Spring Tide by Cilla Börjlind
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Spring Tide by Cilla Börjlind, Rolf Börjlind is set in Sweden and features the duo of Olivia Ronning and Tom Stilton. The writer duo is known for their script writing for the martin Beck film, and this book also feels like a well scripted fast mystery movie. Keeping in tune with Nordic crime thrillers the book did have its moments of brutality, but these moments were instead of being put on paper, more left to the imagination of the reader.

The plot was fast, and had it fair share of twists and turns. And most importantly the writers were able to stop me from guessing quite early where the whole story was heading; instead they did a brilliant job of putting a BIG red herring and leading me the wrong way. A very enjoyable mystery which without going too deep into psychological thing, kept the book crisp and entertaining.


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The Blind Man of Seville by Robert Wilson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Ups:
1. A healthy and intriguiging start.
2. A very evocative description of Seville and Tangiers.
3. Falcon Sr.’s journals.

Downs :
1. After 200 pages have gone by the speed starts to slow and slowwwww.
2. The investigation gets nowhere and the personal problems of the protagonist piles up.
3. The ending. After a boring and long drawn 400+ pages, this is the ending that the author wanted to reveal. Dissapointing to say the least.
4. Never knew someone wrote journals in direct speech approach.
5. The protagonist hardly creates any emotion in my mind except that he came out to be weak and whinning.
6. This book felt just like a P.D. James novel.
7. The book should have been names “The Co-Incidences of Seville”

Verdict : Why can’t these guys just write a nicely twisted and fast paced crime novel.



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A Beam of Light by Andrea Camilleri
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Beam of Light by Andrea Camilleri is the latest in the Inspector Salvu Montalbano series penned by him, set in the fictional Italian town of Vigata. Like many of its predecessors this book also features a classic Andrea Camilleri format of having two crimes run parallel to each other. In this case there is a supposedly “Rape and Robbery”, a case of illegal arms trade, and a Mafia style murder. Also present is the somewhat peculiar relation between Montalbano and Livia, with an additional character in the form of a beautiful gallery owner called Marian.

Some authors fail to turn a book interesting with a pretty twisted plot in the tip of their pens, and whereas Andrea Camilleri with very simple and straightforward plots never fail to create a book which is not only fast and entertaining, but is emotional too. The humour quotient was missing and somehow this one was much more emotionally dark than any other Montalabano books I have read earlier. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would love to pick up the series in near future again.


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The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Snack Thief begins when a Tunisian immigrant, while on sea aboard a fishing boat is gunned down. Salvu refuses to get involved in that case as another body is found inside the elevator of a residential building. The two cases gets connected later as Salvu finds himself in front of a mystery involving characters ranging from a snack thief to an international criminal.

Camilleri, though used international politics in this book, kept it minimum and thus didn’t turn the book into a hardcore spy thriller. Rather he used the backdrop of international terrorism to create a piece of crime fiction which had a simple plot, and the flow of which wasn’t to bumpy. The book never entered the zone where the plot gets too twisted to follow; rather it maintained calmness throughout, with liberal sprinklings of twists here and there.

The book like the others from Camilleri weren’t devoid of humour. Paras which contained scenes of Salvu reading the newspaper and going through the headlines, though brutal, still brought laughter to the reader. These scenes return in every book, and the way in which the crimes are described makes them funny each time. Such is the quality of Andrea Camilleri as a writer.


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Excursion to Tindari by Andrea Camilleri
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars

17.10.2014 to 20.10.2014

THE SHAPE OF WATER, the first Andrea Camilleri book I had read was fun to read. It was fast, the plot without being mind lowing was steady, and Salvu Montalbano without being irritating was grumpy and a wise crack. My second experience wasn’t any less. EXCURSION TO TINDARI featured the same Montalbano, grumpy and witty, the plot was equally fast, but the crime and the mystery surrounding it wasn’t as strong as I would have liked it to be. But the style of Camilleri’s writing kept the book moving, and thankfully there was never a dull moment.

This is a series I am falling in love with pretty fast. The setting is exotic, the writing is funny and the cases without being gory are brutal which gets solved by a grumpy witty detective. A must read for any crime fiction lover.


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Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Once again, while searching for another entry into my self created challenge of reading new authors in 2014, I came across the writer duo of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip, who collectively writes crime fiction under the name of Michael Stanley, featuring the Botswana Policeman, Detective David Bengu nicknamed Kubu (Hippopotamus in the Setswana language) for his size.

