Madeleine's Reading Log 2023

[Madeleine]

"Murder at St Anne's" by J R Ellis - this is the 7th book in the Yorkshire crime series featuring policeman Jim Oldroyd, who this time round is investigating the murder of a female rector in her own church, in the picturesque town of Knaresborough. The church is allegedly haunted by the ghost of a mediaeval monk who was executed for heresy, and as the police have no idea what the murder weapon is, some of the locals' stubborn belief that the monk was responsible don't exactly help. There are several churchgoers who had a motive too, several weren't too happy with a female priest officiating, although they liked her as a person, and another one had financial "irregularities" which had been called into question by the murdered rector. But when another kiling occurs, the net of suspects becomes even wider, and it's up to Oldroyd and his sergeant, plus a couple of female officers who, inevitably, get to do all the "grunt" work, to come up with a credible suspect. This was an enjoyable easy read, slightly dry but very reminiscent of a "Midsomer Murders" episode. And the snowy weather - the police officers are forced to spend a rather creepy night in the church due to a blizzard - also adds to the atmosphere. 6.5/10

Loch of the Dead" by Oscar de Muriel - book number 4 in the Frey and McGray series set in late Victorian Scotland, and in this one our two heroes find themselves at a remote house on the shore of a Scottish loch, on two different cases - Frey is helping a young woman who many years ago gave birth to an illegitimate child, whose father was the brother of the house's owner; as usual, he disowned her and the child, but the houseowners, the Kolomans, arranged for her to have the child, and for a local priest to raise the boy, and they would give her a job at the house and ensure that the child was well provided for. Now the boy is of age, but the woman, Millie, has been receiving threats so asks Frey for protection. McGray meanwhile is on his way to visit a holy well on one of the loch's islands, which is meant to cure people of mental afflictions (McGray's sister is currently in a facility on Orkney) and he hopes to take some of the water to his sister. However he happens to be in Thurso, where a murder occurs - the victim is the aforementioned priest, so McGray agrees to escort the boy to meet his family. Therefore we have Frey and McGray under the same roof, and when another murder occurs they have to assume that most of the family are potential suspects - there are the parents ,their twin daughters, their wayward son, his valet, and several staff members. And that's before you get to the other family, who live on the island with the holy well, and who are even more mysterious than the Kolomans, who have some very strange interests and hobbies. It's a tremendously fast-paced story, and although the plot undoubtedly has holes if you look at it too closely, it romps along with several twists, a few gruesome events, strange goings on, and a final thrilling showdown. I stayed up long past my usual reading time as I was so engrossed, and wanted to read on, but at the same time didn't want it to end. A great rollicking read, with some humour and a bit of tragedy too, and the best book in the series so far. Watch out for those bats though! 10/10

[Madeleine]

February

"Black Run" by Antonio Manzini - this is the first in the Rocco Schiavone detective series set in the Italian ski resort of Aosta, which is where Rocco has been forcibly transferred from his beloved Rome. I've been watching the TV series based on the books but missed this episode when it was shown a couple of years ago, and I decided to read the book at the same time. The TV version kept pretty faithfully to the book, and both are highly enjoyable - if you liked Montalbano, he looks like Father Christmas compared to Rocco, who is spectacularly grumpy and has difficulty with some of his team, two of whom are spectacularly inept. Yet he does grow on you, or he did on me anyway, and gradually his past is peeled back, including his relationship with his wife Marina. In this book he's investigating the death of a local man who is run over by a snowcat, one of those huge machines which smoothes out the ski pistes after everyone has gone home for the day. But what was he doing in the middle of a deserted ski slope, and was he dead before or after the machine did so much damage? I enjoyed this, it was fast paced and has quite a lot of humour, and I look forward to reading the other 3 books in the series, although the TV show has gone on beyond the books. Rocco's team are interesting too, with 2 good-looking and highly competent officers, one who is so-so and the others who are "Laurel and Hardy" and who provide much of the humour. In a later series he also acquires a cute little dog.Like Montalbano, he's constantly at odds with the authorities, and isn't afraid to bend the rules quite often. 7.5/10

