The Mermaid's Scream

DCI Gerry Heffernan and DI Wesley Peterson have been called out to a caravan site where a couple have taken their own lives.  It all seems straight forward; a double suicide.  Peterson isn’t sure it was suicide, and when he examines the foil from a champagne bottle, which the couple had consumed his feelings are confirmed.

A few days later Peterson has to handle the case of a farmer accidentally killed by his own shotgun.  It’s the same farmer who owned the caravan site.  Coincidence or otherwise?

It’s at this time that Peterson’s son Michael and his friend find a body in the woods.  The friend convinces Michael to not call the police, but Michael’s mother, Pam has suspicions and brings in Peterson to confront the lad.  Can evidence found with this body lead them to a killer?

Author Kate Ellis has written a very twisted plot that causes confusion for the reader, so that the reader doesn’t know who is responsible for what killing until the final pages.  A good quick read.

Cold Blood

DCI Erika Foster and DI Moss have been called to the south bank of the Thames where a suitcase has been found in the sand.  Inside is the dismembered body of a man.

Back at the police station, Foster requests DS John McGorry to join her investigative team.  He shows up with a file about a woman who had been found in the Thames inside a suitcase, also dismembered; found just a little over a week earlier.

Pathologist Isaac Strong informs Foster that he found fifty condoms full of cocaine in the stomach of the male.  Both victims had been brutally beaten before being dismembered.  Although forensics is unable to find anything out about the two victims through criminal DNA, they do find their identities through a genealogical matching site.

After speaking to the ex-wife of the man and the parents of the young woman, Foster and Moss learn that the two victims were known to each other.  It is at this point that Superintendent Hudson tells Erika to send the drugs to forensics to see if they match up with a drug investigation, which has just busted a drug making site.

While delivering the drugs to forensics, Foster is attacked.  Fortunately she is able to overcome her attackers, but is badly injured.  The case is passed on to another team.

Immediately upon her return from Slovakia, where she had been visiting her family while recovering, Foster is picked up and taken to the site where another dismembered body has been found.  This time the killers have left a note, which effectively laughs in the faces of the police.  She asks to take over the cases.

The team gets a break when CCTV pictures help to identify one of the killers.  The mother of the young woman involved identifies her and provides the identity of the man she is involved with.

How many more deaths are there going to be before this pair can be brought in?  Author Robert Bryndza has written another thriller, which will have the reader sitting on the edge of their seat, anxiously turning pages to know what is going to happen next.  This was an incredible read, and hard to put down.

Terra Incognita

Ruso has requested a transfer to the outer reaches of Britain, so he is travelling with a contingent of soldiers to Hadrian’s Wall.  His housekeeper, Tilla, travels with him and warns him of a god with antlers in the area.

Just before arriving at Coria, an ox cart has a major accident.  Going ahead to Coria in order to prepare for the victims of the accident, Ruso finds himself seconded to the fortress as the new medic and assigned  to investigate a murder, which had occurred that morning.  On top of that the current medic of the fortress is confined because he claims to be the murderer.

Tilla finds that much has changed since she had been abducted from her family home three years ago.  It also doesn’t take long for Ruso to discover that he can’t trust anyone in the infirmary other than his personal clerk, Albanus.

If Ruso can’t trust anyone, including Tilla, how will he be able to solve the murder?  Time is running out too, because the governor is on his way to visit the outpost.

Author Ruth Downie has another twisted plot for our hero to solve, in this historical thriller.  Within the plot are a few surprises for the reader, which lead to some confusion.  All-in-all, a good, quick read.

At Death's Window

DI Peter Shaw has a volunteer job with the RNLI, and when he receives a call out he doesn’t hesitate.  Saving a family caught by the incoming tide is something he’s been trained to do.  When they rescue the family, they tell him of a body they had seen where they were rescued from.

At the same time, DS George Valentine is meeting with a reporter, planning to get a story about recent burglaries released, which the Chief Constable doesn’t want in the press.

Tom Hadden the local forensic scientist assumes that the man had been dead at least 24 hours.  Valentine points out that since it was weighted down, it was left as a warning to others.

While working their investigation of the dead man, Shaw and Valentine are called to a couple of burglaries that fit in with those that Valentine had passed on to the reporter.  One referenced the date of the death of their victim.  Shaw is now convinced that the two cases are linked.

A few days later another body is found, in this case in a fish monger’s.  It is a man who has been shot at close range in the heart.  This time they have an identity because this man delivered fish to the monger.

Are they in for more killings?  Shaw and Valentine have an intriguing set of cases on their plate and author Jim Kelly has the reader wondering how they will gather evidence to solve them.  A good, quick read.

Tombland

Two years after the death of Henry VIII, his eleven year old son, Edward was King in name only.  Edward Seymour, his uncle, now the Duke of Somerset, was the Lord Protector.  As a virtual king, he immediately waged war on the Scots in hopes of wedding their infant Queen Mary to Edward, thus uniting the two nations.  His war was a bust.

In June of 1549, Matthew Shardlake is called to Hatfield Palace where the Lady Elizabeth resides.  He is asked by Thomas Parry to investigate a murder, which might involve a distant cousin of Elizabeth.  He will have his assistant, Nicholas Overton with him on this task, plus Toby Lockswood, the assistant of another lawyer because Lockswood knows Norwich.

When they get to Norwich, they run into Shardlake’s former assistant Jack Barak, who now works for the Assizes.  Shardlake hopes to gain some information from Barak, even though he has been warned to stay away from him by Barak’s wife Tamasin.  They are to stay in an inn near the area known as Tombland, where the richest of the city live.

Having visited the accused the three are sure that he is lying about what he had been doing on the night of the murder.  As they gather more evidence, it seems to point towards the sons of the dead woman, but why would they kill their own mother?  Yet, the number of potential suspects grows.

Unfortunately, the client is found guilty and ordered to be hanged the following day.  Fortunately, Shardlake has an order requesting a pardon from the Lady Elizabeth.  Later, he is surprised when he receives a summons from the Lady Mary, Elizabeth’s older half-sister.  What could that mean?

Having accomplished their mission, Shardlake, Overton and Barak are preparing to leave for London when they are caught up in an uprising, which could cost them their lives.  It doesn’t take long for them to find out that the leader of the rebels is a Robert Kett.  They also learn that this rebellion is country-wide.  Common people want the Protector to stop the rich from enclosing lands for their sheep.

Kett asks Shardlake to be his advisor.  Unfortunately, Overton is held prisoner by the rebels because he does not share their values.  The rebels move to Mousehold Heath outside Norwich.  They prepare a list of demands for the Protector.

With their move to Mousehold, the group think that their investigation is likely at an end, but evidence does come up.  To make matters worse, Lockswood has turned against Overton for some reason.

Unfortunately, the Lord Protector refuses the demands of the rebels, and orders them to disperse.  Dismayed those on Mousehold Heath prepare to take Norwich. In response the Protector sends an army, which Kerr’s untrained men defeat.  However, before long, a stronger army is sent to put down the rebels.  Will Shardlake and his friends survive this time?

Author C. J. Sansom’s historical thriller is well researched and written.  It tells of a time scarcely mentioned in history books, when there were rebellions in England in hopes of making a fairer system.  Unfortunately it was all for nought, as the rich would continue to hold power over their serfs and the other poor.  This was an incredibly enjoyable read, which I highly recommend.

Death's Door

DI Peter Shaw has been called out to a suspicious death of a woman by his DS, George Valentine.  Initially it appeared to be a suicide. However, the head of forensics, Tom Hadden, has discovered a kiss on the outside of the woman’s window.  What is the significance of that?

Shaw and Valentine are also working a cold case at the same time.  Valentine discovers that one of the names on the list that they have is the victim of the supposed suicide.  She had been contacted a week earlier about the reopening of the case.

The pathologist discovers a cyanide pill lodged in the back of her teeth.  The pill is fast acting.  Later, the pathologist tells Shaw that the cyanide pill had been forcefully crushed in her mouth by someone else.

DNA tests provide nothing on the cold case.  The pathologist suggests to Shaw that the concentrate on the dead woman and not the cold case, because on the same day that she had been murdered, an old man had died in a gas explosion at home.  She found evidence of cyanide in him.

When another body is found, badly burned in the nearby woods, Shaw is able to smell cyanide in the mouth.  The victim doesn’t seem to have any connection to the other two, but with the use of maps, Shaw’s wife shows that he could.

With a few suspects in mind, Shaw and Valentine maintain a vigorous investigation, but as each is eliminated they have only one suspect left, but DNA evidence eliminates him. 

Author Jim Kelly has written a gripping murder thriller, which will leave the reader wondering if there are going to be more victims.  He also provides a number of surprises in the closing pages.  A thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Autumn Throne

By 1176, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of England, had been held prisoner by her husband, Henry II, in the Palace at Sarum.  When Henry summons her to Winchester she wonders if this means freedom or a final reckoning.  There she meets her children with warmth and gladness, but for Henry it is coldness.

She quickly finds out that Henry wants an annulment and Eleanor in a convent.  That way, he will have power over Aquitaine.  She refuses, however would agree if he gave her Aquitaine.  She is returned to Sarum.

