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by Barbara Clark

Conway Sax is not, in general, the kind of guy you cozy up to. He has close ties with girlfriend Charlene and her kids, but commitment often eludes him. He’s done time and has a hair-trigger temper that he euphemistically calls a “red mist.” A recovering alcoholic, he’s wildly loyal to his AA band of brothers, the Barnburners, but he’s always getting into catastrophic scrapes and making the same mistakes time and again.

So why is this character so hard to dismiss? Shotgun Lullaby, author Steve Ulfelder's third book in the Conway Sax series, may be your best clue. It’s Ulfelder’s best, most tightly written story so far, following on the successful heels of his first two books, Purgatory Chasm and The Whole Lie.

Conway Sax is a mess—but readers will love him anyway.

Shotgun Lullaby presents readers with a snappy, memorable cast of characters, including a young recovering alcoholic, Gus, who kicks off the train of mayhem by unknowingly reminding Sax of his estranged son. Right off the bat, it’s clear that Sax will throw caution to the wind and make every effort to protect the young man. A murder at Gus’ halfway house sends Sax onto a trail that gets more devious and littered with bodies as the pages turn, involving Gus’ wealthy father, his sexy second wife and Gus’ stoner friend Brad, as well as mobsters, con men and a savvy state-cop-slash-ally.

The book is riveting because Ulfelder knows how to write: His prose is uncluttered, the dialog matches real-life talk and the humor is actually funny, with a welcome absence of wisecracks.

Sax is riveting because he’s struggling, and we can recognize some of his failings as ours. He suffers from a form of “act now, plan later” adrenaline in his efforts to set things right, and he’s sometimes unwilling to think through the consequences of his actions. His closest supporters, including Charlene, her teenage kids and his best buddy Randall, understand all this about him, but he often ignores their wisest advice—and sometimes places them in jeopardy. In Lullaby, a final harrowing scene brings all of Sax’s messy contradictions to bear in one breath-holding moment readers won’t soon forget. It’s a testament to the author’s skill that we keep hoping Sax will pull things together. We want him to slow down and breathe deeply, and we’re still on his side.

Shotgun Lullaby will make an indelible impression on all readers up for a great ride.

Mystery, Mystery & Suspense

Mystery & Suspense Mystery

Death of the rich and famous

Review by Barbara Clark

by Barbara Clark

First-time author Robert Galbraith has added a singular new voice to the genre of crime fiction with his engaging debut novel, The Cuckoo’s Calling, which keeps the form of a classic mystery while introducing Detective Cormoran B. Strike, a private investigator straight out of today with a personality as offbeat as his name.

The story gains its considerable traction through two developing characters: the enthusiastic and curious Robin, a just-engaged young lady who signs on as a temp for Strike and begins to show her investigatory mettle; and Strike himself, whose rather frayed and shambling exterior hides a steady, methodical temperament and an “incurable habit of thoroughness.” He’s got a talent for remarking the details that others have passed over.

Not too far in the past, Strike was a special investigator with the military police in Afghanistan, where he lost part of a leg to a land mine. He was also engaged to a rich, beautiful and volatile woman, but the relationship ended in a hail of temper and thrown objects. Now, Strike sleeps on a cot in his office with his prosthetic leg, a stack of unpaid bills and one remaining client.

Strike receives a burst of luck when he unexpectedly gains a new case: John Bristow, a well-to-do lawyer who can pay in advance (critical for Strike), wants proof that his sister Lula, a high-living and famous model, did not jump to her death but was pushed off the third-floor balcony of her penthouse apartment. The case was closed three months earlier and her death ruled a suicide, but Bristow’s convinced that the police have failed to follow up on all the leads, and he wants Strike to find the person responsible for Lula’s death.

This engrossing story boasts a fascinating cast of fast-track suspects both repellent and attractive. Most are Lula’s compatriots, full-of-themselves celebs and hangers-on with a knack for drugs, disaster and evasion. Front and center are Somé, Lula’s exclusive designer; Evan, a temperamental boyfriend fond of wearing a wolf mask; and Deeby Macc, a streetwise rapper with chutzpah. Then there’s the couple on the second floor of Lula’s exclusive building, one of whom claims Lula was not alone just prior to her fatal plunge. Add to this list the elusive Rochelle, a homeless woman with a connection to Lula, and the result is a page-turner featuring an uncommon hero with faces both contemporary and retro.

