Book Review: The Art of Betrayal by Connie Berry @conniecberry @crookedlanebks

The Art of Betrayal
A Kate Hamilton Mystery #3
Connie Berry
Crooked Lane Books, June 2021
ISBN 978-1-64385-594-3
Hardcover

Here’s a long, carefully constructed mystery that becomes more and more involving as it develops. By the time readers reach the high level action two-thirds along, the narrative has a firm grip. The questions raised beg to be answered and the relationships, particularly between the two principals, Tom and Kate, our narrator, will not let us go.

Kate Hamilton, American antiques dealer is in Suffolk, enjoying time with her new love, Detective Inspector, Tom Mallory. While he works, Kate spends time helping out in a local antique shop. When an older woman brings her a startlingly important and valuable piece of Chinese ceramic, Kate’s instincts shift abruptly to high alert.

Murder, connected to a local spring fair and to events almost twenty years in the past, rise, tangle and provide both answers and murky fog. Both Kate and Tom are soon mired in the increasingly complex case. Who is the old woman? Why was she murdered? What, if anything, does an obscure ancient Anglo-Saxon phrase have to do with the case, and why does a white lotus petal appear on the floor of the breached Antique shop?

The number of interesting and useful characters are very well managed, the pace develops slowly to a surprisingly tense climax and the author’s handling of many details is professional, accurate and satisfying. Betrayals occur in many large and small contexts in the lives of the characters, all precisely handled and satisfying. An outstanding, well-designed mystery is properly resolved and leaves the reader with pleasure at recognition of having experienced a fine piece of literature and a cracking good mystery.

Reviewed by Carl Brookins, August 2021.
http://www.carlbrookins.com http://agora2.blogspot.com
Traces, Grand Lac, Sins of Edom, Red Sky.

Book Review: The Body in Bodega Bay by Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden @UWiscPress

The Body in Bodega Bay
A Nora Barnes and Toby Sandler Mystery #2
Betsy Draine and Michael Hinden
Terrace Books/University of Wisconsin Press, September 2020
ISBN 978-0-299-29794-7
Trade paperback

When the body of a murdered man is found in a boat floating in Bodega Bay, married couple Nora Barnes and Toby Sandler are astonished to discover it is Charlie Halloran, Toby’s new partner in his art and antiques gallery. Charlie had been the most personable of men. Who would want to kill him? The answer, they soon discover, lies within the antique business, an auction Charlie had just attended, and his purchase of an old Russian icon—which has now disappeared.Nora is an art history teacher at Sonoma College, and with Toby’s expertise in antiques, they are called upon to help the resident deputy, Dan Ellis, with the investigation. Clues mount up. People who may have had a connection to the missing icon are contacted and investigated, but the case moves slowly without the icon. When at last the icon is found, the chase intensifies.

There’s nothing I like more than a treasure hunt, and this one is particularly interesting. I love hidden recesses in old furniture. Buried treasure is a hoot. And most intriguing is the way that in an age when used items were not discarded (and thank goodness for that or we’d be lacking in humankind’s history) but reused. Old canvases were painted over. You’d guessed that, hadn’t you?

I love reading about the processes involved in reclamation projects. Specifically, in this case I loved the chase not only of a murderer, but the solving of an even older mystery. The Body in Bodega Bay is a fine way to spend a few hours.

Reviewed by Carol Crigger, November 2020.
http://www.ckcrigger.com
Author of The Woman Who Built A Bridge (Spur Award Winner), Yester’s Ride,
Hometown Burning and Five Days, Five Dead: A China Bohannon Novel

Book Reviews: Tokyo Kill by Barry Lancet and The Care and Management of Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

Tokyo Kill
Barry Lancet
Simon & Schuster, September 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4516-9172-6
Hardcover

Jim Brodie made his initial appearance in Japantown, an action-packed thriller and the series debut.  He now returns in a novel which is no less filled with derring-do and lots of exotic descriptions of Japanese culture and history.  Brodie inherited a half-interest in Brodie Security, founded by his late father and headquartered in Tokyo, and also operates an art dealership, which he claims is his main profession, in San Francisco.

