DeKok and the Dead Harlequin

by A.C. Baantjer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amsterdam Police Station

Inspector DeKok gets a note requesting an appointment at 8:00PM from an unknown man. DeKok  and his subordinate Vledder meet the  the man at the police station and he appears to be a well-to-do accountant. The purpose for the meeting was to establish an alibi. He plans on committing the perfect crime. He tells the police that there will be a murder at a local hotel.

 At this very time in a hotel not far away a man is killed by a weighted hockey stick.  He has been left in a posed position that looks like a puppet whose strings have been cut. DeKok  calls him the harlequin until he gets to know the victim better.  Under the body there is a note to the victim warning him as well that a murder is planned. In this way the accountant cannot be charged with failure to inform either the police or the victim of the crime to be committed.

Utrecht

As DeKok  continues his investigation it appears to lead to a gang  or group of men planning a major crime, but all the details don't mesh and the puzzle deepens.  The victim and the accountant both come from a nearby city, Utrecht and DeKok spends time there as he chases every clue. He says it is a very nice city but the canals can't match those in Amsterdam.

It is more an American thing to belong to a gang. As Vledder points out, in Nato exercises the Dutch army always gets the worst ratings, but on the other hand the Dutch soldier is always rated first in guerilla warfare.

Utrecht

DeKok is well regarded in his district. He gets respect from the solid citizens as well as the pimps and whores. They all knew he interpreted dozens of regulations elastically. He did not violate the law, rather he had a unique vision of the letter of the law. Using his skill and insight there is no doubt that justice will be done.  Sometimes justice is a little slow and more death will follow before DeKok  gets it right.

This is a wonderful series and I always look forward to the next book in line.

The Case of the Missing Servant

 A Vish Puri Mystery by Tarquin Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Vish Puri is one of the best PI in Dehli and most probably in all of the subcontinent of India. Or at least he thinks so. He is diligent, successful and discrete. One of his motto is " Confidence is my watch word."

A well known lawyer comes to Puri and tells him that he is being accused of murdering a maid that had left his employ a few months ago. He denies any guilt and indeed has an alibi. But this is India after all and he doesn't want to divulge it in order to protect his family. He is a family man even though he likes a little take out on the side.

Dehli

The very morning that Puri is beginning his investigation he takes his usual trip to the roof where he communes with his plants and he is almost killed by a sniper. Vish Puri becaomes a very busy man but his operatives with such nicknames as Facecream, Tubelight, Handbrake help him keep many irons in the fire.

Hall gives use a wonderful view of the panoply that is Dehli. His characters transmit the cadence of the language that is distinctly Indian and it is very easy for the reader to take a vicarious trip to this amazing country.

The Seventh Sinner

 by Elizabeth Peters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jaqueline Kirby is introduced in this novel and she is somewhat of a cipher. She is kept in the background and all the other characters are better drawn.

Santi Cosma e Damiano

This is one the first of Peters published books in the mystery genre and it was a little uneven. Kirby working in Rome meets a group of young students who hang to gather as a group and they refer to themselves as the seven sinners. They are all studying various subjects such as art, architecture and history. They meet after work for drinks and other activities. The least of the group is a messy, slightly crazy young man who gets tagged the seventh of the group. These young people would rather he found somewhere else to be but he hangs on until one day when the group is experiencing some catacombs he is murdered. He leaves a dying message in the sand by his now motionless hand. It is seven.

While there are others in the catacombs it is most likely that the murderer is one of the student group. The police are working at it and Jacqueline herself feels that what she must do is protect the one girl who actually saw the message. The girl seems awfully prone to near fatal accidents and Kirby recognizes these incidents for attempts on her life.


I  liked the location, the history and the interesting trips into catacombs, old churches as a search for a murderer spreads out .

Since the clue left at the murder site is a seven, we get to learn about seven saints, seven churches, seven hills of Rome and more.

None of the students seems to have reason to kill anyone, much less this particular person, as odd as he was. Kirby encourages the exploration of Roman artifacts and location because sooner or later the culprit will reveal himself.

The liberal use of google images really added to the enjoyment of the book. I was able to look up so many of the structures and locations that I had a mini trip of my own. As I was doing this I did get a yearning to see the areas for my self. Someday maybe.

