Today, I'll let you know the latest book that came in the mail and also continue with my look at the mystery genre. For the next few entries, I'll focus on the UK. There are so many great mystery writers from the UK that it will take awhile for me to cover it all. I have mentioned a few British authors in previous entries, e.g. the grand - dames of the golden age, some female private eyes, etc. Today I'm going to highlight a couple of mystery writers whose focus is Northern Ireland and a couple of others who have set the mysteries on the islands off the North of Scotland.
New Book
This book arrived from Fuze Books in the UK on Friday.
"Tormented by the demons of his past, ex-cop Max Freeman rarely ventures beyond his secluded shack deep in the Florida Everglades. But he can't ignore the recent string of suspicious deaths of elderly, poor women that the police have been unable, or unwilling, to investigate. When his best friend urges him to get involved and act like the cop he's trying to forget he was, Max must confront the dangers of the city streets-and the unexpected shadows of his own past."
The Mystery Genre (UK Style) - Northern Ireland and the Scottish Isles
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| Ann Cleeves |
"This was an enjoyable mystery. It's the first book in the Shetland series, with Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez, a former resident of the Shetland islands, looking to solve the murder of a young girl. Now I had already watched the TV mini-series based on the books so found myself trying to find the similarities and differences between the show and the book, but the book was interesting enough that this constant comparison didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book, itself. There are quite a few differences; characters (the female Sgt from the TV show was not in the book) and I think that the resolution of the story was quite different from that of the TV series, which is interesting in itself. All in all, it was an excellent, entertaining introduction to this series by Ann Cleeves. I look forward to reading more of the books. (4 stars)"
"This is the 2nd book in Ann Cleeves Shetland series, starring Shetland Island police detective, Jimmy Perez. I've seen the TV series based on the books, but I find the books different enough that they are still new and interesting. Ann Cleeves paces her stories very nicely, developing the story, developing the characters involved in the particular mystery.
Perez is a folksy islander and has a nice way with his fellow islanders and his manner of investigation. I like that he is starting to get involved with Fran from the first mystery as she is a very sympathetic, intelligent woman. The mystery, itself, is also interesting and presented methodically and viewing the investigation from Perez' perspective is enjoyable.
Basically, an off-islander is found dead (maybe murdered) after a party held by one of the local artists. The investigation delves into the past of the members of the small community. As per the first mystery, Perez must bring in major crime investigators from the mainland and he once again works with Inspector Taylor from Inverness. Their interplay is also well crafted. All in all, an enjoyable story and excellent sequel to the first Shetland mystery. (4 stars)"
"An island shrouded in mist and a community with secrets buried in the past . . .
When a young archaeologist studying on a site at Whalsay discovers a set of human remains, the island settlers are intrigued. Is it an ancient find - or a more contemporary mystery?
Then an elderly woman is shot in a tragic accident in the middle of the night. Shetland detective Jimmy Perez is called in by her grandson - his own colleague, Sandy Wilson.
The sparse landscape and the emptiness of the sea have bred a fierce and secretive people. Mima Wilson was a recluse. She had her land, her pride and her family. As Jimmy looks to the islanders for answers, he finds instead two feuding families whose envy, greed and bitterness have lasted generations.
Surrounded by people he doesn't know and in unfamiliar territory, Jimmy finds himself out of his depth. Then there's another death and, as the spring weather shrouds the island in claustrophobic mists, Jimmy must dig up old secrets to stop a new killer from striking again . . . "
The remaining books in the series are -
- Blue Lightning (2010)
- Dead Water (2013)
- Thin Air (2014)
- Too Good to be True (2016, novella)
- Cold Earth (2016)
- Wild Fire (2018)
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| Peter May |
" From acclaimed author and television dramatist Peter May comes the first book in the Lewis Trilogy--a riveting mystery series set on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, a formidable and forbidding world where tradition rules and people adhere to ancient ways of life. When a grisly murder occurs on the Isle of Lewis that has the hallmarks of a killing he's investigating on the mainland, Edinburgh detective and native islander Fin Macleod is dispatched to see if the two deaths are connected. His return after nearly two decades not only represents a police investigation, but a voyage into his own troubled past. As Fin reconnects with the places and people of his tortured childhood, he feels the island once again asserting its grip on his psyche. And every step forward in solving the murder takes him closer to a dangerous confrontation with the tragic events of the past that shaped--and nearly destroyed--Fin's life."
The other two books in the trilogy are -
- The Lewis Man (2012)
- The Chessmen (2013)
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| Adrian McKinty |
" I was very pleasantly surprised with this book. It was a most entertaining book. It's a police procedural set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland; the case a series of murders of homosexual men in a country which at the time still had homosexuality in their books as a crime. Throw in an old mystery involving a missing woman and also hunger strikes by prisoners in The Maze and riots and bombings as a normal day-in-the-life and you've got a scary, but very interesting setting for this mystery.
