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Who knew that a pair of octogenarian detectives would become a hit with crime fans? Christopher Fowler’s mystery series about the ancillary London police team aptly called the Peculiar Crimes Unit has become just that, and his ninth book, The Invisible Code, has solidified the series’ reputation as a durable success.

Forget beautiful, young noir heroines and sexy, bad-boy PIs—the unlikely “old guys” duo of John May and Arthur Bryant have stolen the show. They aren’t exactly Abbot and Costello, but the straight arrow / nutty sidekick model describes them well. May’s the impeccably dressed rationalist, a list-maker who follows leads from A to Z, and is (fortunately) not off-putting to higher police authorities. Bryant, with his rumpled, Columbo-style wardrobe and scraggly scarf, uses eccentric methods, capitalizing on the irrational and traveling a winding mental road to detective enlightenment. The two have a longstanding friendship, and their styles complement each other. They’re at their most humorous when the author is not trying to make them funny.

At the beginning of The Invisible Code, two children play a game called “Witch Hunter” while a woman drops dead inside an ancient London church. At the same time, a government official enters fragile negotiations for an international deal that can ensure his promotion and make his career, while his wife goes off her mental rails, claiming she’s pursued by witches. 

In fact, there’s more than a whiff of witchcraft in this tale, as the detectives investigate a bizarre series of murders that seem unconnected. They follow a trail that veers drastically from power games among government officials and their wives to eerie hints of the supernatural. Maybe, the detectives think, it’s all the same thing.

En route to catching the killer, the duo must think beyond the traditional borders of sanity, unravel a puzzling code, de-mystify a grim relic lying in a concealed room and travel from the famed enigma-solving Bletchley Park to the Cedar Tree Clinic for the mentally troubled. Bryant even consults with an eccentric government worker who helps on cases containing “abnormalities” and sifts clues dispensed by a character with satanic aspirations, forebodingly named Mr. Merry.

If anyone can do it, who is better suited than the mischievous, inventive detectives from Peculiar Crimes? Bryant and May are at the top of their game as they cast reason aside and challenge the halls of power and influence.

Who knew that a pair of octogenarian detectives would become a hit with crime fans? Christopher Fowler’s mystery series about the ancillary London police team aptly called the Peculiar Crimes Unit has become just that, and his ninth book, The Invisible Code, has solidified the…

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Death Comes to the Village marks the debut of the stellar new Kurland St. Mary mystery series, as author Catherine Lloyd offers readers an authentic picture of rural village life in 1816 England, lacing it with a plausible mystery and characters that catch the fancy.

From the get-go, Lloyd presents a depressing picture of the prescribed roles for women in the Regency period. Almost totally dependent on men for their status and livelihood, they’re expected to marry as well as their place in the social hierarchy allows, to raise a family and to stay mainly interested in local gossip, fashion and socials.

However, the author provides just a hint of hope that times may be a-changin’, if only for the book’s heroine. Lucy Harrington bears the extra burden of being the rector’s daughter; she must visit the poor and sickly, maintain an appearance of rectitude, smother her own opinions and refrain from punching the pasty-faced curate who seems to fancy her. As the eldest daughter of a widowed father, it seems she’ll never escape her bonds of responsibility to a self-absorbed father who treats her like a glorified servant.

But Lucy doesn’t quite fit the traditional mold. Somewhere along the line she’s inherited a spine, and she longs to gain her independence, unlikely as that appears at the moment. Good for her—and for us as readers.

Enter Major Robert Kurland (we learn early on that he has a “dashing” appearance), wounded at Waterloo and still largely bedridden. He’s one of the “visitees” on Lucy’s do-good list, and the two slowly begin to uncover a sinister layer beneath the tranquil surface of village life. The Major witnesses a suspicious figure passing outside his window one moonlit night, and his suspicions dovetail with those of Lucy, who is concerned about the mysterious disappearance of two village servant girls, one from Lucy’s own household. Soon the two are swapping clues and theories.