Editor's Note: Months after this review was assigned and published, it was revealed that "Robert Galbraith" is a pseudonym for best-selling author J.K. Rowling. More details here.

Mystery, Mystery & Suspense

Mystery & Suspense Mystery

Slow revelations make for a compelling debut mystery

Review by Sheila M. Trask

by Sheila M. Trask

Elanor Dymott’s debut novel skillfully combines the visceral thrill of a murder mystery with the psychological portrait of a grieving man. In Every Contact Leaves a Trace, Dymott sets young English lawyer Alex Petersen on a quest to solve the brutal murder of his wife Rachel, who was struck down on Midsummer Night at their alma mater, Worcester College, Oxford. To track down Rachel’s killer, Alex must face his own sorrow, and also some unsettling revelations about the wife he thought he knew so well.

Dymott plays a measured game of hide-and-seek with the facts of the case, doling them out at a stately pace that matches the tradition-steeped setting. Disclosures from Rachel’s reticent English Literature tutor, Harry Gardner, tantalize and torture an increasingly perplexed and anxious Alex. Did his beloved wife really have a secret past, or is Harry keeping some secrets of his own? Dymott repeatedly brings Alex—and the reader—right up to the edge of an answer, before turning back in time and considering other perspectives. This sense of the ground moving beneath your feet mirrors Alex’s internal confusion as he tries to understand the enigma that was Rachel Cardanine.

Comparisons to Donna Tartt’s The Secret History seem inevitable, as Dymott similarly reveals the debauchery that can exist behind even the most revered collegiate traditions. Fireside tutorials, afternoon teas and costumed balls create a falsely comforting front for what’s really going on behind the rose garden walls: experimentation with sensual pleasure and pain that blurs the boundaries between good and evil. Rachel and her confederates are impressive poetry scholars in their tutor’s presence, but seem not to be above blackmail—or worse—when his back is turned.

How exactly did Rachel reconcile those boundaries? Is her murder simply proof to the contrary? As Alex gradually fills in the missing pieces of the puzzle, readers come to see this mysterious young woman’s life, and death, in a surprising new light.

Mystery, Mystery & Suspense

Mystery & Suspense Mystery

An ugly truth kept quiet by Victorian women

Review by Barbara Clark

by Barbara Clark

Anne Perry’s fine new book, Midnight at Marble Arch, features her well-known series duo Charlotte and Thomas Pitt in their familiar setting of Victorian England.

Readers of Perry’s engrossing novels know to expect the highest quality in both story and characterization, plus a continuation of the familiar and finely drawn characters from previous books in the series. But in this story, the unexpected and in-depth treatment of the subject of rape gives the book a timely, almost modern feel. The descriptions and language may be straight out of 1896, but the attitudes and arguments are still relevant today.

The dark debates in Anne Perry's newest Charlotte and Thomas Pitt mystery ring true even today.

Thomas Pitt, now head of Britain’s Special Branch, joins forces with Victor Narraway, his friend and the agency’s former head, to investigate several violent attacks on women. Narraway responds to the scene of a violent rape and the subsequent death of Catherine Quixwood, wife of a successful merchant banker. Likewise, Pitt and his wife are present at a society function when the daughter of the Portuguese ambassador apparently commits suicide, leaping through a window to her death. Charlotte, however, fears she was frightened into an accidental plunge after coming face-to-face with a young man who had previously raped her. Charlotte’s suspicions are strengthened after another woman privately names the same man as her rapist. The suspect is the scion of another prominent banking family of considerable means, to whom many are financially indebted. No one dares point a finger without an airtight case, and the frightened families aren’t talking.

Perry is adept at tempting us with the impossible—and perhaps inevitable—solution, as well as making us watch what we think are surefire clues go up in smoke. A discussion of attitudes toward the crime of rape is woven into the fabric of the plot, and we come to realize we’ve heard many of the same thoughts expressed in our own time. The author seamlessly connects the separate storylines and reveals multiple sides of various suspects, making us wary of convicting the most obvious.

Perry’s fans will also have the pleasure of witnessing a developing relationship between likeable series characters Narraway and Charlotte’s great-aunt Vespasia, as their growing bond, slight at first, becomes a crucial part of the story.

Although the author’s intricate prose gets a little repetitive and overwrought at times, we’re hooked on this provoking and tightly woven book to the very last page.