WIcked Autumn

       G.M. Malliet
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Max Tudor left his life with MI6 behind because he wanted to connect with his more spiritual  side and he wanted to do some good in the world with a more lasting effect. He is very fortunate to have been able to return to his studies, become ordained, pass through his curate years and finally become a vicar in an idyllic English town the like of which is rapidly disappearing.

This little Eden has it's small problems one of which is a ' managing woman' who micromanaged every thing she cam in contact with, from the Women's Institute, the church fetes, and peoples little problems if she gets wind of them. The snake in the grass of this Eden puts a period to Mrs. B-S's existence at the village hall and Max  has the misfortune to find the body. This jolt of reality brings back his old instincts and he is a help to the police in their investigation.

I liked Max Tudor, the town and the story.

 There are many other novels in which there is a managing woman who manages to get themselves killed.  One that I read recently and enjoyed was Robert Barnard's A Little Local Murder. I just wish I could bring to mind some others  to share but sometimes I wonder if I should keep a list . All I know is that  bossy pushy people get killed. Let that be a lesson to all of us.

 by Conrad Allen

Lusitania

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The launch of a great new floating palace steamship was a very big deal in 1907. The Lusitania, the latest of these belonging to the famed Cunard lines is ready for it's maiden voyage across the North Atlantic and the ship is filled with passengers from all walks of life.

Lounge

While is it a symbol of peace and inter nation cooperation it was also built with wartime in mind. It could be converted to  an arms bearing vessel without difficulty.

The Germans have been building up their navy at this time and indeed it is a German ocean liner that holds the record for the fastest transatlantic passage.

It is the hope that the Lusitania will take this honor away so there is more than meets the eye in this September voyage. With more than 2000 people on board including passengers and crew it is not surprising that there is covert security on board. Watching the high society first-class  passengers is undercover detective George Dillman.

His skills are  just what is needed on this action packed voyage because there is a murder fore the first days have passed.

Smoking Room

I enjoyed this novel and it really gave me a craving for some ocean travel. I am checking out some cruises on line as soon as I can. Thank heaven for vicarious pleasures.

The Potter's Field

by Andrea Camilleri
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When a body is found in a field of clay having been uncovered by a deluge. It becomes a sensation because the body is recovered in thirty separate pieces. The press would like to sensationalize the find by putting it an the category of ritual killings, Satanic murder and other newsworthy events.




As much as Salvo Montalbano bemoans his slow creep into old age by refusing to wear eyeglasses he can still see clearly and can read the message of the body. The thirty pieces of a corpse, along with burial in a potter's clay field suggests a mafia killing in the old time fashion of wanting to leave a message.

Montalbano believes that the message is obvious. It brings to mind the biblical story of the betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver by his friend Judas. Judas later committed suicide after flinging back the payoff in the faces of his own seducers. He was then buried in a potter's field kept as a burial ground for the indigent.

Potter's field

All that is left for Montalbano is to figure out is the who of the body and the murderer, the why, the where and the how. The killer is cunning but not as smart as Montalbano and the denouement of the mystery is classic.

Camilleri himself is getting older but he has some wonderful books still in him. In addition there are a few that are waiting for translation and that is a comfort to his English reading fans.

The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog

by Elizabeth Peters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amelia Peabody's life is presently seeming to follow the story line of an ancient Egyptian fairy tale about a prince who was doomed to die by the crocodile , the snake or the dog. A young princess from another kingdom fell in love with him, married him, learned of the prophecy and determined that she would save him from his fate. The ending of the fairytale has been lost to the dusts of the desert, but Amelia plans to work on this tale and then finds she is living it.

She and Emerson, having left the children in England begin to find themselves in danger almost from the moment they arrive at Shepheards Hotel. There are a few attempts at kidnapping both of them before one is successfully accomplished and Emerson is spirited away after having been subdued by a cudgel to the head. Thus the adventure begins and  it is filled with excitement, treachery, betrayal murder and more.

Amarna

This time the duo are working at Amarna when the great Pharaoh Akhenaten lived with his beautiful wife Nefertiti.  The tomb of Nefertiti is what they are looking for but they are also trying to keep secret the ancient oasis where they  escaped from on their last dig.

