Deadly Animals, Marie Tierney’s brilliantly plotted debut mystery, introduces readers to Ava Bonney: a 14-year-old English girl obsessed with decomposing bodies.
Deadly Animals, Marie Tierney’s brilliantly plotted debut mystery, introduces readers to Ava Bonney: a 14-year-old English girl obsessed with decomposing bodies.
John Straley’s nonstop, high-octane Big Breath In introduces the unforgettable Delphine, a 68-year-old cancer patient-turned-investigator.
John Straley’s nonstop, high-octane Big Breath In introduces the unforgettable Delphine, a 68-year-old cancer patient-turned-investigator.
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Author Tessa Harris is sure to garner a host of followers for her new mystery series featuring Dr. Thomas Silkstone, anatomist and forensic detective. The Anatomist’s Apprentice opens at a time in late 18th-century England when many scientists pioneering in the new fields of dissection and anatomy have become fascinated by the field’s forensic possibilities and are increasingly being called to crime scenes to help determine cause of death in possible cases of murder.

Against this historical backdrop, Dr. Silkstone finds himself drawn away from his laboratory and classroom to assist in exhuming and examining a corpse at the request of the victim’s sister Lydia, who fears that Lord Edward Crick may have been murdered. Even more shockingly, she secretly fears the perpetrator may have been her own husband. Silkstone must isolate and identify the substances present in the victim’s body. He also must identify the people who had the means and motive to ensure that Edward would breathe his last breath at their secret behest.

When Silkstone falls in love with Lydia, he finds no solace when her husband, Captain Farrell, is arrested for the murder: He believes the man to be innocent. He must carefully investigate all those with close connections to the murdered man, including Lady Crick, Lydia’s weak-minded mother; the maidservant, Hannah Lovelock, whose own daughter has recently died tragically; Lord Edward’s cousin, Francis Crick, once a suitor to Lydia; and Captain Farrell’s own lawyer, James Lavington, a longtime tenant on the estate with an agenda of his own.

The descriptions in The Anatomist’s Apprentice will boggle readers’ minds: There are shelves of flasks, flagons, bottles, jars and other containers of herbs, leaves, oils, creams, lotions, plants, fungi and odd-smelling roots. These tools are the sort cultivated and understood not only by doctors and scientists, but by farmers and plainspoken folk who use them routinely—and sometimes not so routinely—in their daily lives.

Difficult as it is to imagine that men were attracted to women as seemingly useless and docile as Lady Crick, this is a novel of its time, and Dr. Silkstone must work through his own horrible suspicions as he seeks to protect Lydia while proving her husband’s innocence. Tricks, twists and turns prevail throughout the story. The author’s detailed research on the historical era pays off handsomely in this engrossing, lively and satisfying series debut.

Author Tessa Harris is sure to garner a host of followers for her new mystery series featuring Dr. Thomas Silkstone, anatomist and forensic detective. The Anatomist’s Apprentice opens at a time in late 18th-century England when many scientists pioneering in the new fields of dissection…

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Hamlet is supremely aware of literary nuances, and can be counted on to pick just the right book from the shelves. Only thing is, Hamlet’s a cat, and his sleek moves are not always clear to his human companions at Pettistone’s Fine Books, now owned by one Darla Pettistone after her great-aunt Dee died and left her the bookstore in Brooklyn—as well as its resident cat.

Double Booked for Death is the first outing for the brand-new Black Cat Bookshop Mystery series written by Ali Brandon, one of several pen names belonging to Diane A.S. Stuckart, also known to readers as the author of the Leonardo da Vinci historical mysteries.

Darla is set to realize every bookstore owner’s dream after famed teen author Valerie Baylor agrees to sign her latest Haunted High YA novel at the store, and hundreds of screaming teens dressed in black capes crowd the sidewalk, waiting for the author (similarly known for her distinctive goth look) to arrive.

The feline sleuth seems to know his humans, too, arriving on the scene just in time to disrupt a counter display or two at opportune moments.

