Eeny Meeny

As usual DI Helen Grace has arrived early to work in Southampton.  Her DS, Mark Fuller, immediately presents her with a new case.  A girl has claimed that she has killed her boyfriend.  Along with DC Charlie Brooks they go to meet her.  Both she and her boyfriend had been reported missing.

The young woman tells a story of being captured by a woman and imprisoned in a dry, deep swimming pool.  Evidence there seems to prove her story, as does the autopsy on the victim.  DI Grace accepts her story as true.  While she is at the autopsy, Fuller brings together an investigative team, and Brooks stays with the young woman.

As Grace is preparing to meet with the team, Brooks brings her news that two men have gone missing.  She is sure that this case is connected to the other.  Especially when the forensic team discovers a home in the gas tank of the car the men were driving in.  They now realise that the men had been stalked, and their kidnapping planned.

When one of the men is found alive, he gives a description of a woman who had picked the pair up.  He describes the place where they were held.  He had killed the man they were with.  However, when Grace goes to the site, the victim is not who she expected.  It is someone whom she had dealt with before.

Just after Christmas a mother and her handicapped daughter were found dead in their home.  They had been locked in, deprived of food and water.  Grace had known both of these victims.  What is going on?

A break occurs when one of the victims identifies a suspect, but unfortunately, there is not enough to go on.  They get a break when they go through the suspect’s computer.  However, before they can arrest her, she disappears.

Author M. J. Arlidge has written a tremendous psychological thriller in the first of a series involving DI Helen Grace.  This is a book that the reader will find hard to put down.  I’m looking forward to reading the sequels.

Murder on Black Swan Lane

The Reverend Josiah Holworthy has been brutally slain.  His face splashed with something that caused disfigurement and his throat slashed.  Due to an ongoing feud via letters in the newspaper, it would appear that the Earl of Wrexford is the likely culprit.  A print has been distributed by an artist called A. J. Quill, which depicts the scene quite graphically and accurately.  Wrexford wants to meet with the artist.

Wrexford’s valet, Tyler, helps him begin his own investigation into the murder.  However, he first he wants to find Quill, who has now printed another drawing of Wrexford accurately depicting him and his friend Sheffield looking at the previous drawing in his house.  He is surprised to discover that A. J. Quill is not a man, but is in fact A widow, Mrs. Charlotte Sloane.

They strike a deal to work together.  Charlotte explains to him how she gathers her information for her drawings.  She has two young lads who occasionally help her, brothers Raven and Hawk, who are not her children.

The following day, Wrexford and Tyler are on the verge of entering a chemist’s lab when it unexpectedly bursts into flame.  They manage to put the flames out, and find the chemist on the floor.  As Wrexford lifts the man up, he finds his hand sticky with blood.  It is at this time that Griffin, a Bow Street Runner walks in.

Fortunately, Wrexford has an explanation, which undeniably proves he is not the killer.  Wrexford is also sure that the chemist’s death is related to that of the late reverend. How can he prove it?

Speaking with Charlotte, They come to realise that there is a connection to a group called The Ancients.  While Wrexford continues his investigation, Charlotte will attempt to provoke them with her drawings as A. J. Quill.  That drawing brings surgeon Henning to the pair, and an idea from him leads to a potential suspect.  Now, the question is, how to get the Bow Street Runner to apprehend the culprit?

Author Andrea Penrose has some excitement set up for Charlotte, Wrexford and the two lads in the concluding pages of this thriller.  This is the first in a new series and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I’m looking forward to reading the sequels.

Triple Jeopardy

Daniel Pitt hasn’t seen his sister, Jemima, for some time now, and he is a bit nervous to meet her, her husband, Patrick and their two daughters.  However, things go quite smoothly.  Patrick is a policeman in America and he asks Daniel for help in prosecuting a diplomat who assaulted a young woman in the states.  The man had returned to England claiming diplomatic immunity.

Shortly after this, Patrick informs Daniel that the diplomat has been charged with embezzlement.  He wants Daniel to prosecute the case, but Daniel points out to him that he is unable to.  However, his firm would be able to take on the defence of the man.  Kitteridge, in Daniel’s mind, is just the lawyer to handle the case, and he could act as his second.  However, he is surprised when the head of the law firm, Marcus fford Croft, assigns the case to Daniel alone.

