The Secrets of the Abbey
Jean-Luc Bannalec’s Commissaire Dupin books, set on the windswept coast of Brittany, have been bestsellers since the series’ inception in 2012. The Secrets of the Abbey is the latest and arguably best thus far. When a magpie flies into the house of an elderly, wealthy Bretonne, the woman regards it as a bad omen and dutifully prepares herself for her fate. She indeed dies shortly afterward, although helped along by a person or persons unknown. Her heirs are set to inherit a large fortune, so the suspect list is rather long. The following day, her nephew is brutally attacked, her gardener is murdered and his wife is hospitalized due to an illness the doctors cannot identify. When Commissaire Dupin and his team are summoned to lead the investigation, they are stymied at every turn until a clever insight turns the tide. As is often the case with French mystery novels, food and drink play a central role in the narrative. After all, one cannot solve a mystery on an empty stomach. And the loving descriptions of the Brittany coast will make readers want to book a flight to Brest at their earliest convenience. This whodunit is an absolute must for fans of Martin Walker’s Bruno, Chief of Police series.
The Kindness of Strangers
Agatha Christie fans, gather ’round. I would like to introduce you to Emma Garman, whose debut novel, The Kindness of Strangers, channels Dame Agatha very well indeed. If you like history with your mystery, look no further. The story is set in a 1950s London boardinghouse that is home to more secrets than residents. The house proprietor, Mrs. Honor Wilson (spoiler alert, not her real name), apparently has no history before the war and seemingly materialized out of thin air. As to the residents, there’s upper-class debutante George, who is in the “family way,” although she cannot ascertain with any degree of certainty the identity of the father; Jimmy, the catalyst of the novel, who tells different and often conflicting versions of his shady history and sparks deadly jealousies within the household; Robbie, a thus-far failed novelist separated from his wife and now discovering that his libidinal urges are moving in a decidedly different direction than he ever expected; Mina, the youngest member of the household and something of a Nancy Drew, although possessing fewer sleuthing skills than the titular detective; and finally Saul, the brooding and aloof widower who shares a guilty secret or two with Honor. One of them is gonna die. There’s gonna be a cover-up, a canny detective and a surprising ending . . .
A River Red With Blood
John Connolly’s A River Red With Blood is number 23 in the beloved series featuring Maine private detective Charlie Parker. Parker is not your average PI; he is the unwilling host to a series of supernatural beings that hang out in his subconscious, waiting to do unspeakable harm. This time out, Parker must investigate the death of a teenage runaway from a reform school, a place that is seemingly a magnet for evil. In a separate story arc, a trio of serial killers participate in “The Game,” a well-orchestrated murder spree that has gone undetected for ages, but which will lead back to the reform school in mysterious ways. Parker’s usual “henchmen,” Angel and Louis, both of whom are no strangers to the occult, are on hand, as is old frenemy Sabine Drew, a self-identified medium who makes Parker uneasy in ways he cannot quantify. All in all, A River Red With Blood is an unsettling book and one of the best of the series to date.
★ A Violent Masterpiece
Say what you will about stiff upper lip English police procedurals, icy Scandinavian suspense stories or the ascension of Asia-based whodunits into the mystery mix, but when it comes to sprawling iconic tales of corruption, decadence and broken dreams, California noir is the undisputed king of the hill. This has been the case since the days of Nathanael West and Raymond Chandler, and it remains true today. Case in point: Jordan Harper’s A Violent Masterpiece. Granted, it takes a certain amount of chutzpah to insert the word “masterpiece” into the title of your book, but the Edgar Award-winning author delivers on the promise. Harper was awarded the prestige for his debut novel, She Rides Shotgun, which has been adapted into a critically acclaimed film. My prediction: A Violent Masterpiece will be his next book in the queue for the silver screen; it really is that good. The novel follows three separate threads, each centered on a flawed but intriguing character. First is livestreamer Jake Deal, a modern-day video version of Hunter S. Thompson, cynically exposing the seamy underbelly of the City of the Angels, especially at night when the blood runs freely. Second follows defense attorney Doug Gibson, whose ads adorn bus stop benches throughout Los Angeles, largely untagged by local youth, because who knows when you might need the services of a bus stop bench attorney. And third, “facilitator” Kara Delgado, the pragmatic go-to girl for pretty much anything you can imagine, especially if it is illegal, morally questionable and pricey. The three will cross paths in unexpected ways, involving a sketchy Epstein-like jailhouse “suicide,” the disappearance of a beautiful young woman and a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the Hollywood power broker elite. If you loved LA Confidential, Tapping the Source or The Black Echo, A Violent Masterpiece will be right up your alley.
