The Caveman by Jorn Lier Horst

The Caveman
Jorn Lier Horst
2017, Affirm Press
9781925475708
352p.

A neighbour of Detective William Wisting dies and remains undiscovered for four months. Wisting's daughter, a journalist, wishes to write a story on how this could happen in modern society and begins to investigate his life. Meanwhile a body is found in a Christmas tree lot which appears to be connected with a 1980s serial killer.

This is the first book I've read in this Scandinavian murder series, even though it's book four. I bought it at the airport and that's probably the best way to describe it. It's an airport book - extremely easily readable, fun and quick. The chapters are really short, even rivalling James Patterson (ok, maybe not that short). There were a couple of errors in the text, not sure if it's an error by the author or by the translator. Still, a fun quick read and definitely recommended.

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Murder in the Dark: A Phryne Fisher Mystery by Kerry Greenwood

Murder in the Dark: A Phryne Fisher Mystery
Kerry Greenwood
2006, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest
1741147093
295p.

Phryne Fisher is a well-to-do amateur detective from 1920s Australia.  In this tale she is invited to an intense multi-day party to celebrate the end of 1928.  She is threatened to not attend, which makes her want to even more.  At the party, people start disappearing and the threats continue.

I had seen the TV series of this, but this is my first read of the books.  I really enjoyed it, Phryne is a great character, she is so powerful and confident.  Th
e storytelling really evokes the feel of 1920s Australia (albeit, the upper-class side).

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The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Hound of the Baskervilles
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1902, 2006, Headline, London
9780755340125
209p.

When a wealthy land owner is found dead of a heart attack, his heir suspects the death is part of a family curse - a supernatural dog. He hires Sherlock Holmes to investigate the death and to find the truth about the hound which has haunted his family for generations.

My first Sherlock Holmes and I quite enjoyed it. It has a rather modern writing style and the detective techniques are readily identifiable within a context of modern police stories. And the mystery kept me guessing.

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Murder on Marble Row by Victoria Thompson

Murder on Marble Row
Victoria Thompson
2004, 2005, Berkley Prime Crime, New York
04251988707
310p.

A period mystery set in 18th century New York City. A wealthy businessman is murdered by a bomb and Detective Inspector Malloy suspects anarchists are involved.

Clunky writing style and very predictable until the final twist. I also couldn't stand the character of Malloy - he's not very nice at all. However, it was interesting to read about New York City in that era.

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Booked to Die by John Dunning

Booked to Die
John Dunning
1992, 2001, Pocket Books, New York
0743410653
398p.

Cliff Janeway, homicide detective and booklover, is investigating the death of a bookscout called Bobby. He becomes entangled in the world of rare and collectible book stores trying to find the killer.

Literary crime. Fantastic. I loved reading about the world of the rare and collectable book seller. Janeway is a cool detective, and the constant references to other books was super.

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The Distant Echo by Val McDermid

The Distant Echo
Val McDermid
2003, HarperCollinsPublishers, London
0007142846
561p.

A group of four university students coming home drunk from a party stumble across a dying girl lying in the snow. They become suspects in her rape and murder and live with the shadow of suspicion for the next twenty-five years. When the case is reopened due to new forensic testing techniques, two of them are murdered in separate incidents. The remaining two fear that someone has decided to take justice into their own hands.


This is a bit of a slow burn thriller and written really well. Sometimes it didn't come across as completely convincing which was a bit of a disappointment. But I liked how we became a part of the characters lives and the sting in the tail is rather cool.

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Murder with Puffins by Donna Andrews

Murder with Puffins
Donna Andrews
2000, 2001, St Martin's Press, New York
0312978863
290p.

Freelance metal-worker (I think) Meg Langslow decides to have a quiet weekend in her aunt's summer house on Monhegan Island with her boyfriend Michael. However, when they arrive, her entire family is there, and when a local misanthropic artist turns up dead, Meg puts her amateur sleuthing skills to use.