It isn’t until 1182 that Eleanor gains freedom because Henry wants a truce.  He still vets any correspondence she has, so she has to be careful.  However, the following year she is once again imprisoned at Sarum when Harry and Geoffrey rise up in rebellion against Henry.  Unfortunately, Harry would die of the bloody flux in June of 1183.

With Harry gone, the next in line to the throne is Richard.  Henry decides to reorganise the inheritance.  He gives Richard England and Normandy and takes Aquitaine away from him, giving it to John.  This is done without consulting Eleanor, for in reality it is hers to give.  Richard is naturally upset.

Early in 1186, Geoffrey dies at a jousting match in Paris.  Henry and Eleanor are devastated.  However, it comes out that he had been scheming with the King of France.

Three years later on the sixth of July Henry was dead.  Richard is now king.  Eleanor now was to act as Queen of England in his place while he goes to the Holy Land.  It is not an easy time of it; John is constantly stirring the pot in England, although he has no power, Philippe of France decides to return from the same crusade as Richard is on, so Eleanor has to be in Normandy to protect it from the French.

In 1192, while returning home, Richard is taken prisoner by the Holy Roman Emperor.  Eleanor knows that Philippe of France will now wage war on Normandy.  An outrageous ransom is demanded for Richard’s release.  Can England afford it, and not beggar itself?

Having been released, Richard forgives John his treachery and together they wage war.  In April of 1199 Richard receives a mortal wound during a siege.  Eleanor is devastated.  Later in the same year, her daughter Joanna dies in childbirth.

John doesn’t have the staying power of his father, nor his brother Richard.  As Eleanor’s life declines, so does John’s grasp on his territory.  In April of 1204, Eleanor passes on.

This novel brings to a close the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine.  All three novels in this series by Elizabeth Chadwick bring to life a powerful woman who had many trials and tribulations.  The series is well researched and is well written.  They are a good read for fans of historical fiction.

Snowblind

Ari Thor Arason has been studying to become a policeman after giving up on philosophy and theology.  To his surprise he is offered a job in Siglufjordor, up by the Arctic Circle.  His girlfriend, Kristin is not impressed and stays in Reykjavik to continue her studies.

They are unable to be together for Christmas, and Ari Thor feels that they are growing apart.  Early in January there is an accident at the local theatre where a well known author appears to have fallen down a set of stairs to his death.  Ari Thor is unsure about the cause of the fall, while his boss, Tomas is positive that it was an accident.

A few days later a woman is found partially naked out in the snow near her home; she has some slashes on her body.  Paramedics determine that she has a slight pulse.  Could her husband have done this to her.  Not long after this, Kristin calls Ari Thor, wondering what’s is going on.  She had just seen about the woman in the snow on the internet.

As Ari Thor’s investigation progresses, he discovers evidence of a 25 year old killing, plus one that had happened in Denmark.  How can he prove his case?

Author Ragnar Jonasson writes as if he was describing a picture.  You see things in your mind’s eye.  He had me captured on his first page.  His first novel is fast paced with a surprising conclusion.  This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and hard to put down.  I’m looking forward to reading the sequels.

The House of Eyes

DI Wesley Peterson is concerned about a missing nineteen year old girl.  However,  DCI Gerry Heffernan isn’t as concerned because he knows the father, an ex-con.  Apparently, the father claims, a photographer has been stalking her.  She wants to be a model, so when Peterson and DS Rachel Tracy visit the place they are surprised to find nothing amiss.  That is until Peterson notices a stain on the man’s duvet.  Could it be blood?

Later, Peterson’s good friend and archeologist, Dr. Neil Watson, who has been on a dig in Sicily drops by.  He provides Peterson with a picture of the photographer implicated as the stalker.  He had been doing some work in Sicily, but seems to have since disappeared.

The following day, the father of the missing girl is found dead near his work site.  The autopsy shows that he could have been killed by an arrow.  It doesn’t take long for them to come up with a suspect.  Now to bring him in. 

As the investigation progresses, a new suspect is added to the list just after the photographer is arrested.  The pair have a connection, but is either guilty of either crime?

Then, the wife of the man killed is in turn killed nearby where he had been found.  Do they have a serial killer on their hands? 

It is going to take some serious investigative work on the part of Peterson and his team before they can come up with answers.  Peterson also has other issues that he is dealing with while the case is ongoing.  Author Kate Ellis’ latest thriller is full of plot twists with a couple of surprises at the end.  A good quick read.

Medicus

Gaius Ruso, an army medic has an unidentified woman in his morgue.  He is surprised when his new assistant informs him that the body could have come downstream, yet on the other hand could have come upstream due to the tide.  While walking in town later, he comes across a man with a badly injured slave girl. He purchases her and takes her back to the hospital.

A day later and someone has identified the dead girl.  She had worked at a pub in the town.  However, the injured slave girl still is unnamed.  She takes on the name of Tilla after something Ruso says to her.  Ruso takes her to his home after she has recovered somewhat.  However, she doesn’t seem to be putting on any weight.

Later when Priscus, the hospital administrator, returns he wants to know about the two women that Ruso has entered into the records.  Ruso has his story ready.  To be on the safe side, Ruso moves Tilla into a room at a bar.  The first time he returns to check on her she hits him over the head with a bowl, causing him to drop his medical case on his toe.  She had thought that he was someone else.  Ruso self medicates with poppy juice.

Rumours begin to abound that Ruso is investigating the death of the young woman, despite his denials. So when a body is found in a building under renovation, the man in charge turns to Ruso.  He is surprised to find that the body had been burned in the building fire.  Upon examination he discovers that the body is female.  It doesn’t take long for Ruso to discover the identity of this victim.  She had worked in the same place the first one had, and had been missing for some time.

When Tilla disappears, Ruso is left to wonder if she is the next victim of a killer.  Author Ruth Downie has several answers awaiting Ruso, but it’s going to be rough going to get them.  This first novel in this series was a very good read.

The Winter Crown

1154 in London Henry and Eleanor have just been crowned King and Queen of England.  In a few months, Eleanor would give birth to their second son, also named Henry.  Unfortunately, two years later their firstborn, William would die, just before he was three years old.  Shortly afterwards they became parents to Matilda.

Eleanor is still Duchess of Aquitaine, so visits there afterwards in order to remind her citizens of her role.  It isn’t long before she falls pregnant again.  In 1157 Richard is born to the couple.  She is sure that he is going to a great ruler for Aquitaine and also a great warrior.  Whilst she is pregnant with another child, Henry and his chancellor, Thomas Becket arrange a marriage between young Henry and Louis of France’s baby daughter.  It is not a match that Eleanor approves of.  In 1158, Geoffrey is born.

A year later five year old Henry is married to three year old Margaret, daughter of Louis, King of France.  As a result King Henry gains more lands and castles.

Although Eleanor had told Henry she didn’t want to be a brood mare, they were blessed with another daughter in 1861, named for her mother.

In 1862, Henry decides to appoint Becket Archbishop of Canterbury.  He will continue in his role as chancellor.  Later that same year Becket resigned the latter position much to the chagrin of Henry.  It isn’t long before the two men are at odds.  Becket offers his resignation to Pope Alexander, but is told to pray instead.  This angers Henry more so, and at the same time Eleanor finds herself becoming at odds with her husband.

In 1865, Joanna was added to the family.  Not long after this, while campaigning against the Welsh, Henry takes a new mistress, a girl barely into her teen years.  He sets up Rosamund de Clifford in a home near Oxford.  It is also at this time that the last child of Henry and Eleanor is born; the future King John.

 After the birth of John, Eleanor returns to Aquitaine with all of her children except Matilda who has been sent to her husband, a German Prince thirty years older than her, and Henry who is with his father.

In 1870, Henry arranges to have his son, and namesake crowned as his co-King.  Not long after, the elder King falls gravely ill.  Eleanor is afraid that if he dies, the younger Henry will be too young to govern. Later in that same year, knights of Henry’s cut down Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury as he was saying mass in the cathedral.  How will this affect the king and his family?

Conflict within the family will come.  Young Henry will abscond to Paris, in direct conflict with his father.  Richard and Geoffrey will join him, while Eleanor remains in Aquitaine.

What follows will be a tumultuous time for the family.  Author Elizabeth Chadwick has done a great deal of research to bring this story to life.  This is an excellent historical fictional read for fans of this genre.

Last Breath

Detective James Peterson has just brought some fish and chips to DCI Erika Foster’s place when he receives a call about a young woman having been found badly beaten to death.  The pair go to the scene, although Foster has no standing with jrhe Murder Investigation Team.  Superintendent Sparks immediately warns her off, yet despite that she questions the three students who had found the body.

The following day she attends the morgue to get information on the victim.  When she later contacts the DCI in charge of the investigation she is again warned off.  Although the Murder Investigation Team has a suspect in custody, Foster isn’t sure that he is capable of having done the deed. She checks on previous similar cases and discovers one, which her friend, forensic pathologist Isaac Strong, worked on.

With what she now knows, can she get back to working for the Murder Investigation Team?  She decides to speak to Sparks.  The following day while at his office Sparks collapses and dies from a heart attack.  The Assistant Commissioner then asks Foster to head up the Murder Investigation Team.

