A Catered Fourth Of July-Isis Crawford

A Catered Fourth Of July

Isis Crawford

Kensington, Jun 24 2014, $24.00

ISBN 9780758274915

Residents of Longley, New York look forward to the Fourth of July shindig in spite of the summer Westchester heat; with many looking forward to the Revolutionary War reenactment of the Battle of Meadow Creek.  However, at the gala in Highland Park, performer Jack Devlin fires his musket; only it explodes and kills him.  Rick Evans accuses Marvin, who was responsible for checking all equipment including the weapons as Jack’s flintlock was obviously tampered by someone.

At the lethal enactment, owners of A Little Taste of Heaven Bernie and Libby Simmons fear that Police Chief Lucas will arrest the latter’s boyfriend Marvin for the murder.  When someone shoots at Marvin’s car, the cops ignore the attempted murder as their focus remains on him being the only suspect; leaving it to the Simmons sisters, their dad the retired police chief and Bernie’s boyfriend Brandon to investigate.

The latest Simmons sleuth sisters’ holiday mystery (see A Catered Christmas Cookie Exchange, A Catered Birthday Party and A Catered Halloween) is a wonderful lighthearted culinary cozy with a numerous people having a motive to kill the philandering victim.  Subgenre readers will appreciate this lighthearted July 4^th whodunit as the bickering siblings compete with reenactors, cops, Hilda, Wiccan and a horde who know Jack too well.

Harriet Klausner

No Stone Unturned: An Ellie Stone Mystery-James W. Ziskin

No Stone Unturned: An Ellie Stone Mystery

James W. Ziskin

Prometheus/Seventh Street, Jun 10 2014, $15.95

ISBN 9781616148836

In 1960 popular and beautiful twenty-one years old Jordan Shaw attends Tufts University in Massachusetts.  However, just after Thanksgiving, Fast Jack Donovan tripped while hunting a rabbit in the woods only to find Jordan’s naked corpse half buried next to him.

Her hometown New Holland, New York residents are shocked that the high school homecoming queen and daughter of a judge died so ignominiously while in denial that the paragon proved not to be the perfect daughter.  The New Holland Republic sends twentyish reporter Ellie Stone to take pictures to accompany stories written by reporter George Walsh.  Still grieving her father’s death earlier in the year, Ellie investigates the homicide starting with locating the victim’s car at the Mohawk Motel and learning from the ME that Jordan had an intrauterine device installed in her.  Ellie wonders if one of the fallen from grace female’s classmates or professors especially in the French Department include a killer; but who remains out of reach as the deceased’s horde of admirers take out their rage on the intruding journalist.

The latest Ellie Stone journalist investigation (see Styx & Stone) is a great whodunit as the ambitious reporter leaves No Stone Unturned to learn the truth; while an angry Jordan fan club assaults her for daring to taint the image of their ideal woman.  This is a strong entry with a deep cast as the intrepid reporter deals with those who reject the aftermath of “When the statue on the pedestal comes crumbling to the ground …” (Brooklyn Bridge’s Blessed Is The Rain).

Harriet Klausner

Reckless Disregard-Robert Rotstein

Reckless Disregard

Robert Rotstein

Prometheus/Seventh Street, Jun 3 2014, $15.95

ISBN 9781616148812

Hollywood power broker William “the Conqueror” Bishop sues video game maker Poniard for libel;  He claims the latter’s latest hit “Abduction!” based on the disappearance of actress Felicity McGrath in 1987, accuses the Conqueror’s hired hands of abducting the bipolar performer.

Choosing to remain unrecognizable, Poniard hires Judicial Alternative Dispute Solutions attorney Parker Stern to represent him in the defamation case, but insists the matter go to court not arbitration without his appearance.  To insure a hesitant Stern’s cooperation Poniard blackmails the lawyer with the threat of revealing Parker’s past stint as a child movie star.  However what sells Stern to represent a client he never met in person is Bishop’s attorney turns out to be his former girlfriend ex–porn star Lovely Diamond.  Stern’s defense is simply that it can’t be libel when the Conqueror’s Reckless Disregard of others included abduction and murder that really happened.

The second Stern legal thriller (see Corrupt Practices) is an entertaining Hollywood drama that contains a fascinating enigmatic client and several other eccentric characters.  Although Reckless Disregard contains too many improbable coincidences, this is a fun entry due to a dynamic weird cast.

Harriet Klausner

Vertigo 42: A Richard Jury Mystery Martha Grimes

Vertigo 42: A Richard Jury Mystery

Martha Grimes

Scribner, $26.00, Jun 3 2014

ISBN 9781476724027

In Devon, England seventeen years ago, heiress Tess Williamson fell down her home’s terrace steps to her death.  The inquest ruled this tragedy an accident as the deceased suffered from vertigo and there was no evidence of foul play.

