MYSTERIES in PARADISE

Crime Fiction Alphabet: the summary U - Z

2011-07-21T09:00:00.034+09:30

This year's edition of the Crime Fiction Alphabet is now completed and this week I've published four summary posts. Many thanks to all the participants!

By Friday of each week participants had to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week which was displayed each Monday.
[Those who intended to participate regularly signed up here.]

Their post had to be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname. There was lots of choice: a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fitted the rules somehow. Sometimes participants interpreted the rules very laterally, particularly with "difficult" letters.

We used Mr Linky to display participants' posts, and in most weeks there were 12 to 16 participants.

Below are the Mr Linky links for U-Z. The summary list for the 26 weeks: Crime Fiction Alphabet
Already published

Letter U

1. Mysteries and More ("U" is for Arthur Upfield
2. Margaret@BooksPlease - Nicola Upson
3. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Unseen by Nancy Bush
4. The Game's Afoot - U is for Unamuno, Miguel de Unamuno

5. Bev@My Reader's Block (Arthur W Upfield)
6. U is for 3 books by Marie Jungstedt (kerrie)
7. Yvette @ in so many words...
8. Tipping My Fedora: U is for UNNATURAL DEATH by Dorothy L Sayers

9. Mystery Bookshelf (Lisa Unger)
10. FleurFisher (U is for Unburied)

Letter V

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - The Visitant by K. O. Gear and W. M. Gear
2. Mysteries and More (Voodoo River by Robert Crais)
3. Margaret@BooksPlease - Val McDermid:Cleanskin
4. The Game's Afoot - V is for Villar, Domingo Villar

5. Bernadette - V is for Victoria (the bit of Australia not the Queen)
6. Tipping My Fedora: V is for THE VIKING FUNERAL by Stephen J. Cannell
7. MiP: V is for Vargas
8. Bev@My Reader's Block (Voyage into Violence)

9. Tipping My Fedora: V is for SOLOMON'S VINEYARD by Jonathan Latimer
10. Yvette@ in so many words...V is for VERSE OF THE VAMPYRE
11. Violette (Brenda Rickman Vantrease)
12. Crime Watch - V is for Vanda

Letter W

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - What Bloody Man is That? by Simon Brett
2. Mysteries and More ("W" is for Who is Inger Ash Wolfe?)
3. Craig - W is for THE WINDSOR CONSPIRACY by Kiwi/Aussie author Mike Ponder
4. Margaret@BooksPlease - The Blood Detective by Dan Waddell
5. The Game's Afoot - W is for Wahlöö, Per Wahlöö

6. Bernadette - W is for Walking the Dog
7. MiP- THE WRECKAGE, Michael Robotham
8. FleurFisher (W is for Written in Blood)
9. ISOT Classic Mystery - The Worm of Death by Nicholas Blake
10. Dorte: W is for the Whole Wide World

11. Tipping My Fedora: W is for WOBBLE TO DEATH by Peter Lovesey
12. Mystery Bookshelf (Heather Webber)
13. Bev@My Reader's Block (Patricia Wentworth)
14. Yvette @ in so many words...Letter W is for THE WOLVES OF WILLOUGHBY CHASE

Letter X

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - X is for Xenophobia
2. Bev@My Reader's Block (Ye Xin)
3. Mysteries and More ("X" is for Qui Xiaolong)
4. Margaret@BooksPlease - X is for X, Y, Z by Anna Katherine Green
5. Crime Watch - X is for (IN) XTREMIS by David McGill
6. The Game's Afoot - X is for Xiaolong

7. Dorte: X is for XL
8. MiP - Suspect X
9. FleurFisher (The Expendable Man)
10. Mystery Bookshelf (Xiu Xinran)
11. Mysteries and More ("X" is for Xiaolong's Death of a Red Heroine
12. Yvette @ in so many words - X is for Xenobiotic

13. Mysteries and More ("X" is for Qui Xiaolong's A Case for Two Cities
14. Tipping My Fedora: X is for X v. REX by Philip MacDonald
15. ISOT Classic Mystery - The Tragedy of X by Barnaby Ross
16. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Speak For the Dead by Margaret Yorke
17. Violette@Mystery Bookshelf (Suzanne Young)

Letter Y

1. Tipping My Fedora: Y is for … YOU’D BETTER BELIEVE IT by Bill Jame
2. Bev@My Reader's Block (Joyce Yarrow)
3. Margaret@BooksPlease - Margaret Yorke, Intimate Kill
4. The Game's Afoot - Y is for Yrsa, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

5. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Speak For the Dead by Margaret Yorke
6. Crime Watch - Y is for Yvonne E. Walus's MURDER @ PLAY
7. Mysteries and More (Bone Valley by Claire Matturro)
8. FleurFisher ( Y is for You are a Gongedip !)

9. Crime Watch - Forever young or aging (un)gracefully
10. MiP - Y is for Australian author Felicity Young
11. Dorte: Y is for Youngsters

Letter Z

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Z is for Ziti and Other Delicious Food
2. The Game's Afoot - Z is for Zeltserman, Dave Zeltsermanttir
3. Bev@My Reader's Block (Carlos Ruiz Zafón)
4. Mysteries and More ("Z" is for Mark Zuehlke)
5. Margaret@BooksPlease - Z is for Zouroudi

6. Crime Watch - Z is for Zirk Van Den Berg's NOBODY DIES
7. FleurFisher - Z is for Zouroudi
8. Bernadette - Z is for Zeitgeist
9. Dorte: Z is for Zed Alley # 1
10. Tipping My Fedora: Z is for Michael Bar-Zohar's THE THIRD TRUTH

11. MiP - ASHES TO WATER, Irene Ziegler
12. Yvette - Letter Z is for ZUGZWANG
13. Tipping My Fedora: Z is for Fred Zackel's COCAINE AND BLUE EYES

Crime Fiction Alphabet: the summary N - T

2011-07-20T08:00:00.002+09:30

This year's edition of the Crime Fiction Alphabet is now completed and this week I'll publish four summary posts .

By Friday of each week participants had to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week which was displayed each Monday.
[Those who intended to participate regularly signed up here.]

Their post had to be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname. There was lots of choice: a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fitted the rules somehow. Sometimes participants interpreted the rules very laterally, particularly with "difficult" letters.

We used Mr Linky to display participants' posts, and in most weeks there were 12 to 16 participants.