Just as Foster is about to put an appeal out to the public she receives a call informing her that there is another young woman who has disappeared under similar circumstances to the other two.  Foster and her team are shocked to learn that the latest victim is the daughter of a retired Detective Chief Superintendent.

Will they find this young woman before she is killed, or is she going to end up dead in a dumpster? 

Author Robert Bryndza’s latest thriller is fast paced as usual.  Foster is a hard working, gutsy cop, who isn’t afraid to put her neck on the line to gain justice for people who are wronged.  But will that gutsyness bring her down this time.  This is a page turner, which the reader won’t want to put down.

Heresy

In 1576, twenty-eight year old Fra Giordano Bruno has been caught reading a book not allowed in any monastery, and as a result will likely end up being tortured by the Inquisition.  As a monk, if he runs away he will be excommunicated.  What choice does he have?

By 1583 Bruno was in London in the company of his good friend, Sir Philip Sidney.  Bruno is in search of a book that delves into the mysteries of the universe.  He hopes to find it in Oxford.  Bruno is also employed by Walshingham, Queen Elizabeth’s Secretary of State and spymaster.  Walshingham has a job for Bruno to do in Oxford.

At his first meal with members of the teaching community of Oxford he learns the intrigues of the current staffing.  He also meets the intriguing and intelligent Sophia Underhill, daughter of the rector.

In the following early morning hours, Bruno is awoken to the painful cries of a man being terrorised.  Fortunately, one of the students has a long bow and kills the dog attacking the man.  Unfortunately, it is too late for the man.  Why did this happen?  The rector wants to keep the idea of a murder under cover and make it appear to have been an accident, until it can be proven otherwise.  Others seem to also want to cover things up.  Bruno is under threat because he is a foreigner so, he should keep his knowledge to himself.

Bruno’s debate with Rector Underhill does not go as he hoped it would.  Then two days later the new sub rector is killed.  Bruno realises that the method of killing is intended to mimic the killing of Saint Sebastian.  What is going on?  Evidence left at the scene points to one of the students as the killer, but Bruno thinks that it is set up to look that way.  The rector asks Bruno to conduct an investigation.

Where will that investigation lead Bruno?  How many more deaths will occur, and could Bruno be one of the victims?  Author S. J. Parris has written a rollicking good historical novel, which leaves the reader wanting to know what lies on the next page.  A thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Ely Testament

Alexander Lye has just died in his law office.  His partner David Mackenzie shows Tom Ansell Lye’s strong box, which should have contained his will, but surprisingly it doesn’t.  Mackenzie decides to send Tom to Ely in search of the will, where Lye has family.  Tom invites his wife Helen to travel with him.

Just after arriving at Liverpool Station Tom and Helen were almost run down by a carriage.  Although shaken, Helen insists that they continue with their planned journey.  Tom wonders why the driver of the carriage had his face covered, and he is sure that he recognised the passenger.

Once in Cambridge, Tom receives an envelope containing an enigmatic quote from Macbeth.  The following day, they are to meet with the half-brother of Lye and his wife for a meal.  Just before sitting down for the meal, the local police inspector arrests Lye for the murder of his wife’s cousin.

As his investigation progresses, the inspector is not so sure that Lye is the killer.  A local doctor, after examining the body, tells the inspector that the wounds on the body weren’t enough to kill the man.  So, what did?

The inspector’s suspicions of the Ansells is raised two days later when another body shows up.  This dead man was known to the couple.  Then too, Lye is in the picture as he had been released just before the latest killing.

However, author Philip Gooden has the real killer lurking in the background.  At this point, the story of the killer comes to light, yet Gooden doesn’t give the killer a name, leaving the reader to discover that in the later pages of the novel.  This was a very enjoyable and quick read.

Do or Die

Early one morning, Detective Inspector Michael Green of the Ottawa Police is called in to the office of the Chief of Detectives Jules.  Awaiting with him is Deputy Chief of Police Lynch.  They tell him of a young man being stabbed in the library at the university the night before.  The victim is the son of a well known philanthropist.  DS Brian Sullivan tells Green that the case has been a mess up right from the get go.

Based on the reports from his team, Green determines that the killer is well planned, able to kill at close range, and possibly a psychopath.  He has five possible suspects who were well known to the victim.  However, Sullivan comes up with a few more.  The victim’s current girlfriend had been pulled away from him by what appeared to be thugs in a coffee shop.  She then flew home to Beirut.  Could there be something in this?

Before Green can get protection in place for a potential witness, she is killed.  He is compromised.  The killer had taken two of her drawings; one of a suspect and one of the victim.  Green is told by the Deputy Chief to get an arrest immediately or he will be tossed from the case.  However, Green is convinced that the man the Deputy Chief wants him to arrest has been framed.

How can he gather the needed evidence when he is on a limited time frame?  Author Barbara Fradkin picks up the pace of this thriller as Green closes in on the killer.  A good, quick read

Lamentation

Matthew Shardlake has been assigned to represent Lincoln’s Inn at the burning of three men and one woman who have been declared heretics.  It is not something he wants to do.  While there he observes another lawyer looking at him strangely.  That evening the same young lawyer, William Cecil, visits Shardlake informing him that Queen Catherine Parr would like him to visit her the following morning.

The Queen tells Shardlake that she had written a book, that if it fell into the wrong hands would mean the death of her and others.  And now, it has disappeared.  A printer had been found dead with the first page clutched in his hand.  Who has the rest of the manuscript?  Shardlake is given permission to question those in her household and also search outside the palace for evidence of the thief.

From the apprentice to the printer, Shardlake learns of a man who had tried to break into the printer’s shop.  The man was unique in that part of his ear had been cut off.  Later Shardlake hears of the same man who had approached one of the Queen’s pages trying to get him to spy on her.

Later Cecil informs Shardlake that the apprentice has been killed.  Three other associates of the printer have disappeared. Are they also dead or have they gone into hiding?

Not long after this, Shardlake discovers what appears to be a conspiracy.  Is it one that endangers the Queen or are other plans afoot?  Following that event, Richard Rich, a Privy Councillor, and nemesis of Shardlake,  makes an unusual approach to him and asks that they work together.  Having knowledge that Rich doesn’t have, allows Shardlake to agree.

What will happen to the investigation when Shardlake is arrested and charged with heresy?  How many more will die in the search for the Queen’s manuscript.  As author C. J. Sansom points out in his after notes, London at this time was a tumultuous and violent city.  One had to be very careful about what was said and done.

“Lamentation” is an excellent novel based on historical facts, and a very good read for fans of historical fiction.

Play Dead

DI Kim Stone and her team of DS Bryant, DC Stacey and DC Dawson have been sent to Westerly, a body farm to learn about the process of decomposition.  Stone surprises everyone when she discovers an unknown body with one of the planned bodies.  Within a short time they have identified the young woman who had been reported missing.

Stone is reading up on a cold case, which her nemesis, reporter Tracy Frost had suggested that she have a look at, when she receives a call informing her that there is another unknown body at the body farm; only this one is still alive.  Why is the killer leaving the bodies there?

The victim remains in a coma, whether she will come out of it the attending doctor is unsure.  Fortunately, she is soon identified, but Stone is no further ahead.  Then another surprise is handed to Stone in the form of another body.  In this case it is buried.

How many more surprises does author Angela Marsons have in this thriller?  The answer is plenty!  Well written and fast paced, I found it difficult to put this novel down.  A thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Murder Pit

William Arrowood and his assistant, Norman Barnett, have taken on the case of Birdie Barclay.  Her parents are concerned because after her recent marriage, she seems to have disappeared.  When they travel to the farm where she now lives, they are put off by her new husband and sister-in-law.  Arrowood is sure that she is there, but there is nothing he can do.

When Barnett finally gets a few minutes with Birdie, he is shocked by what he learns.  Unfortunately, they are unable to get Birdie away.  How will they get to her to see exactly how she is doing?

Arrowood’s sister offers to go in their place as a destitute in need of work.  However, her voice is too refined, so it is agreed that she will pretend to be a mute, and take along little Ned, a lad who has helped out on previous cases, as her son.

Sadly out at the farm the body of an old gypsy woman who had provided them with information is found.  Who is the killer?  It can’t be one of the men who worked there because he had provided evidence of her murder.  Can the two detectives find the culprit and save Birdie?

Author Mick Finlay’s novel is based on historical facts of the late nineteenth century regarding people who were placed in asylums for a variety of reasons.  Arrowood’s task is not an easy one and the resulting inquiry makes his and Barnett’s task very difficult.  A good read.

Wrongful Death

Detective Chief Superintendent James Langton has brought together a special team including DCI Anna Travis, DI Paul Barolli, DS Barbara Maddox and DC Joan Falkland to review a case, which was originally thought to be a suicide.  The team is wary of the information that Langton provides regarding the case. 

Added to the team is Special Agent of the FBI, Jessie Dewar.  Barolli is shocked by how attractive she is when he picks her up at the airport and even more so when Langton shows up at her flat with roses and wine; she greets him like a long lost friend.  On the other hand, Travis is not impressed with the way Dewar treats her team.

Checking with forensic scientist Pete Jenkins, Travis is shocked when she learns that he was not consulted on the case.  Also, one of the doctors on the case was suspended due to major errors on a couple of other cases. 

