This exquisite story was created first as weekly installments in the Montreal Gazette. Valentine was orphaned at age 7 and raised by her grandmother in an apartment connected to the Montreal Metro system. Now age 24, she works at a Berri-UQAM depanneur. A chance encounter with her doppelganger leads to an adventure with the Russian mafia, a composer and a ballet dancer, and even a musical cricket, and there are stops at Metro stations. O’Neill’s fabulous prose creates a fable-like atmosphere, with beautiful illustrations by daughter Arizona.
Category: Mystery
People Of The Book – Geraldine Brooks
In 1996, an Australian rare book conservator travels to Bosnia to inspect the Sarajevo Haggadah, a 500-year-old book with illuminated Hebrew text. The history of the book is presented as historical fiction: creation in Spain in the late 15th century, rebinding in Vienna in 1844, and preservation from Nazis in World War II. Importantly, there are critical roles for Muslims and Catholics in the history of this book. Mysteries are revealed, with a backdrop of contemporary intrigue. Overall, very entertaining.
Midnight and Blue – Ian Rankin
Amazingly, this is the 25th Rebus novel! The arc of the Rebus character is fascinating, from a detective willing to bend or break rules to a retired Edinburgh cop willing to meddle. Now Rebus is in prison for an attempted murder, and what a surprise, there is the brutal murder of an inmate in a locked cell. And also, a missing persons case is investigated by police colleagues which reveals secrets and rivalries. Simply put, this is a delicious crime thriller by a master writer.
Marble Hall Murders – Anthony Horowitz
Although this book has classical crime fiction tropes, the structure is unique because it is a book within a book. An editor is hired to help an author complete a whodunnit in 1955, but the unfinished manuscript contains clues as to the possible murder of the author’s grandmother. In other words, there are many clues about his grandmother’s death in his manuscript. And there are lots of clues that are red herrings, and there are even anagrams! Overall, a very entertaining read.
The God Of The Woods – Liz Moore
This is a superb thriller. In 1975, a teenager (Barbara) disappears from her Adirondack summer camp. Eerily, Barbara’s older brother vanished from the same camp in 1961. This is an extraordinary story of both investigations, and of course complicating secrets abound. The characters are richly described, both well-meaning (but flawed) people and some dastardly villains. Highly recommended – very entertaining.
Hell And Gone – Sam Weibe
This is a well-crafted thriller that explores Vancouver’s criminal underworld. Dave Wakeland is a PI who witnesses a mass killing in Chinatown. And of course there are many villains: a motorcycle gang, organized crime, and even police corruption. But best of all, the text is riddled with Vancouver references like the Pulpfiction Bookstore. Thanks Amy, for this recommendation.
We Solve Murders – Richard Osman
Osman is the author of the wildly popular Thursday Murder Club series. In his 5th novel, he introduces a new cast of characters: Steve, a retired policeman; his daughter-in-law Amy, a bodyguard; and Rosie, a best-selling author. This unlikely trio investigates money smuggling and murders, in wide-spread places like South Carolina, St. Lucia, Ireland and Dubai (where a murder-broker operates, of course), all while Amy is a target for killing! The plot is very clever: who is the principal villain? And above all, the writing features Osman’s trademark wit – very entertaining.
Death At The Sign Of The Rook – Kate Atkinson
Ms. Atkinson has written a delightful book about Jackson Brodie, her fifth story about the now ex-detective. All the mystery tropes are present: stolen paintings; a murder mystery play at a decrepit estate in a snow storm; and not surprisingly, murders ensue! The writing displays the author’s signature wit: “neither of them could open their mouths without a cliche falling out (p. 14). This is a clever and completely enjoyable read.
The Hunter – Tana French
This brilliant sequel to The Searcher has retired Chicago policeman Cal Hooper trying to live quietly and unobtrusively in a small village in the west of Ireland. The insularity of the village is portrayed perfectly, with suspicion of newcomers. The psychology of the village includes greed when a scam opportunity is introduced, and there is a revenge motive. Although this is a murder mystery, only one death occurs after reading 60% of the book! Ms. French is a sublime writer of crime fiction, and the ending of this book is particularly well-crafted.
What David Read 