The Major’s quick tongue and quicker temper ignite Lucy’s naturally questioning attitude and penchant for adventure, and the stage is set for some sparks—albeit of a toned-down Regency nature—as their unlikely romance begins to take shape. A nicely drawn supporting cast, including a pouting fiancé, a yucky curate, a selfish father and a dangerous town drunk, fills out the pages of this well-drawn, grown-up cozy and sets the stage for future series entries with these colorful characters.

Death Comes to the Village marks the debut of the stellar new Kurland St. Mary mystery series, as author Catherine Lloyd offers readers an authentic picture of rural village life in 1816 England, lacing it with a plausible mystery and characters that catch the fancy.

From…

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The world is about to be buried up to its neck in snow and ice. A perfect storm of gigantic proportions is descending on the Adirondacks, and in Through the Evil Days, it becomes yet another enemy to add to an already impressive list. This addictive new entry in Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Russ Van Alstyne/Clare Fergusson mystery series is a worthy successor to the previous books in the award-winning series that began in 2002.

Now married, Millers Kill Chief of Police Russ Van Alstyne and Episcopal priest Clare Fergusson are expecting their first child—an unplanned life change that has sent Russ reeling. He feels they need time together to adjust to the upcoming event, so they’re off for a delayed honeymoon at a cabin on a remote Adirondack lake. When the snowstorm begins in earnest, they mistakenly think that being snowed in will leave them snug and warm, holed up with plenty of food for the duration. Wrong!

Back in Millers Kill, New York, police officers Kevin Flynn and Hadley Knox investigate a local house fire that claimed two adult victims and left missing an 8-year-old foster child with a life-threatening illness. As the detectives search for the youngster, the fire becomes a complicated case involving a meth operation in the Adirondack wilds and a host of suspects. The drug connection leads the detectives to an uneasy alliance with an odd husband-wife pair of federal agents—who may have another, more devious agenda.

Kevin and Hadley provide a commanding side story to that of the beleaguered honeymoon couple. Russ and Clare each bring a personal and professional crisis to the isolated cabin—stories they’ve yet to share with each other. These intriguing sidesteps make the book all but impossible to put down.

The chapters jockey back and forth between the Millers Kill cops, as they slip and slide through an increasingly dangerous investigation, and the disastrous and life-threatening scene facing Russ and Clare, stranded by the weather and threatened by the very criminals their compatriots seek. These complicated storylines come together seamlessly, providing readers with an evening or two of nail-biting tension as the crippling snow and ice bring law enforcement and criminals alike to their knees. Hate to offer up that old chestnut, but this is a book not to be missed.

The world is about to be buried up to its neck in snow and ice. A perfect storm of gigantic proportions is descending on the Adirondacks, and in Through the Evil Days, it becomes yet another enemy to add to an already impressive list. This…

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Tasha Alexander’s new book, Behind the Shattered Glass, is the eighth in her Lady Emily historical suspense series and one of the more enjoyable books this reviewer has read in some time. It is written with such a sure, smooth hand, it almost seems as if Alexander’s words arrive on paper without effort, and it illustrates why she has become a New York Times best-selling author.

Emily and her dashing husband, Colin Hargreave, get caught up in a new puzzle when Archibald Scolfield, a neighbor and the latest Marquess of Montagu, staggers into the library of their Anglemore Park estate and drops dead on the carpet. Not content to leave the murder investigation up to the police, they decide to find the killer themselves by retracing the events that led to his untimely death.

Since the Hargreaves live in the late Victorian era and can’t pursue the evidence via jet flight, SUV or Internet, the book proceeds at an enjoyable pace as Emily and Colin travel to neighbors’ homes on horseback or take a railway train or horse-drawn carriage to various picturesque English destinations to piece the story together.

It soon becomes clear that Archibald enjoyed the ladies—in particular, servant girls well below his societal status—and suspects galore begin to emerge as Emily traces the various female conquests the Marquess left in his wake. Suspicion also falls on the vicar’s daughter, who imagined herself betrothed to the man, as well as on his cousin Matilda, who stood to lose her right to live at the Montagu estate should Archibald decide to marry.

