The Pie & Mash Detective Agency

The Pie & Mash Detective Agency by J.D. Brinkworth, 368 pages

Jane Pye and Simon Mash are a fairly bored and fairly weird couple that signed up for a private eye class on a whim. Their classmates and instructor certainly don't take them seriously, though when their instructor gives them a case that not even he could solve as homework, Jane and Simon attack it with the same misguided enthusiasm with which they approached the class. As they consider everything from serial killers to coincidence to a ghostly urban legend, Jane and Simon bumble their way through the investigation and attempt to stay out of hot water.

I don't mind hapless amateur investigators in mystery novels, but there's something annoying about the way Jane and Simon are characterized. So much of what defines them are the stereotypes of "millennial," which they are derogatorily called so many times throughout the book that I considered creating a drinking game (I did not, as I didn't want to pass out after two chapters). It was distracting from a story that went in so many different directions (probably too many directions) and needed careful concentration to crack. All in all, it was a miss. 

How to Get Away with Murder

How to Get Away with Murder by Rebecca Philipson, 368 pages

Detective Inspector Samantha Hansen is reluctant about going back to work following a traumatic experience more than six months ago. But when a teen girl is murdered in a park near Samantha's house, she's determined to help solve the crime. Complicating matters is of a "self-help" book called How to Get Away with Murder by a man going by the pseudonym Denver Brady that is found with the body. Brady professes to be a serial killer, and chapter by chapter, tells his readers how to kill and not get caught. Was the girl's murder another one of Brady's? Is it the work of a copycat? Or is the book's presence at the crime scene simply misdirection?

This was an intriguing premise, especially as Samantha's investigation is interspersed with chapters from Brady's book, and kept my interest through the bulk of the story. However, the end got a bit convoluted for my taste, and honestly, kept it from sticking in my brain for more than a week or so after reading it. OK, but nothing amazing.

Secrets Typed in Blood

 Secrets Typed in Blood by Stephen Spotswood, 384 pages,

This third installment of the Pentecost and Parker mysteries brings Lillian and Will back to New York City, and into another knotted nest of murders. Author Holly Quick writes pulpy murder stories for detective magazines under half a dozen pseudonyms, and someone is stealing her murders. Bodies keep turning up, murdered in ways that match her stories exactly. She's desperate for them to solve the murders, and to do it without letting the police know that they're looking, or that the murders are connected. Pentecost and Parker are on the case, and hopefully their professional relationship can survive it. 

This is a strong installment in a series that seems to be consistently good. I really appreciate that each book really shows Will Parker growing as a character. The tone of these books is also so immersive and engaging. This one takes place in 1947, and Will Parker narrates with a noir style that feels both classic and modern. I'm really looking forward to continuing with this series. 

The In Crowd

The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell, 424 pages

DI Caius Beauchamp was just trying to enjoy a bad play after his date stood him up when the next thing he knows, he's sitting next to a dead guy covered in vomit. As he looks into who this guy was and what he was even doing at this horrible drunken production of The Importance of Being Earnest, Caius learns that the dead man was in London looking into a cold case, the disappearance of a teen girl from a remote boarding school. Soon, Caius has taken up the banner and is simultaneously investigating this 15-year-old case as he also looks into the death of a woman pulled out of the Thames.

I feel like that was a horrible description of a book that ties together both of these cases, as well as the snooty upper crust of British society (that bit hinges on a surprisingly likeable milliner) in a compelling way. The twists were good and Vassell hit the sweet spot of letting the reader figure it out just barely before the characters did. This is the second in a series, and stood well on its own, even though I haven't read the first one yet. But I definitely will!

Snapshot

 Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson, 100 pages.

Davis and Chaz are officers who specialize in Snapshots, investigations that take place in perfect physical recreations that replicate a certain day. Within the Snapshot they're the only people who are real, giving them power to do essentially whatever they want there. They decide to use this power not only for their assigned "find the murder weapon" assignment, but also to hunt a serial killer that seems to be being covered up for some reason. As the stakes climb higher, it becomes more and more uncertain if they will both make it back to reality alive.

