October 2007

Welcome to Mystery Morgue's favorite month: Yes, Halloween is only days away (depending on when you read this), and we have lots of murder and mayhem to offer up—but there's also something very special at the Morgue this month.

First, you'll find 19 mystery book reviews, from authors including Jacqueline Winspear, Harley Jane Kozak, Barbara Cleverly and Charlie Huston.

There's also an engaging "How I Write" essay by Julie Hyzy, author of the upcoming State of the Onion, which opens a series involving a White House chef who cooks, organizes meals, and occasionally saves the Free World as we know it. The essay is candid, entertaining and insightful.

Also this month, Mystery Morgue is proud to welcome a very special guest interviewer. Distinguished journalist and author Linda Ellerbee indulges her love of mystery novels as she asks tough (and some not-so-tough) questions of Jeffrey Cohen, whose newest novel Some Like It Hot-Buttered introduces the Double Feature Mystery series this month. Ellerbee, a mystery fan, talks process and technique with Cohen, who doubles as editor of Mystery Morgue.

So get your megabytes all in a row and read on: it's a good thing this is a 31-day month, because there's plenty of mystery to read here at the Morgue!

In this month's issue:

The Mystery Morgue Interview: Jeffrey Cohen
How I Write: Julie Hyzy

Reviews:
HeartSick by Chelsea Cain
The Day Will Come by Judy Clemens
Tug of War by Barbara Cleverly
The Girl with Braided Hair by Margaret Coel
Some Like It Hot-Buttered by Jeffrey Cohen
Never End by Åke Edwardson
Engleby by Sebastian Faulks
Spook Country by William Gibson
The Chicago Way by Michael Harvey
The Shotgun Rule by Charlie Huston
Acts of Nature by Jonathon King
Dead Ex by Harley Jane Kozak
Bloodshot by Stuart MacBride
Hard Row by Margaret Maron
Cold Moon Home by Julia Pomeroy
Nothing to See Here by David L. Post
Buffalo Mountain by Frederick Ramsay
Death of a Murderer by Rupert Thomson
Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear

Link to Archives

 

The Mystery Morgue Interview: Jeffrey Cohen

Linda Ellerbee interviews Jeffrey Cohen about his new series, The Double Feature Mysteries, and its first offering: SOME LIKE IT HOT-BUTTERED, which debuts this month.

Jeffrey Cohen is a freelance writer whose work has been published in The New York Times, USA Weekend, Premiere, TV Guide, and the Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger, among many others. He is, in the interest of full disclosure, also the editor of Mystery Morgue.

Cohen's first mystery novel, For Whom the Minivan Rolls, was "a screenplay gone horribly wrong," he says. After 20 years of writing screenplays that didn't make it to a screen, he started writing comical mystery novels in the Aaron Tucker series (Bancroft Press) that also included A Farewell to Legs and As Dog Is My Witness. The publication date for Some Like It Hot-Buttered, the story of Elliot Freed, a New Jersey movie theatre owner who investigates when a customer's popcorn is poisoned (and the first book in Cohen's new series, The Double Feature Mysteries) is October 2, which would have been Groucho Marx' 117th birthday. Coincidence?

Interview by Linda Ellerbee, a former network news anchor who (for the past 16 years) has owned and run Lucky Duck Productions, which produces Nick News, the most popular kids' news show in television history. In her spare time, she writes books, the latest being Take Big Bites (Putnam's, 2006), which chronicles "how I spent the last 35 years when I wasn't covering the bombing down the block." Ellerbee has been reading mysteries since her father introduced her to Erle Stanley Gardner when she was 10. Now she's trying to write a mystery herself, which, Ellerbee has come to understand, is harder than reading one.

Your Aaron Tucker mystery series is one of my favorites, and I'm not alone in feeling this way. Why change horses?

It's very nice of you to say that about Aaron. I'll pass it on to him when I see him again.

Why change? Two reasons: variety and economics. The fact was, I needed to move to a larger publisher (a point with which my previous publisher agreed, by the way), and larger publishers (generally) are not crazy about picking up an ongoing series, but they want series. So I started a new one. But I remember when Larry Linville left M*A*S*H, and said the reason was "not that I'm tired of playing Frank Burns: I'm tired of only playing Frank Burns." I didn't want to be a one-trick pony.

Besides, once I came up with Elliot Freed's story, it really intrigued me, and I couldn't stop. He's a lot of fun. Elliot is free in ways that Aaron isn't—and he hates that. Given the choice, I think Elliot would love to trade places with Aaron Tucker: have a terrific wife and interesting children. But he won't admit it, not even to himself.

And by the way, I'm not 100% sure you've seen the last of Aaron. I'm not being coy—there are no current plans for more of him, but I don't know for sure that there won't be. I have a few ideas.

Let's talk about Some Like It Hot-Buttered, and its (ahem) hero, Elliot Freed, a man who wrote a book, sold it to Hollywood, then took that money—plus the alimony he gets from his ex-wife, with whom he has a most ambiguous relationship—bought an old movie palace, and converted it into Comedy Tonight, a theatre dedicated to showing classic comedies. The Only All-Comedy Theatre in New Jersey. Which brings us to the only murder mystery I've ever read where Milk Duds play a significant role—and the hero knew the dead guy must be dead because he didn't laugh at the Blind Man scene in Young Frankenstein. Why this particular setting for your new series? What is it with you and classic comedy movies?

I'm a HUGE fan of classic comedy, but especially the Marx Brothers. It's not an overstatement to say that when I first saw Horse Feathers on late-night TV in the mid-70s, it changed my life. And that was around the time Mel Brooks was making his best films, which are now becoming Broadway musicals. So those two influences led me to others—Buster Keaton, Woody Allen, Blake Edwards, Ernst Lubitsch, Preston Sturges—and I haven't looked back.

What happened with Elliot was: I decided, as I said above, to write a new series to try and sell to a larger publisher. I loved Aaron Tucker, and didn't want to turn my back on him. So I started to think of what Aaron's life would be like if his circumstances were different: suppose he wasn't married to Abby, and didn't have two children, and could do anything he wanted to without any responsibility?