Meeting with the accused, Daniel promises him the best defence possible.  Is it possible that the young man has been framed for the embezzlement?  On Kitteridge’s insistence, Daniel turns to Miriam fford Croft, a scientist who had helped them in a previous case.  She determines that some of the documents the prosecution will present have been forged.

The court case had just begun when Patrick comes to inform Daniel that a potential witness in Washington has been murdered.  Could Daniel’s client have killed him before he left?

In order to get more background information, Daniel and Miriam travel to Alderney.  There, Daniel, with the help of Miriam, comes up with a solution.

Author Anne Perry, has woven another tightly knit thriller in “Triple Jeopardy”.  This series is definitely a good one and I look forward to reading the next book.

Death at La Fenice

Guido Brunetti, a commisario of police for Venice, has been called to the Teatro La Fenice, where the maestro of the orchestra has been found dead in his dressing room.  Doctor Barbara Zorzi has been called from the audience to examine the man before Brunetti arrived, and she told him that she suspected cyanide poisoning.

The first priority for Brunetti is to learn more about the victim, and who would want to harm him.  Could it be someone from the distant past?

Speaking to many people who knew the victim, Brunetti is able to find the true culprit in this case.  Author Donna Leon sets the reader up for a surprising conclusion.  A good quick read.  This is the first book in a long series I look forward to reading.

When Falcons Fall

Viscount Devlin and his wife, Hero, are in Ayleswick, Shropshire to deliver a gift to an old woman, courtesy of her now deceased grandson.  The young justice of the peace, Squire Rawlins, has approached Devlin to have him investigate an apparent suicide, which Rawlins feels isn’t a suicide.

The young woman was only twenty-seven, and travelling throughout Shropshire sketching various scenes.  It doesn’t take Devlin long to state that she had been murdered.  To get to the body, both he and Rawlins had muddy boots.  There was none on hers.

Hero helps Devlin by going through the victim’s room.  The only thing missing seems to be her reticule.  They also discover her sketch book, which contains many portraits of the local community members.  However, her sketchbook containing drawings of local buildings is also missing.

The victim’s maid had only been with her for a short time, and when questioned stated that she felt the victim really wasn’t who she said she was.  The local doctor confirms what Devlin had noticed, bruising around her mouth.  The victim had been smothered.

Later that evening, while talking with a man in the employ of Jarvis, a shot is fired at the pair, killing the man.  Was the shot intended for Devlin?  The man had been watching Lucien Bonaparte, brother to Napoleon and now held hostage by the British government.

When young Lord Seaton returns to the village, he is able to identify the young woman.  As thought, she was not who she claimed to be.  As Devlin sets about investigating the background of the young woman, Hero delves into the deaths of two young women a couple of decades earlier.  Could those deaths be tied into the current case?  As Devlin and Hero discuss their cases, they come down to two suspects.

Author C. S. Harris has woven a fabric so tight that it is impossible for the reader to determine who the killer is.  A definite surprise for the reader at the conclusion.  Another thoroughly enjoyable read by this author.

Murder Below Montparnasse

Aimee Leduc has just helped her godfather achieve a sting against the Corsican mafia.  Unfortunately, she can’t share the victory with Rene, her partner.  He has taken the opportunity to move to Silicon Valley in California.  She does still have Saj de Rosnay, their part time hacker available.

As Saj is driving Aimee for a meal after the sting, a man wanders into their path and is hit by the car.  Saj is taken by the police for questioning, however Aimee has questions of her own.  Why is there no blood from the man?

Prior to the accident, Saj had given Aimee an envelope containing five thousand francs.  She had no idea who the money had come from, but the mystery man appears at the accident.  When Aimee goes to his nearby home, they find that he has been robbed of a special painting.

At the hospital Aimee learns that a relative of the accident victim was trying to get at Saj, but fortunately, he was prevented from doing that. 

As her investigation progresses, Aimee is sure that there might be two groups interested in the painting.  Before she can learn more, the mystery man is murdered.  He had told Aimee that he knew her mother, whom she hasn’t seen for years.  And not long after the man he had appraise the painting dies.

Things turn ugly when Aimee is physically threatened.  This time they are trying to get at her mother as well as the painting.  Aimee has no knowledge of either. 

