Past Lying

Past Lying by Val McDermid, 452 pages

It's late March 2020, and DCI Karen Pirie and her team at the Historic Crimes Unit are bored to tears with nothing to do during COVID lockdown when a call comes in from the National Library with a possible lead in a cold case. Late thriller author Jake Stein donated his personal archives to the library upon his death, and as archivists started to go through his belongings, they discovered an unpublished manuscript that matches very closely the details of an unsolved case of a missing woman. Now Pirie and her team must figure out how to reopen the case under the tight restrictions of lockdown.

I love the premise for this book, the seventh in McDermid's Karen Pirie series, though I was a bit surprised by how mobile the HCU team was during Scotland's strict lockdown regulations — I seriously thought they'd be doing all of the interviews via Zoom, yet they were meeting people in the park and sitting 6 feet away instead. That said, this was a remarkably quick and engaging read for 450 pages, and even though I figured out several of the twists WAY early, I still enjoyed the book, particularly the relationship between Pirie and her two teammates. I haven't read the other books in this series, but I'll probably put them on my TBR to check out at some future date.

Sheine Lende

 Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger, 391 pages.

Shane, like many of the women in her family before her, has the power to rouse ghosts from the world below. She and her mother use these powers, including the tracking power of their ghost dog, to find missing people (whether they can pay or not). Which is the right thing, but also hard, since money has been tight since they lost their home, community, and several family members in a flood many years ago. Things get even harder when her mother goes missing on a search and rescue mission for two siblings, and Shane has to go further than she ever thought possible to get her back.

This prequel to Elatsoe really works as a prequel in a way that many don't. The story didn't undercut anything from that book, while also not being rendered less meaningful because we know how Shane eventually ends up. Rather it added a lot of depth and history to a character we only see in passing, letting her own her story in the same way the Ellie does in her book. That being said, this book didn't work for me quite as well as Elatsoe. I found the pacing to be a little slow and clunky, and I had a hard time really getting into this book. It's still worth reading for fans of Darcie Little Badger, but I would recommend her other books first if you're looking for modern fantasy mixed with Lipan Apache mythology. 

Diavola

Diavola by Jennifer Thorne, 291 pages

As the lone singleton on her family vacation to Tuscany, Anna is a bit of an outcast. She's useful because she speaks Italian, but otherwise, her parents and siblings pretty much treat her as an attention-hogging waste of space. When she starts noticing creepy stuff happening at the villa they've rented, Anna's observations just feed into her family's assumptions. But before long, even they can't ignore the unexplained events going on at their villa...

This horror novel was scary on multiple levels, from the uncannily real way Anna's family treats her to the supernatural spookiness that latches onto the main character. I loved that this book kept me guessing, and I really loved that my guesses were never right. A fantastic horror novel.

Shelterwood

Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate, 347 pages

In 1909 Oklahoma, precocious young girl Olive runs away from home to save her adopted sister, a Choctaw orphan named Nessa, from her stepfather's bad intentions. Eighty years later, park security officer Valerie is new to the fictitious Winding Stair National Park when she discovers that her coworkers are trying to sweep aside an investigation of old bones in a cave as she simultaneously searches for a missing teenager. As the story bounces back and forth between the two timelines, it become increasingly clear that the two stories are connected, though it's hard to say exactly how.

It's interesting, though not particularly surprising, to learn more about the many ways in which indigenous Americans were treated 100+ years ago, particularly in Oklahoma, and it's intriguing to think about the ways in which we as a society continue the oppression of this culture. That said, the presentation of these two stories is a bit stilted and uneven, and I kept getting frustrated with the odd pacing of both stories. That said, for those who read or watched Killers of the Flower Moon and wanted to learn more about the era through a novel, this is an OK option.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1926) 288 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Hoopla narrated by Charles Armstrong. Classic murder mystery with private detective Hercule Poirot. It plays with mystery tropes that were already recognized in the 1920s such as "the butler did it." Early on suspicion seems to fall on the butler, until each other family member or staff of the victim is forced to reveal their secrets. But who ultimately killed Roger Ackroyd?
 

A Great Marriage

A Great Marriage by Frances Mayes (2024) 298 pages

Dara and Austin are set to be married in a short time. Dara and all of her family loves Austin—the Londoner is so much better for her than most of the guys Dara dated in her younger years, and her family and friends note the sparks between the couple are strong. Austin cannot believe his good fortune in his relationship with Dara, as well. When Austin gets unexpected news, it upends their relationship, and Dara won't tell her family and friends why.

The novel explores romantic relationships while showing us families with strong ties. The action is slow, but fitting for a story where the main characters, as well as some of the secondary characters, need to figure out what the way forward could be.

Sounds Like a Plan

Sounds Like a Plan by Pamela Samuels Young and Dwayne Alexander Smith (2024) 292 pages

Mackenzie Cunningham and Jackson Jones are both private detectives in Southern California. When they find themselves crossing paths several times, they have questions. And when they learn that there is a $50,000 reward for finding a missing woman, they are each determined to earn it. Did I mention that they are both young (although they have each had other careers), Black and quite independent? Mackenzie is short, very fit, and skilled in martial arts. Jackson is a former cop who lost his career when he turned in his partner for bad behavior. He also likes expensive suits.

The lightning fast action takes them back and forth over the LA area as they butt heads while also each noting that they might find the other quite appealing. Fast, entertaining read.

[I'll be awaiting another book featuring this duo expected to be released this summer.]

Voyage of the Damned

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White, 459 pages

In Concordia, each province has just one person who has a single magical blessing, an ability that is passed down genetically from one leader to the next, though one of them (the emperor) has untold powers that pass through his line. To celebrate the empire, its unity, and its magical powers, the 12 Blessed board a ship for a voyage to a sacred mountain. Unfortunately, one of the 12 people on board is Ganymedes (Dee, to his friends), the Blessed of the lowly Fish province, who has a BIG secret: he doesn't actually have a blessing, and it's most likely going to appear in one of his philandering father's illegitimate offspring. But before he can worry too much about that, the Blessed start dying off dramatically, and Dee has to figure out who's killing them before he becomes a victim and his lack of magical power is discovered.

This mix of mystery and fantasy is surprisingly light and fast to read, though there are some wild twists and turns that are both hard to see and not particularly necessary. However, White did an excellent job of creating compelling characters that are easy to love or hate — there's no in-between with this crowd. I'm intrigued to see what she'll come up with next.

Safe and Sound

Safe and Sound by Laura McHugh, 288 pages

Amelia and Kylee were safely asleep upstairs when their cousin Grace (who had been babysitting them) went missing several years ago. Other than a smear of blood in the kitchen, there's been no trace of her in their chunk of rural Missouri, nor anywhere else they can think of. Now, as teenagers, the sisters are torn between doing as Grace wished and leaving town to seek their future elsewhere, or staying in tiny Beaumont, where their aunt keeps hoping for some sign of Grace. When a body is discovered nearby, the sisters start their own investigation into Grace's disappearance in the hopes that they'll find some closure and be able to move on with their lives.

This is just about the slowest burning thriller I've come across, and it's a fairly depressing one. That said, the characters are well-realized, and the only thing that keeps me from fully recommending this one is the end, which gets a bit wonky, given the lead-up to it. Still, not a bad book, as long as you're OK with a stripped-bare version of rural Missouri.

What Waits in the Woods

What Waits in the Woods by Terri Parlato, 342 pages

Esme Foster left her hometown 11 years ago to follow her dreams to become a professional ballerina, and when she left, she also abandoned the relationships with her family and friends. But after an injury ends her dancing career, Esme decides to return home. However, as she pulls up at the home her dad and brother share, she learns that her high school friend Kara has been found murdered in the woods behind her house. Detective Rita Myers is in charge of the case, and doesn't seem to be making much headway, grasping at various theories, each of which is increasingly unlikely. There has to be a break in the case soon...

This is an odd mix of a mystery and a thriller, though I think in the end it lands on the thriller side of the line. It definitely has the hallmarks of secrecy, subterfuge, and smalltown gossip, as well as a sense of foreboding brought on by past and present crimes. All in all, however, I feel like it's just OK, though I'm not sure how much of that is based on the fact that the victim has my same name.