Baileys Blog

Elly Griffiths – The Chalk Pit (2016)

Quercus, Hardcover, 384 pages

Expected publication: 23^rd February 2017

ISBN13: 978-1784296599

The Chalk Pit is the 9^th in the Ruth Galloway Mystery series by Elly Griffiths.

In the underground tunnels beneath Norwich boiled human bones have been found by Dr Ruth Galloway. The finding that they are relatively recent and not a medieval curiosity means DCI Nelson has a murder enquiry on his hands.

DS Judy Johnson is investigating the disappearance of a local rough sleeper with the only lead being the rumour that she’s gone ‘underground’. This might just be a figure of speech, but the discovery of the bones and the rumours that the network of old chalk-mining tunnels under Norwich is home to a vast community of rough sleepers give cause for concern.

As the weather gets hotter, tensions rise. Another woman goes missing and the police are under pressure to find her. The dark secrets of “The Underground??? seems to be the key – can Ruth and Nelson uncover its secrets before it claims another victim.

 

I am a big fan of the Ruth Galloway novels but I do feel that they are best enjoyed in sequence but you can probably pick up most of the background needed to enjoy the novel as you go along.

As usual there is the excellent characterisation that one expects in Elly Griffiths’ books that gives you believable albeit flawed but ultimately likeable ongoing main protagonists (Ruth Galloway, Harry Nelson & Judy especially in this one although Kate is coming to the fore). There is also the usual sufficiently twisty plot to keep you engaged whilst giving yiu a chance to solve the mystery before the protagonists do and there is a well-researched backdrop to hang the story on.

As I have stated about previous Ruth Galloway mysteries- if you do have a liking for modern cozies with perhaps a little hint of grit then I would strongly recommend this to you.

 

Thanks to Quercus and Netgalley for the review copy.

Adrian McKinty – Police at the Station and They Don’t Look Friendly

Trade paperback: 353 pages (January 2017 in UK)

Publisher: Serpents Tail  ISBN: 978-1781256923

This is the sixth Sean Duffy novel set in and around Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

 

It is 1988. Detective Inspector Sean Duffy is on holiday in County Donegal with his girlfriend and baby daughter visiting his family in the Donegal Gaeltacht. He is called back to Carrickfergus where a man has been shot in the back in the Sunnylands Estate with an arrow. Uncovering who has done takes Duffy down his most dangerous road yet, a road that leads to a lonely clearing where three masked gunmen will force Duffy to dig his own grave. Hunted by forces unknown, threatened by Internal Affairs and with his relationship with his girlfriend on the rocks, Duffy needs all of his wits to get out of this investigation in one piece.

 

 

Once again, this a very assured police procedural with multiple serious themes (the peace process is still in the background along with the ongoing war (both in Ireland and elsewhere – the Gibraltar shootings provide a spark to more rioting), economic regeneration (or the lack thereof in Carrickfergus) is in the middle and another cover up in the foreground) and great writing which is strongly literate but still keeps you engaged & turning the page.

Finally Duffy’s life seems to be on upswing but for how long.

Ben Aaronovitch – The Hanging Tree

Gollancz, Hardcover, 400 pages

Published: 3^rd November 2016

ISBN13: 978-0575132559

 

This is the 6^th PC Peter Grant novel by Ben Aaronovitch.

PC Peter Grant or the Folly don’t usually deal with suspicious deaths even when they occur at exclusive parties in one of the most expensive apartment blocks in London. However, Lady Ty’s daughter was there and Peter owes Lady Ty a favour.

Peter and DC Guleed are plunged into the alien world of the super-rich where basements are bigger than the house and dangerous, arcane items are bought and sold on the open market.

This is the sort of environment where any sensible young copper would keep his head down and his nose clean – but this is Peter Grant we’re talking about. He’s been given an unparalleled opportunity to alienate old friends and create new enemies at the point where the world of magic and that of privilege intersect. Assuming he survives the week . .

 

This is, in part at least a return to form after Foxglove Summer as Ben Aaronovitch is more comfortable writing about London and its environs than the countryside.

The story rattles along with plenty of action sequences, plot twists and some laugh out loud one liners. The mystery element is resolved very nicely and the Faceless Man narrative is moving forward – hopefully towards some resolution. But that partly is the major issue in that it feels like it has been cut in two with a second novel forthcoming to tidy up the loose ends.

 

Elly Griffiths – The Blood Card (2016)

Quercus, Hardcover, 384 pages

Published: 3^rd November 2016

ISBN13: 9781784290269

 

The Blood Card is the 3^rd in the Stephens and Mephisto Mystery series by Elly Griffiths (probably best known for the Ruth Galloway novels).

 

It is Brighton, England – Elizabeth II’s coronation is looming, but the murder of their wartime commander, Colonel Cartwright, spoils the happy mood for DI Edgar Stephens and magician Max Mephisto.

