Jane Casey: Let the Dead Speak Wednesday, Aug 30 2017 

complex mystery and Continued series winner and great read and mystery to die for Auntie M Writes Crime 12:21 am

Jane Casey’s newest Maeve Kerrigan mystery, Let the Dead Speak, brings the homicide detective her strangest case yet.

Maeve is saddled with a new detective constable who rubs her wrong, whilst trying to navigate things between the DC and her unpredictable DI, Josh Derwent, and as always, trying to appease her prickly DCI, Una Burt. On a quiet residential street in Putney, a horrific crime scene–blood splatters walls and stairs and is dotted on the ceiling–is missing one key component: the victim.

Chloe Emery is the 18-yr-old daughter of the owner, Kate Emery, who hasn’t been seen in a few days. With Chloe off visitng her father and his new family, she’s returned early from this visit to find the grissly scene.

Chloe is bundled off to a friend’s house to stay. Chloe staunchly refuses to return to her father’s house, with stories of abuse at the hands of her stepbrother.The religious Norris family act suspiciously to Maeve, but Chloe is being taken care of by them and her friend, Bethany.

In the neighborhood lives a charismatic youth, who is believed to have gotten away with stabbing a schoolfriend, and attracts and befriends both of the girls. There is the cleric of the Norris’ church, who sets off warning bells in Maeve’s intuition, too.

It’s a complicated situation as Maeve and her team investigate Kate Emory’s life. It’s obvious that people are lying to them, but who and why? The complex plot unspools gradually through dedicated police work and Maeve’s keen insights. And always, she is trying to balance juggling Derwent who remains exasperating and yet Maeve’s biggest supporter knows her all too well.

Auntie M is a huge fan of this character-driven series, with just the right amount of eccentricity mixing with reality. Casey has done a grand job of giving readers a story they will have to figure out as she does–there’s plenty of twists and surprises. The strong development of the players will leave readers flipping pages as the suspense builds to the surprising ending. Highly recommended.

 

Bruce Coffin: Beneath the Depths Sunday, Aug 27 2017 

complex mystery and Continued series winner and great read and mystery to die for Auntie M Writes Crime 12:52 am

Beneath the Depths is Bruce Coffin’s sequel to Among the Shadows, his debut featuring Portland detective John Byron, and it’s a solid sophmore offering.

Juggling his sobriety along with his romance with Detective Diane Joyner that must be kept hidden, Byron doesn’t hide his feelings when a lawyer he dislikes is found dead by a lobsterman in a stretch called Floater Alley. A possible suicide or accidental drowning is ruled out once a slug is removed from the victim’s head.

Paul Ramsey’s recent loss of a huge case is one point that interests Bryon, but there soon seem to be no shortage of suspects in the growing list of people who would want the obnoxious lawyer dead. This is a man whose vanity plate reads: I WIN.

There are past clients, a drug connections, mistresses and a grieving widow, and that’s just the start. Complicating their investigation is a reporter who seems to have inside information on the case. And it doesn’t help when Diane is offered a position that might solve their problem with keeping their relationshop under the table but keeps the offer to herself.

With the Portland PD having its own issues, Byron is often caught between a rock and a hard place, which intensifies when the Chief makes it clear that Ramsey’s law office makes huge donations to his pet projects.

Coffin draws on his own experience and knowledge as a former homicide detective to make this a solid police procedural. The Portland setting is well drawn and provides a strong backdrop to the action. This is a great read with a tight plot and believeable characters.

 

Jorn Lier Horst: Ordeal Thursday, Aug 24 2017 

Award winning novelist and complex mystery and Continued series winner and great read and mystery to die for Auntie M Writes Crime 12:11 am


Chief Inspector William Wisting heads this solid Norwegian police procedural, one of a series being translated into English. Ordeal begins with a thoughtful two-page summary of Wisting’s life up to this stage, as this book is fifth in a series of ten.

Once a senior investigating officer himself, Horst gets those details just right, but it’s the interplay of the man’s detective nose with his sensibilities and his own emotions that make this a great read.

