Category Archives: Crime fiction

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Blue Lightning

From Eileen Effrat
Author:  Ann Cleeves
Blue Lightning
This is the fourth book in Cleeves’ crime series set in the Shetland Islands.  Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez returns to Fair Isle to introduce his fiancée to family and friends.  Shortly after their arrival,  the well  known director of the island’s bird observatory is found murdered. Within a day the cook is found dead.  As a storm rages across the island, no one can get on or off the island.  When forensic help finally arrives, it is of little help. This is a mystery where motive is crucial.  I would recommend beginning with the first in the series, Raven Black, followed by White Nights, and Red Bones.

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Ashes to Dust

From Eileen Effrat
Author:  Yrsa  Sigurdardottir
Ashes to Dust
The third in Sigurdardottir’s series featuring detective Thora Gudmundsdottir, this does not disappoint.  Set in Iceland’s Westermann Islands,   Thora investigates the murder of four men whose bodies have come to light while archaeologists are excavating the “Pompeii of the North”.  In 1973  a major volcanic eruption occurred, and all the  islanders were safely evacuated.  Who are these men buried in a cellar under volcanic ash?  As the investigation proceeds, the dirty little secrets of this small community are stripped away. I enjoy this Icelandic crime writer immensely.  The plots are always intricate , the characters believable, and the Icelandic setting never fails to impress me.

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Outrage : An Icelandic Thriller

From  Eileen  Effrat
Author:  Arnaldur  Indridason
Outrage : An Icelandic Thriller
Icelandic crime writer Indridason is my favorite Nordic crime writer. This is the seventh in his police procedural series translated into English featuring Detective Erlendur of the Reykjavik police. In this sequel,  his subordinate,  Elinborg, takes center stage in unraveling the murder of a serial rapist who drugs his victims with Rophypnol. Elinborg is a very competent and clever female detective attempting to find a balance between family obligations and her professional career. As she and the team investigate, it leads them to a rural Icelandic village with some very nasty secrets. This sequel is much more touchy feely with Elinborg in the lead. While I enjoyed the mystery, I do prefer the grumpy, old fashioned and impenetrable Erlendur.

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The Dead Witness

From Grace Segers 
Title:  The Dead Witness
Author:  Edited by Michael Sims
For an aficionado of Victorian mystery stories, such as myself, The Dead Witness is an obvious choice. It is filled with detective stories of that era, written both by authors famous and obscure. Most of the stories are easy to read and fly by, few of them are haunting, and some should have remained in obscurity. However, it is a fun, easy read, and anyone who truly considers themself a fan of the genre should try it out.

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Plain fear : forsaken

From Rosemarie Jerome
Author:  Leanna Ellis
Plain fear : forsaken 
Vampires and the Amish, sounds bizarre and I was skeptical at first but the story slowly lured me in until I was hooked.  It begins with a young man running for his life and evolves into a young Amish woman haunted by her dead boyfriend and an ex-cop from New Orleans hunting for his wife’s killer.  It is a dark story of secrets, love, faith and a battle to save a woman’s life and her immortal soul.

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White Heat

From Rosemarie Jerome
author: McGrath, M. J.
White Heat
 An accident, a disappearance and a suicide.  Inuit hunter/guide Edie Kiglatuk knows they are all murders but she must prove it.  What is the motive?  Who is the killer?  Can one of their own be part of a conspiracy?  Edie must battle the brutal Arctic and overcome the Council of Elders’ decision not to investigate the incidences in order to find the killer before she becomes the next victim.  McGrath offers a vivid portrayal of the culture, politics and psyche of the Inuit who inhabit this beautiful, remote and deadly land.  The cold is unimaginable, the local cuisine is unthinkable and the main characters are unforgettable.  It is a totally engrossing suspense.

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The Priest’s Graveyard

From Grace Kim-Lu
author: Dekker,Ted
The Priest’s Graveyard
From the first pages, this book grabs you in. As the book opens, you are dropped into a life and death scene and left wandering when, where and why how it all started.  As the title implies, the priest has killed in the past and is currently on a mission to rid the society of “the worst” of sinners. His path leads him to run into an ex-heroine woman whose life purpose is to kill the man that murdered her husband.  Together they realize that they are after the same powerful man whose upfront charitable organization hides a deceitful, greedy, murderous scandal.  The priest and the ex-drug addict’s dilemma leaves them asking who is “worthy” of death. Their blooming affection for each other also leads them to see if their lives are worth the love to offer as a sacrifice.  The book has twists and turns in the plot that the reader never in a million years will suspect. I could not put the book down after I picked it up.

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The Demon in Me

From Andrea Kalinowski
author: Rowen, Michelle
The Demon in Me
Michelle Rowen has started a new series featuring Eden Riley and Darrak, a demon. Darrak was cursed by a witch and now must possess human bodies to maintain a presence. The series begins with The Demon in me followed by Something wicked. Eden Riley is a low-level psychic and is trying to assist the police in a serial murderer apprehension. When the apprehension goes wrong, the demon’s host body is killed, and Darrak, manifesting as smoke, invades Eden. They must learn how to share the body while attempting to break the curse of possession. Darrak, after living all these years among humans, has acquired some nasty habits, nasty habits to a demon whose main aim is evil. He cares about Eden. The books are suspenseful and intriguing in their description of the creation of Heaven and Hell and who has dominion where and why. A fast-paced read for anyone whose mind can stretch to believe in things seen and unseen. The next book is advertised as That old black magic with no street date as yet.