A playbill featuring another deceased comrade is found in Colonel Cartwright’s possession along with a playing card, the ace of hearts: the blood card.

The wartime connection and the suggestion of magic mean that Stephens and Mephisto to be summoned to the case by a colleague of their late commander.

This causes Edgar’s ongoing investigation into the death of Brighton fortune-teller Madame Zabini to be put on hold. Max is busy rehearsing for a spectacular Coronation Day variety show – his television debut – so it’s Edgar who is sent to New York, a land of plenty worlds away from still-rationed England on the trail of a small-town mesmerist who may provide the key but he is silenced first. Edgar’s colleague, DS Emma Holmes, finds the clue buried in the files of the Zabini case, that leads them to an anarchist group intent on providing an explosive finale to Coronation Day.

Now it’s up to Edgar, Max and Emma to foil the plot, and find out who it is who’s been dealing the cards .

 

Again there is excellent characterisation, especially of the 5 main protagonists (Max Mephisto, DI Edgar Stephens and his 2 sergeants, Emma Holmes and Bob Willis; Ruby – Maxs daughter and Edgars fiancée ) all who contrast with each other nicely.

The mystery element is well handled with twists and turns but a fair outcome – the only caveat would be with the detour to America which slows the plot down a bit.

 

Luca Veste – Then She Was Gone

Paperback: 448 pages (December 2016)

Kindle: 3043Kb (July 2016)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

ISBN: 978-1471141393 (PB)

This is the 5^th novel by Luca Veste featuring DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi.

Murphy and Rossi are investigating the disappearance of a politician who was on course to be elected as one of the youngest MPs in Westminster.

A year earlier, Tim Johnson has taken his baby daughter out for a walk – she never made it home. Johnson claims he was assaulted and the girl was snatched. The police see a different crime, with Johnson their only suspect.

Detectives Murphy and Rossi are tasked with discovering what has happened to the popular politician – and in doing so, they unearth a trail that stretches into the past linking both cases. There is a past crime that someone is hell-bent on avenging.

 

This is a tight well written novel with strong well drawn characters which grabs your attention and keeps you turning the page (or clicking the Kindle).

Mark Hill – The Two O’Clock Boy  (2016)

Sphere

Published: 22^nd September 2016 (UK – Kindle), 20^th April 2017 (UK – Paperback)

ISBN13: 978-0751563238 (Paperback)

 

The action in The Two O’Clock Boy cuts between 1984 and today. Kenny Overton is working the night shift in a supermarket –a petty criminal trying to make up for a life of mistakes which began in an awful children’s home many years ago. Someone doesn’t want him to make up for his mistakes – they want to make  Kenny pay for his past now.

DI Ray Drake and newly promoted DS Flick Crowley are called out to the scene of a vicious multiple murder. With 3 members of one family slain and the fourth escaping only by virtue of having left his phone at home they sense that this is not going to be a straightforward case. The questions they need to solve is why would someone want to kill them all in such a personal and heinous way and who has such hate

Drake knows that this is a message about the secrets that link back to the Longacre Children’s home. Drake fears for his family’s safety and with needs to find a way to prevent Crowley from following her instincts and investigating the children’s home. The killer – the ‘Two O’Clock Boy’ – begins to taunt Drake and wants their secrets exposed so the question Drake has to ask himself is how far is he willing go to stop the murders, protect his daughter and cover up the truth.

 

I am in two minds about this book as it is a gripping read but suffers from a number of flaws.

It does take some time to get into in the first half and suffers from plot twists that did stretch the credibility of this reader in the second half.  Also Drake, who the press release suggests will be the lead character in the series, is pretty unlikeable and hard to feel any sympathy for – Flick Crowley, I found, to be a fair more like-able character.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers on NetGalley.

Sally Spencer – The Shivering Turn (2016)

Severn House, Hardcover, 224 pages

Published: 31^st October 2016 (UK)

ISBN13: 978-0727886675

The Shivering Turn is the 1^st in a new series by Sally Spencer focusing on Jennie Redhead, a private eye in mid-1970s Oxford.

Jennie Redhead is a former police woman who was effectively forced out of the force for trying to expose corruption. She now earns her living as a private eye in Oxford and is barely earning her living. Mary Corbet goes to her office one day and employs Jennie to find her missing daughter even though she is convinced that her daughter is already dead. The key to finding her dead or alive lies in uncovering the meaning of the shivering turn.

This is a very good book with lots of twists and turns and a genuine mystery at its core which will keep you thinking. Jennie Redhead is an interesting character and the slightly historical background is interesting.

I received a free e-copy of this book from the publishers on NetGalley.

Ian Rankin – Rather Be the Devil (2016)

Orion, Hardcover, 320 pages

Published: 3^rd November 2016 (UK)

ISBN13: 978-1409159407 (cased)

Rather Be the Devil is the 21^st Rebus Novel.