Set in the southern African nation of Botswana (home of another very famous series created by Alexander McCall Smith) THE DEATH OF A MANTIS begins when a game ranger is found dead in the Kalahari Desert. The three Bushmen who found the dying man, is quickly arrested on suspicion of murder. Detective Kubu, based in Gaborone is asked by a schoolmate of his, Khumanego, a lawyer and a Bushman himself, to look into the matter and stopping the authorities from persecuting the Bushmen unnecessarily. Kubu, going aginst his boss, accepts to help and pushes headlong into the investigation as bodies start piling up one after another.

Detective Kubu, is a fat policeman (like Andy Dalziel), married (unlike Dalziel) with a baby girl. He likes to eat and doesn’t enjoy the salad diet his wife has forced on him. In toto, he comes out as a not-so-remarkable, but a standard fictional protagonist. He loves his family, and his dilemma over choosing between his work and family makes him more of a human. The other characters are shown, including the main culprit, in a one dimensional view.

But the book falls flat in the plot department. What made it sadder was that the plot had the potential to turn out into a page turner, and the authors, upto 65%, were taking the book into that direction. But suddenly the plot changed from being a whodunnit into a howcatchem. No prior warnings, clues or signals were given. The plot was flowing smoothly in one page, and suddenly in the next page the culprit revealed himself. There was not a single page where I felt that the detective had any inclination as to who the main culprit was. For me it’s okay if the reader is baffled, but if it turns out that even the main protagonist was out of his depths and had the culprit not revealed himself would have failed to point him out, puts a lot of question on the ability of both the author and the detective. And even the ending was just the same. Suddenly the detective stumbled upon the culprit. He had no idea, no clue whatsoever as to the whereabouts of the killer. Once again had the culprit chosen to run away, he would have never been caught. Not atleast by Detective Kubu or his creators.

But despite these major shortcomings the book was surprisingly unputdownable. Yes I felt a betrayed by the turn of events, but I never thought of putting the book down. The pace, the suspense, the thrill was ever present, in perfect proportions to make it a perfect work of crime fiction. If only a little art of detection was present, the book would have got a 5 star rating. But, since in a detective novel, the main stay is the detection part I chose to withdraw 2 stars and give it a 3 star rating.

Will you read this book? Yes, you should. Though not written by famous African writers trying to change the African world from their houses , this book, written by two men one living in Africa and the other in USA, while giving you a fast crime novel will also show you the plight of the Bushmen, their culture, the nature of conflict in Botswana between the ethnic people and the modernization all wrapped in a pulpy cover of Crime fiction.


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Alex by Pierre Lemaitre
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A well deserved CWA International Dagger winner!!

During November this year Crime Writers Association came up with a poll, which among other categories voted Agatha Christie as the best ever crime writer. Maxim Jakubowski, a CWA member and a celebrated crime novelist was not happy with the verdict or the choices put up in the poll. According to him, and I also believe, that although Dame Christie remains as the doyenne of crime writing, but the genre in itself has developed way beyond what she created, and that today its encompasses much more than just being populist literature. But, it’s also true that any crime writer does need to pay his respect to the shrine of Christie, atleast once in his/her career. Alex by Pierre Lemaitre shows us in the clearest way possible how crime fiction has travelled this long way to stand where it is today.

Dont read this book. If your life is almost perfect. If you have a cozy atmosphere surrounding you, if you are yet to face crumbling situations, and insane brutality which makes you realise that there is always “Evil Under The Sun”. Because this book will make you sad, angry, will make you feel helpless, will make you wonder what kind of a person is capable of such brutality. But, then again, read it. Read it because if you like crime fiction, you will be guilty of murder if you skip this book. Because as soon as you finish it you will rush out of your house catch anyone you see first, and will start babbling that you have just finished an awfully gruesome, conceited, twisted crime thriller which you need to talk about.

As the name of the book suggests this book is about Alex Prevost. Every chapter, every page is dedicated to this character. For all those who thought Amy from Gone Girl was intriguing, they will have a tough choice in front of them once they have finished this book.