"The Postscript Murders" by Elly Griffiths - this is the 2nd novel to feature policewoman Harbinder Kaur, first seen in "The Stranger Diaries" which was originally a stand alone novel. Now it looks like Harbi, as her family call her, is getting her own series, and whilst I really like her character, sadly this book fell flat for me. It's meant to be a playful tribute to the publishing industry and authors, though if this book is anything to go by being an author is quite dangerous! It starts with an elderly woman found dead in her retirement apartment in Shoreham, on England's South coast. Nothing unusual in that, she was 90 and had a heart condition, but Natalka, her carer, is suspicious and confides her fears to her friend Benedict, an ex-monk who runs a coffee "shack" on the seafront, and one of the lady's neighbours, Edwin. And when a gun-toting stranger bursts in on the younger couple when they are in the lady's flat, sorting out her things (ie the worthless stuff that her unlikeable son didn't want), and picks up one book and walks off with it, they are convinced her death wasn't simply from old age and ill health. For Peggy, the lady in question, was a murder consultant, who advised several authors on unusual methods of murder, and both she and some of the authors have been receiving possibly threatening messages. Then one of her authors is shot dead in his home, and his elderly mother was a neighbour of Peggy's. So Harbinder is brought in to investigate, but also finds herself in competition with a team of amateur detectives, who go scampering off on a road trip to a literary festival in Aberdeen, on the tail of another author who may also be at risk. Harbinder, not surprisingly, isn't too happy at this Scooby Doo type of investigation, and when there's yet another murder she finds herself heading to Aberdeen to help out the detectives there (who she'd already helped on an earlier case). Next thing the gang of real and would-be detectives find themselves in a safe house on the Scottish coast. At this point the book really started to get on my nerves, with the police coming across as pretty daft - for example, hiding people in a safe house and then keeping watch in a police squad car kind of gives their location away, and it all takes on a rather farcical element. Although the plotting is good, and Harbi's slightly awkward but affectionate relationship with her family is well portrayed, I think this is probably the weakest of this author's books that I've read so far. I enjoyed the first book but this one is disappointing. 5/10

[Madeleine]

March

"Shiver" by Allie Reynolds - 10 years ago, several young people gathered in the mountain resort of Le Rocher in France, for a snowboarding competition - but one never came back. Now, when the missing person has finally been declared officially dead, most of the remaining group receive an invite to go to the resort again, out of season, for a reunion and to hopefully find out what really happened. But when they get there none of them is sure who actually issued the invites, and there are no staff, even the lifts are closed apart from when they take the cable car to the visitor centre where they'll be staying. Thinking that they can just get on with their trip themselves, they gather to play an Ice Breaker game, but the questions soon set the group against each other, and it soon becomes apparent that they're not the only ones staying at the supposedly deserted resort. Who is the extra guest, and how much danger are they all in? And in incoming snowstorm soon cuts them off entirely - with no radio or phones (which have disappeared) they have to rely on their own strength, and try to stop turning on each other as old grievances come to light.

This is the debut novel from this author, a former snowboarder herself, and although I didn't think it was particularly well-written (some of the dialogue is a bit cringeworthy) it's certainly a page turner. It's genuinely gripping although I thought the final reveal and last few scenes were pretty far-fetched, and most of the characters are pretty unlikeable and in some cases downright silly, so it was hard to care about what happened to them, but as a holiday thriller it works quite well. And it looks like a TV adaptation is in the works as well. 6.5/10

"The Winter Garden" by Nicola Cornick - this is a dual time frame novel which switches between the present day and the early 1600s, in the few years which lead up to the Gunpowder Plot. In the present, Lucy is shattered after a serious bout of pneumonia, followed by post viral fatigue, forces her to give up her career as a concert violinist. Instead of touring the world with her orchestra, she goes to Gunpowder Cottage, where she used to holiday as a child and which is now owned by her aunt Verity, who is currently working in Australia. Her sister Cleo lives nearby, but when she arrives she finds a hunky (of course) garden historian cum archaeologist already in residence, so instead she stays at Gunpowder Barn instead, a little further up the valley and which is thought to have been built on a property once owned by the Catesby family, as in Robert Catesby, who was one of the main protagonists of the Gunpowder Plot. Soon Lucy thinks she is seeing, and is haunted by, a woman whose name is Catherine, and it turns out that she was Robert Catesby's wife. At first Lucy thinks it's a result of her medication, exhaustion and general rundown state, but a bit of research shows she might not be imagining her new neighbour, plus she also has sudden visions of a gorgeous garden, although there is only countryside and a stream now. But Finn believes there originally was a garden there, and has organised a dig to try to find evidence of a garden, and also a summer house. Meanwhile in the past we meet Anne Catesby, who is Robert's mother and we watch as her son marries ,has a family, and is always rebelling about something, but when he suffers several family tragedies he moves to London and we all know what happens next. Anne can only watch and hope for the best, and look after Robert's young son, Robbie, and hope her own son doesn't bring down the whole family. In the present it looks like someone is also intent on rebellion, and wants to stop the dig, and who is also after the rumoured treasure. And that's pretty much the story - after a slow start I did enjoy this, both the past and the present stories though I really felt for poor Anne as she watched her family disintegrate thanks to here son's rebellious nature.

