sarah is hired by beautiful young woman. She had a written contract with a morality-touting publisher to be his private mistress. When she became pregnant, within that time, he cut off all support. Now, she wants Sarah to sue him.

   Ms. Tallman skillfully takes the reader back to 1881, pre-earthquake San Francisco. She creates a solid sense of the places, styles and attitudes of the time. She particularly illustrates the bigotry against the Chinese.

   Living in the Bay Area, it is particularly fun for me to read about locations I know and her descriptions of food are delectable. I do wonder, however, whether those who don’t know San Francisco might feel a bit lost and wished a map or photos had been included.

   The dialogue, which reflects the syntax of the period, adds to the sense of time and provides an indication of each characters social status. For those who’ve not read prior books, enough background is given so that one understands the characters and their relationships.

   Sarah Woolson is a wonderful character. She is independent and has a good logical mind, as well as a sense of humor. I particularly like the relationships with men that Tallman has created as they are natural and realistic.

   The story is well thought out and well plotted. Because it is built layer upon layer, it did seem to slow down a bit in the middle, but that doesn’t last long. Some may feel the resolution seems convenient, but to me it seemed logical and appropriate.

   While I don’t feel this is the strongest book in the series, I did enjoy it and am looking forward to the next book.

Rating:   Good Plus.

       The Sarah Woolson mystery series —

1. Murder on Nob Hill (2004)

2. The Russian Hill Murders (2005)
3. The Cliff House Strangler (2007)
4. Scandal on Rincon Hill (2010)