With Travis scheduled to go to America on an FBI course, Detective Superintendent Mike Lewis is assigned to oversee the case.  He was the one who had signed off on it as a suicide.  However, he is also well known and respected by the team.  Not long after his appointment, evidence comes through pointing to murder, and the killer being the victim’s wife.

Despite being on her way to Quantico for an FBI course, Travis still needs to be convinced about the suicide.  Is there anyway that, while in the U. S., that Travis will be able to gather evidence to prove her ideas?

Author Lynda La Plante has written a gripping thriller that will engage the reader. Travis has her hands full trying to outwit a sociopath, and prove her case.  Could this be her last case?  Read on!  I found this book hard to put down, and I’m sure that you will be the same.

Rome's Sacred Flame

At the age of sixty-three, Vespasian has been appointed the governor of Africa.  Nero has also given him the task of arranging the release of hundreds of Roman citizens who are enslaved far to the south.  He is to do that or never return to Rome.

In his quest he meets Decianus, who had violated and robbed Boudicca, and left Vespasian for dead in Britain.  It is Decianus who Vespasian has to deal with to get those enslaved back.  It is not going to be easy because of the animosity between the two men.  Although it was easy to gather up the slaves, the return trip is full of treachery.  Will they make it across the desert if their water supplies are destroyed?  Fortunately, they do make it, but Decianus manages to escape to Rome. 

A year later, back in Rome, Vespasian finds that Decianus has taken the glory of returning the slaves for himself and told numerous other lies about Vespasian.  He also discovers that Nero has become even more egregious in his behaviour.

It is a hot, dry summer.  The aqueducts barely bring a trickle of warter to the city.  Then, just after the Ides of July, a fire breaks out in the Circus Maximus.  Meanwhile to the south of the city Nero takes part in a singing competition with his lyre.  Evidence points to Nero having ordered the fire to be set so that he can build a grand new city.  But, will anyone challenge him on it?  Despite graffiti throughout Rome, Nero’s minions begin to deflect the blame for the fire to a cult, who follow the teachings of a certain Christus.

How many people will die as a result of Nero’s mania?  Can his actions be stopped by an attempt to overthrow him?  Author Robert Fabbri’s novel is full of action and corruption, which was rampant in Rome at the time.  This is a thoroughly enjoyable read for fans of historical fiction.  I found it hard to put down.

The Death Season

DI Wesley Peterson and pathologist Dr. Colin Bowman have been called to a local hotel where a man has been found dead in his room.  The attending physician had deemed the death suspicious.  The following day, Dr. Bowman confirms that the man had been murdered by a sharp instrument punched up into the back of his brain.  The following day, DCI Gerry Heffernan discovers a cold case involving the victim.  His DNA had been found on a child he had killed in 1979.

When Wesley and Gerry go out to the cottage where their prime suspect lives, they discover that it has been broken into.  Then not far away, they find the body of the woman who lives there.  However, her elderly mother is missing.  Did she get away during the break-in?  Was the dead woman killed during the break-in?  They are shocked when the elderly woman in a freezer in an nearby shed.

Connecting with a retired colleague, Gerry learns that the deceased woman at one time was the girlfriend of the dead man.  Could they have a revenge killing on their hands?

Meanwhile, archeologist, Dr. Neil Watson’s team has found the skeleton of a child inside an old ice house they are excavating.  The medical anthropologist is sure that the child was murdered, based on the way it was laid out and other evidence.

Then a potential witness is attacked.  He is stabbed by what Colin Bowman suggests is the same weapon, which killed the first victim.  Due to the fact that he is in a coma, Wesley is unable to question him.  With the murderer still at large, can Wesley find him before he strikes again?

Author Kate Ellis has a really twisted plot that relates to previous events related to the current murder and in a way is connected to what Watson has discovered in conjunction with his new girlfriend, Lucy.  Ellis also provides a few surprises before concluding this very good read.

The Summer Queen

Upon the death of her father in 1137, Eleanor was elevated to Duchess of Aquitaine.  Her father also made provision for the thirteen year old girl to marry Louis, Prince of France, in his will.  One day she would be a queen.  However, part of the deal was that Aquitaine was to remain independent of France.

Upon meeting Louis’ contingent, Eleanor quickly realises that Archbishop Suger is going to be an ally or a formidable foe; Louis seems to defer to him.  The marriage is quickly consummated, and the new couple begin their progress to Paris.  However, before they can get there, news of the death of Louis’ father arrives.  Their slow journey is sped up.  In Paris, Eleanor finds the mother of Louis, Adelaide, to be overbearing.  However, she will not let her get in the way of who she really is.

Unfortunately, Eleanor miscarries their first child, at the same time that the people of Aquitaine rise up against their new duke and duchess.  Louis quickly puts down the uprising.  It isn’t until several years later that Eleanor is able to conceive again.  The child is a girl.

In 1147, Louis and Eleanor set out to Antioch as part of the Second Crusade.  Eleanor looks forward to seeing her uncle Raymond who is in charge there.  It will not be an easy trip for either.  Upon arrival at Antioch, Eleanor asks Louis for an annulment to their wedding.  Louis refuses and forces her to join her in his trek to Jerusalem.

Upon returning to Europe, Louis has consented to the annulment, however the Pope refuses to grant them one.  With the birth of a second daughter, Louis decides that an annulment is necessary.  As progress is made towards the annulment, men begin to see Eleanor as on object of desire; they want her so that they can possess Aquitaine.    In order to protect herself and Aquitaine, Eleanor agrees to marry Henry, Duke of Normandy, a man nine years her junior.

Henry is preparing to invade England, because he plans to take the throne he regards as his.  However, those plans are set aside when the French attack him because he and Eleanor had not asked Louis permission to wed.  Will Louis defeat the newly wedded couple or will they withstand his onslaught?  And what of their desire to become the king and queen of England?  Can Henry beget a son with Eleanor?

These questions are to be answered in the remaining pages of this novel by author Elizabeth Chadwick.  Well written, it presents the early life of Eleanor of Aquitaine well, and in the end leaves the reader wanting to know what will happen in the next two books of this trilogy.  A very good read for fans of historical fiction.

Heartstone

Matthew Shardlake has been called to Hampton Court by Queen Catherine.  He is unsure what to expect because the last time he had worked for the queen he had run into difficulties.  This time he is asked to take on a case of an orphan who has had his inheritance taken from him.  The boy’s former tutor had set the case in motion because of what he felt was the injustice being done to the boy.  Unfortunately, the tutor had recently committed suicide.  The tutor’s mother has turned to the queen for help, and she now wants Shardlake to act as the lawyer on behalf of the deceased tutor.

It isn’t long into the investigation when Shardlake is threatened and warned off taking the case any further.  Meantime, Jack Barak, Shardlake’s right hand man has gotten himself conscripted.  His wife, Tamasin is seven months pregnant.  Shardlake does his best to stop the conscription.  Fortunately, the judge in charge of the case orders that Shardlake and Barak go to Hampshire to further investigate the case.  However, the other lawyer, Dyrick and his man Feaveryear are also to be in on the investigation.

Since their destination is not far from the home of Ellen, a patient held at Bedlam, Shardlake also plans to check into the reason for her being incarcerated there.

The March south is no easy slog.  Fortunately, the party meets up with a contingent of archers going to Portsmouth to see off the threatened French invasion, thereby having priority to get through.

When they get to Hoyland, the family seems to be cooperative, however Shardlake notes that they appear to be afraid; of the peasants in the area, of Shardlake and of themselves.  While examining the woods possessed by the lad they are representing, an arrow is shot at Shardlake and Barak.  Fortunately, it missed.  The following day Shardlake travels alone to Rolfswood, home of Ellen.  What will he learn there, and will it be of any help to her?

Later in Portsmouth, doesn’t really get any answers to his queries, but he does find some interesting news about Ellen.  Can he believe it?

The day before Shardlake and Barak are to leave their host puts on a deer hunt.  While the hunters are out chasing the deer, the wife of their host is murdered.  Several are quick to condemn a local villager who opposes the lord taking common land.

How many more deaths are there going to be before Shardlake can solve the cases he has on his plate?  Author C. J. Sansom has a number of surprises up his sleeve as he keeps the reader engaged in this thriller.  A thoroughly enjoyable read and hard to put down.

The Crow Trap

Rachael had gone out to Baikie’s Cottage to do some mapping with students but first she planned a restful weekend with her friend Bella.  Unfortunately out in the shed, she found Bella had hung herself.  Bella had had enough of looking after Dougie after his stroke.

Rachael wants to know the reason behind Bella’s suicide.  She talks with her mother about it.  However, her mapping assignment must come first.  She has two other women working on the mapping; Anne and Grace.  As time goes by the pair don’t get along.  Then one evening, Grace doesn’t come back from her mapping excursion.  The following morning she is found dead.

Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope shows up with her sergeant Joe Ashworth to conduct the investigation into Grace’s death.  Her first task is to learn what the women had been doing at Baikie’s Cottage. Had Grace been killed as some part of industrial intimidation?  However, Anne and Rachael refuse to leave, which fits into Stanhope’s plans perfectly.  Rachel quickly realises that they are decoys.  Rachel is also sure that the deaths of Bella and Grace are related.  How can she and her mother, Edie prove it?