But a killer in—guess what?—black-caped attire intervenes, relegating Baylor to the status of murder victim. Too many suspects crowd the scene, from the writer’s odd entourage that includes a mysterious makeup assistant named Mavis, to a jealous bookstore employee, to a caped protestor accusing Baylor of plagiarism.

Darla and her tenant, friend and “store security” agent, Jacqueline (aka “Jake”), do what amateur sleuths usually do in fiction: mess around and interfere where it’s none of their business. Jake’s friend, police officer Reese, is heading up the official police investigation. But Hamlet’s on the case, albeit surreptitiously, and his timely interference and paws-on choice of reading material push the detecting in a new direction. The feline sleuth seems to know his humans, too, arriving on the scene just in time to disrupt a counter display or two at opportune moments.

Bookstore owners, current and former, may cringe a bit at the author’s somewhat pie-in-the-sky descriptions of the business of bookselling, but author Brandon’s clever casting saves the day. Readers are in for a treat if Brandon continues to develop her stable of promising characters, including bookstore manager Professor James T. James; antiques seller Mary Ann; and the very attractive Reese, whose broken nose adds a bit of intrigue to his curly blond hair and wraparound sunglasses. And, last but far from least, Hamlet himself, who deserves more respect from his colleagues next time around.

Hamlet is supremely aware of literary nuances, and can be counted on to pick just the right book from the shelves. Only thing is, Hamlet’s a cat, and his sleek moves are not always clear to his human companions at Pettistone’s Fine Books, now owned…

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Surprise may be the last thing readers expect from the third book in a trilogy. Then again, when a trilogy is as unpredictable and riveting as Tom Rob Smith's Child 44 series, set as it is both in the harsh Russian landscape and the dense thicket of the human soul, expectations quickly evaporate in a page-turning frenzy.

Agent 6 sends former Soviet secret police agent Leo Demidov forward in time to 1965. It's been 13 years since he stalked a serial killer in Child 44 and a decade since he saved one of his two adopted daughters from a vicious female gang leader in The Secret Speech. Having reached an uneasy truce with his horrific past, Leo and wife Raisa strive to be good Moscow parents and model citizens as they walk a narrow political line in post-Stalinist Russia.

Their new normal comes suddenly unglued, however, when Leo's wife and daughters depart for New York on a youth "Peace Tour" designed to foster relations with their Cold War enemies. Since Leo is not allowed to leave the country, he can only wait and worry—for good reason, it turns out. Something does go terribly wrong on the tour, so wrong that it will take Leo the rest of his life to come to terms with it.

Driven to find out what happened in New York, trying every trick in his extensive arsenal to escape to the West and hunt down the answers, Leo eventually accepts a suicide mission to train a new Soviet-style secret service in Afghanistan in the 1980s. When this opium-fueled self-exile ultimately presents him with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Leo fights his way to New York, only to find that the answers he seeks pose a moral dilemma unlike any he's ever encountered.

Smith, a young British screenwriter turned best-selling novelist, has created in Leo Demidov a Kafkaesque modern hero for our times, a good man trapped in a corrupt, manipulative system, forced to choose between loyalties to family, country and conscience. With a cinematographer's eye for settings and historical detail, Smith uses Leo's journey to examine larger issues, especially the political, social and religious systems that both unite and divide us.

Like the previous novels, there are moments in Agent 6 that seem to burn on the page with Leo's heartbreak and longing. That's a most generous return for our emotional investment into this troubled, fascinating Everyman, and one readers will look forward to in whatever comes next from his gifted young creator.

RELATED CONTENT
Author Tom Rob Smith goes Behind the Book with Agent 6.

Read an interview with Smith about Child 44.

Read a review of The Secret Speech.

Surprise may be the last thing readers expect from the third book in a trilogy. Then again, when a trilogy is as unpredictable and riveting as Tom Rob Smith's Child 44 series, set as it is both in the harsh Russian landscape and the dense…

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Originally published in Norway in 2009, The Leopard finds detective Harry Hole attempting to forget gruesome memories connected to the depraved psychotic whom readers met in The Snowman (published in the United States in May 2011). After the killer held Harry’s fiancé and her son captive, she decided marrying the detective was too dangerous, and she backed out of the wedding. Weary and emotionally battered, Harry sets about losing himself on the streets of Hong Kong, where he falls prey to an opium addiction while building up an impressive gambling debt to local gangsters.

