Category: Genres

I picked up Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano because of the intriguing title, which stirred thoughts of some of the Scandi humour of the last couple of years. Auntie Poldi is a middle aged German widow who has chosen to while away her latter years in a small Sicilian village with her nephew (hence the ‘Auntie’) and sisters-in-law except that she can’t just soak up the local colour and alcohol. She finds herself drawn into solving the disappearance of her handyman, Valentino which involves a close encounter with boss of the local Mafia and an enchantment with the investigating detective.

This is a charming humorous novel with some good characters and and a lovely Sicilian flavour, it isn’t heavy crime but it has sufficient twists to keep you interested. Definitely worth a read and I’m looking forward to the next Poldi novel in 2018

3.5/5

I first discovered Philip Kerr on a visit to Partners & Crime bookstore in New York in 2007 (now closed unfortunately). A chat with one of the staff seeking some recommendations for new crime writers introduced me to Philip Kerr, I have been a fan of his Bernie Gunther series ever since. Gunther is a tough murder detective struggling to maintain his integrity, pursue criminals and steer through the political maze of Nazi Germany. Gunther is a great character that you return to in each novel with enthusiasm, Kerr also has a good eye for historical detail and the realities of surviving and/or flourishing under the Nazi regime.

Prussian Blue is the 12th in the series, each book stands alone and their is next to no dependency on having read it’s predecessors so you could jump in with Prussian Blue or start at the beginning with March Violets. Prussian Blue starts in 1956 with Gunther working in a hotel on the French Riviera trying to lead a quiet life, he becomes entwined in an operation ordered by Erich Mielke the head of the Stasi and things go downhill from there. The plot flits between 1956 and a case that Gunther had in 1939 just before the start of the war. It’s tense, atmospheric and at times quite humorous, well worth reading.

4/5

Written in Bones by James Oswald is the seventh in the Inspector McLean series, somehow I read the first and then skipped to the seventh by mistake (I will have to go back and work my way through these as they are very good).

A body is found impaled on the top of a tree, how did it get there? Why was it placed there? As McLean teases out leads it becomes apparent that the case is in someway linked to the murky past of some of his senior officers who are keen to distance themselves from the investigation.

Oswald has been described as being in the style of Ian Rankin which is a somewhat simplistic comparison of another dark crime set in Edinburgh,  and McLean is certainly not yet as absorbing or well rounded a character as Rebus but if you like Rankin then this is well worth reading.

4/5

Die of Shame by Mark Billingham is another one of those ‘closed room’ murder mysteries (a la Agatha Christie) where the focus is on a group of characters one of whom will turn out to be the murderer. One member of a therapy group of recovering addicts is murdered and the plot takes you through the back stories and interactions of all of the group and their therapist (another ex addict) leading up to and after the murder.

There are several blind alleys and some misdirection before you get to the end of the story and a nice twist or two but overall this is rather predictable and somewhat unsatisfying. By some quirk of fate this is the second Mark Billingham novel that I have read in the last few weeks, Rush of Blood was also a ‘closed room’ style novel – neither has been particularly enjoyable.

Mark Billingham’s Tom Thorne series have been great and stood the test of time as they get into their second decade, none of his one off’s have matched the quality of the Thorne series.

2.5/5