The Complaints, by Ian Rankin

Rankin lives in Edinburgh, Scotland which is also the setting for this novel featuring Detective Malcolm Fox. Fox’s division is the Complaints, the group that  investigates accusations about fellow police officers. His latest assignment is to investigate Detective Jamie Breck. Breck, fast rising through the ranks, has been fingered for possible involvement in child porn activities. However, circumstances are not what they appear to be on the surface and Fox finds himself being investigated as he unravels the strands of this case. I listened to the book on CD and the Scottish narrator gives an excellent reading, portraying the different characters.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

Moonlight Mile, by Dennis Lehane

Moonlight Mile is the sixth and possibly the last in Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro mystery series. Set in the Boston area, this novel revisits the plot of Gone, Baby, Gone featuring a now teenaged Amanda McCready, who has not had a happy life since being returned to her mother by Kenzie and Gennaro twelve years before. I listened to the book on CD and found reader Jonathan Davis’s attempt at capturing a Boston accent less that successful. The plot, dealing with questions of moral right and wrong, but with plenty of action, moves right along and wraps up at the real trailer park in West Roxbury where a friend of mine used to store his camper. The Massachusetts settings add an extra dimension for us locals.

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RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

The Gods of Greenwich, by Norb Vonnegut

Set during the 2008 financial meltdown, Vonnegut, a financial professional and fourth cousin to Kurt, has written a suspense thriller centering on Wall Street’s hedge fund industry. The protagonist, Jimmy Cusack, and his wife garnered my sympathy but all the other characters were unappealing to various degrees. There is a fast paced ending that leaves you rooting for the good guys. The whole plot made a lot more sense after I reread the first few chapters.

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RATING: * * OK
Reviewed by: kh

A Mind to Murder, by P. D. James

Written in 1963, this is the second Adam Dalgleish mystery. The detective is sent from a party he is attending at his publisher’s to the Steen Psychiatric Clinic, also in London, where the office administrator has been brutally murdered. The Clinic director locked the doors after the crime was discovered so the killer is presumed to be still in the building and the staff members are high on the list of suspects. It turns out that the victim was disliked by several of the staff but who has the motive for a murder? James is a skilled author and I enjoyed listening to the book on cd and thought that Penelope Dellaporta, the narrator, did a fine job.

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* * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

The Domino Men, by Jonathan Barnes

Henry Lamb thinks he is just an ordinary file clerk in an ordinary office where mounds of paper are sorted and filed for various government departments in London. But one day he is suddenly transferred to the “Directorate” and finds himself fighting supernatural beings in human disguise as well as members of the Royal Family who are part of the plot to bring London to irreversible ruin. I listened to the book on cd and the narrator, Gerard Doyle was excellent.

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RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, by Michael Dibdin

Before Dibdin’s “Aurelio Zen” thrillers, he wrote this 1978 debut novel using Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson characters. The author captures the tone of and uses details from the original stories. However, he also incorporates an actual series of 19th century crimes and 20th century psychology to move the plot forward. I listened to the book on CD and enjoyed narrator Robert Glenister’s interpretation of the individual characters.

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RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

Sixkill, by Robert B. Parker

Fast paced is the operative phrase here, Parker wasted no words in his 39 Spenser novels and this last one provides an enjoyable evening’s entertainment. It’s fun to picture Spenser in the various Boston area locales mentioned in the plot (the endpapers feature a map) with the good guys being good and the bad guys very bad, but not gruesome. Spenser is hired to investigate the death of a young woman who may have been murdered by a super sized movie star, in Boston to film a picture. The detective also helps reform movie star Jumbo’s ex-bodyguard, a young former football playing Native American with a drinking problem. Spenser, Ave Atque Vale.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson

First of the trilogy by the late Swedish author, Stieg Larsson, this is a real page turner. The wealthy, elderly Henrik Vanger is determined to find out what happened to his niece Harriet who vanished 40 years ago. He employs disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist to find out which member of the Vanger family murdered Harriet. There are lots of twists to the plot to keep you guessing at the outcome and two more novels to read if you enjoy this one.

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RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

Wicked Appetite, by Janet Evanovich

A light, quick read, more for the female reader. If you like the Stephanie Plum novels, you will enjoy this story. It even features Diesel with his otherworldly talents and Carl the monkey from the Plum series. Set in Salem, Massachusetts and surrounding towns, pastry chef Lizzie Tucker helps Diesel recover three ancient relics with strange powers. According to the author’s website this is the first in a new series.

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

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New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Anthony Boucher and Denis Green

I have been enjoying the four volumes of this spoken CD series. This is for those who love radio drama and Sherlock Holmes stories. The series was originally broadcast in the 1940′s and the CDs are complete with Petri wine commercials.

RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

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