A Friday Reading Update

My second post of today. I finished a book this morning. I also had a book left in my Little Free Library and two of my last ordered books of the year. I'll update these and will also continue with my ongoing look at the Mystery Genre - American Cops.

Just Finished

Death in Captivity by Michael Gilbert. I started Gilbert's books a few years back. I like his writing style very much. He is known for his Inspector Hazelrigg and Petrella series. I've enjoyed books in each. Death in Captivity was also excellent. My review is below.









"I've read 4 other books by author Michael Gilbert, those being from his Inspectors Hazelrigg and Petrella mystery series. Death in Captivity is a unique mystery, set in a prisoner of war camp in Italy. The camp is filled with British soldiers. As most POW stories, they are digging tunnels and trying their best to escape. Into the midst of this scenario is thrust a murder mystery. A British officer, suspected by many of the other POWs of being an Italian spy, is found murdered under a fall of dirt in the main tunnel.

The British prisoners must find a way of letting the Italians discover the body without giving up the tunnel. They come up with the idea of moving the body to a disused tunnel. The Italians determine that Coutoules has been murdered. The senior British officer, Col Laverly, asks one of his officers, Captain Goyle, to conduct an investigation into the death and see if he can come up with a solution.

So you have a murder investigation, which may somehow implicate the Italians. You have a possible spy in the midst of the British prisoners, for some reason. As well, the Allied troops have invaded Sicily and the invasion of mainland Italy may soon come about. And, of course, the British troops continue their efforts to escape. This effort is increased as the thought of an Allied invasion of Italy comes closer and also a possible change of leadership in Italy.

So, as you see, it's a very rich story, with many varied plot lines. Consider also the ongoing plans for a play by some of the British prisoners, a remaking of The Barrets of Wimpole Street. Gilbert writes in an easy flowing style. He develops great characters. I particularly enjoyed Goyle, but there were many others as well. The story moves along nicely, the mystery is developed perfectly and the actions within the prison are interesting, both from a historical perspective and from a mystery perspective.

I enjoyed this story immensely. It was unique and refreshing. I just wished their had been a summing up on the final activities. Gilbert continues to impress me with his story telling. Excellent mystery and war story. (4.5 stars)"

New Books

1. Sparkling Cyanide (AKA Remembered Death) by Agatha Christie (Colonel Race #4).

"Six people reunite to remember beautiful Rosemary Barton, who died nearly a year before. The loving sister, the long-suffering husband, the devoted secretary, the lovers, the betrayed wife - none of them can forget Rosemary.

But did one of them murder her"

2. A Nice Class of Corpse by Simon Brett (Mrs. Pargeter #1). I've enjoyed all of Brett's mystery series; Charles Paris, the Fettering mysteries and also a later book in the Mrs. Pargeter series.










"Simon Brett introduces Melita Pargeter, his newest detective. Melita is a rich and vivacious lady, whose mystery-solving talents come in handy when a murderer strikes a hotel for retirees. Simon's talents come in handy for writing hilariously."

3. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde (Nursery Crime #1).  Fforde's Thursday Next fantasy mystery series is excellent. I thought I should try the first book in his other series.










"It's Easter in Reading—a bad time for eggs—and no one can remember the last sunny day. Ovoid D-class nursery celebrity Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty III, minor baronet, ex-convict, and former millionaire philanthropist, is found shattered to death beneath a wall in a shabby area of town. All the evidence points to his ex-wife, who has conveniently shot herself.

But Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and his assistant Mary Mary remain unconvinced, a sentiment not shared with their superiors at the Reading Police Department, who are still smarting over their failure to convict the Three Pigs of murdering Mr. Wolff. Before long Jack and Mary find themselves grappling with a sinister plot involving cross-border money laundering, bullion smuggling, problems with beanstalks, titans seeking asylum, and the cut and thrust world of international chiropody.

And on top of all that, the Jelly-Man is coming to town . . ."

My Ongoing Look at the Mystery Genre - American Cops
In my last entry I looked at Kathy Reichs's Temperance Brennan series.

Eric Rickstad

1. Eric Rickstad - Canaan Crime. Eric Rickstad is an American crime writer was the New York Times best - selling author of The Silent Girls, the second book in his Canaan Crime series, set in Vermont, his home state. He has written 3 books in this series. I've read the first and have the second on my bookshelf. 

OK, this is strange. In one list of his Canaan Crime books, The Silent Girls is listed as #1 and Lie in Wait is #2. In my Goodreads list, Lie in Wait is listed as #1, even though it was published before Silent Girls. I've read Lie in Wait, at any rate.

a. Lie in Wait (2015).

"The first book in the Canaan crime series by Eric Rickstad, Lie In Wait is also my first exposure to his writing. Based on this story, I look forward to reading more. There are three books in the Canaan crime series and he has also written two standalone novels.

The town of Canaan is located Vermont. The story starts with the violent murder of a young girl, baby-sitting for a local lawyer and his wife. The lawyer, Jon Merryfield, is assisting two gay men in their case against the state. This is not popular with a certain group in the community and this is one possible story line for investigation. Local detective, Sonja Test, is involved in the murder investigation, but in a subsidiary role to the State police investigator, Detective North. There is friction between the two, although they also make a reasonable team.

Other suspects begin to come to the surface as the two investigate. Could it be the star football player, who may have been having a relationship with 'underage' Jessica Cumber. Could it be his father, trying to protect his son? Could it be the lawyer himself? What about Jed King, the local trouble maker, who may have been trying to implicate the lawyer? It's an interesting group of suspects, each with seeming secrets to hide and the investigation moves along nicely.

While Sonja is the main character, the story does move between the various main characters, adding to the texture of the story. There are enough incidents throughout the story and an ongoing feeling of menace which adds to the tension that Rickstad develops. It's not a perfect story by any means but it is well-written, flows along very nicely and all in all, it's a satisfying mystery. (4 stars)"

2. Silent Girls (2014).

"With the dead of a bitter Vermont winter closing in, evil is alive and well . . .

Frank Rath thought he was done with murder when he turned in his detective's badge to become a private investigator and raise a daughter alone. Then the police in his remote rural community of Canaan find an '89 Monte Carlo abandoned by the side of the road, and the beautiful teenage girl who owned the car seems to have disappeared without a trace.

Soon Rath's investigation brings him face-to-face with the darkest abominations of the human soul.

With the consequences of his violent and painful past plaguing him, and young women with secrets vanishing one by one, he discovers once again that even in the smallest towns on the map, evil lurks everywhere--and no one is safe."

The last book, so far, in the series is The Names of the Dead Girls, published in 2017.

 So there you go. I hope you find one or more of these books interesting.