Commandant Camille Verhoeven, the protagonist, a bitter man who has just lost his pregnant wife to a kidnapper, reminded me of Endeavor Morse. Easily irritated, living alone he even has a assistant whose name is Louis. Even the relation between him and his superior Le Guen, reminded me of Morse and Strange. And somewhat for this reason the character of Verhoeven never made a definite impression on my mind. Maybe because it was the close proximity to Morse’s character, but what the real reason was, the presence of Alex. In a book whenever there remains a character as enigmatic as Alex Prevost, it becomes too difficult for the other characters to make an impression over and above her.

The plot is something which I have never read before. While the conventional points of twists and pace was ever present, but what would make this book as different as possible from most crime fiction, is the.....the problem here is, the reader should go into the book without any inkling of what’s there in the plot, what to expect. That way the enjoyment (if the emotion that emerges at the end of the book can be called that) will be at its zenith.

So, Monsieur Lemaitre, the end of my edition says that you will be coming out with next book in 2014. 2014 is here, and I cant wait to get my hands on it.
P.S. For all those who thought Jo Nesbo could be gory and brutal (including me), please take the plunge.


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The Leopard by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Harry Hole is hiding in a hole in Hong Kong, sleeping his days off, gambling away his time and in the process getting himself deeper in debt, owing money to the Triad. In the midst of such heartbreaking atmosphere, Oslo police sends a one man search team to find out Hole and bring him back to Norway, as his expertise suddenly are in much demand, as another serial killer has started business and have already claimed three clients. His modus-operandi is unique, as he uses an old Belgian torture device called Leopold’s Apple to torture and murder his victims, all female. Hole back in Norway is assigned the case unofficially as he begins to move through the murky waters on Police politics and African colonists to uncover the grisly truth.

I had two reasons for being frightened that I might just end up not finishing this book.
1. 900+ pages. Daunting and somewhat wary-ish. I dont look forward to reading 900+ pages long crime books. 900+ pages mean that the book, in tune with my schedule, is going to be a long read. And, I don’t like a thriller which becomes long drawn, somehow I feel less inclined towards the book after a span of 4-5 days.
2. This was the 8th Hole novel. And I was not sure whether I could tune in into the booka dn the character. As so much has been written about this character and series, somehow I had the feeling that I might miss out or feel left out of the whole “HARRY HOLE” persona. And end up not enjoying as much as I should have liked to.

But, within 50 pages I knew that both the above mentioned points were not gonna stop me from taking as much pleasure possible from reading this book. Make no mistake, this one had all the stereotypes associated with a police procedural featuring a serial killer. It had,
1. A serial killer.
2. Female victims.
3. (most importantly) A disgruntled, broken down police officer who is not much obedient and has constantly been in trouble with his superiors.
4. A plot laced with internal police politics.
But, despite these points Nesbo managed to write a book and create a plot which not only spans from Europe to Africa but also manages to be a fast and furiously twisted ride, with a stereotype protagonist like none other. Cutting, short I loved this book. 900 pages in 4 days flat tells the story.

Lastly, my guess is that Mr. Nesbo is a mentally sick man. No sane person can create murder scenes. One victim’s torture method really made me cringe and read those pages over and over again. Now had he been sane, and just left it at the victims being just murdered, had I been that blown out of my mind. No!! So thank you Mr. Nesbo, your descriptions were gory and grisly, and I enjoyed reading every bit of it.


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The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: Don’t get fooled by the title, this book is neither about the Canadian author David Gilmour nor Sir Naipaul.

First line: By the time the calendar pages had flipped around to 1978, Vientiane, the capital of the People’s Democratic Republic of Laos, had become a dour place to live.

The great Dr. Siri, Laos’ only coroner is facing charges from the Housing Department of his country of subletting his house to a motley group of shady characters. He is faced with the charge of profiting from a house which had been allotted to him for his shelter by the party for free. As he decides to fight these charges, from Madam Daeng’s house cum noodle shop, where Siri is currently staying, by enlisting the loathsome Judge Haeng help in fighting off Comrade Koomki of the housing department, his professional expertise is called into service as a dead body of a woman is delivered to his morgue. With apparent signs of assault, Dr. Siri comes face to face with the fact, that a serial killer is killing off women in the country and it is up to him and his friends(Phosy, Civilai, Geung, Dtui and Daeng) to stop this killer and bring him to justice. Added to this gruesome crime, Siri gets on a personal job to find a mentally unstable Indian, crazy Rajid, who writes ridddles and whose father Mr. Tickoo works in an Indian restaurant.