Britain’s rigid social hierarchy is a subject of high concern to both the “upstairs” and “downstairs” characters, and the story emerges in alternating up- and below-stairs narratives that dovetail nicely at the finale. The author is skilled at introducing small events that crisscross one person’s story with another’s, throwing suspicion in all directions. There are also some diverting romantic angles, including a set-to between two of the book’s most entertaining characters, Lady Matilda and her distant cousin Rodney, the (possibly illegitimate) new Lord Montagu.

Emily sometimes appears as a product of her times, while in other moments she seems to inhabit a more modern era as she looks with humor at the foibles and social misconceptions of an earlier time. In either case, her adventures go down easily and are a delight to read.

Tasha Alexander’s new book, Behind the Shattered Glass, is the eighth in her Lady Emily historical suspense series and one of the more enjoyable books this reviewer has read in some time. It is written with such a sure, smooth hand, it almost seems as…

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In her pitch-perfect sequel to the Edgar-nominated mystery The Gods of Gotham, Lyndsay Faye returns to the 1840s with newly minted “copper star” Timothy Wilde once again hitting the streets as an intuitive investigator, positioned high among the ranks of New York City’s first police force. Faye’s eye for detail brings to life the city streets and the people who live there, from poor immigrants looking for shelter to conniving politicians looking for votes. The accurately rendered historical setting anchors Faye’s story in time and gives her characters a regrettably plausible mystery to solve: Where are Mrs. Lucy Adams’ sister and son, free blacks who have been kidnapped from their home by lawless slave traders? And what other crimes, and criminals, will Wilde expose in his quest to bring Lucy’s family home again?

Faye skillfully juggles a number of multifaceted characters and keeps readers just a little unsure what each might do next. Wilde appears righteous and law-abiding, for instance, but isn’t above relocating a corpse if it might prevent his brother Valentine from becoming a murder suspect. Said brother is, on the surface, reckless and rude, but he’s also brilliant and endlessly loyal to the brother whose often-awkward problem-solving methods drive him crazy. The banter between the siblings is one of the novel’s great delights, as their mutual aggravation and affection become clearer with each step they take toward solving the crime. Other colorful characters round out Wilde’s world, like ruthless Madam Silkie Marsh, no-nonsense landlady Mrs. Boehm and the precocious wise child, Bird, who has a lot to learn about the world but also a lot to teach.

It’s the people who inhabit Wilde’s world that keep the historical setting from ever feeling like a mere backdrop. Instead, the city is part and parcel of their everyday lives, and Wilde’s case reflects the realities of the day. We meet a starving Irish family begging at Val’s doorstep, and we hear Wilde’s arguments in a court as he attempts to clear a hardworking free man of false accusations. Even the dialogue reflects the times, as Faye makes liberal use of “flash,” or street language, an amalgamation of British, German, Dutch and Yiddish that has characters calling houses “kens” and sitting at the dinner table to “yam” their pigeon pie. It’s like Faye has dropped us directly into the ebb and flow of city life circa 1846, which makes solving the crime a personal quest not just for Wilde, but for readers as well.

In her pitch-perfect sequel to the Edgar-nominated mystery The Gods of Gotham, Lyndsay Faye returns to the 1840s with newly minted “copper star” Timothy Wilde once again hitting the streets as an intuitive investigator, positioned high among the ranks of New York City’s first police…

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The Case of the Love Commandos is the fourth novel by Tarquin Hall to feature Vish Puri, head of India’s Most Private Investigators, Ltd., and readers can prepare for a wild trip through an assortment of crisscrossing and intersecting stories.

Take a missing student named Ram from India’s untouchable Dalit caste, link him with Thuri, the daughter of a landowner from the higher Thakur caste, and you get a couple of star-crossed lovers. Add one stolen wallet, a murder and attempted framing, and a pilgrimage to the mountain shrine of a popular deity that ends in a giant heist. Then mix these with an eerie genetic research facility called ICMB, whose influence—and funds—appear to reach the seats of local government and beyond, and you have the beginnings of a twisty, colorful tale that will whisk you through the countryside and city vistas of northern India and the streets of Delhi.