This was an unusual cosy mystery in that the amateur sleuth is on holidays! Usually their day-job comes into the story somehow, but I'm not even certain I know what Meg does for a living (something to do with metal-work I think). Anyway, it was a good cosy mystery. A little convoluted at times with 'cliff-hangers' at the end of every chapter, which got a bit annoying. But other that that I did enjoy the read very much. Didn't really care whodunnit, I just enjoyed reading about the whacky characters.

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Stardust by Robert B. Parker

Stardust
Robert B. Parker
1990, 1991, Berkley, New York
0425127230
268p.

Spenser is a private detective hired to find out who is threatening TV starlet Jill Joyce. The stakes are raised when Jill Joyce's body double is murdered.

I quite liked this when I got into it. I think I was thrown a little by the gaudy cover, this is a classic American detective novel and reminded me of Chandler's Marlowe. Spenser is a brilliantly sassy character, I will try and read more of these books.

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The Tinder Box by Minette Walters

The Tinder Box
Minette Walters
1999, 2006, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest
1741148324
145p.

Siobhan's Irish neighbour Patrick is accused of a terrible crime in which two elderly women were beaten to death. She doesn't believe he did it, so looks into the crime seeking the truth.

Disjointed, hard to follow and clumsy writing style. Lucky this book was short (more a novella really) or else I never would have bothered to finish it. I put it down about ten minutes ago and have just about forgotten it already. Not sure how it got to be a best-seller ... I think this is the Bridges of Madison County of mysteries.

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The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

The Daughter of Time
Josephine Tey
1951, 1995, Scribner, New York
0684803860
206p.

While recovering in hospital, Scotland Yard Inspector Grant begins to research the story of Richard III, popularly believed to have murdered his nephews. But upon looking deeper into the history of the time, cracks in this otherwise established fact begin to appear.

What a brilliant little book! I didn't know anything about this story, and I find British royal history confusing at the best of times, but this was written so well. And we never left that hospital room ... I thought that was a clever literary device. Purely academic detective work.

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Victims by Dorothy Uhnak

Victims
Dorothy Uhnak
1986, 1987, Arrow Books, London
0099504308
316p.

A young woman is murdered on a quiet middle-class street in New York City. Her violent death is witnessed by a street full of people who watched the events unfold from their front windows, and yet did nothing to help the woman.

Victims is now a bit dated, but it was interesting to read what things were like in the city during the 1980s. Things did end up a bit far-fetched and I thought the characters were not that believable - their motivations seemed stretched. However, the story about a street full of witnesses neglecting to help a dying woman was an interesting premise, and I would like to have seen this as the focus of the story.

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Bad Twin by Gary Troup

Bad Twin
Gary Troup (Touchstone Television)
2006, Hyperion, New York
1401302769
258p.

This is the manuscript written by one of the victims of Oceanic Flight 815 and read by Sawyer in the first season of the television show Lost. It tells the story of Paul Artisan, a private detective who investigates the disappearance of a rich man's twin brother.

This was great as a stand-alone story. And I enjoyed all the references to Lost. I'm not sure it helped explain anything, but it sure was fun to spot them all.

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Masuto Investigates by Howard Fast

Masuto Investigates
Howard Fast
1967, 1977, 2000, ibooks, New York
0743400224
387p.

This book contains two stories featuring Masao Masuto - a Japanese-American Beverly Hills cop. In the first, a film producer is murdered, followed by an actor; investigations lead to an incident - a gang rape - which occured years before. The second story is of a stamp-dealer who is murdered with no apparent motive.

The character of Masao Masuto is annoying, though after reading two stories in succession, you kind of get used to him. He never says what he is thinking, which I guess is good for the plot progression, but highly unrealistic.

I found the second story to be far and above better than the first - perhaps that's because it was written ten years later and is a little more modern, although both stories are a bit dated.