It isn’t until the last quarter of the novel that author Anne Cleeves truly introduces DI Vera Stanhope.  Stanhope seems to be a plodding detective, however she does get the job done in her own steady way.  This is a new series for me, and I’m unsure how it will go.

The Durham Deception

Tom and Helen Ansell are attending a seance.  The medium tells Tom that his deceased father has a warning for him of danger by some woods near a dangerous stretch of water.  Suddenly one of the guests informs the medium that he is a policeman and that charges could be pending over what the medium has prophesied.

Why had the pair gone to the seance in the first place?  Helen’s mother is worried that a charlatan is in the process of conning her older sister in Durham out of her life savings.  He apparently has told Helen’s aunt that her deceased father has told the aunt to treat him as a son.

A couple of weeks later, Tom is assigned the task of going to Durham to take an affidavit from a magician regarding the authenticity of the Lucknow Dagger.  Taking Helen with him will allow them to get two things done there.  However, when he tells her, she informs him of a strange man who had been asking questions about lawyers in their area of London and also tells him of a man who had been standing outside their home for some time.  Tom is worried about that.

In Durham, Tom and Helen meet Eustace Flask, protege of her aunt.  Neither trust him, but can’t prove anything.

They also meet Major Marmont, a magician, and the man that Tom was sent to prepare the affidavit for.  Marmont has tried to make Flask look like a buffoon.

Later Flask would be found dead, with Helen standing over him and her hands covered in blood.  After Helen has been being taken in by the police, Tom is sent for.  She tells her story to him about finding the dying Flask.  Moments later Superintendent Harcourt informs them that evidence has been brought to light that exonerates her.  He shows them the Lucknow Dagger and a letter, which is either written by an illiterate or someone wanting the police to believe that they are.  Helen is released from custody.

However, unbeknownst to the pair, their lives are in danger and a detective from Scotland Yard is on his way to inform them of the threat.  Will they survive the threat to their lives, and will the detective get to Durham in time to prevent their demise?

Author Philip Gooden’s novel is a fun, quick read.

Final Betrayal

DI Lottie Parker and DS Mark Boyd have just been handed a missing persons case.  The daughter of a local councillor hasn’t shown up after the weekend.  He is very worried and indicates that his daughter’s best friend is also missing.

Two days later the bodies of the two young women are found in a derelict house.  Alongside the bodies are found blank coins.  Is it the calling card of the killer?  Superintendent McMahon wants the killer found immediately.

On top of this, Lottie finds out from her half brother that he has had his twin sister released on day parole from the insane asylum.  This issue is magnified by the fact that she has escaped from him, and could be anywhere.  She has killed in the past and is a threat to Lottie’s family.

In the bedroom of one of the victims a threatening note is found with another coin.  Her father knows nothing about it.

Then two more young women are found murdered.  One has a connection to one of the previous victims.  Once again coins were found with the bodies and at the home of one of the victims.

As the body count mounts, Lottie’s daughters go missing.  They become her priority, can they be found before they end up dead like the other women?

Author Patricia Gibney’s thriller is very fast paced and full of tension.  As the reader, you will find yourself turning the pages wondering what is going to happen next.  This was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Perfect Crime

DI Luc Callanach has been called to the mortuary by DCI Ava Turner to be on hand for a post mortem on a man who had jumped to his death.  However, pathologist Aisla Lambert is ruling out suicide after examining the victim’s hands.

The following day, the victim is identified as a man who had earlier attempted suicide.  Callanach and DS Tripp meet with the man who had talked him down previously.

Later Turner calls Callanach into her office about another suspicious death.  However, in this instance Callanach himself is a potential suspect because he had visited the victim just before his death.  A few hours later, when Turner is going to speak to Callanach as a follow up, they are called out to another suspicious death; a woman who has been dead upwards of three weeks.

When another death is discovered, this time a male, Aisla Lambert indicates that the ties used on him are the same as those used on the woman, and have the same batch number on them.

Then suddenly Callanach and Turner’s relationship takes a bad turn.  A man associated with the victim he had visited has now been murdered.  Turner has no option left, but to suspend Callanach.

How many more people are going to die before Turner’s team can catch this serial killer?  Can she and Callanach get their relationship back on track or is it best to be done with each other?  Author Helen Fields has the answers awaiting the reader.  This is a thriller that is hard to put down, and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Blood of Rome

Tribune Cato and Centurion Macro are in Tarsus when word reaches them that the new emperor, Nero has decided to go to war with Armenia and possibly Parthia.  It will take General Corbulo some time to get his troops ready to march.  He commands the governor to provide him with two of his legions.

Corbulo orders Cato to take his cohort to Armenia with King Rhadamistus in advance and place him back on his throne.  When Cato’s cohort arrives at Bactris, they find that the men sent by the governor and Rhadamistus’ army have not set up a defensive camp.  Cato is not impressed.  He tells Rhadamistus as much.   The latter agrees to Macro training his army in Roman tactics and requests that his men in turn be taught how to use the siege equipment , which will be arriving later.  This is contrary to Corbulo’s orders to Cato.

When Corbulo arrives, he is disgusted with the state of the eastern soldiers and auxiliaries.  They will need further training before they can advance.  However, Cato’s cohort is ready to go, and Rhadamistus must not be delayed in regaining his throne.  It could mean that Cato’s cohort could be without support for a year and possibly mean their destruction. 

It doesn’t take long for Cato and Macro to realise just how treacherous and untrustworthy Rhadamistus is.  It would play against the friendship the two Romans had developed over the years.

Not long after this, Cato’s nerve cracks.  Fortunately, Macro stands in for him.  With Cato incapacitated, Rhadamistus tried to intimidate Macro into allowing him to take command, but Macro does not back down.

A few days to recover and Cato was back to his old self, although physically weaker.  However, he once again takes command of the column.  It is not going to be an easy task getting to Rhadamistus’ capital of Artaxata because of the mountainous trail.

The question is, will there be something more treacherous than the mountains?  What will become of the mission?  Author Simon Scarrow has taken an historical story and made it his own.  As usual the story is full of action and intrigue.  A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Death Toll

DI Peter Shaw and DS George Valentine have been called out to a cemetery where the graves are being relocated due to flooding.  One grave contains an extra body on top of the coffin.  The skeleton in the coffin has shattered bones.  What happened to her?

Using his forensic artistic talent, Shaw draws a likeness of the victim found on top of the coffin.  It is the likeness of a black man.

DC Paul Twine discovers that she was murdered by her husband.  Following up, Shaw meets with the daughter of the woman in the coffin, and shows her the drawing.  She is shocked by the picture because it is her cousin, and also the father of her son.  A story comes out about his last night, at the wake.  Shaw learns that a choir had sung at the wake and that a video recording had been made.  How can he get his hands on it?

They get a small break when the pathology team tell them that the grave had been dug into recently.  Who did it and why was it done?  There are three possible suspects; were they in it together or separately, or is it someone else entirely?

Author Jim Kelly hints at other suspects as the investigation progresses, and leaves the reader wondering.  While the investigation is ongoing, Shaw and Valentine have another side investigation going on related to a previous murder that Valentine and Shaw’s father had apparently screwed up on.  This too will come to a conclusion in this novel.  All-in-all a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Furies of Rome

It is late 58 A. D., and Vespasian and Sabinus’ mother has just crossed the Styx.  Although in mourning, they are scheming about how to pass information on to Paulinus in Brittania, while staying on the good side of Nero.

Later, Nero is persuaded by his mistress, Seneca and Pallas to eliminate his mother.  Agrippina is seen as a threat to Nero’s power.  So an elaborate scheme is made to have her drown on a ship at sea after apparently reconciling with Nero.  However, she manages to swim to safety.  Nero then orders that she be executed.  Vespasian has to be a witness to the execution.

Later, when Vespasian is under threat, it is his lover, Caenis that has knowledge and materials that alleviate that threat.    Shortly afterwards when summoned by Nero, Vespasian’s fear is palpable, but fortunately it is not serious.  He is to be sent to Britannia.  Caenis also travels there as an agent of Seneca, who wants her to withdraw his funds from there before Nero pulls out of the province.

One couple Caenis demands repayment from is Prasutagus and Boudicca.  They quickly come to the realisation that Boudicca is a powerful woman.  In a short time other financiers are also demanding their money.  This begins to cause unrest.  In desperation, Procurator Decianus goes to Boudicca and steals her money, whips her and has her daughters raped.  Little does he know that Boudicca will lead a dangerous uprising against the Romans.

With her massive army, Boudicca wreaks havoc, death and destruction on Roman Britain.  With over sixty thousand armed warriors, what chance does Governor Paulinus and his small Roman army have?

Author Robert Fabbri outlines the final battle for Boudicca and her vast army and how the Romans prevailed.  However, Boudicca’s uprising would force Nero to leave his army in Britain.  But what of the future of Vespasian and Nero?  That is obviously to come in the next book.  I look forward reading it.

