Christobel Kent: The Drowning River (2009) ****

Italian private investigator.

Book # 1 with former police officer Sandro Cellini, in Florence, Italy.

MBTB mini-review: Cellini is trying out a new job as a private investigator after leaving the police department under a cloud. He gets two cases – an elderly woman is convinced her husband with Alzheimer’s wouldn’t have committed suicide; and a teenage English art student is missing.
Recommended for fans of Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti (e.g. Death at La Fenice).
.

Next book: A Murder in Tuscany

This is a MBTB mini-review from Mystery Memo # 109

* * * * *

Here's what the Library Journal review had to say:
On the day that disgraced ex-cop Sandro Cellini opens his office as a PI in Florence, a young art student goes missing, and a man drowns in the River Arno. Cellini, aided by his wife, finds that working in the private sector offers challenges and a reason to live.
VERDICT: Filling her mystery debut with plenty of action, fast-thinking people, and beautiful Florence, British novelist Kent (Late Season) keeps the reader guessing how it all fits together. Donna Leon readers will like.

posted by Sharon

WHAT I'M READING NOW:

Dead Man's Grip
by Peter James

British police procedural

Book # 7 with Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, in Brighton, England

Summary: Carly Chase is traumatised ten days after being in a fatal traffic accident which kills a teenage student from Brighton University. Then she receives news that turns her entire world into a living nightmare. The drivers of the other two vehicles involved have been found tortured and murdered. Now DS Roy Grace of the Sussex Police force issues a stark and urgent warning to Carly: She could be next. The student had deadly connections. Connections that stretch across the Atlantic. Someone has sworn revenge and won't rest until the final person involved in that fatal accident is dead.... (author Peter James website)

First book: Dead Simple

The Mystery Memo is a log of all of my mystery reading, with brief comments and a star rating for each book read. It is published every 4 to 6 weeks. Some of these books have longer reviews or mini-reviews on this blog. In that case, a link will be supplied.

Click here for a printable text-only copy of Mystery Memo # 108 (in Microsoft Word). Here is your chance to download the full list.

This Mystery Memo has one book in the Perfect Read category, False Mermaid by Erin Hart

* * *

Chris Grabenstein: Rolling Thunder (2010) ****

American police procedural.
Book # 6 with young police officer Danny Boyle and his partner John Ceepak, a by-the-book ex-soldier, set in a seaside tourist town in New Jersey.

MBTB mini-review: When a woman dies on the inaugural run of a new roller coaster at the amusement park, Danny and Ceepak are on the case. Was it just a heart attack? The dysfunctional family gives them lots to think about.
Great atmosphere and characters.

First book: Tilt-a-Whirl (2005)

## Related posts: MBTB review of Whack-a-Mole Book # 3

* * *

Kerry Greenwood:
Murder on the Ballarat Train (1991) *** ½

Historical, set in Australia in the 1920s.

Book # 3 with the the Honourable Phryne Fisher, who works as a consulting detective in Melbourne.

MBTB mini-review: Phryne is on a train journey when chloroform is used in their first class car. After she shoots out a window to quickly get some fresh air, she discovers an elderly woman is missing from the train. The woman’s daughter hires Phryne to out what happened.
Subplot: a teenaged girl is found on the train who can’t remember who she is.
Good characters and depiction of the time.

First book: Cocaine Blues (1989)

* * *

Erin Hart: False Mermaid (2010) **** ½

Book # 3 in the series with Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin.

This book is set mostly in St. Paul, Minnesota.

MBTB full review of False Mermaid

So nicely written. This is a favourite series of mine.

The first two in the series:
Haunted Ground
Lake of Sorrows

* * *

Peg Herring:
Her Highness’ First Murder (2010) ***

Historical, set in 1546 England.

Book # 1 with Princess Elizabeth and her friend Simon, the physician’s son, both about 13 years old.

MBTB mini-review: King Henry asks young Simon to snoop around Princess Elizabeth’s household for information about a murdered attendant. The dead woman was found wearing a nun’s habit and the body was missing the head. With the assistance of Hugh, captain of the King’s guards, Simon and the Princess try to find out who the murderer was.
Slightly plodding, but still interesting due to the youth of the characters. I’ll look for the next one: Poison, Your Grace, coming in November 2011.

* * *

Graham Hurley: Beyond Reach (2010) ****

British police procedural.

Book # 10 with DI Joe Faraday, Portsmouth, England. Some of the book is from the point-of-view of newly retired police detective Paul Winter, now working for crime boss Bazza MacKenzie.

