‘Guilty Mind’ by Irene Marcuse

Published by Walker & Co, New York, 
1^st June 2001.
ISBN: 978-0-80273354-2(HB)

Anita Servi is a happy woman. She has a loving relationship with her husband and daughter. Her job at Senior Services is situated very close to her daughter Clea’s school and she has an excellent reliable babysitter in Ellen.

When Ellen fails to collect Clea from school, Anita is concerned enough to call round at Ellan’s new apartment to check that she is OK. But Ellen is dead, and the last person to see her alive was Benno, Anita’s husband, and slowly Anita’s happy life begins to crumble.

Evidence points to Benno having an affair with Ellan, although Anita is certain that this is not true. Benno does not deny it, but then he is hardly speaking to anyone. Anita’s mother, with whom she is temporary estranged flies in to provide support, which brings its own problems.

When Anita begins her own investigations at the ESLI, English as a second Language Institute, where Ellen had been a student, Benno’s fingerprints are found on the murder weapon, and he is arrested on suspicion of murder.  And then Anita’s nightmare begins.  For Clea is Anita and Benno’s foster daughter, the adoption not yet finalised, and what will the effect of Bennos arrest for murder have on the proposed adoption of Clea?

Whilst a mystery, this book explores relationships not only of immediate families and extended families but also between different cultures. I found that latter fascinating as Anita attempts to gain information from the students who had known Ellen, all from different cultures. Their individual reactions to questions a stark reminder of the oppression experienced in other countries. It was profoundly insightful and enhanced my enjoyment of the mystery by giving me a lot to think about.

A thought provoking read. Highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Hayes

Irene Marcuse is the granddaughter of social philosopher Herbert Marcuse, an accident of birth that has formed a lot of her life. She has lived all over the United States and worked as a medical technician, long distance telephone operator, house cleaner, waitress, painter and wallpaper hanger, bead stringer, proofreader, and editor before receiving an MSW in social work from Columbia University. Before becoming a full-time writer, Irene was Assistant Director of Morningside Retirement and Health Services.

‘The Treatment’ by Mo Hayder

Published by Bantam Press,
2001.
ISBN: 978-0-593-04542-4 (HB)

Called to a house on the edge of London’s Brockwell Park, DI Jack Caffrey finds a husband and wife, the Peaches, bound and gagged and dehydrated. Since they had been attacked three days earlier neither had seen their seven-year-old son Rory, Jack is convinced that Rory is still in the park which is directly to the back of the house, but despite extensive police searching there is no sign of Rory.

As Jack investigates certain inconsistencies come to light which brings into question the exact circumstances of Rory’s disappearances. Frustrated at the complete lack of any information as to Rory’s whereabouts, sharpens the perpetual pain that Jack lives with over the loss of his brother Ewan, who also disappeared when he was seven years old.

Faced with an investigation with similarities to the disappearances of his own brother, Jack is in danger of losing his objectivity. Although, unlike Rory’s case, Jack is certain it is the convicted paedophile, Ivan Penderecki who kidnapped his brother, and who still lives in the same house opposite.

Runing in tandem with this investigation, is Jack’s relationship with Rebecca, who first appeared in Birdman. Rebecca has still to come to terms with her own demons, whilst trying to understand Jack’s. Also, Jack’s conviction that the abductor will strike again, and will Jack break Ivan and find out at last what happened to his brother.  

There is a strong sense of time running out in this book. The jacket blurb says it is, horrifying, unforgettable, intense, a novel that touches a raw nerve of out darkest imaginings. I could not sum it up better. One of those books you just cannot put down.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Hayes

Mo Hayder  (Clare Dunkel) (January1962- July 2021) was born Clare Damaris Bastin, pen names Mo Hayder and Theo Clare. She left school at fifteen, and worked as a barmaid, security guard, film-maker, an actress and model under the name of Candy Davis, a hostess in a Tokyo club, educational administrator and a teacher of English. She was awarded an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. She is the author of ten novels. She died at the age of 59 after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease. She is survived by her daughter, Lotte, and her husband, Bob.

http://www.mohayder.net/ 

‘Plotted in Cornwall’ by Janie Bolitho

Published by Constable,
29 March 2001.
ISBN: 978-1-84119324-3 (HB)

Two sisters living in a remote farmhouse on Bodmin Moor, commission painter and photographer Rose Trevelyan to paint their portrait.