In Tokyo seeking a rare painting, Brodie is approached by a 90-year-old veteran of World War II asking for protection because members of his military detachment in Manchuria during the war-time occupation by Japan were being murdered.  After he supplies a security detail, events take over the course of the rest of the novel, as Brodie investigates the possibility of Triads, Chinese spies and others as the culprits.  And that takes on a life of its own.

The author has lived and worked in Japan for more than a quarter century, and the flavor and information about the country permeates with authenticity throughout the novel.  His description of various types of martial arts practiced in Japan is a further exhibit of his expertise.  Powerfully written, Tokyo Kill is a very enjoyable read, and this reader is looking forward to additions to the series.
Recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, November 2014.

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The Care and Management of Lies
A Novel of the Great War
Jacqueline Winspear
Harper, July 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-222050-9
Hardcover

The old adage that an army travels on its stomach certainly is an apt description for this standalone by the author of the terrific Maisie Dobbs series.  Like those novels, it is sent in and around World War I and captures the horrors of the Great War, the muddy trenches, the deaths and its effect on the folks back home.

The plot centers on Kezia Marchant who marries Tom, the younger brother of her good friend, Thea Brisenden, with whom she went to school, both becoming teachers.  Then upon marrying Tom, Kezia becomes a farm wife.  All this takes place shortly before the outbreak of hostilities, and when the war breaks out, Tom feels imperiled to enlist, leaving Kezia to manage the farm.

In the brief time before Tom leaves for France, a ritual develops, as Kezia learns to cook with a flourish, using ingenuity and good sense to set a table unlike anything her husband had ever experienced.  And when he receives letters in the trenches they are filled with glowing accounts of dinners Kezia has prepared for him, filling his drudgery with lightness.  And the rest of the soldiers in his unit take to the descriptions as well, adding to their joy in the face of the poor rations they have to endure.  This is a novel demonstrating the ability of people to withstand all sorts of horrible experiences and survive, and it is recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, January 2015.

Book Review: The Kizuna Coast by Sujata Massey

The Kizuna Coast
A Rei Shimura Mystery #11
Sujata Massey
The Ikat Press, December 2014
Ebook
Also available in hardcover and trade paperback

From the author—

When an earthquake triggers a tsunami that floods Japan’s northeast coast, amateur sleuth Rei Shimura is pushed into her most rugged adventure yet.

It starts with an SOS from Rei’s beloved elderly friend, the antiques dealer Mr. Ishida, who’s trapped among thousands on the ravaged Tohoku coast. Rei rushes from Hawaii to blacked-out Tokyo, where she discovers Ishida Antiques may have been burglarized and its cuddly watchdog, Hachiko, needs a caregiver.

Rei and Hachiko board a bus full of disaster volunteers headed to the damaged town of Sugihama. Once there, they learn about the disappearance during the tsunami of Mr. Ishida’s antiques apprentice, Mayumi, a troubled young woman from a famous lacquer-making family.

Making use of her volunteer friends, as well as her knowledge of Japanese manners and antiques, Rei investigates Mayumi’s suspicious disappearance. Complicating the situation is a police force overwhelmed by counting the dead, and a stalker who’s set his or her own sights on Rei.

On March 11, 2011, an earthquake and resulting tsunami struck Japan and the world watched in horror as the ruinous effects unfolded, including the frightening damage to a nuclear plant and the deaths of more than 15,000 people. Four years later, more than 300,000 survivors still live in temporary housing and many who were exposed to radiation from the nuclear plant are coping with health problems.

Rei Shimura’s first thoughts are to find Yasushi Ishida, her mentor who is not answering his phone, but she soon discovers that while he is alive, Mayumi, a young apprentice, is missing. Rei, as any of her fans would expect, heads to Japan right away, directly into the devastation. She has solved mysteries before but this one will test her limits as she encounters destruction and untold suffering everywhere she goes.

Rei has always been one of my favorite characters in the mystery world, especially among those who take me to exotic places, and I have missed her and her inability to succumb to defeatism in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Her quirkiness and humor are infectious and I’m thrilled to have her back in my life.

