You Can’t see Me

By Eva Björg Ægisdóttir @evaaegisdottir

Translated by Victoria Cribb

Published by Orenda Books https://orendabooks.co.uk/ @OrendaBooks

404 pages ISBN 9781914585722

Publication date 6 July 2023

You Can’t See Me is a prequel to the Forbidden Iceland series featuring Detective Elma. Click on the link to read my review of Night Shadows the third book in the series.

I was sent an electronic copy to enable me to take part in this Blog Tour. I would like to thank Anne at Random Things Tours @RandomTTours for the invitation to participate and of course the Author and the Publisher.

The Cover

A girl on a windswept desolate landscape with what looks like a church in the background. Quite evocative and very much in keeping with the previous covers in the series.

From the blurb

The wealthy, powerful Snæberg clan has gathered for a family reunion at a futuristic hotel set amongst the dark lava flows of Iceland’s remote Snæfellsnes peninsula.

Petra Snæberg, a successful interior designer, is anxious about the event, and her troubled teenage daughter, Lea, whose social media presence has attracted the wrong kind of followers. Ageing carpenter Tryggvi is an outsider, only tolerated because he’s the boyfriend of Petra’s aunt, but he’s struggling to avoid alcohol because he knows what happens when he drinks … Humble hotel employee, Irma, is excited to meet this rich and famous family and observe them at close quarters … perhaps too close…

As the weather deteriorates and the alcohol flows, one of the guests disappears, and it becomes clear that there is a prowler lurking in the dark.

But is the real danger inside … within the family itself?

My thoughts

This novel is a modern twist on the country house hotel mystery so beloved of the classic era. Instead of a bunch of apparent strangers assembled together, whose intersecting pasts are only revealed once the bodies start to fall, this is a weekend get together and reunion of a rich and famous family with partners. It is their shared past and differing memories of events that prove important to the story. The setting is not a grand old house, but a new uber modern designer hotel, with the cutting-edge minimalist design that wins awards, but is also spartan, bleak and a little soulless. It is well stocked with booze though, which is a good thing because the family are prodigious drinkers, to such an extent we might wonder how they managed to become so successful. As we all know alcohol consumption and good decision making are poor bedfellows and here it provides to be no exception.

The setting is spectacular and used to perfection; the isolated landscape, the strong winds and heavy snow surrounding a stark concrete hotel, its bleak outside but cosy inside in front of a log fire. Capturing the sensation of being cut off from the rest of humanity on stormy nights but then everything being better in the bright light of a new morning with the rest of the world only a short drive away, once the snowploughs have been. Even the room controls being operated by mobile phone app adds to the ominous feeling when they seemingly malfunction one evening.

The story telling perspective is an interesting one as there is no central defining character. The narrative is in the first person but is told from several viewpoints, mostly female ones, and is constantly switching. Incidents from the past are revisited and this approach means that the facts as seen from different people are established gradually and the full story pieced together only towards the end. Even the role of the police within it are somewhat peripheral and more of a cameo. I love short chapters and a quickly switching narrative to bring a sense of urgency and danger but too much can be a little jarring for the reader, and I confess to being a little distracted at times. Perhaps I am getting a little bit old and jaded.

The characterisation is simply wonderful, managing to incorporate so many loathsome traits within one family. To name but a few, on top of the drunkenness there is; vanity, adultery, sexual predatory behaviour, sloth, psychological hurt and manipulation to go with all the profligate spending. The New Order album title Power, Corruption and Lies springs to mind as a succinct description as there is not a likeable one amongst them and the reader must look to the hotel staff for empathetic characters. Of their partners the carpenter Tryggvi at least appears to have some compassion, but he is only tolerated at best and looked down upon for being lower class and a manual worker too. Even here appearances can be deceptive. If great wealth makes you like this family, I might need to reconsider my desire for a big lottery win, well at least for a few moments.

The story is very tightly plotted and gives away its secrets slowly. It is established almost from the start that there is a body found in a nearby ravine, and by the isolation of the hotel it is likely to be either a guest or an employee. The identity of the victim, whose body cannot be quickly recovered, is left tantalisingly unclear to the reader. Without this fact it becomes difficult to pin down a suspect and motive. Once on this hook you are gradually reeled in like a prized salmon fit for the table of the Snæberg’s gala dinner. Gradually the jigsaw pieces come together, and the picture becomes clearer, but it might not be quite what was envisaged and will keep most guessing to the very end.

In You Can’t See Me sins from the past and family secrets are exposed and confronted in a bleak desolate landscape. Just what you would come to expect from the best Icelandic Noir.

You Can’t See Me can be purchased direct from the publisher here

The author

Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir studied for an MSc in globalisation in Norway before returning to Iceland to write her first novel. Combining writing with work as a stewardess and caring for her children, Eva finished her debut thriller The Creak on the Stairs, which was published in 2018. It became a bestseller in Iceland, going on to win the Blackbird Award. Published in English by Orenda Books in 2020, it became a digital number-one betseller in three countries, was shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Awards in two categories and won the CWA John Creasey Dagger in 2021. Girls Who Lie, the second book in the Forbidden Iceland series was shortlisted for the Petrona Award and the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger, and Night Shadows followed suit. With over 200,000 copies sold in English alone, Eva has become one of Iceland’s – and crime fiction’s – most highly regarded authors. She lives in Reyjavik with her husband and three children.

The translator

Victoria Cribb studied and worked in Iceland for many years. She has translated more than 25 novels from the Icelandic and, in 2017, she received the Orðstír honourary translation award for services to Icelandic literature.

Don’t forget to look out for the previous reviews on this Blog Tour:

Open Your Eyes #HeatherJFitt #OpenYourEyes

By Heather J Fitt @HeatherJFitt

Narrated by Hilary MacLean @HIlaryMaclean1

Published by Hera https://www.herabooks.com/ @HeraBooks, Saga Egmont Audio https://www.storiesbysaga.com/ https://www.sagaegmont.com/ @sagaegmont

301 pages (8 hours 20 minutes) ISBN 9788728501078

Publication date 29 August 2023 (audio)

I was allowed access to an audio review copy on Net Galley https://www.netgalley.com/ @NetGalley.  Thanks to the Author and Publisher for organising this.

The cover

First thoughts are a bit plain and dull but does have an impact and hammers home the title.

From the blurb

Can you see danger when it’s right in front of you?

When Edinburgh reporter Frankie is assigned a high-profile crime story about a series of sexual assaults, she relishes the prospect of her big break.

As she begins uncovering the truth behind women’s safety, online trolls known as incels start threatening her very existence.

Will Frankie uncover the truth, or will she become the next target?

The narration

Great narration managing to capture both the fear and frustration of the principal characters. Nice Scottish accent that is easy to understand without drifting into ‘Morningside’.

My thoughts

The importance of the start of a novel is well established and this one makes an immediate impact, but is no Pride and Prejudice. It sets out its stall from the beginning and is unflinching throughout in its coverage of horrible, shocking crimes but also doing so with a degree of honesty.

