‘Death Notes’ by Sarah Rayne

Published by Severn House,
30 September 2016.
ISBN: 978-0727886606

 Death Notes introduces Phineas Fox, a professional music researcher. When offered a commission researching the life of gifted musician Roman Volf, for a TV documentary, Phineas is unenthusiastic. Despite his agent’s entreaty of ‘Highly Prestigious’ Phineas doesn’t want it.   Roman Volf, says Phineas, may have been a gifted musician but he was also a villain, a womanizer, and he was hanged for helping to assassinate a Russian tsar.  But the mention of a generous fee has Phineas musing on his recent move to a large and expensive flat and reluctantly he agrees to take the commission.

His initial investigations turn up an article by Russian journalist Feofil Marknov stating that Roman Volf was a virtuoso violinist, charismatic and brilliant.  It refer to his Pied Piper style exultant midnight march of the rebels across the Pevchesky bridge, two days after the Tsar’s death. But most of the references he finds focus on Roman’s part in the assassination in March 1881. Mindful of the TV element Phineas feels this Pied Piper march would make a dramatic reconstruction and consults many books to try and track down more of this exploit and eventually finds further reference in another article by Marknov.   After burrowing through many dusty bookshops and equally dusty tomes Phineas finds Lost Buildings of Old Russia and there he strikes gold. His discovery sends him seeking the Skomorokh Theatre and its exact location.

As Phineas pursues his investigations he begins to believe that Roman Volf could have been innocent and was executed for something he didn't do. And what of Roman’s descendants, if any?

Following the trail takes him to the west coast of Ireland and the quiet village of Kilcarne, where he finds mystery upon mystery, reaching from 1881 to the present day.

There are multiple strands and interesting characters: Beatrice still grieving for her daughter and husband andliving in an isolated cottage; The reclusive Maxim Volf; and interspersed throughout the narrative extracts from music hall entertainer Mortimer Quince’s diary.

In this fascinating multi-layered novel, Sarah Rayne weaves a fascinating tale with many twists and turns that had me eagerly turning the pages to  see how the story would unravel. I loved this enthralling book and look forward to the next in the series.

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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett

Sarah Rayne's first novel was published in 1982, and for several years she juggled writing books with working in property, pounding an elderly typewriter into the small hours in order to meet deadlines.  Much of the inspiration for her dark psychological thrillers comes from the histories and atmospheres of old buildings, a fact that is strongly apparent in many of her settings - Mortmain House in A Dark Dividing, Twygrist Mill in Spider Light, and the Tarleton Theatre in Ghost Song.  She has written more than 25 books to date, and her work has met with considerable acclaim, with Tower of Silence being long-listed for the 2005 Theakston's Award. Her books are also published in America, as well as having been translated into German, Dutch, Russian and Turkish.  In 2011 she published the first of a series of ghost-themed books, featuring the Oxford don, Michael Flint, and the antiques dealer, Nell West, who made their debut in Property of a Lady. Several years ago Sarah also wrote six contemporary horror books, originally under the pen-name of Frances Gordon .

www.sarahrayne.co.uk
https://sarahrayneblog.wordpress.com/
www.facebook.com/SarahRayneAuthor
www.youtube.com/user/SarahRayneAuthor

‘The Mermaid’s Scream’ by Kate Ellis

Published by Piatkus/Little, Brown
2 February 2017.
ISBN: 978-0-349-41309-9

The twenty first book in the Wesley Peterson series is as fascinating and unputdownable as the first one I read. 

As with all the books in this series there are two crimes running in tandem. One a current mystery, and one set centuries before. In this story we are first privy to an extract from the journal of John Lipton set in April 1884. We then move forward to August 2016, when we meet Zac Wilkinson who is writing a biography of Wynn Staniland, a legend in the literary world, who suddenly become a recluse in the 1980s.

Meanwhile DI Wesley Peterson is called to the unexplained poisoning of a middle-aged couple at a local caravan park.  Was this suicide? Then Zac Wilkinson is found murdered, and Wesley finds a link between the dead couple and Wynn Staniland.

Interspersed with the journals of John Lipton and Mary Field, we follow Wesley’s investigation as he attempts to unravel the mystery surrounding recluse Wynn Staniland.  Sinister puppets who made my blood run cold make an appearance! But they maybe to someone’s taste, but not mine.

Wesley’s university friend archaeologist Neil Watson is excited when he is offered money to organise a dig at a ruin that has been bought by an American. The guy says he wants to rebuild the place and turn it into a hotel but Neil is uneasy as the American seems to have a personal agenda which looks more like an obsession.

I hesitate to spoil anything for anyone who has not followed this series, but feel that it is part of the story to say that things are, as one expects in life, moving along.  Wesley and his wife Pam are dealing with a problem that manifested itself in the last book. DCI Gerry Heffernam, he of the crocodile smile, has an unexpected development in his life, and DS Rachel Tracy is still on the brink of marriage – Will she, Won’t she?

In this complex, clever and intricately plotted  novel Kate Ellis again presents a fascinating mystery that frighteningly mirrors the past, and produces solutions to long forgotten puzzles. Most highly recommended.

