'Raiders of the Nile' by Steven Saylor

Published by Constable,
2 April 2015.
ISBN 978-1-4721-0197-6

Steven Saylor was one of the first to write a series set in Ancient Rome.  He published Roman Blood in 1991 and followed it with about a dozen books taking the series from 80BC to 46BC.  In 2012 he wrote a prequel about the eighteen year old Gordianus (his detective known as Gordianus the Finder).  Raiders of the Nile  follows on that prequel and is set in 88BC when Gordianus had reached the age of twenty two.  He is living in Alexandria with his Egyptian slave Bethesda with whom he is besotted.

On his birthday Gordianus takes Bethesda out into the town and she disappears while they are at a play, where they have seen an actress, Axiothea, with an uncanny resemblance to Bethesda.  The actress's patron receives a ransom demand for her from the gang of the Cuckoo's Child who are presumed to be keeping her in their lair in the dangerous Nile Delta - the Cuckoo's Nest.  In fact they have kidnapped the wrong girl - Bethesda.

Gordianus's desire for a quiet life is thwarted, he must track down the kidnappers to get her back before they realise that she is not who they think she is.  The book begins with our hero participating in a raid to steal the golden sarcophagus of Alexander the Great - not because he wants to but because he has joined these brigands in order to find Bethesda.

The rich tapestry that Saylor provides really illuminates the world of Egypt at that time when civil war seemed imminent.  All the small details of life help one's understanding of the era - Bethesda and Gordianus speak Greek together as that is the only language they have in common, breakfast is hot farina cooked with goat's milk and mashed dates eaten with bread,  The ambience is very much a Geek and Egyptian one not Roman.

As always there are many twists and turns on Gordianus's quest making this an exciting adventure story in which things are not always what they seem.
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Reviewer: Jennifer S. Palmer
As I have already indicated there are many other stories about Gordianus the Finder and there are other novels about Rome.

Steven Saylor was born in Texas in 1956 and graduated with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied history and Classics. He divides his time between homes in Berkeley, California, and Austin, Texas. "If I could have another home," he says, "it would definitely be in London, my favourite big city in the world." When not using his brain, he likes to keep in shape running, swimming, and lifting weights.

Steven's books have been published in 21 languages, and book tours have taken him across the United States, England, and Europe. He has appeared as an expert on Roman life on The History Channel, and has spoken at numerous college campuses, The Getty Villa, and the International Conference on the Ancient Novel.

Jennifer Palmer Throughout my reading life crime fiction has been a constant interest; I really enjoyed my 15 years as an expatriate in the Far East, the Netherlands & the USA but occasionally the solace of closing my door to the outside world and sitting reading was highly therapeutic. I now lecture to adults on historical topics including Famous Historical Mysteries.

‘A Study in Murder’ by Robert Ryan

Published by Simon & Schuster,
8 October 2015.
ISBN: 978-1-4711-3508-8 (PB)

At the start of the First World War, Dr John Watson re-enlisted to act as an army doctor in the trenches. Now a Major and a prisoner-of-war, Watson's age means that he should be released into a neutral country for the duration of the war. However, an old enemy of Holmes and Watson uses his power in the German army to block Watson's release and send him to one of the harshest prisoner-of-war camps deep in German territory.

Back in Britain, Watson's 'friend' Mrs Gregson is working tirelessly behind the scenes of the Secret Service to enable Watson's release and, of course, in the background, there is the shadowy figure of Sherlock Holmes, who is never quite as retired as he appears to be.

The Allied blockade has led to severe food shortages and when a new prisoner-of-war is murdered it is assumed that he was killed for his Red Cross parcel. However Watson has been Sherlock Holmes' companion for a long while and his instincts tell him that the true motive for the murder is very different and much more sinister. Watson decides to investigate, even though this involves grave risk to his own life.

Study in Murder is the third in the series of Dr Watson thrillers. It brings to vivid life the privations of life in a German prisoner-of-war camp, mixed with scenes of life and dangers in London in 1917.  Watson is shown as a strong and honourable man, capable of conducting an investigation in his own right. The story is complex and might be easier to follow if one had read the two preceding Dr Watson books (Dead Man's Land and The Dead Can Wait.) However A Study in Murder is an interesting and involving book in its own right.

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Reviewer:  by Carol Westron

Robert Ryan was born in Liverpool and moved south to attend university. He graduated from Brunel with a M.Sc. in Environmental Pollution Science, intending to go into teaching. Instead, he spent two years as a mechanic for a Hot Rod team, racing highly tuned Fords (“the fag-end of motorsport”, as Bernie Ecclestone calls it) where he became addicted to the smell of Castrol R. Weaning himself off that, he became a lecturer in Natural Sciences in Kent, while dabbling in journalism. His articles on comic (or graphic novels as they were just becoming known) gurus Alan Moore and Frank Miller found their way into Nick Logan’s The Face magazine, which led to work for the American edition of GQ, The Guardian, Sunday Times, Telegraph and Arena. Eventually he took a position on staff at The Sunday Times as Deputy Travel Editor. It was while on assignment in Seattle that he came across the setting for his first novel, Underdogs – the ‘lost’ city beneath the sidewalks of downtown – that was called ‘Alice in Wonderland meets Assault on Precinct 13’ by Esquire. He continues to contribute to The Sunday Times. He lives in North London with his wife, three children, a dog and a deaf cat.

