What's a Girl Gotta Do? by Sparkle Hayter

Open Road Integrated Media

 

A Robin Hudson Mystery

From the cover:

Meet Robin Hudson. Dumped by her husband, she’s been demoted to third-string reporter at New York’s All News Network. Her downstairs neighbor thinks she’s a hooker. Louise Bryant, her finicky cat, refuses to chow down on anything but stir-fry. Now Robin’s being blackmailed by a late-night caller who knows her childhood nickname and other personal stuff, like whom she gave her virginity to. What could be worse?

 

Being the prime suspect in the bludgeoning death of her mystery caller—that’s what. In life, he was a PI who had the skinny on everyone. Now, while Robin is undercover investigating a suspicious sperm bank, she must also find the killer and clear her name. In her downtime, she’s amusing herself with her hot new boy toy, who may not be Mr. Right but could be Mr. Close Enough. When someone else is murdered, Robin races to break the story before she makes headlines again—as the next victim.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book written by Canadian author Sparkle Hayter, a journalist who has worked for CNN and Global Television, amongst others.   The author's inside knowledge of television journalism adds to the plot and the telling of the story.  This knowledge creates an air of realism in an otherwise funny, quirky tale. 

 

Robin Hudson is a character that is hard not to like.  She doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut and manners and good housekeeping are simply foreign to her nature.  She is strong, salty, independent and just a little horny.  I love how the story is told in Robin's voice as it is always intriguing to be inside someone else's head. 

 

My one quibble with the book is near the start.  Robin describes and interacts with numerous characters and not all of these characters are essential to the story.  It is much like standing around the water cooler getting the skinny on your co-workers on a Monday morning.  This is a small quibble and will not deter me from reading the other five Robin Hudson novels.

 

Reading about the author has led me to a category of books I had not heard of before - Tart Noir.  This is a line of reading I intend to pursue and will make room for on my bookshelves right beside the Stephanie Plum novels. 

 

Maxwell Street Blues by Marc Krulewitch

Random House Publishing Group - Alibi

As kids, a lot of us want to grow up to be like our parents or, their exact opposite.  Jules Landau is in the latter category.  He retains a strong memory of coming home from school to discover his prized basketball hoop lying mangled on the driveway. The Feds tore it down just for the heck of it, and then took the house, the cars and his prized Peugeot bike before sending his father off to jail.  With no great respect for law enforcement and even less for the criminals that dominate his family tree, he chooses to go to college to become a PI.  Checking up on the indiscretions of husbands and wives, doing background checks, surveillance and skip traces pays enough for the rent on a neat apartment. It's also enough money to own a 16 year old Honda Civic, buy cat food and keep raspberry sorbet in the freezer.  Jules is Living the life! - then his dad shows up.

 

Just 10 days out of jail his dad hires Jules to find out who murdered Snooky, an old family friend.  Charles Snook was a gentle man, a CPA and a money launderer for those in need of such services.  He was good at his job and appreciated by many on both sides of the law.  So why then did he end up on top of a pile of construction debris with two bullets in his head? 

 

When it comes to murder, Jules is the new kid on the block. This is his first murder case and it comes with some tough lessons not taught in PI 101.  He takes enough beatings in this one case to make you wonder why he doesn't change professions.  But he had a great affection for Snooky, so he pursues the case and like any great detective, he follows the money trail.

The trail leads to some very interesting characters, tattoo artists, meth heads, politicos, corrupt academics and cops.  Ultimately, he solves the case and the reader is left with the same feeling I imagine you have after eating a Maxwell Street Polish - full and satisfied.

There are overtones of Philip Marlowe in this tale.  The story is told in the first person and the plot contains the requisite femme fatale, criminals, and murder.  Like any good story it's all in the telling.  The dialogue is smart and snappy and the atmosphere has a big city smoky feel. The city itself is a major character in the story with its history of crime and corruption.  Maxwell Street really does exist in Chicago and I've read that there is a housing construction site right beside a major university, a key element in the plot. 

 

I look forward to further adventures with Jules in the south side of Chicago, the baddest part of town.