The main protagonist is Frankie (yes, another female with a male name) whose fledgling journalism career is in the doldrums and is reduced to producing filler and puff pieces. A gap on Valentines’ Day edition of the newspaper provides an opportunity for a serious piece, and it goes down well with readers, with lots of online impact. Frankie always swore that she wouldn’t become a feminist with ‘all that bra burning’ but now she has awakened an interest in female rights. Her partner Todd (described as ‘a bit of a dick’ long after I was thinking that) works at a gym and seems happiest when playing Craig, his friend, at FIFA on Xbox. His views are perhaps best described as locked in the past when it comes to relationships.

It is a timely written piece, in that even after a hundred years, women still face battles for equality. In recent years it feels not so much that progress has stalled but rather going backwards. Physical and sexual violence against women seems to be ever increasing and even elements of the police service appear to be making matters worse rather than better. The internet has brought forth a new wave of misogyny with so-called men’s rights advocates and incels. All of this is skilfully laid bare within the story line, and it is easy to see how to be on the receiving end of such abuse would chill you to your core. If the author has researched these forums, then she must have a strong stomach and a good shower. Nothing is black and white though and it is here where the narrative excels through its nuanced treatment of Liam. Liam, the third central character, is increasing pranked by his peer group which escalates into humiliation online. Something that thirty years ago would have required a ‘bit of living down’ but now thanks to an internet that forgets nothing, is now inescapable.

This is a tale of obsessions and unintended consequences. The danger of taking an interest and focussing upon it until it gradually takes over your very existence, where obsession blinds you to other possibilities. Where a goal is in sight, but insufficient thought is given to the consequences, not always intended ones, and the damage they may inflict. Easy to fall into, especially now with the influence of social media, but after a certain point it becomes difficult to extract yourself from without the help of outsiders.

Councillor Caldwell epitomises the attitude of many in his response to five women being raped, that women should ‘self-curfew’ and not go out alone after dark. As Frankie points out the rapist is a man, so surely it should be men who face any curfew. Of course, the predictable response is ‘one man’ not ‘all men’ and a curfew would be ridiculous. Modern men clearly have much serious thinking to do if life is going to improve for women.

The writing moves the story on quickly, which gives a sense of urgency before it begins to run out of control. There is risk and danger throughout, with vulnerable women always having the reader on edge, but it never becomes gratuitous or over graphic. The set piece is a little unusual and well executed, this is not a novel for second guessing and in the end, it is somewhat thought provoking.

Open Your Eyes is a crime thriller of the highest order, that delivers a serious message and does so in an unflinching manner. Perhaps a though read for some but then life is not all warm and fuzzy.

Open Your Eyes and the author’s other books can be purchased from Amazon here

The author

Heather was born in Scotland and after moving around Europe with her parents and sister, settled in Hampshire where she met her husband, Stuart.

After leaving the rat-race in 2018, Heather re-trained as an editor and proof-reader and entered the world of publishing. These days she works as a part-time freelancer and a part-time Commissioning Advisor for Bloodhound.

Heather was inspired to start writing her novel by the authors who have become her closest friends. Now the ideas are flowing she has plans to write several more over the coming years.

When she isn’t reading, Heather enjoys spending her time watching sport – especially her beloved rugby – and exploring the British countryside with Stuart.

Source: Goodreads profile

The Associate

By Victoria Goldman https://vgoldmanbooks.com/ @VictoriaGoldma2

Published by Three Crowns Publishing http://www.threecrownspublishing.com/ @3CPublishingUK

325 pages ISBN 9781739695439 

Publication date 25 July 2023

The Associate is book two in the Shanna Regan Mysteries series.

The author sent me an electronic copy in exchange for a fair review.

The cover

A sinister looking basement in an old building, a staple of the horror genre but quite apt here.

From the blurb

When an architect vanishes in East London, her concerned fiancé asks journalist Shanna Regan to find her. The missing woman has been leading an interfaith Jewish-Muslim charity project that’s become the target of malicious damage and racist threats.

After Shanna witnesses a teenage girl fall to her death, she’s convinced the architect’s disappearance is also linked to a local youth outreach project. And then another woman is reported missing.

Amid rising local tensions, danger appears to be lurking around every corner. Even the safest sanctuaries seem to be hiding the darkest secrets. As Shanna uncovers a tangled web of lies, she puts her own life on the line. Will she find the missing architect before it’s too late?

My thoughts

The old maxim ‘stick to what you are good at’ is usually sound advice, one that Shanna Regan was going to abide by, but then life gets in the way. Shanna wants to succeed as a freelance journalist. When a strange request is made of her, to find architect Louisa Phillips the fiancé of Jack Harris she becomes conflicted. Louisa has been missing for a week and Jack is becoming concerned. Investigative journalism involves research and digging for clues, helpful skills but surely searching for a missing person calls for a private investigator or even the police. Jack claims to have reported Louisa missing to the police but Shanna has her doubts, she thinks Jack is being evasive. Against her better judgement she agrees to help him, but only because there could be a bigger story in the background.

Jack and Louisa are heavily involved in an interfaith charity which is based at an old synagogue that is being renovated. Situated in a much deprived area of London, one that is blighted by violent crime, the prospect of Jews and Muslims working together on joint projects is appealing and newsworthy. Community harmony and keeping the youth of the neighbourhood away from knife crime are laudable aims and if Shanna can bring the story to a wider audience, it will benefit everyone. Not everyone takes this view she discovers, there are objections to the flat on the top floor being converted for Ukrainian refuges and there is vandalism and graffiti at the project. Shanna must tread a careful path lest prejudices become inflamed.

The setting of the heart of the story, the old synagogue, is a brilliant one and used to its fullest. There is a connection with smuggling in the past, with secret rooms and cupboards much like the ‘priest holes’ in parts of the building. Add bored youths, a rumour of hidden riches and you have a bit of a treasure hunt in an old and creepy property.

Shanna is a woman at crossroads in life, both professionally and emotionally. Her work colleague says she’s running away from commitments, and this is good observation. She could settle down to a steady job at News Quest’s office, but she hankers for more, the freedom of being a freelance journalist though is unsure if she can make it work. Then there is Mark, the friend whose house she is currently living in whilst he is off travelling. A romantic relationship will surely develop if only their paths align. Very much a conflicted woman but one who is very determined and astute when she can get a clear mind.

The plot is very much one of searching, mainly trying to find out what happened to Louisa, but also Shanna’s quest to uncover more from her family past. One path is logical, one of ordered steps, the other is more leftfield. With a character like Shanna, we know that she will pursue it to the end regardless of the consequences. There is an intensity here that drags the reader along and Shanna has that knack of getting into difficult situations without quite getting into mortal danger.

Faith plays a part in the background of the story. Firstly, there is the interfaith aspect, one that most right-minded people would support, after all they along with Christianity have the same Abrahamic stem. Naturally there are objections from some of the more hardline or devout. More importantly there is an examination of how in a secular country to still have faith but to adapt it to the environment and the modern world. How frictions can arise amongst family and friends when someone becomes more devout or relaxes their religious restrictions, often being a counter reaction to their upbringing.  