I normally tend to stay away from the American serial killer crime novels. They are boring. The plots don’t engage me in anyway, and here is where this book scores. Full points to Cotterill, who wrote a serial killer novel and made it every bit interesting, and managed to keep me hooked till the last page had gone by. How did he do this? He kept a sub plot of finding Crazy Rajid, which kept the reader moving back and forth thereby driving off monotony. And, somehow his writing style made the parts which do not deal with the main plot interesting to read. Like Dr. Siri seeing spirits or the conversation between Civilai and Siri, or the scenes where Civilai tries to make people eat the buns baked by him.

Though going by Slash and Burn, I thought that even this book will have a high humor quotient, but it wasnt there. But whatever there was, was enough to add the spice of laughter to an otherwise brutal, chilling and gruesome crime novel.

P.S. Look out for the Communist mottos by Judge Haeng, they are present and they are as effective as ever.


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1222 by Anne Holt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First line - AS IT WAS ONLY THE TRAIN DRIVER WHO DIED, YOU COULDN’T CALL IT A DISASTER.
1222 is the eighth book in the series of Crime Novels written by the Norwegian writer, Anne Holt, featuring retired policewoman Hanne Wilhelmsen. The book is set in the town of Finse in Norway, which lies 1222 meters above sea level, thus making it the highest Railway System located in Norway.

A train carrying passengers to Bergen comes under a hurricane and heavy snowfall, and crashes killing the driver immediately. The passengers on board, including the crippled Hanne, is evacuated to a nearby Hotel, where they are provided with food and shelter as the weather conditions goes from bad to worse. Keeping in tune with the nature the internal atmosphere of the hotel gets chilly, as within a few hours of evacuation one of the passengers is found dead with a bullet hole. Hanne being ex-police becomes the natural choice for leading the investigation.

The plot is in style of a classic whodunnit. We have our murder victims, we have more than enough suspects and we also get a closed door atmosphere. Although the total number of passengers from the train numbered up to more than 190, but the writer while creating a suspect pool kept the number within 10, with the other 180 passengers merely being side characters. The blood and gore normally associated with Nordic Crime fiction was absent. But the ending disappointed me, somehow it felt as if the writer suddenly realised that she needs to end the book hence she needs to get someone within the suspect pool to act as a murderer. This abruptness mellowed down a plot which was going strongly and had the capacity of ending with a high note.

Another point where the book fell flat was the translation. Maybe it was because of this translation the book felt disjointed at times, and I found myself skipping paragraphs. So, if one manages to ignore these points, here is a book which is set in a foreign country, surrounded by an atmosphere as chilly as a psychopathic criminal, a plot which is somewhat loose but fast, and equally enjoyable.


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A Pinch Of Snuff by Reginald Hill
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT! GASPED PASCOE IN HIS AGONY.”

Thus started A PINCH OF SNUFF by the celebrated British Crime author Reginald Hill, the fifth instalment of his crime novels featuring the protagonist duo of Andy “Fat man” Dalziel, his “sidekick” Peter Pascoe, and deftly helped by Sergeant Weild. And, not to forget peter’s feisty wife Ellie. The book starts with Peter’s visit to his dentist when the doctor tells him that in a recent BDSM adult movie viewing, of which the doctor was a part of, there was a suspicion on the part of the doctor, that the actress involved was really beaten and that her teeth flew of her mouth in reality, instead of acting the part. Pascoe burdened with such revelations decides to investigate the matter, albeit on his own, as Fat Man Dalziel takes no interest in the accusations and clearly states that Pascoe is chasing wild goose. Things takes a turn when the man in charge of the movie theatre showing the movie is found murdered and his home ransacked. Pascoe like a true detective follows his hunch and we are presented with a slow yet a twisted work of crime writing.

This is probably one of those very few detective duo series where the main work, or rather the main leg work is done by the sidekick. At times I feel that Pascoe is the main character with Dalziel appearing like a visiting consultant only to provide valuable snippets of input and theories. But never once reading the book there is a feeling that one of the two is the main character and the other being the sidekick. Hill manages to portray in such a way which makes them look both equal a partner, which is not present too often in crime fiction. Right from Holmes and Watson, through Poirot and Hastings to Morse and Lewis. Not many writers can claim such feat, but among those who can, Hill is one of them. And; this is what makes this duo such an interesting pair of crime fighters.