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 Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett

Kate Ellis was born in Liverpool and she 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. She is married with two grown up sons and she lives in North Cheshire, England, with her husband.
Kate's novels feature archaeology graduate Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson who fights crime in the "mean streets" (or should it be "mean lanes"?) of 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 and Murder Squad. Kate is currently working on her twenty first Wesley Peterson novel.

Visit her at www.kateellis.co.uk

‘Under the Harrow’ by Flynn Berry

Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 

9 February 2017.
ISBN: 978-147460509-0

Nora, an aspiring author, boards a train at London’s Paddington Station, bound for the village of Winshaw in Oxfordshire to visit her sister Rachel.  During the journey, Nora reminisces about their recent holiday in Polperro, Cornwall, and looks forward to the weekend they will spend together.  Her musings suggest that the siblings share a warm, intimate and honest relationship. 

A fairly unremarkable opening to the book, one might think, but the first chapter began on a more sinister note with a brief paragraph about a woman in the East Riding of Yorkshire who has gone missing and the report’s possible, but as yet unexplained, impact on Rachel. This snippet of information is almost lost in Nora’s train-ride meditations, but its chill, dark fog infiltrates the text and prefigures the dreadful moment when, at her journey’s end, Nora finds Rachel’s murdered corpse.

Under the Harrow is the perfect title for a novel with a vicious beginning that consequently triggers psychological and emotional anguish.  Rachel’s barbarous and bloody murder is literally harrowing.  The investigation into her death proceeds to devastate those who loved and knew her, as their lives are disrupted,dissected and exposed to scrutiny.  Nora’s first person narration encourages the reader to share, andempathise with, the shock, disbelief and growing anger she experiences after she makes her gruesomediscovery.  Gradually, however, the search for Rachel’s killer reveals the complexity of the relationshipbetween the two sisters, and the storyteller’s temprament and veracity are frequently thrown into doubt.  The immediacy of the narrative is enhanced by the author’s skillful use of the present tense throughout much of the story. One is never quite sure who to believe, alibis are scrutinised and found wanting, and the book keeps the reader guessing until its unexpected and satisfying ending. 

Flynn Berry has written a debut novel that is thrilling, engaging and highly enjoyable.

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Reviewer: Dorothy Marshall-Gent

Flynn Berry is a graduate of the Michener Center and has been awarded a Yaddo residency. She graduated from Brown University. Under the Harrow is her first novel.

http://www.flynnberry.com/

Dot Marshall-Gent worked in the emergency services for twenty years first as a police officer, then as a paramedic and finally as a fire control officer before graduating from King’s College, London as a teacher of English in her mid-forties.  She completed a M.A. in Special and Inclusive Education at the Institute of Education, London and now teaches part-time and writes mainly about educational issues.  Dot sings jazz and country music and plays guitar, banjo and piano as well as being addicted to reading mystery and crime fiction.  

'The Jealous Kind’ by James Lee Burke

Published by Orion Fiction,
26 January 2017.
ISBN: 978-1-4091-6349-7

There is no question in my mind that James Lee Burke is one of the two or three finest writers currently practising in the United States.  His style is lyrical, almost poetical.  His ability to create character is phenomenal.  No-one can set a scene with such powerfully evocative prose or depict an atmosphere in such exquisitely compelling language. 

In The Jealous Kind, he has produced a darkly realistic novel of love, hate, fear and danger.  So much so that I had to put the book down for several days in order to draw breath and let go of the terror it temporarily inspired in me.  All of us were once young and uncertain and experiencing our first love.  Many of us have felt helpless at the ruthless hands of bullies richer and more powerful than we ever aspired to be. Luckily, almost none of us has had to face the Mob and its black ramifications, as does 17-year-old Aaron Holland Broussard when he gets on the wrong side of Grady Harrelson, a rich kid who considers himself entitled to take what he pleases out of life.  Only as the book progresses does Burke begin to unpeel the layers of his protagonists and show us a different side to them. 

This multi-layered novel is set in Houston and Galveston in Texas, in 1952, during the Korean War, though this background impacts only slightly (though nonetheless significantly) on the action. Despite the bleakness of Lee Burke's vision, he skilfully evokes those times with descriptions of the music, the cars, the teenage fashions, the hairstyles of the day.   

It should be obvious that I am a huge fan of James Lee Burke and have read a large amount of his work, especially the Dave Robichaux stories.  This one, the sixth in the Holland series, is a murkier and more morally serious than his previous books.  Don't miss it, whatever you do. 

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Reviewer: Susan Moody

James Lee Burke is the author of many previous novels, many featuring Detective Dave Robicheaux. He won the Edgar Award in 1998 for Cimarron Rose, while Black Cherry Blues won the Edgar in 1990 and Sunset Limited was awarded the CWA Gold Dagger in 1998. He lives with his wife, Pearl, in Missoula, Montana and New Iberia, Louisiana.

jamesleeburke.com

Susan Moody was born in Oxford is the principal nom de plume  of Susan Elizabeth Donaldson, née Horwood, a British novelist best known for her suspense novels. She is a former Chairman of the Crime Writer's Association, served as World President of the International Association of Crime Writers, and was elected to the prestigious Detection Club. Susan Moody has given numerous courses on writing crime fiction and continues to teach creative writing in England, France, Australia, the USA and Denmark.  In addition to her many stand alone books, Susan has written two series, on featuring PI Penny Wanawake (seven books) and a series of six books featuring bridge player Cassie Swan.