This was an interesting little sci-fi novella. It played with familiar tropes in a way that was creative and still exciting. There wasn't a whole lot that totally blew me away, but I did have a fun time throughout following where the plot was going. This is also a little on the introspective side for a sci-fi detective novella, which I found refreshing. A fun, quick read for people who like a detective story with a twist. 

The Brightest Fell

 The Brightest Fell by Seanan McGuire, 368 pages.

This novel, book 11 in the series, continues the trend of making Toby's life more complicated just as things are starting to look up for her. Despite these constant setbacks, her life has trended generally upward throughout, which is both a thing I appreciate and something that is made abundantly clear by the friends she is surrounded by at the start of this book. Of course, having more people you care about means having more to lose, as Toby discovers when her fiance and friend are kidnapped as leverage to force her to find her sister who has been missing for more than a century.

One of the things I appreciate the most about this series is how great it is at rewarding readers for paying attention throughout the whole series. McGuire is really great at sowing seeds for things that won't happen until many books later, which makes the payoff feel especially satisfying when it happens. It feels like were really gearing up for big plot things that have finally started rolling, and I'm really excited to see where this goes.

The Last Smile in Sunder City

 The Last Smile in Sunder City by Luke Arnold, 352 pages.

Fetch Phillips is a man-for-hire, which is like a PI but with the hopes that nobody will think he's smart. He works in Sunder City, which has largely fallen apart (along with the rest of the world) since the magic that powered it went away six years ago in an event known as The Coda. An event that (according to Fetch) was his fault. Now he's been hired to try and find a dying professor, who happens to be a vampire, in the hopes that the new inter-species elementary school he taught at and helped hold together can be saved. 

This book is an exceptional example of the urban fantasy noir genre (which is bigger than you might expect). It's rare to find urban fantasy set in a fully fantasy world, and Arnold's world is exceptionally well filled out with dozens of species, many of which have their own creation stories. The Last Smile in Sunder City does and exceptional job both filling out a large world that feels complex and full of traditions and weaving in the exposition so it never drags down the plot. I found the pacing in this novel pretty exceptional, and I had a hard time putting it down for the whole of the final 2/3 of the book. Fetch's voice is strong, and full of the kinds of exceptionally good one-liners that can really make a noir. I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed this book, and am definitely looking forward to reading the next one.

Once Broken Faith

 Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire, 420 pages.

This is the tenth book in the October Daye series, and a more direct continuation than many others in the series (which means spoilers ahead). After Toby doing diplomacy went so "well" in A Red Rose Chain, Toby is commanded by the High King of the Westlands to attend the conclave that is being called to decide whether the cure for elf-shot should be distributed or suppressed. Being in a room full of royalty is never a good time for Toby, but it gets distinctly worst after the first murder. 

This book felt like a bit of a stopgap in the series. Which isn't to say it wasn't good, I thoroughly enjoyed the action and getting to see Toby digging into detective work again. But the overall tone is that this book is gearing up for something. It had more recap than most of the previous books of what had happened in the series to date, and also broadened the scale of the world considerably. I'm not sure what comes next, but I'm pretty sure things are about to scale up.

The Postscript Murders

The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths, 315 pages

In the quiet seaside town of Shoreham, 90-year-old Peggy Smith's carer finds her dead in her apartment. While the peaceful death of an elderly woman shouldn't cause suspicions, the subsequent death of a mystery writer has detective Harbinder Kaur beginning an investigation into both deaths, helped by an odd crew of Peggy's concerned Ukranian caretaker, Peggy's neighbor, and the former monk that owns the local coffee shop, all of whom are convinced that there's a link between the deaths — and that other authors may be next on the murder list!

This is a wonderful cozy-ish mystery, with plenty of nods to golden age mysteries, modern problems, and a truly fresh set of twists and turns. So much fun!

The case of the missing men

The case of the missing men / Kris Bertin & Alexander Forbes, 300 pages.

