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Review: How the Light Gets In, by Louise Penny

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How the Light Gets In, by Louise Penny

How the Light Gets In, by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books, 2013

Author Louise Penny has woven a masterpiece of characters, plot and evocative description in her latest mystery. How the Light Gets In traces the investigation of an elderly woman’s murder while at the same time continuing a plot thread that’s been building from the series beginning.

You could jump into the series here and understand this book, but you’d miss so much of the larger story that’s been building around Inspector Gamache after his long-ago case that exposed a scandal high in the ranks of the Quebec Sȗreté force. And you wouldn’t know and love the characters enough to be emotionally affected by their turmoil.

This is a series well worth starting at the beginning, with Still Life. If you’ve seen the CBC television special, that was a teaser. The novel is richer, deeper and more satisfying and couldn’t be contained in such a short film. Louise Penny’s prose is beautiful.

Those who’ve read the previous books will be glad to be back in the idyllic fictional village of Three Pines, located somewhere outside of Montreal. It’s good to see the eclectic and unusual inhabitants of the village again, and the village itself feels like a character in the novels.

Inspector Armand Gamache is one of my fictional heroes, largely because of his practice of taking cast-off members of the police force and investing enough leadership in them to help them find their places as effective and motivated officers. Those he’s helped are (mostly) intensely loyal, while those he’s crossed are formidable.

I’ve enjoyed each book in the series, but this one (number nine) is the best yet. The tension is high, three significant plot threads interweave seamlessly, the characters shine, and the ending surprises. A most satisfying read.

Because most of what I review are Christian books, I’ll add a disclaimer for this series. The profanity count is high and there is a homosexual couple, complete with innuendoes. Institutional church is not well-thought-of by many characters, but the idea of God is present (both Christian and generic).

I will also say I’ve found truth in these books. Louise Penny understands humans in our glory and in our shame, and she crafts exceptional characters and intriguing mysteries. She also understands qualities like love and loyalty, hope and perseverance, and redemption.

Louise Penny has given readers a gift, and I’m glad to see her novels getting the attention and awards they deserve. If you’ve missed these books so far, do yourself a favour and begin with Still Life. For your own peace of mind, when you get to The Beautiful Mystery be sure to pick up How the Light Gets In at the same time. Those of us who’ve had to wait a year between them can tell you it hasn’t been easy.

To learn more about the author, you can visit louisepenny.com. You’ll find a list of the books, in order (note that some have different titles depending on which country you’re in) as well as background information, discussion questions and events.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Dirty Deeds, by Christy Barritt

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Dirty Deeds, by Christy BarrittDirty Deeds, by Christy Barritt (Princeton Halls Press, 2013)

Dirty Deeds finds Gabby St. Claire on a week’s holiday with her fiancé, Riley Thomas, at an exclusive resort. Riley’s there for a conference, and to reconnect with some lawyer buddies that he hasn’t seen since college. Gabby … well, the opulent setting and posh lawyers make her nervous.

Riley has a low-paying practice that’s more about helping others than getting rich, and Gabby is used to struggling for every cent. Still, relationships involve sacrifices, so she’s determined to fit in for Riley’s sake. She even promises not to snoop into any mysteries for the week.

Asking questions about a kidnapping isn’t snooping, is it? She’s just being … helpful, right?

Suddenly she’s not just a fish out of water, believing that her upbringing cuts her off from the rich and powerful, she’s keeping secrets from Riley and wondering what secrets he’s keeping from her about his past.

And now it’s not just about kidnapping. It’s murder.

Dirty Deeds is book 4 in the Squeaky Clean Mysteries series. Gabby is a fun character and the situations she gets into always provide a laugh. I’m glad to see her developing more faith in her worth—and in God. Book 1 in the series, Hazardous Duty, is a good place to meet her in her crime-scene-cleaning role, but if you want to jump in here with book 4 you won’t feel lost. (There are spoilers for the earlier books, though.) Book 5, The Scum of All Fears, has also released.

Christy Barritt is a multi-published author of mystery, suspense and romantic suspense. For more about the author and her books, you can visit her website.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Dolled Up to Die, by Lorena McCourtney

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Dolled Up to Die, by Lorena McCourtneyDolled Up to Die, by Lorena McCourtney (Revell, 2013)

Cate Kinkaid is a private investigator—assistant PI, she’s quick to point out, which means she’s not allowed to carry a gun. Not that she should need one, since Belmont Investigations doesn’t take cases involving violence. Somebody should tell the criminals that last bit, because Dolled Up to Die is Cate’s second encounter with murder.

