Our reading theme in October was books with a one-word title. However, recognising that these might not be super-easy to find, we agreed that we could disregard the word ‘The’ if necessary. Obviously, we read anything else we fancied as well, and the books we discussed at our meeting and would like to recommend are shown below, listed alphabetically by author. All of them earned 3-Stars or above, and titles available to borrow from Oundle Library and/or BorrowBox are marked with an asterisk.
Identity Unknown by Patricia Cornwell*
Book 28 in the Kay Scarpetta series and published last year. It opens with Scarpetta attending a crime scene in an abandoned theme park, where she’s distressed to find that the victim is an old friend. The FBI suspect the man was dropped from an aircraft, but that doesn’t explain the bizarre way the body has been displayed. Moreover, Scarpetta’s autopsy reveals the victim appears to have deliberately left her a clue that links this killing to others. MadDog follows this series and had been disappointed by the previous book, but she says this one is much better: a more believable plot, better written and much more readable. 4 Stars. (There’s a copy of this at Thrapston Library, and an e-audiobook version on BorrowBox.)
Unknown by Heather Critchlow*
Set in the Highlands, where true crime podcaster Cal Lovett has gone to escape his problems. While out walking he sees a woman who subsequently goes missing, and he tells the police what he saw. Later he learns the story of another woman, whose body was found some time ago and who was buried in the local churchyard, having never been identified. Cal decides to look into that mystery for his podcast and his efforts to find out who the dead woman was lead him into all sorts of trouble. The story is told by Cal and in his podcast, as well as by the missing woman, and Norfolk Gal said the three strands made it a good story. Great descriptions of the scenery, interesting characters (each with their own problems), a story that kept her guessing, and a surprising ending. 3+ Stars.
The Defector by Chris Hadfield*
Described as a Cold War Thriller, this has a whiff of authenticity about it, because in his earlier life the author was a Cold War pilot, a USAF test pilot and an astronaut. (And he’s still a big cheese at NASA.) It’s set in 1973 and is about a Russian pilot who defects to the West bringing a state-of-the-art MiG fighter plane with him. The pilot is immediately whisked to the USA for debriefing and one of his American ‘minders’ is former Navy test pilot Kaz Zemeckis, who’s tasked with keeping the Russian secure and safe. Not as easy as it sounds, especially when they move him to the top-secret test site, Area 51. The book’s flyleaf carries the words: “Many of these people are real. Much of this actually happened.” Cornish Eskimo found it fascinating trying to untangle fact from fiction and said the story is gripping. 4 Stars.
Found by Erin Kinsley
Unexpectedly, two of our number chose books by this author. Found was her debut novel which was published in 2019. MadDog found it difficult to read in places, because the story is distressing, but it’s so well told she couldn’t put it down. It’s about a young boy who’s abducted and only found months later, so frightened that he refuses to speak. DI Naylor knows she must find a way to reach the boy if she’s ever going to be able to bring the guilty to justice. The story is told by two of the characters, which gives the reader extra insights into what is happening. MadDog read this on Kindle and said it was gripping. She’ll be looking for more by this author. 4 Stars.
Missing by Erin Kinsley*
Two seemingly unconnected stories, one set in Cornwall, the other in Devon. In the first, an elderly woman deliberately walks into the sea and, despite being rescued by a lifeboat, dies before reaching land. One of her daughters won’t believe her mother would do such a thing, the other is not so sure. The second story concerns a detective inspector working cold cases, including a 25-year-old murder of a baby, who was found burned to death on a fire on the moor. It’s nearly halfway through the book before the link between these two cases is revealed by a DNA test. Freyja says it’s quite well written although she felt there was a bit too much emotion and not enough tension. 3 Stars.
Deadline by Barbara Nadel
Inspector Ikmen and Inspector Süleyman are persuaded to attend a Murder Mystery Evening at a smart hotel in Istanbul, to raise money for a drug rehabilitation charity. The performance has only just begun when masked gunmen arrive and shoot dead several of the guests. Their leader demands that Ikmen and Suleyman solve the murder mystery before daybreak, or the remaining guests will be killed. With no idea about who is orchestrating this, or why, the detectives and the reader are kept guessing as the theatre performance morphs into a real-life drama. At times it was tricky to keep track of all the characters (guests and actors) but there’s a handy cast list to refer to if needed. Cornish Eskimo enjoyed this and gave it 4 Stars. (It was borrowed from Raunds Library.)
Deadman’s Pool by Kate Rhodes
Only published last month, this is the latest Isles of Scilly mystery. DI Ben Kitto is accompanying the islands’ Catholic priest, Father Michael, to the uninhabited island of St. Helen’s, which is the site of an early medieval religious complex, and an abandoned isolation hospital that was once used to quarantine sailors with plague. The priest intends to spend two days there on a pilgrimage, living in the ruins of an ancient church. As the pair walk to the church they discover the body of a young Vietnamese woman, buried on the shore. Kitto must look beyond the Scilly Isles to solve the crime. Norfolk Gal read this on her Kindle and said it is definitely up to Kate Rhodes’ usual high standards. The plot is well-paced and the characters, locations and even the weather are so well described you can’t stop turning the pages. 4 Stars.
Sham by Roger Silverwood*
Also published under the title The Missing Killer, this is Book 6 in a series about DI Michael Angel that so far numbers 30 titles. It’s set in South Yorkshire and there are three different strands to the story: a murder, tensions in the police station with the appointment of a new superintendent, and a scam that’s caught a friend of Angel’s in its grasp. It takes a while before the reader finds out how they are all connected but that was what kept Northumberland Gal reading! She described this as an easy and enjoyable police procedural, but one which was tense and clever enough to ensure she’ll be looking for more by this author. 3 Stars. (Available from Oundle Library in Large Print.)
Nemesis by Patricia Wolf*
Book 4 in the Lucas Walker series, which sees Walker travelling from Australia to Berlin on the trail of gang leader, Stefan Markovich. Believing he’ll get assistance from the Berlin police he’s dismayed to find they’re preoccupied with vicious Serbian crime gangs in the city and don’t have much time to help him. Neither will they believe Markovich might be involved with the gangs. Walker’s friend Barbara (also a police detective), is busy investigating a case of multiple murders at a local summerhouse colony by a lake, so she can’t be much help either. Freyja told us the author now lives in Berlin, which is probably why the descriptions of all the locations are so good; and while this isn’t perhaps as tense as the first two books in the series things certainly ramp up as the story unfolds. All the characters are well defined, especially Barbara and Markovich, as well as some of the very unlikeable Serbian gang members. It’s a good story and very readable. 4 Stars. (Available on BorrowBox.)
If you’d like to attend a meeting of Oundle Crime to meet other crime fiction fans and chat about the books and authors you enjoy, just email join@friendsofoundlelibrary.org.uk and we’ll send you the details.