Mysteries: Cosy, Cats, Capers, Historical, Medical, Procedural and everything in between

[Zorral]

13 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie series is very well written.  I just posted a review of the fifth installment in the current quarterly reading thread.

Thank you for the recommendation.  I haven't encountered a mystery series in quite a while that appeals. I just requested Case Histories from the library.

 

[Zorral]

I read Snow (2020) the latest Detective Strafford mystery, by Joe Banville, last night in three hours -- it's a shorty, not dense. 

Nearly all of Snow's principals, starting with Strafford, are unsocialized and awkward, at best, inadequately skilled to deal with their own sense of reality, much less that of others. Everyone is oppressed, repressed, bullied and abused by the omnipresent rule of Ireland's Roman Catholic Church of the 1950's, and All The Minions.  The murdered bloke is a priest, who was a power at a notorious orphanage, from where came more than one figure in the novel. There have been so many stories like this from Ireland, both in reality and in fiction, since the 1950's, The only real difference is that the priest is murdered.  The chorus, from the opening of the novel is, "Priests don't get murdered in Ireland."

Additionally, the priest dies in the library of a country house, with every character who enters the fiction a stock character in a country house mystery, as Strafford, the investigator himself, remarks from the opening too.  

I don't think this works, you know?  But then, in whatever genre, or under whichever name the author puts on his books, I have always suspicioned he was over-rated.  By a lot.

 

[Zorral]

Camilleri, Andrea (2020 in US) The Sicilian Method: An Inspector Montalbano Mystery – third to final Montalbano.  The Cook of the Halcyon, and Riccardino are the last titles, both published in the US in 2021. Author died in 2019.

Quote

 

Mr. Camilleri prepared years ago for the end of the Montalbano series.

“I finished him off five years ago,” he said in 2012. “That’s to say, the final novel in the series of Montalbano is already written and deposited at the publishing house. When I get fed up with him or am not able to write any more, I’ll tell the publisher: Publish that book.”

 

 

[Ran]

On 5/17/2019 at 6:37 PM, Leofric said:

Tony Hillerman's Navajo mysteries

 

Decided to see if Hillerman had ever been discussed on the board, and came across this post. You may be interested to learn that GRRM, Robert Redford(!), Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals), and Graham Roland (Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan) are bringing them to the TV screen. More details at The Hollywood Reporter.

[lady narcissa]

9 hours ago, Ranivaka said:

Decided to see if Hillerman had ever been discussed on the board, and came across this post. You may be interested to learn that GRRM, Robert Redford(!), Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals), and Graham Roland (Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan) are bringing them to the TV screen. More details at The Hollywood Reporter.

Oh interesting! My mom is a big fan of the series but I have not read them yet. I like the quote from GRRM about this:

Quote

Tony Hillerman was one of the greats, as every mystery reader knows. Down here in the Southwest, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee are as iconic as Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Philip Marlowe, and Travis McGee. When my friends Robert Redford and Chris Eyre asked me to help bring Leaphorn and Chee back to television, I could not agree fast enough. We have great source material in Tony’s novel ‘Listening Woman,’ a great pilot script from Graham Rowland, a great director in Chris… and what a pair of leads, with Zahn McClarnon as Leaphorn and Kiowa Gordon as Chee! Our plan is to shoot in New Mexico, in and around Santa Fe and on the Navajo reservation, and we are bringing in as many Navajo and other Native Americans as possible, as writers, directors, cast, and crew, to capture all the magic and mystery and wonder of the Land of Enchantment. Thanks to AMC for making it possible. Tony Hillerman wrote a lot of amazing books, and it is our dream to adapt as many of them as we can.

Luckily my mom owns the entire series so I might have to move these up on my TBR pile.

[Zorral]

21 hours ago, Ranivaka said:

Decided to see if Hillerman had ever been discussed on the board, and came across this post. You may be interested to learn that GRRM, Robert Redford(!), Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals), and Graham Roland (Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan) are bringing them to the TV screen. More details at The Hollywood Reporter.

These are wonderful books, particularly for anyone who is familiar with the Southwest.  Hillerman's work was kind of like a Southwestern James Lee Burke, his books so deeply rooted in the ground where they were set they couldn't have been set anywhere else.  But unlike what happened with Burke's books, the screen adaptations of Hillerman's books were very good in every aspect of 'good.' They brought a lot of readers to Hillerman.

Even more to the point, the New Mexico First Peoples accepted Hillerman and his books whole-heartedly.  He was fully part of the variety of New Mexico communities too, seen by everyone everywhere, including the UNM campus, where he taught journalism and creative writing, and worked in administration too.  Before that, his day job was reporter on the Santa Fe Stateman.  He was a highly regarded and, I think we could say, beloved and trusted, local celebrity.  The emphasis is on local, which allowed him to be so accessible, in the days before innernetz w/ their instagrams and twits were dreamed of. One wonders if he was writing such work as the Leaphorn novels today, if his books would be accepted by those who inhabit such digital homes, since he's a White guy.  OTOH, long before publishers started to do this, he never published any of that work without having it gone through by his Navajo friends. Plus from a very early age, he was deeply within a variety of Native communities, and continued so, particularly within those of kids and education on the res.

