Auntiemwrites Crime-Mystery Author M K Graff

Merry Christmas! And to celebrate, here’s a gift for you, a great read from Elly Griffiths:

Elly Griffiths’ Brighton series takes a leap eleven years after The Vanishing Box to 1964 in New You See Them. The swinging 60s bring readers into time of mods, rockers, and a changing culture.

An awful lot has changed in the intervening years. Edgar Stephens is now the police Superintendent, married to Emma Holmes, with three young children. His former sergeant finds being sidelined after marriage an uncomfortable place to be, even though she loves her children and husband.

Edgar’s Army pal, magician Max Mephisto, has gone Hollywood, marrying a star, with two young children of his own, after starring in a movie. His talented daughter, Ruby, took television by storm, and stars in her own British series.

They reunite in Brighton for the funeral of their mutual old friend when Edgar’s new case puts out fingers that have them all involved. A young girl from the tony girl’s school, Roedean, has gone missing. Has she really left to go to London, as evidenced by the note she left behind?

Then the connection is made between two other missing woman, all who left notes behind, and some of the Roedean girl’s clothing is found in a most unexpected place.

Exploring the dark side of Brighton in this strange new world, with change all around them, soon has each main character questioning her or her choices, as the race heats up to find the missing young women.

The period details and Griffiths’s wit add to the crackling mystery. Here she brings out Emma Holmes’ character: “Reading Film Frolics was one of Emma’s weaknesses; her photographic memory was one of her strengths.”

A highly delightful read with deeper layers to the characters than at first glance. @ellygriffiths

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Stuart Neville’s 5th and 6th Belfast novels center around DCI Serena Flanagan. In Those We Left Behind, Flanagan flashes back to an old case years earlier, a bloody massacre that left a foster father dead and the younger of two brothers the family had taken in confessing to the killing.

Now this younger brother, Ciaran Devine, is out of prison, and back in her radar. With his older brother, Thomas, out for a year already and working in a kitchen, Flanagan knows the brothers have kept a secret for all of their time in prison.

There’s an almost unnatural attachment between the brothers, one that leads to renewed violence. Ciaran’s probation officer is a young woman with good instincts, and she brings her fears to Flanagan’s attention, just as a series of brutal attacks start.

How culpable is Ciaran? Who is committing these crimes and can they be traced to the brothers? It’s a tough situation, especially when these brothers cost Flanagan time away from her own family and impact her strained marriage.

When the fear enters her own home, Flanagan will do anything to protect those she loves. Compelling and creepy.

In So Say The Fallen, Flanagan is trying to salvage her marriage and her family when she’s called to the site of an apparent suicide. The loss of his legs and extensive burns suffered in a traffic accident have left Harry Carrick, owner of a car dealership empire, at the mercy and care of his wife. It’s not a surprise when he decides to take an overdose of his pain medicine.

But two things are at odds to Flanagan: the man’s apparent strong faith, and the family photos arranged on his night stand that are turned away from his view. It’s enough for her to question his widow, Roberta, already suffering the loss of the couple’s only child a few year’s earlier in a tragic drowning accident. Not everyone appreciates Flanagan’s viewpoint.

Roberta’s stalwart friend and defender is the Reverend McKay, a man who’s own faith has been under examination. With Flanagan’s suspicions aroused, she decides to pursue an investigation to assure that Harry Carrick really did take his own life. Her tenacity is one of her strongest characteristics, as is her determination to get to the truth.

A spooling out of the plot leads to a climax with a depth of betrayal by one of the characters that leads Flanagan to question everything she understands about relationships.

Both books are well-plotted and smack of the weary realism of real investigative work, while expounding the life force such a job takes, and how it impacts the detective’s family. These are terrific police procedurals that will please any reader. Neville gets inside his character’s heads with a mix of deep chill and at times great compassion. Highly recommended.

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It’s been a year since the events of the last Inspector Logan McRae novel, and the detective is back at work hoping for a simple case. Assigned to Professional Standards should be an easy assignment, but nothing is ever easy for Logan.

He’s sent to follow-up and then to monitor DI King, after a reporter has sent copy he intends to publish, indicating King was once in a Scottish National terror group.

The bad press alone would be bad enough, but King has just been assigned to the disappearance of a professor known for his Scottish anti-independence stance. Nicholas Wilson isn’t at home, but the amount of blood left behind in his kitchen indicates a severe injury if not murder.

Logan will find himself seconded to the inquiry and the usual suspects become involved, from the eccentric DI Steel to his old friend Tufty. Infighting within the police appears rampant, too, with officers on both sides of the equation.

Using the political heat of the times, MacBride offers a complex and dark plot relieved by the lightness of some of his characters. Logan is the voice of reason, the sane one in the pack.

Readers familiar with the series and those new to it will find themselves swiftly submerged in the story and all of its tendrils. MacBride just keeps getting stronger with each novel. Highly recommended.

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