Aimee won’t have to do things on her own, as she has a very good intern and now Saj is back.  But it won’t be easy, as none of her investigations are.  Author Cara Black makes Aimee work hard for every answer.  This particular thriller ends with a couple of surprises for Aimee.  A good read.

Twenty-one Days

Daniel Pitt’s father, Sir Thomas Pitt, had asked for his son to be the defence attorney for a former policeman, Roman Blackwell, who has been accused of murder.  The gun used in the murder had been clean of fingerprints, but Daniel realised that the shell casings hadn’t been wiped.  They did not have the prints of Blackwell on them, rather someone else.

Assisting in another case, Daniel and his lead defence, Kitteridge, lose.  Their client is found guilty.  They have twenty-one days to find evidence for an appeal.  Daniel is tasked with finding out who the real killer is.  Although both Daniel and Kitteridge both feel that their client is guilty, they need to go through with the appeal.

At the home of the client, Daniel learns from the butler that the client was about to inherit a vast estate.  The butler wonders if the estate would pass on to the client’s son.  He also learns of a man that the client was researching for an upcoming biography.  The more Daniel learns, the more he develops a distaste for the subject.  Unfortunately, the person is not named.  However, he later does come across the name, and it has a family connection to his father!  If the information were to be published, it would destroy his father!

Daniel is told to use the help of Miriam fford   Croft, daughter of his boss.  She is a scientist.  She is sure that there is more to the killing than the police know.  Upon exhuming and examining the corpse, Miriam is sure that the body, is not who it is supposed to be.

As Daniel continues the investigation, author Anne Perry has him discover more relevant information.  He can now save their client, but much more is to happen.  Perry, as usual has written an intriguing mystery, introducing fans of hers to a new character.  Thoroughly enjoyable.

Murder at the Lanterne Rouge

Aimee Leduc and her partner Rene are dining in Chinatown with his newest girlfriend and her parents when Meizi, the girlfriend, has to take a phone call.  Moments later the restaurant is cleared when a nearby body is discovered.  Looking into the wallet by the body, Aimee discovers that the dead man knew Meizi, but where is she?

Rene is sure that Meizi is in some sort of danger.  The following day, they learn that she wasn’t who she said she was.  However, Rene still feels that he has to help her.

As the investigation progresses, Aimee discovers that no one is who they say they are.  When Aimee finally catches up with Maizi, she learns about a protection racket and people smuggling run by the snakeheads.  Not long after that Aimee is attacked and her life put in jeopardy.  She must be getting close.

Aimee discovers that the young man who had been murdered had discovered an ancient formula, but what was its relevance to the modern day?  He also had apparently been working secretly for the government on fibre optics.

Where is all of this going to lead?  Author Cara Black has plenty of trouble ahead for Aimee before she can solve the case; trouble for Rene and her relationship with her godfather, Morbier.

A good, quick read.

Murder in Passy

Aimee Leduc has been asked by her godfather, Morbier, to check in on his girlfriend.  Shortly after meeting her, Aimee finds the woman dead.  After being questioned by the police, Aimee is sure that they are on the wrong track.

As Aimee begins her investigation, she learns that there might be a connection to the Basque Natinalists.  However, it is Morbier who becomes the prime suspect.  Aimee wants to know who is framing him.  Morbier tells Aimee to trust no one.

Morbier has an informer that he is trying to protect.  Aimee feels that she needs to find the killer.  Morbier also hints to Aimee that there is a leak in the police force.

Then Aimee learns of the kidnapping of a young Spanish princess.  This too, seems connected to the Basque movement.  Will she die so that the Basques can achieve their goals?

Author Cara Black’s thriller has plenty of action ahead for Aimee.  Can she find the princess before she is killed and find information that will lead to the release of Morbier?  A good, fast paced read.

The Devil's Domain

John of Gaunt has requested the presence of Sir John Cranston and his friend Athelstan to attend him at the Palace of Savoy.  A well placed French prisoner of war has died as a result of poisoning.  The French are now demanding reparation and justice.

Gaunt also has a special task for Athelstan. He is to further the quest of Sir Maurice Maltravers desire to marry Lady Angelica Parr.  Her father has forbidden the pair to see each other and put Lady Angelica in a nunnery.

A few days later a young woman commits suicide in a room at a pub.  She leaves a letter naming Maltravers as her husband.  However, Athelstan is quick to determine that it was not a suicide.  She has been murdered, and now the stain of her claim will stick to Maltravers.