It's always been a dream of mine to open a movie theatre like Comedy Tonight (hell, let's be honest: I want to run Comedy Tonight). But for me, that would be economic suicide. I have two children who will be going to college beginning in 2008 (so go out and buy my book—it's only $6.99!). Besides, I don't know anything about running a business. So in best author-fantasy fashion, I created a character who could, so I can live vicariously through him. I love the setting, and look forward to revisiting it many times.

My goodness, but there are a lot of women in Elliot's life: Sharon, Leslie, Marcy, Amy, Sophie, Carla, Ilsa, Christie… and the world's ugliest woman. One of them tells Elliot, "You're not like other guys I meet, Elliot Freed." How is Elliot not like other guys? I mean other than the fact that he won't use a cell phone, rides a bicycle ("Your butt gets conditioned to a bicycle seat, but never completely. I'll bet Lance Armstrong walks like Yosemite Sam."), and runs a quixotic enterprise out of an office that used to be a broom closet?

That's not different enough? To be fair, most of those women are not even prospective romantic interests for Elliot: Sophie is sixteen years old, for goodness sake. But he likes women, probably more than he likes men. Yes, he has a bit of the lech in him, but he's not interested only in sex, and I'm willing to bet that most of the men Leslie meets (she's the one who says that to him) don't take that approach.

I'm tired of detectives who leap into bed with every woman they meet, and then go off to drown themselves in bourbon because it didn't work out. Aaron Tucker was a reaction to that: he was unconditionally devoted to his wife Abby (Julia Spencer-Fleming says he's "uxorious"; isn't that great?), and Elliot is a different facet of that. He tries to do the right thing. I think women respond to that.

J.A. Konrath says you may be the funniest mystery writer on the planet, and I would not be inclined to disagree. So, Jeff, what do you find so funny about murder?

Nothing. There's absolutely nothing funny about one person (or more) taking the life of another (or more). What can be funny is the reaction of people to that event. I've never written what I think is a "funny" murder scene, but the attitude of my characters to that event is where I hope to find some humor.

For example, in Some Like It Hot-Buttered, Elliot gets involved in the murder investigation in part because he empathizes with the victim: Vincent Ansella is a fellow classic comedy fanatic, and under other circumstances, he and Elliot might have been friends. That irritates Elliot to the point that he feels he has to find sense in it all, and off he goes on an improbable quest.

There's a moment in Hot-Buttered when Elliot notices Anthony, the movie geek who runs the projector at Comedy Tonight, avidly watching a body being bagged, and says, "Anthony's a nice kid, but nothing has ever happened to him that he wouldn't someday write into a script." Is the same true of you? How much of your own life ends up in your books?

People used to accuse me of channeling my life into the Aaron Tucker books: he's a freelance writer in a Central New Jersey town who's married to a lawyer, has a son with Asperger's Syndrome and a daughter a few years younger, and he's, um, not the first person you'd pick for your basketball team. All those things are true of me. Is Aaron simply the author in a fantasy situation? No. He also has a lot of differences, and his family is much different from mine; but the obvious circumstances are the similar ones, so that's what people thought.

Elliot is a conscious attempt to be the anti-Aaron, so people won't think he's me. He's divorced, something I've never been and hope never to be. He has no children. Yes, he works in Midland Heights, the fictional town I made up for Aaron, but he lives in New Brunswick, a real city in New Jersey. He has a job so different from mine they wouldn't be listed on the same Monster.com page. I have no idea how tall he is, but he's probably at least of average height. It certainly isn't an issue for him. So not much in the Double Feature series really has to do with the life I lead, other than the great comedy movies I can blabber on about. I watch all of those before I write about them, although I can probably quote most from memory.

Now: does that mean that I'm not always looking for material? Of course not. But I'm not just scooping huge hunks of my life into the books; this isn't autobiography. What author doesn't want to leave a mark? In my case, it's one of attitude. I think my message is: pay attention, because you might be able to make a joke.

Police Chief Barry Dutton tells Elliot, "I don't like amateurs running around muddying the water in a murder investigation." You specialize in amateurs who run around muddying the waters until they solve the murder investigation. Why amateurs? Why not write about the professionals who solve crimes?

Because I don't know anything about what that's really like, and I'm too lazy to do the research. Honestly. My wife is an attorney involved in law enforcement, but even when I ask her for technical advice, I ignore what she tells me if the story's better without—what do they call it?—accuracy.

But there's more to it than that: I like rooting for the underdog (in books; in real life, I'm a Yankees fan), and writing about people finding qualities in themselves they didn't know they had. I like having Aaron, and now Elliot, get in over their heads and have to figure out how to tread water. I don't find James Bond an interesting character: Of course he saves the world; that's what he's supposed to do. But when Alan Arkin does it in The In-Laws as a dentist from New Jersey, now that's interesting to me.

I think it's a question of wanting to project yourself into the story: if it were me, how would I react? I think I'd make an interesting sleuth, because I'm so woefully unqualified for it, but I do observe. Would I catch the killer? Of course not. I wouldn't even go looking for the killer. I'm much too addicted to oxygen for that.

Like millions of others, I love reading mysteries. But why? Is it because a mystery novel is one of the few instances in life where all questions are answered in the end? You write them; why do you think people love reading mysteries?

That's a question that's been ongoing in the mystery community probably since Edgar Allan Poe won his first Edgar Award. I can't answer for other people, but I like a book—any book—for the characters. It can have the most cleverly conceived plot in history, and if the characters aren't interesting, I'll give up after Chapter 2.

Is it the satisfaction of getting a solution at the end? I think that's part of it, for sure. Mysteries tend to have nice, tidy endings, where the evil are (usually) punished and the questions are (usually) answered. In these days of encroaching ambiguity, what the heck is wrong with finding a few hours relief in that? I try to do it with some laughs, because I don't know of anything that's better than a good laugh. Well, maybe one thing.

Ernst Lubitsch, of whom Elliot is a fan, said that nobody should try to play comedy unless they have a circus going on inside. I suspect the same is true of writing comedy. Tell me about the circus going on inside Jeff Cohen. Or is that a place we don't want to go? Ever.

Wow. I don't know that there's a circus going on in here. I've never been that fond of circuses, for one thing. I like the acrobats, but clowns usually aren't that funny. I have an inner movie, perhaps, and it stars the Marx Brothers when I can't be Cary Grant—and I can't.