Cate wants to find out who killed her client JoJo’s ex-husband before the police decide it was JoJo herself. JoJo designs custom-made, child-sized dolls. She may talk about them as if they’re real, and she may have a donkey for a watchdog, but she’s not a killer… is she?

The Cate Kincaid Files books are cozy mysteries, with interesting characters and more focus on solving the crime than on frightening the reader. Even when Cate’s in danger, the suspense isn’t over-the-top. Cate is lovably impulsive, a bit too sympathetic for her own good, and not so sure of herself, but she’s enjoying this PI gig and she’s still alive to tell about it.

This story has a bit more Christian content than the previous one, because one of the characters professes to be able to discover facts about people’s “past lives” and when she encourages Cate’s boyfriend, Mitch, to try it out, he’s uncomfortable enough that he blurts out his Christian view of the subject in self-defense.

Octavia the deaf cat is back in this book, occasionally trying her paw at assisting the assistant PI. Octavia isn’t as adept as the cats in Lilian Jackson Braun‘s The Cat Who… series, but she occasionally points Cate in a useful direction.

You don’t have to have read the first book, Dying to Read, to enjoy this one, but if you plan to read them both, do it in order to avoid spoilers. New York Times best-selling author Lorena McCourtney is perhaps most widely known for her Ivy Malone series, where “LOL” means “Little Old Lady.” If you like Ivy, or you like mysteries with a bit of humour, check out Cate Kincaid. You can read an excerpt of Dolled up to Die, or view the readers group guide if you’ve already read it, by clicking the links.

[Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.]

Review: Deadly Devotion, by Sandra Orchard

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Deadly Devotion, by Sandra OrchardDeadly Devotion, by Sandra Orchard (Revell, 2013)

Research scientist Kate Adams’ mentor died from toxic herbal tea, and the police rule it self-inflicted if possibly accidental. Since they won’t investigate it as murder, Kate vows to find the killer herself.

Detective Tom Parker, the newest member of Port Aster’s small force, warns her that nobody is who they seem to be. Although the case is closed, Tom starts some quiet checking, more to keep Kate from endangering herself than out of agreement with her theories. Attraction grows between them, but this case is only one of the issues likely to keep them apart.

Deadly Devotion is a murder mystery plot delivered as romantic suspense. There are at least three very plausible suspects, and they kept me guessing until very near the end. Even then, I guessed right but for the wrong reason.

Sandra Orchard creates complex characters whose personalities shape how they react to the story unfolding around them. In Deadly Devotion, Kate sees the best in people—well, everyone other than the police—and she has no idea how to recognize a villain. Tom, on the other hand, deals with flashbacks and what looks like post-traumatic stress syndrome from his FBI work. It’s hard for him not to see threats and deception all around.

We also meet Tom’s father, Keith, an ex-cop who’s withdrawn into grief after losing his wife. And with Kate’s background in herbal research, we glimpse the world of herbal tea and natural remedies… and poison.

I appreciate how Kate and Tom integrate their Christianity into the grief and suspense they encounter in the novel. Sometimes it comes up in their conversation, but usually it’s just the force shaping how they view their world and how they act within that world.

Deadly Devotion is one of those novels where each chapter hooks you into the next one without stopping. Suspense balances with quieter scenes for an intriguing read without the high intensity of a thriller. It’s well-crafted, with some fresh descriptions. I’ll share my two favourites:

Setting the scene and introducing Kate and Tom (Parker) in the police station: “Parker glanced tiredly into each of the three coffee cups sitting on his desk, stacked them, and chucked them into a wastebasket.” (p.13) It’s just a day-in-the-life moment, but I can feel the atmosphere and I sense a bit about Tom.

Kate, feeling a bit uneasy: “A creepy bugs-under-the-collar sensation pitter-pattered across her neck as she stepped past him.” (p. 33) We’ve all felt it, but I’ve never thought of it that way before.

Deadly Devotion marks Canadian author Sandra Orchard’s first step into longer-length novels (she also writes the shorter Love Inspired Suspense novels). She handles the longer format well, and I prefer them. I’m looking forward to book two in the Port Aster Secrets series. The murder mystery was solved, but there are questions from Kate’s past, among other things.