The storyline moves along at a nice pace, not too hurried, with some nice distractions along the way that avoids any flagging of interest. Anyone who has heard scratching noises from their attic will identify with Shanna discomfort and the secret customer is a clever way to examine the localities within the search.

The Associate is a gripping missing persons mystery with an engaging lead character.

The Associate and book one in the series The Redeemer can be purchased via the Author’s linktr.ee

The author

I wanted to write crime fiction from a young age and have always been an avid reader. I’m a freelance journalist specialising in health, and also edit and proofread books (fiction and nonfiction) for UK publishers. I’m a book, stationery and crochet addict. I live in Hertfordshire and am married with two sons.

If you would like to keep up with my news, you can follow me on social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). You can also become a member of my Readers’ Club – I only send out my newsletter when I have news to share, so won’t bombard you with emails.

Source: Amazon profile

Zero Days #RuthWare #ZeroDays

By Ruth Ware https://ruthware.com/ @RuthWareWriter

Published by Simon & Shuster https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/ @simonschusterUK

352 pages ISBN 9781398508392

Publication date 6 July 2023

I was sent an electronic copy to enable me to take part in this Blog Tour. I would like to thank Anne at Random Things Tours @RandomTTours for the invitation to participate and of course the Author and the Publisher.

The Cover

A woman on the run wearing a raincoat, a pretty good representation of what the book is about. I like the use of colour, but the title and author name are rather bold and large for my taste.

From the blurb

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband Gabe are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead.

It soon becomes clear that the police have only one suspect in mind – her.

Jack must go on the run to try and clear her name and to find her husband’s real killer. But who can she trust when everyone she knows could be a suspect? And with the police and the killer after her, can Jack get to the truth before her time runs out?

My thoughts

Wow a bold beginning, with tension starting from the first page, as we find Jack (Jacintha Cross) in an office block late at night. With echoes of Mission Impossible 2 (I think that’s right, for me they all merge into one) she is trying to affect a physical breach of the business’s computer systems. Back at base (their house) her husband Gabe who is an ethical hacker is trying to get into the systems and is her virtual eyes and ears through a mobile connection to her earpiece. She gains access but a simple mistake alerts security to her presence, requiring a hasty departure straight into the arms of law enforcement. As with the opening credits monologue from Porridge this is an ‘occupational hazard’ because she is a ‘pen’ tester. Jack and Gabe are professional penetration testers who are employed by businesses to test for breaches in their physical and cyber security. Now that we are all paying attention the story really commences and is off like a rocket.

Just as we are getting to know and like the central couple, Gabe is killed off in brutal fashion, a seemingly senseless murder. Always look to the spouse is the maxim employed by the police, so Jack comes under suspicion, routine at the beginning but things are quickly turned on their head and she thinks she is being set up. Patsies don’t prosper if the police think they have a case against them, all other leads will be ignored, to stay safe she decides to flee. Jack has no other plan than to prove her innocence.

So, we have a classic manhunt played out across the South East, except it’s a woman they are looking for an a very resourceful one at that. One who will have to turn hunter herself at some point or be forever on the run if she isn’t captured.

Jack is at the core of everything in the story so it’s a relief that she is a magnificent character. Intelligent, determined and feisty she would be the match for many, but the skills she needs for her job, physical strength, agility and resourcefulness will all prove to be vital in her escape. Ethan Hunt needs to get her on speed dial. She is not portrayed as a super woman though; she starts with no plan, and it takes time to formulate. Recognising the overall motive is slow in developing too which really adds to the intrigue of the plot. Jack also has an injury which hampers her, something the author cleverly uses to restrict her and give an impression of vulnerability. Few of us will experience what she goes through, but we do get a sense of the obstacles that would be in our way and how simple things could end up as unsurmountable.

The other characters were more supporting cameos with DS Malik the officer in dogged pursuit, who believes her guilty but is eventually won over. I’ve no idea whether there will be a follow up to Zero Days, but I felt that there could certainly be more from Jack and Malik, something I would welcome.

Security is the key to plot with an emphasis on cyber security, something I think most of us are lacking on. Passwords are a pain, but Jack relies upon people’s poor discipline. Cyber is a serious issue and one that is going to increase exponentially as the whole world comes online. This is a wonderfully entertaining novel, but it is underpinned with a serious message. I’m no IT expert but found it convincing and a little scary. I know that security services and tech firms are at loggerheads over confidentially and security. We take for granted computer and telephone access, they make the modern way of life possible, but laxity or uncontrolled use can be our downfall. Jack’s brief sojourn on the run and ‘off the grid’ highlight just how difficult it is. In comparison Richard Hannay had it easy!

Its not all doom and gloom though as whilst on the run Jack repeatedly comes across simple acts of kindness. This brings a level of humanity to the story as good Samaritans still exist, even when her photo appears in the newspapers. If we came across someone who was on the run, claiming innocence would we trust our judgement, to turn them in or help them?

The pacing isn’t so much quick as relentless as the storyline progresses with focused determination. There is regular incident and action so there is no chance of being bored, this won’t be a book you will be putting down whilst you get on with other things. The jeopardy is mainly the risk of being caught rather than outright physical danger, though Jack’s injury is worse than she realised, until it builds up to a surprising set piece and a thrilling finale, one where the predator becomes prey.

Zero Hours is an exhilarating thriller that takes the classic manhunt situation and drags it into the twenty-first century. A crime thriller of the highest order.

Zero Days can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

The author

Ruth Ware is an international number one bestseller. Her thrillers In a Dark, Dark Wood, The Woman in Cabin 10, The Lying Game, The Death of Mrs Westaway, The Turn of the Key and One by One have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the Sunday Times and New York Times. Her books have been optioned for both film and TV, and she is published in more than 40 languages. Ruth lives near Brighton with her family.

Don’t forget to check out the other reviews on this Blog Tour:

Shame the Devil

By Graeme Hampton https://www.graemehampton.com/ @Gham001

Narrated by Julie Maisey

Published by Hera Books https://www.herabooks.com/ @HeraBooks, Saga Egmont Audio https://www.storiesbysaga.com/ https://www.sagaegmont.com/ @sagaegmont

301 pages (8 hours 42 minutes) ISBN 9788728500903

Publication date 10 August 2023

Shame the Devil is the fifth book in the D.I. Denning and D.S. Fisher series.

I was allowed access to an audio review copy on Net Galley https://www.netgalley.com/ @NetGalley.  Thanks to the Author and Publisher for organising this.

The cover

A park at nighttime, a little sinister perhaps.

From the blurb

Exposing old lies can be deadly…

When a young father and well-liked sports coach is stabbed to death on his front doorstep in East London, D.I. Matthew Denning and D.S. Molly Fisher are quickly thrown into an investigation with no leads to follow…

And when the body of a respectable schoolteacher is discovered, the two murders mirroring each other, the case gets even more complex.