My forte, if I may use such a pretentious term, is less circus and more wise-ass. My characters don't do "wacky" things. At least, I try not to have them do "wacky" things. They react with sarcasm and clever comebacks because I'm from New Jersey, and that's our National Language. I love Groucho Marx, and my protagonists channel him, even if they're not as good. I love Harpo Marx, but I'm not sure I could write for him. No less a talent than George S. Kaufman threw up his hands in frustration trying to write for Harpo.

I have a dark side, like every other human being. But I'm really not very scary. I just tend to look for the funny part of everything, because it holds off the despair. I'm an advocate of comedy, more than a comedian.

If the one thing that comes out of the new series (beyond the aforementioned tuition) is that some people discover classic comedians they might not have seen before, how can I possibly say it's been anything but a success?

You're great at deflection. I'm not talking red herring; I'm talking about that giant red elephant in the middle of the room, the one that was there all the time, only we didn't see it. No matter how many mysteries I've read, I never guess the end of a Jeff Cohen mystery. I was surprised about six separate times at the conclusion of this book. How do you do that?

Funny you should say that: I always think I'm being horribly obvious. I'll drop a clue into a page and see it glowing neon red against the other words. It astounds me that people don't see every turn coming. So go figure.

If I'm wrong about that and there's a reason I can hide the clues, it's screenwriting training. I spent way too many years writing screenplays and trying (with various levels of no success) to sell them. So I learned a lot about storytelling, and it really annoys me when the Big Surprise in the third act is blatantly telegraphed in the first act. My wife didn't talk to me for three days after we saw The Sixth Sense because I figured it out about 20 minutes into the movie. No, I didn't tell her the Big Secret, but I did lean over in the seat and whisper (something I NEVER do in a movie theatre), "did you get it yet?" I hadn't figured it out because I'm so brilliant, but because I was thinking like a screenwriter: why is the scene playing this way, and not another way? That led me to the surprise (which I'm still not giving away, out of fear). But I still annoy my wife when we're watching mystery movies.

How do I do it? Assuming I do: anticipation. Okay, you need to drop a clue. It's a question of misdirection: have the scene be about something else, and then drop the clue when the reader is thinking about the other situation. But you can't have two people in a scene about installing a screen door and suddenly have a 13th Century jewel-encrusted dagger drop from the ceiling and expect nobody to notice. It's just planning ahead.

I want more of this series right now. What about that ex-wife? What about Sophie, the sixteen-year-old Goth wannabe with iPod buds glued into her ears? I need another dose of Sophie, plus more Leo, the only regular customer at Comedy Tonight. Also, it seems obvious to this reporter that Elliot Freed and Chief Dutton are naturals for a classic Buddy/Comedy/Mystery movie. All of which is another way of saying, "What's next?"

I'm crazy about the characters, too. I included Barry Dutton—the only holdover from the Aaron series—in the new books because I think he's an interesting guy, and readers who know him from the previous books will get to see him through different eyes in the new ones. Sophie, the snack bar girl and general reality check for Elliot, is also a hoot: she exists to puncture any Romantic visions Elliot has of his life or his theatre. I love Sophie. And as for Elliot and Sharon, his ex-wife? I wanted to have two people who are divorced and not doing the usual recriminations. So I'm proud of them. But they'll have to examine their relationship a little more closely in the future.

I'm glad to say Elliot Freed will be back next year in the second Double Feature Mystery, presently called It Happened One Knife. And all the characters you cite will indeed be back. Hopefully, the story will progress, but there will be another crime (or two) for Elliot to charge into and screw up.

Who knew when I came up with the concept that somebody was going to buy it? Now, I have to solve the ultimate mystery: Why the heck would a movie theatre owner have to solve murders? I'm working on it.

I've no doubt you'll solve your dilemma. Or Elliot will. Thanks, Jeff. Let me end by saying what any reader is going to say after finishing Some Like It Hot-Buttered: "Now that's comedy." Dead on.

You're too kind. By a factor of "much."

 

How I Write, or What doesn't kill you makes you stronger…
by Julie Hyzy

Julie Hyzy has had a very good 2007. Her amateur sleuth novel, Deadly Interest (Five Star), won a Lovey for best traditional mystery and her short story, "Strictly Business," won a Derringer Award. Julie also has a new series coming out from Berkley Prime Crime introducing Ollie, the White House Chef who feeds the First Family and saves the world in her spare time. State of the Onion will be out in January, 2008.

I'm sure you're familiar with the television show, Survivor, and its intriguing premise: Strangers are brought together, lured away from the comfort of home, and dropped into a foreign environment where they must survive, or be banished. Living conditions are harsh, and each person arrives at the challenge armed with only his or her talents and personal strengths.
I encountered an eerily similar situation five years ago, when I participated in a Master Class workshop. I knew no one—except via the Internet—when I flew from my home near Chicago to live with twelve writers for two weeks on the Oregon coast. Husband-wife authors Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch were our gracious and knowledgeable hosts, as well as the workshop's facilitators. Living conditions were much better than you see on Survivor, but learning to interact and share a home with strangers is stressful, no matter how pleasant the accommodations. We'd all signed on to stay together for fifteen days: eating, sleeping, discussing, and most of all, writing.

This was the beginning of my Oregon Epiphany.

Although the workshop structure didn't call for people to be voted out of the house, this experience, like that of Survivor, pushed us past our limits. While Dean and Kris were incredibly supportive, no one held back during our critique sessions. Very early on, it became apparent that this adventure was not for the faint of heart.

Until I attended the Master Class, I used to wait for the muse to grab me before starting to write. I would spend hours sitting at the keyboard waiting for inspiration to hit. (It almost never did.) I started plenty of stories, but for some reason, I rarely finished them. With the nasty little critic on my shoulder whispering words of failure, I was lucky to get one or two short stories written per year. None of them ever got published. I knew I needed to focus—to make a real commitment—and that's when I decided to apply to the Oregon Coast Professional Writers' Workshop.

The pace was uncompromising. At the Master Class, we workshopped every morning beginning at ten AM sharp, then broke for the day at about two. Each evening we gathered again at eight to play a game specially designed to give us an idea of how capricious a writer's life can be.