Puri, whose unfashionable sartorial style favors safari suits of different hues, often seems to be a step behind his main rival, the spiffily dressed Hari Kumar of Spycatcher Investigative Services. But watch closely and you’ll find that Puri’s scattered activities conceal a clever mind (working best on a full stomach) and the patience to conduct a clue-by-clue investigation of even the smallest bits of information. He uses a crew of operatives with wonderful names such as Facecream, Handbrake, Flush, Tubelight and Door Stop, whose crazy monikers belie their many capabilities of disguise and wile. A new, youthful addition to the agency, a boy named Deep, gives added dimension to the story and proves indispensable as Puri wraps up the case and one-ups his rival.

Hall’s colorful and direct writing is full of understated humor and gentle satire, and it provides a multifaceted look at India’s ongoing social issues of caste and hierarchy, family, love and marriage. The best thing about Love Commandos, however, is not its story, though it’s a fine and twisty tale. And it’s not the character of Puri, though the devious, clever, rather pompous, food-loving detective gets our attention and affection. What takes first place in this book is India itself. Hall offers us an up-close and personal view of present-day India, a vibrant, helter-skelter dance of color and hubbub in a pungent, savory atmosphere full of noise, confusion and corruption, bursting with change.

The Case of the Love Commandos is the fourth novel by Tarquin Hall to feature Vish Puri, head of India’s Most Private Investigators, Ltd., and readers can prepare for a wild trip through an assortment of crisscrossing and intersecting stories.

Take a missing student named Ram…

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The Sound and the Furry is the 6th book in Spencer Quinn’s delightful and insightful Chet and Bernie mystery series. Bernie’s the human detective, while his canine partner, Chet, narrates each book, lending his singular methodology to the unique crime-solving team. Chet lives in every moment (we envy him), with few muddy introspections to divert him from the joy of the present, whether it’s riding shotgun with Bernie or the taste of bacon.

Chet and Bernie spring from the fertile brain of well-known crime fiction author Peter Abrahams, who kept his alter ego of Spencer Quinn a secret through the first few books of this series. Quinn/Abrahams, a serious dog lover himself, interprets and elaborates on the dog-human bond with great inventiveness, and Chet and Bernie’s separate skills make them a funny and surprisingly successful team. Who’s in charge? Hard to say. Bernie does the head work, but Chet smells the smells and hears the snaps in the bushes long before his human companion does, and his instinct for nosing out a bad guy is right on target.

Fact is, though, all this canine wit and wisdom would wear quickly without the added dimension of a good plot and well-drawn human characters with staying power. The Sound and the Furry scores high as a complicated and suspenseful page-turner. Here the duo has left their Southwest desert hometown to head for Faulkner country, deep in Louisiana. They’re looking for a missing man—a straight arrow, jazz-loving, dog-owning guy named Ralph who’s a member of the edge-of-the-law Boutette family.

The Boutettes have an ancient feud with the Robideaus across the bayou bridge, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are dudes with cowboy hats and dudes with facemasks, troublemakers from an oil company inaccurately named Green Oil, and an intense drug gang called the Quieros. And in one genuinely scary chapter, Chet faces a watery match with a frightening creature named Iko.

How does a shrimp heist tie in with a fatal drug overdose, oil-covered birds and Ralph’s mysterious disappearance? Readers will have a grand time piecing it all together with Chet and Bernie.

The Sound and the Furry is the 6th book in Spencer Quinn’s delightful and insightful Chet and Bernie mystery series. Bernie’s the human detective, while his canine partner, Chet, narrates each book, lending his singular methodology to the unique crime-solving team. Chet lives in every…

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The Romantic poets provide a rich source of material for Lynn Shepherd’s latest historical mystery, A Fatal Likeness. This is the second outing for Charles Maddox, the discerning detective first introduced as the likely heir to his uncle’s legendary “thief-taking” legacy in Shepherd’s Dickensian mystery The Solitary House. Steeped in well-researched literary lore, A Fatal Likeness proposes an alternative history for Frankenstein author Mary Shelley, her volatile husband and renowned poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and their cohorts. Her multilayered story examines dark turns of mind and mysterious deaths that may be explained by the missing papers Maddox is charged with finding.