As the mystery unfolds, Denning and Fisher unearth a sinister connection between the victims. But the closer they get to the truth, the closer they come to the ruthless killer’s crosshairs….

The narration

The narration was excellent being unfussy and upbeat. It proved to be a good match for the content.

My thoughts

Shame the Devil is the fifth novel in the series, but can easily be read/listened to as a standalone, as what necessary character background is provided within the storyline. This is the first novel in the series I have experienced and I’m sure I’ll be reading or listening to more.

Met with a shocking murder, a stabbing of a well-liked young coach on his own doorstep, the police are left grasping at straws for a lead. Assuming it is not some random, senseless killing, the next most obvious course it that it was a case of mistaken identity. Connections are quickly made with local villains, who appear to be looking to settle scores. However, the murder of a schoolteacher in similar circumstances shatters this line of enquiry and for Denning and Fisher the investigation gets a whole lot more complex.

The novel is very much the old school style of police procedural, but one that follows the clues rather than gets bogged down on the paperwork and procedure. The good old ‘means, motive and opportunity’ maxim still holding true and is discounted at the investigator’s peril. The reader can also see the folly is making assumptions and becoming ‘blinkered’ trying to fit circumstances to the crime. Initially the investigation stalls for this very reason and gives us a glimpse of how huge numbers of police man-hours can be unintentionally wasted on false leads and bad information.

In the end it is motive that proves to be critical to the case, a motive that was difficult to pin down and then hard to believe before the final dawning realisation. The motive is an excellent one, with a festering gestation period and then a catalyst to make it explode into reality. The incident that provides the motive for the crime is on reflection, cold and callous but only too believable, being a by-product of the selfishness of some determined high-flyers.

The pacing is steady as might be expected, as progress plods along and suspense is built up. Later there is a gear shift and the story accelerates towards the conclusion which has the jeopardy and a bit of a knife edge to it. The murders are unpleasant but not graphic and there’s enough for dramatic effect without passing into the realms of the absurd. The unasked questions posed being, after the first murder does it get easier to murder a second time and paradoxically, does more murders make detection and capture more likely?

The central characters D.I. Matthew Denning and D.S. Molly Fisher are well established and likeable enough whilst retaining some rough edges. They both have real life problems to deal with, but nothing unsurmountable, blissfully happy cops, of which some must exist, make for dull fiction. Fisher has split from her partner and is going through the nightmare that is finding affordable rental property; Denning is settled but his high-flying hedge fund manager wife is having her head turned by a promotion to New York, something Denning won’t do. Denning is divorced and has a son Jake who lives with his ex-wife Claire and is now appreciating the need for a family.

There are some excellent cameos for the remaining officers none more so than their Scottish boss McKenna, who is given the lovely nickname ‘Betty Taggart’. She is the character I think the narrator had the most fun with.

The old favourite of the suspended cop is added to the mix, hardly surprising considering the numbers currently so in real life, but for a nice change its not one of the main protagonists. Here it is a colleague, Anna who adds a nice layer of mystery, she wants a reference from Denning in support of her hearing, he wants information through her contacts, but who can trust who?

Shame the Devil is a tightly written, well plotted police procedural.

The audiobook closes with a statement about the fine charitable work carried out by Egmont in support of education for children and young persons, please see their website for details.

Shame the Devil can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

The author

Graeme Hampton was born in Paisley and grew up in Stirling. After leaving school he trained as a stage manager and worked in London for a number of years. He returned to Scotland in his late twenties to study for a BA in English Literature at Stirling University. After many years of dull jobs and bleak times, he became a full-time writer. His first novel, Know No Evil, was published in July 2019, and was followed up by Blood Family in early 2020 and The Darkness Within in January 2021.

He lives in Hastings, East Sussex. 

Source: Author’s website

The Borgia Portrait

By David Hewson https://davidhewson.com/ @david_hewson

Published by Severn House https://severnhouse.com/ @severnhouse (an imprint of Canongate Books https://canongate.co.uk/ @canongatebooks)

320 pages ISBN 9781448306572

Publication date 1 August 2023

The Borgia Portrait is the second novel in the Venetian mystery series featuring retired archivist Arnold Clover. Click on the link to read my review of The Medici Murders the first in the series.

I was allowed access to a pdf review copy on Net Galley https://www.netgalley.com/ @NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. My thanks go to them the Author and Publisher.

The Cover

It’s Venice how can it be anything but breathtaking scenery. The edges give a hint to a dark past and the crow proves to be important.

From the blurb

When Arnold Clover is recruited by Lizzie Hawker to help her look into her family inheritance, he cannot begin to guess the journey he is about to embark on.

Lizzie’s mother, an Italian countess, disappeared thirty years ago, presumed dead. Her father, a famous, some say infamous, music promoter, has just died and now the family home Ca’ Scacchi, a leaning palazzo in Dorsoduro, has fallen to her. When her mother vanished so too did a priceless painting, supposedly an erotic portrait of Lucrezia Borgia, which has captivated men for generations.

When a body is discovered in a hidden crypt beneath the checkerboard courtyard of the palazzo, other secrets are unearthed with it. Lying with the body is a document, a story of an episode in Casanova’s colourful life, and within it a set of clues that might lead to the location of the painting. But it quickly becomes apparent that Lizzie and Arnold are not the only ones interested in finding the painting.

The search for the lost Lucrezia quickly becomes a race through the secret history of Venice, one with potentially deadly consequences.

My thoughts

As a city Venice is a victim of its own success. What was once a romantic location for newlyweds and aesthetic tourists is now overrun. Cruise ships as populous as small towns berth in the lagoon to overrun the city for a day, a city which now has amongst the highest portion of Airbnb rooms of any in the world. One might be forgiven for thinking it is just one big tourist resort, but the local government is now taking steps to push back, which is a relief as Mr Hewson takes us to some more delightful spots off the beaten track. His love of the city shines brightly to give the reader a taste of the real Venice.

A palazzo off the Grand Canal with a distinct lean, which has been stripped of its former glories and imbued with a curse is a prize indeed, and the perfect location for Renaissance mystery with a twist of the gothic. Lizzie is in Venice following the death of her father who she nursed through his later years. She is struggling with the Italian bureaucracy and so has been put in touch with Arnold Clover the retired archivist for assistance. When a body is found, along with some mysterious documents, in a secret crypt in the grounds, life suddenly gets complicated. A fanciful tale about Casanova along with a puzzle, whose clues when solved promise to reveal the location of a lost masterpiece. What more can Lizzie and Arnold do but try to solve the puzzle and become art treasure hunters.

A storyline of journeys and discoveries, some wonderful, others requiring some soul searching. The most obvious one is the quest for the missing painting which provides the spine of the plot. Lizzie has much to discover too, only hearing about her early life from her father, her perspective has been skewed. This is something she discovers when the Venetians she meets recall what he was like. Perhaps he poisoned her mind to her mother? Lizzie must also discover herself too, having had her early life blighted by her father pushing her onto the stage and then, of course, nursing him through his decline. She is a woman entering middle age but only just awakening in herself. There is also some self-discovery and memories stirred for Arnold too.  

