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| You should write more about dogs. I'm just saying.. Now let me out please |
So, as mentioned, I'll update on the completed book and the one I just started as a replacement and will also finish my latest category in my ongoing look at the mystery genre, with the last 3 English detectives that I have on my book shelves.
Just Finished
"I've read 4 or 5 of the Jack Reacher thriller series now and Without Fail (Reacher #6) by Lee Child is one of the better ones so far. The story starts with Reacher in New Jersey, helping an old couple, both jazz musicians, get out of the clutches of an unscrupulous (mob-associated) club owner. He is approached by M.E. Froelich, a Secret Service agent and ex-girlfriend of Jack's older brother. Joe, also a Secret Service agent, was murdered years ago. Froelich is the head security chief for the new, incoming VP and she has received threats against him. She wants Reacher to test the Secret Service coverage and find weaknesses.
This begins a very tense, fast-paced thriller as the threats become more concrete, not just correspondence but displays the enemies capabilities. Reacher brings in an acquaintance from his military days, Neagley, to help him with both the tests and the follow-on investigation. She is a fantastic character, strong, smart and with issues of her own. (Maybe deserves her own series).
It's a long story but seems to flow quickly. We learn about Reacher's brother, their similarities and differences. The case is interesting as they try to ascertain who would want to assassinate the VP and also keep him safe. Reacher is a great character and I also liked Froelich.
It has an exciting climax with sufficient action to satisfy readers who like that and a satisfying ending. I've been enjoying the Reacher series very much and this has kept my interest up in continuing to follow his adventures. (4 stars)"
Currently Reading
"When a young secretary, Sheila Webb, is sent to the home of a blind woman on an errand, she is horrified to discover a dead man behind the couch, surrounded by four clocks that have all been stopped at 4:13.
The owner arrives home and denies that the clocks belong to her, the deceased's business card turns out to be a fraud, and a woman shows up claiming to be the dead man's wife.
There is only one man who can unravel this complicated case: Hercule Poirot."
Bill's Ongoing Look at the Mystery Genre - English Detectives Part 12
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| Nicola Upson |
"Intrepid writer and amateur sleuth Josephine Tey returns in this sixth installment of Nicola Upson’s popular series—perfect for fans of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs—that unfolds in 1930s London as England prepares to crown a new king.
London, 1937. Following the gloomy days of the abdication of King Edward VIII, the entire city is elated to welcome King George. Just one of the many planned festivities for the historic coronation is a BBC radio adaptation of Queen of Scots, and the original playwright, Josephine Tey, has been invited to sit in on rehearsals.
Soon, however, Josephine gets wrapped up in another sort of drama. The lead actress has been sleeping with Britain’s most venerable newsman, Anthony Beresford—and his humiliated wife happens to work in the building. The sordid affair seems to reach its bloody climax when Beresford is shot to death in his broadcasting booth at the deafening height of the coronation ceremony.
Josephine’s dear friend, Detective Chief Inspector Archie Penrose, has the case wrapped up before long. But when a second, seemingly related murder throws Penrose for a loop, it falls to Josephine to unravel a web of betrayal, jealousy, and long-held secrets… caught all the while in a love triangle of her own making."
The other books in the series are -
- An Expert in Murder (2008)
- Angel with Two Faces (2009)
- Two for Sorrow (2010)
- Fear in the Sunlight (2012)
- The Death of Lucy Kyte (2013)
- Nine Lessons (2017)
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| Patricia Wentworth |
"I enjoyed this mystery. It features armchair sleuth, Miss Maude Silver. It's the second of this series I've read and I enjoyed this one more than the first. It was an interesting story-line; set during WWII, Richard Jocelyn's wife has returned from the dead. Is it a case of mistaken identity? That is to be resolved. Throw - in possible Nazi spies, murders, while it's not full of action, the mystery is interesting and there is an ongoing undercurrent of menace and threat. Maude Silver is a retired nanny, become detective, who seems to do most of her work from her armchair as she knits wool socks for nephews and other family members. People who she meets, by chance, are drawn to her and she finds herself involved in this case almost by accident. Using her strong intuition, she provides valuable clues to the police; Sgt Abbott, who adores her and his boss, Inspector Lamb, who isn't quite so enamored, but still doesn't mind using her skills at deduction. An interesting story, if you like writers in the vein of Agatha Christie and Margery Allingham, you'll enjoy Miss Silver as well. (3 stars)"
"When the menacing Gregory Porlock invites a group of unacquainted friends to his home, the house party takes on a sinister edge. The host himself is stabbed in the back, and it becomes clear to all that he was a blackmailer. But who thrust the fatal knife is up to Miss Silver to discover." (4 stars)
The complete list of books in this series can be found here.