Despite characters you want to throttle, unlikely plot progression and dated police procdures, these stories kept me reading as I wanted to know the ending!

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The Twelve Deaths of Christmas by Marian Babson

The Twelve Deaths of Christmas
Marian Babson
1979, 1981, Keyhole Crime, London
0263737373
191p.

A psychopath is on the loose in London at Christmas, killing strangers with whatever is at hand. The book is written with some chapters from the point of view of the killer, and the rest of the chapters are written in the third person.

It was such an interesting device to have part of the book written from the killer's point of view. The narrator never gives away their identity, just little clues dropped every now and again. It's like a manor mystery, with a limited number of suspects all living in a house together, and I didn't guess who it was until they were revealed.

This is just the story to get you in the Christmas Spirit!

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The Bloody Wood by Michael Innes

The Bloody Wood
Michael Innes
1966, 2001, House of Stratus, Thirsk
1842327259
171p.

Sir John Appelby, a senior detective inspector, is visiting his friends, Grace and Charles Martineau, as Grace is near the end of a long illness. When Grace turns up dead prematurely, and Charles soon follows, Appelby investigates their deaths.

The dialogue in this book is a little stilted and loquacious, but when you get used to the writing style, it is rather witty and charming. I love old English manor murder mysteries, and this was a good example of the genre. Innes writes with intelligence and subtle humour - it's very British!

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A Thousand Bones by PJ Parrish

A Thousand Bones
PJ Parrish
2007, Pocket Books, New York
1416525874
470p.

Joe Frye is a female deputy for the Leelanau Sheriff's Department in the 1970s when a small number of bone fragments are discovered. The ensuing investigation uncovers a series of brutal murders, and Frye is set to become the killer's next victim.

This is a well crafted mystery with no fancy tricks - it's just a solid thriller. It was interesting to read the growth of the characters throughout the story, because that is one thing the mystery genre is not known for. The murders were interesting, and I enjoyed the mix of Indian folklore.

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Death of a Glutton by MC Beaton

Death of a Glutton
MC Beaton
1993, 1995, Ballantine, New York
0804112126
168p.

A group of people visit a Scottish highlands hotel as part of a matchmaking service. When the co-partner of the matchmaking service - a disgusting, gluttonous woman - is murdered, all of the matchmakees are suspects.

This is a solid entry into the murder-in-a-big-house genre. It has all the conventions - the limited number of unique characters, all with motive and all with something to hide; the love interest for the local, humble bobby; plenty of twists. I thought the characters jumped to conclusions a little too quickly, but other than that, it was a great light-weight read.

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Star Struck by Val McDermid

Star Struck
Val McDermid
1998, 1999, HarperCollins, London
0006498329
240p.

Kate Brannigan is a Manchester-based PI who takes on a body guarding job for one of the country's most popular soap stars. However, when a clairvoyant is murdered just after seeing her client, Kate is drawn into the investigation.

When I started this, I didn't realise it was a 'cozy', but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It's a solid mystery story with plenty of interesting characters, and enough depth to keep you guessing.

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Five go off to camp by Enid Blyton

Five go off to camp
Enid Blyton
Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1948
0340040033
188p.

The Famous Five - Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the Dog - go off on a camping trip, and end up having an adventure with spook trains, black marketeers and gingerbread.

What a smashing story! As a child, I had a video of this episode from the 1970s TV show, so it was great to be able to read the original book.

And it made me hungry for gingerbread.

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Vertigo by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac

Vertigo
Pierre Boileau
Thomas Narcejac
1956, 1997, Bloomsbury, London
0747531870
170p.

Set in France, Vertigo revolves around two men and a woman. Gevigne hires Flavieres to follow his wife Madeline who he feels is in danger of committing suicide after her great-great-grandmother committed suicide at the same age.

A real psychological story - a bit of a slow-burn thriller which really picks up the pace in the last few pages. And a twist I, for once, didn't see coming.

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