Sam Thomas: The Midwife’s Tale (2012) ****

MBTB mini-review: I love an unusual point of view. Following midwife Bridget Hodgson through the dangerous streets of 1644 York brings that time period alive.

Here's what Booklist had to say: It is 1644, and civil war has erupted in York, England. The Parliament’s armies have revolted against the king and laid siege to the city, but midwife Bridget Hodgson still has babies to deliver. She soon finds an even bigger problem. Her friend Esther Cooper has been convicted of murdering her husband. She will burn at the stake if the real killer is not found. Bridget and her servant, Martha Hawkins, set out to save Esther. Martha has street smarts and excellent knife skills. The two women begin investigating while keeping clear of the rebel artillery and confronting an evil figure from Martha’s past. They find that Esther’s husband, an ostentatious Puritan, had a very sinister secret life. Moving from the dank alleys of the poor neighborhoods to the mansions of the rich, Bridget and Esther capture a brutal killer and find that traitors are often tyrants. The author is a historian, and his period detail creates a vivid atmosphere. The strong female characters and action-packed plot will please historical-mystery readers.

This is suggested for fans of Ariana Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death series and C.J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake series

## Related posts:
MBTB profile of Ariana Franklin
MBTB review of C.J. Sansom's Sovereign # 3
posted by Sharon

WHAT I'M READING NOW:
The Sound of Broken Glass
by Deborah Crombie

British police procedural

Book # 15 with Duncan Kincaid, a Scotland Yard superintendent, and Gemma James, a sergeant, in London, England

Summary: While investigating the murder of a well-respected barrister who was found dead at a seedy hotel in Crystal Palace, Detective Inspector Gemma James and her partner, Detective Sergeant Melody Talbot, begin to question everything they think they know about their world and those they trust most.

Not all these books were published in 2012 - my only criteria is that I read them in 2012.
The brief reviews are mine.

Mark Billingham: Good as Dead (2011)
British police procedural.
Book # 10 with loner DI Tom Thorne in London.

A hostage situation depends on Thorne looking into the supposed suicide of a young man in prison at the request of the hostage-taker, a formerly mild-mannered storekeeper. Even more fast-paced than usual.

First book: Sleepyhead

* * *

Lyndsay Faye: The Gods of Gotham (2012)
Historical/police.
Book # 1 with Timothy Wilde, set in 1845 in New York City. Ex-bartender Wilde is one of the brand new police officers in the new city police force.

The crime was interesting and sad (several bodies of young children have been found buried in a field) but the characters, the city, the politics and the language raise this above the ordinary.

* * *

Charles Finch: A Death in the Small Hours (2012)
Historical/investigator.
Book # 6 with Charles Lenox, consulting detective, Victorian gentleman and new Member of Parliament.

In the countryside seeking privacy, Charles takes a break from speech writing by looking into a series of vandalisms in the village. When a young police officer is murdered, Charles is determined to get to the bottom of it all.

First book: A Beautiful Blue Death

* * *

Tana French: Broken Harbour (2012)
Irish police procedural.
This is one of her books about the Dublin murder squad. This book features murder detective Mick Kennedy.

A young family has been killed in their house in an abandoned development by the beach - the only survivor, the mother, is in intensive care. This is an excellent mix of police procedural and the personal, as Kennedy battles with memories of his childhood connection to the murder location.

* * *

Alex Grecian: The Yard (2012)
Historical/British police procedural.
Book # 1 with newly appointed Scotland Yard detective Walter Day, set in 1889 London.

On his first day on the job, Walter is assigned the case of the murder of a fellow detective, the body found stuffed in a trunk in the train station.

posted by Sharon

Watch for upcoming post: Sharon's Top Mystery Reads of 2011, part two

WHAT I'M READING NOW:
Bad Little Falls
by Paul Doiron

Book # 3 with Mike Bowditch, a game warden in Maine

Description: Summoned to a rustic cabin during a blizzard, Maine game warden Mike Bowdich embarks on a dangerous investigation involving a notorious drug dealer, a beautiful woman with a dark past, and her troubled young son. NoveList

As January rolls around, there's nothing like curling up in front of the fireplace with a good dead body or two. This time of the year I like to reach for my favorite type of mystery...the historicals!! Here is a list of historical mysteries that is sure to warm those cold nights.