Another French prisoner dies, and Athelstan has no idea who is responsible because no one could have poisoned his food nor drink.  He needs to determine how the poison was administered.  He and Cranston pull a little trickery to ensure that Maltravers can see his beloved, but again they can’t bring them together.

How many more will die in suspicious circumstances before Athelstan can solve the murders?  Author Paul Doherty’s thriller leaves the reader wondering how things will be resolved.  He provides an interesting conclusion and method of poisoning.  Another very good read.

The Assassin’s Riddle

London coroner Sir John Cranston has asked his friend, Father Athelstan to help him investigate a murder, in which the deceased was found killed inside a building he had locked himself into.  Missing is about five thousand pounds in silver, money that the deceased was going to loan to John of Gaunt, the Regent.

While at the site of the murder, one of Gaunt’s men brings a message.  He wants Cranston to now investigate another murder.  The body is in the possession of the Fisher of Men, after having been retrieved from the river.  While examining the corpse, the messenger arrives with news of another murder.  This time the killer left a riddle with the body.  Both men were clerks in the same office.

It is not long after this that another of the clerks in the same office dies.  This one is poisoned at their place of work.  Again, a riddle is left with the clerk.  When another clerk is killed, and a riddle left, Athelstan comes to the realisation that the killer is spelling out the Latin word for punishment.

Can he and Cranston catch the killer before he kills the rest of the clerks?  Author Paul Doherty’s seventh book in this series isn’t just full of riddles, but it is down right puzzling.  It also comes with a surprising and tragic conclusion.  A thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Ruin

Garda Cormac Reilly has been sent on what he was beginning to think was a wild goose chase for a minor domestic.  After some time he did find the address.  There he finds a teenage girl and a young boy, and their dead mother.  Because he has no radio in his police car, Reilly takes them to the hospital in Castlebar.  The girl, Maude Blake disappears while Reilly is with the boy in the examination room.

Twenty years later, and Reilly is now a detective sergeant and in charge of cold cases in Galway.  His superior officer Brian Murphy  wants him to look back at the case.  The young boy, now a young man has recently committed suicide.  The sister has returned to Galway, and she feels that there is something suspicious about the death of her brother.  Reilly wonders if Murphy has suspicions of Maude.  However, Reilly is not to investigate the suicide, but rather the death of his mother.

Another DS informs Reilly that Maude had collected CCTV coverage for the bridge for the time her brother was supposed to have jumped from it.  There is nothing on any of the cameras’ recordings.  However, the Garda are refusing to investigate any further.  Maude tries to get her brother’s girlfriend, Aisling, to help her gather information.

Reilly learns that a social worker had removed the children from their home because they were being abused.  However, that didn’t last long as her boss overruled her.

Reilly is then caught off guard when his friend Danny McIntyre comes up with information that a woman had given Maude heroin just before her mother died of an overdose.  McIntyre also says that there is a rumour going around that Reilly had been seen coming out of Maude’s hotel room.

With all this crap on his plate, can Reilly get to the bottom of the case?  At times he feels that he is in over his head.  Author Dervla McTiernan has written an excellent psychological thriller in the first of a series, which in my mind is refreshing.  I’m looking forward to reading the next books in this modern series.

The House of Crows

Sir John Cranston has a problem on his hands; someone is stealing cats from their owners in Cheapside.  This means that mice and rats will grow in numbers and bring diseases.  However, John of Gaunt, the Regent wants him and Athelstan to investigate the murder of some knights who have come to Westminster for a parliament.

Meanwhile, Athelstan is having to deal with three of his parishioners who are sure that they saw a demon in the dead house next to the church.  His good friend Benedicta is also sure that she had seen a strange being in her garden.

When Cranston and Athelstan begin their investigation, they learn from a bar maid that she had heard a muffled voice in the room with the first body.  When Athelstan hears what the maid heard he is sure that the second knight was killed by a supposed priest.  They discover that the two dead knights belonged to the Knights of the Swan who have been killed by the same assassin.

How many more knights are going to die before Athelstan and Cranston can solve the murders?  And what if the theft of the cats?  Can an exorcist rid Athelstan’s community of the demon?  Author Paul Doherty has the answers to these questions in the remaining pages.  A very good read.