Venice is the perfect setting for such a mystery and has been used its fullest. The treasure hunt clues providing the perfect device to have the unlikely pairing, of Lizzie and Arnold, seeking out the hidden unexplored corners of the city. Arnold’s knowledge is limited, so of course there is room for friends Luca, Ugo and Carabinieri Capitano Valentia to chip in with their local knowledge. The dapper Luca and glamourous Valentia bring that effortless Italian style and panache to proceedings which the Brit abroad could never manage. Somehow making an aperitivo at a simple restaurant seem better than cocktails at the Ritz. They also ensure that their stamina in maintained by sustenance for the many local delicacies. This is not a book for those on a strict diet.

The puzzle is also a perfect way to introduce some of the incident and odd characters of Venice’s past to embroider a rich tapestry backing the quest. A treasure hunt that seamlessly weaves together fact and fiction and will have you Googling people and places as you read along. If immersing yourself in history is your kind of book, you’ll love it.

The chemistry between Lizzie and Arnold works well considering the generational age gap, with the lightest of nods towards the great partnerships of 1940s/50s Hollywood. She has so much to learn about her past, her life and the Italian way they he bears the brunt of her frustrations. As they progress and settle into friendship Arnold starts to reflect on his own past and we learn just a little more about his married life.

The story line moves along smoothly and logically. Classic elements are added by including rivals for the search introducing some urgency and competition. There is little by way of violence and jeopardy, it’s not that kind of thriller, but when it does appear it is even more shocking for it.

Light relief comes in the form of situations, observations on the Italian way of life and small cameos from old locals and the wonderfully named journalist Gervaise Alfonso Lascelles. He’s a slightly grotesque figure, the boozy tabloid hack, but with some redeeming features.

The Borgia Portrait is a Renaissance mystery wrapped up in a love letter to Venice and its people. Engaging, entertaining and enthralling in equal measure.

The Borgia Portrait can be purchased from Amazon here

The author

David Hewson is a former journalist with The Times, The Sunday Times and the Independent. He is the author of more than thirty novels, including his Rome-based Nic Costa series which has been published in fifteen languages, his Amsterdam-based series featuring detective Pieter Vos, and the brand-new Venetian mystery series. He has also written three acclaimed adaptations of the Danish TV series, The Killing. He lives near Canterbury in Kent.

Kolymsky Heights #LionelDavidson #KolymskyHeights

By Lionel Davidson (died 21 October 2009)

Narrated by Peter Noble

Published by St Martins Press (HB), Faber & Faber (e) https://www.faber.co.uk/ @FaberBooks, F.W. Howes Ltd (audio) https://www.wfhowes.co.uk/ Whole Story Audiobooks

362 pages (15 Hours and 55 minutes) ISBN 9780312114077

Publication date 1 September 1994 (Audible 2 June 2016)

I managed to find an audiobook version on the Libby Library App https://www.overdrive.com/apps/libby? @LibbyApp. Like many before me, libraries have been an important part of my life, especially when growing up. Nowadays you don’t even have to visit in person, with a wide offering as eBooks and audiobooks. Remember support your local library service and independent book seller.

Background

I came across this book in one of those wonderful haphazard ways. We were sitting having a drink with Fiona Erskine http://thechemicaldetective.com @erskine_fiona after her recent appearance at Hull Noir https://www.hullnoir.com/ @HullNoir, talking about her latest novel Chemical Code, and naturally books featured prominently.

Fiona is a chemical engineer as well as a crime author and this has an influence in her writing, in both the Jaq Silver series and her stand-alone Phosphate Rocks. We discussed the strange combination of engineer/fiction writer and she mentioned Lionel Davidson, specifically his novel Kolymsky Heights with its unusual protagonist Johnny Porter. When it was mentioned that Davidson was born in Hull and the book was from the mid-nineties my ‘book meter’ swung violently into the red. How could I have missed this? Like many natives of small cities and towns, any connection with the place is of interest to me, so I had to source a copy and put the record straight. (Fiona’s admiration for Porter was also mentioned to The Crime Book Girl @crimebookgrrl in a recent interview so she wasn’t just being nice to Hull folk.)

Although born in Hull, Lionel Davidson was living down in ‘that there London’ and Kolymsky Heights was published after a sixteen-year hiatus from his other espionage thrillers, which may well explain why I missed it first time around.

The Cover

There are several covers, all centring on snowbound desolation, which is the setting for much of the novel.

From the blurb

Kolymsky Heights. A Siberian hell lost in endless night: the perfect setting for an underground Russian research station. It’s a place so secret it doesn’t officially exist; once there, the scientists are forbidden to leave. But one scientist is desperate to get a message to the outside world. So desperate, he sends a plea across the wildness to the West in order to summon the one man alive capable of achieving the impossible …

The Narrator

The nation is great considering the range of voices and accents required in what is quite a long audiobook. I loved Johnny Porter being voiced like a Keanu Reeves in a surfer-dude-waster role, which is quite fitting with the Canadian connection but the angry Russian general was my personal favourite.

The introduction

The version I listened to has an introduction by Philip Pullman. Authors provide quotes for book covers and blurb all the time, but here is a lengthy foreword to the novel, the one he rates as the greatest thriller of all time. It’s a book he has reread several times and he sets out some of the reasoning behind his rather bold claim. He likens the storyline to the traditional ‘quest’ which has been popular since the times of Ancient Greece and features heavily in traditional Greek Mythology.

My thoughts

Well, Kolymsky Heights is an unashamed ‘Boys-Own’ style thriller which if read with that in mind and the spirit intended, is a whole lot of fun. The plot is borderline ludicrous, the hero Johnny Porter is quite preposterous, but it’s researched to an inch of its life and written with real conviction which will win most readers over. The real joy is in the journey, its something of a rollercoaster of a ride and quite a long one at that.

Written and set not long after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of Eastern European alliances, it cleverly works around the loss of the traditional cold war tensions by setting the action in a remote location. Conspiracy theorists centre in on what USA has been doing in Area 51, but Russia has vast remote regions of Siberia to carry out their secret research. The goal part of Porter’s quest is to reach one such research station, to rendezvous with a respected scientist he briefly met, who has asked for him to come in person.

The setting is brilliant, the frozen wastes in the far east bordering China and North Korea but just comparatively short journey to freedom of Japan and Alaska. This is a world away from Moscow and St Petersburg and a welcome change for the reader. Yes, there’s a lot of snowy wasteland descriptions but Davidson works it well within the storyline, so it never gets dull with the obligatory chase part of the quest quite innovative.

Our improbable hero is something of a polymath come miracle-man, with a particularly unusual background. He is native Canadian described as Indian in the text, but that was nearly thirty years ago. Physically strong, of striking appearance, attractive to women, a biology and anthropology professor who is multilingual (speaking a couple of dozen languages, many of indigenous people and some very rare), what is there not to like. Growing up I would have wanted to be Johnny Porter, stuff James Bond and his gadgets. He’s also rather handy as he summons the spirt of MacGyver left with a Meccano set for Christmas at one point, a bit silly, but wonderfully creative so I’ll not spoil it.