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| Jacqueline Winspear |
"This is a new series for me, one that was worth taking a chance on. I liked the cover and had read about Jacqueline Winspear somewhere. The series features Maisie Dobbs, a new private investigator starting out on her own after a period of tutelage under a now retired investigator.
The story is set after WWI, in 1929, but does flash back to Maisie's childhood and her time working as a volunteer nurse at the front. Her investigation starts as she follows the wife of a businessman who suspects she might be cheating on him. The case is resolved fairly easily but leads on to another situation that Maisie decides to investigate, a retreat for damaged soldiers set in the countryside of Kent. Is it quite what it seems? That is for you to find out.
I liked Maisie and as the story developed, I like her more. She is somewhat prim at times, but I think that will change. Her mentor, Maurice, is an interesting person as well and of course, her new assistant, Billy, is excellent. I've read a few series set during this pre and post WWI period of England, Rennie Airth's John Madden series comes to mind. I like reading about the period and, if, as in the case of Maisie Dobbs, the story is excellent, then that just adds to the enjoyment. I will definitely look up more in this series now. (4 stars)"
"Birds of a Feather is the 2nd Maisie Dobbs mystery by Jacqueline Winspear. I've enjoyed the first two books so far. Winspear is a meticulous story teller, providing a lot of particular details while developing her characters and plot. Details about exactly what Maisie is wearing, etc seem irrelevant but they help provide a picture.
It's been hard to warm to Maisie as she is quite buttoned-up and does have personal issues from her time serving as a nurse during WWI and also between her and her father (guilt on both sides from her mother's death), but I'm getting to like her more. She is more than just a private detective. From her training with her old mentor, Maurice, she is more of a psychologist / private detective who provides both investigative assistance and then psychological assistance, whether the client wants it or no.
So, on to this story. Maisie is hired by a rich owner of a major grocery chain, Joseph Waite, to find his daughter. This is not the first time she has gone missing so he doesn't want the police involved. Maisie and her assistant, Billy Beale, agree to find her. They quickly realize that murders being worked on by Scotland Yard, especially Inspector Stratton, may be related to their case. As well, Maisie is concerned about Billy, an ex - soldier who had been severely during the war. He is acting strangely and Maisie is concerned. Also simmering is her relationship with her father.
It all makes for an interesting story and mystery. I will admit that I had a pretty good idea of what might be involved and ultimately also a pretty good idea of who might be the murderer, but the story is very well-written and crafted and was well worth reading. I am warming more to Maisie and look forward to reading the third installment. (4 stars)"
"In the third novel of this bestselling series, London investigator Maisie Dobbs faces grave danger as she returns to the site of her most painful WWI memories to resolve the mystery of a pilot's death.
A deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton to seek the aid of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. As Maisie soon learns, Agnes Lawton never accepted that her aviator son was killed in the Great War, a torment that led her not only to the edge of madness but to the doors of those who practice the dark arts and commune with the spirit world. In accepting the assignment, Maisie finds her spiritual strength tested, as well as her regard for her mentor, Maurice Blanche. The mission also brings her together once again with her college friend Priscilla Evernden, who served in France and who lost three brothers to the war—one of whom, it turns out, had an intriguing connection to the missing Ralph Lawton"
The remaining books in the series are (asterisked if I currently have a copy) -
- Messenger of Truth (2006)
- An Incomplete Revenge (2008)
- Among the Mad (2009)
- The Mapping of Love and Death (2010)
- A Lesson in Secrets (2011)
- Elegy for Eddie (2012)
- Leaving Everything Most Loved (2013) *
- A Dangerous Place (2015) *
- Journey to Munich (2016)
- In This Grave Hour (2017)
- To Die but Once (2018)
- An American Agent (2019)
Well, there you go, the last of my English detective series books. Next I'll move along to English standalone mystery writers.. Enjoy your weekend.
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