The book is intriguing from page one. Although I am not as a rule one for long descriptive passages, mainly reading mysteries for the puzzle, I found the description of the bleakness of driving over Bodmin Moor took me straight to Cornwall, but maybe because I lived there for a number of years.

Back home in the fishing community of Newlyn, in South Cornwall, Rose teaching  art at an evening class is asked by one of her students, who shows particular talent and wishes to pursue a career in art to speak to his father on his behalf. Casual conversation elicits the information that two of his closest relatives disappeared over a year ago. When these two relatives prove to have a direct link with the two sisters on Bodmin Moor, Rose’s interest is aroused.

Still vulnerable from the death of her husband, Rose is uncertain how she feels about her sometime lover DI Jack Pearce. With things uneasy between them, Rose pursues her own investigations of the missing relatives and uncovers buried family secrets that lead to murder.

 As Christmas approaches Rose ponders her feelings towards Jack, which are about to become complicated.

An enjoyable book, particularly if, as I have, you have visited all the places mentioned.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Hayes

Janie Bolitho (1950-2002) aka Jodie Sinclair was born in Falmouth, Cornwall. She enjoyed a variety of careers - psychiatric nurse, debt collector, working for a tour operator, a book-maker's clerk - before becoming a full time writer. She died of breast cancer in 2002.

‘Walking With Ghosts’ by John Baker

Published by Orion,
10 August 2000.
ISBN: 978-0-57540248-5 (PB)

When India Blake is kidnapped, her husband pays the ransom, and only contacts the police when she fails to re-appear. The police take little action, until that is, she turns up dead three months later.

Because Edward Blake had recently insured his wife for two and a half million pounds, the insurance company call in PI Sam Turner to investigate. As Sam is trying to spend as much time as possible with his wife Dora, as her life slowly ebbs away. He hands the day to day running of the case over to his colleagues  Geordie and Maria.  As Geordie investigates the people around Edward Blake, his own personal life takes a drastic turn, so too does Maria’s.

The over-riding force in the book though, is Dora. The relationship between her and Sam, the unspoken messages that convey to the reader the strength of their love , and the power of the mind, as Dora reflects on her past, and sees truths that had previously eluded her. The allusions to  Lady Day were particularly poignant, as for me too, Lady Day had slipped away before I ever heard her sing.

Interspersed with the investigation of the death of India Blake, are the changes in the lives of both Geordie and Maria, the flashes into Billy’s life, and Dora’s estranged son who she longs to see.

A terrific book. Highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Hayes

John Baker was born in 1942, in Kingston upon Hull, and educated at Hull University. He worked as a social worker, shipbroker, truck driver, milkman, and most recently in the computer industry. Married to Anna, Norwegian photographer, five children.