MBTB mini-review: Faraday's case: a hit-and-run death seems to be connected to a harassment case. The other storyline: Winter has to to find out if crime boss Bazza’s married daughter is having an affair.
Convoluted but good. Two investigations, sometimes overlapping.

First book: Turnstone (2000)

## Related post: MBTB full review of No Lovelier Death, Book # 9 with DI Joe Faraday

* * *

Donna Leon: A Question of Belief (2010) ****

Italian police procedural

Book # 19 with Guido Brunetti, police commissario in Venice. This book takes place in an August heat wave.

MBTB full review of A Question of Belief

I love the description of Venice in the heat, Brunetti’s family, the food, the little coffee bars, etc.

First book: Death at La Fenice (1992)

* * *

Stuart MacBride: Dark Blood (2010) ****

British police procedural

Book # 6 with DS Logan “Lazarus” McRaie, in Aberdeen, Scotland

MBTB full review of Dark Blood

A serial rapist has been released from jail and relocated in Aberdeen. Making sure the man isn’t killed by the local citizens is only one of McRaie’s assignments. The usual warning about violence.

First book: Cold Granite (2005)

## Related post: MBTB full review of Cold Granite # 1

* * *


Thomas Perry: Strip (2010) ****

This is a stand-alone, more a caper than a mystery.

MBTB mini-review of Strip

Nicely written.

It reminded me of Donald Westlake’s books (e.g. the Dortmunder series.
.
.
* * *

Sally Spencer: Stone Killer (2005) *** ½

British police procedural. Historical, set in the 1960s.

Book # 14 with DCI Charlie Woodend in the English village of Whitebridge.

MBTB mini-review: A hostage-taking at a local bank. The demand: that Woodend look at the case evidence of the hostage taker’s wife (now in prison for murder) and find her innocent.
I find this series is a good blend of the personal and the procedural, and the setting in the 1960s hits just the right tone.

First book: The Salton Killings (1998)

* * *

P.J. Tracy: Shoot to Thrill (2010) *** ½

Part American police procedural, part thriller.

Book # 5 with Minneapolis police (Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth) and the Monkeewrench gang (software developers who often work with these two police officers).

MBTB mini-review: Several murders across the country don’t seem connected until the FBI notices that live videos of the murders are available on a certain website. The Monkeewrench gang and other computer experts across the country are contracted to try to find the murderers through the internet.

I found this book not quite so engrossing as some of the earlier books. It is assumed the reader already knows the quirky characters. I recommend reading at least the first book: Monkeewrench before starting this one.

* * *

Nicola Upson: An Expert in Murder (2008) *** ½

Historical, set in 1934 London, England.

Part amateur detective/part police procedural

Book # 1 with Josephine Tey, the real life mystery and play author, and her friend, police officer Archie Penrose, London, England.

MBTB mini-review of An Expert in Murder

The action was a little slow, but it was an enjoyable read. It reminded me of old English mysteries, similar to what Tey herself would have written.

Next book: Angel with Two Faces (2009)

posted by Sharon

## Related post: Mystery Memo # 108 part one

WHAT I'M READING NOW:

The Anniversary Man
by R. J. Ellory

Non-series American police procedural with crime researcher John Costello and NYPD detective Ray Irving, New York.

Summary: Twenty years after surviving an attack by a serial killer who murdered his girlfriend, a physically and psychologically scarred John Costello works in seclusion as a crime researcher and discerns a pattern in a string of murders.NoveList

Paul Doiron: The Poacher’s Son (2010) *** ½

Book # 1 with Maine game warden Mike Bowditch.

MBTB mini-review: Mike’s father, a known poacher, becomes the main suspect in the shooting deaths of a police officer and an executive of a big lumber company. His father has escaped police custody and Mike isn’t allowed to officially help in the hunt. Mike has to choose between his job and doing something to assist his father.

Non-stop action. Recommended for fans of Nevada Barr, series with Anna Pigeon, a park ranger at various national parks in the USA (e.g. Track of the Cat) or C. J. Box, series with Joe Pickett, a game warden in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming (e.g. Open Season).

The next book with Maine game warden Mike Bowditch: Trespasser

This is a MBTB mini-review from Mystery Memo # 109

* * *

Here's what the Booklist review had to say:
/*Starred Review*/ Doiron’s debut crime novel is set on the coast and in the North Woods of Maine, the home of rookie game warden Mike Bowditch. As tensions rise across the state with the impending sale of huge tracts of paper-company forest land to an out-of-state developer, Mike receives a strange message from his father, left on the same night the paper company rep and a state trooper are shot and killed after a heated town meeting.