For a short interview with the author visit:
http://www.omnimysterynews.com/2014/08/please-welcome-mystery-author-marc-krulewitch-1408041200.html

Face Value by Michael A. Kahn

Poisoned Pen Press

The body of a young attorney is found in an alley beside a 10 floor parking garage.  The police rule the death a suicide, something not uncommon amongst those stressed out by the high demands of being a young law associate.  Stanley Plotkin, a mailroom employee from the same firm as the young attorney Sari Bashir, is convinced that Sari didn’t commit suicide but was murdered. 

Stanley approaches Rachel Gold, a lawyer he knows, to say that he has proof Sari was murdered. He points to a broken heel from a high heel shoe and a tube of lip balm found four spaces down from Ms. Bashir’s parking space. He also brings into play his knowledge of FACS, the Facial Action Coding System that correlates hundreds of facial muscle actions to specific emotions and mental states.

Stanley may have Asperger’s but his knowledge of FACS is nothing short of genius. This knowledge tells him that in the days preceding her death, Sari may have been preoccupied or agitated, but she was definitely not suicidal.  Rachel agrees to look into the matter and along with her team she investigates the top lawyers at Warner & Olsen, an investigation that leads to secrets, cover ups, questionable ethics and finances.

This is my idea of a cozy mystery.  A main character supported by a group of other characters, some zany and others either really smart or really lucky.  Stanley is an original character, so much so that I felt at times he overshadowed Rachel. There are no gory scenes and the plot moves along at a moderate pace with little gems of humour incorporated into some well written dialogue. 

The author is a lawyer and the legal and financial information is well presented in a readable and informative manner that doesn't detract from the story.  Kahn also provides Rachel the ingenious idea of creating a memorial video about the victim, enabling Stanley to design the questions to ask each suspect and see their responses without having any social interaction with them, since social interactions can be very difficult for someone with Asperger's.  As ingenious as the idea is, and as well as it works as a device for plot development, it doesn't always make for great reading.

I loved how Kahn has the ability to make the setting of St. Louis seem so familiar and the characters so comfortable to be around, like old friends.  Even though this is the ninth book in a series I can vouch for it being a stand alone since I haven't read any of the others and I didn't feel that it made a difference.

Overall I found this a fun, interesting and worthwhile read - just not a nail biter.

To read an excerpt go to:

 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/face-value-michael-kahn/1117166469?ean=9781464202803 

 

Author and publisher links:

 http://www.michaelakahn.com/

http://www.poisonedpenpress.com/michael-kahn/

The Mangle Street Murders by M.R.C. Kasasian

Open Road Integrated Media

When in the late 1800s March Middleton is orphaned after her father's death, her godfather, Sydney Grice, offers her the opportunity to live with him in London.  March accepts and moves in.  Grice is a "personal" detective of renown and before she is barely moved in, March is involved in a case.  She is quick to pit herself against her uncle when he refuses to accept a case because the client doesn't have the means to pay him.  Convinced of the innocence of William Ashby, who stands accused of stabbing his wife to death, she insists on paying Grice's fee and being part of the investigation.

 

March is not your average Victorian lady.  She spent many years helping her father, who was an army doctor, so her upbringing was less than conventional.  She smokes and swigs gin and hangs out at a woman's private club.  She also follows Grice through the less genteel parts of London to examine dead bodies and blood spatter patterns, chase down clues and interview potential witnesses.  And all this before tea! The more Grice is convinced of Ashby's guilt, the more March is convinced of his innocence.  The sparring between the two main characters and the addition of some interesting secondary characters, keeps the story entertaining and moving along at a fair pace.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and would read another with these two characters.  Despite the numerous red herrings, I knew who the murderer was the instant the character was introduced.  The twists in the plot made me question myself once or twice, but it still was a little obvious to me.  There is a cameo appearance by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and I suppose it can be argued that the characters of Grice and March are a type of homage to Holmes and Watson.   I really think, however, that Grice and March stand on their own and to compare them to Holmes and Watson is to give them less than their due.  The author might disagree on this point.

The one thing I didn't like about the book was the references to letters about a relationship in March's past.  Yes, they show another side of her character and emphasize her strength as a woman, but in this case, less would have been more.

 

Overall - an entertaining read that will hold your attention, give you an occasional laugh and show you that those Victorian ladies weren't quite as delicate and gentle as you have been lead to believe.

