We’ve had a busy month here at Crime Fiction Review. Why do publishers put out so many good books on the same day in the middle of summer? It’s a mystery, but we’re glad they do. Chances are you will find something interesting to read here, or perhaps get a contrary opinion to spice things up. Here’s a look at what we reviewed in the past month.
Christina Dodd, Teach the Torches to Burn – “To great extent, Teach the Torches to Burn lands more in the comedy and romance camp than historical murder mystery, but particularly in the second half of the book, the mystery does propel the plot, and the means is particularly intriguing.” Meredith Frazier
Paul Doiron, Storm Tide – “Doiron writes compellingly about the natural world, and when it comes to the outdoors, he knows his stuff. The action sequences, which include an epic struggle aboard a boat, are enhanced by realistic details that are based on knowledge of the woods and coastlines of Maine. His plot never lets up the pace and his characters, particularly the villains of this story, are memorable…” Barbara Fister
M. J. Robotham, The Spy and the Snake – “…overall it’s an entertaining bit of espionage that’s considerably lighter than the LeCarre tradition, less madcap and original than Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series, but more in line with the woman-centered romantic suspense of Mary Stewart, a comfortable throw-back to the time period of the story.” Barbara Fister
David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Wisdom Corner – “The fast-paced plot speeds on… It is never predictable and always engrossing. Weiden tells powerful tales, and his far from perfect hero grounds his urgent investigation of Native American history, culture, and resilience.” Rebecca Nesvet
Gary Phillips, The Haul – “Like most heist stories, this one is structured in three acts: the set-up, the execution of the crime, and the aftermath. It’s a neat, practical framework…Multiple stories are being told here, and the pieces don’t fit together as tightly as they do, in the best examples of this genre.” Mary-Jane Oltarzewski
Louise Candlish, A Neighbor’s Guide to Murder – “… a fast read full of twists and unexpected turns that make it fun, but it is also thought-provoking, and its characters, questions, and psychology promise to give you plenty to ponder” Meredith Frazier
Stig Abel, A Twist in the River – “Abell’s phrasing cadences and pacing of the novel both seem to reflect the movement of the meandering river that lies at the center of the novel, and that adds a nice atmospheric touch as well as keeping everyone a bit off balance as far as expectations go.” Meredith Frazier
Teresa Dovelpage, The Novel Detective – “…an amiable mystery that offers glimpses of Cuba at two points in time through the adventures of two women who emigrated, but never completely left.” Barbara Fister
Linda Castillo, A Dark Path and Other Kate Burkholder Short Stories – “For Kate Burkholder fans and fans-to-be, these stories provide quick, compelling insights into Kate’s world and point of view, making them a perfect introduction to the novel series or simply a nice addition to an established preference.” Meredith Frazier
William Shaw, The Burning Tide – “Second in the new Eden Driscoll series, published in the UK. I enjoyed this entry more than the first, but there is something still missing… a good storyline weakened by two dimensional characters.” Julie Campbell
Rene Denfeld, The Talking Bone – “…a highly accomplished work that will reward the readers who she respects enough to give them an unsentimental, taut, and complex story in an admirably streamlined package.” Barbara Fister
Dervla McTiernan, Three Reasons for Revenge – “McTiernan, who debuted with a well-received Irish-set procedural series, has a knack for moral ambiguity and deep psychological motivations that complicate issues of justice and the pursuit of truth. Reasons for Revenge, her third stand-alone novel, is a knockout.” Barbara Fister
Sarah Lotz, How to Kill a Crime Writer – “After her mother, a best-selling crime fiction author, dies in a freak accident, Niamh moves into her house … she’s joined by an unlikely housemate: Leah Rebecca Overton, the bad-ass heroine of her mother’s popular series, joins her and urges her to find out what really happened when her author fell from a ladder and broke her neck… the interaction between two very different characters (one a character in more than one sense) adds a layer of metafictional playfulness.” Barbara Fister
Mark Billington, The Shadow Step – “Billingham has experience as a stand-up comic, so giving his detective the smart aleck affect of classic gumshoes may come naturally… its all good fun in a story full of pratfalls and farcical criminal mistakes interleaved with more serious material, all displaying Billingham’s characteristic smart dialog, steady pacing, and memorable characters.” Barbara Fister
Abbi Waxman, Deadly Does It – “This is a character-rich cozy series with a team of eccentrics working together to solve crimes as they try to stay sober. Because they and their friends went through dark times, there are plenty of skeletons in their closets, which makes it important to delve into the past to see if the roots of a current crime started there.” Barbara Fister
Sarai Walker, Furious Violet – “The solution to the mystery is so predictable I initially thought it would turn out to be a red herring. West proves an unreliable narrator, but not in a way that makes any narrative sense. In the end, as Mary Shelley and Sylvia Plath suggested, women are lauded as divine mothers, demonized as monsters when we fail at divinity, and this situation is infuriating.” Rebecca Nesvet
Shannon Morgan, A Penance for Crows – “…hard to put down, even though the action isn’t particularly fast-paced. The characters—especially Grizela—are all interesting, and the plot peels back layers revealing both Grizela’s past and the islanders’ current, not-so-well-hidden secrets in such a way that the reader is drawn in ever deeper. And while the conclusion may be guessed at, the reveal may still come as a surprise, and the final solution manages to be both chilling and something to maybe be admired.” Meredith Frazier