Dark Entry (2011)
By M. J. Trow

First in the thrilling new Kit Marlowe historical mystery series - Cambridge, 1583. About to graduate from Corpus Christi, the young Christopher Marlowe spends his days studying and his nights carousing with old friends. But when one of them is discovered lying dead in his King’s College room, mouth open in a silent scream, Marlowe refuses to accept the official verdict of suicide. Calling on the help of his mentor, Sir Roger Manwood, Justice of the Peace, and the queen’s magus, Dr John Dee, a poison expert, Marlowe sets out to prove that his friend was murdered.

The Illusion of Murder (2011)
By Carol McCleary
Book # 2 with Nellie Bly, an American investigative reporter, in Paris and around the world, starting in 1889

This is a Library Journal starred review:

Attempting to beat Jules Verne's round-the-world record, Victorian Age reporter Nellie Bly hides from official records the secret details about a mysterious death in the bustling harbor city of Port Said where she is targeted by a killer and embroiled in an international plot.
Book # 1 The Alchemy of Murder

A Mortal Terror (2012)
By James R. Benn
Book # 6 with Billy Boyle, World War II

This is a Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

1943: Billy Boyle is sent to Caserta, Italy, to investigate the murders of two American officers stationed there. The methods of murder are completely different, and it seems like the officers had no connection to each other, but one frightening fact links the murders: each body was discovered with a single playing card: the Lieutenant, the ten of hearts; the Captain, the jack of hearts. The message seems to be clear — if the murderer isn't apprehended, the higher ranks will be next. As the invasion at Anzio begins, Billy needs to keep a cool head amidst fear and terror as the killer calculates his next moves.
Book # 1 Billy Boyle

A Double Death on the Black Isle (2011)
By A. D. Scott
Book # 2 with journalists in the offices of the Highland Gazette, in the mid-1950s in the highlands of Scotland

Struggling over how to report a double murder in which a close friend has been implicated, Joanne Ross, a Scottish newspaper employee who is longing for her big break, helps to uncover dark secrets with origins in bitter cultural rivalries.
Book # 1 A Small Death in the Great Glen

Happy New Year!!

posted by Shiela

The Agency: the Traitor in the Tunnel
By Y. S Lee

MBTB review: Although this series is marketed as a Young Adult Mystery series, I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every book and look forward to the new release from this Canadian author every summer. “The Traitor in the Tunnel” was no exception.

We find our heroine Mary Quinn inside the walls of Buckingham Palace on an undercover mission to identify a petty thief pilfering items from the Queen’s collection. This simple case soon becomes complicated when the Prince of Wales witnesses the murder of his friend and Mary’s long lost father is the accused.

I love everything about this series. The characters are wonderful, fully developed and intriguing. The relationship between Mary and her paramour James Easton is so sweet and I love how Lee somehow gets James involved in the thick of each mystery. The series takes place in the rich and atmospheric setting of Victorian England (one of my favorite time periods) and the mysteries are always more involved than they first seem.

Don’t let the “Young Adult” designation fool you, this series is worth the read.

Here is the series listed in order on Fantastic Fiction

Posted by Shiela

The Sweet Smell of Decay
By Paul Lawrence

MBTB review: Harry Lytle is charged with investigating the brutal murder of his cousin Anne Giles. Assisted by his friend, a butcher named David Dowling, the two embark on a journey that takes them across the English countryside, through the dirty and smelly streets of the capital, and into the dreaded Tower of London in an attempt to seek justice. Dirty politics, seedy characters and miscommunication plague them at every step of the investigation and Lytle finds himself on the wrong side of the law and in a terrible, no-win situation.

Mixed feelings regarding this one. I really wanted to like the book and I did enjoy it overall but there were so many parts where the story just dragged on (albeit it REALLY picked up at the end). Set in 1664 London, Lawrence does a fantastic job describing the period details and setting--so much so that the reader can almost smell the “decay” and see the sights of England through Harry’s eyes. I'm going to give the second book in this series a try before adding this author to my "love it" or "leave it" category.

Posted by Shiela

I am longing for the days when I was on vacation in London and to keep the memory alive, I have decided to go through my "to-read" list and pull out some mysteries set in England.