The Shroud Maker

The Shroud Maker by Kate Ellis

A year ago at the Palkin  Festival, a young woman had disappeared.  At the beginning of this festival, the mother of the woman received a letter stating that she was still in Tradmouth.  DCI Gerry Heffernan isn’t so sure, however he and DI Wesley Peterson promise to look into it.

Just as they get back to the station, DS Rachel Tracey informs them that a dingy has been found at sea with the body of a young woman in it.

The following morning Gerry arrives at the station upset.  His daughter, Rosie, didn’t show up at home as she had told him she would.  At the post mortem Gerry and Wesley are informed by the pathologist that the victim was strangled and she has a tattoo on her shoulder.  Could this be the missing woman from a year ago, because she too, had a similar tattoo on her shoulder.

The day after they are able to identify the victim at a musical rehearsal.  Rosie also shows up, but she has a black eye and a look of fear.

That same day, Wesley’s wife, Pam discovers an image on an online game that is eerily similar to the victim in the dingy.  The owner of the site is developing a new house, but is having Dr. Neil Watson lead an archaeological dig before building.

In a nearby indoor pool the body of a well dressed man has been found floating face down.  Pathologist Colin Bowman confirms that they have a suspicious death on their hands.  What was a private investigator doing down there and why would someone kill him?

Meantime, Dr. Watson has discovered human bones out at his dig?  Are they the bones of the missing girl or is it an older burial?

Can Gerry and Wesley tie the cases together?  How will Watson's discover tie in with the modern cases?  Author Kate Ellis has a lot of work ahead for the pair and their team.  Good hard police work will help them solve the case, but it could prove costly when Ellis throws in a few twists.  An enjoyable good read.

Case Histories

Three year old Olivia disappeared from the tent she was sleeping in with her older sister in the backyard in 1970.  In 1994, Laura had agreed to work in her father’s law office.  On her first day, a crazed man had entered the office in search of her father, drew a knife, slashed one of the partners on the arm and Laura on the neck, killing her.  In 1979, Michelle got frustrated with her husband and put an axe into his head.

On the same day thirty-four years after Olivia disappeared, Olivia’s two older sisters ask private detective Jackson Brodie to investigate her disappearance, he also received a call from the father of Laura.

Later, the sister of Michelle approaches Jackson to try and locate Michelle’s daughter, who seems to have disappeared.  It is after this that Jackson has a minor traffic accident because somebody had tampered with his brakes.  Later his house explodes, fortunately he had just left it, so other than losing everything, he was okay.

Author Kate Atkinson uses each of these threads and weaves them into a very unique story.  She is very mysterious as to how things are solved.

Revelation

Revelation by C. J. Sansom 

Lawyer Matthew Shardlake has an unusual case on his hands.  A boy has been incarcerated in Bedlam because of some things he has been saying.  In particular, he has been praying, asking for salvation.

A few days later, on Easter Day, Matthew’s best friend, Roger Elliard is murdered.  Matthew’ assistant, Barak, discovers footprints in the snow and sets out to follow them.  Matthew promises Roger’s widow, Dorothy, that he will find his killer.  Later, Matthew’s friend, Dr. Guy Malton, after examining the corpse informs Matthew that Roger had been drugged prior to his killing.

The coroner ensures that no one is allowed to speak of the murder after the inquest.  Matthew feels there is more to be discovered, and Dorothy wonders why the coroner wants it dropped.  When Matthew goes to question the coroner, he finds him speaking to Sir Thomas Seymour.  They tell him that Roger’s death has political implications, and they are now going to take Matthew to meet Archbishop Cranmer.

Cranmer informs Matthew that a similar murder had occurred a month earlier.  A man closely connected to Catherine Parr.  He was the doctor who looked after her late husband.  Parr is being courted by King Henry, and she is a firm believer in religious reform.  Cranmer’s council hopes to have her marry the king to help further reforms.

What are the connections between the two men?  Matthew sets out to find them alongside Coroner Harsnet.  While investigating a third death with Barak, something the latter says strikes Matthew as important.  In a church he looks in the Bible at the Book of Revelation and discovers quotations, which fit each killing.  There have been three deaths so far, so that means four more are to come.  When and where will the killer strike next?  Revelation reveals how it will be, but nothing more.  What of the other forthcoming deaths?

One evening a few days later, Barak’s wife, Tamasin, comes to Matthew.  She has been beaten.  She says that the man who did it, warned her that he knew that Barak and Matthew were hunting him.

They have a suspect in mind, but he seems to have disappeared.  He was a monk at one time in charge an infirmary and therefore have knowledge of drugs.  Can they capture him before he brings further death?  Or is it possible that the suspect isn’t who they think it is?  

Author C. J. Sansom’s fourth book in the Shardlake series is tension filled with a surprising conclusion.  I am thoroughly enjoying this series and look forward to reading the next in the series.

Lost Girls

DI Kim Stone has been called into the station because there has been an abduction of two girls.  The mother of one of them specifically asked for Stone.  She claims to be a friend, however Stone denies the friendship.  However, she wants to be SIO on the case.

She gets her team together and they plan to operate out of the home of one of parents.  Naturally the parents are apprehensive and fearful.

Stone and DS Bryant go to the leisure centre where the girls were abducted from and viewing the CCTV discover that a woman had provided a distraction so that a man, who was impersonating a cop could gather up the girls.  Based on a photo of the woman, one set of parents recognise her as their ex-nanny.

DS Dawson discovers that the nanny’s flat has been trashed.  Now, they needed to find her before whoever was after her.  Within hours the parents received identical texts telling them that their daughters were safe for now, but the games would begin tomorrow.  However, late that night a witness is badly beaten to death.

The next text to the parents offers one daughter’s life for the most money.  The other child will die.  Now the parents are in opposition to each other.

A profiler and a negotiator have been added to the team, much to the chagrin of Stone.  Shortly after their arrival, the clothes of the two girls are found distributed throughout the yard of one of the parents.

Forty-eight hours after the abduction, the woman who aided in the abduction is found tortured to death.  Stone can only hope that the girls are not in the hands of this sadistic killer.  Will she and her team be able to save the girls or will they just find bodies.

Author Angela Marsons’ thriller is a tense, fast paced novel that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat, turning pages to find out what is going to happen next.  I found this book hard to put down.

Backlash

DCI Mike Lewis has big case on his hands.  It started out as what appeared to be a murder case in which the killer was caught red handed.  However, shortly after the suspect was in the interview room, he began to confess to a couple of other unsolved murders.  One of which had been handled by Detective Chief Superintendent James Langton.

Langton calls DCI Anna Travis, who now researches cold cases, to assist on his old case.  She doesn’t want it to look like she is taking the case away from Lewis, but Langton assures her that will not be the case.

Unfortunately, at the beginning of the investigation, Lewis’ case against the suspect of one of the killings he had admitted to is very weak.  However, the forensic evidence from the body he was caught with is very strong.

Travis and Lewis agree to work their missing persons cases in parallel.  Travis is not looking forward to meeting the family of the girl she is working on.  The girl had only been thirteen at the time of her disappearance.

Bit by bit, the two teams begin to gather evidence against the suspect.  Will it be enough or will his solicitor be able to counter it all?  A break occurs when the body of one of the victims is found where the suspect had done casual labour.  However, a small crucifix found with the body did not belong to her.  Was it the killer’s?

Limited evidence and spiralling costs cause Langton to threaten to shut down the investigation.  Travis doesn’t want to give up.  Fortunately, she doesn’t have to because Langton is able to get the Area Commander on board.

Author Lynda La Plante has written another extremely good police procedure murder mystery.  Intense in the investigation, hazards and troubles that go hand-in-hand, this story gets the reader wanting to know what is going to happen next, and of course there are a few surprises thrown in for good measure.  A thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Secret Orphan

November 14, 1940, seven year old Rose Sherbourne’s mother was killed and their home destroyed in a bombing raid on Coventry.  Rose was now an orphan.

Two years earlier, Elenor Cardew had left the farm in Cornwall to assist her aunt in Coventry.  She felt like a country bumpkin in the big city.  It is at her aunt’s place that she meets Rose.  Rose’s mother works for Elenor’s aunt.  It doesn’t take long for Rose and Elenor to form a bond.  Elenor also makes a deep connection with her Aunt Maude.

Sadly, that connection doesn’t last as Maude passes away just after the new year arrives.  Elenor has a special friend in Jackson St. John, a pilot from Canada, which brightens her days.  Unfortunately, he has to go back to Canada, which in turn brings a deep sadness to her and Rose.

By September of 1939, Britain was at war, but it was a quiet war.  Rationing isn’t far behind.  Elenor’s brothers join the army and she considers moving back to the farm.  When her brothers are killed on the beaches of Dunkirk, Elenor becomes the sole owner of the farm.  It is a big task for the young woman to run a working farm by herself.

The task becomes bigger when Elenor’s friend, Alice brings Rose to here following the bombing of Coventry.  It will take some time for Rose to get over the shock of what she had been through.

What follows is a good description of what life was like for those keeping the home fires burning in England during the war.  How will Elenor protect Rose from the bad times and get her onto a safer path?  Author Glynis Peters’ novel is a good war story told from the civilian point of view.  A good, quick read.