John Rebus is retired once again and his memories are turning to past events and some cases have never left him.

One of those is brought back to him when Rebus is dining out with Deborah Quant. 40 years earlier, beautiful, promiscuous Maria Turquand died in her hotel room at the Caledonian Hotel on the same night that a famous rock star and his entourage were staying there – her killer has never been found. Rebus asks DI Siobhan Clarke to bring him the cold case files so he can do a bit of digging.

Meanwhile, the dark heart of Edinburgh remains up for grabs after Cafferty stood aside. The young pretender, Darryl Christie, has staked his claim but a vicious attack leaves him weakened and vulnerable – a situation exacerbated by an inquiry into a major money laundering scheme. Has Rebus’ old-time foe Big Ger Cafferty really given up the ghost or is he just biding his time until Edinburgh is once more ripe for the picking?

 

What is nice is how the Rebus novels now have moved from being primarily a solo series to more of an ensemble piece with Rebus, Siobhan Clarke, Malcolm Fox, Deborah Quant, Cafferty and, of course, Edinburgh each getting their turn in the spotlight during the course of the novel.

This is an utterly compelling and gripping read which I read worryingly quickly as you get engrossed in the book by both the characters and the plotlines.

The ending does set up the series for more novels very nicely.

 

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers on NetGalley.

Sophie Hannah – Closed Casket (2016)

HarperCollins, Hardcover, 384 pages

Published: 6^th September 2016 (UK)

ISBN-13: 978-0008134099 (cased)

This is the 2^nd return of Hercule Poirot novel penned by Sophie Hannah (although I don’t think that he is as the back cover blurb suggests “the world’s most famous detective??? as I feel that Sherlock Holmes is probably more well known).

 

Lady Athelinda Playford is hosting a party at her Irish mansion with two strangers to her as guests: the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard

Is the invite a result of the decision of Lady Playford to change her will and cut two of her children off without a penny leaving her vast fortune to someone else –  an invalid with only weeks to live. Poirot begins to wonder if Lady Playford expects a murder but why is she so determined to provoke a killer? When the murder is committed despite Poirot’s best efforts to stop it why does the identity of the victim make no sense at all?

 

I much preferred this to The Monogram Murders and will now go through my issues with that novel and how they have been addressed with this.

Edward Catchpool is still the narrator but we now do know his rank (Inspector) from the start, he is less scared of dead bodies, we do learn more about him as this book goes on and he not is a mere tool for Poirot as he is clearly a friend and is much better treated.

The fussy Poirot is back which may be in part because of the Country House milieu which means that he is much closer to the Poirot we know and love.

The book is also a bit tighter which might be due to it being shorter (I reckon it is about 91000 words compared to the 97000 words of The Monogram Murders so about 6% shorter)

 

The plot still does rely on Poirot making some leaps of logic that are a teensy bit heroic if one is being kind but I am much happier than I was last time – I should give warning though that there still are some fairly damning reviews on Amazon though.

Ken McCoy – Dead or Alive (2016)

Severn House, Hardcover, 256 pages

Published: 1^st October 2016 (UK)

ISBN13: ISBN-13: 978-0-7278-8633-0 (cased), 978-1-84751-738-8 (trade paper), 978-1-78010-802-5 (e-book)

 

Dead or Alive is the first in a new series of thrillers by Ken McCoy about DI Sep Black in Yorkshire, mainly in and around Leeds.

Detective Inspector Sep Black has been forced to resign from the police force following the death of a suspected paedophile in police custody and allegations of spousal abuse from his wife.

He knows that he had been set up but how can he prove it – and stay alive in the process? He is convinced that local gangster Vince Formosa has a mole within the police and sets out to expose the traitor, clear his name and wreak revenge on the men who brought him down.

To do this he must go undercover and find two missing children who the police are convinced have been abducted on their way home from school on the orders of Vince Formosa who wants land that their fathers’ property company owns.

 

This is a very tightly written thriller – the plot is not wholly convincing but it goes at such a rate of knots that you rarely notice the issues unless you start analysing the book, i.e. for a review.

 

The central character of Septimus Black is an interesting character who has flaws (and quite a lot of them – he certainly doesn’t play by the rules) but you like him and get emotionally engaged in his quest for justice and a return to something like his former life with the aid of his friend Winnie.

 

One of the most interesting aspects of the book for me is the timelessness of it – if you found a way around the use of mobile phones (i.e.  by making calls to designated  telephone boxes) and shifted the historical paedophile focus back beyond Saville – it could be set in the 1950s with its Maltese gangster (Vince), traditional tough but fair police man (Septimus) and a (former) tart with an heart (Winnie).

 

This is a really enjoyable read – you engage emotionally with the characters (especially Septimus and Winnie) and do go through the pages at a rate of knots because it is just so enjoyable.

 

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers on NetGalley.