Peabody armed with her parasol and pistol are a match for any villain. I began reading this series and then began listening to  it as narrated by Barbara Rosenblat who does such a wonderful job that all the characters come alive. She does a marvelous job of capturing the essence of both Peabody and Emerson that these characters take on additional dimension that eluded me in the written versions.  I was never a person who really enjoyed audio versions but this experience with Barbara Rosenblat has made me a true fan.

The Chinese Gold Murders

The Chinese Gold Murders: A Judge Dee Detective Story by Robert van Gulik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Judge Dee is fashioned after the historical figure of a real Judge Dee, famous in ancient Chinese panels as a scholar and magistrate. Robert van Gulik who was born in the Netherlands and served in the diplomat Service in China and Japan for many years wrote these wonderful books. His interest in Asian languages led him to the discovery of Chinese detective novels and to this historical character. This book details how Judge Dee began his career and how he met up with his constant companions who appear in all the subsequent books.

At the beginning of Judge Dee's career when he was 33 years old he obtained his first appointment to a post in the provinces. Dee went to a port city on the north east coast. He was sent to replace a magistrate who had been murdered. The previous investigation of this murder had been cut short for reasons unknown to the Judge. When Judge Dee finally got settled in his new lodgings several cases came to hand. The first was the case of a wife, the second was the case of a missing member of the magistrates court and finally it was the case of the murdered magistrate.

The judge uses his powers of deduction and insight to solve all these puzzles in a very interesting and informative way. I really enjoy the Judge Dee books.

Sundowner Unbuntu

by Anthony Bidulka
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the reasons I read this series is to figure out what the titles mean and I enjoy the mysteries as well.. Each one so far has been a little trip to an interesting place. Russell Quant is an amusing fellow with a tongue-in-cheek approach to life and he takes on the case of a missing person that eventually takes him to South Africa, then to Botswana and finally Zambia with dragging footsteps following him all the way. The reader makes some connections long before Russell does in this particular case and I for one was less forgiving at the end.

The dragging footsteps belong to a vicious person who had no remorse as he brutally went about damaging people and needed more retribution that psychological help. Russel got in the way of this and some of the retribution fell on his own head. This was because of unbuntu.





UNBUNTU - the Africans believe that a community must live harmoniously together, with out the care and watchfulness of their neighbors they are nothing. If a young foolish boy steals something the community cannot let him get away with it, because that would be like stealing from every one, so the thing is always returned. If a bad thing is done to one person in the community by another  a retribution is exacted in some way - unbuntu. In short the community takes care of itself.

Amuse Bouche

The first book in this series   Amuse Bouche
These are special appestizers that are intended to amuse the mouth

Aquavit

The Second  Flight of Aquavit

Tapas

The Third  Tapas on the Ramblas
 Spanish Appetizers eaten on a special street





The Fourth   Stain of the Berry

Telling Tales

Vera Stanhope is one of the most interesting characters in detective fiction that I have come across in a while. She looks and dresses like a bag lady because of an unfortunate figure and a recalcitrant skin condition. She is frequently underestimated and often over looked so she has developed a personality that is warm and caring on occasion and very snarky as the British say, on  others.

Vera looks and dresses like a bag lady because of an unfortunate figure and a recalcitrant skin condition. She suffers from a severe form of eczema and it is only when she wears loose baggy clothing that her skin is comfortable. This also explains why she wears a type of walking sandal most of the time.

Stanhope is the perfect Detective Inspector to reinvestigate a case of the death of a young girl ten years prior. She knows people and also knows how to manipulate them on occasion as she ferrets out secrets that only an elephant would remember. The case revolves around the murder of a lovely young girl who was the apple of her father's eye.

 The easiest person to pin the murder on is the the slightly disturbed girl who was obsessed with Mr. Mantell and whom Mantell had recently asked to leave his home.  The death was was supposed to have come as an act of retaliation for Abigail Mantell's manipulation of her father. after ten years in prison someone comes forward to finally verify Jeanie's long ago alibi but it is too late. After she was recently denied parole Jeannie committed suicide.

A central character in the story is Emma Bennett who was a friend of Abigail's and who was severely traumatized by the discovery of the body and has been somewhat withdrawn ever since. There are others who also felt that the easy answer was the wrong answer. As in all investigations the underbelly of a village's life is revealed and a second murder brings the cold case into the present.



This is the second of this series and like all of Ann Cleeves' series is well worth reading.