Sounds like fun, right?

Think again.

Add these factors into the mix: Every day we were assigned to write one short story (minimum 3,000 words), complete one technique assignment (about 1,000 words), a craft assignment (about 1,000 words), and one grammar challenge (tricky little buggers!). These assignments all had to be handed in the next morning by ten. We were told to turn off our spelling and grammar checkers (and our inner critics) and just write.

Being late was not an option.

Oh, and on top of all the writing, we were also required to read and critique the work turned by our classmates. Every day.

Grueling is the first word that comes to mind. And it would be the appropriate word if I hadn't discovered how much my writing improved under pressure. One night, with the clarity that only comes at three in the morning, I realized my almost-finished story wasn't working. I knew I had to start over. The ten o'clock deadline loomed, but I found within myself a strength of will I didn't know I had. That single night I cranked out over 8,000 words to produce a pretty good short story.

The final evening we all were together, Dean told everyone in the group to take a hard look at the number of stories we'd produced. Our combined word count was staggering. He then asked if we realized that we'd been able to accomplish all this while still being tied up in group events for eight hours each day—just like having a day job.
Talk about a revelation.

On the plane ride home I felt both exhausted and exhilarated. I had a better understanding, not only of my writing, but of myself as well. Waiting for inspiration, I finally realized, was the lament of the wannabe.

When I arrived at the workshop five years ago, I hadn't a single publication to my name. Today, my publishing credits include three novels and over a dozen short stories and articles. I've won awards for my writing and I have two new novels coming out in 2008. While I was writing the upcoming State of the Onion (Berkley, January, 2008), I was also working with another writer, Michael A. Black, on our collaboration, Dead Ringer (Five Star, November, 2008). Writing two books at once sounds daunting, doesn't it? But I found the process energizing. Any time I felt a slowdown, or hesitation, I drew on my Oregon workshop resolve, and I ramped up my output.

I owe a lot to that Master Class. I no longer believe in writers' block, nor do I wait for a thunderbolt of inspiration to urge me to the keyboard. I never want to lose the strength of will I developed in those two enlightening weeks. Whenever I'm stalled, I remember late nights on the Oregon coast, fighting off panic, knowing I had to meet each morning's deadline. There was no room for writer's block then, and there's no room for it now. Just like on Survivor, I'm stronger for each experience. Maybe no one's handing me a seven-figure check (yet), but every time I make a personal deadline, I feel like a million bucks.

 

Reviews

HeartSick
by Chelsea Cain
St. Martin's Minotaur
ISBN: 0312368463
Hardcover, 336 pages, $23.95
Reviewed by Gloria Feit

I knew before I picked up this book that it was about a serial killer (certainly true), and that there was graphic violence (not, in my opinion, gratuitous).  What I didn't know was that it was going to be so good, not because of but despite those things.

At the outset, the reader is immediately plunged into harrowing scenes between Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell, cop and torturer, respectively. Detective Archie Sheridan was the head of what was called the Beauty Killer Task Force in Portland, Oregon, searching for a serial killer who had, to that point, killed 23 people in three states, over ten years, that they knew of.  At which point Gretchen Lowell, who is later portrayed, among things, as "one of our great psychopaths... Great, as in scary, brutal, and cunning, not super-duper," kidnapped Archie. 

Archie, obsessively, visits Gretchen in prison weekly where she bit by bit gives details of additional victims, and identifies over 40 of them.  When the present-day story opens, two years later, Archie is lured back to head up a new task force formed to find a serial killer who has just kidnapped his fourth victim, all 15-year-old girls. 

Archie's first move is to have Susan Ward, a reporter from a local newspaper, assigned to do a profile of him, permitting her to "shadow" him and cover the investigation for her paper, despite the fact that to this point he has never allowed any interviews regarding his ordeal, his present motives initially being unclear.  Archie has, understandably, become addicted to pain pills (among other things) as a result of the torture inflicted upon him.  In fact, the book is all about addictions—e.g., an FBI profiler's to Diet Coke, Archie's to his pills, not to mention to Gretchen herself.

Archie, Gretchen and Susan and the relationships among them are fascinating and very original.  Portland itself, and its weather, typical of the American Northwest, becomes a tangible thing as described by the author.

Every review I've read of this book has invariably made the inescapable comparison to Hannibal Lecter, and  one character even facetiously calls Archie "Clarice" at one point. But this book is quite something in its own right.  As another girl goes missing and the search for the killer goes on, the action takes a turn that literally took my breath away, after which point I could not put the book down. HeartSick is so much more than a thriller dealing with a serial killer and containing graphic violence:  It is one terrific read.

The Day Will Come
by Judy Clemens
Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN: 1590582992
Hardcover, 244 pages, $24.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

It's a far cry from the customary dairy farm setting (although it's never far away) in this fourth chapter in Stella Crown's life.  This time, a rock-and-roll milieu sets the stage for her to solve another mystery.  A concert she attends in Philadelphia gives rise to a bomb threat, a death and intrigue within a famous band.

During the second half of the concert, the bomb threat empties the theater in a panic with no apparent casualties, until the female singer is later found dead backstage.  Jordan Granger is the prime suspect, although Stella suspects he couldn't have done it because he was in love with the victim.

Meanwhile other aspects of the plot include farmhand Lucy's forthcoming marriage, at which the band was to play, and Stella's boyfriend, Nick, with whom she is in love, discovering he suffers from MS—giving rise to another conflict of emotions.  Will it affect their relationship—and how?

All in all, this novel is probably the best in the series.  The characters are well-drawn, and the plot moves forward toward an unanticipated conclusion.  Fast reading, and well worthwhile.  Recommended.

Tug of War
by Barbara Cleverly
Carroll & Graf
ISBN: 0786719575
Hardcover, 253 pages, $24.95
Reviewed by Terri M. Tumlin

In most mystery stories, the detective spends his time trying to unravel the situation surrounding a corpse.  This time, the person at the heart of the mystery is still alive.  He is a soldier in France, returned from World War I.  His memory is gone as is his ability to speak.  The only clue as to his identity surfaces during the throes of a nightmare, when the man shouts out in English.  In an attempt to establish his identity, his photograph is published in local newspapers, producing not one but four identifications and families who want to take him (and his pension) home.

