Yellowthread Street by William Marshall is the first in a series of hilarious crime fiction set in Hong Kong in the 60’s. The first 3 books in the series have just been republished by Farrago.
Think of Hill Street Blues meets Ed McBain with a touch of Jackie Chan. Yellowthread Street is short, violent and gonzo funny, a good holiday read and probably a series that could be rediscovered and become quite cultish.
3.5 out of 5 but could go up after reading a couple more
Dodgers by Bill Beverly was billed as “a powerful debut literary crime novel”.
Easy is a tough kid working for an LA drugs crew managing the look outs for a crack den. When the den gets busted he is forced out of LA on a road trip with three others with the aim of murdering a key witness against the head of the drugs gang. Think road trip, right of passage, and gang psychology.
Dodgers is good dark stuff, I’m not sure that I agree with some of the rave reviews that I read before buying it. Half way through it had lost it’s novelty and I wanted it to be over but it was good enough that I would give Beverly a second read when his next novel is published
3/5
Time Heals No Wounds by Hendrik Falkenberg (translated from the original German by Patrick Brown) is a good police procedural with a couple of twists.
The central character Hannes is a newly appointed detective working his first murder case with a quirky and crotchety older officer who is nearing retirement. Standard fare but nicely portrayed and the developing relationship combined with the insecurity of Hannes adds some personality to the novel. Lurking behind the murder is the shadow of the victim’s family and the relationship between their family chemicals business and the Nazi government. Any more and I might spoil it for you.
This is a good novel, the threads in the plot are absorbing even if they have been used by others many times before. I would read more from Falkenberg.
4/5
I thought ‘The man who wanted to know‘ by DA Mishani, a police procedural set in Tel Aviv (although it could be set any where as there is nothing particularly Israeli about this novel), sounded like an interesting read.
Avi, the lead character has just been promoted to head up an investigations team, that gets called to the murder of an elderly lady in a locked room. He is plagued with self doubt as to his own abilities, a struggling relationship with his girlfriend and a boss who doesn’t want him to follow leads that point to a rogue policeman at the heart of the case.
I have to confess that by half way I didn’t want to know who had done it or what happened to the characters. It’s not terrible but Mishani is going to have to step up his game if there are more of these to follow.
2.5/5
The Dying Detective by Lief Persson is a different kind of detective novel.
The detective is Lars Johansson, a retired legendary head of the National Criminal Police who has just had a stroke and is recovering in hospital. His doctor tempts him back into bed ridden action in an endeavour to solve a 25 year old brutal rape and murder of a young girl. The only problem, apart from being retired and bed ridden, is that the statute of limitations on the case has expired so even if Lars discovers who the killer was he won’t be able to bring him to justice.
Is is not just a whodunnit. The side story of how Lars copes (or fails to cope) with his physical disabilities, his unwillingness to adapt his life and diet to help his recovery, the rag bag collection of friends, family and helpers and the witty combination of dialogue with his own internal commentary provide a good counterpoint to the detection bit. Even though you can see the end coming you don’t want to put this down.
The Dying Detective is very good, I will look out for more of Persson’s writing 4/5
Sugarland: A Jazz Age Mystery by Martha Conway is an atmospheric mystery set in Chicago in 1921. Think speakeasies, jazz musicians, emerging black culture, racism and gangsters and you’ll get the flavour of Sugarland.
This is a great read, well written, full of fascinating detail about early 20’s Chicago, black/white tensions and the Jazz scene. The plot twists nicely and the detail is woven in without being overly intrusive. I hope it is the first of a series by Conway
You should read this 4.5/5
The Spy of Venice is the first novel from Benet Brandreth is a cross between CJ Samson and Shakespeare in Love.
A young Shakespeare joins a group of players on a mission to Venice in the company of a wealthy nobleman on his way to take up an ambassadorial post at the court in Venice. They get attacked on the way and Will is drawn into a web of Venetian intrigue and murder.
Full of interesting historical detail on both the complex political and religious intrigues of the Elizabethan period and the rivalries between Venice and the Papal States.
A real page turner that I couldn’t put down. Hopefully this will be the first of many
4.5/5
The Winemaker Detective series by Jean-Pierre Alaux is more wine than detective.
If you are into the nuances of fine wines, different chateaux, grape species and the like with a bit of gourmet food thrown in and all complimented by elegant descriptions of the French countryside and Bordeaux life, then you will love this. The crime bit seems almost like an afterthought with little detection and a sort of surprise “oh that’s who did it and why” in the last chapter.
This omnibus contains the first three books in the series. They are quite short (not sure what defines a short novel as a novella) so you might be disappointed if you bought them individually.
Personally I like my crime a bit more on the robust side with some dark flavours, a hint of a plausible diversion and a satisfying aftertaste or conclusion. Give me a Premiere Cru crime novel not this light whimsical novella. This is only a 2.5/5 for me
If you want a top quality crime series set in rural France with a bit of food and wine around the edges try Martin Walker’s Bruno Courreges series, I’d give them a 4.5/5
I’d forgotten how much I enjoy Joe R Lansdale, he is a witty writer who tells good hard boiled stories.
The Thicket is set in East Texas at the turn of the century, it’s a combination of a ‘coming of age’ story and a tough bounty hunting chase of a brutal gang of bank robbers and killers. The lead character, Jack Parker, is accompanied by Shorty, a crack shot midget, Eustace, a grave digger and a Jimmy Sue, kind hearted whore on his pursuit of his sister’s kidnappers.
This is a very good read, when you’ve finished you will want to meet more by Lansdale, a great find.
This is at least a 4/5
The Plea by Steve Cavanagh is a cracking legal novel, sort of Micky Haller with knuckle dusters.
Eddie Flynn is an ex con man turned lawyer. He gets pressured into defending an open and shut murder case by a secretive FBI agent who wants Eddie to convince the defendant to plead guilty. As he looks into the case and meets the defendant Eddie starts to have doubts about his guilt but anything other than a quick guilty plea will put Eddie’s wife at risk.
This is a pacy courtroom page turner with some good twists and turns. Well worth a read, 4/5