I enjoyed McKinty's writing style very much. I liked the main characters; Sgt Duffy, a Catholic police officer working in the Royal Ulster Constabulary and I liked his partners in the RUC and many others of the cast. The booked moved along at a steady pace, with enough action to satisfy any enjoyer of thrillers. While scary at times (this was a place I would not have ever wanted to live and yet people still tried to live normal lives, to keep things moving along), there is also a nice light deft touch to the story. The characters are nicely developed and the mystery is interesting. Highly recommend. (4 stars)"
"The early 1980s. Belfast. Sean Duffy, a conflicted Catholic cop in the Protestant RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary), is recruited by MI5 to hunt down Dermot McCann, an IRA master bomber who has made a daring escape from the notorious Maze Prison. In the course of his investigations Sean discovers a woman who may hold the key to Dermot’s whereabouts; she herself wants justice for her daughter who died in mysterious circumstances in a pub locked from the inside. Sean knows that if he can crack the "locked room mystery," the bigger mystery of Dermot’s whereabouts might be revealed to him as a reward. Meanwhile the clock is ticking down to the Conservative Party Conference in Brighton in 1984, where Mrs. Thatcher is due to give a keynote speech...."
The other books in the series are -
- I Hear the Sirens in the Street (#2 / 2013)
- Gun Street Girl (#4 / 2015)
- Rain Dogs (#5 / 2016)
- Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly (#6 / 2017)
- The Detective Up Late (#7 / 2019)
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| Stuart Neville |
"A new author for me. A very gritty story, full of action, but also quite thoughtful. Supernatural sideline that rules the main character's, Gerry Fegan, life. He is haunted by his past and his only way for peace is to follow their dictates and remove those people who caused the deaths of his ghostly followers. Political intrigue, informers, love and murder fill this story. Very well-written and excellent story-telling. I will definitely check out Neville's other books. (4 stars)"
"Collusion is the 2nd book in Stuart Neville's DI Jack Lennon mystery / thriller series set in Northern Ireland. Like the first book, Ghosts of Belfast, this was a gritty, action - filled story.
It's definitely useful to read the first story in this series as events carry-on from what happened in the first book. A hitman, The Traveler, is hired by O'Kane to kill off all of those people who were involved against him in the first book. This includes Jack Lennon's ex-lover and his daughter, Marie and Ellen McKenna. Included as well is Gerry Fegan, who was heavily involved in the first book as well. Fegan is a scary individual and O'Kane wants to pay him back. Fegan also knows Marie and Ellen and had helped them get away. Fegan is hiding in New Jersey but has promised to return if Marie and Ellen are threatened.
People are killed as the Traveler does his work and Lennon tries to convince his superiors that the killings are related. But there might be collusion between the various gangsters, Catholic and Protestant, and the police and UK's Special Branch.
It's a fast - paced story, jumping from Lennon to Fegan to the Traveler as the story moves along. As Lennon works to find Marie and also the killer, he's got to find people he can trust to keep Marie safe. As the story moves along, you are drawn into the action and the secrecy. Who is helping the Traveler and can he save Marie. Everything comes to a climactic head as the story ends. You'll find yourself on the edge of your seat as you turn the pages to get to the ending. I've enjoyed both books and even though it can be somewhat confusing, what with the Loyalists and Republicans and all the competing factions, it doesn't really takeaway from the story. Well worth trying but start with the 1st book. (4 stars)"
"Galya Petrova travels to Ireland on a promise that she will work for a nice Russian family, teaching their children English. Instead, she is dragged into the world of modern slavery, sold to a Belfast brothel, and held there against her will.
She escapes at a terrible cost—the slaying of one of her captors—and takes refuge with a man who offers his help. As the traffickers she fled scour the city for her, seeking revenge for their fallen comrade, Galya faces an even greater danger: her savior is not what he seems. She is not the first trafficked girl to have crossed his threshold, and she must fight to avoid their fate.
Detective Inspector Jack Lennon wants a quiet Christmas with his daughter, but when an apparent turf war between rival gangs leaves bodies across the city, he knows he won't get it. As he digs deeper into the case, he realizes an escaped prostitute is the cause of the violence, and soon he is locked in a deadly race with two very different killers."
"Ireland 1963. As the Irish people prepare to welcome President John F. Kennedy to the land of his ancestors, a German national is murdered in a seaside guesthouse. Lieutenant Albert Ryan, Directorate of Intelligence, is ordered to investigate. The German is the third foreigner to die within a few days, and Minister for Justice Charles Haughey wants the killing to end lest a shameful secret be exposed: the dead men were all Nazis granted asylum by the Irish government in the years following World War II.
A note from the killers is found on the dead German's corpse, addressed to Colonel Otto Skorzeny, Hitler's favorite commando, once called the most dangerous man in Europe. The note simply says: "We are coming for you."
As Albert Ryan digs deeper into the case he discovers a network of former Nazis and collaborators, all presided over by Skorzeny from his country estate outside Dublin. When Ryan closes in on the killers, his loyalty is torn between country and conscience. Why must he protect the very people he fought against twenty years before? Ryan learns that Skorzeny might be a dangerous ally, but he is a deadly enemy."
As you can see, Ratlines is under a different main character. Neville has also written 3 other books that you might like to try.
- The Final Silence (2014)
- Those We Left Behind (2015)
- So Say the Fallen (2016)
My next entry in the Mystery Genre series will move to the Scottish mainland. Have a great week!
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