The portrayal of the indigenous people is well considered and sympathetic which is refreshing. There are many distinct local races which in the past have been lumped together as ‘Indians’ or ‘Eskimos’, here they are given the due recognition they deserve, and we get short glimpses of their lives. These are hard lives in a harsh environment, where just existence is a struggle but produces warm and generous people one their insularity is penetrated. Peoples ruled by Russia but not quite conquered and their existence controlled.

It is so well researched with each step is carefully thought out and with the action coming only sporadically, that it may feel a little bit long to some readers. Every step is laid out so it remains credible or on the edge of credibility, which will convince many to stick with it and they are rewarded in the end.

Intelligent, compelling with some outrageous plotting Kolymsky Heights is a great escapist thriller set in an unusual location. The greatest of all time? Not sure about that Mr. Pullman but certainly an entertaining few hours in the company of Mr. Porter.

Kolymsky Heights can be purchased direct from the publisher here

The author

Source: Goodreads

Lionel Davidson was born in 1922 in Hull, Yorkshire. He left school early and worked as a reporter before serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. His first novel, The Night of Wenceslas, was published in 1960 to great critical acclaim and drew comparisons to Graham Greene and John le Carré. It was followed by The Rose of Tibet (1962), A Long Way to Shiloh (1966), The Chelsea Murders (1978) and Kolymsky Heights (1994). He was thrice the recipient of the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award and, in 2001, was awarded the CWA’s Cartier Diamond Dagger lifetime achievement award. He died in 2009. (Source: Faber & Faber

See also Obituary at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obitu…
[this reference added 12-Aug-2013]. 

Roseanna

By Maj Sjöwall (died29 April 2020) and Per Wahlöö (died 22 June 1975)

Translated by Lois Roth

Published by Harper Perennial (Harper Collins) https://harpercollins.co.uk/ @HarperCollinsUK

245 pages ISBN 9780007324378

Publication date 10 April 2009 (originally published in 1965)

Roseanna is the first novel in the Martin Beck series. Roseanna has twice been adapted to film, first in 1967 and then in 1993. The fourth book in the series The Laughing Policeman won an Edgar award for best novel in 1971.

I was allowed access to a pdf review copy on Net Galley https://www.netgalley.com/ @NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. 

The cover

I have seen several covers from various editions of the novel, and I think this is probably the least striking. The full series was reissued using this consistent sparse format which make perfect sense and looks good together, but as it is it lacks something for me, its not one to grab you.

From the blurb

On a July afternoon, the body of a young woman is dredged from a lake in southern Sweden. Raped and murdered, she is naked, unmarked and carries no sign of her identity. As Detective Inspector Martin Beck slowly begins to make the connections that will bring her identity to light, he uncovers a series of crimes further reaching than he ever would have imagined and a killer far more dangerous. How much will Beck be prepared to risk to catch him?

My thoughts

A few blog posts ago I was trying to describe the style of an author, there were a number listed on the cover and the nearest I thought was the Martin Beck series by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. Then last weekend I noticed that BBC4 were showing ‘Beck’, he is still very much in it and seems the spirit of Martin Beck now passes down to his grandson, how time flies. I have read the first four in the series (of ten) so I decided to do something I rarely do, go back and read the first in the series.

The version I have includes a foreword by the late Henning Mankell, the creator of the Wallander series of novels which are required reading for fans of Nordic-Noir. His thoughts and observations are just as incisive as one might expect from a master of the genre, so no skipping straight to the action.

Set in the 1960s the novel has dated somewhat and now feels more like an historical crime novel, one that has the advantage of authenticity because it was written then. As Mankell notes, nearly everyone smokes, people go to cafes for lunch and the landline telephone is invaluable. Interestingly there is a conversation about cigarettes being deadly in the dialogue. The other observation I would add is public transport and taxis are used throughout, not many contemporary detectives use the subway. Overall, it does seem to capture the optimism of the time, Sweden was much less affected by World War II, here the shackles of the drab austerity years of 1950s Europe are tossed aside, and we have the beginning of the ‘Swinging Sixties.’

The plot is very straightforward, the body of a naked young woman is found in a Swedish canal and the police must first identify her before they can hopefully track down the killer. A pure police procedural with no real distractions or side stories. Style wise it is very different to British crime novels of the period, very focused and streamlined but also with a cold clinical edge as well. A case of Habitat versus Ikea perhaps? A good example would be the detached comprehensive description of the body even down to the colour of the nipples (areola), cold almost unfeeling but with that professional detachment.

Martin Beck is the central character, and he is always named in full as Martin Beck, unlike the other characters who are usually just a surname. Martin Beck is something of a cold fish, a man seemingly happiest at work or building his model ship. His marriage appears to have dissolved into more of a companionable co-existence, though we discover they once were very much in love. He is emotionally buttoned up and physically a weak specimen, if he hasn’t got a cold he knows he’s going to get one with his bad chest and he’s always suffering with a bad stomach. A hypochondriac? Perhaps, certainly his consumption of coffee and cigarettes coupled with erratic eating habits and long hours are not going to help. Modern readers might recognise these as the manifestations of stress, though I think there may be more at play.

The story is very much plot and procedure rather than character based, other than Martin Beck and the killer the characters are largely forgettable. The killer is what would now be recognised as a high functioning sociopath, here given a well-judged split between charming and deadly. A killer who needed help he didn’t get, so he deserves a tiny bit of empathy. Where it differs to more modern versions of the genre is in the development of what might be regarded as a social conscience, where perhaps more would be made of the killer’s life and issues. Nevertheless he remains an interesting character study.

As with all translated fiction, much depends on the skill of the translator. Here it is good, though definitely feels of the period with some oddities (watching the ‘boob tube’ for watching the television). No doubt a more modern translation would use different vocabulary in some places

Is it worth a revisit, or picking up if you haven’t read it before? I would say yes. All musicians site their influences, some of whom can be rather obscure, and I’m sure that Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö have influenced many writers in the past and indeed the present. It is a finely crafted novel albeit a little bit dated and I’m sure many studying creative writing could learn from it.

Roseanna remains a seminal novel in the development of Nordic Noir and should be of interest to students of the genre and fans of the pure police procedural. A bit of a time capsule but certainly one worth digging up and opening.

Roseanna can be purchased via the publisher’s website here

The authors

Maj Sjöwall was a Swedish author and translator. She was best known for the collaborative work with her partner Per Wahlöö on a series of ten novels about the exploits of Martin Beck, a police detective in Stockholm. In 1971, the fourth of these books, The Laughing Policeman (a translation of Den skrattande polisen, originally published in 1968) won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Novel. They also wrote novels separately.

Sjöwall had a 13 year relationship with Wahlöö which lasted until his death in 1975.

