So Remembrance Day has a special connotation for us all. Please take a moment on Sunday to remember those who serve. Thanks.
Now, on to books..
Just Finished
"A Rage in Harlem is the first book in Chester Himes Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed cop series set in Harlem New York. Himes sounds like a fascinating author. He was born in Missouri in 1909. He began writing while serving time for jewel theft. He ended up having approximately 20 novels published before his death in 1984. The Harlem Detective series consisted of 9 novels. Three of the books, including A Rage in Harlem, were turned into movies.
This story features both of the tough detectives but they play somewhat minor roles in the whole story. It is about Jackson, a man who works for a local Harlem funeral director, maintaining the building and driving the hearse. Jackson is played by a couple of con artists who trick him into believing they can convert $10 bills into $100. Providing them his life savings, he is tricked into losing all of the money. His girl friend, Imabelle, might or might not be in on the act. There is another ploy here; Imabelle has a trunk under their bed which supposedly contains gold ore.
Jackson steals money from his employer, hoping to be able to gamble back the money he has already lost. I think you know the result of that effort. He then gets his brother Goldy to help him find Imabelle and also to get the gold ore. Goldy is another con man. He dresses as a nun and cons locals out of money for the 'purpose' of charity... that being Goldy is the charity.
Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed, the two tough Harlem cops, who don't mind using their pistols to solve problems get involved at Goldy's behest. They plan to con the con men who are now using the fake gold mine ploy to get money from Harlem locals.
It's all a very fast paced, colorful, entertaining story. Himes creates fascinating characters, a gritty setting and story and images that live with you. Harlem, in his description, is poor, at times dirty and violent, but filled with music and wonderfully presented characters. I've not read a story like this before. It has left me with a desire to find the other books in the series and to see how he further develops his characters. (4 stars)"
Currently Reading
"Flavia de Luce, a dangerously smart eleven-year-old with a passion for chemistry and a genius for solving murders, thinks that her days of crime-solving in the bucolic English hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey are over—until beloved puppeteer Rupert Porson has his own strings sizzled in an unfortunate rendezvous with electricity. But who’d do such a thing, and why? Does the madwoman who lives in Gibbet Wood know more than she’s letting on? What about Porson’s charming but erratic assistant? All clues point toward a suspicious death years earlier and a case the local constables can’t solve—without Flavia’s help. But in getting so close to who’s secretly pulling the strings of this dance of death, has our precocious heroine finally gotten in way over her head?"
The Mystery Genre - English Cops Part 6
In my last entry on this topic I highlighted John Harvey, Mo Hayder and Georgette Heyer.
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| Susan Hill |
"An interesting mystery. This is the first Susan Hill mystery I've read, but I had previously enjoyed her The Woman in Black, a Gothic ghost story. I liked her writing style very much. Reading this 2nd in her Simon Serrailler mysteries, I found that I still enjoy her style.
It was an interesting story, the disappearance of a 7 year old boy and the police investigation led by DCI Serrailler to try and find him. It's a meandering sort of story, many interesting plot lines; Simon and his family, Simon and his sister, Martha, a young lady who has never had an opportunity to become an adult due to medical difficulties on her birth, various alternate story lines that enrich and enhance the story.
Not your typical police mystery, well worth the read and I do plan to find the remaining stories in this series to find out more about Serrailler. (4 stars)"
"A lonely woman of fifty-three vanishes in fog; a fat twenty-two-year-old never returns from an early morning walk . . .
Experienced policemen know that most missing persons either turn up or go missing on purpose. But fresh young D.S. Freya Graffham won’t drop it — until she discovers what links the people who disappear on “The Hill,” young and old, men and women, even a little dog. Susan Hill writes with compassion, humour and a unique understanding of the details of daily life."
"Children have been vanishing - there are no leads- just a kidnapper at large. The police have failed, the families are distraught and the morale at Lafferton station has collapsed. Then Detective Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler receives a call: a child has been snatched in Yorkshire. Has the abductor struck again? And will they find this child alive?"
The remaining books in the series are -
- The Vows of Silence (2008)
- Shadows in the Street (2010)
- The Betrayal of Trust (2011)
- A Question of Identity (2012)
- The Soul of Discretion (2014)
- The Comforts of Home (2018)
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| Alan Hunter |
"Gently Does It by Alan Hunter is the 1st book in the Inspector George Gently mystery series. I had previously read another, but now that I've got the first few books in the series, wanted to start from the beginning.
I'll preface this by saying that one of my favourite TV mystery series has been the George Gently mysteries, starring Martin Shaw as the Inspector. I'm not sure where the TV series begins in relation to the book series, but of the two I've read so far, the feel is quite different between the two. The TV series shows Gently working in Newcastle, whereas in the books I've read thus far, he is still working for CID in London.