You can find a sample chapter, deleted scenes, interviews with Kate and Tom, and more on the Book Bonus Feature of Sandra Orchard’s website. You can also interact with Sandra on Facebook.

[Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.]
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Review: Shaded Light, by J.A. Menzies

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Shaded Light, by JA MenziesShaded Light, by J.A. Menzies (MurderWillOut Mysteries, ebook version 2013)

It’s the July long weekend, and there’s a house party at George and Ellen Brodie’s new mansion in an exclusive Toronto community. Expected guests: their son, his close friend, Ellen’s country cousin, both of George’s lawyer business partners and their wives.

But there are also unexpected guests, three to be exact: a black sheep nephew, an ex-wife, and a wallflower sister.

Add in two household staff to complete the picture.

At least one of the fourteen will die before the party’s over. Because at least one other among them a murderer.

Shaded Light reads like a contemporary Agatha Christie novel. Instead of Hercule Poirot, readers meet Detective-Inspector Paul Manziuk (man’s-hook) and rookie detective Jacqueline Ryan. He’s experienced, old-school and white, she’s young, female and black.

Manziuk’s under pressure to catch a serial killer who leaves no clues, and now he’s handed the Brodie case too. He doesn’t have time to find out if Ryan can do the job… or if she’s just a political appointment.

To solve the case, Manziuk and Ryan must pierce the suspects’ outer facades and untangle the secrets within. It’s fun to watch them learn to work together along the way.

Shaded Light is book one in the Manziuk and Ryan mystery series, originally published by St. Kitts Press in 2000. The newly-issued ebook includes the author’s original prologue, omitted from the print book. The prologue works well to set the tone, and I think it’s an improvement.

I read the print version years ago and was curious to read it again. The story holds up well to a second reading. As it happens, I only remembered a few details and none of them spoiled the ending. Even if I’d remembered whodunnit, it would have still been a good read to watch the case set up and the unfold.

J.A. Menzies is the pen name of N.J. Lindquist, a Canadian author, speaker and teacher who writes fiction and non-fiction for adults and young adults. She’s a founding director of The Word Guild, co-editor of the Hot Apple Cider anthologies, and she’s usually juggling two or three projects at a time. With such a diverse list of activities, you can see why she chose to use a pen name to minimize reader confusion. To learn more about the author, visit Canadian Mystery Author J.A. Menzies.

Shaded Light and its sequel, Glitter of Diamonds, are both available as ebooks, and J.A. Menzies is working on a third in the series. I look forward to spending more time with these two detectives.

Purchase links for Shaded Light: Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, Kobo, Ganxy.

[Review copy provided by the author. Amazon links are affiliate links for The Word Guild.]

Review: Speaking From Among the Bones, by Alan Bradley

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Speaking From Among the Bones cover artSpeaking From Among the Bones, by Alan Bradley (Doubleday, 2012)

Flavia de Luce lives with her father and two older sisters in a decaying English country manor in 1951. She’s almost 12 and has already solved four murders, to the chagrin of the local constabulary (who are beginning to show her some grudging respect).

In this mystery, she discovers another body—this time in conjunction with the excavation of the village church’s patron saint’s tomb, honouring the 500th anniversary of his death. Why do the Bishop and the Magistrate want to block the project? What’s the secret hidden in the Magistrate’s creepy manor? And, of course, who killed the dead man?

Flavia’s family fortunes are slowly succumbing to what her father calls “His Majesty’s leeches” and in this novel the dreaded day comes when Buckshaw Manor must be put up for sale. The crisis, plus perhaps a bit of maturing among the sisters, gives them a common focus. I appreciate Alan Bradley’s deftly understated portrayal of the family dynamics, and I’ve come to care for the somewhat dysfunctional de Luces and their staff.

Although Flavia is a “child sleuth” there’s a rich depth to the stories that make them satisfying to (and designed for) adults. I like the humour and the word choices, and Flavia’s fixation with chemicals and poisons. She’s one of those delightful characters that you might not want to live with but who’s awfully fun to read about.

Alan Bradley’s mysteries are gentle reads in the “Golden Age” style, and this one ends with a surprising turn that has me a little perturbed about having to wait a whole year to find out what will happen next (in The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches). This is a series that builds on itself, so for maximum enjoyment a reader would begin with book 1, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. But you can start with any one of them and not feel out of place.