I thought it was quite well-written and atmospheric, and the little known characters of Anne and Catherine were well fleshed out. However it did seem to end very abruptly, and I would have liked more background information in the author's notes - most of the properties mentioned still stand, and are open to visitors, though Knightstone, one of the main houses, is long gone, but Sir Thomas Tresham's garden, which may have been the model for Catherine's garden, has been partly recreated. 7.5/10

[Madeleine]

April

The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves - this is the latest in the Vera novels, and is set mainly on Holy Island. A group of school friends have met every five years for a reunion, staying at the same place, Pilgrims House, on the tidal island of Lindisfarne/Holy Island - at their first reunion, which followed a school trip, one of the group tragically drowned after attempting to cross the causeway as the tide washed in, and they've met every 5 years since, to remember her and get together in general. Now in their 60s, their latest reunion takes another tragic turn when one of their number is found hanged in their room, initially it looks like a suicide, but then old secrets start to come to light, and Vera and her team find themselves going back and forth to the island, as it becomes apparent that the answer to the murder, and possibly the accident which happened over 40 years ago, lies in the past. After a slow start I enjoyed this and found it quite gripping, and there is also danger for Vera and her team as they start to dig into events of the past. Interesting to see in the book that Joe is still her second in command, he's long left the TV show but according to the author's website he will be returning, and they've started filming this adventure for broadcast later in the year - should be one to watch! 8/10

"A Flicker in the Dark" by Stacey Willingham - this will be difficult to review without giving any spoilers.....first of all I found it very readable, an easy fast-paced read which kept me guessing all the way through, I did have suspicions and some proved to be correct, though there was one twist I didn't see coming, but I did guess some of what really happened, as the book went on. However some of it didn't really ring true, even for a work of fiction, and although I thought it was quite well-written, at times it seemed to be over-written.

I found it hard to believe that the parents would have really let their son get away with so many crimes, which also made them accessories to what he did and it was hard to feel sympathy for either of them. I also found the storyline about Daniel's sister (though I did guess that he had to be the brother of a possible victim) hard to believe, a 13 year old on her own, in a strange town managing to start a new life - come on!

. she's a promising writer though (despite having the tried cliche of the heroine going into an abandoned house alone!) and I would read more by this author. 7.5/10

[Madeleine]

May

Date with Mystery by Julia Chapman - this is the 3rd in the Dales Detective series, and whilst readable it was possibly the least convincing in the series so far, ok so it's cosy crime, but I suspected what had really happened from about halfway through, and can't help wondering why one of the main characters, suspended Met Police detective Samson O'Brien, who was undercover but is now suspected of dodgy dealings and has various nasty people after him, would choose to go back to his home town, where everyone knows everyone else's business, and not exactly lie low, instead he opens a detective agency! Hardly keeping a low profile. Anyway he shares the office premises with his best friend's younger sister, Delilah Metcalfe, who runs a dating agency, and they both join up to help solve what seems to be a fairly simple case - a local woman has died, but has left her estate not to her son, but to her daughter, who apparently died in a road accident years ago. The pair are asked to find her death certificate, but instead open up a whole can of worms, and it seems there are many who would prefer this can to remain firmly closed. It's not hard to guess the outcome, and there's a daft sub-plot involving a custody battle between Delilah and her ex over her beloved dog, and this is a pleasant read but nothing really special. 6.5/10

The Creek by LJ Ross - this is another of the author's new summer suspense series, and briefly features a couple of characters - and their dog! - from the first book, "The Cove", but apart from that this is a stand-alone novel. Kate Irving lost her parents in a tragic accident on board their yacht when she was 18, she was staying with a friend at the time, but following the tragedy she moved from Cornwall to London to live with her uncle and his family. At 19 she married actor Will Irving after a whirlwind courtship, but soon found that his private personality was a long way from his charming TV and film star persona, as he was abusive and controlling, and when their son Jamie was born he took no interest in the boy unless there were cameras around. So one night she flees from their home and takes their son back to her grandfather's home in Cornwall, knowing that Will will probably track her down at some point, but hoping for a reprieve from him for at least a little while (I'd have thought that going back to your childhood home would be the first place he'd look, and he does employ a private investigator who soon finds her). She reconnects with old friends and gradually starts to relax, but then her best friend's father is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, and it looks suspicious to say the least. Then another man, a stranger to the village, is killed in a hit and run, and Kate begins to realise that perhaps her past is coming back to haunt her, and her return has opened up a proverbial can of worms. What with that, and her husband on her trail (despite an injunction against him), this is very much a woman in peril story. It's enjoyable and easy to read, although the ending felt a bit rushed, and Will's character is very much in the hissable villain category, and comes across as rather two-dimensional. To be fair to the author, she does mention this in her note, that in writing a fast-paced story she realised that character development might not be expanded upon as much as she'd like, but he still came across as a bit of a cliche. 6.5/10

Murder on the Moorland by Helen Cox - this is the 3rd in the Kitt Hartley series of York-set murder mysteries,featuring librarian Kitt and her boyfriend, policeman Malcolm Halloran. Old wounds are re-opened when Halloran has to revisit his former hometown, where his ex-wife was murdered, after an archivist is found dead at her home. The MO is very similar to that of his ex's murder, but her killer is in prison, so is there a copycat at large, or has her killer arranged this latest murder from his prison cell? Kitt and Mal take a holiday cottage in the town, but after several threats they decide it's best if they go back to York, but too many skeletons are out of the cupboard now, and both of them are forced to confront faces from their past to solve the case. This was an enjoyable read, quite well-written and I liked both of the main characters. A likeable cosy(ish) crime series. 7/10