Below are the Mr Linky links for N-T. The summary list for the 26 weeks: Crime Fiction Alphabet
Already published

Letter N

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers
2. Margaret@BooksPlease - a number of Ns
3. Fleur Fisher (N is for Not to be Taken)
4. Bernadette - N is for New Zealand
5. Tipping My Fedora: N is for NINE TIMES NINE by Anthony Boucher
6. Mystery Bookshelf (Julia Navarro)

7. Yvette - N is for Nero Wolfe
8. gautami tripathy--N or M? by Agatha Christie
9. Crime Watch (Craig) - N is for Neil Giles' A CASE OF IMMUNITY
10. MiP-N or M?
11. Mysteries and More (Red Square by Edward Topol and Fridrikh Neznansky)
12. The Game's Afoot - N is for Nesbo, Jo Nesbo

13. Dorte: N is for Niels and for Nerds
14. Tipping My Fedora: N is for Now You See It (1995) by Richard Matheson
15. ISOT Classic Mystery - The Nine Wrong Answers by John Dickson Carr
16. Bev@My Readers Block (Simon Nash)

Letter O

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Outbreak by Robin Cook
2. Bernadette - O is for Old People
3. Bev@My Reader's Block (Anthony Oliver)
4. Margaret@BooksPlease - One Good Turn
5. FleurFisher (O is for Other)

6. Dorte: O is for Order
7. gautami tripathy--One, Two, Buckle my Shoe by Agatha Christie
8. The Game's Afoot - O is for Orsi, Guillermo Orsi
9. Mysteries and More (One Fearful Yellow Eye by John D. MacDonald
10. O is for OVERKILL by Vanda Symon (Crime Watch)

11. Tipping My Fedora: O for OBELISTS AT SEA by C. Daly King
12. Mystery Bookshelf (Sister Carol Anne O'Marie)
13. MiP-ORIGINAL FACE, Nicholas Jose
14. ISOT Classic Mystery - On The Wrong Track by Steve Hockensmith
15. Tipping My Fedora - O is for ORIGIN OF EVIL by Ellery Queen

Letter P

1. Fleur Fisher (P is for Potts)
2. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist: Poirot Loses a Client by Agatha Christie
3. Tipping My Fedora: P is for PIGEON ENGLISH by Stephen Kelman
4. Bernadette - P is for Politicians
5. Bev@My Reader's Block (Caro Peacock)
6. Margaret@BooksPlease - The Private Patient by P D James

7. The Game's Afoot - P is for Padura, Leonardo Padura
8. Crime Watch: Prescription for Danger
9. ISOT Classic Mystery - The Punch and Judy Murders by Carter Dickson
10. Yvette (P is for Poirot)
11. MiP: P is for PRIME CUT, Alan Carter
12. Dorte: P is for Prison

13. Tipping My Fedora: P is for PUZZLE FOR PLAYERS by Patrick Quentin
14. Mysteries and More ("P" is for Louise Penny)
15. raidergirl3(Louise Penny)
16. Mystery Bookshelf(Richard North Patterson)
17. Tipping My Fedora: P is for Polygamy and Poodle Springs

Letter Q

1. Bernadette - Q is for Quantico (again)
2. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - The French Powder Mystery by Ellery Queen
3. Margaret@BooksPlease - A Question of Blood
4. The Game's Afoot - Q” is for Quartey, Kwei Quartey
5. Tipping My Fedora: Q is for QUILLER MEMORANDUM by Adam Hall

6. Fleur Fisher (A Question of Proof)
7. Yvette - Q is for Quincy
8. Kerrie - Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton
9. Bev@My Reader's Block (Queen of the Flowers)
10. Dorte: Q is for Quest

11. Tipping My Fedora: Q is for A QUEER KIND OF DEATH by George Baxt
12. Mysteries and More (The Quick Red Fox by John D. MacDonald
13. Violette@Mystery Bookshelf(Amanda Quick)
14. ISOT Classic Mystery Novel - The Player on the Other Side by Ellery Queen

Letter R

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Redback by Lindy Cameron
2. Mysteries and More ("R" is for Keith Raffel)
3. Margaret@BooksPlease -Ruth Rendell
4. The Game's Afoot - "R” is for Russell, Craig Russell
5. Tipping My Fedora: R is for RIDE THE NIGHTMARE by Richard Matheson

6. Bernadette - R is for religious cults
7. ISOT Classic Mystery - The Roman Hat Mystery by Ellery Queen
8. raidergirl3(Ruth Rendell)
9. FleurFisher (R is for Roth)
10. Kerrie - R is for Ruth and Reginald

11. Dorte: R is for Revenge
12. Bev@My Reader's Block (Ronald Knox)
13. Tipping My Fedora: R is for THE RED RIGHT HAND by Joel Townsley Rogers

Letter S

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - The Serpent Pool by Martin Edwards
2. Mysteries and More (Solomon v. Lord by Paul Levine)
3. ISOT Classic Mystery Novel - The Spanish Cape Mystery by Ellery Queen
4. Margaret@BooksPlease -The Stabbing in the Stables by Simon Brett
5. FleurFisher (S is for A Study in scarlet)

6. Tipping My Fedora: S is for SILENCE OF THE GRAVE by Arnaldur Indridason
7. ISOT Classice Mystery Novel - The Crack in the Lens by Steve Hockensmith
8. Bev@My Reader's Block (Dorothy L Sayers)
9. Kerrie - S is for Vanda Symon
10. Bernadette - S is for Science

11. Jose Ignacio - S is for Solana, Teresa Solana
12. Dorte: S is for Silence
13. Tipping My Fedora: S is for SPADEWORK by Bill Pronzini
14. S is for SECRETS OF THE SYMPHONY by Gwen Skinner - Craig at Crime Watch
15. raidergirl3(Southwesterly Winds)

Letter T

1. Bev@My Reader's Block (L. C. Tyler)
2. Mysteries and More ("T" is for Scott Turow)
3. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Peter Turnbull, Once a Biker
4. Fleurfisher (T is for Tyler)

5. Jose Ignacio - T is for Theorin
6. Dorte: T is for Tarmac
7. Stefanie: T is for The Dogfaced God Trilogy
8. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Third Girl by Agatha Christie

9. MiP- T is for Charles Todd
10. Crime Watch - T is for TARGET FOR MALICE by Barbara Cooper
11. cavershamragu @ Tipping My Fedora: T is for THAT ANGEL LOOK by Mike Ripley
12. Violette (Brad Thor)

Crime Fiction Alphabet: the summary H-M

2011-07-19T08:50:00.002+09:30

This year's edition of the Crime Fiction Alphabet is now completed and this week I'll publish four summary posts .

By Friday of each week participants had to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week which was displayed each Monday.
[Those who intended to participate regularly signed up here.]

Their post had to be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname. There was lots of choice: a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fitted the rules somehow. Sometimes participants interpreted the rules very laterally, particularly with "difficult" letters.

We used Mr Linky to display participants' posts, and in most weeks there were 12 to 16 participants.

Below are the Mr Linky links for H-M. The summary list for the 26 weeks: Crime Fiction Alphabet
Yesterday I published the A-G lists.

