Dead Bodies, Few Clues, Where to Turn?
Winter is coming, and so are a host of new, enticing mysteries, including some that lean decisively in the thriller direction. Whether you’re looking for a story that’s serious and sinister, such as the riveting Two Days Gone, or something light and sweet, such as A Pinch of Poison, you’re sure to find a mystery that satisfies in this group of strong titles carefully selected by Foreword’s editors. Beautiful con artists, investigative monks, and charismatic cult leaders abound in this Winter issue selection of heart-pounding books.
Two Days Gone
Randall Silvis
Sourcebooks
Softcover $15.99 (400pp)
978-1-4926-3973-2
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
Elegant, beautiful Claire O’Patchen Huston is murdered one night, along with her three children, Thomas Jr., Alyssa, and David. The prime suspect? Claire’s husband, Thomas, who goes on the run just after the murders. Once a man in high standing in the community, Thomas almost immediately becomes a despised outcast, and the manhunt for Thomas infects a town that only weeks before had held him in the highest regard. Two Days Gone is a quiet, intense, suspenseful mystery about a man who has lost everything. Rich with descriptions and atmosphere, the novel takes place in a quiet Pennsylvania town in the “season of surliness,” a cold, bleak winter, after the aforementioned series of brutal murders captures the attention of the public. In the manhunt that follows, there remains the question of who can be trusted, and whether the story the press has already concocted about the crime is even the right question.
The two main characters, Sergeant Ryan DeMarco and Thomas Huston, serve as foils throughout the novel. DeMarco is an alcoholic with an estranged wife, while Huston is a revered college professor and novelist. The lives of the two men clash spectacularly in Two Days Gone as DeMarco strives to solve the mystery in which Huston is the prime suspect. Each man has his secrets and his demons, and as the novel goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that the men are hauntingly similar. They are not strangers, either: DeMarco helped Huston with some details about police work in aid of one of Huston’s latest novels, and the two had developed a rapport only a few months prior to the crime and pursuit. While DeMarco had always envied Huston’s family life, he soon finds himself in a position where, like the rest of the town, he becomes increasingly desperate to understand the depth of the tragedy that befell the Huston family. Two Days Gone is relentless in its suspense, and the final twists in the novel are sure to not disappoint.
STEPHANIE BUCKLIN (November 28, 2016)
Cover Me in Darkness
Eileen Rendahl
Midnight Ink
Softcover $15.99 (264pp)
978-0-7387-5020-0
Buy: Amazon
Isolate. Compartmentalize. Control. This is the motto of Amanda Sinclair, who used to belong to a cult—a cult that rears its ugly head again just when Amanda felt sure she had put the past behind her. Dark and charged from the start, Cover Me in Darkness is a thriller that explores the depths of the psychologies of its characters, from Amanda’s mother, a troubled woman who took her own son’s life and ended up in a mental ward, to Amanda herself, who has wrapped herself in a veil of normalcy at a job in a cosmetics company in order to hide from the ugly secrets of her past.
While Amanda was growing up, she and her family were followers of Patrick Collier, a charismatic gentleman who led what seemed like an innocent cult, Children of the Greater God. Years later, when Amanda’s mother commits suicide, Amanda grows suspicious that her mother’s death has something to do with the legal trouble that Collier has found himself in, as Collier has recently come up for parole after a stint in jail for mishandling the cult’s money. Fearing that Collier is trying to hide something, and doesn’t care about any collateral damage in his efforts, Amanda launches her own investigation that digs up dark secrets from her past.
Cover Me in Darkness is about family, loyalty, and trust. Rendahl’s writing is light and sharp, perfect for a story that moves quickly—from initial crime to deep investigation—while handling intense subject material. Amanda’s descent into her own conspiracy theories, and her confusion about what to believe and whom to trust, grow more and more urgent over the course of the novel, finally reaching a crescendo with a riveting, brief conclusion. Perfect for fans of quick-moving thrillers, Cover Me in Darkness is an excellent new novel by a confident writer.