Anne Perry’s fine new book, Midnight at Marble Arch, features her well-known series duo Charlotte and Thomas Pitt in their familiar setting of Victorian England.

Readers of Perry’s engrossing novels know to expect the highest quality in both story and characterization, plus a continuation of the…

Mystery, Mystery & Suspense

Mystery & Suspense Mystery

Hollywood and crime

Review by Bruce Tierney

by Bruce Tierney

Screenwriter and reluctant sleuth Billy Winnetka returns for an encore performance in Robert Weibezahl’s latest “Hollywood and Crime” mystery, The Dead Don’t Forget. Billy spins the tale in the first person, with an amused world-weariness born and nurtured in the movie industry.

Summoned to the stately Hancock Park home of faded film star Gwendolyn Barlow, Billy allows himself to be coaxed into a couple of things he typically tries to avoid: a bit of detective work (in this case, looking into the threatening phone calls Barlow claims to have received over the past several months); and reading someone else’s movie script (in this case, Barlow’s original piece, A Ladder to Paradise, penned some 50 years before).“Just what Hollywood needed. A World War II romance written during World War II. Picture trying to pitch that to a young studio executive who probably didn’t even know they made movies before Star Wars.” The script turns out not to be where Gwendolyn left it, however; in its place, in the original faded manila envelope, is a red-stained paper, on which is scrawled “Hurry Up and Die . . .”

Is this on the level, or simply the melodramatic antics of a one-time star too long out of the spotlight? Billy Winnetka will find out soon enough, but not soon enough to prevent a murder. The Dead Don’t Forget is one of those rare second books of a series that outshines its predecessor; looking forward to installment number three!

Note: As faithful BookPage readers might have recognized, Robert Weibezahl is a fellow BookPage columnist; that said, if I hadn’t thoroughly enjoyed The Dead Don’t Forget, I would have politely declined the opportunity to review it!

Summoned to the stately…

Mystery & Suspense, Suspense

Mystery & Suspense Suspense

The deception next door

Review by Barbara Clark

by Barbara Clark

Author Hallie Ephron’s third novel of suspense, There Was an Old Woman, hits all the right notes. As a respected mystery book reviewer for the Boston Globe and one of a talented literary foursome with sisters Amy, Delia and the late Nora Ephron, Hallie Ephron knows just how to tingle the spine or raise the hair on the back of your neck.

After Evie Ferrante’s alcoholic mother is hospitalized after yet another fall, Evie reluctantly travels from Manhattan to clean up her mother’s cottage at Higgs Point, where Evie and her sister grew up. It’s a spit of land at the southern tip of the Bronx between the East River and Long Island Sound, and Ephron atmospherically describes the marshy, semi-wild area in a gripping tale that skillfully connects past and present events.

Hallie Ephron knows just how to tingle the spine or raise the hair on the back of your neck.

Even as Evie notes the impoverished atmosphere and derelict condition of the house, she knows that something else is amiss. She finds an envelope with nearly $2,000 stashed among her mother’s possessions, and what’s with the case of expensive liquor—not the cheap kind her mother always buys? Looking beyond the front yard, she sees a growing number of empty lots where homes used to stand, and learns that some of the owners, though elderly, appear to have met a somewhat unexpected and premature death.

As Evie gets reacquainted with her mother’s elderly neighbor, Mina, the two form an unspoken alliance that will eventually uncover the lies and deception that have held the neighborhood hostage and led to its neglect. The beautifully drawn character of Mina portrays both the vulnerability and wisdom that comes with age, with many memorable portions written from her point of view. Mina’s long-held secrets provide a key to understanding the puzzle at Higgs Point, and she forges an important link with Evie’s life in the present.

Evie runs into Finn, an old childhood flame, and the attraction is rekindled. He adds another twist to the plot, as he is the leader of the Soundview Watershed Preservation neighborhood group that’s working to save the marsh and retain the area’s rural character. An aura of menace pervades, throwing into high relief the ongoing battle between the forces of preservation and those of unfettered development. There Was an Old Woman combines a unique storyline with characters that will stay in your mind long after you’ve put the book down.

Fiction, Mystery

Fiction Mystery

The end of childhood comes with a bang

Review by Stephenie Harrison

by Stephenie Harrison

There comes a time in every life when childhood is placed firmly in the past and the future must be faced with the burgeoning wisdom of adulthood. But as Frank Drum learns in William Kent Krueger’s latest novel, Ordinary Grace, the price one often pays for this kind of wisdom is the loss of something infinitely more precious.