With that long preamble, Gently Does It finds the Inspector on vacation in Norchester when he gets involved in investigating the murder of a lumber baron. Gently volunteers to assist the local police and his assistance is grudgingly accepted. Then begins an interesting investigation of the case, with Gently basically trying to gather evidence and clues to discover the guilty party. That is a key difference between Gently and the local police; who basically set their minds on a suspect and don't particularly care to ensure they have the necessary evidence to prove their case.
Gently is an intuitive police investigator, but also likes to conduct a proper investigation. He doesn't agree with the locals about their first suspect; firstly based on intuition, but also then based on what he discovers. It's an interesting process and Gently is an interesting person and we get to discover more about how he works in this first book. Overall I enjoyed the story very much and liked the conclusion, which was satisfying. Looking forward to continuing the adventure. (4 stars)"
"When Chief Inspector Gently arrived in Starmouth, the 'body on the beach murder' was already the topic of conversation for the massed holiday-makers. First published in 1956, this was the 2nd of Alan Hunter's series of crime novels featuring George Gently."
"This was my first attempt at a George Gently mystery. It is the third in the series. I've watched and enjoyed the British TV series based on the books very much. Having said that, this book had a totally different feel than the TV series; most of the characters, other than Gently, were different and I believe even the setting is a different part of England. I still enjoyed the story mind you. It had a nice feel and pace to it and I liked Gently and his partner, Dutt. I will say that fairly early on, I had it basically figured out and found myself silently shouting at Gently as he worked methodically to come to his solution. All in all, I enjoyed and will read more of the series. (3 stars)"
"Having been invited to spend Christmas in the country, fishing for pike, Gently finds himself hunting a completely different predator when a guest at Merely Hall, a nearby stately home, is found dead at the foot of the grand staircase on Christmas morning.
At first the tragedy is assumed to be a simple accident, but Gently is not one to jump to conclusions and is soon in no doubt whatsoever that this was murder.
Merely produces the finest tapestries in England but the threads that Gently must unravel in his investigation are more complex than any weaver's design, with everyone from the lord of the manor to his most lowly servant falling under suspicion."
I have a number of books in this series to read. It should give me a few years of enjoyment.
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| P. D. James |
"I've previously read a couple of other PD James' Inspector Dalgliesh mysteries before and enjoyed very much. I like how intelligent James writes. This is the first Dalgliesh mystery and I must say I enjoyed as much as the others I've read.
Dalgliesh is almost a peripheral character in the story, James rather focuses on the other characters/ suspects and their activities, motivations as she develops the story. Basically, Sally Juup, a housemaid is found dead (strangled) in her bedroom. All of the family members are suspects.
The story follows Dalgliesh as he performs his police work, interrogating the family members, travelling around the area to discuss Sally's character and past with family members and other relations. But at the same time, the story also follows around the people from the estate, allowing us to see their motivations, their thoughts on the murder, their own investigations.
It's an interesting way to present a case and I found the story well-written and interesting. There were some nice little surprises which added to the story. All-in-all, most enjoyable and I will be continuing my experiences with Inspector Dalgliesh. (4 stars)"
"A Mind To Murder by P.D. James is the second book in the Inspector Dalgliesh mystery series. In this mystery, Dalgliesh and his assistant, Sgt Martin, investigate the murder of the Administrative Officer at a London psychiatrist facility. To all intents it appears that the murder is an inside job.
As with the other PD James books I've read, I'm impressed with how intelligently James writes. The story is a methodical police investigation, but I enjoy how she lays out a story, the methodical investigation, the development of all of the main characters; Dalgliesh and suspects alike.
Dalgliesh is a thoughtful investigator, Martin, with is more down-to-earth way of looking at things, a perfect assistant. It's a pleasure to read such a well-crafted story and satisfying to discover the conclusion. I look forward to reading the next book in this series. (4 stars)"
"It's been awhile since I've read an Inspector Dalgliesh mystery, probably 4 or 5 years and this book has been on my shelf for awhile. I'm glad I dusted it off. I enjoy P.D. James' writing style very much, very intelligent writing. The story was interesting and well-crafted.
The book doesn't focus on any one character and Dalgliesh's team of Kate Miskin and Daniel Aaron are as important to the plot as is Dalgliesh. In fact, I felt that often Dalgliesh was in the background and even more so when we come to the final chapters. The plot moves along sedately, but holds your interest and James takes her time to develop characters and the story.
The ending was somewhat abrupt and left me feeling kind of angry; you'll have to read to see how it ends but suffice it to say I agreed with Kate's opinion. I will read more of James' mysteries now that I've read this one.. (4 stars)"
The remaining books in the series are -
- Unnatural Causes (1967)
- Shroud for a Nightingale (1971)
- The Black Tower (1975)
- Death of an Expert Witness (1977)
- A Taste of Death (1986)
- Devices and Desires (1989)
- A Certain Justice (1997)
- Death in Holy Orders (2001)
- The Murder Room (2003)
- The Lighthouse (2005)
- The Private Patient 2008)
Well, there you go folks. The weekend is here. Have a great one and read a good book!
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