Although Maddox tackles the case in 1850, much of A Fatal Likeness takes us back in time to 1816, to the tumultuous summer that brought the Shelleys and Lord Byron together in a writers’ retreat filled with intrigue, infidelities and the ghost stories that gave life to Frankenstein. Shepherd also expands upon the untold story of Claire Clairmont, Mary’s stepsister, going back and forth between the naïve girl entranced by a world of poetry and the practical, self-protective woman Claire has become.

The third-person omniscient narration is at turns engaging and confounding as the past blends with the present. It’s an appropriate confusion, as much of Shepherd’s story hinges on the parallels between then and now. Many characters are mirror images of each other, and their entanglements feed the intrigue, although some complicated relationships will make more sense to Shelley scholars than the average reader.

Shepherd provides an intricate family tree and thorough explanatory notes to help readers discern which parts of the Shelley story are fact and which are fiction. Obviously knowledgeable about the history, Shepherd uses gaps in the record as a jumping-off point for her fiction, while still respecting the writers’ real-life stories. Lovers of literary mysteries and historical fiction will appreciate the balanced approach Shepherd takes in A Fatal Likeness.

The Romantic poets provide a rich source of material for Lynn Shepherd’s latest historical mystery, A Fatal Likeness. This is the second outing for Charles Maddox, the discerning detective first introduced as the likely heir to his uncle’s legendary “thief-taking” legacy in Shepherd’s Dickensian mystery…

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“I have drunk, and seen the spider.” This extraordinary quote from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale has seldom been better employed than in Barbara Cleverly’s new Scotland Yard mystery, aptly titled A Spider in the Cup. It chillingly refers to one character’s realization that the gruesome murder of an innocent person was committed solely to frighten him and weaken his already “wounded, fearful mind.”

This new release in the author’s Joe Sandilands series is set in 1933 between the two World Wars. Assistant Commissioner Sandilands is on assignment protecting American Senator Cornelius Kingstone, who—with his bodyguard, Bill Armitage—is attending a crucial international economic summit in London. Kingstone, a close advisor to President Franklin Roosevelt, is a major player at the conference, and Armitage is a newly minted American citizen who’s well known to Sandilands from their shared military service as Britishers in the Great War. The three form a triad around which the rest of the story revolves, and they become part of a high-stakes political game where the fates of nations hang in the balance and no one can be trusted.

Earlier in the day of the summit meeting, members of the Bloomsbury Society of Dowsers search for concealed metals that may be buried at the tideline of the steamy, polluted Thames River. Instead of treasure, however, they unearth the body of a woman, whose mouth contains an ancient-looking coin.

Impossible as it seems, a thread of connection links Senator Kingstone to the early morning discovery, and Sandilands must do some excavating of his own to unearth a bizarre plot that takes him from a shooting party at a country estate to a private health clinic for women set on a back street of London. The detective finds himself subjected to a crash course in survival in this world of international intrigue, as seen through the prism of clever lawyers, economists, industrialists and other prima donnas (even including some of the Russian ballet variety).

There are a number of asides in the narrative, including a fascinating look at the ancient game of Nine Men’s Morris, which dates back to the Roman Empire and adds a nice puzzle to the plot. The measured pace of the writing does not lend itself to page-turning suspense, but it highlights the historical backdrop as major world powers make fateful decisions and alliances in the prologue to World War II. In-depth descriptions of the main characters are matched by realistic dialogue, historical details and an atmospheric re-creation of those turbulent times.

“I have drunk, and seen the spider.” This extraordinary quote from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale has seldom been better employed than in Barbara Cleverly’s new Scotland Yard mystery, aptly titled A Spider in the Cup. It chillingly refers to one character’s realization that the gruesome…

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A strong, sexy, modern woman is at the helm of Barbara Rogan’s smart new mystery series that kicks off with A Dangerous Fiction. Rogan introduces Jo Donovan, a talented literary agent trying to put her life back together after the death of her larger-than-life husband, esteemed author Hugo Donovan. There’s challenge enough for the grieving widow in running a successful New York literary agency, but Jo faces much more. When a would-be client becomes obsessed with Jo and begins infiltrating her life on a very personal level, she has to figure out the story behind the stalking.