The plot was slow, and it was twisted, with a lot of connection between the events that takes place. This book needs time for reading; any plans of finishing it in two days flat would fall flat. But once one third of the book has gone by, the plot thickens and the pace starts building. And since the book dealt with a subject which seldom gets talked about or gets featured in books as a subject for a plot, the reading experience is made even better.


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The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was again frightened of being blindsided by a PD James phenomenon of not understanding why the writer is hallowed in the world of crime writing, and whether at all the book I just finished can be considered as crime fiction. But, then I started reading Andrea Camilleri’s The Shape of Water, featuring his protagonist, the great Salvu Montalbano, and immediately felt assured that come what may this reading experience won’t turn into a disaster, and that maybe I will end up liking this book a lot. And, that’s what happened precisely.
The plot of the book is a classic whodunit. A local high flying politician dies under unnatural circumstances, and as the local establishments try to cover up the death by marking it as due to natural causes, Montalbano smells foul and decides to carry on with the investigation. As the victim was a politician, the writer had the opportunity to enlarge the suspect pool, but thankfully he kept it limited within his family and his close associates. The ending was good, and it was laced with a number of twists which made it more enjoyable.
Salvu Montalbano comes out as a policeman who is easily irritated and at times irritates the reader too. Which means, I enjoyed his character. The plot had its fair share of violence, but it also had a nice dose of dark humor. There are scenes in this book which if judged from the point of brutality is very brutal, but still manages to make the reader laugh as it is written with a vein of dark humor.
Definitely a page turner, I enjoyed this book immensely. And, I would recommend this book to anyone who is in search for a page turner, set in a foreign country.


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Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“A policeman, married to a thief, with a computer monster and an anarchist for children”

Whenever I start a new book by a female author, I start suffering from the PD James-Syndrome, which simplified, means that whether this book will turn out to be another mediocre fiction in the garb of Crime Writing, with nothing to get excited about, and everything (from reading to the money spent on the book) to be sad about. Why PD James-Syndrome? Because this kind of things generally happens with me after reading her books. But a couple of chapters down the line, Donna Leon settled my anxiety, and gifted me with a fast paced police procedural, which not being too much dependent on either violence or twisted plot, was enjoyed by me.

Helmut Wellauer dies while conducting an opera at Teatro la Fenice. Almost immediately, foul play is suspected and Commissario Guido Brunetti is called on the scene to be handed the responsibility of uncovering the culprit. The plot, was moderate, nothing over the top. For a debut author, it was good as she managed to end the book with a solution which although never left me open mouthed with surprise, but nonetheless made me feel satisfied on reading a good work of crime fiction.

Commisario Brunetti is a family man, and as described in the quote above, married to a schoolteacher who cheats at Monopoly, having a son who is a young radical Communist, but never stops at driving a hard bargain in Monopoly, and a daughter who pesters her father for a personal computer. Although the main plot in itself doesn’t have any traces of humour, but the personal conversations between the family members, specially the conversations during the playing of Monopoly, really gets the reader tickled in the right places.

Summing up, this is a wonderful addition to my reading experience, and although not being over the top or being the epitome of twists, this book will be enjoyed by any reader who loves reading police procedurals.


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Open Season by C.J. Box
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Open Season by C.J. Box, published in the year 2001, is the first in the series of crime fiction novels featuring the protagonist Joe Picket, a Game Warden in the Twelve Sleep County, Wyoming. The books opens with a prologue as Picket tries to stop a poacher. The events start piling up from the first chapter itself as the same poacher who Joe had confronted in the prologue is found dead and murdered in his backyard. The police after a routine investigation close the case, and handing over a culprit. But, Joe takes it personally, as the body was found in his own backyard, and apparently not satisfied with the result of the investigation starts to dig deeper into the case. As he digs deeper, he is confronted with the risk of losing the job he loves and thereby losing his family.

The book was nothing extraordinary, as in respect to the plot. This sort of crime novel has been written before and by the half of the book it becomes obvious as to the identity of the culprit. But, what made this one an enjoyable read was the setting. Most of the times a very exceptional thriller gets dull as it doesn’t get the required support from the setting. The setting fails to inject any sort of suspense or sense of adventure in to the plot. But, here wild Wyoming added the perfect amount of adventure quotient, to keep the reader moving on in a steady pace. For a city dweller like me, a crime novel based in the wild becomes much more than a regular crime thriller, it sort of turns into a thriller-cum-travelogue, as it happened here.