By Murder's Bright Light

Coroner Sir John Cranston has been asked by under-sheriff Shawditch to come and inspect a house, which has been robbed.  It is the sixth in the ward which has been robbed recently.  In each case the owner has been away and the servants heard nothing.  No door or window has been breeched.

Shawditch mentions another problem.  A sailor had returned to his ship in the early hours on the Thames, only to find that the watch was missing.  Where could they have gone and why?  And, what caused the death of the captain of the ship recently?

The following morning while Athelstan is at breakfast, a man comes to the church claiming sanctuary.  Soon after ruffians come charging into the church in an attempt to capture the man because he has killed their master.  Just as the leader of the ruffians Is about to attack Athelstan, Cranston shows up.  They then go to examine the site of the murder, leaving the apparent killer in the church.

Later, they go to the ship, which had lost its captain and three crew members.  They are unable to learn anything of use other than the fact that the captain was not well liked, nor was his partner, who had been apparently killed by the man now in Athelstan’s church.

When another robbery occurs, the thief is surprised by a maid.  He kills her.  Athelstan is shocked to see that she was very young.

How will Athelstan and Cranston go about solving these crimes?  Author Paul Doherty has plenty of action awaiting the pair, including a battle aboard the ship with French pirates.  The conclusion is a surprise, too.  A rollicking good read.

Who Buries the Dead

Viscount Devlin has been called out in the middle of the night by Sir Henry Lovejoy, one of Bow Street’s magistrates to view a gruesome scene.  A man has been decapitated, his head left on a bridge and the body nearby.  The victim has been identified and Lovejoy needs Devlin’s help.

Nearby Devlin discovers a metal strap that is engraved “King Charles, 1648”.  Devlin is sure that it was a coffin strap.  What is its relevance, other than the king had also been beheaded? 

Returning home one evening, Devlin is shot at.  Fortunately, the assassin only manages to graze his head.  Obviously someone doesn’t want him to continue with his investigation.  The following morning, the daughter of the victim tells Devlin that her father had recently been in conflict with Lord Oliphant, Devlin’s nemesis from the war in Spain.

A couple of days later an elderly doctor, who had initially been reluctant to talk to Devlin is found dead, also decapitated.  Devlin wonders if the reason for his death is because he had late the night before sent a note to Devlin saying he was now prepared to talk.

Later a man who bears a striking resemblance to Devlin is on his way to see him, and is shot in front of Hero and their house.  Jamie Knox could be Devlin’s half brother, but who is to know?  Unfortunately, he dies.  Someone doesn’t want Devlin to continue with his investigation, but Devlin vows to find the killer and wreak vengeance after he finds out who he is working for.

Author C. S. Harris has Devlin and Hero ducking for their lives before Devlin can come up with a solution to the killings.  The culprit comes as a surprise to the reader, and Hero’s father has a solution to the attempt on their lives.  Another excellent thriller by this author.

Anger of God

Sir John Cranston has just been to the death bed of a colleague.  He is sure the man was murdered by his young wife, but has no proof other than a letter he had received from the dead man.  He needs his good friend, Friar Athelstan, to help him.  Fortuitously, Athelstan shows up at the public house where he is having a meal.  They discuss a number of things, and as they are leaving, they are accosted by a man who tells them that the sheriff has been murdered in the Guildhall.

Cranston removes the knife, which was used to kill the sheriff.  How could anyone have managed to stab him when his fierce dogs were guarding him?  Inscribed on the knife was “Ira Dei”, The Anger of God, who is the leader of a group fomenting revolution.  They have many suspects to consider and Athelstan is sure that there will be another murder before long.

That evening while at a banquet hosted by the king, a man collapses.  Athelstan is sure that his death is not a natural one.  How could poison have been administered without anyone else noticing or succumbing?  At the same time, money deposited by the guild masters has been robbed from a chest, which had six different padlocks on it, each key held by one of the masters and the Regent.  Notes left by Ira Dei claim responsibility.

The next day, the Regent and the guild masters demand that Athelstan try to infiltrate Ira Dei’s group and gain information.  However, will that be enough to bring the conspiracy to an end?

Author Paul Doherty’s third thriller in this series builds and builds, yet never revealing anything until the final pages, with a surprise for the reader as to who may be behind the troubles that Cranston and Athelstan are investigating.  Quite an enjoyable read.