When Harry’s boss is faced with another bizarre murderer (who selects victims seemingly at random), he sends beautiful detective Kaja Solness to locate and bring Harry back to Oslo. Harry reluctantly agrees, but only after Kaja plays the trump card of his seriously ill father who hasn’t got long to live. Eventually, Harry discovers that each of the murderer’s victims spent the night in a secluded mountain cabin. Now, a seriously sadistic and inventive killer is disposing of everyone who stayed there—and just killing the victims is not enough; a nightmarish torture device from the Congo is employed with diabolical precision. As Harry follows the convoluted trail toward the killer, there are plenty of red herrings to keep him, and readers, off balance.

This taut thriller by worldwide bestseller Jo Nesbø features finely drawn characters and enough twists to continually surprise; it is likely that readers will think they have identified the murderer, only to discover otherwise. Considering all the horrors he has been forced to witness, Harry’s tired, cynical personality makes sense—yet it is his humor that makes him real. There are additional layers of realism and emotional depth to this dark mystery: political infighting as agencies compete for dwindling resources; Harry’s struggle with addiction; and the process of coping with a dying parent. Though it can be a struggle to keep track of the numerous characters, the effort is well worth it. The subplots are eventually brought together in such a way as to satisfy the reader, but leave room for more action from our intelligent (if jaded) hero.

Sandy has worked for small town newspapers and reviewing books for more then twelve years.

Originally published in Norway in 2009, The Leopard finds detective Harry Hole attempting to forget gruesome memories connected to the depraved psychotic whom readers met in The Snowman (published in the United States in May 2011). After the killer held Harry’s fiancé and her…

Like many a literary gumshoe before him, private investigator Ray Lovell has a weakness for women, strong liquor and hard-luck tales. Thus, the tortured hero of Stef Penney’s luminous second novel, The Invisible Ones, finds himself swept up in the mystery and mayhem of a pack of traveling Gypsies when he is hired to find a young Romany woman, Rose Janko, who has disappeared from northern England without a trace.

To those with a penchant for Romany-themed literature—books like Colum McCann’s Zoli, for example—The Invisible Ones is sure to prove enchanting. For this reader, it was absolutely impossible to put down. From the opening chapter, when Ray awakens in a London hospital bed, stricken by hallucinations and paralysis, Penney’s formidable literary gifts will hypnotize readers. The tale is told as a dual narrative, in chapters that alternate between the musings of middle-aged private investigator Ray and the angst-drenched reflections of an adolescent boy, JJ. Torn between his love and loyalties for his Gypsy/Romany family and his fervent desire to assimilate with his gorjio—non-Romany—peers at school, JJ portrays his plight with a young boy’s curiosity, wit and idealism.

Ray, who is half Romany himself, finds himself forced to reckon with ghosts from his past as he investigates the Jankos. Simultaneously smitten by and wary of the inhabitants of this mystical netherland of hardscrabble trailer homes, Ray forges a friendship with JJ, providing the youngster with a much-needed male role model, and himself with a sense of fatherhood.

While the novel’s rich subplots are brimming with romance, family pathos and details of Romany culture, The Invisible Ones remains a mystery at heart. Author Penney, who lives in Scotland, won the Costa Award for Book of the Year with her 2007 debut, The Tenderness of Wolves, set in 1860s Canada. Her very different but equally absorbing second novel is sure to mesmerize readers from page one until its shocking, albeit deeply satisfying, ending.

Like many a literary gumshoe before him, private investigator Ray Lovell has a weakness for women, strong liquor and hard-luck tales. Thus, the tortured hero of Stef Penney’s luminous second novel, The Invisible Ones, finds himself swept up in the mystery and mayhem of a…

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The Night Swimmer is about a young American couple who move to Ireland and open a pub in a small coastal village outside of Cork. But Matt Bondurant’s suspenseful third novel is more Hitchcock than A Year in Provence. Like his second novel about bootlegging in Virginia, The Wettest County in the World (soon to be a major movie starring Guy Pearce, Shia LaBoeuf and Mia Wasikowska), The Night Swimmer tells a familiar, almost archetypal story of an outsider trying to adapt to an impenetrable and violent rural community.