Mysteries Set at New Year

ABBOTT, Allyson K	2017	A Toast to Murder
ALDERSON, Jennifer S	2019	Death on the Danube (2019)
BABSON, Marian	1999	Queue Here For Murder/Line Up For Murder
BARNETT, T L	2016	Murder for the New Year
BELLAIRS, George	1950	The Case of the Headless Jesuit / Death Brings in the New Year
BLANC, Nero	2003	A Crossworder's Gift
BRADY, Eileen	2022	Last But Not Leashed
BRAZIL, Paul	2014	Guns of Brixton
BREEN, Jon L	1988	Touch of the Past
BROWN, Rita Mae	2003	Full Cry (2003)
BURKE, Anna Celeste	2016	Gnarly New Year (2016)
CAHOON, Lynn	2019	Have a Deadly New Year
CAIRNS, Alison	2001	New Year Resolution
CHALLINOR C S	2014	Murder at Midnight
CHANG, Henry	2006	Chinatown Beat
	2008	Year of the Dog
	2010	Red Jade
	2014	Death Money
	2017	Lucky
CLEEVES, Ann	2006	Raven Black
COLLINS, Anna Ashwood	1989	Deadly Resolutions
CONNELLY, Michael	2021	The Dark Hours
CORNWELL. Patricia	1996	Cause of Death
COSTELLO, Mark	1997	Bag Man
CRAIG, Alisa	1981	Murder Goes Mumming
CRAWFORD, Isis	2019	A Catered New Years Eve Party
CULLER, M	2022	A New Year's Cat-aclysm
DALEY, Robert	1981	Year of the Dragon
DAY, Maddie	2022	Murder in a Cape Cottage
DEAVER, Jeffery	1999	The Devil's Teardrop
DEXTER, Colin	1986	The Secret of Annexe 3
DICKSON, Carter	1942	The Gilded Man/Death and the Gilded Man
DOBBYN, John F	2007	Neon Dragon
DOUGLAS, Carole Nelson	1998	Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt (1998)
EDWARDS, Emily J	2023	Ticking Clock
ELRODD, D.B.	2021	Murder Again! Happy New Year!
ELLROY, James	2018	The Storm
ESTLEMAN, Loren D	1996	Stress
FARJEON, J Jefferson	1934	Fancy Dress Ball / aka Death in Fancy Dress (1934)
FARMER. Jerrilyn	2000	Dim Sum Dead
FAWCETT, Quin	2003	Siren Song
FOLEY, Lucy	2018	The Hunting Party
FORSYTH, Frederick	1984	The Fourth Protocol
GERRITSEN,  Tess	2011	The Silent Girl
GLEESON, Janet	2002	The Grenadillo Box
GREENWOOD. Kerry	2006	Murder in the Dark
GREGSON, J M	2000	The Lancashire Leopard
HADDAM, Jane	1995	Fountain of Death
HARRIS, Lee	1997	The New Year's Eve Murder
HART, Ellen	1989	Hallowed Murder
	2001	The Merchant of Venus
HART, Roy	1987	Seascape with Dead Figures
HENDERSON, Lauren	2001	Pretty Boy
HILL, Reginald	1997	Killing The Lawyers
HORST, Jorn Lier	2020	Smoke Screen
HINDLE, Tom	2023	The Murder Game
HUTCHISON, Ty	2011	Chop Suey/The Accidental Criminal
JANCE, J A	1995	Name Withheld
KAPPAS, Tonya	2023	New Year Nuisance
KING, Rufus	1941	Holiday Homicide
LIN, Harper	2014	New Year's Slay
LOCKRIDGE, Frances & Richard	1949	The Dishonest Murderer
	1956	Let Dead Enough Alone (1956)
MACADAM, Heather Dune	2022	The Weeping Buddha
MACKINTOSH, Clare	2022	The Last Party
MCBAIN, Ed	1989	Lullaby
MCDOUGAN, Ellie	2022	Homicide and a Happy New Year. Cherryville Book 2
MCLAREN, Philip	2018	Scream Black Murder
MEIER, Leslie	2005	New Year's Eve Murder
MELVILLE, James	1992	The Body Wore Brocade
MEREDITH, David William	1951	The Christmas Card Murders
MOORE, Miriam Ann	1998	Stayin Alive
MYERS, Tamar	2000	A Penny Urned (2000)
OLDHAM, Nick	2013	Bad Tidings
PADURA, Leonardo	1991	Havana Blue
PETERS,  Elizabeth	2002	The Golden One
PHILLIPS, Edward	1981	Sunday's Child
PITTS, Denis	1976	This City Is Ours (1976)
REYES, Raquel V	2023	Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal
RICE, Craig	1941	The Right Murder
ROBERTS, Gillian	1996	The Mummer's Curse
ROZAN. S J	2009	The Shanghai Moon/Trail of Blood
ROBERTS, Gillian	1996	The Mummer's Curse
SAMPLE, Cindy	2010	Dying For A Date
SAYERS, Dorothy L	1934	The Nine Taylors
SHAW, Catherine	2013	Fatal Inheritance
SLATER, Sofia	2022	Auld Acquaintance (1st)
SMITH, Joan	1988	Why Aren't They Screaming
	1990	Don't Leave Me This way
STANLEY, Kelli	2010	City of Dragons
STONE, Kat	2022	New Years Dog-Tastrophe
SUZETTE, Kathleen	2022	New Year, New Murder
TAGGART, MEG		Murder at the Savoy: A Victoria Murder Mystery Romance
TAYLOR, David C	2015	Night Life
TAYLOR, Kathleen	2000	Cold Front
TODD, Charles	2006	A Long Shadow
TOPDJIAN, Carolyn	2022	The Hitman's Daughter
VAN GULIK, Robert	1958	New Year's Eve in Lan-Fang
WALLACE, Auralee	2017	Ring in the Year with Murder (2017)
WARD, Sarah	2023	The Sixth Lie
WENTWORTH, Patricia	1944	The Clock Strikes Twelve
WHITING, J.A.	2020	A Fatal New Year
	2022	The Horse Knows the Way
WOLZEIN, Valerie	1994	Tis the Season to be Murdered. A Lethal New Year
ZISKIN, James W	2015	Stone Cold Dead
ZUBRO, Mark	1997	The Truth Can Get You Killed

