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Best of...
Best of 2003
Blood is the Sky, Steve Hamilton, St. Martin's Minotaur, $21.95.
Ann Arbor's favorite son - U of M grad, Hopwood award winner and Edgar winner
Steve Hamilton turns in perhaps the best book in his terrific series. Alex
leaves Paradise, Michigan, to go farther North and help his friend Vinnie
find his missing brother. This book is a nonstop thrill ride, beautifully
written, full of unexpected twists and some not unmeaningful thoughts on friendship,
culture, and kinship. This book is a total package - good writing, great characters,
and an impossible to put down plot.
The Last Witness, K.J. Erickson, St. Martin's, $24.95.
I was hooked from word one by K.J. Erickson's compelling mystery about a woman
apparently murdered by her husband - even though he has a solid alibi - at
the time of the murder, he was with her parents, arranging his divorce settlement.
Not only is this a meticulous police procedural, it's a great look at the
modern workplace - in this case, the police department, and at the life of
Mars Bahr, a single dad with a completely believable son. The story is top
notch and so is the writing. Start with the first one if you want, Third Person
Singular - just don't miss this fine writer.
Last Lessons of Summer, Margaret Maron, Mysterious Press, $23.95.
Leave it to an old pro to turn in one of the more satisfying reads of the
year. This is a standalone for Maron, and it's about a woman who goes south
from New York to close up her grandmother's house before it's sold. Along
the way, questions about her grandmother's death and her own mother's suicide
many years ago come to light, and Maron uses a broad canvas with lots of characters
- all of whom are well delineated. The south comes absolutely alive, as does
main character Amy Voygt. I think if Agatha Christie were alive and living
in the south, she'd be Margaret Maron.
The Last Kashmiri Rose, Barbara Cleverly, Dell, $6.99.
This is a vivid and entertaining historical set in 1920's India, and featuring
Scotland Yard detective Joe Sandilands. In this case he's literally called
off the boat on his way back to London to look into the deaths of several
military wives - all dead in different ways, but all killed in the same month
every year. Not only does Cleverly make full and glorious use of her setting,
she's a natural storyteller, and the mystery itself is full of wonderful twists
and a bit of romance. There's a second one out in hardback, Ragtime in Simla,
also excellent.
The Bastard's Tale, Margaret Frazer, Berkley, $6.99.
The Minnesota genius who labors away on the Dame Frevisse medieval mysteries
has this year turned in one of her best efforts to date - it may be necessary
to be a fan of 15th century English politics to truly enjoy this book, but if
you are, it's not to be missed. Dame Frevisse leaves the convent at the request
of the Bishop and poses as lady in waiting to her high born cousin. Not only
is the plot worthy of the golden age of mystery, the character of Dame Frevisse
is an exquisite one, as is the writing here. There are several scenes that moved
me to tears, and the final scene is so remarkable it's stayed with me all year,
and helped me to remember in December what I liked about this book in May. If
you are a history mystery fan, or just a locked room mystery fan, don't miss
this wonderful book.
A Fountain Filled with Blood, Julia Spencer-Fleming, St. Martin's-Minotaur,
$23.95.
Spencer-Fleming follows up her spectacular freshman effort, In the Bleak
Midwinter, with another terrific entry in what is fast becoming one of the
more interesting series around. In this installment the Reverend Claire Fergusson,
Epsicopal priest in Miller's Kill, New York, gets involved in a horrific case
of gay bashing. The opening chapter is among the more disturbing I read all
year, and the best written. Spencer-Fleming is still tormenting Rev. Claire
and the married police chief - he's still married, they're still thrown together,
and boy, are they are suffering. It's very compelling, as are the complex
plotting and characterization skills of this natural born writer.
Poison Blonde, Loren D. Estleman, Forge, $24.95.
Estleman as always delivers a strong and entertaining - not to mention beautifully
written - look at Amos Walker's Detroit. In this novel, Amos seems to have
actually joined the 21st century as he follows a Latina singer (think J-Lo)
around to try and figure out who's trying to kill her. It sounds simple, but
being Estleman, there's a complicated plot here, as well as the thrill we
get as readers accompanying Amos on his appointed rounds. A new Estleman is
always a satisfaction for any mystery reader. (Signed copies available).
An Eye for Murder, Libby Fischer Hellmann, Berkley Prime Crime, $6.50.
An intriguing new series set in Chicago and featuring single mom-filmaker-official
busybody Ellie Foreman. This is a new style Sara Paretsky - there's a similar
passion, complex plotting, and sharp social conscience here. Hellmann's heroine
isn't quite as cranky, starved, or bloody as Parestky's though she still gets
into trouble. This novel has roots in the holocaust as Ellie gets drawn into
a mystery involving a very old and very dead German. An extremely memorable
debut. The second novel, Picture of Guilt, is already out, and there's a new
title due in January.
Shop Till You Drop, Elaine Viets, Signet, $5.99.
This light, refreshing cosy set in an ultra chic dress shop in Florida features
one of my favorite new characters in mystery - sensible Helen, fleeing a bad
marriage and working dead end jobs off the books so her ex can't find her.
This is funny, clever and enjoyable, and just the thing for a read in front
of the fire on a winter's evening. And you just have to read Viets' explication
of the Florida Bimbo - it'll make your week. Happily, there's a second novel
out already, Murder Between the Covers - Helen is dead-ending it in a chain
bookstore.
The White Lioness, Henning Mankell, Vintage, $13.00.
Anyone who says mystery is not literature has never read Henning Mankell.
This Swedish author of the Kurt Wallender series uses an effectively spare
writing style to tell stories of incredibly layered complexity, where one
plot turn reveals another in completely believable fashion. In The White Lioness,
the plot begins with the disappearance of a mother/real estate agent, and
eventually segues into an assassin's plot to kill a major black South African
leader - and it all makes perfect sense. Wallender is certainly the soul brother
of British detectives like Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse and Peter Robinson's
Alan Banks, but the Swedish setting and sensibility make it an altogether
different reading experience.
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