Soon after 9/11, Elly Bulkington and her husband Fred move to the West Coast of Ireland where they have won a village pub, The Nightjar, in a contest. Both Bulkingtons leave trouble behind; Elly’s parents are obsessed with the destructive life of her older sister Beatrice and Fred is consumed by the guilt of surviving the devastation of the Twin Towers, when so many of his colleagues did not.

Running an Irish pub is less than idyllic for Americans Elly and Fred.

Elly, an open-water swimmer, looks forward to exploring the coastal waters, especially those off of the small neighboring island, Cape Clear. As Fred labors to fix up the pub, Elly moves to the island part time, baffling the locals with her interest in navigating the rough tides and lengthy night swims in the frigid waters. She becomes involved in the island community’s conflicts, especially those of an enigmatic organic goat farmer and the Corrigan family, who have controlled the island for centuries. Fred faces similar problems on the mainland, and soon the native resistance to these well-­meaning outsiders puts their relationship, their pub and even Fred’s sanity in jeopardy.

The intensity of Fred and Elly’s experience is more than matched by Bondurant’s vivid descriptions of the Irish coast with its icy waters, rolling hills and merciless storms. Unfortunately, their problems can’t always compete with the grandeur of the setting and the richness of the Gaelic culture; the gradual unraveling of their marriage is almost lost in the Gothic details of the feud. But when Bondurant explores what it is like to push yourself to the brink, whether with physical activity, drugs and alcohol, or lust, he captures an intensity of experience the reader won’t soon forget.

The Night Swimmer is about a young American couple who move to Ireland and open a pub in a small coastal village outside of Cork. But Matt Bondurant’s suspenseful third novel is more Hitchcock than A Year in Provence. Like his second novel about bootlegging…

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Take a look at Declan Hughes’ dark thriller, The Price of Blood. Ed Loy has been given one of the stranger assignments of his career: a missing persons case in which the only piece of information he has to work with is the name of the missing person; no dates, no workplace, no family, simply a name – Patrick Hutton. And finding one particular Patrick Hutton in Ireland is akin to finding, say, one particular Jim Anderson in the U.S. Still, the payday is welcome, and the client impeccable: a dying Catholic priest. Nonetheless, Loy begins to question his assignment (and perhaps his sanity with regard to staying on the job) as the bodies pile up in unlikely places. Loy is an exceptionally well-drawn character, strong but not unnecessarily violent, introspective without being angst-ridden. The dialogue is spare and edgy, the pacing crisp; Hughes’ sense of local color, and particularly his ability to impart it to his readers, is absolutely spot on.

(This review originally appeared in our March 2008 issue.)

Take a look at Declan Hughes' dark thriller, The Price of Blood. Ed Loy has been given one of the stranger assignments of his career: a missing persons case in which the only piece of information he has to work with is the name of…

Review by

When it comes to selecting their next read, lovers of literature are familiar with the adage “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Whether most people actually subscribe to this rule is debatable, but the advice is particularly sage when considering English author R.J. Ellory’s A Quiet Belief in Angels. The bold cover evokes authors like James Patterson, and it would be all too easy to dismiss Ellory’s American debut as a cookie-cutter thriller. To do so would be a shame for both fans and non-fans of the crime thriller genre.

Given the basic premise of the novel, it’s not hard to see why A Quiet Belief in Angels is billed as a literary thriller. Growing up in small-town Georgia, Joseph Vaughan knows only a hard life that is mired in tragedy and horror. The days of his youth are forever tainted by a series of brutal murders targeting young girls, shaking the bedrock of his sleepy town and forcing Joseph to grow up faster than seems fair. As all that he holds dear is slowly stripped away, Joseph decides to leave his hometown and head north to pursue his dream of becoming an author—only to find that the atrocities from his past will not be so easily left behind.