STEPHANIE BUCKLIN (November 28, 2016)
The Fisher King
A Jack McBride Mystery
Melissa Lenhardt
Skyhorse Publishing
Hardcover $24.99 (272pp)
978-1-5107-0729-0
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
In this follow-up to Melissa Lenhardt’s debut novel, Stillwater, detective Jack McBride finds himself embroiled in a new set of conflicts shortly after resolving his first case. McBride, an outsider to his adopted town of Stillwater, faces suspicion from the town’s inhabitants as crimes continue to rise, seemingly connected to the day he first took on his job. But McBride perseveres and, in the process, uncovers a political conspiracy, a drug war, and a web of corruption so deep that McBride begins to wonder if the town can be salvaged after all.
The Fisher King focuses more on its characters and setting than any flashy bursts of action; the town of Stillwater is as much a character as detective Jack McBride and the others who populate it, including Jack’s old flame Ellie Martin and the corrupt and power-hungry businessman (and would-be politician) Joe Doyle. This doesn’t mean, however, that the novel lacks suspense: it opens with a threatening scene before launching almost directly into the discovery of two charred bodies, which sets off the series of events that McBride must follow, relentlessly, in order to protect his adopted home. The twists and turns continue to the very end, even after the final confrontation and climax. Charged with myth, The Fisher King is a haunting novel about different people’s claims on a place, and the power struggles, violence, and deception they use to seize it. Dark and ominous, the novel strikes the perfect mood and will be sure to appeal to fans eager for more of McBride’s adventures.
STEPHANIE BUCKLIN (November 28, 2016)
The Kill Fee
Fiona Veitch Smith
Lion Fiction
Softcover $14.99 (320pp)
978-1-78264-218-3
Buy: Amazon
Set in London in the 1920s, The Kill Fee is a lighthearted cozy that follows Daily Globe editor Poppy Denby as she seeks to solve her latest mystery, the theft of a valuable museum piece. The second in this series, The Kill Fee is set in a rich historical world, with characters as light and playful as Poppy Denby’s name.
When Poppy goes to cover a Russian art exhibition for the Globe, she doesn’t expect to find an armed robbery instead. A famous Fabergé egg is stolen, valuable not only for its monetary worth but for the secrets that it contains. At first, Poppy launches herself excitedly into the investigation, rooting out suspects that include a Russian princess and a suspicious Russian ambassador. But when someone within the newspaper becomes a suspect as well, Poppy realizes that she must find the egg and the thief before anyone else’s lives are destroyed. The discovery of another body only increases the stakes, proving that the conspiracy may be much larger than some are willing to believe.
From the maps in the beginning to the brief discussion of the differences between White and Red Russians at the start of the novel, Smith’s passion for her setting is readily apparent, and the backdrop of the mystery is just as rich as the action itself. Poppy’s enthusiasm for her investigation is infectious, and the reader is invited to work out the investigation along with Poppy, who gives clear insights into her line of reasoning as each clue is delivered. The Kill Fee is enjoyable and upbeat, perfect for cozy-mystery fans who appreciate historical settings.
STEPHANIE BUCKLIN (November 28, 2016)
A Pinch of Poison
Alyssa Maxwell
Kensington
Hardcover $25.00 (304pp)
978-1-61773-834-0
Buy: Amazon
The cozy mystery A Pinch of Poison hits all the right notes: a sweet-seeming and privileged all-girls school with a secret, a deadly charity luncheon, and a shrewd, proper young lady with just the right amount of tact and intelligence to sort out the nefarious events of the headmistress’s mysterious death.
Set in 1919 at the Haverleigh School for Young Ladies (housing rich and connected young debutantes), A Pinch of Poison opens with the speech of a young Phoebe Renshaw, the granddaughter of the Earl of Wroxly, imploring the students to help the cause of the Great War by holding a luncheon to benefit wounded veterans. The headmistress, Miss Finch, looks on in approval—but, by the end of the chapter, has keeled over, the victim of an apparent poisoning. With the numerous wealthy families hesitant to allow police to question their delicate (and well-connected) daughters, Lady Phoebe takes on the case herself, employing her own brand of charm and wit in order to carefully piece together the clues to reconstruct what exactly led to the headmistress’s death. Occasionally stonewalled, Lady Phoebe must use her charisma, as well as the help of her loyal friend Eva, in order to solve the mystery.
Lady Phoebe is an excellent character, both poised and sharp, but also vulnerable. Occasionally plagued by self-doubt, the twenty-year-old nevertheless perseveres in her work, despite the chaos around her. The boarding school also is intriguing; notwithstanding the distance in time and place, the familiarity of a school provides an easy window of connection, and the various characters all seem like they could be encountered in any period. The hint of romance is the perfect cap to this sweet, delightful mystery, which is sure to appeal to historical-fiction and mystery readers alike.
STEPHANIE BUCKLIN (November 28, 2016)
Heart Attack and Vine
Phoef Sutton
Prospect Park Books
Hardcover $24.95 (257pp)
978-1-938849-84-8
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
In this follow-up to Phoef Sutton’s debut, Crush, a novel that Lee Child called “as slick as a switchblade with a pearl handle,” Los Angeles bodyguard and bouncer Caleb Rush, known as Crush, finds himself in the midst of a new mess to unravel.
Rachel Fury, Crush’s old friend and a long-time con artist, returns to Los Angeles with a new name and a new career, that of a powerful movie star. When Rachel hires Crush as a bodyguard, though, Crush is drawn into a world of criminals, secret deals, and violence that will take all of his wits to navigate. Rachel and Crush’s relationship is intriguing and charged: early on, Rachel tells Crush that they are both the “last of a dying breed,” and though they have a history with each other, by the very nature of Rachel’s career, trust is never certain between the two. And yet, to Crush at least, Rachel is reliable and loyal, which makes the connection between the pair even more intriguing. Sutton also delivers unexpected bouts of humor in the midst of the dark, action-packed novel: for instance, Rachel, now a rich and famous movie star, tells Crush that one thing she’s learned in show business is that people should never quit their day job—an amusing prospect, considering Rachel’s conning.
The background on Rachel and Crush’s history, along with Crush’s past, makes up the bulk of the beginning of the novel, but soon the work dives into the unique problems that Rachel’s fame and connections have brought her, including a criminal underbelly that threatens both of their lives. From here, Heart Attack and Vine is relentless in its action, as Crush travels all over trying to protect the woman he is bound to by duty and by his past. Heart Attack and Vine is sure to please readers who enjoy high-stakes thrillers filled with glitz, glamor, and unpredictable femmes fatales.
STEPHANIE BUCKLIN (November 28, 2016)
Enter by the Narrow Gate
David Carlson
Coffeetown Press
Softcover $14.95 (244pp)
978-1-60381-391-4
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
The first of a new series, Enter by the Narrow Gate follows a Detroit police detective and an Orthodox monk as they strive to solve two harrowing new mysteries in Santa Fe. Measured and restrained, the novel’s prose is rich with religious references and imagery, which add to the unique depth of the novel.
Father Fortis is an intelligent, warmhearted Orthodox monk who is troubled to one day hear the news of Sister Anna’s death. The young nun had been murdered at St. Mary’s, a community of monks, in a ritualistic manner, and Father Fortis knows as well as anyone that the nun’s death could destroy St. Mary’s. Meanwhile, his old friend Detective Christopher Worthy, returns to Santa Fe in order to work on a missing-persons case involving a young college student. The two team up in order to work on their respective cases, each drawing from his own strengths in order to advance the investigation.
The rapport between Worthy and Fortis is easy and enjoyable, and the double case ensures that Enter by the Narrow Gate never slows in action. Each man is an outsider to the community—Fortis is only on sabbatical, while Worthy is a Midwesterner who is in Santa Fe only to solve a case. This fact, along with the two men’s histories, provides an additional bond between the unlikely friends as they race to solve each crime before any additional victims are claimed. Enter by the Narrow Gate is ideal for those who value quirky characters and unusual pairings in their detective fiction.
STEPHANIE BUCKLIN (November 28, 2016)
Stephanie Bucklin
