The Smiling Man is a dark and compelling police procedural set during the night shift in a poor Manchester area. Detective Aidan Waits has been stuck on the night shift by his superiors and partnered with Detective Inspector Sutty, who is not the most motivated of men. When a bodyContinue Reading
With a masterful plot, unique characters and a pitch-perfect rural setting, there is nothing in The Boy that I didn’t love. A woman awakens to a ghastly sound coming from 7-year-old son’s room. Racing to his room, she finds him stabbed multiple time and the killer next turns the knifeContinue Reading
Detective Sergeant Gemma Woodstock is back in the absorbing Australian police procedural Into the Night. Gemma has moved from her hometown and son, Ben, to Melbourne. Her relationship with Ben’s father, Simon, mutually ended after The Dark Lake. Gemma is falling into half-night stands with strangers picked up in barsContinue Reading
Like Columbo, Newcomer is a new approach to a police procedural. Eight stories each tell an investigative tale. By the last chapter, the detective has solved the crime. Precinct Detective Sergeant Kaga is a new transfer to Tokyo’s police department investigating a murder. He is a self-effacing bumbler on theContinue Reading
A very British parody of post-WWII police procedurals. A Shot in the Dark will either tickle your funny bone or it won’t. It helps if you are a fan of slapstick. It’s 1951 in Brighton. Inspector Steine is famous for stopping all organized crime in the area by allowing theContinue Reading
Another engrossing Gemma Monroe mystery begins at Lost Lake in Colorado. Sari is reported missing during a camping trip with her boyfriend Mac, her best friend Ally, and Mac’s cousin, Jake. Detective Gemma Monroe is called to investigate. After questioning the three she concludes, “one of them is lying. WhichContinue Reading
A multitude of suspects fills Nantucket Counterfeit, an enjoyable merging of a cozy setting with a police procedural. Horst Refn is the Artistic Director of the Nantucket Theater Lab. He is a ladies man and a possible blackmailer. Worse, he is found face down in his basement’s chest freezer—frostbitten andContinue Reading
An interesting character study of a lonely police detective forced to retire. The Darkness is another character as is the beautiful isolation of Iceland. Hulda is 64. She is dreading retiring to her lonely apartment when her superior tells she has been replaced effectively in two weeks. He allows herContinue Reading
Hangman’s Hold is a servicable British police procedural. DCI Matilda Darke has a problem. Someone is killing ex-convicts on her patch. Adele, Sheffield’s pathologist and Matilda’s best friend, has a worse problem. She had her first date in 20 years with the first victim, Brian, the night he was murdered.Continue Reading
Plaster Sinners is another fun Flaxborough romp! Detective Sergeant Love is coshed on the head while inspecting a plaster cottage bas-relief. Later, the item is sold for an astonishingly high 370 pounds. Suspecting something shady, Inspector Purbright investigates. This is the eleventh book in the series of twelve. The charactersContinue Reading
More trouble for Flaxborough in the 8th book in the series. A contentious boat race leads 2 of the town’s leaders almost to blows. Nighttime escapades show the naked frolicking of a town leader, his friend, and two working girls to the neighbors. A mysterious note from the states promisesContinue Reading
Another great police procedural, #4 in the Memory Man series. Amos and his partner, Alex, are on vacation when Amos sees something in a nearby house and investigates. Two bodies are found and Amos and Alex join the local police in searching for the murderer. Soon the opioid crisis, anContinue Reading
“Something or other is sending half the over-sixties round the twist” in the Flaxborough Crab. A rash of panty theft, quick grope and runs, and window peeping has befallen Flaxborough. The perps are described as elderly men who scuttle away sideways like a crab. When an esteemed villager is accidentallyContinue Reading
Any new Lincoln Rhyme book is a cause for celebration. However, too much information about diamonds makes The Cutting Edge one of the least interesting books in the long-running series. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are chasing a serial killer targeting engaged couples in The Cutting Edge, the 14th bookContinue Reading
Nothing is as it seems in the new top-notch thriller Too Close to Breathe by debut Irish novelist Olivia Kiernan. Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan is back to work after being stabbed in the line of duty. Frankie is placed in charge of a large team looking into the deathContinue Reading
Boston Sergeant D.D. Warren and her partner Phil are back at work in this excellent addition to the series. A family of four are shot in their home while their teenage daughter is walking their dogs. D.D. and Phil are called in to investigate. Sixteen-year-old Roxanna never returns to theContinue Reading