Auntiemwrites Crime-Mystery Author M K Graff

Jo Spain’s sixth Inspector Tom Reynolds Mystery, After the Fire, combines the best of police procedurals with a team of characters who grow more familiar with each book.

Tom’s job as chief superintendent of the National Bureau of Crime Investigation in Dublin takes him away from being in an on-the-ground investigation, tied up in administrative bureaucracy.

Forced to take two weeks off of holiday time, he and his wife Louise are helping their physician daughter, Maria, with caring for her six-year old daughter, Cait. He’s having lunch at the hospital with Maria during his time off when he overhears two porters discussing a new patient, and is all ears.

A young woman was found walking down the street, naked, exhibiting signs of smoke inhalation and burns on some surfaces of her body, mumbling about a not being about to save the baby.

That’s all it takes for Tom to check out the patient, and soon his friend and colleague, DCI Laura Lennon of the murder squad. Tom soon finds himself lending a Laura’s case a hand, when the house the young naked woman escaped from is found to contain more victims and was a case of arson.

Only slightly escaping Louise’s wrath at becoming involved, Tom manages to help Laura and her team investigate what might be a trafficking ring. Meanwhile, Laura’s husband, Ray, assigned to the new gun-related crimes unit, has his own sources that may contribute to the situation.

The people living in the burned out house were not the casual renters thought at first glance. Several others are missing. And where is this baby?

Spain’s newest elevated the police procedural in a fast-paced race to find those at risk, rescue an infant, and keep the burn patient from becoming the next victim.

All the while, she manages to give the effect of the Irish accent without resorting to overdone brogue dialect. Her dialogue sparkles with the relief of black humor most long-term police adopt, adding a realistic feel and depth to her characters.

A fast and engrossing read. Already looking for the next one.

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Aline Templeton brings her Serious Rural Crime Squad, headed by DI Kelso Strang, to a new case in a rural border town in Devil’s Garden.

Alerted by a former police college friend to suspected corruption at her local station, Strang manages to place DC Livvy Murray, whom he is mentoring, at the station to ferret out what’s going on.

The local celebrity is the ultra-reclusive Anna Harper, an international best-selling author known for avoiding the limelight or interviews. When her son dies of an overdose, and soon after her daughter, Cassie, who runs a foundation Harper has founded, has an accident, it becomes apparent to Strang that there is more going on here than accidents and Harper is at the heart of it all.

There are plenty of suspects, from several writers at the Foundation for a writers retreat and employees at the Foundation, to the majordomo housekeeper/best friend of Harper, Marta Morelli, who has been at the author’s side for years and keeps her secrets.

When the major snowstorm called the Beast from the East isolates everyone, Murray and Strang will face even more obstacles in keeping Harper and her daughter safe from a killer bent on revenge.

Strang is a strong lead character, a man who has lost his family, scarred emotionally and physically, and is trying to put his life back together. Murray could be his nemesis, but under his careful tutelage, is fast becoming a decent sidekick for him, albeit one who must learn to stop going off on her own.

A grand addition to a series that should be better-known in the US, Templeton is the author of the beloved DI Marjory Fleming series. With Strang going to rural places, Auntie M isn’t the only one hoping at one point these two detectives will have a case that overlaps and work together, even for one outing. Let’s hope Templeton is listening!

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Tony Parson’s sixth DC Max Wolfe police procedural #taken starts out with a bang.

A beautiful woman has been kidnapped from a car in Hampstead, her young son left behind in his car seat in the back.

Max’s inquiry into Jessica Lyle’s disappearance isn’t helped by her father, retired Met detective. Could one of his enemies have been the culprit?

Then it comes to light that Jessica was driving her friend’s car, and the roommate comes under his microscope. Snezia Jones leant Jessica her car. So who was the real intended victim?

When it comes to light at Jessica was the girlfriend of drug kingpin Harry Flowers, things rapidly escalate. And when Harry shows up at the home Max shares with his young daughter, Scout, and their dog, Stan, he gets quickly up Max’s nose.

But Harry’s determined to help find Jessica, and soon Max has an unwanted partner. If only he can find a way to use Harry to help instead of hinder him, they just might get Jessica back before she’s killed.

One of the best parts for Auntie M is the way Parsons weaves a darn good thrilling case around the lives of Max, Scout and Stan. It rings of realism and the ugliness and beauty of life raising a loved child of divorce. This is another grand installment in a fantastic series that doesn’t get enough attention. Highly recommended.

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