The Last Clinic by Gary Gusick

From Random House Publishing Group

The story begins with the shooting of an evangelistic minister outside an abortion clinic he regularly pickets, in small town Mississippi.  Immediately, the doctor who runs the clinic becomes the prime suspect and a lynch mob starts to form.  Sheriff Shelby Mitchell knows he has to find the killer quickly, to satisfy the towns people and to protect his career to survive another election. He calls in detective Darla Cavannah,  who is home on sick leave after the tragic death of her husband in a car crash.  She is reluctantly teamed up with Tommy Reylander, a local detective whose claim to fame  are his Elvis impersonations and the pink Cadillac he drives.  There is also Uther, a computer geek doing an internship with the police force, who turns out to be quite the whiz at putting puzzle pieces together.

There are some interesting characters in the story, a little romance, and an intriguing trail to follow to find the Reverend's killer.  I enjoyed the strong character of Darla and found her to be sympathetic and intelligent and would look forward to reading another book featuring her.  However, I have to admit my favorite character (bit of a spoiler here) was the hired killer/terrorist.  The in depth intel he was provided and the scenarios he created to cover the real agenda were believable, making them just that much scarier. Coming in second was Sheriff Shelby, who I could just picture sitting on a porch, chewing on a piece of hay while sipping bourbon and saying "Yup", belying a quiet intelligence that could pull the rug out from under most people.

Darla and her team have to investigate people on both sides of the abortion issue and overall, the subject is presented in a fairly balanced manner and woven neatly into the story line.  I think there was a slight edge to the pro-choice side but that could just be my perception.  Through her investigations, I learned about some of the history and "traditions" that are rooted in the early days of slavery that I had never heard of and are key to the plot.   

 

Although at times I thought the South was presented a little too much along the lines of the Dukes of Hazard, and Reylander reminded me very much of "Boss Hoggs", it was essentially done for dramatic emphasis and a bit of fun.

 

Overall, an enjoyable read that will keep most readers engaged and quickly turning the pages.

Murder in Thrall by Anne Cleeland

Whatever your basic expectations of a mystery are, they will have changed by the time you finish reading this book.  Your concepts of love and romance may also get a serious overhaul.

 

There are two threads to the storyline, the murder and the romance.  A horse trainer is murdered at a race track and this murder is followed by a number of other seemingly related murders.  Two Scotland Yard detectives are on the case.  Kathleen Doyle, the junior, and Chief Inspector Michael Sinclair (Lord Acton) lead the inquiry.  She is young, inexperienced, comes from modest means and is intuitive in her investigative style.  He is older, wealthy and established and known for his brilliance in solving high profile murder cases.  He appears to have decided to become Kathleen's mentor and she is eager to work with him and learn.  Because he has singled her out there is a certain amount of animosity towards her in the squad room. 

 

I want to say that the murder investigation became secondary to their relationship, but that would be a half truth.  Their mutual effort and method in solving the crime make for an engaging read. Despite a number of red herrings, two major clues made it easy for me to identify the murderer, but I was completely surprised by the motive.

 

Anne Cleeland's writing left me feeling like I was always coming from behind and getting blindsided by twists in the plot.  First, Doyle and Acton have worked together before but we only learn about this through statements made here and there.  Secondly, we join the story with the investigation into the murder already underway. Also, she opens each chapter with thoughts from what at first appears to be someone stalking Doyle.  A writing style often used in psychological thrillers. It is only at the start of chapter four that you learn the thoughts belong to Acton.  Say what? This is pure genius on her part and typifies how she diverts the reader.   

 

She informs the reader in a casual "by the way" manner of a fairly major event in the story long after it has happened. This had me going back and rereading pages and pages to see if I had missed something. No. She just likes to toy with the reader.  Which may also explain why the epilogue is actually the prologue.

 

Her writing is descriptive, the dialogue is interesting and well-written and the psychology between the two main characters is mesmerizing.  Is their relationship dysfunctional, weird, creepy, bizarre or twisted?  Absolutely, all of these and possibly more. But it works for them; it works well within the plot line; and it works for me as a reader.

 

I can't wait for the release of Murder in Retribution, the second book in the series.

http://annecleeland.com/