Wisting’s daughter, Line, has moved near him to await the birth of the child that will make him a grandfather and his daughter a single mother. She becomes friends with a young mother nearby, living in an inherited house with her little girl.

It’s a good fit for the two women, one pregnant and the other alone and new to the area. The house Sofie Lund has inherited belonged to her grandfather, a man who thwarted police efforts to tie him to several criminal activities.

There is also a missing mand, a taxi driver, whose case appears to have grown cold with leads. Then a locked safe in the basement of her grandfather’s house reveals secrets that put everyone connected in danger.

It’s a dance Wisting must make with his bosses as he fights the bureaucracy and the media while trying to protect his daughter.

Horst writes fully realized characters and well-plotted book that doesn’t race along but rather meanders in a totally realistic way as most police investigations do. Readers will be looking for the next translation to appear, even as the series is developed for Danish television.

 

J. D. Tafford: Little Boy Lost Wednesday, Aug 23 2017 

Award winning novelist and complex mystery and great read and mystery to die for and Uncategorized Auntie M Writes Crime 12:29 am

J. D. Tafford departs from his Michael Collins series to introduce Justin Glass, a mixed-race lawyer trying to get out from the depression that has plagues him since his young wife’s death. Raising his daughter alone, he’s also under the shadow of his political family. His black senator father, a civil rights proponet, and state congressman brother are pressuring him to run for office. His law practice suffered greatly after his wife’s death, and Justin is squeaking by as a public defender, while he and his daughter live in the carriage house of his white mother’s family home with her judge father.

Into his sweltering St. Louise office on a hot summer day comes an 8 yr-old girl with a jar full of change. Tanisha Walker wants to hire him to find her missing brother. With racial tensions high in the area between the African-American and the mostly white police department, Glass reluctantly takes her case and soon finds himself on the receiving end of police mistreatment. It’s a rude awakening, but doesn’t prepare him for when the brother’s body is found buried in the woods, along with over a dozen other teens.

Soon Justin finds many missing teens’ families lined up outside his offic asking for help for locating the “Lost Boys,” the media’s name for the missing boys. The common thread at first is that all had been troubled youths. As he juggles issues with his daughter at school and tries to make decisions about his future, he hires an assistant who smartens his office and gets him organized. And then his searching turns up another commonality that will leave Justin in jeopardy, and all bets are off.

Tafford covers topical issues without over-preaching. His own legal background makes the court system echo with reality. St. Louis simmers in the hot summer and readers will feel they are immersed in the city and in a great mystery.

 

Linda Castillo: Down a Dark Road Monday, Aug 21 2017 

complex mystery and Continued series winner and great read and mystery to die for Auntie M Writes Crime 12:22 am


The character of former Amish Ohio Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is one who consistently garners attention. Linda Castillo brings Kate back in Down a Dark Road, where Kate’s point of view allows readers an inside glimpse to her mind and the heavy burdens she carries.

Kate is trying to catch a convicted murderer, a fallen Amish man with a drug problem who killed his wife and was to serve a life sentence. But Joseph King has escaped and is headed to Painters Mill.

King reaches his children and takes them hostage, but at least one person believes he is not violent and never killed his wife. And Kate’s feelings are torn, because growing up, she and Joseph were the best of friends.

There is a tense standoff and Joseph agrees to let Kate go to prove his innocence. A sudden turn of events dramatically change the situation, but not Kate’s determination to find the truth.

A tense and tight mystery that belies its idyllic setting

 

John Burley: The Quiet Child Sunday, Aug 20 2017 

complex mystery and great read and mystery to die for Auntie M Writes Crime 12:22 am

Readers will think they know what’s happening in John Burley’s thriller, The Quiet Child–but they are most likely to be wrong.

It’s a distubing story of the McCray family in small-town California of 1954. Already hanging on by a thread, teacher Michael McCray is struggling to handle his wife’s illness. The vibrant woman he loves has been struck by ALS, a ‘new’ disease with not a lot known about it at this time.

Danny, who doens’t speak, and his older brother, Sean, are both affected by the changes in their lives.Their situation is worsened by town gossip that Danny’s inability to speak is somehow responsible for illnesses in the town, even his own mother’s.

The two accompany their dad to pick up ice cream at the local grocery. Michael leaves Danny in the back seat of the car when the unthinkable happens: a man comes out of nowhere and tries to enter the car. Sean sees what’s happening and tries to stop the man and ends up being kidnapped, too, as the car roars off.

Sheriff Jim Kent has seen the situation before the kidnapping and worried someone in town would take drastic measures against Danny. Now he’s invovled with the two lead detectives in tryiing to find the boys.

It’s a horrendous situation all around with both boys missing. Everyone is suspicious of the parents, who are devastated. It will be difficult to discuss more of the plot without giving too much away. Suffice it to say that the ending is not what anyone is expecting on many levels.

With attention to little details that bring the setting into sharp relief, Burley’s latest is a haunting tale.

 

Patricia Hale: The Church of the Holy Child Tuesday, Aug 15 2017 

complex mystery and Continued series winner and great read and mystery to die for Auntie M Writes Crime 12:29 am

Please welcome author Patricia Hale, to introduce her newest release, The Church of the Holy Child:

Vicarious Vacations

Get up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to sleep, repeat. Our days become mundane, repetitive, Groundhog Day. We all feel this sense of stagnancy at one time or another. So what do we do? We take a vacation. Nothing a sandy beach can’t fix. But if a trip isn’t in the budget, we might pick up a book because another person’s life is always more interesting than our own.

So . . .the job of a writer, besides a great plot, is to create a character that one can go on vacation with or follow anywhere. When a reader relates to a character’s fears, morals (or lack of), flaws or secrets, a connection is established. The pages turn because the reader is invested in the character and has to stay with them as they step into the darkened basement, the foreboding forest or the doomed space mission, because they can’t not go. It is our duty as writers to give the reader a vacation, to provide change, challenge and bitten finger nails, all within the comfort of a recliner. If we don’t, there’s no turquoise water, no sandy beach.

And so, when each day runs into the next and life feels stagnant, pick up a book and find a character you relate to. Take a vacation and get the bad guy, pull off a heist or fall in love. Be a detective, a PI, or even the villain–wherever your connection lies.

In my new release, The Church of the Holy Child, rookie, PI Britt Callahan chases down a serial killer who is targeting women’s shelters. Despite her fear, insecurity and guilt, Britt’s determined to protect these women and prove her self.

Sound like a vacation you want to take?

Patricia Hale received her MFA degree from Goddard College. Her essays have appeared in literary magazines and the anthology, My Heart’s First Steps. Her debut novel, In the Shadow of Revenge, was published in 2013. The Church of the Holy Child is the first book in her PI series featuring the team of Griff Cole and Britt Callahan. Patricia is a member of Sister’s in Crime, Mystery Writer’s of America, NH Writer’s Project and Maine Writer’s and Publisher’s Alliance. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and two dogs.
Website: http://www.patriciahale.org/

 

Stephen Leather: Light Touch Sunday, Aug 13 2017 

Award winning novelist and complex mystery and Continued series winner and great read and Uncategorized Auntie M Writes Crime 12:23 am

The prolific Stephen Leather had two books out last week: the paperback version of Takedown, his stand-alone, and the newest Spider Shepherd thriller.

In Takedown, Charlotte Button, ex-MI-5, has been seen before in Leather’s series, and is now tasked with taking out a rogue Special Forces soldier. He’s already hatched one deadly plot. What she needs to do if figure out his next plan and stop him before he can act.

She has help in the form of Lex Harper, who assembles a team who are capable of stopping the rogue soldier before the massive attack they fear he’s planned. Readers of the Shepherd series will know Lex, and here they’ll see another side to him.

Having these two previously seen characters in their own book brings a fresh look to this kind of adventure-filled thriller.

While this is whirling, Charlotte finds that two of three flash drives, hidden in secret places, have been stolen. Containing information on dirty government operations from the past, their loss means her life is on the line if they can get to the third. Who is after her and why?

And while you’re investigating this one in case you missed it when it first came out, Light Touch brings Dan “Spider” Shepherd back with a tough case that is topical and swiftly paced.