Perfect Silence

DI Luc Callanach and DCI Ava Turner have been called out to a scene where a body of a young woman has been discovered.  She has been brutally assaulted.  It doesn’t take long for the victim to be identified; she had been living at a centre for victims of domestic abuse.

Meantime, back at the station, DC Salter and DS Lively have been called out to attend a scene where a man has been found with the letter ‘Z’ slashed into his face.  He is uncommunicative due to the drug he is high on.

The pathologist, Dr. Jonty Spurr, informs Callanach and Turner that their victim was cut on the stomach and back with a baby shape.  The cuts had been done with surgical precision and the woman had bled out as a result.

Three days later another young woman has gone missing.  Fortunately her baby was found in its pram.  When Turner looks inside the pram, she finds a small doll made out of skin.  Dr. Spurr examines it and matches it to the first victim’s body.  How much time do they have before this second young woman is dead?

Based upon the evidence gathered to this point, Turner is sure that the two cases and the man who was slashed are related.  Then a second slashing occurs.  As in the previous case, this victim was high on drugs when it happened.

When the second young woman’s body is found, it is in the same condition as that of the first.  This leads to the question, who is going to be the next victim?

Not long after this, Turner’s friend, Natasha tells her that one of her students is missing.  Turner begins an informal investigation.  That night a woman is run over by a bus.  Turner worries that it is the missing girl, however it turns out not to be.  On the other hand, Dr. Spurr shows her that the victim has had a zed slashed onto her cheek.

A day later Turner and DC Salter discover a skin doll in the missing girl’s mailbox at university.  Is she going to die in the coming days?  How many more young women will die before Turner’s team can solve the case?

Author Helen Fields’ murder thriller is just that, a gripping, tense story that has the reader on the edge of their seat wanting to know the outcome.  A very good read read and hard to put down.

Murder in the Palais Royal

Rene Friant, Aimee Leduc’s best friend and long time partner has just been shot in their office by someone he thought was her.  At the hospital, Aimee is taken in for questioning.  It is only on the word of her godfather, Inspector Morbier, that she is released.

Aimee immediately begins her own investigation.  It doesn’t take long for her to discover that the shooter really does look like her.

Later she receives a message from a guy in prison telling her that he has put her in trouble.  When she speaks to him at the prison, he doesn’t have enough time to tell her all the details.  The following day she learns that he has committed suicide.  Or could he have been murdered?  Then his pregnant girlfriend is murdered just before she was going to pass on a notebook to Aimee.  What is going on?

Can Aimee solve these cases before someone else is killed or will she be the next victim?  Another good quick read by author Cara Black.

Rome's Lost Son

Vespasian as Consul of Rome is at odds with the Empress Agrippina.  He is oddly enough, working with Pallas, her lover and disassociated with Narcissus who works with Emperor Claudius.  However, Narcissus knows that he must gain the confidence of Vespasian to the cost of Pallas.

Vespasian is surprised when Agrippina and her son, Nero, plead for clemency for Caratacus.  Claudius accepts their pleas.

Now Vespasian has to play politics with Narcissus, Pallas and Agrippina.  Can he, with the help of his lover Caenis, manage to play one against the other and still survive?  Pallas sends Vespasian to Armenia to bring it back under control, but he goes without an army.  Agrippina is hoping that he won’t be coming back.

By early 52 AD, Vespasian was in Philippi, meeting with his brother, who was governor of the area.  He and his uncle, Gaius, hope to gather information against Agrippina.  They find that Sabinus is busy trying to find a certain Paulus, who is promoting the teachings of Yeshua who Sabinus had executed on the orders of Pontius Pilate.

It doesn’t take long for Vespasian to discover that political intrigue in the east is just as dangerous as the intrigue in Rome.  His next task is to provoke Parthia into war.  Fortunately, his manipulations draws Parthia into starting the war.  Then the retreat begins with the intention of drawing the Parthians into a war away from their country.  However, treachery results in Vespasian being turned over to the Parthians as a hostage.

What will become of Vespasian now that he is incarcerated in a dungeon?  How will Nero come to power?  Author Robert Fabbri has the answers in the last section of the book.  Based on the writings of Tacitus and Seneca, Fabbri’s fiction has a ring of truth to it.  This was another thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Shadow Collector

DI Wesley Peterson has the dubious duty of informing his boss, DCI Gerry Heffernan, that a former killer, Lilith Benley is back at her home and is reporting a burglary there.  She had served eighteen years for killing two teenage girls alongside her mother.  When Peterson and Heffernan get to her place, she reports a book stolen.  She also wants her case reopened because she says she was innocent.  Heffernan responds that it can’t be unless she has new information.

Not long after this the body of a young woman is discovered on a farm where a reality tv show is being filmed.  When Heffernan and Peterson are at the farm to do some questioning, one of the stars of the show takes off.  Heffernan orders that the man be brought back.  He also questions the  woman who lives next door and was the killer of the two girls.  It is only by chance that they are able to identify the woman.

Meanwhile at a house that Dr. Neil Watson has been supervising the renovation of as an archaeologist, a tiny coffin has been discovered in a wall.  It contains a doll like figure, which has pins sticking into strategic positions.  When the woman, for whom the house was being renovated, brings a box filled styrofoam beads to pack the coffin in, she discovers a knife of some sort in it.  Shortly after he leaves with the coffin, his breaks fail and he is involved in a serious accident.

Shortly after Neil’s accident, another coffin is found in the wall.  Also, a mechanic has discovered that Neil’s brake lines had been cut.  Who would want to kill an archaeologist?

Lilith Benley is the prime suspect, yet when Heffernan and Peterson go to interview her, they find that her house has been broken into, and a doll with a javelin-like needle piercing it lying on the floor.  Has she also been killed?

Author Kate Ellis has a few twists left to her plot, and a surprising conclusion before the case is solved.  Once again, Ellis has woven a current case well with an historical case, making the two very enjoyable reading. 

Dark Water

DCI Erika Foster and DS John McGorry are at a quarry with a dive team searching fo a container full of heroin.  The divers successfully find it, but also come up with something else.  It is a small skeleton wrapped in plastic and chains.

Later Dr. Isaac Strong calls Erika.  He is the pathologist who has been tasked with examining the skeleton.  He is sure that he has identified the skeleton as belonging to a seven year old girl.  Erika wants to work on the case, but she is assigned to the drug squad and her supervisor refuses to allow her to change duties.  She hopes that her former commander, Paul Marsh can get her the SIO on the case.

Marsh puts in a word with the new assistant-commissioner at Scotland Yard, and Erika is assigned the case.  She will report to Marsh who also informs her that no one one the murder teams wanted the case. She wants DIs Moss and Peterson on her team.

The family of the dead girl had been torn apart by her death.  The recovery of her body brings the agony back as Erika and Peterson quickly discover.

The pair also turn to the former SIO, Amanda Baker.  Unfortunately, she has retired and become an alcoholic over the intervening years.  Unbeknownst to Erika, Baker has a source on her team about what is going on with the investigation.

The team has a couple of suspects in mind, but the first has an alibi and the second is dead.  Then a third suspect pops up, and he has connections to the other two.  However, they have nothing solid on him.

A few days later, former DCI Baker is found dead.  She had left messages on Erika’s phone to urgently get in contact with her.  When Erika checks her phone, she discovers that the messages have been wiped.  Obviously her phone has been hacked!

Who else has had their phone hacked?  Author Robert Bryndza throws subtle hints at the reader, but it is the twist towards the end of this murder mystery that tosses the reader an unexpected loop.  The conclusion is completely surprising.  This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and hard to put down.

The Salisbury Manuscripts

Thomas Ansell has just arrived in Salisbury by train, and shares a cab with a clergyman into the city centre.  Canon Selby quickly picks up on the fact that Thomas is a lawyer and that he had at one time thought about joining the army.

Tom has been assigned by the senior in his law firm to pick up a manuscript in Salisbury and bring it back to London for safekeeping until such time that it is deemed reasonable to release it.  After visiting with Canon Slater, Tom is asked to draw up documents with regards to the manuscript and its future.

Returning to his hotel, he finds that his room has been ransacked, but nothing has been taken.  Later, he meets a man who claims to have known his father.  The following day he is summoned by the older brother of Canon Slater.  He demands to know what Tom is doing for his brother.  He also demands that Tom get back certain papers he had given to his younger brother.  Tom is unable to do that because they had been freely given.

Returning to Canon Slater’s house that evening for supper, Tom is surprised to find it quiet and seemingly empty.  However, upon entering the study, he finds Canon Slater - dead!  He also discovers that the document that he was supposed to take to London for safekeeping is missing.  Moments afterwards he is apprehended by the police.  Fortunately, Inspector Foster doesn’t believe that Tom is the killer.

Tom now began to turn his mind to the reason for the killing.  He is surprised when his second visitor is his girlfriend Helen Scott.  She had received a telegram that he was incarcerated and hurried from London.  She also decides that the pair of them should help the police discover the killer.

Helen also decides that they should look into the disappearance of a sexton.  The man has now been missing for a month.  They speak to the elderly sister of the man.  Later they go for a walk on Todd’s Mound near the city. There, they notice a bad smell, and inside a cave, Tom discovers a body.  Could it be the missing man?  Due to decomposition, it is virtually impossible to identify the body.