Note: I sound like a crazy fan, don’t I? One might even say I’m a bit of a stalker but I really do know that Rei is a fictional sleuth 😉

Sujata Massey writes a cracking good mystery (with a fabulously helpful cast of characters!) but it’s easy to see that the earthquake and tsunami struck a chord in her. Much of The Kizuna Coast revolves around the aftermath and Ms. Massey‘s emotions clearly shine through Rei’s own. I’ve always enjoyed this series but, somehow, The Kizuna Coast has a depth to it I haven’t seen before and I appreciated the way the author brought heart to a terrible event. I can’t recommend this book highly enough whether others have read the series from the beginning or not.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, March 2015.

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The proceeds from all ebook copies of
The Kizuna Coast sold in March 2015 will be
donated by the author to support a
program for tsunami survivors in Japan.

Book Review: Gossamer Ghost by Laura Childs—and a Giveaway!

Gossamer Ghost
A Scrapbooking Mystery
Laura Childs
Berkley Prime Crime, October 2014
ISBN 978-0-425-26666-3
Hardcover

From the publisher—

Carmela Bertrand knows that Halloween in New Orleans means a week of rabble-rousing, costumed craziness—and she can’t wait to get the party started. But when a local antiques dealer turns up dead, Carmela suddenly finds herself in a real-life danse macabre…

An evening’s work deciding on the class schedule for her scrapbooking shop has put Carmela in the mood to kick up her heels. But after some strange noises draw her into Oddities, the neighboring antiques shop, Carmela’s night is abruptly put on hold when a bloody body falls out of a curio cabinet—and into her arms.

While shop owner Marcus Joubert was known for being an eccentric with a penchant for eclectic merchandise, Carmela never thought he was the kind of man who could inspire the passion required to kill. But when Marcus’s assistant—and fiancée—Mavis reveals that a priceless death mask was also stolen, it becomes clear that murder wasn’t the culprit’s sole intention.

Carmela can’t resist the urge to investigate the growing mystery, but as the list of suspects increases, she realizes it’ll take every trick in the book to unmask the killer thief before there’s another night of murderous mischief….

Carmela is one of those protagonists who appeal to me even while they sometimes make me gnash my teeth. In an earlier book, she plucked my last nerve with her reckless snoopiness but I continued to follow her adventures and became a bit more accustomed to her ways somewhere along the line. So, yes, she’s snoopy when she thinks something might be wrong in Marcus’ shop but I just rode along with all her excuses and thought nothing of it. And, don’t you know it, her nosiness turns out to be justified. I also enjoyed the thought of the body falling into her arms and I LOVE this—

And still Carmela continued to scream.

When nobody showed up to help, when nothing seemed to be accomplished by her loud screeches of protest, she let out a garbled cough and closed her mouth with a snap.

That is Carmela—scenestealing, loud, annoying, and then she pulls herself together for the job at hand. And with that, she calls her boyfriend, Detective Edgar Babcock, who just happens to be on the scrumptious side as well as eternally patient with his girlfriend, and then immediately dials her friend and sleuthing partner, Ava Gruiex.

So, why would anyone want to kill Marcus? Granted, he was kind of weird but was that enough, along with the theft of a priceless artifact, to make someone want him dead? Carmela being Carmela, this clearly calls for a little sniffing around and, next thing you know, she and Ava are mixed up with Carmela’s least favorite countess, an antiques dealer with a fake British accent and a shady pawn shop operator, not to mention the Zombie Crawl and the Witches Run.

Fans of Ms. Childs—and they are legion—will love this return to Carmela’s exploits. Besides a cracking good mystery and a lot of engaging characters, one thing I’ve always loved about this series is the setting in New Orleans and Gossamer Ghost is no exception. Ms. Childs has a deft and colorful hand with her descriptions and she transported me right to Halloween with all its festivities and joie de vivre. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting this wonderful city just once, many years before Katrina, and Gossamer Ghost reminds me of that time. Ms. Childs makes me want to go back and I think a Halloween trip might be in my future travel plans. I just wish Oddities, my kind of shop, really existed 😉

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, October 2014.