Joe Pickett is a family man, with the values in the right places. At times he may seem dull, but given the fact that this is the first book in the series, he comes out as a strong man, who supports his family, and despite all the luring stays true to his profession and values. He is shown in a much toned down human way. Although based in the wild, he is no Tarzan or Lone Ranger. He has emotions, he confesses to be a lousy shot, he even manages to lose his gun.

A well written book, with smooth dialogues, this will be enjoyed by anyone who wants to try a crime novel set outside the dreariness of a concrete jungle, and set in the lush green of the wild.


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Don't Look Back by Karin Fossum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

DONT LOOK BACK by Karin Fossum is the second book in the series featuring Inspector Konrad Sejer of Oslo, Norway. Although this happened to be the first book to be translated into English.

The book opens with an ongoing search for a missing 6 year old girl called Ragnhild, which later develops into a murder investigation of a teenage female victim. Whenever I read a Nordic Crime novel, I tend to expect a certain degree of violence and gore. But, surprisingly this book was very low on the count of brutality. Yes, the crime shown was brutal, yes, the motive or the event leading to the crime was brutal and chilling, but the amount of violence used to portray the coldness of the crime was negligible. In a way it was good, as at times, excessive violence bores me. But, creating an atmosphere of fear through words is what suits me the most, because seldom these situations described, becomes boring.

Instead what Fossum used is her very potent mastery over words, and the local ambiance of cold Norway. She is a cunning writer, no doubt. The book as mentioned earlier began with a 6 year old girl getting into a van driven by an unknown man. This man is speaking in riddles, and he is taking the girl to his house. I immediately sat up and felt that something is wrong; I was convinced that this one is going to be a crime related to that child. But, the writer used her mastery to create tension and then twist that tension into the direction of the actual crime i.e. the murder of another teenage woman. For the first few chapters she let the readers believe that the crime was going in a certain direction, only to add the much delicious twist on the way.

Konrad Sejer reminds me of Reg Wexford. He is a family man, a widower actually, spending his days with his dogs. He might not be as enigmatic as Morse or Wallander, but he has a certain calmness which makes him a distinct force in the world of fictional crime fighters. He is a normal policeman, who is effected by his victims, but at the end of the day takes up policing as his profession and not a vocation.

I enjoyed this book, there was no reason to feel otherwise. And I suppose any crime fiction enthusiast would enjoy this book too.


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A Share In Death by Deborah Crombie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“I realized that if I didn’t wake the next morning, no one would miss me”

There are times when I search for a murder mystery, where the crime will take place in a small village; the suspect pool will be restricted to a certain number of people. The detection would be done by an amateur sleuth, with the local police made to look like bumbling fools. And, the plot shouldn’t be too filmsy, although far from being gory or violent, it must be strong with a nice dose of twist. In short something in the style of Agatha Christie or Margery Allingham.

Deborah Crombie’s first book, “A SHARE IN DEAH” featuring the duo of Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James, had all the above mentioned points, except the amateur detective solving the crime. But since Kincaid was a Scotland Yard man, and the murder fell outside his jurisdiction, he unofficially became the amateur sleuth in the plot. The murder took place in a hotel set in a Yorkshire village; the suspect pool was limited. The local police was led by a foul mouthed no-good inspector and the amount of blood and gore was nil. The plot was a typical whodunit. Highly enjoyable and satisfying. The length and the pace suited the book fine; and the psychological elements if present were mercifully negligible, and if present I failed to notice it.

Duncan Kincaid, is a gentleman detective. No cuss words, no losing temper, and being a bachelor he also had the tendency of being infatuated with the female characters he meets (a sense of déjà vu leading to Inspector Morse, maybe!!). He as an easy going charm and a sense of humor which makes him very difficult to not like. Sergeant Gemma James, a single mother, though being a sidekick and being introduced late into the book, has a personality of her own. She is not just a sidekick lingering in the shadows of the main protagonist, a fact supported by Kincaid, when he talks about and appreciates her ability as a policewoman. And, he is a bachelor, she is a single mother, so definitely something will brew in the next installments between these two.

A highly enjoyable mystery, recommended to any crime fiction reader who likes British style whodunits.


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