While the mystery behind the mounting body count might motivate many readers to stick with this novel, the story has a rather leisurely pace, which might make “thriller” seem like a misnomer here. The murders never feel as though they are the central conceit of the novel, with the real focus instead being Joseph’s transition from boy to man; A Quiet Belief in Angels reads more as a dark coming-of-age tale rather than a traditional crime novel. But don’t consider this a weakness—Ellory’s writing is so lyrical, powerful and heartrending that those who normally steer clear of the genre are likely to feel at home. A Quiet Belief in Angels has already gained Ellory international acclaim, and while Americans may be a bit late to the party, another saying once more proves true: better late than never.

Stephenie Harrison writes from Nashville.
 

When it comes to selecting their next read, lovers of literature are familiar with the adage “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Whether most people actually subscribe to this rule is debatable, but the advice is particularly sage when considering English author R.J. Ellory’s…

Review by

Mystery fans will be delighted to learn that Margaret Maron has penned a new book in her long-running Deborah Knott series. Three-Day Town is unique because Knott meets up for the first time with Lt. Sigrid Harald, who has crossed over from another of Maron’s popular series for a double delight.

Judge Deborah Knott and hubby Dwight have been married a year, and they’re finally getting to leave North Carolina and take their honeymoon—a week in New York City, in an apartment loaned to them by an in-law. They arrive on the eve of a winter snowstorm and anticipate a week of walking, museums, theater and other honeymoon activities. Dwight soon discovers New York’s famous Fairway Market, and the pair settle in with grocery bags of delicious goodies for some overdue time together.

But soon a small glitch introduces big trouble. Deborah has brought a mysterious wrapped package to deliver at the request of a distant relative. The intended receiver, Anne Harald, is on a trip, so her daughter, Lt. Sigrid herself, phones to inquire about the item. She asks Deborah to open the package, which turns out to be an intricate bronze statuette depicting male bodies intertwined in Kama Sutra-like positions. This surprise brings Sigrid calling to retrieve the strange object, but she arrives on the heels of a murder in the couple’s loaner apartment: The building’s “super” is dead and the statuette has gone missing. An assortment of apartment residents with stories to tell; a gaggle of elevator men and building staff; and a second death add to the fast-thickening plot.

Three-Day Town is number 17 in the series, but Maron writes with such skill that new readers can open the book and fly, right from page one. Related characters slide in easily, with earlier occurrences woven throughout the story—so newcomers to the series won’t be lost. Maron’s loyal fans will love this new pairing of the outgoing, garrulous Deborah with the slim, grey-eyed and serious-minded Sigrid.

Author Maron’s strong suit, as always, is her impeccable sense of place. She beautifully evokes the scenes and sounds of the Big Apple, from the bustle of Times Square and glitter of Broadway to the mountains of trash bags piled high on the streets after a big storm. This enjoyable entry is a great walk in the park—make that Central, of course, with snowflakes.

Mystery fans will be delighted to learn that Margaret Maron has penned a new book in her long-running Deborah Knott series. Three-Day Town is unique because Knott meets up for the first time with Lt. Sigrid Harald, who has crossed over from another of Maron’s…

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“The body slid heavily from the table and for a brief moment seemed to hang in the air, then broke the water’s surface with a tremendous crash. For a moment, not longer, a white ghost seemed to linger just beneath the surface, but before anyone could be sure they had seen a final glimpse of the ensheeted body it was already speeding toward the depths.”

This salty description in A Burial at Sea is one of many atmospheric touches in the fifth book in author Charles Finch’s Victorian mystery series. For the newly initiated, the series features Charles Lenox, Member of Parliament and (possibly) retired amateur detective. Here, Charles is on a mission to Egypt and the newly built Suez Canal at the urgent request of his brother, Edmund, a staid civil servant—and member of Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

This seaworthy mystery adventure starts out mildly enough, but after a snowy, lamplit meeting between Charles and Edmund, Charles boards the ship Lucy, bound from London to Egypt and Port Said. He travels on what the ship’s crew believes is a diplomatic journey, but is really a clandestine mission meant to counter France’s influence in the newly burgeoning port. There’s murder aboard ship, however, and Lenox finds his detective skills pressed into service by the ship’s captain. He is soon investigating the ship’s logs, decks and wardrooms— even climbing to the crow’s nest—for clues to a brutal killer.