Letter H

1. FleurFisher (H is for Holding)
2. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Huge by James W. Fuerst
3. raidergirl3(Tarquin Hall)
4. Bev@My Reader's Block (Helen Reilly)
5. The Game's Afoot - H is for Hyland, Adrian

6. Tipping My fedora - H is for Hazell Plays Solomon by PB Yuill
7. Sherrie(The Hound of the Baskervilles)
8. MiP-H is for Harry Hole
9. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Reginald Hill & Exit Lines
10. Dorte: H is for Horror

11. Mysteries and More (The Joining of Dingo Radish by Rob Harasymchuk)
12. ISOT Classic Mystery Novel - Rim Of The Pit by Hake Talbot
13. Yvette ( H is for Holmes )
14. H is for HUNTING BLIND - Craig (Crime Watch)

Letter I

1. Margot Kinberg - The Involvement of Arnold Wechsle by John A Graham
2. gautami tripathy--Inside Out by Barry Eisler
3. Margaret@BooksPlease - Rebus's Scotland by Ian Rankin
4. The Game's Afoot - I is for Indridason, Arnaldur
5. Dorte: I is for Investigation

6. cavershamragu @ Tipping My Fedora: I is for Innocent by Scott Turow
7. MiP- I is for Icelandic crime fiction
8. Bev@My Reader's Block (The Innocent Bottle)
9. Mysteries and More (Inspector Imanishi Investigates)
10. ISOT Classic Mystery Novel - Mortal Causes by Ian Rankin

11. Yvette: I is for Iain Pears' Art Mysteries
12. FleurFisher (I is for Innes)
13. Reactions to Reading - I is for Ice
14. CrimeWatch: I is for INSIDE DOPE by Paul Thomas

Letter J

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Dorte Hummelshøj Jakobsen
2. MiP: J is for Peter James
3. ISOT Classic Mystery Novel - The Bride of Newgate by John Dickson Carr
4. The Game's Afoot - J is for James, P.D. James
5. Margaret@BooksPlease -Betrayed in Cornwall by Janie Bolitho

6. cavershamragu @ Tipping My Fedora: J is for The Judas Window by Carter Dickson
7. Dorte: J is for Jokes
8. Bev@My Readers Block (Jerusalem Inn)
9. FleurFisher (J is for Jane)
10. Mysteries and More (White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones)

11. Bernadette - J is for Justice
12. Mystery Bookshelf (JoAnna Carl)
13. Yvette - J is for Josephine Tey
14. J is for Jutson's THE DARKNESS LOOKING BACK (Crime Watch)

Letter K

1. FleurFisher (K is for Kelly)
2. Lynossa (K is for Koontz)
3. raidergirl3(Kerry Greenwood)
4. Margaret@BooksPlease - Karen Maitland
5. cavershamragu @ Tipping My Fedora: K is for Killer's Choice by Ed McBain
6. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist: The King is Dead

7. K is for THE KILLING HOUR (Crime Watch)
8. cavershamragy@Tipping My Fedora: Killer's Payoff by Ed McBain
9. MiP - K is for Kindle
10. The Game's Afoot - K is for Kinberg, Margot Kinberg
11. Dorte: K is for Killer
12. Mysteries and More (Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson)

13. cavershamragu @ Tipping My Fedora: K is for KILLER'S WEDGE by Ed McBain
14. cavershamragu@Tipping My Fedora: K is for King's Ransom by Ed McBain
15. ISOT Classic Mystery - The Hundredth Man by Jack Kerley
16. Bev@My Readers Block (Laurie R King)

Letter L

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Loophole by Robert Pollock
2. Mysteries and More: The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
3. Margaret@BooksPlease - Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon
4. An Adventure in Reading - L is for Lindsay, Jeff Lindsay
5. Yvette @ in so many words / L is for Lee Child

6. FleurFisher - L is for Läckberg
7. MiP - L is for Langley-Hawthorne
8. cavershamragu: L is for The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout
9. L is for LETHAL DELIVERIES (Crime Watch)
10. Bev@My Readers Block (Lockridge)

11. The Game's Afoot - L is for Lelic, Simon Lelic.
12. ISOT Classic Mystery Novel - Death In The Setting Sun by Deryn Lake
13. Bernadette - L is for Locked Room Mysteries
14. Mystery Bookshelf (Donna Leon)

Letter M

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie
2. Lynossa - M is for Marple
3. M is for MURDER AND CHIPS by Laurie Mantell (Crime Watch)
4. Mysteries and More (Silence Invites the Dead by Scott Gregory Miller)
5. Margaret@BooksPlease - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
6. The Game's Afoot - M is for Mallo, Ernesto Mallo

7. Dorte: M is for Mortal
8. FleurFisher (M is for Mary Fitt)
9. cavershamragu@Tippi9ng My Fedora - Man Out of Nowhere by LP Davies
10. MiP - M books so far in 2011
11. Violette (Peter May)
12. Bev@My Reader's Block (Martin Davies)

13. Yvette@ in so many words...
14. ISOT Classic Mystery Novel - The Nine Giants by Edward Marston
15. Bernadette - M is for Movies

Crime Fiction Alphabet: the summary A-G

2011-07-18T08:00:00.017+09:30

This year's edition of the Crime Fiction Alphabet is now completed and this week I'll publish four summary posts .

By Friday of each week participants had to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week which was displayed each Monday.
[Those who intended to participate regularly signed up here.]

Their post had to be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname. There was lots of choice: a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fitted the rules somehow. Sometimes participants interpreted the rules very laterally, particularly with "difficult" letters.

We used Mr Linky to display participants' posts, and in most weeks there were 12 to 16 participants.

Below are the Mr Linky links. The summary list for the 26 weeks: Crime Fiction Alphabet

Letter A

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist: About Face by Donna Leon
2. Bev@My Readers Block (And Then There Were None)
3. FleurFisher (The ABC Murders)
4. Lynossa @DerangedBookLovers (And Then There Were None)
5. Margaret @ BooksPlease (Agatha: An Autobiography
6. The Game's Afoot: Arriaga, Guillermo

7. gautami tripathy (An Expert in Murder)
8. Jenn @ for love of lovely words - A is for Agatha
9. MiP-A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE, Malla Nunn
10. raidergirl3(Alexander McCall Smith)
11. Mysterious Mutterings - A LILY OF THE FIELD, John Lawton
12. Reactions to Reading - A is for Archaeology

13. Dorte: A is for Ancestors
14. Violette (Matilde Asensi)
15. Crystal (author, Ginny Aiken)
16. Craig (Crime Watch): A is for Andrea Jutson

Letter B

1. Confessions of a Myst. Novelist - Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander M. Smith
2. MiP-BAD INTENTIONS, Karin Fossum
3. Rebecca (the book frog) - The Librarian by Larry Beinhart
4. Bev@My Readers Block (Robert Barnard)
5. Bernadette - B is for Bibliophiles
6. Margaret @ BooksPlease - W J Burley