To learn more about Alan Bradley and the Flavia de Luce mysteries, visit Flavia de Luce or pop over to Canadian Living‘s Saturday Afternoon Book Club to read an interview with the author about this newest book in the series.

[Review copy from my local public library. Amazon link is an affiliate link for The Word Guild.]

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Review: Whirlpool, by Lorena McCourtney

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Whirlpool, by Lorena McCourtneyWhirlpool, by Lorena McCourtney (Kindle version, 2011)

Would you stay in a town where your ex-husband flaunted his lavish lifestyle and new fiancée while he stalls on dividing ownership of your former family business? Well, maybe you would, since there’s evidence he’s been less than honest with the company finances.

Stefanie Canfield chose to stay.

Arson investigator Ryan Harrison spent a miserable portion of his childhood in the town of Julesburg and can’t believe his company’s sending him back there. Surprise number 1 is the discovery that Stephanie’s still in town. After their shared underdog status in school, he figured she’d have distanced herself as much as he had. Surprise number 2: She’s turned into an attractive woman, and they seem to have some chemistry. Number 3? She’s one of the suspects in his case.

Stephanie knows she didn’t start the fire. Her ex, Hunter, is calculating enough to have done it, but she has no proof.

What she does have are odd “blurry” episodes, brought on by stress, when she can’t remember what she’s done. Under the circumstances, these happen more frequently. So when there’s a murder, can she really be sure she didn’t do it? Even if she didn’t, can Hunter successfully frame her?

I really enjoyed this novel, the first in the Julesburg Mysteries series. It has a more serious feel than Lorena McCourtney’s Ivy Malone series or her new mystery, Dying to Read, but there are still light-hearted turns of phrase to bring a smile.

Whirlpool is a good mystery, set in coastal Oregon. I like Stefanie, although her impulsive actions often had me wanting to shake her and say “don’t do that!” Not only has she lost her husband to another woman, she lost her mother to cancer the year before. And she may have lost her faith. After all, where was God in all this hurt?

While the specific mysteries of arson and murder are wrapped up for the authorities by the novel’s end, some of my questions aren’t resolved (will Stefanie’s blurry spells go away, and was the accident that caused them really an accident?). I thought that might happen as the series progressed, but the next two novels, Riptide and Undertow, focus on new characters and new romances. Stefanie and Ryan do appear, and all three books are worth a read.

You can learn more about author Lorena McCourtney at her website, or find her on Facebook. Whirlpool previously appeared in print through Fleming H. Revel, a division of Baker Books, 2002. The Julesburg novels are all available on Kindle, and since they’re re-issues of older novels, the prices are very inviting (under $3 each). See Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.

[Review copy from my personal library. Amazon links are affiliate links for The Word Guild.]

Review: Worth its Weight in Old, by K.D. Hays

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Worth its Weight in Old cover artWorth its Weight in Old, by K.D. Hays (Spyglass Lane Mysteries, 2011)

Karen Maxwell’s career as a private investigator is just starting to take off. She hopes. Working for her brother’s investigative firm, she’s finally getting out of a clerical role and into the field. Her assignment: take an undercover job in an antique store and find out who’s been damaging the merchandise.

Her challenge: to do this while single-parenting a 9-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter, and while securing her boyfriend’s attention when he only seems to want to see her at play rehearsals for his church’s youth group. Oh, and she has to not kill the new guy her brother hired to help in the office.

I really enjoyed K.D. Hays’ writing style in this cozy mystery. The novel is funny and a fast read. It’s as much about the characters as about the mystery, which makes sense in a series book. Karen has still got some things in life to learn, and she’s gained a bit of perspective by the story’s end. I hope there’ll be a third book in the series, because I’d like to spend more time with these characters.

Worth its Weight in Old is book 2 in the Karen Maxwell Mystery series, and readers new to the series will have no trouble starting here. But you might want to start with book 1, George Washington Stepped Here. Otherwise, there will be spoilers.

K.D. Hays is a pen name used for contemporary mysteries and children’s stories. The author also publishes historical romances under her own name, Kate Dolan. Click to learn more about the Karen Maxwell books  or to read sample chapters.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: When Will the Dead Lady Sing? by Patricia Sprinkle

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When Will the Dead Lady Sing cover artWhen Will the Dead Lady Sing? by Patricia Sprinkle (Signet, 2004)

MacLaren and Joe Riddley Yarbrough live in the small town of Hopemore, Georgia. She’s a county magistrate, and he had the job before her. They have married children and school-age grandchildren, so these aren’t your traditional 20-somethings.