In this descriptive tale, the mystery and mayhem are equalled by the fascinating lore and adventure of life at sea in the 1870s. Readers are treated to first-class descriptions of all things nautical and seaworthy, including spars and songs and storms at sea; which deck is which and who goes there; and even a breathtaking game of Follow the Leader, where crew members outdo each other with death-defying acrobatics from the mizzenmast and crow’s nest.

Sandwiched in between the grog and salt beef rations, there’s shipboard gossip that hints at mutiny, mermaids and more, but talk is valuable in this contained community and may contain clues to the identity of the murderer. Lenox must listen carefully and take caution for his own life.

Readers of this expertly written adventure will welcome the change of venue from the parlors of England’s genteel classes to excitement on a seagoing vessel. Reef the mainsails! Ship ahoy!

“The body slid heavily from the table and for a brief moment seemed to hang in the air, then broke the water’s surface with a tremendous crash. For a moment, not longer, a white ghost seemed to linger just beneath the surface, but before anyone…

Reading Agatha Christie’s autobiography is like sitting down to tea with an especially chatty, good-natured auntie; one would never suspect her of slipping arsenic in your drink. The Queen of Crime, it turns out, was also a gifted and engaging memoirist, and readers who missed out on the 1977 publication of An Autobiography will be delighted with its reissue, timed to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Dame Christie’s birth.

As Christie’s grandson Mathew Prichard notes in his foreword, much of this autobiography focuses on her childhood, a happy and imaginative time that laid the groundwork for her future writing career. Young Agatha was a natural storyteller, creating imaginary friends known as The Kittens, and later inventing The School, a series of stories she spun about a group of schoolgirls. Learning about poisons while working in a pharmaceutical dispensary during the First World War gave Christie the idea for a detective story, which eventually became The Mysterious Affair at Styles, her first published book; witnessing the plight of Belgian refugees in England inspired Christie to make her detective Belgian—and thus Hercule Poirot was born. A marriage to handsome airman Archibald Christie was happy for a time, but Archie, it turns out, couldn’t much bear unhappiness. Agatha’s mother’s death in 1926 led to his affair and her infamous disappearance later that year. Christie doesn’t address the disappearance directly here, but says enough about her mental state to support theories that suggest she’d had a nervous breakdown of sorts.

Funny anecdotes about surfing with Archie in Hawaii and Cape Town (who knew Dame Christie could stand-up surf?), a happy second marriage to archaeologist Max Mallowan and periods spent with him on site in Iraq and Turkey are all fascinating. Christie’s enjoyment of the “indulgence” of memoir writing is apparent on every page of this lovely book, giving it a cheerful tone, as if she’s just turned to face you across the tea table to tell you a story. Packaged with a CD of newly discovered recordings of Christie dictating portions of the book, An Autobiography is essential for both mystery and memoir readers alike.

Reading Agatha Christie’s autobiography is like sitting down to tea with an especially chatty, good-natured auntie; one would never suspect her of slipping arsenic in your drink. The Queen of Crime, it turns out, was also a gifted and engaging memoirist, and readers who missed…
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In Ranchero, a wonderfully original debut novel by Rick Gavin, former cop-turned-repo man Nick Reid speeds across the back roads of the Mississippi Delta in pursuit of a stolen 1969 Ranchero, painted a glorious Calypso Coral.

Nick had been driving the Ranchero himself, but it actually belongs to his eccentric elderly landlady Pearl, a widow of open heart and stubborn temperament. Nick was out to repossess a flat screen TV from a fellow named Percy Dwayne Dubois. But Percy Dwayne attacked Nick with a shovel, then disappeared in a cloud of calypso coral dust.

Nick had promised to love, honor and maintain Pearl’s pristine Ranchero, and he takes his promise seriously. There’s nothing for it but to chase down the car and the thief, who turns out to be just the tip of the Dubois iceberg. Nick and his 350-pound buddy, Desmond, drive off in hot pursuit through a tangle of Delta back roads and unforgettable scenery, where “everything was slower and hotter, the local manners approached baroque, and racing down a Delta road with crop dusters on the horizon was like driving into 1952.”