However her still grieving widower Tom remains persistent that his wife was murdered.  At the Vertigo 42 bar, he makes a case for New Scotland Yard Superintendent Richard Jury to reopen his wife’s death claiming the motive tied back to five years before his spouse’s fatal plunge when then nine year old Hilda Palmer died after falling into a dry swimming pool at a gala hosted by Tess at her Devon home.  Jury interviews the surviving guests who as children witnessed Hilda’s death over two decades ago, but soon he also investigates the deaths of a woman who fell from a tower and her estranged husband. 

Paying homage to Hitchcock, the latest Richard Jury British police procedural (see The Black Cat) is a thrilling entry in which the past and present are tied together by deaths due to perfidy.  Although the climax is over the top of Big Ben, series fans will relish Jury’s investigation into four deaths from falls.

Harriet Klausner

The Big Hello-Michael Lister

The Big Hello

Michael Lister

Pulpwood Press, Jun 1 2014, $26.99

www.pulpwoodpress.com

ISBN: 9781888146417

During WWII in Panama City, Florida, following the taunts from the banker husband of Jimmy “Soldier” Riley’s beloved Lauren Lewis, the private investigator slices the SOB’s throat.  In shock from a revelation he does not believe can be true, Jimmy and police officer Henry Folsom dig up the grave site of Lauren only to find the coffin empty. 

With his friend former combat pilot one-eyed Clipper Jones, who saved his penis from electrocution (see The Big Beyond) at his side, Jimmy seeks clues to the whereabouts of Lauren.  Everything leads to serial sex killer Flaxon De Grasse known for bisecting before draining his victims.  In a seemingly futile attempt to rescue his girlfriend Lauren from this lunatic, Jimmy and Clip visit seemingly all the dives in the Panhandle while the police pursue the duo as the body count turns stratospheric. 

The third 1940s Soldier hard-boiled noir (see The Big Goodbye) is an exciting violent thriller that grips audience from the opening on the road scene until the final anticipated confrontation.  Fast-paced readers will root for the knight and his squire (don’t call Clip that to his face) in a daring rescue the damsel in distress attempt before she becomes body parts.

Harriet Klausner

A Cut-Like Wound-Anita Nair

A Cut-Like Wound

Anita Nair

Bitter Lemon Press, Jul 8 2014, $14.95

ISBN: 9781908524362



As the month of Ramzan begins around the world, in Bangalore, India a young male heeds the words of the Goddess to cross-dress as a female. He admires his transformation into beautiful Bhuvana before leaving his home to visit the bazaars where he expects to meet true love. A man flirts with Bhuvana until an interloper warns him that the woman he admires is a male in female clothing. Angry as lust turns to disgust he insults the transgender and the interloper. When he recognizes who the transgender is, he panics just before his throat is sliced. Before leaving the killer arranges for a cleanup.



Inspector Borei Gowda struggles with his relationships with his wife, son and his former college lover; as well as those on the job including his superior, his peers and his informants, but especially his eager assistant Santosh. Meanwhile Gowda investigates a series of homicides that make no sense to him as they seem like angry crimes of passion yet cleansed by an apparent cool head.



This is an intriguing Indian police procedural in which the official serial killing inquiry takes a back seat to the deep look inside the souls of the fully developed lead characters Gowda and Bhuvana; with the latter owning the storyline. Although the tension dramatically lessons as the plot turns inward after a taut suspenseful opening, A Cut-Like Wound is a fresh mystery.



Harriet Klausner

Murder on the Mediterranean-Alexander Campion

Murder on the Mediterranean

Alexander Campion

Kensington, Jun 24 2014, $24.00

ISBN 9780758268839



Police Judicaire Commissaire Capucine Le Tellier, her husband restaurant critic Alexandre, Juge d’Instruction Inès Maistre and six others sail the Mediterranean on the Diomede charter. Inez explains to Capucine that she feels close to finally resolving her obsession to bring down financial miscreant Andre Tottingeur and his well-placed family, owners of a highly regarded Paris bank.



However, the pleasure trip turns ugly when the hired hand pampering to the guests Nathalie Martin falls overboard and is apparently dead in the Mediterranean; her body is not found. The prime suspect in what appears to be a homicide is Capucine. She and Alexandre rusticate at a friend’s estate even as Capucine investigates the murder far from the watery crime scene.



The latest captivating Capucine Culinary Mystery (see Death of a Chef, Grave Gourmet, Killer Critique and Crime Fraiche) is an enjoyable leisurely-paced whodunit with a nod to the classic The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant. While her spouse cooks up incredible meals; the heroine tries to identify the killer though many kilometers from where the victim drowned to indirectly prove her innocence; but as Victor Hugo showed justice is not always served.



Harriet Klausner