They were childhood sweethearts, and the long relationship has developed some delightful banter between them. There’s also a secret between them, one MacLaren hoped would never surface: in university, she briefly dated someone else behind Joe Riddley’s back.

That man is now somewhat of a hero to Joe Riddley. What’s she to do when he turns up in town, complete with a political entourage and a live buffalo?

And when she finds a dead body who’s linked to the man, things get even worse. Mac has promised her husband she’ll stay out of investigating, but the local sheriff is short on sense. I assume that’s how she’s gotten involved in previous mysteries, too.

When Will the Dead Lady Sing? is book 7 in the Thoroughly Southern Mystery series, and the first one I’ve read. I plan to go back and start at the beginning. The author thoughtfully provides an opening list of the characters to help keep them straight.

This is a mainstream mystery with some Christian characters. In the story, MacLaren and Joe Riddley attend church, send a homeless man to a church-funded soup kitchen (and then regret that they didn’t help him more), and pray for their grandson when he gets in trouble. Nothing preachy or flashy, and everything serves a purpose in the plot.

The characters, Christian and non, are real, feeling people. Some are a bit eccentric, as you’d expect in a humour-tinged southern mystery. They fit with Patricia Sprinkle’s delightful voice (as spoken through first person narrator, Mac).

Patricia Sprinkle has published many mysteries, including the Thoroughly Southern Mysteries and the Family Tree Series, but somehow I hadn’t read any of her novels. When another mystery author, Jayne E. Self, interviewed her I enjoyed the interview and liked the humour in some of her titles. Her name sounded familiar, and a search turned up When Will the Dead Lady Sing, deep in my to-read stash. [Read the interview: Part 1 and Part 2]

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: Murder a Cappella, by James R. Callan and Diane Bailey

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Murder a Cappella cover artMurder a Cappella, by James R. Callan and Diane Bailey (Wayside Press, 2012)

The stereotypical image of barbershop music is a quartet of older men in straw hats, singing four-part harmony. What most people outside barbershop circles don’t know is that A) men’s quartets and choruses have young and middle-aged guys too, and B) there are ladies’ quartets and choruses. And both groups have regional, district and international competitions.

So… the scene is San Antonio, Texas. The Alamo plaza, to be precise, where an identically-dressed quartet of female barbershoppers is part of an open-air concert. It’s part of the Sweet Adelines’ international competition, and women have travelled from all over the US and beyond to participate.

When a sniper kills two members of the quartet, is it random violence? Or is someone after the singers?

Barbershopper Tina Overton is in town for the competition, but she’s a cop in her other life. The victims were her friends, and she wants to help find their killer. She works herself into the investigation as a liaison between the San Antonio police and the Sweet Adelines.

This is a mainstream novel and there’s some minor profanity. Because a lot of my readers are Christian, I’ll warn you there’s one instance of Jesus’ name used as a curse. The sad thing is, another word would have done as well and been less offensive. Otherwise, the novel’s a good read.

By definition, a competition for barbershop choruses involves a lot of characters. While only a few are central to the story, like Tina, Angela and the detective, there are a number of interactions with what I’ll call “mid-level” characters. At times I got their names jumbled. If you’re prone to that sort of thing, I’d suggest taking a blank paper for a bookmark and jotting down each person as s/he appears. First and last name (the detective uses surnames) and a cue, like “director.” It’s times like this I wish for the Agatha Christie-style cast list.

Murder a Cappella is the first barbershop-themed mystery I’ve read, and the authors do a fine job of balancing the intricate behind-the-scenes world of the women’s international competition with the unfolding mystery and clues. The solution took me by surprise.

If you’re a barbershopper, you’ll nod and smile at some of the details and situations. If you’re not, you’ll learn a bit about something new. You won’t feel lost in jargon or technicalities. This is Tina’s first time at International, and she’s new enough to her chorus that if there’s anything you need to know, she’ll need to know too. Her friend and mentor Angela will explain it in a non-disruptive way.

You can learn about co-authors James R. Callan and Diane Bailey at their respective websites. For more about Murder a Cappella, to read chapter 1 or to view the book trailer, visit the Sweet Adelines Mystery site. Yes, there will be more Sweet Adeline Mysteries. And that’s a good thing.

[review copy from my personal library]