MI5 send Spider in when one of their undercover operatives stops giving them information on a drug lord with international smuggling on his resume. Spider needs to find out if Lucy Kemp has shifted to the dark side in her dealings with Marcus Meyer.

It’s an intriguing and delicate situation, made all the more difficult when he finds an SAS assassin is planing revenge killings for his sister’s overdose. Only Spider can find and stop Matt STanding and conviince him there’s another way to deal with all of this–Spider’s way.

With a theme built around trust, this is a filled with action and twists, with little rest on the horizon.

Leather’s skills in action have been noted by the cinema world, too.

Two of Leather’s novels have been adapted for film: The Chinaman, one of Leather’s Mike Cramer series, has been made into the movie THE FOREIGNER which opens this fall starring Pierce Brosnan and Jackie Chan. TANGO ONE has been made with Vincent Regan and Sophie Colquhoun, directed by Ssacha Bennett, and is awaiting a release date.

 

Wendy Walker: Emma in the Night Friday, Aug 11 2017 

complex mystery and great read and mystery to die for Auntie M Writes Crime 12:50 am

Wendy Walker had a real hit with last year’s All is Not Forgotten. She returns with her newest psychological thriller, Emma in the Night, proving once again she has taken her time to explore the depths of a psychological situation that makes her work eerily real.

The story revolves around the Tanner sisters, who disappeared three years ago. Cass was 15 and her older sister, Emma, 17 on the night they didn’t come home.

Now Cass has reappeared without Emma, and with a story about where the girls have been that includes kidnapping and being held on a remote island in Maine.

Helping the FBI investigation is the forensic psychologist who was on the case originally when the girls disappeared, Dr. Abby Winter. Told in alternating viewpoints from Abby and Cass, the story unfolds in a dynamic that will grip readers.

Exploring their mother’s narcissistic personality feel familiar to Abby, whose own mother was a narcissist. The impact on Abby and her sister is one she is still feeling; indeed, her doctoral thesis was written on the disorder. She’s acutely aware of the dynamics within a family with a narcissistic parent and will use this to her advantage.

As Cass’s story is told and points are checked out and verified, it certainly seems that she’s telling the truth. Then why does her mother want to paint her as crazy? And why is Abby certain that there is more to that night than Cass is revealing?

This is one of those stories that readers will gobble up as the pages fly by. At the surprising end, there is still another twist in this terrific thriller that teaches you more than you ever wanted to know about narcissism. Be prepared to start evaluating your friends . . .

 

Simon Toyne: The Boy Who Saw Friday, Aug 4 2017 

Award winning novelist and complex mystery and Continued series winner and great read and mystery to die for Auntie M Writes Crime 12:07 am


Simon Toyne introduced Solomon Credd in The Searcher, the man whose identity is unknown except for a label stitched into his jacket: “This suit was made to treasure for Mr. Solomon Creed.”

It was a startling device for the new thriller series and in the sequel, Solomon decides he must track down the tailor who made the suit, believing he holds the key to his identity. With roots in the Holocaust, he’s traveled to France to find Josef Engel.

It’s a fool’s errand, when Solomon finds the man’s murdered body, a Star of David crudely carved into his chest, his body torn apart. The man’s granddaughter and her son remember the grandfather’s stories from the past, as well as tales of the man who saved them from the concentration camps.

The police suspect Solomon, that strange-looking pigment-free pale man in the murder. He must escape and find refuge with Marie-Claude, who is seeking her own refuge from an abusive husband, and her son, the adorable Leo.

If it wasn’t an interesting enough premise, Toyne ups the interest by having Leo and Solomon have something in common: a synesthesia, which in Solomon takes the form of smelling danger, while in Leo, allows him to see emotions as colors. It’s an intriguing and often useful element for Solomon, who’s been described as a genius high-functioning paranoid schizophrenic, one whose toxic memories have been removed by use of an implanted device in his shoulder.

The unlikely trio flees across France, avoiding Engel’s killer while still trying to solve his murder. Elements of the paranormal will keep you guessing if they are imagined or can be explained away. A rocking good ride.

 

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