While Oundle Crime isn’t able to meet at Oundle Library (as the result of the fire there in July) the group is ignoring reading themes and reading whatever they fancy. This month they’ve picked eight books to recommend and, as usual, they’re shown listed alphabetically by author.
The Zack Walker series by Linwood Barclay
Four of Barclay’s early books written before he became an established crime writer: Bad Move, Bad Guys, Bad Luck and Bad News. Zack Walker is a married, middle-aged man with two teenage children. He had been a reporter but now writes sci-fi novels while his wife is chief editor at the paper where he used to work. Zack’s a bit of a loser and always trying to give his wife and children life lessons in security, which are always idiotic and always backfire, and yet often unwittingly lead him to become involved in real crimes, which he (surprisingly) solves. Freyja’s verdict is that the books aren’t well written but in places are laugh-out-loud funny; and Barclay says he learnt a lot by writing them. Because they’re so funny, Freyja gives them 3 Stars.
Return to Blood by Michael Bennett
Set in New Zealand, Maori ex-detective Hana Westerman, has moved back home for a quiet life and fresh start. But a skeleton found in nearby dunes changes that plan because the remains are those of a young Maori woman who went missing 5 years earlier. Hana has a connection to the case but of course the police don’t want her to be involved, so she starts to investigate on her own. It’s an okay mystery but it’s Bennett’s descriptions of the landscape and his vividly-drawn characters which make this book noteworthy. His debut novel (Better the Blood) which kicked off this Hana Westerman series, won rave reviews and was nominated for the 2024 Barry Award for Best First Novel. Cornish Eskimo gave this 4 Stars.
The Burden of Truth by Jack Cartwright
The latest Wild Fens murder mystery and DI Ben Savage has to assume the leadership of his team because his partner is still recovering from an accident that happened in the previous book (No More Blood). A man’s body is found in a remote Lincolnshire pond and, with almost no forensic evidence, the team must use old-fashioned police work to unpick the victim’s last movements and work out what happened. It’s an involved plot with lots of twists and turns, all played out while Ben tries to deal with his feelings of guilt and self-doubt. The Wild Fens series is recommended for fans of LJ Ross, Joy Ellis, JM Dalgleish and JD Kirk and Norfolk Gal says they are all good, gritty mysteries. She gave this one 4 Stars.
A Stranger in the Family by Jane Casey
Norfolk Gal told us about this series, which she’s enjoying so much she’s working through them steadily. They are straightforward police procedurals but all of them are good mysteries, with well-drawn characters and a pace that makes you keep turning the pages. This one opens with the disappearance of a young child and then leaps forward to the murder of her parents 16 years later. That crime is given to DI Josh Derwent and Maeve Kerrigan to solve, and although the couple were killed in London the story moves to the Lake District and then Cornwall as it twists and turns. Like all Casey’s novels this ends with a cliff-hanger and an added dimension is Josh and Maeve’s personal story, which also winds through the book. A definite 4+ Stars, which is high praise indeed.
Bottled Spider by John Gardner
Mo chose this after reading a magazine article about the author, who died in 2007. Bottled Spider was published in 2002 and was the first of five books about DS Suzie Mountford. It’s set in London during the Blitz in 1940 where Mountford is a young and naïve policewoman who has recently been promoted to work in CID. She’s given a really difficult murder case to investigate and soon comes to realise that it’s the work of a serial killer – something she doesn’t really have the experience to deal with. Mo says it’s a bit far-fetched in places but the writing is good and it was a page-turner. She’s now looking for the other books this series. This one earned 4 Stars.
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
The latest novel by Liane Moriarty, published in September. A bunch of people board a plane to travel from Hobart, Tasmania to Sydney. They are a disparate bunch, and include the chief-stewardess Allegra, a newly-wed couple, a frazzled young mother with two small children, a grieving young man returning from a funeral, an emergency room nurse, and many others. Mid-flight a woman walks down the aisle and starts to predict the date and cause of death for everybody on board. Most take it as a joke but some take it seriously and the novel then follows the lives of some of the people who had early-death predictions, as well as the life of the woman who made the predictions. One way or another everyone’s lives are changed (even those who took it for a joke) and eventually the reader finds out what is actually happening. Freyja says Moriarty is completely brilliant at blending together the lives of many people and asking questions of the reader. Who is the culprit? Why this is happening? Is this even a crime, or not? She loved this and gave it 4+ Stars.
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers
Published in 1934 this is eleventh book in the Peter Wimsey series. When the sexton of a church finds a corpse in the wrong grave, the rector asks Wimsey to find out who the dead man was and how he came to be there. Royal says this is an evocative portrayal of the inter-war years, as well as being extremely well-written, with brilliant descriptions of the East Anglian landscape. There’s a murder, a robbery and a very neat solution at the end, and although she’s read this several times over the years, she enjoys it just as much each time. Her verdict is that this is a real period piece and Classic crime at its best. 5 Stars.
Paradise by Patricia Wolf
Listened to as an e-audiobook this is the second book about DS Lucas Walker. Northumberland Gal enjoyed it as a standalone novel but others in Oundle Crime recommend that you start with book one, Outback. This is set on the Gold Coast of Australia where Walker is on secondment to the local police force, recovering from injuries sustained in his last investigation. First, he’s asked to help with a case of a home invasion gone wrong, and then a case from his own past resurfaces with deadly results. It’s tense and exciting story that hooks you in from the first chapter. Northumberland Gal found the swearing on the e-audiobook quite jarring so she’s going to read Outback in hard copy. 3+ Stars.
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.