‘The Power of Three’ by Laura Lippman

Published by Orion,
2 April 2020.
ISBN: 978-1-40919736-2 (PB)

On an ordinary morning at Glendale High, shots are heard coming from a locked bathroom in the north wing.  It takes the police some time to get to the only conscious girl Josie to open the door, she at first insists that she cannot move but later it appears that her leg wound is mainly superficial. The other two girls are not so lucky, Kat is dead and Perri, who was apparently the shooter is unconscious from a bullet that has ripped through her jaw. Detective Lenhardt uncovers evidence at the scene that suggests that there could have been a fourth person, but that does not tally with the story Josie is telling.

Kat, Perri and Josie have been best friends - virtually inseparable for the last five years. The book takes us back to before the girls first knew each other and narrates their home lives and how their friendship came about. Illustrated by incidents throughout their childhood the characters of each of the girls is slowly and skilfully revealed. The focus of the investigation is more about the complexity of the relationship of these three girls than the actual shooting.

School teacher Alexa is convinced that Eve Mulie has information and is determined to provide the opportunity for Eve to confide in her. Narrated from several points of view the reader is able to sift through the verbal evidence to uncover just why and what did happen between these three girls.

The setting is a suburb of Baltimore, which has been developed mainly by Kat’s father. But there are still some outlying farms the children of which are looked down upon. In all it is quite a fascinating insight into the lives of three teenagers from different backgrounds brought up with different values, that eventually results in tragedy. 
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett

Laura Lippman was a reporter for twenty years, including twelve years at The (Baltimore) Sun. She began writing novels while working full-time and published seven books about "accidental PI" Tess Monaghan before leaving daily journalism in 2001. Her work has been awarded the Anthony, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe and Barry awards. She also has been nominated for other prizes in the crime fiction field, including the Hammett and the Macavity. She was the first-ever recipient of the Mayor's Prize for Literary Excellence and the first genre writer recognized as Author of the Year by the Maryland Library Association. Ms. Lippman grew up in Baltimore and attended city schools through ninth grade. After graduating from Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Md., Ms. Lippman attended Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her other newspaper jobs included the Waco.

‘The Marriage Hearse’ by Kate Ellis

Published by Piatkus,
23 March 2006.
ISBN: 978-0-7499-0783-9 (HB)

Number ten in the Wesley Peterson saga is set‑up exactly as in previous books, a modern mystery set alongside a parallel event hundreds of years ago.

In this case, a local amateur drama group is performing a play by a long dead Tudor playwright whose personal life (and death) mirrors the events taking place in the same village today.

A bride is found strangled in her bedroom as the wedding guests wait at the church for her arrival. The obvious candidate for her murderer is an ex‑boyfriend who has been stalking her, but can it be that simple?

The true motive, which finally emerges after a series of false trials, has been taken, I suspect, from a real-life case some time ago. However, it is a perfectly plausible explanation and one that is not telegraphed along the way.

For regular readers of the series, the big question is, ‘will Wesley at last succumb to the charms of Rachel, his love‑struck sergeant, as a relief from his moaning overworked wife’?  And will his old chum, archaeologist Neil, step in to provide that same wife with the tender loving care that she isn’t getting from her husband who always seems to be out on the job.

Far be it from me to spill the beans except to say events take an unexpected turn and not, perhaps, for the better.

A new Kate Ellis in the Spring makes the long winters bearable.
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Reviewer: Ron Ellis

Kate Ellis was born in Liverpool and studied drama in Manchester. She worked in teaching, marketing, and accountancy before first enjoying writing success as a winner of the North-West Playwrights competition. Crime and mystery stories have always fascinated her, as have medieval history and archaeology, which she likes to incorporate in her books. Kate's novels feature archaeology graduate Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson who fights crime in South Devon.  Each story combines an intriguing contemporary murder mystery with a parallel historical case. She has also written five books in the spooky Joe Plantagenet series set up in North Yorkshire as well as many short stories for crime fiction anthologies and magazines. Kate was elected a member of The Detection Club in 2014. She is a member of the Crime Writers Association, Murder Squad, and Mystery People. She is married with two grown-up sons and she lives in North Cheshire, England, with her husband. 

www.kateellis.co.uk

Ron Ellis. Writer, Broadcaster and Photographer, Ron is the author of the popular series of crime novels set on Merseyside featuring Liverpool radio D.J./Private Eye, Johnny Ace. He also writes the D.C.I. Glass mystery series. As well as his fiction titles, Ron has written 'Southport Faces' a social history of the town seen through the eyes of 48 of its best-known residents. His 'Journal of a Coffin Dodger', the hilarious adventures of an 84 year old playboy, has been serialised on BBC Radio and poems from his collection of poetry, 'Last of the Lake Poets', have won several nationwide competitions. During the 1980's, he conducted over 192 interviews with friends and relatives of John Lennon for Albert Goldman's biography, 'The Lives of John Lennon'. Ron writes the football reports for the Southport Champion and is also their theatre and arts reviewer as well as being a regular contributor to magazines such as Lancashire Life. He runs his own publishing company, Nirvana Books.

‘The Man Who Smiled’ by Henning Mankell'

Published by Harvill Press,
1 September 2005.
ISBN: 978-1-843430988 (HB)

At the opening of this book Inspector Kurt Wallander has been off work for some months. Unable to come to terms with the killing of a man in a previous investigation, Kurt had initially turned to alcohol which has in turn spiralled into depression. Pondering his future, he can see no other option than to quit the police force. Once this decision is made he feels better, and so, when an old acquaintance turns up where he is holidaying in Denmark, asking him to investigate the death of his father in a car crash which he believes to have been murder, Kurt is unmoved by the friends plight and says he cannot help him.

Returning to Eastah to finalise his retirement from the force, Kurt is shocked to learn that the friend who sought his help has been found shot dead in his office. The news acts as a catalyst and Kurt returns to work and takes charge of the case. The death in a car crash of the elderly solicitor has been filed as an accidental death but now Kurt is certain that it was murder, but with what motive. Both father and son were most conservative solicitors, the father had during the last few years had only a handful of clients, dealing mainly with financial matters. But as they sift through the files, they find some threatening letters and before long Kurt is pursuing several lines of enquiry.

Painstakingly following the tenuous leads Kurt becomes convinced that a most powerful businessman is the link between the deaths but finds it difficult to convince his superiors that an eminent Swedish businessman could be a criminal, and so Kurt goes out on a limb. But he is being watched by the killer who intends to get him first.

This is an early entry in the series and if I had hoped that Kurt Wallander was maybe a little lighter of spirit when he was younger - well it just shows how wrong you can be.  As with the other books in this series the story is compelling and powerful, as is the author's portrayal of the dour introspective police officer.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Hayes

Henning Mankell (1948-2015) was born in Stockholm. He became a worldwide phenomenon with his, gripping thrillers. His prize-winning and critically acclaimed Inspector Wallander Mysteries have featured in bestseller lists all over the globe for many years. His books have been translated into over forty languages and made into numerous international film and television adaptations: most recently the BAFTA-award-winning BBC television series Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh. Mankell devoted much of his free time to working with Aids charities in Africa, where he was also director of the Teatro Avenida in Maputo. In 2008, the University of St Andrews conferred Henning Mankell with an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in recognition of his major contribution to literature and to the practical exercise of conscience. Following his diagnosis in 2014, Mankell wrote a number of articles on his battle with cancer until his death in October 2015.

www.henningmankell.co.uk

‘The Dark Backward’ by Julia Buckley

Published by Midnight Ink,
8 June 2006.
ISBN: 0-7387-0826-7

When Lily Caldwell died, she didn’t float above herself, or see a bright light or walk down a tunnel - she saw the face of her murderer. Unfortunately, when the doctors brought her back to life no one believed her. For she had identified Governor Robert ‘Nob’ Stevens as the murderer of her partner Danny Donovan and the attempted murder of herself. She didn’t blame anyone for not believing her and for Chief Pulizzi for firing her from the police force, but she did blame Grayson Caldwell for not sticking by her.

Thirty years old and jobless, Lily Caldwell sets out to prove Nob Stevens is a killer. She has just one piece of knowledge that the shooting had given her the name of a girl she didn’t know, a teacher who’d been dead for seventeen years: Emily Martin.

Told from multiple points of view the book switches effortlessly between the main characters, sending the story along at a cracking pace. Although we know the name of the perpetrator from the outset, there is of course a deep secret at the heart of the story, which as Lily nears puts her in the gravest danger from someone who must keep this secret at all costs.

A good mystery. Recommended.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Hayes

Julia Buckley is a Chicago author and teacher. Her published series include the Writer’s Apprentice mysteries, the Undercover Dish mysteries, the first in the Teddy Thurber series, and the Madeline Mann mysteries. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and the Chicago Writer’s Association. Julia lives with her husband. Visit Julia at her website,

JuliaBuckley.com

‘Primitive Secrets’ by Deborah Turrell Atkinson

Published by Poisoned Pen Press,
1 October 2002.
ISBN: 978-1-59058017-2

When Storm Kayama discovers the body of her adopted uncle Miles Hamasaki dead at his desk in his Honolulu law firm, she is devastated. Although brought up with his own family, Storm is dismayed to find that the questions surrounding her uncle’s death quickly show up cracks in the family structure particularly towards her. Suddenly she is an outsider.

Feeling somewhat shaken by both the death of Hamasaki and the rift with the family she always considered herself to be part of Storm decided to visit her aunt and uncle who live on the Big Island. En route she is almost driven off the road and only narrowly escapes death. Whilst on the island she accompanies her aunt, a traditional Hawaiian healer to find some special herbs. While on the mountain she is separated from her aunt and has a weird experience, which on recounting to her aunt, she is told is a legend from her youth. 

Set in Honolulu and invoking the islands legends, the story is about money and greed. But whose greed? As Storm seeks to discover her uncle’s killer, she is uncertain as to whether she can even trust the people she has considered her family for so long. And so, she seeks not only justice for her uncle but to discover just exactly who she is. A good mystery with a climatic confrontation.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Hayes

Deborah Turrell Atkinson's mysteries portray an insider's view of Hawaii, a perspective the tour books never show. Featuring attorney Storm Kayama, the novels lead the reader off the beaten trail and expose not only the dark side of human nature, but the legends and folklore of the islands and the unique vulnerability of living on an island chain. Debby lives in Honolulu, Hawaii, with her husband and their two teenage sons. A recipient of the University of Hawaii's Meryl Clark Award for Fiction, she is a graduate of the University of Michigan.