A Corpse at St. Andrew's Chapel (2010)
By Melvin Starr

A Medieval Mystery set in Brampton, England
2nd title in a series

This second Hugh de Singleton mystery (after The Unquiet Bones ) once again features Master Hugh, who is both bailiff and physician at Bampton Manor. In this suspense-filled tale, the beadle of the manor sets out to find and bring back anyone breaking curfew, but he never returns home. The officer's wife pleads with Master Hugh to search for clues and solve his disappearance. (Description taken from Library Journal)

The Drowned Ones (2010)
by Melvin Starr

Set in Redditch, Worcestershire England 1827

When the battered and bloated bodies of, first, a lowly servant girl and then a loutish barge worker surface in the fetid waters of the canal outside Worcestershire’s hardscrabble Tardebigge Parish, the unsavory task of investigating their deaths falls to beleaguered Constable Thomas Potts. Armed with a rudimentary knowledge of forensic science, a relentlessly inquisitive mind, and a righteous sense of fair play, the unlikely detective determines that both victims were murdered before being tossed into the drink, a conclusion roundly discounted by his parish superiors. Potts can’t shake the feeling that more victims are at risk, yet he is forbidden from officially pursuing the investigation. As Potts repeatedly risks his own life to bring justice to those who have lost theirs, the violence escalates in sinister and sinful ways. Fraser’s improbable constable is a marvel of cunning and a mass of contradictions: meek yet daring, intelligent yet naive, romantic yet resigned. (Review from Booklist)

Seizure (2010)
By Nick Oldham

Book #14 in the Henry Christie Mystery series
Police Procedural set in Lancashire, England

Newly promoted Detective Superintendent Henry Christie could do without dealing with Felix Deakin, a convicted drug dealer serving a heavy prison sentence, who suddenly volunteers some new evidence that could be crucial in an upcoming murder trial. But things go horribly wrong when Deaken escapes from custody and kidnaps a disgraced ex-cop's some to use as a bargaining chip...(Book Description)

A Nice Place to Die (2011)
By Jane McLoughlin

Historical Police Procedural set in Catacombe, England, 1568

The ancient village of Catcombe, scene of a horrible crime in 1568, is now a modern housing development. It is also the home of a very dysfunctional family, whose children terrorize the neighbors. When the young vicar of the church is murdered while making a house call, DCI Rachel Moody and her colleagues cannot find a motive. It's clear, though, that the residents are keeping many secrets. DCI Moody, new to the area and working hard to prove herself in a sexist department, refuses to give up. A solid procedural and a revealing look at an insular community. (Description taken from Booklist)

The Other Side of the Door (2010)
By Nicci French

Contemporary Thriller set in London

At the start of this pitch-perfect thriller from British author French, the husband-wife team of Sean French and Nicci Gerard, band singer Bonnie finds her summer fling boyfriend and fellow band member, Hayden, dead on the floor of a friend's London apartment. She proceeds to hide the corpse and obliterate every sign of her presence at the crime scene. This course of action is, predictably, full of pitfalls. Hayden's well-known involvement with other women could have provided Bonnie a motive for murder. To complicate matters, at least one more person appears to have altered the crime scene. Told in a tantalizing series of flashbacks, the narrative draws you into the inner world of the protagonist, a tough cookie who nevertheless endures a relationship that's so abusive the reader is never quite sure that she did not, in fact, snap. (from Publisher's Weekly)

Happy Reading!!

Posted by Shiela

Here are two "first books" in promising new series. They both have a Scotland Yard connection. I read both of these last weekend:

The Yard by Alex Grecian **** ½

Historical British police procedural
# 1 with newly appointed Scotland Yard detective Walter Day, London.