7. The Game's Afoot: Bauer, Belinda
8. Dorte: B is for Blood
9. gautami tripathy--B is for Larry Bond
10. FleurFisher (B is for Bolitho)
11. Jenn @ for love of lovely words - The Beekeeper's Apprentice
12. in so many words - B for author Bruce Alexander

13. Crystal @ My Reading Room - Terri Blackstock
14. Lynossa: B is Bourne
15. Violette (Bi Feiyu)
16. Craig (Crime Watch) - BLOOD BOND, BOLD BLOOD, and BLOOD MEN

Letter C

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie
2. Bev@My Reader's Block (The Casino Murder Case)
3. MiP-Carter, Alan - PRIME CUT
4. gautami tripathy--C is for Constant Gardener
5. Bernadette - C is for Clergy

6. FleurFisher (C is for Crombie)
7. Margaret @ BooksPlease - Christopher Brookmyre
8. The Game's Afoot: Cueto, Alonso
9. Dorte: C should be for Crime...
10. In So Many Words : Robert Crais

11. Craig (Crime Watch) - C is for CUT & RUN
12. Lynossa: C for Conan Doyle
13. Jenn (Cards On The Table)
14. raidergirl3(Cocaine Blues)

Letter D

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - My 3D Post ;-)
2. Crime Watch (Craig) - DIVE DEEP FOR DEATH
3. Bev@My Reader's Block (Carter Dickson)
4. Margaret@BooksPlease - Colin Dexter
5. gautami tripathy--D is for Dantes' Inferno
6. MiP- DEATH ON THE NILE, Agatha Christie

7. The Game's Afoot: Leif Davidsen
8. FleurFisher (D is for Darkside)
9. Bernadette - D is for Dogs
10. DJ's Krimiblog- D is for Detectives
11. Yvette - D is for Nancy Drew / The Dana Girls
12. Mysterious Mutterings- DEATH IN THE MARAIS

13. My Beloved Books - D is for DEADLY DANCE
14. raidergirl3(Death in La Fenice)
15. Violette (PC Doherty)
16. Jenn @ for love of lovely words - Dumb Witness

Letter E

1. FleurFisher (E is for Ethel Lina White)
2. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - Evanly Bodies by Rhys Bowen
3. Margaret@BooksPlease - Edgar Wallace
4. E is for ECHOES IN THE BLUE (Craig - Crime Watch)

5. gautami tripathy--E is for Eisler
6. Bev@My Reader's Block (Margaret Erskine)
7. The Game's Afoot - E is for Ellory
8. Dorte: E is for Electronic Pleasures

9. MiP-END IN TEARS, Ruth Rendell
10. Bernadette - E is for Environment
11. raidergirl3(Martin Edwards)

Letter F

1. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist - The Four of Hearts by Ellery Queen
2. F is for FRIENDLY FIRE by Michael Wall (Craig - Crime Watch)
3. MiP-FROZEN TRACKS, Ake Edwardson
4. Bev@My Reader's Block (Charles Finch-The Fleet Street Murders)

5. Margaret@BooksPlease - Frances Fyfield-The Art of Drowning
6. Bernadette - F is for France
7. The Game's Afoot - F is for Fuentes
8. Dorte: F is for Flash Fiction

9. FleurFisher (F is for Five Little Pigs)
10. cavershamragu - F is for Fredric Brown
11. In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel - The Finishing Stroke by Ellery Queen
12. Yvette / F is for Free Fall by Robt. Crais

Letter G

1. Margot Kinberg - The Golden Ball and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
2. Fleur Fisher (G is for Glaspell)
3. MiP-D-E-D DEAD! Geoffrey McGeachin
4. Bernadette - G is for Genealogists
5. raidergirl3(Leighton Gage)

6. Bev@My Reader's Block (Anna Katharine Green)
7. The Game's Afoot - G is for Gimenez Bartlett, Alicia
8. Dorte: G is for Girl-Power
9. Margaret@BooksPlease - Erle Stanley Gardner
10. Tipping My Fedora: G is for The Galton Case

11. Yvette@in so many words- THE BOOK OF AIR & SHADOWS, Michael Gruber
12. Gaelyn Gordon's DEADLINES (Craig - Crime Watch)
13. Violette@Mystery Bookshelf - Tess Gerritsen
14. ISOT Classic Mystery Novel - The Saltmarsh Murders by Gladys Mitchell
15. Mysteries and More - The Sherlockian by Graham Moore

Review: ASHES TO WATER (The Lake Trilogy), Irene Ziegler

2011-07-12T08:34:00.018+09:30

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 597 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Aston House; 1 edition (October 8, 2010)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B0046LU73Y
Source: I bought it

Product description (Amazon)

Set in the 1980s, Ashes to Water is an atmospheric story of a small-town Florida murder and one young woman’s reluctant involvement in its resolution.

When Annie Bartlett returns home to bury her murdered father, she confronts the woman arrested for the crime, only to discover reasons to fight for the woman’s acquittal. This pits her against her erratic and unwell sister, Leigh, whose very survival may depend on a guilty verdict.

Annie soon becomes snarled in the social and political dynamics of the town, a wrenching attraction to her old boyfriend, and the emotionally difficult business of sorting out her estranged father’s tangled past. Obstructing Annie further are “visits” from her mother, who drowned in Widow Lake when Annie was nine.

As her attempts to solve her father’s murder lead to more bloodshed, Annie finds herself a suspect in a plot not of her making, and a threat to the town’s movers and shakers, suddenly very anxious to see her gone.

While it stands alone, Ashes to Water continues the story of Annie Bartlett, who grows up in Ziegler’s collection of linked short stories, Rules of the Lake.

My take

This is my contribution to Crime Fiction Alphabet, Letter Z

While as far as e-books go ASHES TO WATER is quite a long book, but it is compelling reading.

Annie Bartlett has been estranged from her father for some years, having never really forgiven him for the death of her mother. In the intervening period she has carried the memory of her mother with her, in a delusional way, to the point where she "sees" her mother and holds conversations with her.

“Since you were nine years old I’ve been whispering in your ear, showing you the truth, lighting your way.”

Annie has also become a successful photographer and is about to get married.

She returns to her hometown when her father is murdered and is met at the airport by her ex-boyfriend, Pete, who is acting as defence lawyer for the woman accused of murdering Annie's father. Annie decides she must meet Della, the accused, and is shocked to find that Della is a double for her dead mother. Della protests her innocence and asks Annie to help her prove her case. Annie feels that Pete is not acting as a defence lawyer should as he advises Della to plead guilty so her case will not go to trial.

This is the main story supported by a host of sub-plots: an arsonist is burning new homes that are being built on land in the forest; the main suspect for the arson is a Downs syndrome lad who is the son of the local judge; Annie's older sister Leigh a drug addict who had asked her father to help her; and a range of other interesting characters including a Seminole Indian who wants to help his people survive by building houses for them and setting up a casino for them to run.