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You have two chances to enter the drawing
for a hardcover copy of Gossamer Ghost by
Laura Childs. Leave a comment below and
then again tomorrow, October 9th, after an
interview with Laura. Two winning names will
be drawn on the evening of October 12th.
Open to residents of the US.

Book Reviews: Dread on Arrival by Claudia Bishop, Exercise is Murder by Janis Patterson, and A Rendezvous To Die For by Betty McMahon

Dread on Arrival  
A Hemlock Falls Mystery (#17)
Claudia Bishop
Berkley Prime Crime, April 2012
ISBN 978-0-425-24707-5
Mass Market Paperback

Dread on Arrival, the latest entry in the Hemlock Falls mysteries, is a spoof on TV reality shows featuring antique pickers,  pawnshop owners, and the wildly popular Antique Roadshow. Except I doubt there has been murder done on the sets of these shows. That’s not the case here, and certainly Edmund Tree, star of “Your Ancestor’s Attic”, seems a rather likely victim. Neither he, his fiancee, nor the people who work for him are especially charming folk, all of which provides plenty of suspects when Mr. Tree is murdered whilst the cameras are rolling. And really, amateur sleuth Sarah Quilliam isn’t certain she’d care, except that her town, her sister, her friends, and her hotel are embroiled in the mystery. And any thing that hurts them, hurts her.

Claudia Bishop has created a fun town full of quirky characters, all of whom are people you’d like to know–and you might even find counterparts in your own home town. Everyone wants to get in on solving this newest case of Murder in Hemlock Falls, but only Sarah has the correct expertise. The author includes several yummy sounding recipes, drawn from the meals served in the fictional Inn at Hemlock Falls, NY, as well as a Cast of Characters to help identify the many folk in the book.

Reviewed by Carol Crigger, November 2012.
Author of Three Seconds to Thunder.

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Exercise is Murder
Janis Patterson
Five Star, December 2012
ISBN 978-1-4328-2636-9
Hardcover

Ex-cop Rebecca Cloudwebb, now an antique dealer after an on-the-job shooting has invalided her out of the force, is drawn into a particularly nasty murder when social-climber Laura Tyler drinks a glass of poison on her first visit to a tony exercise club. Rebecca, on the scene to deliver some expensive earrings to a wealthy client, watches in horror as the woman dies. Suspects abound. The problem is that the rich ladies in the class consider themselves above the law, and there seems to be no motive–until it occurs to Flora Melkiot, Rebecca’s client, that perhaps Laura wasn’t the intended victim. Coercing Rebecca into working with her, the two set out to find the murderer, much to the cops’ chagrin.

Wow! What a bunch of dysfunctional women, with not a pleasant one between them. At times I had a difficult time remembering who was married to whom and who was sleeping with whom. Mostly, I didn’t care. I just hoped Rebecca and Flora were able to find the killer before more people died. There’s a lot to this book; politics, grudges, blackmail, affairs, sordid secrets. Working through the mystery revives Rebecca Cloudwebb’s determination to rise above her own depression and despair—a good thing since it seems certain she has more adventures in store.

Reviewed by Carol Crigger, November 2012.
Author of Three Seconds to Thunder.

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A Rendezvous to Die For
A Cassandra Cassidy Mystery
Betty McMahon
Lulu, 2011
ISBN 978-1-257-93132-3
Trade Paperback

Minnesota “nice” turns lethal in this story, pitting freelance photographer Cassandra Cassidy against a murderer who begins his career at a re-enactors fur trader rendezvous.

Ms. McMahon touches a lot of bases with this mystery. Wrapped around the actual murders is information on photography, cow cutting (if you don’t know what this is, you’re about to find out) and re-enactors totally dedicated to their chosen era’s realism. I think you’ll find plenty of research has gone into these details, adding verisimilitude to the whole. Although Cassandra Cassidy wobbles on the TSTL edge, her motivation in solving the whodunit when the cops can’t seems logical, especially since she is one of the main suspects. If the tiny bit of romance seems a trifle “thrown in for good measure,” it, along with the unanswered question of what happened to Cass’s parents, leads me to believe there may be a sequel in the works.  Which is fine with me. I like Cass.

Reviewed by Carol Crigger, November 2012.
Author of Three Seconds to Thunder.