Doirin, editor-in-chief of Down State magazine, is well acquainted with the current political and cultural tensions that crisscross Maine, and his local knowledge drives this fast-paced and twisty narrative. With realistically flawed characters and a strong sense of place—both on the coast and in the woods — the novel avoids tourist stereotyping, of Maine itself and its citizens. As a game warden, Mike is devoted to upholding the law, and as a conflict appears to develop between that responsibility and his love for his estranged father, he finds himself with both his job and life on the line.

One hopes this fine novel is the first in a series starring Warden Bowditch, who could quickly become the East Coast version of C. J. Box’s game-warden hero Joe Pickett, who patrols the range in Wyoming.

posted by Sharon

WHAT I'M READING NOW:

Betrayal of Trust
by J.A. Jance

Book # 20 with J.P. Beaumont, wealthy homicide detective in Seattle, Washington

Summary: When the governor of the state of Washington asks him to investigate a snuff film found on her grandson's phone, J.P. Beaumont, no stranger to human depravity, is shocked by this horrific crime and discovers that this murder has much wider implications.NoveList

First book: Until Proven Guilty

The Mystery Memo is a log of all of my mystery reading, with brief comments and a star rating for each book read. It is published every 4 to 6 weeks. Some of these books have longer reviews or mini-reviews on this blog. In that case, a link will be supplied.

Click here for a printable text-only copy of Mystery Memo # 108 (in Microsoft Word). Here is your chance to download the full list.

* * *

Stephen Booth: Lost River (2009) *** ½

British police procedural

Book # 11 with D.C. Ben Cooper and D.C. Diane Fry in the Peak district, Derbyshire

## Related post: MBTB mini-review of Lost River

This is a highly personal peek into the lives of Diane and Ben as they solve some very serious crimes.

First book: Black Dog (2000)

* * *

Gail Bowen: The Nesting Dolls (2010) ****

Book # 12 with political science professor Joanne Kilbourn, Regina, Saskatchewan.

MBTB mini-review: There is a deliciousness in reading a mystery set in a Saskatchewan winter, complete with blizzards, frigid temperatures and power outages.
It doesn’t take long to find out the connection between a baby left with Joanne’s friend Delia and a young woman found dead in her car after a prairie blizzard. Joanne gets involved in the complex task of putting together what the woman was doing.
A good mix of the personal and the mystery, as usual. This series appeals to lovers of cozy mysteries as well as readers like me who like a harder-edged mystery.

First book: Deadly Appearances (1990)

* * *

C.J. Box: Nowhere to Run (2010) ****

Book # 10 with Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett.

Action/adventure type, more thriller than mystery.

## Related post: MBTB mini-review of Nowhere to Run

The plots in this series are wonderful, but it's the characters that keep me eagerly anticipating the next book.

First book: Open Season (2001)

* * *

Beverly Connor: The Night Killer (2010) ****
Forensic science.
Book # 8 with Diane Fallon, a forensic anthropologist, who is the director of small museum in Georgia, and also is the head of a forensic crime lab.

MBTB mini-review: Diane’s trip up a mountain to receive a donation of arrowheads ends up as a night of terror when her car crashes into a tree and a skeleton falls out of it.
I like the combination of fast-paced action, interesting plots and forensic science.

First book: One Grave Too Many (2003)

## Related post: MBTB review of Beverly Connor's entire series with Diane Fallon
.
.
* * *

Joanne Dobson: Death Without Tenure (2010) ****

Book # 6 with Karen Pelletier, an English professor at a small college in New England

## Related post: MBTB mini-review of Death Without Tenure

This is a consistently good series. There is a strong personal element, as there often is in the "amateur detective" subgenre.

First book: Quieter Than Sleep (1997)

* * *

Ariana Franklin: A Murderous Procession (2010) ****

Historical, set about 1178. This book is mostly set in France.

Book # 4 with Adelia, who is an expert in anatomy and autopsy, a "doctor for the dead". She works for King Henry II of England.

## Related post: MBTB mini-review of A Murderous Procession

This series make the medieval period come alive for me. I especially like historicals that include travelling. In this book, Adelia encounters Cathars in France.

First book: Mistress of the Art of Death (2007)
.
.
* * *

Jan Gleiter:
A House by the Side of the Road (1998) ****
This stand-alone mystery was recommended by a friend.