Those television movies ballooned his fame.  I think his daughter, Anne Hillerman, then kept the books coming for a while. She's been tireless too, in keeping his books and reputation vital both in NM and at UNM, as well in the larger world.

I posted this news in the Entertainment forum yesterday, this about a new television ones being made.  I dunno.  Those previous ones were so good they should be re-released.  A couple of them were, on amazon prime some time back, where I watched them again. Though they do have the look of the era in which they were made.  They're not in the least glossy, as such things are now.

 

[Wall Flower]

11 hours ago, Zorral said:

These are wonderful books, particularly for anyone who is familiar with the Southwest.  Hillerman's work was kind of like a Southwestern James Lee Burke, his books so deeply rooted in the ground where they were set they couldn't have been set anywhere else.  But unlike what happened with Burke's books, the screen adaptations of Hillerman's books were very good in every aspect of 'good.' They brought a lot of readers to Hillerman.

Even more to the point, the New Mexico First Peoples accepted Hillerman and his books whole-heartedly.  He was fully part of the variety of New Mexico communities too, seen by everyone everywhere, including the UNM campus, where he taught journalism and creative writing, and worked in administration too.  Before that, his day job was reporter on the Santa Fe Stateman.  He was a highly regarded and, I think we could say, beloved and trusted, local celebrity.  The emphasis is on local, which allowed him to be so accessible, in the days before innernetz w/ their instagrams and twits were dreamed of. One wonders if he was writing such work as the Leaphorn novels today, if his books would be accepted by those who inhabit such digital homes, since he's a White guy.  OTOH, long before publishers started to do this, he never published any of that work without having it gone through by his Navajo friends. Plus from a very early age, he was deeply within a variety of Native communities, and continued so, particularly within those of kids and education on the res.

Those television movies ballooned his fame.  I think his daughter, Anne Hillerman, then kept the books coming for a while. She's been tireless too, in keeping his books and reputation vital both in NM and at UNM, as well in the larger world.

I posted this news in the Entertainment forum yesterday, this about a new television ones being made.  I dunno.  Those previous ones were so good they should be re-released.  A couple of them were, on amazon prime some time back, where I watched them again. Though they do have the look of the era in which they were made.  They're not in the least glossy, as such things are now.

 

I really enjoyed the few books in the series I managed to find over the years but they just don't seem to be readily available in Australia. Hopefully, a new TV show will lead to reprints or availability in ebook format as I'd like read the series properly, rather than just very, very sporadically.

[Zorral]

14 hours ago, Wall Flower said:

a new TV show will lead to reprints or availability in ebook format as I'd like read the series properly, rather than just very, very sporadically.

That would be good.  BTW, in the meantime, you might check your library's lending system.  Also, the books are still in print and available via amazon at least.

https://www.amazon.com/tony-hillerman-Books/s?k=tony+hillerman&rh=n%3A283155

 

[Wall Flower]

11 hours ago, Zorral said:

That would be good.  BTW, in the meantime, you might check your library's lending system.  Also, the books are still in print and available via amazon at least.

https://www.amazon.com/tony-hillerman-Books/s?k=tony+hillerman&rh=n%3A283155

 

Thanks. The few books I read in the past came from my library system but the current catalogue isn't showing any book by the author or even his daughter. I don't generally buy physical books online (just e-books for my kindle) but I'll look into it. They may have to come across the Pacific though!

[Zorral]

10 hours ago, Wall Flower said:

 They may have to come across the Pacific though!

That could be a long wait. Does your library belong to an interlibrary consortium?  Sometimes we can get titles that way too, books your local branch or university library doesn't have.

 

[Zorral]

Knight, Bernard (2012) Crowner’s Crusade; the latest Sir John De Wolfe Mysteries series, which began in 1998, This though, the most recent volume, is prequel to the earlier 11 books.

This title contains the backstory of de Wolf’s connection with King Richard’s imprisonment, and how this knight from Devon becomes appointed a “Crowner” (forerunner of the occupation and position of "coroner") upon his return (without Richard, of course) to Exeter, family and wife. The theme is crime of every kind exploding in Devon, from road bandits who prey on even nuns and priests, home invasion that includes rape and other violenced as well as theft, to aristos stealing entire estates. No one is able to do anything to counter it, much less punish it, as the so-called authorities are so often the perpetrators and reap the benefits. Our knight, who was a crusader no less, can’t put up with this, despite his personal prosperous condition.