Here's what the Booklist review had to say: In his debut novel, Grecian powerfully evokes both the physical, smog-ridden atmosphere of London in 1889 and its emotional analogs of anxiety and depression. It’s the year after Jack the Ripper has apparently stopped his depredations. Among the Ripper’s victims were the London police, especially the 12-member “Murder Squad,” which endured ridicule from both “Saucy Jack” and the public for its bumbling failure to solve the case. But the squad is still at work investigating homicides as Grecian’s tale begins.
Mixing fact and fiction (the Murder Squad did exist), Grecian has one of the squad’s own, Detective Christian Little, discovered rolled up in a steamer trunk in London’s Euston Station, his eyes and mouth sewn shut. The newest (fictional) member of the squad, Detective Inspector Walter Day, is assigned to investigate, aided by the first forensic pathologist in Britain, Dr. Bernard Kingsley (based on Dr. Bernard Spilsbury). More murder, both of police and of a chimney sweep, and more outrage follow. Grecian’s infusion of actual history adds to this thriller's credibility and punch. A deeply satisfying reconstruction of post-Ripper London.

MBTB mini-review: Victorian London comes to life in this historical police procedural. The characters are appealing. I found myself rooting for newly appointed Scotland Yard inspector Walter Day, Constable Hammersmith, brilliant beyond his station, and the ground-breaking pathologist Dr. Kingsley. I'm sure the beginning of evidence-based police work came together a little slower than we see in the book, but it was a great read. It reminded me a bit of Caleb Carr's The Alienist.

* * *

Walking Into The Ocean by David Whellams **** ½

British police procedural
# 1 with semi-retired Scotland Yard detective Peter Camamon. This book takes place in a small coastal community.

Here's what the Library Journal review had to say:
/* Starred Review */ Semiretired Scotland Yard detective Peter Cammon is called to help an overwhelmed Dorset police department. An apparent husband-and-wife drowning murder-suicide is not resolving cleanly since the husband's body has not been recovered. Meanwhile, an elusive serial killer is steadily moving up the picturesque English coastline, ever closer to this area, killing teen girls at a systematic clip. When Peter teases out the connections between the missing husband and a shady car-export business, he finally gets the break needed to open up that case. An unexpected trip to Malta adds to the swelling adventure tone, but when Peter returns to Dorset, the loose threads from both cases come together in a stunning conclusion.
VERDICT Don't miss this engrossing and complex debut, the first volume in a projected trilogy. Rich prose, literary allusion, and a strong nod to women's intuition provide a romantic touch to a crack police procedural. It's perfect for those who love travel and history mixed with crime.

MBTB mini-review: I found the quirky character of Peter Cammon appealing. I'm in the midst of watching all the Poirot series on DVD and Cammon reminded me a little bit of Poirot, in a good way. Cammon still likes to investigate in the old way, observing the evidence, interviewing people, and following his hunches.

posted by Sharon

Game of Patience
By Susanne Alleyn

MBTB review: A young woman of reputable status is found dead in her blackmailer’s apartment in post-Revolutionary France. Tortured by the events in his own past, undercover police agent Aristide Ravel is called upon to investigate these crimes and soon finds himself entangled with a friend of the victim who seems to know more than she lets on. Aristide must learn the truth before the wrong person is sent to the guillotine.

Full of rich historical detail, Game of Patience was a wonderful mystery set in between the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon. Not only does Alleyn know her stuff, but she is a masterful storyteller as well. The novel was fast paced with many unpredictable twists and turns and the denouement was very unexpected, far from typical, but strangely satisfying.

I have the second in the series, A Treasury of Regrets, waiting for me at home as we speak. I can hardly wait…

Posted by Shiela

Royal Flush
By Rhys Bowen

Book # 3 with Lady Georgiana, minor royalty in 1930s England, in the Royal Spyness series

MBTB review: With the heat of the summer forcing the upper class to dash to their summer homes in the countryside, Georgie’s secret housekeeping business fizzles to naught. As her financial situation steadily declines, she decides to start up an “escort” service not realizing her definition of the word (accompanying people to dinner parties so that they don’t have to eat alone) and her “client’s” definition of the service greatly varies. In an attempt to avoid another royal scandal, Georgie is whisked away to her family home in Scotland only to find that someone is targeting members of the royal family to pursue their own ends.

This one is my favorite by far. The situations Georgie seems to find herself in never ceases to amuse me and once again, the cast of colorful secondary characters propel the plot to its climax. In hindsight, I realize there were enough clues along the way to figure out the perpetrator had I not been enjoying the romp through the Scottish countryside. This was another fun, lighthearted mystery with a bit of romance and dollop of humor.