MBTB mini-review: Meg Kessinger inherits her aunt’s tiny house in rural Pennsylvania and decides to move there from New York City. Within days, she is sure someone is sneaking around in the house.
This was the perfect balance of personal detail and mystery as Meg gets to know her neighbours, but also tries to find out who is rummaging in her house and why.

Watch for upcoming post: Mystery Memo # 108 part two

posted by Sharon

WHAT I'M READING NOW:

A Butterfly in Flame: a Fred Taylor art mystery
by Nicholas Kilmer

Book # 7 with Fred Taylor, employee and investigator for a secretive art collector, Boston.

Summary: Fred Taylor is sent undercover as a member of the faculty at Stilton Academy of Art near Boston. An instructor has purportedly disappeared with a female first-year student, daughter of the Academy's only significant donor. There are other conflicts brewing-- are they misguided, or sinister?..NoveList

First book: Harmony in Flesh and Black

## Related post: MBTB review of Madonna of the Apes, Book # 6 in series, but a prequel to the series and could be read first.

Here are some new entries in a couple of my favourite series:

J.A. Jance: Betrayal of Trust (2011)

Book # 20 with J.P. Beaumont, homicide detective in Seattle, Washington

Summary: When the governor of the state of Washington asks him to investigate a snuff film found on her grandson's phone, J.P. Beaumont, no stranger to human depravity, is shocked by this horrific crime and discovers that this murder has much wider implications. NoveList

First book: Until Proven Guilty

* * *

Lee Child: The Affair (2011)

Book # 16 with Jack Reacher, ex-military policeman in the USA

Summary: Traces the story of Jack Reacher's early life in the military before the events that rendered him a vigilante hero on the road. NoveList

First book: Killing Floor

posted by Sharon

Elegy for April (2010)
By Benjamin Black

**Publisher's Weekly Starred Review**

Black's engrossing third crime thriller set in 1950s Dublin (after The Silver Swan) finds pathologist Garret Quirke fresh from a stint in alcohol rehab. Quirke reluctantly agrees to help his daughter, Phoebe Griffin, with whom he has a tenuous relationship, find her missing best friend, April Latimer, a junior doctor at a local hospital. Quirke soon finds that members of the powerful Latimer family have all but disowned April, and yet he's sure they know more than they're letting on. Phoebe does her own sleuthing among the group of friends she shared with April, including a stage actress, a handsome Nigerian surgical student, and a reporter. Black (the pen name of Booker Prize–winner John Banville) is equally concerned with exploring the idea of family and loyalty as with spinning a suspenseful whodunit, and his depiction of a fragile father-daughter relationship is as powerful as the unsettling truth behind April's disappearance. (Description taken from Publisher's Weekly)

Follow Me Down (2010)
By Marc Strange

**Publisher's Weekly Starred Review**

**Canadian Police Procedural**

This excellent first in a new series from Edgar-finalist Strange (Body Blows) pits a formidable Canadian police chief, Orwell Brennan, against clever criminals and rival law enforcement agencies. While trying to justify the existence of an independent police force for rural Dockerty, Ont., Brennan becomes involved in the case of a man found pinned to a tree by two arrows through the belly. The Toronto police soon conclude their investigation, but Brennan—sharply observant despite his slovenly rube appearance—patiently persists in unpeeling the mystery. Flashbacks reveal how an armored car robbery and a series of murders led to this crime and are still causing violent deaths. There's a lot going on under the surface of the little town and its scheming residents. (Description taken from Publisher's Weekly)

Gunshot Road (2010)
By Adrian Hyland

**Publisher's Weekly and Booklist Starred Review**

Hyland’s second mystery featuring Emily Tempest (following Moonlight Downs, 2008) finds the half-white, half-Aboriginal young woman having agreed to take on the post of Aboriginal Community police officer. Working as a beat cop in the harsh land of northern Australia, Emily soon encounters her first corpse: an old prospector she knew as a child. Convinced he couldn’t possibly have died as a result of an argument gone bad, Emily uses her deep knowledge of the land and people to find the real killer. Except she’s not supposed to be investigating that crime: her boss wants her working the night shift in town. Hyland’s second novel is better than her debut, which won Australia’s Ned Kelly Award for best first novel. The story’s gritty nature echoes the tough life, harsh environment, and difficult living conditions of the setting, and each of the characters seems a perfect fit in the hot and dusty landscape, from Emily, who’s not afraid to get into a fight, to the rough-and-tumble prospectors. The suspenseful and well-paced story will appeal equally to readers already familiar with the series and those just getting to know the tough-as-nails Emily. (Description taken from Booklist)