Carol Westron is a successful short story writer and a Creative Writing teacher.  She is the moderator for the cosy/historical crime panel, The Deadly Dames.  Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times.  The Terminal Velocity of Cats is the first in her Scene of Crimes novels, was published July 2013. Her second book About the Children was published in May 2014.

www.carolwestron.com

‘Crash and Burn’ by Lisa Gardner

Published by Headline,
16 July 2015.
ISBN: 978-1-4722-2026-4

I've been a fan of Lisa Gardner's since I read The Perfect Husband, a creepy tale of a vengeful husband and a woman who fights back.  Crash And Burn, her most recent offering, starts with what might seem a well-used plot and quickly turns it into something much more sinister. 

I was gripped from the very first paragraph.  A woman called Nicky wakes from severe concussion in hospital.  She has suffered a horrific car accident which she only survives because of the desperate adrenalin-fuelled need to find a child called Vero who was in the car with her.  Or was she?  Is Nicky who she thinks she is?  Is Michael Frank, the man sitting beside her hospital bed, really her husband?    

We learn that Nicky has a drink problem. Or does she?  That she has had two other concussive accidents in the past six months.  That she has no family other than her husband. That she and Michael move constantly from town to town and house to house. And still she has to find Vero, the missing child, though the police in charge of the case – Detectives Wyatt Foster and Kevin Santos – can find no trace of one at the crash site.  And then the husband reveals that there is no child, there never has been.  The reader will find it incredibly difficult to put this book down until the very last page as revelation and obfuscation pile themselves one on top of the other and reality seems to change from moment to moment. 

           

But what is reality?  Are there different of truth?   Gardner seizes our attention while she skilfully winds her plot tighter and tighter.  I've read The Perfect Husband several times, not something I do very often with a crime novel.  I shall probably be doing the same with Crash & Burn.

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Reviewer: Susan Moody

Lisa Gardner, New York Times crime thriller novelist, began her career in food service, but after catching her hair on fire numerous times, she took the hint and focused on writing instead. A self-described research junkie, her work as a research analyst for an international consulting firm parlayed her interest in police procedure, cutting edge forensics and twisted plots into a streak of internationally bestselling suspense novels.

http://lisagardner.com

Susan Moody was born and brought up in Oxford.  She has published over 30 crime and suspense novels, including the Penny Wanawake series and the Cassandra Swann bridge series.  She is a past Chairman of the British Crime Writers' Association, a member of the Detection Club, a past Writer-in-Residence at the University of Tasmania and a past President of the International Association of Crime Writers.  She divides her time between south-west France and south-east Kent.   Nominated for the CWA short story award.  Nominated for the RNA's award. 

The First Man by Xavier-Marie Bonnot

Translated from the French by Justin Phipps

Published by Maclehose Press,
21 July 2015.
ISBN: 978-0-85705-394-7

This is a truly fascinating book, dealing as it lavishly does with the vestiges of primitive man, underwater caves, prehistoric wall paintings and paleolithic rituals.  The plot centres round a pair of insane  homicidal twins who were apprehended and locked up nine years earlier: now one of them, Thomas Autran, has somehow escaped and is setting out to restore his vision of a purer cleaner period, as lived in the very first ages of man in primitive times, thousands of years ago.  

But this is by no means an historical novel, though the author clearly knows his prehistory  and is eager to share it with the reader in a manner both lively and informative.  Set in present-day Marseilles, the tension builds as people are brutally murdered, clues in the form  of severed finger are left for the police to find and the detective forces close in on their  elusive quarry. 

The ending comes as a relief, at least to this reader, though, like an earthquake, it is followed  by a series of aftershocks.  Definitely recommended.

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Reviewer: Susan Moody

Xavier-Marie Bonnot  has a PhD in History and Sociology, and two Masters degrees in History and French Literature. He is the author of The First Fingerprint and The Beast of the Camargue.

Justin Phipps is a British translator who translates from French and Russian into English. After studying modern languages and social anthropology, he has worked in overseas development and more recently as a solicitor specialising in employment law.

Susan Moody was born and brought up in Oxford.  She has published over 30 crime and suspense novels, including the Penny Wanawake series and the Cassandra Swann bridge series.  She is a past Chairman of the British Crime Writers' Association, a member of the Detection Club, a past Writer-in-Residence at the University of Tasmania and a past President of the International Association of Crime Writers.  She divides her time between south-west France and south-east Kent.   Nominated for the CWA short story award.  Nominated for the RNA's award.