For Frank and his brother Jake, sons of the local minister, the death of a schoolmate named Bobby during the early days of the summer of 1961 heralds the crashing end to their idyllic boyhood in small-town Minnesota. The loss of a child sets tongues wagging and imaginations racing, but no one realizes that the aftermath of this death is the calm before the storm. By the summer’s end, others will join Bobby’s ranks, leaving the survivors to attempt to make sense of all that has been taken from them. When the Drum family is thrust into the center of the drama, Frank and Jake struggle to understand life through the lens of death and wrestle with the wisdom they have been granted through the awful grace of God.

Author of the successful Cork O’Connor detective series, Minnesota writer Krueger has no shortage of fans, but with Ordinary Grace he is poised to increase his following. Though this is a stand-alone novel, Krueger stays true to his roots, producing a thoughtful literary mystery that is wholly compelling and will appeal to fans of Dennis Lehane and Tom Franklin. Writing with aching clarity, Krueger deftly shows that even in life’s moments of unimaginable sadness there is beauty to be found. Don’t take the title too literally, for Krueger has produced something that is anything but ordinary.

Cozy Mystery, Mystery & Suspense

Mystery & Suspense Cozy Mystery

Death to dieting

Review by bookpagedev

by Tasha Alexander

In the second Supper Club Mystery, James Henry and his fellow dieters, the Flab Five, are not meeting with much success on their low-carb plan. A new ice cream shop, Chilly Willy’s Polar Pagoda, has opened in Quincy’s Gap, Virginia, and it’s loads more appealing than eating what they should. Praline sundaes or low-fat popcorn: What would you choose? But newcomer Veronica Levitt has a start-up business of her own, and she’s bent on getting the Flab Five to join her at Witness to Fitness. When a deliberately set fire consumes Chilly Willy’s and takes the life of an employee, James and his friends are on the case. J.B. Stanley’s Fit to Die will appeal to anyone who’s experienced the horror of dieting.

In the second Supper Club Mystery, James Henry and his fellow dieters, the Flab Five, are not meeting with much success on their low-carb plan. A new ice cream shop, Chilly Willy's Polar Pagoda, has opened in Quincy's Gap, Virginia, and it's loads more…

Cozy Mystery, Mystery & Suspense

Mystery & Suspense Cozy Mystery

Knights in shining armor

Review by bookpagedev

by Tasha Alexander

Claire Malloy’s 16th adventure, Damsels in Distress, is full of fun. Farberville, Arkansas, is overrun with eccentric would-be knights who are members of the Association for Renaissance Scholarship and Enlightenment and preparing for a Renaissance Fair. Claire can only hope the event will inspire people to buy medieval bestsellers at her bookstore. When murder and arson disrupt those plans, Claire is ready to investigate she’s feeling jittery about her upcoming wedding to police Lt. Peter Rosen and welcomes the distraction. Joan Hess has a deft hand with dialogue and does a fantastic job with the repartee between Claire and her teenage daughter, Caron. Full of humor and a very human set of characters, Damsels in Distress is a strong addition to Hess’ long-running series.

Claire Malloy's 16th adventure, Damsels in Distress, is full of fun. Farberville, Arkansas, is overrun with eccentric would-be knights who are members of the Association for Renaissance Scholarship and Enlightenment and preparing for a Renaissance Fair. Claire can only hope the event will inspire…

Cozy Mystery, Mystery & Suspense

Mystery & Suspense Cozy Mystery

Social-climbing intrigue

Review by bookpagedev

by Tasha Alexander

Folk art expert Benni Harper’s boss, Constance Sinclair, is convinced that her friend Pinky’s death said to be caused by heart failure was no accident. With Pinky gone, there’s an opening in San Celina’s tony 49 Club, and Constance knows that a spot in the exclusive group could motivate a social climber to murder. She insists that Benni, who is busily preparing for both the opening of an exhibit at her quilting museum and a visit from her far-from-friendly mother-in-law, investigate. Though reluctant to accept, Benni not only solves the mystery with aplomb, she also discovers the truth about the reclusive artist whose painting is the centerpiece of her new exhibit. Agatha Award winner Earlene Fowler does an excellent job balancing the elements of a traditional cozy with a sense of danger and more than a little humor. The 13th installment in this series does not disappoint readers will be delighted by Tumbling Blocks.