Into the problem is thrust, somewhat unwillingly, Commander Joe Sandilands, a detective from Scotland Yard with a knowledge of French and a background that includes service in Military Intelligence in France during the War.  His planned vacation to visit the war memorials in France and deliver his honorary niece, Dorcas Joliffe, to her father in the south of France is forced aside while he undertakes the investigation.

The plot of the novel takes the reader through Joe's investigations of the four claimant families and ultimately to the discovery of a real, if somewhat old, corpse. The narrative includes a number of twists and turns, some foreseeable, others a complete surprise. The various characters that appear, from major figures, such as Aline Houdard, one of the women claiming to be the wife of the unidentified ex-soldier, to minor ones like an unidentified sculptor recreating an angel at a destroyed church, are well drawn and interesting in their own right.

Cleverly has succeeded in this historical mystery not only in bringing the reader well researched details of the period, but also in a use of language that harks pleasantly back to an earlier time.  This novel is the sixth in a series involving Joe Sandilands.  However, the reader, as was the case with this reviewer, who has not read the earlier books is not lost by constant references to occurrences in the previous works. This book stands well alone.  But after the pleasure of reading this story, the other novels in the series beckon.

 

The Girl with Braided Hair
by Margaret Coel
Berkeley Prime Crime
ISBN: 0425217122
Hardcover, 293 pages, $23.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

The 13th in the Wind River Series continues the unique line of stories and mysteries of the Arapaho attorney, Vicki Holden, and Father John O'Malley. This time it is the unraveling of a murder that occurred 35 years previously when a skeleton is uncovered at the bottom of a ravine on the reservation.

Vicki is implored by several Arapaho women to make sure the police follow up seriously on the investigation.  Of course, the police feel it is not only a cold case, but almost impossible to solve.  Vicki is spurred on by an event that had just occurred to her when she was visiting her children in Denver, when she witnessed a woman being almost beaten to death in an alley, and her son prevented the perpetrator from completing the job.  So she gets involved, along with Father John, in seeking clues to bring justice to the 35-year-old remains.

As is customary in the series, there is a wealth of background on native customs, past and present, and the descriptions are real and poignant. The past includes flashbacks to the American Indian Movement in 1973, and the violence, much less discrimination against Native Americans at the time.  Descriptions of the West and the Plains are vivid.  The novel is a welcome addition to the series.

Highly recommended.

 

Some Like It Hot-Buttered
by Jeffrey Cohen
Berkley Prime Crime
ISBN: 978-0-425-21799-3
Paperback, $6.99, 295 pp.
Reviewed by Gloria Feit

The opening lines of Jeffrey Cohen's new novel are:  "The guy in row S, seat 18 was dead, all right.  There was no mistaking it.  For one thing, he hadn't laughed once during the Blind Man scene in Young Frankenstein, which was indication enough that all brain function had ceased.  For another, there was the whole staring-straight-ahead-and-not-breathing scenario, and the lack of a pulse, which was good enough to convince me."  If that doesn't put at least a smile on your face, your humor gene needs a tune-up. 

Right away you know you're in for a treat: that is, if you like a good mystery written with great humor as well as warmth and wit.  This book is the first in a promised new series by Cohen, previously the author of, among other things, the Aaron Tucker mystery novels (As Dog Is My Witness).

The above-quoted lines are spoken by Elliot Freed, who has recently bought an ancient, long-abandoned and rapidly deteriorating New Jersey movie theatre which shows only comedy films, both old (read "classic") and new, and the dead man is found sitting in the audience after the film had ended.  It is later found that the man's popcorn had been poisoned. 

Elliot is a man receiving alimony from his ex-wife (a doctor now remarried to another doctor), with whom he maintains a very amicable friendship.  He takes personally the fact that his theatre was the scene of a poisoning, and feels it incumbent on him to get involved, especially when the investigation leads to a scheme involving pirated DVDs, kept in the basement of Elliot's theatre.  Elliot doesn't want to believe one of his two teenage employees could be connected to either event, but suspicions certainly do point in that direction.  

Then, when the father of one of the youngsters, who is under increasing suspicion, begs Elliot for help, he feels he has no choice.  His growing attraction to the beautiful detective working the case only complicates things.  But solving the mystery and finding those responsible for the crimes is only part of the fun in this wonderfully entertaining book – Mr. Cohen's writing and wry sense of humor is a delight. (How could you not love a writer who quotes Mark Van Doren and Woody Allen on the same page, as well as providing an interesting if heretofore unsuspected use for Milk Duds?) Welcome, Elliot Freed—I can't wait to read the next one!

Never End
by Åke Edwardson
Penguin Books
ISBN: 0143112433
Paperback, 308 pages, $14.00
Reviewed by Caryn St.Clair

Readers who have enjoyed the deluge of Scandinavian authors recently translated into English have another author to embrace. Readers whose preferences lean toward police procedurals are in for a treat.

Edwardson's writing stacks up well along side his fellow countryman Henning Mankell and his protagonist, Chief Inspector Erik Winter compares favorably with Peter Lovesey's Peter Diamond or Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch.

When a rape occurs in the same park in the same location as an unsolved rape and murder that occurred five years earlier, Winter immediately sees the similarities between the two crimes.  But then other attacks occur and Winter pushes himself hard to try to find the link between the victims to stop the string of crimes. Are the current attacks the work of the same person who killed five years earlier, or is this the work of a copycat? Although his instincts lead him in one direction, several seemingly dead ends cause Winter to doubt himself.

Edwardson does a remarkable job of using the extreme heat of the summer to help place the reader in Gothenburg, a coastal town in Sweden.  Everyone is hot and uncomfortable. Tempers are short and people are restless. Readers can feel the way the heat just bogs down the characters as they go about their lives. Throughout the book, people are drawn to the beach not only for relief from the heat, but also to ease their troubled lives. There is an almost poetic sense of place throughout this book.

Edwardson also does an excellent job of making the characters human. While Winter is working around the clock to solve the case, he also struggles to find time for his wife and young child.  He likes living in a city apartment; his wife wants a house.  Winter makes promises to his wife he doesn't keep.  Only on the rare evenings when he comes home in time for them to go to the beach is he truly at peace—but even then only briefly.