Per Fredrik Wahlöö (5 August 1926 – 22 June 1975) was a Swedish author. He is perhaps best known for the collaborative work with his partner Maj Sjöwall on a series of ten novels about the exploits of Martin Beck, a police detective in Stockholm, published between 1965 and 1975. In 1971, The Laughing Policeman (a translation of Den skrattande polisen, originally published in 1968) won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Novel. Wahlöö and Sjöwall also wrote novels separately.

Wahlöö was born in Tölö parish, Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland. After his studies, from 1946 onwards he worked as a crime reporter. After long trips around the world he returned to Sweden and started working as a journalist again.

He had a 13 year relationship with his colleague Maj Sjöwall but never married. Both were Marxists.

He has been married to Inger Wahlöö, née Andersson. He was brother to Claes Wahlöö.

He died of cancer at Malmö in 1975, aged 48.

Source: Goodreads profile

The Secret Hours #MickHerron #TheSecretHours

By Mick Herron https://www.mickherron.com/

Narrated by Gerard Doyle

Published by print – Soho Crime https://sohopress.com/soho-crime/ @soho_press and Baskerville (an imprint of John Murray Press) https://www.johnmurraypress.co.uk/landing-page/baskerville-imprint/@BaskervilleJMP , audio – Recorded Books https://rbmediaglobal.com/recorded-books/ @recordedbooks

384 pages (12 hours 45 minutes) ISBN 9798889567073

Publication date 12 September 2023

I was allowed access to an audio review copy on Net Galley https://www.netgalley.com/ @NetGalley.  Thanks to the Author and Publisher for organising this.

The Cover

Berlin (I think) cityscape at night. A bit meh for me, neither good nor bad, though no doubt some will love it. Won’t affect sales!

From the blurb

Two years ago, a hostile Prime Minister launched the Monochrome inquiry, investigating “historical over-reaching” by the British Secret Service. Monochrome’s mission was to ferret out any hint of misconduct by any MI5 officer—and allowed Griselda Fleet and Malcolm Kyle, the two civil servants seconded to the project, unfettered access to any and all confidential information in the Service archives in order to do so.

But MI5’s formidable First Desk did not become Britain’s top spy by accident, and she has successfully thwarted the inquiry at every turn. Now the administration that created Monochrome has been ousted, the investigation is a total bust—and Griselda and Malcolm are stuck watching as their career prospects are washed away by the pounding London rain.

Until the eve of Monochrome’s shuttering, when an MI5 case file appears without explanation. It is the buried history of a classified operation in 1994 Berlin—an operation that ended in tragedy and scandal, whose cover-up has rewritten thirty years of Service history.

The narration

The Slough House series is narrated by the masterful Sean Barrett, so this is a departure, and some audio listeners don’t like change. The narration was excellent with a nice mixture of gravitas, this is an espionage novel, but also managing to deliver the funny dialogue and humour with some comic flair. At times I though he sounded a little bit like Alec Guinness in his George Smiley role. A first-rate performance.

My thoughts

This is billed as a standalone novel, but fans of the Slough House/Slow Horses series need not worry, it comes from the same stable and could well be its brother albeit a much older one. Thoroughbreds both. ‘The Park’ still features prominently and there is much to be familiar with; London Rules, Joes, ‘the dogs’, ‘milkmen’ and analysts.

The beginning is memorable for the part played by a dead badger, that retired spook Max Janáček almost stumbles over as he flees for his life. This sort of sets the tone for the novel, a mixture of espionage, slightly bizarre incidents and plenty of laughs on the way, unless you are a badger.

The storyline is split between two distinct timelines, the current being the last couple of years and past being what happened in Berlin during 1994. The current strand is dominated by the Monochrome Enquiry, which is intended as a political sleight of hand, a cover up, a whitewash intended to come up with nothing, except a figure from the past thinks differently. The Berlin section covers an unofficial operation that profoundly changes the lives of those involved. The two eventually coalesce and reveal a myriad of surprises. It is here that the reviewer must tread carefully, the story itself is wonderful on its own, but the cherry on the Bakewell Tart are the moments of realisation, and there are quite a few, that will delight the familiar reader. The first of which occurred to me early in the story when there is a brief cameo in 1994 of a young female officer at Regents Park is mentioned, called Dianna, hence force my lips are sealed.

The activity in Berlin is during the period when Charles Partner was in charge and betraying secrets to the Russians. His righthand man was of course David Cartwright, River Cartwright’s worshipped grandfather, the true power behind the throne and more devious than Machiavelli. There are schemes within schemes and though not quite a prequel it answers some of the questions that may have been nagging readers of the Slough House series. It is beautifully summed up by Brinsley Miles, in espionage eventually everyone is betrayed.

The plot has complexity, is skilfully crafted and beautifully executed as all the disparate parts come together in the final quarter. The final set-piece is cleverly conceived and coldly executed, despite all the wonderful humour there is a spine of steel running through these stories.

The characters are beautifully formed, often a little larger than life but certainly never boring. They are put into entertaining situations and even the ‘crap’ fights scenes that proved the action possesses a charm all their own. The unnamed Prime Minister is mendacious, feckless and reckless, so there are no prizes for guess who he is modelled on. The businessmen who are trying to skim off profits from the security services are disturbingly realistic, hopefully the real life ‘first desk’ will be their match. Whilst over in Berlin the men (and women) at the sharp end of intelligence work are a wonderful combination of secrets, deceit and sleaze. There are the dodgy sellers of secrets, like Dickie Bow (yes, I know) and ex Stasi men with ears to the ground. The station chief Robin Bruce is mid breakdown following affairs of the heart, which is convenient for Brinsley Miles a former Joe who by night trawls the strip clubs for secrets and daytime makes dubious expense claims.

The Secret Hours is simply a sublime amalgam of espionage writing of the highest quality and bawdy comedy that is beautifully balanced between the two. Once again, like an Olympic high jumper Mick Herron raises his own bar again.

The Secret Hours can be purchased via Amazon here

The Author

Mick Herron is the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Slough House thrillers, which have won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award, two CWA Daggers, been published in over 20 languages, and are the basis of a major TV series starring Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb. He is also the author of the Zoë Boehm series, and the standalone novels Reconstruction and This is What Happened. Mick was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, and now lives in Oxford.

Source: John Murray Press website

The narrator

Mr. Doyle was born of Irish parents and raised and educated in England. He has had an extensive career in British repertory theatre, appeared in the gritty musical “The Hired Man” in London’s West End and toured internationally with the English Shakespeare Company. He appeared in a number of British and American television series and on Broadway. Mr. Doyle lives with his wife and two children in Sag Harbor.

Mr. Doyle’s career in audio books began in 2000 when he was understudying a role on Broadway and his agent called to say that Recorded Books was looking for an Irish voice. Doyle agreed — though he didn’t know much about audio books.

“No matter,” he thought, “I can do that — I’m an Irishman.”