When another death occurs, Tom and Helen wonder if it is connected in any way to the other deaths.  Can the information that they have help solve the mysteries?  Author Philip Gooden has plenty of action awaiting Tom and Helen with threats to their lives, plus a few surprises thrown in for good measure.  A good, quick read.

Murder in the Latin Quarter

Awaiting for a client in her computer security office, Aimee Leduc is shocked when a woman walks in and claims to be her sister, Mireille.  Her caramel coloured skin says otherwise.  She is also from Haiti.  However, when she arranges to meet her at a cafe, the woman has apparently run away after seeing a motorcycle pull up.  She however, did leave an address on a napkin.

When Aimee arrives at the address, she finds a torn apart office and a man’s body.  The police are quick to arrive, but not as quick as Aimee‘s escape.  The following day, a man corners Aimee and says that he is also looking for Mireille.  Is he a threat to her?  Aimee is unsure.

An old man who has some information to share with Aimee is unfortunately run down by a car.  An accident or was he pushed into the car’s path?

How much more trouble must Aimee go through to determine whether the woman is her sister or not?  Author Cara Black’s thriller has plenty of twists and action in it, not just in Aimee’s attempt to find out about the new woman in her life, but also a conspiracy related to Haiti.  A good quick read.

Elementary Murder

DS Michael Brennan has been called to the George Street Elementary School early Monday morning where the body of a young woman has been found locked in one of the classrooms.  It would appear that she committed suicide after failing to earn the position of teacher at the school on the previous Friday.

Brennan begins his investigation by speaking to the staff members.  They aren’t able to tell him much, however the caretaker tells him that when he had discovered the body, there was a bottle of scotch under the teacher’s desk, and it looked like someone had tried to start a fire in the coal room.

The following morning, Brennan is informed by Captain Bell, that the school inspector who had been at the school on Friday was found floating in a nearby canal the previous evening.    Dr. Monroe, the pathologist, informs Brennan that the young woman had been poisoned with arsenic in her tea, while the inspector had drowned, however he had struggled to survive.

What is the link between the two, and why would someone want them dead?  And why would a student from the school be missing?  Later in the week the headmaster is attacked and hurt.  Could this be a third attempt at murder?

Can DS Brennan discover the killer before someone else dies?  Author A. J. Wright ‘s mystery leaves the reader wondering just who the killer could be right up to the end and then surprises the reader.  This was a good read, and it is the surprise ending, which really makes it especially interesting.

Arrowood

William Arrowood is a detective who takes different cases as compared to his nemesis, Sherlock Holmes.  He and his sidekick, Norman Barnett, are in dire financial trouble when a young French woman approaches them to search for her brother who has disappeared.  Initially Arrowood is hesitant to take the case.  After she convinces him to, she tells him who her brother had been working for.  The man is an enemy of Arrowood and Barnett.  Arrowood believes that the woman is telling lies, but he proceeds with the case anyway.

They approach a girl who worked at the same place as the missing man.  She offers to provide information, but just as they were to speak to her again, a man stepped out of the crowd and stabbed her to death.  He managed to get away before Barnett could apprehend him.  The girl was clutching a brass bullet in her handkerchief.  It turns out to be a 303 bullet from the be Enfield rifle, which only a few units of the army have.

An ex-convict tells Barnett that there is an American-Fenian group causing problems, and warns him to stay away as they are very dangerous.  Then CID from Scotland Yard take Barnett and Arrowood in for questioning.  Afterwards Barnett sees one of the CID officers talking with the man who had stabbed the girl in front of their eyes.

As their investigation continues, Arrowood realises that his client has been lying to them all along.  Every time that they try to solve something, they run into trouble, and it seems to be getting more and more serious. Author Mick Finlay’s foray into the underworld of Victorian London shows both the squalor and criminal elements.  Unlike Holmes, Arrowood is not infallible.  He has his trials and tribulations, but he does manage to solve the case.  A good, quick read.

The Angel in the Glass

Early one morning in the summer of 1604, Doctor Gabriel Taverner was called out by the coroner Theophilus Davey to exam a body of a vagrant man.  Upon examination of the body, Gabe is sure that he had died from natural causes, although he was diseased.  What disease, Gabe was unsure.

Theo had discovered a fragment of paper on the man.  Upon examination of it, he realises that it was the drawing of a man.  What is the significance of it?

Meantime, Gabe and his sister are concerned about the health of their friends Reverend Jonathan Carew.  He has seemed unwell and distracted of recent.  When he comes to Gabe for help, Gabe is willing to be of assistance.  The pair discover a set of stained glass windows that had been missing from Jonathan’s church for some time.  However, a sixth panel is amongst the others.  It is of a naked angel with a naked man.  It surely didn’t belong with the others!

A few days later, Gabe and Theo are called out to the home of Lady Clemence Fairlight.  She has been murdered in the night, and the killer has extracted the heart.  Is there a connection to the death of the vagrant several days before?

It is going to take some serious investigation on the part of Gabe and Theo to discover the killer.  Author Alys Clare leaves the painful discovery right to the end with a couple of surprises thrown in for good measure.  A good quick read.

The Red Ribbon

Wiggins has gone in search of a girl, who his friend, Jax has said is missing.  The trail takes him to the Embassy of Olifa, which turns out to be a high class brothel.  It is here that he also learns that the king has died.  The brothel will be very busy with important dignitaries from Europe when they come for the king’s funeral.

Wiggins’ boss, Vernon Kell, informs him that they have a major task now.  Wiggins is to investigate clerks who might have shared information about a proposed treaty with Italy.  They also need to be on guard for a potential assassination during the king’s funeral.

Fortunately nothing happened during the funeral.  However, no progress is being made by Wiggins, and Kell is warned that his department could be closed down and turned over to Special Branch.  He gives Wiggins a list of ministers who could have revealed the treaty information, with instructions to check them out.

However, before he can check them out, Wiggins runs into trouble as does Kell’s opposite number in the other branch of secret services.  As a result, Kell, his wife Constance and Wiggins have to head to Germany.

Can their journey into Germany prevent a major international crisis?  And what of the leak of information about the treaty with Italy?  Author H. B. Lyle’s historical thriller has plenty of action awaiting Wiggins and Kell.  This was a rollicking good read.  I can only hope that Lyle is in the process of writing a sequel.

Blood Line

DCI Anna Travis has been asked to investigate the disappearance of a young man by Superintendent Langton.  It is not the normal purview of a murder detective.  The man has been missing for a few weeks now, and his father is sure that he has been murdered.

As Travis and DS Paul Simms begin their investigation, they learn that the missing man was generous to a fault.  However, the following day, they learn from neighbours that they had seen the girlfriend of the missing man had purchased a large quantity of bleach and carpet cleaner at about the time that he had gone missing.

With a warrant Travis and Simms inspect the flat where the couple lived.  Underneath the bed they find bloodstains under the carpet.  The girlfriend denies knowing anything about it.  With no body, they are unable to hold her.

The forensic evidence from the flat proves to be very interesting on several factors, causing Simms to conjecture that the missing man could be the murderer.  Had he killed someone and then disappeared?  As the investigation progresses, it appears that the victim led a double life.

With evidence piling up, Travis is confronted by Chief Superintendent Langton.  He doesn’t believe she is on the right track.  She needs to focus on the girlfriend.  Travis has a lead in Cornwall, that she wants to check out.  Langton tells her only after the girlfriend is put under pressure.

Will Travis find the information she needs in Cornwall or will it be a wasted trip?  Author Lynda La Plante has the reader wondering about the deceased and the killer throughout this murder mystery.  Is he dead or is he the killer?  La Plante once again proves that she is a top notch author of murder mysteries.

Death Watch

DI Peter Shaw and DS George Valentine are at the hospital because of a death; a suspicious death in the incinerator!  The younger brother of the victim informs Shaw and Valentine that the death was connected to drugs.  The victim could grab drugs before they were incinerated, but this time he had refused.  Was he killed for the refusal?

Valentine is sure that a previous case was connected to the street where the victim lived.  Going through old files he discovers that the twin sister of the victim had disappeared many years ago, and Shaw’s father had been the senior investigator.  Could it be relevant to the current case?

The following day, when Shaw is given a tour of the incinerator system, he shows the doctor a tag, which was found with the victim.  It points to the children’s ward, and there shouldn’t be surgical human waste coming from there.

At the morning briefing, Shaw comes to the realisation that the victim’s death was eighteen years to the date of his twin sister’s disappearance.

Later in the day, Shaw is informed that the human waste found with the body was a perfectly good kidney.  It must have been harvested for a transplant, which didn’t happen.  Could it have been a part of human body parts harvesting?  Apparently there is good money in that.

Things become more interesting when a floater is found.  And that is followed by the discovery of a body in a large garbage bag on a nearby island.  It is minus its eyes.  A common thread are the initials MVR on bracelets and a torch found with the three bodies.

Can Shaw and Valentine solve the case before anymore men die?  Author Jim Kelly’s mystery is fast paced with a bit of international intrigue thrown into the mix plus a cold case that the pair are very invested in.  A good read, leaving the reader wondering what will happen in the next book in the series.