Never End is Swedish author Edwardson's eighth Erik Winter novel and the third to be translated into English. Hopefully the rest will become available soon.

Engleby
by Sebastian Faulks
Doubleday
ISBN: 0385524056
Hardcover, , 319 pages, $24.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

Strange—that's the only description one can come up with to describe the character Michael Engleby.  Growing up, he suffered abuse at the hands of his father, and then of school mates at a posh private academy at which he was a scholarship student.  Then later on he switches roles to become the tormentor.  He is a heavy user of pills, drugs and alcohol, which may or may not have contributed to memory loss and other mental problems.

Michael goes on to Cambridge, where he does fairly well.  He becomes obsessed with a beautiful student named Jennifer, attending her lectures, in addition to his own, as well as her extracurricular activities.  He is a thief, cadging money from people's pockets, as well as a letter and diary from Jennifer.  He also traffics in dope to support himself.   In their last year at university, Jennifer disappears, and Michael becomes a chief suspect.  He wonders if he is responsible.  After graduation, he becomes a successful journalist in London, but continues to wonder about Jennifer.

Written in almost a stream-of-consciousness form of a journal, the novel probes the mind of a sick person.  At times, the book is ponderous, as the various characters pontificate on all kinds of subjects.  But, after all, that's what college students do.  There are lighter moments, as well, and Engleby is both sad and funny.

Recommended.

Spook Country
by William Gibson
G.P. Putnam's Sons
ISBN: 0399154309
Hardcover, 371 pages, $25.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

A somewhat confusing beginning sets the stage for the introduction of the characters in three seemingly unrelated subplots that converge to make sense at the end.  Technology and science fiction play a large role in its development.

There is Tito, a young Cuban-Chinese, now living in New York, part of a family of illegal facilitators who were whisked out of Cuba by a CIA operative, now an retired old man who plays a significant role in bringing the story to a conclusion.  Hollis Henry, a former singer with a rock band, is now a freelance writer for a supposed start-up magazine funded by a rich Belgian.  Milgrim, an intellectual junkie forced to work as a translator for Brown, who may or not be a government agent.  Artists in a new medium that can only be seen in virtual reality, made possible by Bobby Chombo. A techie who also tracks the movement of a cargo container linked to the CIA seeking weapons of mass destruction and to pirates operating in the South China Sea.

These characters are woven into an intricate plot involving monies stolen from Iraq and war profiteering and money laundering.  Once the reader goes beyond the initial stages of the novel, it all begins to make sense, resulting in a highly moral and satisfying conclusion.  The latter parts of the book are substantially easier to read than the beginning stages, making the whole worthwhile.

The Chicago Way
by Michael Harvey
Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN: 0307266866
Hardcover, 304 pages, $23.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

To paraphrase, "Chicago, Chicago, it's Michael Kelly's kind of town."  The windy city is the setting for this hard-boiled PI's debut.  Kelly was cashiered from the police force two years previous, and is approached by his ex-partner to help solve an eight-year-old rape and assault-and-battery case, one which his friend was ordered to "forget."

The next day, Kelly's friend is found dead of gunshot wounds on Navy Pier.  Kelly's fingerprints are found on the casing, but no one takes it seriously, allowing him to pursue the case.  He links his friend's murder to the original rape case, and goes about investigating.

Eventually, Kelly discovers various clues relating to a serial rapist and murderer on death row, a current rapist, and four other murders, all possibly relating to the original case.  As the story progresses, the suspense mounts.  Written with a fluid style, in the tradition of private eye novels, the book leads the reader on without a suspicion of how it is going to end.  The novel works on several levels: the mystery itself, forensics (DNA testing), problems with rape cases in general and other aspects.

The novel is a fast, enjoyable read and is highly recommended.

The Shotgun Rule
by Charlie Huston
Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345481351
Hardcover, 248 pages, $21.95
Reviewed by Gloria Feit

The Shotgun Rule deals with four teenage boys in 1983 Northern California.  There is Andy, super-bright, who frequently imagines murderous scenarios involving friends, enemies and strangers alike; his 2-years-older brother, George, protective yet sometimes resentful of Andy; Paul, always the first to start a fight; and Hector, who keeps an 18" length of bike chain in his pocket at all times. 

The boys have been spending their summer break time getting into the kinds of trouble not uncommon to working class teens in the suburbs.  Their not-so-innocent activities involve robbing neighbors' houses of jewelry, cash, pills – whatever else they find that's small enough to be carried out in their pockets, but their efforts unleash a whole lot of trouble and bring long-buried past events in the town boiling back to the surface.  The boys' family backgrounds are revealed in rather depressing fashion, and the author weaves these tidbits alternately with humor, grimness and short bursts of violence into a story that is at once jarring and fascinating, and then it's not funny at all but like passing the scene of an accident—you can't tear your eyes away.

A theme running through the book is the chaos theory—"whether there is a difference between what is random and what is chaotic."  Andy, discussing the Shotgun Rule of the title:  "The only rule standing between us and the savages.  It keeps the forces of chaos at bay.  Scorn not the rule."  But they do break the rule, and do indeed dare chaos.

The writing is at times non-linear, causing momentary confusion for this reader.  Overall this author has his own unique style, and this compelling novel is hard to put down and difficult to forget.  Recommended.

Acts of Nature
by Jonathon King
Dutton
ISBN: 0525950080
Hardcover, 272 pages, $24.95
Reviewed by Gloria Feit

Max Freeman is an ex-Philly cop now working as a P.I. in South Florida, living in a river cabin in the Everglades dating back to the late 1800's.  He and his lady love, Sherry Richards, a detective with the Broward County Sheriff's Office, have decided to take several days off to escape to a ‘week in the wild,' after a few days going even deeper into the Glades to stay at a friend's cabin, unaware that a hurricane of monstrous proportions is about to descend on Florida.

Edward Harmon is a Vietnam vet now working for a mysterious corporation as a "security executive," working primarily in foreign lands (Venezuela in the early portions of the book) doing whatever is asked of him, asking no questions, and getting paid quite handsomely to do so.

Wayne and Marcus are young boys learning bad things—thievery, among other things—at the feet of Buck Morris, a twice-convicted ex-con whose father and grandfather before him were Glades men, apparently a very special class of people.

Although it is difficult for the reader to fathom how he will accomplish this, the reader knows that these disparate characters will be brought together before the book reaches its suspense-filled conclusion, and he certainly brings off that feat, in riveting fashion.

The overriding feeling the reader comes away with from this, Jonathan King's sixth novel in the Max Freeman series, is the nearly tangible presence of the Florida Everglades and the hurricanes to which the State is often subjected, as well as the inescapable forces of nature, whether animal, human or meteorological.  As the author says, "nature trampled anything in its path without choice or conscience, not like men."  The writing is lyrical, e.g., "If you took a deep breath down here, the must of growing grass and decaying humus was sweet and ancient.  If you stood, just the altitude of a few feet changed the aroma like a lingering perfume that only interests you when the woman wearing it passes by but intrigues you as it drifts away."

Parenthetically, it was nice to see a fictional tip of the hat to another excellent local Florida author, Jim Born, as well as an acknowledgement to Joanne Sinchuk, Miami bookseller extraordinaire.

Dead Ex
by Harley Jane Kozak
Doubleday
ISBN: 0385518024
Hardcover, , 335 pages, $21.95
Reviewed by Jeffrey Cohen

Wollie (short for Wollstonecraft, and if you don't get the reference, there's no point) Shelley keeps being offered chances to date for money, but don't get the wrong idea.

Los Angeles resident Wollie finds herself in a good deal of hot water in this, the third in Kozak's chick-lit-ish mystery series. She's involved with an FBI agent she met in a previous novel, but he's being standoffish about their relationship because his work requires him to go undercover. She's trying to read The Iliad in order to paint a mural she's been commissioned to do. She's been asked to be a dating correspondent (she goes on a televised date with a soap opera star and then reports on it) for an entertainment news show, which irritates the FBI guy.

And, oh yeah, there are these two murders.

Wollie's best friend Joey's ex-boyfriend (and a former flame of Wollie herself) has turned up shot in the head, although he was already dying of cancer. And then Joey's philandering husband washes ashore after surfing, and the cause of death is undetermined. Joey is looking like a very likely suspect, so Wollie's protective instincts kick into gear.

Along the way, the usual cast of characters will appear and amuse. Kozak's writing is more assured than before, and her wit is just as sharp as ever. The plotting gets a little more intricate as the characterizations continue to mature. Wollie Shelley might very well be around for a long-term relationship, and she's welcome.

Bloodshot
by Stuart MacBride
St. Martin's Minotaur
ISBN: 0312339999
Hardcover, 432 pages, $24.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

Stuart MacBride's protagonist, DS Logan MacRae, of Aberdeen, Scotland, is up there with the best—those of Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, et al.  He is often on the carpet, facing suspension, or worse, but manages to come through solving the crimes to save his hide.  He is put upon by his amusing superiors, DIs Steele and Insch, but manages to overcome their foibles and demands.  And he has his problems, but loves his live-in girlfriend, WPC Jackie Wilson.

This novel starts with Jackie in disguise, the victim of an attempted rape.  She manages to subdue her attacker, a star soccer star who escapes his arrest with the aid of an oily attorney.  All told, nine rapes occur, with everyone on the force convinced, but unable to prove, that the footballer is the perpetrator.

Meanwhile, Logan witnesses an eight-year-old stab and murder an elderly man.  The kid escapes Logan's clutches, eluding capture for several days.  Only Logan questions why a normal boy would suddenly turn a vicious street thug and murderer, persisting until he discovers the truth.  Then there is a John Doe who needs not only identification, but finding who murdered him.  The going theory is he was an accidental victim of bondage sex, but Logan continues to look at alternatives.

The novel is a great read and should not be missed.

Hard Row
by Margaret Maron
Warner Books
ISBN: 0446582438
Hardcover, 320 pages, $24.99
Reviewed by Gloria Feit

Hard Row marks the welcome return of Judge Deborah Knott.  Now in her late 30's and newly married to Major Dwight Bryant, Chief Deputy of the Colleton County, North Carolina Sheriff's Dept, Deborah is adjusting to life with a newly acquired husband, his eight-year-old son, and their terrier, Bandit.  

Dwight is called out one night to a scene where a man's severed leg has been found lying in a ditch, and additional severed body parts are discovered not long thereafter, apparently from more than one victim.  The ensuing investigation unearths not-so-well-hidden racial prejudices and resentment over the local immigrant population, both legal and undocumented, who are the cleaning women, waitresses, busboys and, of course, migrant field workers on whom our society so greatly depends. (Of course, there are parts of the country where the feelings are on the other side of the equation, but that is a discussion for another time and another place.)  Another theme raised in the book is the challenges faced by young and not-so-young married couples raising stepchildren under sometimes difficult circumstances, something Deborah is handling with as much aplomb as she can muster.

As always, this author has peopled her novel with her usual endearing cast of characters, both family and friends who have known each other forever, and it is a pleasure to once again enjoy their company.  The author has kindly provided a family tree outlining her eleven brothers and half-brothers and their various mates and offspring, always a helpful thing.  Parenthetically, the title of the book refers to the "hard row to hoe," which is the plight of many, if not most, farmers in today's society, and each chapter of the book is prefaced by quotations from "Profitable Farming in the Southern States, 1890," in interesting fashion.  The book proceeds at an unhurried pace, which is just fine.  Recommended.

Cold Moon Home
by Julia Pomeroy
Carroll and Graf
ISBN: 0786719815
Hardcover, 320 pages, $26.99
Reviewed by Janet Koch

Abby Silvernale is a thirty-something widowed waitress and she's doing just fine, thanks. Her job at the InnBetween in New York's Hudson Valley mostly pays the bills and her co-workers and her dogs provide what companionship she needs.

Yes, things are just fine until the night Abby plays Good Samaritan and gives a stranded motorist a ride. First off, the driver doesn't belong in the post-season tourist town. Second, the fur-coated Germaine LeClair asks Abby to take her to Germaine's father's house miles away.

Abby dearly wants to go home, but doesn't know what else to do with the woman. She sighs, puts her Bronco into drive—and unknowingly creates the first link in a chain of events that will end in violence.

Not your cozy type of small town mystery, Cold Moon Home deals with the harsh realities of life after Labor Day. Dwindling tourists means fewer dollars means fewer jobs for the locals. Many of Abby's co-workers take second jobs to make ends meet and when Abby joins their ranks by becoming a secretary/babysitter to an elderly sculptor with Alzheimer's, the second link in the chain is forged.

Abby soon discovers that her new best friend Germaine has a complicated history with the elderly man. At times lucid, at times vague, the sculptor's life story is a mass of betrayals and secrets. Abby, trying to tease out the truth, puts another link in the chain that will change her life forever. If she lives that long.

Author Julia Pomeroy writes with a simple lyricism that compels the reader to keep turning the pages. Multiple plot lines twine and intertwine to a merging point that seems inevitable. Abby herself is an onion of personality—for every layer she shows to the public there is a deeper strata of self she keeps hidden.

From the InnBetween's shifty new dishwasher to a town lawyer to an eighty-something former model, Pomeroy's dialogue rings true for each character. No voice can be mistaken for another, creating a rich flavor and a regret when, all too soon, the end of the novel is reached.

Cold Moon Home is the second in the Abby Silvernale mystery series.

 

Nothing to See Here
by David L. Post
Beckham Publications Group
ISBN: 0931761294
Paperback, 271 pages, $14.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

Based on an actual event, this novel traces the deterioration of a respected Boston psychiatrist, and tracks his plunge into insanity, driving him to commit a ghastly act.  It begins with his wife of more than a decade leaving home, abandoning Dr. Alan Sarnower and their 10-year-old son.  About two months later, he returns home to find her nude in bed with a hippie.  The doctor throws the man's clothes out the window; the man then runs out into the yard nude and flees.

Shortly thereafter, the wife files for divorce, seeking custody of the boy, support, and possession of the home.  Thus begins the debilitating course of events as the doctor tries to salvage his life and keep custody of his son.  Worn down by the court, his wife's demands, and the system, Sarnower slowly begins to lose it.  He begins to neglect relationships, his practice and various other responsibilities.

The novel is taut, especially for a debut work.  The author, a clinical psychologist, has command of the subject, and provides substantial insights into the doctor's mind (and reactions). A good read, and a gripping tale.

Buffalo Mountain
by Frederick Ramsay
Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN: 1590583692
Hardcover, 266 pages, $24.95
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

What a difference six feet make.  If a dead body was left only two yards further it would have been in a different jurisdiction.  But it wasn't, and Sheriff Ike Schwartz recognizes the murder victim from his former CIA days, and the consequences flow forward.

In this installment in this enjoyable series, Ike has to show the wisdom of a Solomon, the patience of a Job in a variety of subplots which include moving forward his love life with Ruth Harris, the college president, and that of his deputy, Sam.  Somehow, all the complications and investigations become entangled, and Ike has to unravel them.

The novel, once again, captures life in a small Virginia town, and the personalities and foibles of the backwoods.  The story moves forward apace, with charm and a goodly degree of intrigue.

Death of a Murderer
by Rupert Thomson
Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN: 0307265845
Hardcover, 225 pages, $23
Reviewed by Theodore Feit

Billy Tyler is content to float through life as a bobby, patrolling the streets of a small English village.  He was not disappointed to fail the sergeant's exam—he really lacks ambition.  He's committed some unsavory acts as boy and man, had two torrid love affairs, marrying his second lover, with whom he has had a daughter who suffers from Down's Syndrome.

One day he is assigned to guard a mortuary, in which the body of a reviled child molester-murderer (based on Myra Hindley, the real-life Moors Murderer) lies in a refrigerated slot.  It's a long shift, 7 pm to 7 am.  There's nothing to do but think, setting the stage for a series of flashbacks to events and acts of Billy's life to date:  his marriage, which has lost the original glamour after many years, his "damaged" daughter, relationships with a couple of boyhood friends.

Some of the observations take the place of conversations with the dead woman, who seems to have penetrating insights into Billy.  As a result, he gains introspection into his problems and anxieties, raising deep questions: whom do we love, and why; how do we protect our children; and what separates us from so-called monsters.

Tightly written, the novel reveals the depths of Billy's soul, giving rise to fundamental questions, and is well worth reading.

 

Messenger of Truth
by Jacqueline Winspear
Picador
ISBN: 0312426852
Paperback, 322 pages, $14
Reviewed by Shirley Wetzel

When the authorities write off the death of artist Nicholas Bassington-Hope as a tragic accident, his twin sister Lady Georgina refuses to accept their verdict. She finds it suspicious that he died while installing his latest work for an upcoming show, knowing him to be meticulous and careful in his preparations, not given to taking risks or shortcuts. Also, the main piece in the exhibit, which no one but Nicholas has seen, is missing. The headmistress of the private school both women attended sends Georgina to Maisie Dobbs for help.

Maisie's business as an investigator and psychologist is going well, even in the difficult economic climate of the 1930's. She is reasonably content with her life as it is.  Her independence, however, comes at a price. Her relationship with Dr. Andrew Dene is floundering because so much of her time and energy is spent on her job.

She learns that Nicholas and some of his artist friends joined the Army expecting some kind of exciting adventure. Nick was seriously wounded, returning home disillusioned and bitter, but the Army was not done with him. He was ordered to return to the field to record the scenes of battle, and his art took a very dark turn. After being mustered out, he went to the United States and lost himself in the vast landscapes of the American west. His sister says he regained his soul there, and was able to return to England with a new point of view.

While the events in the story are related in many ways to things that happened in the Great War, there is also a foreshadowing of another war to come. Actions taken by some of the main characters might seem, if not illegal, at least morally wrong, but taken in context, and knowing what is to come in the near future, they make perfect sense.

This is the fourth in the award-winning Maisie Dobbs series.  Winspear's voice is unique, as is her protagonist, Maisie Dobbs. There are some similarities to Anne Perry's World War I series, as is to be expected, since they are written about the same historical period, but Maisie's world is not quite so bleak.  Fans of Perry's series will find these books equally enjoyable, if not more so.