Plus, he heartily dislikes his wife, has no children, and is bored. One of the most interesting elements of this prequel is the reader, if familiar with the previous books, sees a very slow thaw in his wife over the course of the 11 books, until she’s actually showing warmth and humanity in number 11, receiving dimensionality, becoming more than the cartoon stereotype of centuries of the fictional depictions of the shrewish wife, finally, from the author.  We can sympathize with her.

We have never seen her other than through the protagonist's eyes, and he has never seen his wife, other than someone he heartily resents. He never noticed that his wife would have loved to be a mother, or a nun, and for whatever reasons, her family never allowed to her be a nun, and her husband never could be bothered to give her children, because his family, forced him to marry her, and her family forced her to marry him. Plus, there were so many other women out there to eff, either by coercion -- hey a warrior you know and a knight! -- or seduction, and they are all so submissive and pliant.

Though I much appreciated the milieu of this series, I could never warm to Sir John de Wolf as a character.  With the 11th title in combo with this 12th title as prequel, I now understand why.  He's kind and generous to so many, but he never was to his wife, until thawing a little, finally, in #11.

[Zorral]

If one feels s/he/they have run out of crime reading pleasure, here's a book suggestion resource via the United States government, which launched in the spring of 2020, which is no doubt why I missed it until now:

Quote

 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019
Library of Congress Crime Classics Bring New Life to American Suspense in Publishing Collaboration with Poisoned Pen Press
New Book Series to Launch in Spring 2020
Press Contact: Brett Zongker (202) 707-1639

Three titles will launch the Library of Congress Crime Classics Series in spring 2020. Cover designs were inspired by images from the Library's collections.
Classic American crime novels will see new life in a new publishing collaboration between the Library of Congress and Poisoned Pen Press, an imprint of Sourcebooks. The Library of Congress Crime Classics series will feature a rich and diverse selection of books originally published between the 1860s and the 1960s, the Library announced today.

Titles are drawn from the Library’s collection of hard-to-find and out-of-print books, with cover designs inspired by images from the Library’s collections.

The series will launch in Spring 2020 with the publication of three books: “That Affair Next Door” by Anna Katharine Green (1897), “The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope” by C. W. Grafton (1943) and “Case Pending” by Dell Shannon (1960).

Series editor and mystery expert Leslie S. Klinger, a two-time Edgar®-winner for his critical and editorial work, has selected lesser known titles that represent a range of genres, from “cozies” to police procedurals. Along with the original text of the novel, each book includes a contextual introduction by Klinger, as well as a brief author biography, notes, recommendations for further reading and discussion questions for book clubs and classrooms.

“Early American crime fiction is not only entertaining to read, it also sheds light on the culture of its time,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “It’s fascinating to read these books and reflect on the evolution of our society’s perceptions of race, gender, ethnicity and social standing.” . . . .

 

https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-19-091/library-of-congress-crime-classics-bring-new-life-to-american-suspense-in-publishing-collaboration-with-poisoned-pen-press/2019-09-18/

https://www.loc.gov/publish/general/catalog/crimeclassics.html

 

[Zorral]

Walker, Martin (2021) The Coldest Case: A Bruno, Chief of Police Novel. The lates

Walker recently won a French literary prize for representation of Southern France and culture to the world.

I have an additional affection for Walker’s series now too.  I introduced these books to M, retired French teacher, who died of cancer this summer, back in the summer of 2020, and she loved them. They helped distract her from the ordeal, when it was possible to be distracted still, without morphine.

I'd expected the next installment of the Brunos would deal with the pandemic as central to Provencal milieu. But it's the wildfire-drought summer of 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019, or maybe even 2020?  Which year it is, is not specified, but it could be any one of them, or even this summer, except of course the book was going through its production process then. However, since there's no reference to previous drought and wildfire summers, this reader assumes 2016. * There are many references to the dangers to the Dordogne in particular, and the series of caves filled with prehistoric paintings, of which Lescaux is only the most famous, though may be not the most important. Which again suggests 2016, because, though wildfires were not unusual in this region in  the summers previous to 2016, the extent of the burning and length of time they burned, was new.  Now, like in California, this is the norm.

The locals – Bruno’s idea of course -- employ Château de Castelnaud’s (a castle that exists in reality) re-created trebuchets throughout all of a set-piece endless night to hurl tonnage of ice and water at advancing conflagration's front lines, retarding it long enough for France’s military fire-fighting planes to be able to fly (so low they have to go, it’s too dangerous at night in the mountains) and spray water on the front – and, not incidentally, as the series is all about the local,** save the castle.

Holy cow!  A litter of puppies are born!

Plus, Stasi surveillance documents and trained East German infiltrators from the 1980’s are central to the murder mystery.