I remain puzzled by the title ASHES TO WATER (The Lake Trilogy). I understand the ASHES TO WATER bit but not "The Lake Trilogy". Irene's website tells me that RULES OF THE LAKE, a collection of linked short stories, is the pre-quel to ASHES TO WATER. It focuses on Annie Bartlett growing up and is semi-autobiographical.

My rating: 4.3

Read the Prologue on the author's website.
Irene Ziegler says ASHES TO WATER "is a mystery/thriller, my eighth book and first novel."

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011 - Letter Z - week begins 11 July 2011

2011-07-11T08:14:00.000+09:30

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction - a Community Meme.

Well, it is too late to join this year's Crime Fiction Alphabet: we are at our last letter!

The books and authors being suggested are a great way of learning about books you haven't read, or authors you haven't yet met.
We have participants from all over the globe too. Do take the time to check the entries towards the end of the week. Like me, you'll find yourself adding "must read" titles to your TBR.

Letters already covered: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y

Come back next week to check the summaries.
Where to from here? Join us from 1 August for Crime Fiction on a EuroPass

This week's letter is the letter Z

Here are the rules

By Friday of each week you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.
[Those who intend to participate regularly have signed up here.]

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, or even maybe cover a crime fiction "topic", so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)

Please link your post for the week back to this page. (a letter image is supplied that you can use in your post as well as the meme icon if you wish).

After your post is published, put a link to your actual blog post in the Mr Linky that appears below.
(leave a comment if Mr Linky has disappeared)

Then come back at the end of the week to check to see who else has posted and visit their blog (and leave a comment if you can).

Please check each Monday for the letter of the week

Letters already covered: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y

Thanks for participating.

Crime Fiction Alphabet: Y is for Australian author Felicity Young

2011-07-05T08:30:00.003+09:30

If you are looking for an Australian crime fiction author to read why not give Felicity Young a try?

Felicity is the author of 4 crime fiction books set in Western Australia.
The first A CERTAIN MALICE (2005) featured Senior Sergeant Cam Fraser who was looking to start a new life for himself and his daughter in rural WA.
Felicity followed that up with a new protagonist, Stevie Hooper, in AN EASEFUL DEATH (2007), HARUM SCARUM (2008) and TAKE OUT (2010)

Young does an excellent job with her Australian setting and I have enjoyed all books.

The good news for overseas readers is that all Felicity's titles are available not only from the Fremantle Press but also through Amazon.com, both in paperback and Kindle format.

Another bit of good news that I found on Felicity's website today:

Felicity is excited to announce the pending publication of her new historical mystery series featuring Dr Dody McCleland, Britain's first female autopsy surgeon. HarperCollins (Australia) will be publishing the first book, A DISSECTION OF MURDER in March 2012 and the second, THE FIRST OF CRIMINALS in March 2013. The books will also be published by the Penguin Group (USA) at about the same time, with titles as yet unknown.

Check what others are contributing for the Letter Y

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011 - Letter Y - week begins 4 July 2011

2011-07-04T08:00:00.001+09:30

This week's letter is the letter Y

Here are the rules

By Friday of each week you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.
[Those who intend to participate regularly have signed up here.]

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, or even maybe cover a crime fiction "topic", so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)

Please link your post for the week back to this page. (a letter image is supplied that you can use in your post as well as the meme icon if you wish).

After your post is published, put a link to your actual blog post in the Mr Linky that appears below.
(leave a comment if Mr Linky has disappeared)

Then come back at the end of the week to check to see who else has posted and visit their blog (and leave a comment if you can).

Please check each Monday for the letter of the week

Letters already covered: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X

Thanks for participating.

Crime Fiction Alphabet - Suspect X

2011-06-28T07:30:00.002+09:30

I'm being a bit liberal with the rules of the Crime Fiction Alphabet meme this time.

X always causes a problem, so this time I am pointing you to a review where the title contains the letter X.

THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X by Keigo Higashino was an audio book I reviewed here.

Yasuko Hanaoka is a divorced, single mother who thought she had finally escaped her abusive ex-husband Togashi. When he shows up one day to extort money from her, threatening both her and her teenaged daughter Misato, the situation quickly escalates into violence and Togashi ends up dead on her apartment floor.
Overhearing the commotion, Yasuko’s next door neighbor, middle-aged high school mathematics teacher Ishigami, offers his help, disposing not only of the body but plotting the cover-up step-by-step.
When the body turns up and is identified, Detective Kusanagi draws the case and Yasuko comes under suspicion. Kusanagi is unable to find any obvious holes in Yasuko’s manufactured alibi and yet is still sure that there’s something wrong.
Kusanagi brings in Dr. Manabu Yukawa, a physicist and college friend who frequently consults with the police. Yukawa, known to the police by the nickname Professor Galileo, went to college with Ishigami. After meeting up with him again, Yukawa is convinced that Ishigami had something to do with the murder. What ensues is a high level battle of wits, as Ishigami tries to protect Yasuko by outmaneuvering and outthinking Yukawa, who faces his most clever and determined opponent yet.

The book is translated from Japanese. The author is very popular in Japan but there is something about the construction of the story that marks it as having quite a different approach to European/Western crime fiction.

Check my full review.

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011 - Letter X - week begins 27 June 2011

2011-06-27T08:00:00.002+09:30

The Alphabet in Crime Fiction - a Community Meme.

It is never too late to join in on this meme and you don't have to post each week if reading (or life) gets in the way. And it is so easy!

The books and authors being suggested are a great way of learning about books you haven't read, or authors you haven't yet met.
We have participants from all over the globe too. Do take the time to check the entries towards the end of the week. Like me, you'll find yourself adding "must read" titles to your TBR.

Letters already covered: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W

Now we really are coming to the sticky end of the alphabet: X, Y, and Z

This week's letter is the letter X

Here are the rules

By Friday of each week you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.
[Those who intend to participate regularly have signed up here.]

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, or even maybe cover a crime fiction "topic", so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)

Please link your post for the week back to this page. (a letter image is supplied that you can use in your post as well as the meme icon if you wish).

After your post is published, put a link to your actual blog post in the Mr Linky that appears below.
(leave a comment if Mr Linky has disappeared)

Then come back at the end of the week to check to see who else has posted and visit their blog (and leave a comment if you can).

Please check each Monday for the letter of the week

Letters already covered: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W

Thanks for participating.

Review: THE WRECKAGE, Michael Robotham

2011-06-21T07:00:00.001+09:30

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 762 KB
Print Length: 448 pages
Publisher: Hachette Digital (May 5, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004WJRT4K
Source: an ARC e-copy supplied by the publishers Mulholland Books to NetGalley.com.