A literary agent turns detective to catch a stalker.

Rogan’s experience as a novelist shows in the way she seamlessly combines a fast-paced mystery with witty literary references, a strong sense of place and an intriguing romance (or two). A New Yorker and a former literary agent herself, Rogan seems equally at ease with casual banter around the slush pile at the agency and the formal show put on at expensive lunches with clients. Readers will feel at ease, too, as though they are part of the literary world’s inner circle.

Adding to the sense of camaraderie is the first-person narration by Jo herself. We’re in her head a lot of the time, and when the stalker’s efforts escalate to include Jo's clients, staff and closest friends, it feels personal. Even though Rogan separates us from the violence a bit by describing the acts after they’ve been committed, the way each blow hits Jo is palpable. She’s shocked by the awful things happening around her but helpless to stop them.

Or is she? As the book progresses, the reader slowly comes to realize that Jo's perspective might be a little skewed. Are there things that her grief has kept her from remembering or understanding? As we come to doubt our narrator, we also have reason to suspect almost every character in the novel, and a great deal of the fun comes from trying to guess who the real culprit is. Is it the handsome detective who appears from Jo’s past? Or maybe the aggressive agent vying for Jo’s position at the agency? It’s not easy to predict, although the clues are there, and Rogan spins out the suspense even after the case seems to be closed.

There’s always another side to the story, and Jo Donovan has to do some deep digging to reveal it. A thoroughly entertaining and engaging mystery, A Dangerous Fiction is not the last we’ll see of Jo Donovan, as Rogan is currently at work on the sequel.

A strong, sexy, modern woman is at the helm of Barbara Rogan’s smart new mystery series that kicks off with A Dangerous Fiction. Rogan introduces Jo Donovan, a talented literary agent trying to put her life back together after the death of her larger-than-life husband,…

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With an already established list of mysteries set in the Virginia wine country, Ellen Crosby tries her hand at the enigmatic world of international espionage with Multiple Exposure, the first installment in a brand new mystery series featuring the bold and inquisitive photojournalist Sophie Medina. Crosby—who has been a freelance reporter for the Washington Post, a Moscow correspondent for ABC Radio News and an economist for the U.S. Senate—seamlessly blends fact with fiction to establish a fast-paced mystery that is as creative as it is well researched.

In this vibrantly intriguing novel set in the heart of Washington, D.C., Sophie pulls out all the stops to find her husband, who is a covert CIA agent and has gone missing. Who would have taken him? Could he have possibly staged his own kidnapping? Why can’t he come home? Amid illicit oil deals, a burgeoning political scandal and Russian thugs, Sophie’s questions continue to build, and it only gets worse when she takes a job photographing two never-before-seen Fabergé eggs of Imperial Russia, now on display at the National Gallery of Art. This quick-witted heroine holds her own against rough-edged Russian thugs and self-serving political giants who have no sympathy for those who get in the way.

Readers looking for a lively, alluring mystery teeming with intellectual takeaways that become instant conversation starters will enjoy Multiple Exposure, as well as its spirited female lead, elements of Russian art history and international conspiracy.

With an already established list of mysteries set in the Virginia wine country, Ellen Crosby tries her hand at the enigmatic world of international espionage with Multiple Exposure, the first installment in a brand new mystery series featuring the bold and inquisitive photojournalist Sophie Medina.…

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Fans of James Lee Burke’s long-running Dave Robicheaux series (20 books, if you’re counting) will cheer the release of his new novel—it’s the perfect book to sink into and while away a hot, muggy summer evening. In Light of the World, the Louisiana detective is in Montana enjoying a crisp, clear, windblown summer along with wife Molly, daughter Alafair, buddy Clete and Clete’s daughter, Gretchen, recently introduced in the series.

But the breezes and mountain vistas take second shift as the novel progresses. Alafair is convinced someone is watching her, a lurking presence in town and out in the backcountry. She’s certain she recognizes her stalker. But how could it be convicted serial killer Asa Surrette, who supposedly met a recent fiery death when the prison van in which he was riding collided with an oil tanker? If it is Surrette, he’s got a big score to settle with lawyer and novelist Alafair, who heaped literary coals on Surrette’s head at the time of his trial and sentencing. The pristine mountain landscape is suddenly clouded, with every cave and hideaway a potential lair for the evil that seems bent on pursuing the Robicheaux crew.

Burke is at the peak of his formidable descriptive powers here, depicting violence at every turn and terror in the dark places of mind and landscape. He is at his best when he presents a circus of oddments who make their indelible mark in this marvelous hunk of a story—including Wyatt Dixon, a cowboy and self-described rodeo man whose eccentricities—including speaking in tongues—mask a steely readiness for battle. When Wyatt is protecting his newfound girlfriend, Miss Bertha, Burke describes how the cowboy’s “upper body was streaming with sweat and stenciled with nests of veins when he struck the first blow.” There’s a badass detective named Jack Boyd and a creamy-skinned “nocturnal flower” named Felicity. And Dave himself takes a scary turn toward the Scriptural in a battle of his own against the devil he knows or imagines.

Dave and Clete intersperse their meditations on the limits of rationality and the battle between good and evil with episodes of starkly drawn suspense, with Burke’s hard-edged, offbeat humor always at the ready. Everyone’s familiar with buddy flicks, but this variation beats all, in a climactic battle of dads and daughters against the forces of evil.

Fans of James Lee Burke’s long-running Dave Robicheaux series (20 books, if you’re counting) will cheer the release of his new novel—it’s the perfect book to sink into and while away a hot, muggy summer evening. In Light of the World, the Louisiana detective is…

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It’s springtime in the village of St. Denis in the French province of Dordogne. Flowers bloom, the church choir rehearses for Easter, corks pop from wine bottles, the outdoor market displays delicious treats . . . and the dead body of a nude woman drifts lazily down the river in an abandoned rowboat.

Here’s where Benoît “Bruno” Courrèges enters—or should we say ambles—into Martin Walker’s latest mystery novel featuring the popular village Chief of Police.

The Devil’s Cave marks the fifth entry in the Bruno crime series, which contains village adventures both culinary and murderous. A sunny village atmosphere stands in sharp contrast to murky goings-on, and Bruno seems equally at home pursuing criminal activities in this deceptively rustic setting as he does cooking in his small farmhouse kitchen, whipping up a mouth-watering meal of smoked ham, white asparagus and new potatoes with dandelion buds sautéed in butter.

The French countryside gets a little bit darker in the newest mystery starring Bruno, Chief of Police.

The relaxed yet resolute detective enjoys sharing a glass of wine with his friends, horseback riding, feeding his chickens, maneuvering between girlfriends and cooking gourmet repasts, but he proves just as adept when he takes charge of the gruesome crime scene, where the floating body is surrounded by black candles and marked by crude symbols indicating a connection to the black arts. Bruno is soon called upon to explore the “Devil’s Cave,” a local tourist attraction containing caverns, an underground river and a silent, dark lake, where the trappings of a strange occult Mass are discovered, seemingly connected to the woman on the river.

Complications ensue as well-heeled visitors descend on the town as part of a group hoping to develop a “vacation village” near St. Denis. At the same time, relatives surface who may be connected to the estate of the aging, comatose local resident known to all as the Red Countess, whose infamous activities date back to the French Resistance during World War II. A local case of domestic abuse is followed by a second death that appears to be an accident. All these separate occurrences initiate an investigation that leads Bruno to a common thread that weaves them all together, and to a dark and exciting dénouement set deep underground.

The Devil’s Cave brings to life a pastoral setting where the gourmet menu is as spicy as the sex, and where readers can share in the timeless beauty of the French countryside, laced with a little murder.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read a 7 questions interview with Martin Walker for The Devil's Cave.

It’s springtime in the village of St. Denis in the French province of Dordogne. Flowers bloom, the church choir rehearses for Easter, corks pop from wine bottles, the outdoor market displays delicious treats . . . and the dead body of a nude woman drifts…

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