Fans of Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys will like the vibe of this odd graphic novel that tells the story of a small town with big issues.  People are going missing, others are being murdered but the cops don't seem to be on the case.  A high school detective club starts looking for one particular missing man and finds many others.  What is happening in Hobtown?  Only a group of crazy kids can solve this mystery but at the same time, they are dealing with their own teen-age and hormonal issues.  I had a hard time following this at times and I can't say the art elevated my experience. Maybe this one was just too odd for me.

 

Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook

Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld, Joshua Cassara, Luis Guerrero, and Simon Bowland.

Abdul Jabbar's Mycroft is hired by Queen Victoria's govenrment to find a madman who has in his possession the Apocalypse book, which has allowed him to produce hundreds of massive weapons. The villian's plan is to auction of the weapons to the highest bidder and to then produce more weapons. It's fairly straightforward, and is a decent addition to the genre. I prefer the author's novels, but this is fine.

What Would Wimsey Do?

What Would Wimsey Do? by Guy Fraser-Sampson, 300 pages

After 18 months of trying to track down a serial killer, the London detectives are still stymied. When a fifth body turns up, the lead detective is taken off the task force, and a young up-and-comer is brought on to stir things up. And stir he does, bringing in a psychologist to create a profile of the murderer, and taking odd new angles on the case. But will it work?

This book was a bit of a slog. The stuff that only comes up after a year and a half of investigating seems obvious to someone who has watched just a couple episodes of any detective TV show, and the Golden Age throwback (the theoretical hook for the story) doesn't happen until more than halfway through the book. I was more than a bit disappointed.

Newcomer

Newcomer / Keigo Higashino, translated by Giles Murray, read by P. J. Ochlan, 342 pgs.

Detective Kaga is a new transfer to the Nihonbashi section of Tokyo.  He is on the team investigating the murder of a newly divorced woman in her 40s.  The book takes us through the investigation at a deliberate pace.  Kaga has a good reputation but some wonder if he has lost his fire as they watch him wander around and ask seemingly irrelevant questions.  How will this all end up?  We know the crime will be solved but are kept in the dark about what is important to the case and the connections Kaga makes as he goes.  I liked the way this unfolded and agree with Kara that it reminded me of Agatha Christie.  Well done plot and writing.  I did not enjoy the audio version enough to finish so switched to print.

Lethal White

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith, 650 pages.
Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacot are back in the fourth of J. K. Rowling's mysteries. Their personal relationship move in fits and starts in this installation, mostly because the detective agency is so busy after their success in the Shacklewell Ripper case in the previous volume. This book opens with a more detailed look at Robin's wedding, giving a recap of the end of the last novel, and then quickly goes through the next year. The case around which Lethal is focused, the blackmailing of a prominent Tory politician, soon takes center stage. Strike is particularly intrigued by the politician's relation to a mentally ill man who had come to their office raving about a child's murder. Is the man raving, as everyone close to him claims, or did something horrible happen on the minister's estate years ago?
As the blackmail case winds to a close, the large cast of suspects and interested parties become suspects in what appears to be another murder. And near-evidence of the alleged murder from long ago keeps wandering in to orbit of the current cases.
 Ellacot and Strike, compelling and likable characters, find their personal lives unraveling and fraying as the main case and a few others, take their toll. The agency has hired a few other detectives, but they're not always reliable. It's a huge book, but it moves along nicely, and all-too-soon it's over and you're facing a long wait for the fifth volume. A great read.

The Ruin

The Ruin / Dervla McTiernan, read by Aoife McMahon

Detective Cormac Reilly has recently relocated to Galway to support his partner's career.  Coming from Dublin, this might be seen as a step down.  He is not greeted with open arms by his new co-workers and is assigned a bunch of cold cases that have no new leads. The cold case duty leads back to a situation from early in his career.  He was called out to a house and found a dead woman in a house and two children who had clearly not been well cared for.  This case haunted him for a long time because the kids had clearly fallen through the cracks of the social services system...or maybe there was never much of a system and only cracks.  Now the boy from the old case is an adult and has just committed suicide.  Except his girlfriend and sister don't believe the suicide story and start making a ruckus. A few other things don't add up.  What will come of this?  I'm not going to ruin the mystery for you.