Here is a list of the series in order of publication date:

Her Royal Spyness (2007)
A Royal Pain (2008)
Royal Flush (2009)
Royal Blood (2010)
Naughty in Nice (2011)

# Related post: MBTB review of Her Royal Spyness # 1

Posted by Shiela

Until I get more caught up with publishing my Mystery Memos on the MBTB blog, I'll be posting some highlights from each one (down below) and making the entire Mystery Memo available to Download here

This Mystery Memo has 4 Perfect Reads:
Tana French: Faithful Place (2010)
Peter James: Dead Like You (2010)
Stuart MacBride: Shatter the Bones (2011)
C.J. Sansom: Heartstone (2010)

* * *

Charles Finch: A Stranger in Mayfair (2010) ****
Historical, set in London, England in Victorian times.
Book # 4 with Charles Lenox, consulting detective, Victorian gentleman and new Member of Parliament.

Charles is newly married to his next-door neighbour, Lady Jane.
A fellow parliamentarian asks for help in solving the murder of his footman. Charles suspects someone in the family or the household is likely to blame. Lots of personal detail, as Charles struggles with his new duties as Member of Parliament and husband. Nicely done. Very readable.

First book: A Beautiful Blue Death

Barbara Fradkin: Beautiful Lie the Dead (2010) ****
Canadian police procedural.
Book # 8 with Michael Green, Ottawa police inspector

A young doctor reports his fiancé missing during a blizzard. In the police investigation, they discover the woman made a secret trip to Montreal. The publisher calls this an “intensely dramatic psychological thriller”.
I like this series for the police procedural aspect, but I also like the main character Michael Green and his family.

First book: Do or Die

Tana French: Faithful Place (2010) *****

All her books feature police detectives on the murder squad in Dublin, Ireland, not a series really, but loosely connected. This one features Frank Mackey, a senior undercover cop.

Frank returns to his boyhood home in a poor section of Dublin after a suitcase is found in an abandoned house nearby. He recognizes the suitcase as the one belonging to his his girlfriend from 20 years ago who he was planning to run away with. She never showed up and disappeared that very night. He hasn’t been home since. After looking through the suitcase’s contents, he believes that someone from the neighbourhood, if not from his family, is responsible for her disappearance. It sucked me in. Not the standard police procedural.

First book: In The Woods

## Related post: MBTB review of The Likeness

Peter James: Dead Like You (2010) **** ½
British police procedural

Book # 6 with D.S. Roy Grace in Sussex, England

A man known as the shoe rapist has apparently re-appeared after an absence of 12 years. We see several of the crimes from the “inside” – which I skimmed. But the police work was well described and I like the character of Roy Grace, still dealing with the mysterious disappearance of his wife several years before.

First book: Dead Simple

Stuart MacBride: Shatter the Bones (2011) **** ½
British police procedural

Book # 7 with Logan “Lazarus” McRaie, DS, in Aberdeen, Scotland

The case: a young mother and daughter singing sensation from a competition TV show have been kidnapped for ransom and the police have very little to go on. There is a breakneck pace to the policing and McRaie’s personal life that makes the book hard to put down.
First book: Cold Granite

## Related posts:
MBTB full review of Cold Granite # 1
MBTB review of Dark Blood # 6

C.J. Sansom: Heartstone (2010) *****
Historical, set in England in 1545

Book # 5 with lawyer Matthew Shardlake

King Henry VIII is now married to Catherine Parr. The Queen asks Matthew to secretly help her. Her loyal servant wants someone to look into her son’s death. To investigate this, Matthew travels to an estate near Portsmouth. He is close to the action when the English fleet gathers to repell the expected French naval attack near there.
Great stuff: complex plot, great characters and the writing makes the era come alive.

First book: Dissolution

## Related post: MBTB review of Sovereign # 3

posted by Sharon

WHAT I'M READING NOW:
Silent Voices
by Ann Cleeves

British police procedural

Book # 4 with Vera Stanhope, a detective inspector in East Yorkshire, England

Description: When DI Vera Stanhope finds the body of a woman in the sauna room of her local gym, she wonders, briefly, if it’s a simple death from natural causes. But a closer inspection reveals ligature marks around the victim’s throat - death is never that simple...
Publisher

First book: The Crow Trap

Read a Eurocrime review of Silent Voices