Product Description (Amazon)

In London, ex-cop Vincent Ruiz rescues a young woman from a violent boyfriend but wakes next morning to find that he’s been set up and robbed. As he tracks down the thieves, he discovers the boyfriend’s tortured body and learns that powerful men are looking for the girl. What did Holly Knight steal that is so important to them?
Meanwhile in Baghdad, the bank robbery capital of the world, billions of dollars in reconstruction funds has gone missing and Pulitzer prize-winning Journalist Luca Terracini is trying to ‘follow the money’. The dangerous trail will lead him to London where he teams up with Vincent Ruiz and together they investigate the disappearance of an international banker and a mysterious ‘black hole’ in the bank’s accounts.

My take

THE WRECKAGE introduces a new character, investigative journalist Luca Terracini. In Baghdad Luca teams up with UN auditor Daniela Gardner. Someone is blowing up banks, the 18th so far for the year. Consignments of US dollars worth billions have disappeared.

In London our old friend Vincent Ruiz is mugged by a girl he took pity on in a bar. He wakes to find some of his things are gone - an iPod, his camera, his police medal, his passport, and some jewellery intended for his daughter Claire who is getting married on Saturday. His determination to locate the girl and retrieve his belongings has unexpected consequences that prove for us just how few degrees of separation there really are in modern Western society.

THE WRECKAGE is a contemporary thriller set against the background of both the world financial crisis and the attempts to build Iraq in the face of both greed and terrorism. It reflects both Robotham's meticulous research, and his ability to create great fictional characters. He describes the main characters in a way that makesd you really care about what happens to them.

Robotham seems to have begun using a crisper, more immediate, style of narrative that mostly uses the present tense. It gives a cinematic impression of events happening as you watch.

This is a great read, both for those who have been waiting for the next in this fractallated series featuring retired London detective Vincent Ruiz and clinical psychologist Professor Joe O'Loughlin, and for those new to Robotham's work.

My rating: 5.0

See Michael Robotham's site and download the first chapter.
Review by Bernadette (Reactions to Reading)

Reviews of other Robotham titles on MYSTERIES in PARADISE
BOMBPROOF
SHATTER
SHATTER (audio)
BLEED FOR ME

Crime Fiction Alphabet - V is for Vargas

2011-06-14T09:30:00.001+09:30

At CrimeFest on May 20 AN UNCERTAIN PLACE by Fred Vargas, translated by Siân Reynolds (Harvill Secker) was announced as one of the nominations for the shortlist for the Crime Writers’ Association’s International Dagger. (The winner of the CWA International Dagger will be announced at the CWA Daggers awards ceremony at the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Harrogate on Friday, 22 July.)

Fred Vargas has won this particular award in 2006, 2007, and 2009, and must be a hot favourite again.
AN UNCERTAIN PLACE is a clear leader in the unofficial poll being held on EuroCrime.

Fred Vargas is the pseudonym of Frédérique Audouin-Rouzeau, who was born in 1957 in Paris (Fred is not unusual in France as an abbreviation of this feminine name). As well as being a best-selling author in France, she is by training a mediaeval archaeologist. Her books have been translated into thirty-two languages.

Synopsis: Commissaire Adamsberg leaves Paris for a three-day conference in London. With him are a young sergeant, Estalère, and Commandant Danglard, who is terrified at the idea of travelling beneath the Channel. It is the break they all need, until a macabre and brutal case comes to the attention of their colleague Radstock from New Scotland Yard. Just outside the baroque and romantic old Highgate cemetery a pile of shoes is found. Not so strange in itself, but the shoes contain severed feet. As Scotland Yard's investigation begins, Adamsberg and his colleagues return home and are confronted with a massacre in a suburban home. Adamsberg and Danglard are drawn in to a trail of vampires and vampire-hunters that leads them all the way to Serbia, a place where the old certainties no longer apply.

Check the review on the EuroCrime website by Karen Meeks.

I have reviewed other Fred Vargas novels on MiP:
SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR
THE CHALK CIRCLE MAN
THIS NIGHT'S FOUL WORK
WASH THIS BLOOD CLEAN FROM MY HAND

Crime Fiction Alphabet: UN... by Marie Jungstedt

2011-06-07T10:00:00.001+09:30

Here's yet another author you should look out for.
Mari Jungstedt is a Swedish journalist and popular crime fiction author.
Jungstedt worked as a reporter on Swedish national public radio and television, and is still an occasional presenter on TV4's daily talk show Förkväll.

Her first three novels are set on the island of Gotland (the UN.. books) and feature Detective Superintendant Anders Knutas and the journalist Johan Berg. Two of her novels were filmed for Swedish TV, and her work has been translated into English by Tiina Nunnally.

Mari Jungstedt lives in Nacka, near Stockholm. Her husband comes from Visby, Gotland, and during the summer they stay on Gotland.

The three novels I have reviewed are
UNSEEN
UNSPOKEN
UNKNOWN

1. Unseen (2006)
2. Unspoken (2007)
3. The Inner Circle (2008)
aka Unknown
4. The Killer's Art (2010)
5. The Dead of Summer (2011)

Check other posts in the Crime Fiction Alphabet

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011 - Letter U - week begins 6 June 2011

2011-06-06T10:00:00.002+09:30

This week's letter is the letter U

Here are the rules

By Friday of each week you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.
[Those who intend to participate regularly have signed up here.]

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, or even maybe cover a crime fiction "topic", so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)

Please link your post for the week back to this page. (a letter image is supplied that you can use in your post as well as the meme icon if you wish).

After your post is published, put a link to your actual blog post in the Mr Linky that appears below.
(leave a comment if Mr Linky has disappeared)

Then come back at the end of the week to check to see who else has posted and visit their blog (and leave a comment if you can).

Please check each Monday for the letter of the week

Letters already covered: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T

Thanks for participating.

Crime Fiction Alphabet: T is for Charles Todd

2011-05-31T15:00:00.002+09:30

I was reminded of how much I enjoy this "author" when I read that a member of the 4MA is moderating a panel at Malice Domestic where Charles Todd is participating. (Since writing that I have had the pleasure of hearing Caroline, half of the Todd duo, at CrimeFest in Bristol)

From Fantastic Fiction:
Charles Todd is a pen name used by the American authors Caroline and Charles Todd. This mother-and-son writing team lives in the eastern United States, in North Carolina and Delaware, respectively. The pseudonymous mystery authors are best known for a series of novels, set in post World War I England. These intelligent and literate books deal with the cases of Inspector Ian Rutledge, a veteran of the European campaigns who is attempting to pick up the pieces of his Scotland Yard career. However, he must keep his greatest burden a secret. Suffering from shell shock, he lives with the constant cynical, taunting voice of Hamish MacLeod, a young Scots soldier he was forced to execute on the battlefield for refusing an order.