Folk art expert Benni Harper's boss, Constance Sinclair, is convinced that her friend Pinky's death said to be caused by heart failure was no accident. With Pinky gone, there's an opening in San Celina's tony 49 Club, and Constance knows that a spot in…

Cozy Mystery, Mystery & Suspense

Mystery & Suspense Cozy Mystery

A vintage plot

Review by bookpagedev

by Tasha Alexander

Cece Caruso, vintage clothes aficionado and incomparable amateur sleuth, is back in her fourth adventure, Christietown, this time juggling wedding plans and a theater production she’s written for the opening of a new housing development meant to mimic an Agatha Christie-esque English village. It’s a fitting project for Cece, whose day job is writing about dead mystery writers she’s in the midst of finishing her biography of Christie. The death of her leading lady disrupts the show and Cece is soon embroiled in the investigation. As always, Susan Kandel’s voice is engaging and full of wit, and her characters are well-drawn. Christietown is not to be missed and if you haven’t read the three prior books, get them all!

Cozy Mystery, Mystery & Suspense

Mystery & Suspense Cozy Mystery

Make mine murder, hold the blood

Review by bookpagedev

by Tasha Alexander

Charles Finch’s well-researched debut, set in mid-Victorian London, introduces gentleman detective Charles Lennox, whose ambitious travel plans are continually disrupted by crimes in need of investigation. In A Beautiful Blue Death neighbor and friend Lady Jane Grey requests his assistance when her former maid, now working for the director of the Royal Mint, is murdered. Lennox quickly determines that the crime is more complicated than it initially seems and things only get worse when a second murder occurs. Full of period detail and a wonderful cast of secondary characters, this intricate and well-written novel will leave any lover of historical mysteries eager to reach for Lennox’s next case.

Charles Finch's well-researched debut, set in mid-Victorian London, introduces gentleman detective Charles Lennox, whose ambitious travel plans are continually disrupted by crimes in need of investigation. In A Beautiful Blue Death neighbor and friend Lady Jane Grey requests his assistance when her former maid,…

Mystery, Mystery & Suspense

Mystery & Suspense Mystery

An ancient book of life and death

Review by Leslie Budewitz

by Leslie Budewitz

Erin Hart’s fourth novel in her acclaimed Nora Gavin series blends Irish legend and archaeology with present-day murder in a sad tale tinged with sweetness. In The Book of Killowen, American pathologist Nora and Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire are building a quiet life together in Ireland, healing Nora’s wounds and caring for Cormac’s elderly father, Joseph. Absent for much of his son’s childhood, Joseph is now suffering from a stroke, his ability to speak frustratingly garbled. When a bog body is found in Tipperary, near Killowen Bog, the trio and Joseph’s new caregiver move to Killowen Farm, a nearly idyllic retreat center and artist’s colony, to take over the excavation.

But the bog body has a modern companion—a murder victim. Detective Stella Cusack is eager to solve the crime, and the string of incidents that follow it, before losing the case to higher ups. Fortunately, her assistant has the experience with antiquities that she lacks. The murdered man’s identity is quickly discovered, and suspicions center on his estranged wife and her companion, frequent guests at Killowen Farm. But despite his brilliance, he had no shortage of faults—or enemies.

While Cusack untangles the secrets of the residents and neighbors, and their ties to the victim, Nora and Cormac study the treasures found with Bog Man for clues to his identity and his relationship to an ancient scriptorium once located nearby. Could he be the mysterious 9th-century philosopher and author of the controversial Book of Killowen? And where is the book? New secrets touch on the old, leading to blackmail and fiery danger.

The first book in the Nora Gavin series, Haunted Ground (2003), was nominated for Agatha and Anthony Awards for Best First Novel. In The Book of Killowen—Killowen means “Church of Owen”—Hart explores not only the mysteries of the Irish bogs, but also the ancient and modern mysteries of language and the power of secrets. Hart’s own language sings with sharp and powerful observations, of what she calls “characters in the great book of human events.” Pour yourself a Guinness, or brew a pot of tea, and dig in.

Leslie Budewitz’s debut mystery, Death al Dente, first in The Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, will be published by Berkley Prime Crime in August 2013.