Walking Shadows

Walking Shadows: A Decker / Lazarus Novel by Faye Kellerman, 384 pages.
This was my first Faye Kellerman book in quite a while and I was a little disappointed. I don't think that the police can just casually access your tax records and I think that not paying any rent or utilities when you have a decent full-time job might explain always having enough money for nice restaurants.
Also, I was reading this while listening to a Louise Penny novel, so the crossed wires might have had a negative effect on my opinion of this book. Decker has retired from the LAPD and is living and working in Greenbury New York. While responding to a vandalism complaint Decker discovers a body and his investigation leads him to another more brutal murder in the neighboring town of Hamilton. These two murders are apparently linked and there also seems to be a connection to a pair of murders in Hamilton that occurred twenty years ago. Police corruption, family secrets, and betrayals are all threaded together in this police procedural.

Magpie Murders

Magpie Murders / Anthony Horowitz, read by Samantha Bond and Allan Corduner, 236 pages

Two books in one, this story tells of the frustration of editor Susan Ryeland who's latest submission is missing the last chapters.  She wants to edit and publish the ninth detective story featuring Atticus Pund but the rich and famous author, Alan Conway has just killed himself.  Turns out Alan was sick and going to die soon anyway and seemingly decided to take the easy way out.  But just as the mystery in Conway's book remains to be solved, Susan begins to believe that this cut and dried suicide is actually murder.  Readers get to enjoy the Conway novel within this story and so get two mysteries for the price of one.  The audio book is well done by two narrators, one for each of the stories.

The force

The Force / Don Winslow, read by Dion Graham, 482 pages

Highly decorated cop Denny Malone is the head of a special task force that is working hard to get drugs and violence off the street.  So what if occasionally they find themselves holding some money that was part of a bust.  After all, they gotta eat too.  The methods are not always exactly legal but the job is getting done so most everyone looks the other way. But it is all a slippery slope, as they say, and pretty soon they step a little further over the line and then a little further.  Eventually Denny gets popped and he turns into a rat.  This is another situation where the line keeps moving.  At first he will only sing about lawyers, then pretty soon, he is giving up his own squad when faced with the alternative that includes his wife going to jail.  This story is often thrilling and the motivations of Denny and his crew are clear.  After he tries to save his own skin, however, the narrative goes a little off course.  It becomes a huge cat and mouse game where it isn't always clear who is who.  I think that section may have deserved a little more editing.  The audio version is always excellent and Dion Graham keeps it moving and you never want to turn it off.  Overall recommended for anyone with a soft spot for cop stories.

IQ

IQ by Joe Ide, 321 pages.

Isaiah Quintabe, the IQ from the title, has been on his own since he was in high-school. He made some bad decisions back then and has been making himself pay for them ever since. His payment back to the community takes the form of using his deductive powers and solving their problems, helping his friends and neighbors to find a little bit of justice in an unfair world. Comparisons between IQ and Sherlock Holmes, both in the book itself and in reviews of the book led me to think that he would be a different character, he's more tenacious, but has less of that flash f instant recognition of what is important than the Baker Street detective, IQ's Watson, Dodson, "a member in good standing of the H-Town Deuce Trey Crip Violators', an ex-con who has been in his life since they were both in high school, is an interesting character, unique among sidekicks. A very good read. I look forward to seeing more in the series.

Razor Girl

Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen, 333 pages.
Former police detective, and current health inspector, Andrew Yancy returns in this second novel set among the more ethically challenged citizens of the Florida Keys. While tagging along with his former partner, and hoping to get back in the sheriff's good graces and return to the police force, Yancy meets Merry Mansfield, a specialist in faked car accidents. Merry's specialty gives rise to the title. There's a lot going on in this book, with reality TV stars, mobsters, and, as with Yancy's debut, Bad Monkey, neighbors who want to block the main character's view.
A fun read for fans of Hiassen.