Reviews on MiP
SEARCH THE DARK
A PALE HORSE
A TEST OF WILLS
A DUTY TO THE DEAD

Unfortunately I have a lot of reading to catch up with the series.
Ian Rutledge
1. A Test of Wills (1996)
2. Wings of Fire (1998)
3. Search the Dark (1999)
4. Legacy of the Dead (2000)
5. Watchers of Time (2001)
6. A Fearsome Doubt (2002)
7. A Cold Treachery (2005)
8. A Long Shadow (2006)
9. A False Mirror (2007)
10. A Pale Horse (2008)
11. A Matter of Justice (2009)
12. The Red Door (2010)
13. A Lonely Death (2011)

Bess Crawford Mystery
1. A Duty to the Dead (2009)
2. An Impartial Witness (2010)
3. A Bitter Truth (2011)

Check other contributions to the Crime Fiction Alphabet

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011 - Letter T - week begins 30 May 2011

2011-05-30T10:00:00.002+09:30

This week's letter is the letter T

Here are the rules

By Friday of each week you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.
[Those who intend to participate regularly have signed up here.]

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, or even maybe cover a crime fiction "topic", so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)

Please link your post for the week back to this page. (a letter image is supplied that you can use in your post as well as the meme icon if you wish).

After your post is published, put a link to your actual blog post in the Mr Linky that appears below.
(leave a comment if Mr Linky has disappeared)

Then come back at the end of the week to check to see who else has posted and visit their blog (and leave a comment if you can).

Please check each Monday for the letter of the week

Letters already covered: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S

Thanks for participating.

Crime Fiction Alphabet: S is for Vanda Symon

2011-05-24T10:00:00.022+09:30

Let me take the opportunity of this Crime Fiction Alphabet post for the letter S to point you to a New Zealand crime fiction author that you really must read.

The photo of Vanda, to the right, was taken recently during New Zealand Book Month, reading from her latest novel BOUND.

I've read all of Vanda Symon's published novels and can recommend them highly.
Check the reviews on my blog:
OVERKILL
THE RINGMASTER
CONTAINMENT
BOUND

Vanda blogs at Overkill

Like Agatha Christie, Vanda has a background in pharmacy.

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011 - Letter S - week begins 23 May 2011

2011-05-23T10:00:00.008+09:30

This week's letter is the letter S

Here are the rules

By Friday of each week you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.
[Those who intend to participate regularly have signed up here.]

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, or even maybe cover a crime fiction "topic", so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)

Please link your post for the week back to this page. (a letter image is supplied that you can use in your post as well as the meme icon if you wish).

After your post is published, put a link to your actual blog post in the Mr Linky that appears below.
(leave a comment if Mr Linky has disappeared)

Then come back at the end of the week to check to see who else has posted and visit their blog (and leave a comment if you can).

Please check each Monday for the letter of the week

Letters already covered: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R

Thanks for participating.

Crime Fiction Alphabet: R is for Ruth and Reginald

2011-05-17T10:00:00.030+09:30

Among my favourite British authors are Reginald Hill and Ruth Rendell, so what I've decided to do for the letter inthe Crime Fiction Alphabet is to point to some of the reviews on my blog of their books.

Between them they have made an incredible contribution to the genre.

They have both written under pseudonyms too: Reginald Hill as Dick Morland, Patrick Ruell, Charles Underhill and Ruth Rendell as Barbara Vine.

Hill, Reginald:
A CURE FOR ALL DISEASES
ASKING FOR THE MOON
4.5, CHILD'S PLAY
DEATH OF A DORMOUSE
MIDNIGHT FUGUE
THE SPY'S WIFE
THE ROAR OF THE BUTTERFLIES
THERE ARE NO GHOSTS IN THE SOVIET UNION
4.8, THE WOODCUTTER (2009)

Rendell, Ruth:
FROM DOON WITH DEATH
PORTOBELLO
4.7, THE MONSTER IN THE BOX (2009)
4.5, A NEW LEASE OF DEATH

There are a couple of Ruth Rendell recent stand alones that I keep thinking I must make time to read:
Tigerlily's Orchids (2010)
The Vault (2011)

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011 - Letter R - week begins 16 May 2011

2011-05-16T10:00:00.012+09:30

This week's letter is the letter R

Here are the rules

By Friday of each week you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.
[Those who intend to participate regularly have signed up here.]

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, or even maybe cover a crime fiction "topic", so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)

Please link your post for the week back to this page. (a letter image is supplied that you can use in your post as well as the meme icon if you wish).

After your post is published, put a link to your actual blog post in the Mr Linky that appears below.
(leave a comment if Mr Linky has disappeared)

Then come back at the end of the week to check to see who else has posted and visit their blog (and leave a comment if you can).

Please check each Monday for the letter of the week

Letters already covered: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q

Thanks for participating.

Crime Fiction Alphabet: Q is for QUARRY, Sue Grafton

2011-05-10T10:00:00.002+09:30

Let me take this Crime Fiction Alphabet
opportunity to remind you what a good writer Sue Grafton is.

Q is for QUARRY is #17 in Grafton's alphabet series. This year will see the publication of V is for VENGEANCE. For some years we talked about whether she would ever get to Z is for.. but I have high hopes that she will. Grafton is only 71.

My mini-review
Con Dolan and Stacey Oliphant are reaching the end of long careers in law enforcement and are keen to solve a case of a "Jane Doe" that has gone unsolved for 18 years. Stacey is fighting cancer and Con has a dodgy heart and both friends think the other needs something to focus on. They were the two men who found the body of a young girl, bound, stabbed and dumped. No-one ever claimed the body even after months of investigation. Con approaches Kinsey Millhone to work freelance with them on the investigation. Con belives the guilty party is one Frankie Miracle, already convicted for the murder of his girl friend. This is #17 Sue Grafton's "Alphabet" series. This is quite a long book and I must confess that, towards the end, I was in danger of losing track of what the original investigation was about, especially after the murder of one of those Kinsey had interviewed. Sue Grafton based this on the real unsolved homicide case that happened in Santa Barbara in 1969. My rating: 4.2

The series
1. A is for Alibi (1982)
2. B Is for Burglar (1985)
3. C Is for Corpse (1986)
4. D Is for Deadbeat (1987)
5. E Is for Evidence (1988)
6. F Is for Fugitive (1989)
7. G Is for Gumshoe (1990)
8. H Is for Homicide (1991)
9. I Is for Innocent (1992)
10. J Is for Judgement (1993)
11. K Is for Killer (1994)
12. L Is for Lawless (1995)
13. M Is for Malice (1996)
14. N Is for Noose (1998)
15. O Is for Outlaw (1999)
16. P Is for Peril (2000)
17. Q Is For Quarry (2002)
18. R Is for Ricochet (2004)
19. S Is for Silence (2005)
20. T Is for Trespass (2007)
21. U Is for Undertow (2009)
22. V Is For Vengeance (2011)

Sue Grafton's website is worth a look.