The story is peopled by folks stuck a few rungs lower than, say, a Damon Runyon-meets-Ma Kettle of an earlier era—although they retain that basic outlandishness. Author Gavin keeps the momentum going with escalating accidents and incidents, as violence mixes with a whole lot of stupidity to gain our hero a chance to reclaim the vehicle. Nick also contends with his boss, a crazy Lebanese man named Kalil, whose prized stuffed mountain lion appears to have been stolen. But everybody knows everybody down in the Delta, and we just know that cat will turn up again.

As one mile leads to another, then another, more members of the lowlife Dubois clan come out of the woodwork, and soon Desmond’s Geo Metro is full of misfit Delta crackers, each with an ax to grind or a suggestion to make. (Whether they’re helping or squashing Reid’s chances of reclaiming the Ranchero is up for grabs.) One drug dealer leads to another, leading to scenes of grit and squalor touched by the humor of misfits who inhabit a crazy world of their own. Nick admits to “the passing conviction that a niggling sort like me would never make anything happen quite the way I wanted it to. That view of the world is as much of the Delta as the black loam and the mosquitoes.”

Ranchero is a marvelous, scruffy and hilarious read.

In Ranchero, a wonderfully original debut novel by Rick Gavin, former cop-turned-repo man Nick Reid speeds across the back roads of the Mississippi Delta in pursuit of a stolen 1969 Ranchero, painted a glorious Calypso Coral.

Nick had been driving the Ranchero himself, but it actually…

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A.D. Scott’s intriguing mystery, A Double Death on the Black Isle, is set in the 1950s in the Scottish Highlands. If townsfolk want to keep tongues from wagging and dodge the stares of neighbors, they better avoid pregnancy before marriage, working on the Sabbath and being caught in a public bar (only if they’re female). In this community, local customs and gossip play commanding roles, and though it’s a small enough town, there’s still room for a little enmity between the farmers and the fishermen, the year-rounders and the nomadic Traveling People.

The mystery kicks in when fisherman Sandy Skinner, newly married “above his station” to Patricia Ord Mackenzie—a member of the estate-owning Highland gentry—dramatically plunges over the Falls of Foyers to certain death. That same day, the volatile Fraser Munro, whose family manages the estate’s lands, is found dead in a ditch near Devil’s Den. Coincidence or connection? 

We join the cast and crew of the Highland Gazette, a newly re-launched newspaper, as they rush to cover the story of a fishing boat that’s been bombed and sunk, followed in quick succession by the two unexplained deaths on neighboring Black Isle. Scott, who is also the author of A Small Death in the Great Glen, book one in this Highland series, draws readers right into the sights, sounds and nostalgia of a small-town newspaper, where reporters still hit the streets in search of a story and deadline day is an adrenaline rush of untangling loose ends.

Joanne Ross, a typist and budding reporter at the Gazette, is the protagonist of this novel, although my favorite character may be reporter Rob McLean, who is ambitious, funny and quick at nosing out a story. He’s got his eye on the future, although readers will be very disappointed if he takes another job and exits this series. Memorable characters also include Hector Bain—he of the green cap and orange hair and a passion for photography—and the Black Isle residents themselves, who sneak one and all into your reading consciousness, like Janet Ord Mackenzie (mother of Patricia), whose gothic air and ring-bedecked pointy finger remind Joanne’s young daughter of the queen in Snow White.

A Double Death on the Black Isle is filled with alliteration and atmosphere. Just about every character seems to be related somehow, and it’s occasionally difficult to keep the Allies, Agneses and Alistairs all straight. However, the end result is worth sticking around for and readers will be left anticipating the next installment.

A.D. Scott’s intriguing mystery, A Double Death on the Black Isle, is set in the 1950s in the Scottish Highlands. If townsfolk want to keep tongues from wagging and dodge the stares of neighbors, they better avoid pregnancy before marriage, working on the Sabbath and…

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