There's an attempted rape upon a young doctoral archaeologist by a gendarme, which is extraneous to all of the story lines, so the reader wonders if a gendarme assaulted a friend of the author? Or else, since she's essential to the solution of the local mystery, but never gets any page time, or time to spend with the local interlocked powers that be/friends, which is lamented several times by Bruno -- this is how author gives her some recognition? Balzac the Bassett's first sired litter of puppies get much more attention than this young archaeologist. Constant attention in fact, even though nobody’s seen them except on Bruno’s fone. Everyone cares about the puppies. Sadly then, we understand this way just what an Outsider she is to this entwined influencer network intersecting with others of their ilks throughout France in the police, military, media, education, politics, finance, medicine and law (hmm what does it mean that the Church isn't represented in this group?) -- just as it has been at least since the Renaissance. Nobody cares about the young archaeologist nobody, unconnected to Somebodies. But they do feel vaguely guilty about it, since the author does.  (How much book are we willing make, if this character recurs down the line, as so many do, it will turn out she's the niece of Somebody?)

On the other hand – puppies! And all our recurring characters know Balzac since he was a pup, and love him well, while nobody knows the archaeologist, including we the readers. Local social circle-hierarchies are cruel as families to those who aren't really part of them.

This means though I can still look forward to a Pandemic in Provence Bruno. Or Pandemic and wildfires in Provence, just like 2020 and 2021.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  *    We were there in Provence between those of 2017 and 2018.  Wolves had been seen for the first time in decades, if not centuries, in the mountains of our friends' village.  I asked then if it were possible the wildfires had sent them to the region, but no one knew.

**  Which makes this series part of the mysteries classified as "coseys", one supposes?  That this is so contributes no little to its success, one further supposes, as the thriller aspects of the larger plots are often not plausible if one looks at them for one second.

Edited September 16, 2021 by Zorral

[Xray the Enforcer]

@Zorral -- does one need to read all of the books in the series, or can one just jump in wherever? I'm feeling a bit daunted by a 16-book series, but I'm sufficiently intrigued by your description. 

[Zorral]

You can jump in wherever you like. Part of the formulae of each book is the past and the present.  As this is region of the Périgord - Dordogne - Provence is the longest inhabited in Europe by homo saps -- see the Caves of Lascaux, etc., all the way through to the Celts, Romans, Merovingians, Carolingians, nazis, etc. there is always something that entwines with the present of Chinese wine entrepreneurs, North Africans of the former colonies -- something. Not to mention the olives and wine grapes. The 'present' begins in the 1990's, i.e. the first titles.  The formulae include the fairy tale that outsiders have what it would be like to live in Provence -- and so many do, particularly from England.  The author provides that fairy tale.  What that means, is to be discovered by each reader.  And the books are slender.

 

[maarsen]

On 9/15/2021 at 8:42 PM, Zorral said:

You can jump in wherever you like. Part of the formulae of each book is the past and the present.  As this is region of the Périgord - Dordogne - Provence is the longest inhabited in Europe by homo saps -- see the Caves of Lascaux, etc., all the way through to the Celts, Romans, Merovingians, Carolingians, nazis, etc. there is always something that entwines with the present of Chinese wine entrepreneurs, North Africans of the former colonies -- something. Not to mention the olives and wine grapes. The 'present' begins in the 1990's, i.e. the first titles.  The formulae include the fairy tale that outsiders have what it would be like to live in Provence -- and so many do, particularly from England.  The author provides that fairy tale.  What that means, is to be discovered by each reader.  And the books are slender.

 

Didn't some obscure Dutch painter try and fail to make a living trying to paint in Provence? We can't forget the Dutch. they turn up everywhere.

[Zorral]

1 hour ago, maarsen said:

Didn't some obscure Dutch painter try and fail to make a living trying to paint in Provence? We can't forget the Dutch. they turn up everywhere.

 

[Zorral]

@maarsen  You know, the more I think on what you commented, you have provided yet another plot to Walker.  If he only knew!  What a gold mine he's created by his choice of location and the devices of his formulae.  This isn't a criticism of Walker at all -- what it means is my admiration for his creative choices has just increased again!

~~~~~~~~~

BTW -- has anyone read The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman?  His second novel has just come out, according to the Guardian, which is selling even faster than this first one did.  I have requested the first one from the library.

[Hereward]

I’ve read it. It was thoroughly entertaining. Amusing, good characterisation and very, very English and middle class, quite deliberately so. 

[Ormond]

15 hours ago, Hereward said:

I’ve read it. It was thoroughly entertaining. Amusing, good characterisation and very, very English and middle class, quite deliberately so. 

I read this for a book club I recently joined. In general I agree with the above though perhaps I wouldn't be quite as enthusiastic. That may be because of the many references to recent English middle class culture which go over my head as an American.   

Thursday Murder Club did have some twists in it that were a bit unconventional for a "cozy mystery", so I found it interesting and creative.