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011 - Letter Q - week begins 9 May 2011

2011-05-09T10:00:00.007+09:30

This week's letter is the letter Q

Here are the rules

By Friday of each week you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.
[Those who intend to participate regularly have signed up here.]

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, or even maybe cover a crime fiction "topic", so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)

Please link your post for the week back to this page. (a letter image is supplied that you can use in your post as well as the meme icon if you wish).

After your post is published, put a link to your actual blog post in the Mr Linky that appears below.
(leave a comment if Mr Linky has disappeared)

Then come back at the end of the week to check to see who else has posted and visit their blog (and leave a comment if you can).

Please check each Monday for the letter of the week

Letters already covered: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P

Thanks for participating.

Crime Fiction Alphabet: P is for PRIME CUT, Alan Carter

2011-05-03T07:30:00.002+09:30

I'd like to take the opportunity of this week's Crime Fiction Alphabet which is the letter P to remind you of an Australian novel published earlier this year, particularly since it has now been listed on this year's Ned Kelly Awards nominations for Best First Fiction.

Publisher: Fremantle Press, 2011
Awards: Shortlisted, Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger Award, 2010 (as Chinese Whispers)
ISBN13: 9781921696503
HB/PB: Paperback
Pages: 320
Source: e-copy of the (Proof Read version) on my Kindle, supplied by the publisher for review purposes.
Sample Chapter: PRIME CUT extract.pdf

Book Club Notes: View Book Club Notes

Publication date: February 2011

Publisher's blurb

Meet Cato Kwong — disgraced cop and ex-poster boy for the police force. Banished to the stock squad after the fallout from a police frame-up, Cato is brought in from the cold to solve the case of a torso washed up on the wild shores of the Great Southern Ocean. But Cato faces powerful opposition when his investigation lifts the lid on the exploitation of migrant workers and disturbs an even darker criminal mind.

My take:

This really is a remarkable novel. Two main stories are told in tandem. The first begins in the Prologue with the murder of a woman and her son in Sunderland, England in 1973, the day of the FA Cup. What Detective Sergeant Stuart Miller sees at the scene of the crime will stay with him for the rest of his working life and in fact contributes to him emigrating to Busselton in Western Australia. 35 years later he still has nightmares.

The second story begins in Western Australia in October 2008. Detective Senior Constable Cato Kwong and Detective Sergeant Jim Buckley are part of Western Australia's Stock Squad and are also at a crime scene. In Cato's view they are "washed-up has-beens recycled as detectives.... The Laughing Stock Squad." And then they are called to a murder scene, at HopeToun: a headless torso in the shallows on the beach. The local policewoman is Senior Sergeant Tess Maguire, recovering from sick leave after being beaten up. HopeToun is a laid-back holiday or retirement spot for wheatbelt farmers, not a place where you expect murders to happen. In recent times though HopeToun has become a mining town.

What makes this novel remarkable is the way the author forwards these plot strands in tandem. It took a bit of getting used to at first. There is little to tell the reader that you've changed from one plot to another, just a change of characters. Often, but not always, the plots are basically at the same point, like the interviewing of a suspect.

But there's much more than that to keep the reader involved. There are prior links between some of the characters which are gradually teased out for us. There are genuine murder mysteries with lots of attendant red herrings. There's a good feel for the climate in Western Australia, both physical and economic. And there is some excellent characterisation.

My rating: 4.7

I'm already looking forward to Alan Carter's second novel - I hope there is one!

PRIME CUT will be available from Fremantle Press

About the author:
Alan Carter was born in Sunderland, UK, in 1959. He holds a degree in Communications Studies from Sunderland Polytechnic and immigrated to Australia in 1991. Alan lives in Fremantle with his wife Kath and son Liam. He works as a television documentary director. In his spare time he follows a black line up and down the Fremantle pool. Prime Cut is Alan Carter’s first novel. He wrote it while he was living in Hopetoun as a kept man.

Crime Fiction Alphabet 2011 - Letter P - week begins 2 May 2011

2011-05-02T07:30:00.001+09:30

This week's letter is the letter P:

Here are the rules

By Friday of each week you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.
[Those who intend to participate regularly have signed up here.]

Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, or even maybe cover a crime fiction "topic", so long as it fits the rules somehow.
(It is ok too to skip a week.)

Please link your post for the week back to this page. (a letter image is supplied that you can use in your post as well as the meme icon if you wish).

After your post is published, put a link to your actual blog post in the Mr Linky that appears below.
(leave a comment if Mr Linky has disappeared)

Then come back at the end of the week to check to see who else has posted and visit their blog (and leave a comment if you can).

Please check each Monday for the letter of the week

Letters already covered: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O

Thanks for participating.

Crime Fiction Alphabet - ORIGINAL FACE, Nicholas Jose

2011-04-19T15:00:00.002+09:30

This week's letter in the Crime Fiction Alphabet is the letter O. Not an easy letter (but not as hard as some to come like X and Z).

I've decided to bring you a book from my pre-blog reading days, written by an Australian academic, Nicholas Jose,who was at the English Department at Harvard University as Chair of Australian Studies 2009-10. I'm not sure if he is still there. At the time of publication of ORIGINAL FACE he held the Chair of Creative Writing at the University of Adelaide from 2005-08.

Publisher's Blurb

"The drama begins with a body dumped in south-western Sydney - skinned, with no face. Lewis Lin, taxi driver, photographer, recent arrival from Beijing, happens to be at the scene. With detectives Ginger Rogers and Shelley Swert in pursuit, Lin finds himself drawn into a deadly immigration racket, with a cast which includes a film-maker just in from LA, a Buddhist monk, a millionaire bachelor artist, a masseuse, a maniacal violinist, and a refugee assassin.

Part thriller, part ethnic noir, dark and comic by turns, Original Face offers a sensuous and highly coloured portrait of the jostling energies that make up life in the contemporary Australian city.

Drawing its title from an ancient Zen koan, the novel traces the complicated manoeuvres by which people mask their identities, and the accidental pathways by which these hidden selves come to light."

"Before your father and mother were born, what was your original face? This ancient riddle is about appearance and identity. Who are we really? We have a presence that can be accounted for by background, and a presence that appears in what we do and how we interact. In a diverse society such as ours people have many ‘faces’. They are known, and know themselves, in many different ways. And there’s always that question, about who someone is, really."

My thoughts
I found the ending of the book a bit soft and the detectives an unlikely pair. An interesting insight into the Chinese immigration trade and the left overs of Tianenmen Square.

Nicholas Jose is not really a crime fiction writer, more an academic whose exploration of a philosophical topic led him into writing crime fiction.

When I read ORIGINAL FACE in 2006 I loved it and gave it a rating of 4.6