He won the AudioFile Earphones award for his reading of the wonderful Roddy Doyle book, “A Star Called Henry.” In 2008, Doyle was named a Best Voice in young adult fiction. He reads adult, young adult and children’s books as well as literary fiction, mysteries, humor, adventure and lots of fantasy.

Doyle has recorded all 14 of Adrian McKinty’s novels. Mr. McKinty, who lives in Australia, is known primarily as an Irish crime writer and has wonderful characters with strange voices. Doyle has researched various languages and dialects for the McKinty books, including Shelta, an obscure Irish language. When Doyle asked McKinty about the dialect, he responded that he had no idea, and Gerard eventually found an Irish professor who spoke it and worked on his narration via Skype.

Mr. Doyle is also known for Christopher Paolini’s “Inheritance Cycle” series, of which the first title was “Eragon.” In “Eragon,” a main character is a dragon — what does a dragon sound like? As more titles were added to the series, more dragons were added, needing new dragon voices. At some point, to be mischievous, the author starting giving Mr. Doyle clues in the books, by describing what the dragons’ voices sounded like. 

Source: Goodreads profile

Death of a Lesser God #VaseemKhan #DeathOfALesserGod

By Vaseem Khan https://vaseemkhan.com/ @VaseemKhanUK

Published by Hodder & Stoughton https://www.hodder.co.uk/ @HodderBooks

368 pages ISBN 9781399707602

Publication date 10 August 2023

Death of a Lesser God is the fourth novel in the Malabar House series.

Click on the link to read my review of The Lost Man of Bombay the third novel in the series. The first novel in the series Midnight at Malabar House was the winner of the CWA Historical Dagger award in 2021.

I was allowed access to a pdf review copy on Net Galley https://www.netgalley.com/ @NetGalley.  Thanks to the Author and Publisher for organising this and to Alainna from the Publisher for the invitation to participate in the Blog Tour.

The cover

It’s perfect with the arch shape and the slightly odd font giving a mildy exotic feel. Tigers play an important role, both physically and metaphorically, in the novel and so suitably and majestically grace the cover.

From the blurb

Bombay, 1950

James Whitby, sentenced to death for the murder of prominent lawyer and former Quit India activist Fareed Mazumdar, is less than two weeks from a date with the gallows. In a last-ditch attempt to save his son, Whitby’s father, arch-colonialist, Charles Whitby, forces a new investigation into the killing.

The investigation leads Inspector Persis Wadia of the Bombay Police to the old colonial capital of Calcutta, where, with the help of Scotland Yard criminalist Archie Blackfinch, she uncovers a possible link to a second case, the brutal murder of an African-American G.I. during the Calcutta Killings of 1946.

How are the cases connected? If Whitby didn’t murder Mazumdar, then who did? And why?

My thoughts

Death of a Lesser God is the fourth novel in the series centred on the police station where the misfit officers of Bombay are sent to keep them out of the way, if not out of mischief. I’m pleased to say not an awful lot has changed, so fans of the series know what to expect.

Inspector Persis Wadia is the first female officer in the Indian police service, a move seen as enlightened and forward thinking by politicians, but the reality is this bastion of masculinity has no idea what to do with her. So, she finds herself sidelined into the backwater of Malabar House where problems are parked and careers go to die, hopefully quietly. Except Persis is headstrong, driven and a very good detective, a combination that makes her difficult to control after the countrywide publicity of her appointment. She is developing a track record of solving difficult cases despite the obstacles put in her way, so the best they can do is try to manage her expectations. Here she is given the task of an off-the-books style investigation into the case of James Whitby who is due to be executed in eleven days for the murder of an Indian lawyer. This investigation is instigated thanks to the intervention of his wealthy businessman father Charles. Thereby clearly demonstrating that even after independence, the wealth, power and influence of white men still holds sway with the new establishment.

The regular cast of characters also appear too. Her father Sam is away on his honeymoon and so is busy making the lives of everyone he meets miserable, so we read about brief cantankerous outbursts of his. Criminalist Archie Blackfinch is touring India helping to set up crime labs in major cities, but of course he is on hand to provide case cracking insight. He is not the only man seeking Persis’ affections though, as she crosses paths with her much changed cousin Darius, who aunt Nussie has been trying to matchmake her with for years. Persis’ young ward Seema is looking after Sam’s bookstore, making changes, successful ones at that, which are going to shock him on his return. When Persis must work solo on the case, Seema pleads to join her and together, they get into much hot water. We also see another side of Seema a welcome addition to a nicely forming character, one that helps to keep Persis grounded to reality.

The timing of the stories is critical in making it such a fascinating series. The immediate post WWII period was one of great upheaval across the globe, whilst the fighting didn’t encroach much into Indian territory, its men served in the commonwealth armies and there was a devastating famine in Bengal. This was the period of independence for India, which was followed by internal fighting and the partitioning of land on largely religious basis with the formation of Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). A huge mixing pot of faith, ethnicity, class and caste that is liable to boil over at any time is artfully used by the author to bring colour, depth and complexity to his stories. He deftly marshals multiple strands to produce a story that is fascinating, informative, nuanced and above all entertaining.

The central nub of the story appears at the beginning as a question before the blub; ‘Can a white man receive justice in post-colonial India?’ Persis is of course something of an idealist, a believer in truth and that justice will naturally follow. Something she pursues doggedly, although in this case there are unanticipated consequences and collateral damage of the human kind. In the end we see a chastened and reflective Persis, one who has learned a lesson the hard way. Others are much more sanguine; justice is now for Indians and past injustices at the hands of white colonials are neither forgotten nor forgiven. This however goes against Gandhi’s ideals and making the new rulers no better than the colonials they replaced, something the more enlightened want to avoid. Some whites have left, but what of those like the accused James Whitby who were born in India and know of no other life, are they not Indian too?

The story is packed full of humour, be it situational, dialogue or his speciality the amusing description, such as describing a piece of cheese as being hairier than a Greek grandmother. There are so many of these it almost becomes too much to take in. All great knockabout stuff which helps to lighten a novel packed with serious messages.

India is of course a mini continent, and the reader is treated to much more than just life in Bombay. A good deal of the action happens around Calcutta and here Persis and Seema are very much innocents abroad. Then they become more like fish out of water as they find themselves away from the city. Here in the mangroves, they must battle extreme weather, nature itself and come across doughty and courageous natives. An eye opener, I will say no more…

Intelligent, witty and set in a remarkable country at a momentous time in its history, Death of a Lesser God is everything you want in historical crime fiction.

Death of a Lesser God can be purchased via the Bookshop.org here

The author

Source: author’s website

Vaseem Khan is the author of two crime series set in India: the Baby Ganesh Agency series, and the Malabar House historical crime novels. His first book, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, was a Times bestseller and has been translated into 15 languages. Midnight at Malabar House won the CWA Historical Fiction Dagger in 2021. In 2018, he was awarded the Eastern Eye Arts, Culture and Theatre Award for Literature. Vaseem was born in Newham, but spent a decade working in India as a management consultant.

Don’t forget to check out the other reviews on this Blog Tour: