Stories for the puzzle lovers
Jack the Knife is one of the world’s most successful assassins. He has been tied to at least two dozen killings over the last decade. Interpol has gotten a tip that Jack will at Henri’s restaurant tonight. Europol Agent Ivan Richardson is sitting at a table when Frank Anson is killed. Now he has to sort a killer from a room of diners and restaurant staff.
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The Ice Princess is a Whodunnit. Alexandra Wijker appeared to have it all – successful career as an art dealer, doting husband, beautiful home, good looks. There was no rational reason why she would climb into a bath and cut her wrists. When its proven she couldn’t have suicided, the hunt is on for her killer.
Bottom line: The Ice Princess is for you if you like complex whodunnits led by engaging characters and set in the beauty of Sweden.
Strengths of the story. THE ICE PRINCESS is listed on Amazon as a Police Procedural. In my opinion, it is a cross of several mystery subgenres. The first half is dominantly an amateur sleuth as writer Erica Falck, who is asked to write a biography of Alex, investigates the last years of her life. The police procedural elements begins with the introduction of the Tanumshede police and detective Patrik Hedstrom. In addition to the dual lines of investigation, there are side stories of Erica’s and Patrik’s own lives.
Introduction of the amateur sleuth element was very well done as the victim’s parents commission Erica to write and thereby investigate. Erica has written several biographies and so she has some skills when it comes to unearthing details of people’s lives.
Technically, I suppose police procedural is an accurate genre but this story does not go into depth on the practices and procedures of the Swedish police. It is more about Patrik’s interviews of people and, to an extent, being in the right place at the right time. Cop fiction might be a better descriptor as it’s about the people more than the policies.
The town of Fjallbacka, the suspects, and the witnesses are all colorfully depicted and are a large part of the story’s charm.
The mystery itself is reasonably solid. When you are at the end and look back, you can see how the pieces fall into place. There are a few places where the choices made by Alex (the victim) seem inconsistent with the picture we get of her through Erica. Since we don’t hear from Alex herself, it is hard to know if this assessment is true or a false impression on my part.
I really enjoyed these lead characters and want to continue following their story.
Where the story fell short of ideal: As a whodunnit, there were very few clues for Erica and Patrik to work with and nearly as few suspects. The author did almost too good of a job at hiding evidence and clues and having witness who give partial answers.
This story is written in third-person omniscient from the point of view of the section’s narrator. This is dominantly Erica or Patrick, but also includes several minor characters. Intellectually, I know it is supposed to build curiosity and intrigue when the character whose head I am in looks, for example, at a newspaper article but doesn’t say what’s in it. For me, this creates frustration. If I know what she thinks about her weight, I should know what’s in the article when she reads it, not ten pages later when she gets around to telling someone else about it. In talking to other readers, some have the same pet peeve, others don’t. This is definitely a subject issue.
THE ALGORITHM WILL SEE YOU NOW is a Medical Thriller. Dr. Hope Kestrel is the top resident at the most cutting-edge hospital in the country, where data and algorithm solve medicals toughest challenges. Hope believes the data-driven science saves people from the pain of ineffective treatments and the illusions of false hope. With one mistake, Hope falls from the top to outcast and along the way, learns the system she built her career around has been manipulated for profit’s sake. Now Hope has a choice…fade into a sad memory or fight her way out.
Bottom line: THE ALGORITHM WILL SEE YOU NOW is for you if you like medical and conspiracy thrillers where a thin line separates reality and science fiction.
Listen to the first chapter here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast
Strengths of the story. The first star of the story is the premise. The book is set in 2035, extrapolating a world built from the concepts of our current American health system and the potential of artificial intelligence. While reading it, I have thoughts of Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN – not for the monster but for the way fiction was used to explore the ideas of what science and technology should do and what it shouldn’t do. In Lycette’s world, DNA sequencing is used to identify which patients will respond to treatments and which ones will not. The “non-responders” as they are called, are written off and all but cut off from a health care system unwilling to invest limited resources in a no win case.
One of the best and most terrifying things about THE ALGORITHM WILL SEE YOU NOW is that it is easy to imagine as our future reality.
Lycette’s experience in the medical industry shines through with the informed construction of the interworkings of the hospital system. This isn’t a story about diseases and their treatment but about the people – patients, loved ones, doctors and nurses.
The story itself is very well crafted. Standing at the end and looking back, the logic holds. The conspiracy is straightforward, with the question being more about what was done than who did it. There are several high-tension moments, and they seldom resolve the way I expected them to.
Where the story fell short of ideal: There were not many weak points in this story. It does take a little time to reveal the main plot and get into the thriller. Whether this is too long will vary by reader, but it does give us time to see Hope’s “normal life” and learn about the hospital and the technology. Because this is a medical thriller, the tension is intellectual rather than physical.
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Roulette is a Medical Thriller. A new drug has hit the Gainesville, Fl rave scene and what it’s doing to people is the stuff nightmares are made of. When the strange happenings go beyond what Sheriff Dewey Steen can handle, the feds send help in the form of Eric Bannon, a supposed forensic accountant. With Dr. Stacie Swann and Dewey’s nurse wife, Carol, the four set out to do the impossible – find the root of the devastating drug and stop it before the college population pays the price.
Bottom line: Roulette is for you if you like medical thrillers with high stakes, conspiracy elements, and riding by the seat of your pants.
Strengths of the story. There are several strengths of this story, the first being the premise of an extraordinary tale from ordinary beginnings. College kids and young adults doing drugs and going to raves is fairly ordinary. But if you ask ‘what happens if one of the drugs is new and experimental?’, then you are at the start of extraordinary.
The story is lead by four characters, not equally featured. All were well crafted and developed. It was added fun that there are two in their thirties and two in their fifties, balancing action and strategy, experience and knowledge. There is someone in the group that everyone will relate to.
The pacing of the story is excellent. It unravels at a pace that draws the reader into the intrigue, not spilling too much too soon, but also not drawing things out too long. The thriller and suspense elements were excellent as well.
Where the story fell short of ideal: There wasn’t much for me to pick on here. The bad guys, their motivation and actions were well thought out. Heroes and bad guys both drove the story, countering each other. The premise held up, the authors lived by the rules they created without relying on coincidence, incompatible twists, or just-in-time saves from outside the core team.
The race to the finish was fast paced and epic. At the end, I wanted to know more but was satisfied with what I was given.
GIRL ON TRIAL is a Contemporary YA Mystery/Thriller. Sixteen-year-old Emily Keller has one goal her junior year of high school: fit in. But making friends and being popular takes Emily down a dangerous path of drinking, pills, and sex. Now the family she babysat for is dead and Emily is accused of leaving the stove on, causing carbon monoxide poising.
Bottom line: GIRL ON TRIAL is for you if you like legal suspense coupled with real life situations that go from bad to worse.
Listen to the first two chapters here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast
Strengths of the story. Author Kathleen Fine took a rare approach to the storytelling, alternating between the jury trial and the events of the prior year, beginning with the first day of school. While other stories may alternate between past and present, GIRL ON TRIAL meticulously walks through the trial, making you feel the fear and anxiety along with Emily.
With this approach, we have two storylines running simultaneously and they have two very different feels. In the “past” story, we get to know Emily as a person and see the influence those closest to her – her twin brother, her friends – have on. This isn’t a story of privilege but of a smart, determined daughter of a single mom who is an alcoholic. Reading with an adult’s eye, we see the precipice Emily is walking along well before she does.
If the “past” story is personal, the “trial” story is professional. The lawyer does the talking. Emily has to listen to testimony that cuts down who she is. Some are lies, some aren’t, but she has to hold herself in the impossible combination of aloof but humble. The contrast between the two storylines is nicely done.
Where the story fell short of ideal: GIRL ON TRIAL is hard to pin down on genre. It is listed as a Young Adult Mystery / Thriller. I argue it is neither. It is not a Mystery as there is not a crime being investigated and none of the characters are working to uncover information to resolve the situation. It is not a Thriller because it lacks the fast pacing, the physicality, and the risk of mortal danger to the hero. I find it best classifies as Suspense. The pacing is methodical, plotting through the school semester and the trial, where the tension is psychologically derived and you are just waiting for the other shoe to fall.
Some readers may find the time element challenging, as I did. The story alternates between the trial (present) and the year prior. In each of those, there are passages where Emily is remembering events from other times in her childhood. For myself, I did have trouble keeping the timing straight. In the end, it did not detract from a compelling lead character and a story that may be more common than we want to believe.
If you are a crossover reader who “reads everything” or are in the mood for something a little different, pick up GIRL ON TRIAL.
WAIST DEEP is a PI Mystery. Stef Kopriva used to be a cop. But that was ten years ago. A shooting, a wrong call, and a deep, personal relationship with a liquor bottle took him from a stand-up guy to the bottom of the barrel. A fight at a hockey game, one in the stands, not on the ice, reconnects Stef with a guy from high school. He has a problem. His 16-year-old daughter has run away. The cops aren’t looking for the little beauty, so he asks Stef for help, who agrees. And things get shady, fast.
Bottom line: WAIST DEEP is for you if you like gritty heroes so far from perfect they’re exactly what a story needs.
Strengths of the story. Zafiro excels at writing characters who are less than perfect. His are not gentlemen detectives who’ve lived charmed lives and solve crimes while hovering above the chaos, like Philo Vance, Lord Peter Wimsey, or Sherlock Holmes. Oh, no. His characters are down in the muck, fighting to keep their heads above water. Stef Kopriva was an ensemble character in Zafiro’s first three River City series books. Ten years after that book three, Kopriva steps out on his own with this full-length case. Kopriva is a well developed character, a loner who has isolated himself from the world and now needs that world if he’s going to find the runaway teen. Maybe it’s Kopriva had already been a part of Zafiro’s world that doesn’t feel like a first book in a series.
Like the leading character, the story scenario is a little dirty, kinda uncomfortable, and totally intriguing. A teen has run away but why and to where? She seems to have caring parents…or is that a front. She was blessed with popularity at school…or is that a curse. She definitely attracts the kind of attention that can destroy a teen, mentally and emotionally if not physically. You keep turning the pages wanting the answer…is she dead?
Where the story fell short of ideal: There weren’t many things to pick on with this book. Standing at the end and looking back to the beginning, the logic is solid. Characters are true to themselves and the writing and editing are solid. There are unsatisfying elements, but they aren’t flaws of the storytelling. They’re just a reader wanting better things to happen to the hero we’re cheering for.
Check Frank Zafiro and Stef Kopriva out for yourself.
It’s Halloween and Sam Spade is taking the night off and attending a party. Naturally, he’s going as himself, the world’s greatest private detective. His flirting with the beautiful Marilyn Monroe is interrupted by a six-foot tall jackalope, who falls dead at their feet. It’s no mystery what killed him – a samurai’s katana. What is a mystery is which of the party goers skewered him. It’s a cast of suspects unlike anything Sam has seen before: a samurai, a jester, a mime, a fairy, a dragon, a pirate. . . and her parrot, Luther
Listen here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast
THE LAST KIND WORD is a PI Mystery. Mac McKenzie is up to his neck in trouble, but this time, it’s not his fault. He’s doing a little favor for the FBI and the ATF. The trouble this time is guns, the illegal kind that the ATF mighta lost track of. When a member of a gang of thieves is caught using said gun, McKenzie is asked to infiltrate and to the impossible.
Bottom line: THE LAST KIND WORD is for you if you like hard boiled PIs who think on their feet and stay one step ahead of everyone else. . . well, no more than a half-step behind.
Strengths of the story. In full disclosure, I am a huge Mac McKensie fan. I began with book 6, JELLY’S GOLD, which I know is totally weird for a reader, but that’s my reality. Rushmore “Mac” McKenzie is an ex-cop who hit a big payday and now is somewhere between the quick-witted Indiana Jones and a relentless avenging angel. Book 10, THE LAST KIND WORD, was an action-packed read that did not disappoint.
One strength of this story in particular is the way Housewright opened it. He drops us right in the middle of the action and lets up fend for ourselves for a few pages before enlightening us to the scheme. The set up was masterful with frenemies coming together to bait a trap.
The story itself is well crafted. Set in a small Minnesota town, there are no secrets among this close knit population. Mac has to think fast as he works to maneuver the gang of thieves to reveal their gun dealer. He didn’t expect the “gang” to be a dysfunctional family, down on their luck due to a crummy economy. He didn’t expect to like them. He didn’t expect to be planning the heist of the century.
Standing at the end and looking back, the plot is solid. The mystery is a “how they gonna catch’em”, meaning we know from the beginning who the criminal is. There are elements of conspiracy and thriller stories that drive the pace and keep you guessing on how Mac is going to straighten the mess out.
The number one thing this book is…is fun!
Where the story fell short of ideal: I didn’t find a lot to complain about with THE LAST KIND WORD. Mac is his usual, larger-than-life self. The usual supporting cast have a minor role in this one, so it works well as a stand alone or for a new reader to the series.
THE LAST KIND WORD was released from Minatour Books in 2013 and is available from AMAZON LINK and other book retailers. Check out David’s website at https://www.davidhousewright.com/
25 to Life is a PI Mystery and is also characterized as Noir Fiction and Crime Thriller. Jack Bertolino is back for his fifth case. A law student is dead. Her crime? Working on a Project for the Innocent case on behalf of Carl Forbes. What Gloria Millhouse finds? Well, it stinks. Before she can move on it, someone moves on her. Now Jack is on the case, looking for the scum behind the shiny badges of the LAPD SWAT team to find the answers.
Bottom line: 25 to Life is for you if you like classic hard-boiled PIs who punch first and ask questions later and do the dirty work that the good cops can’t.
Listen to the first chapter here or wherever you get Mystery to Die For podcast
Strengths of the story. The set-up is classic PI. A bright, talent law student is killed in a murder made to look like an accident. (I don’t consider this a spoiler b/c if it was an accident, there wouldn’t be a story.) She’s connected. Her father is a renowned attorney and political supporter who asked his friend the Los Angeles mayor for help. That help comes in the form of Jack Bertalino, former NYPD inspector turned private investigator. I really like this set-up because it gave Jack a legit reason to dive into the case and the backing to go places and ask the questions he needed to.
The pacing is excellent. At no point did my attention wander or did I get bored. I got a little anxious a few times, but that was a good thing.
This is Jack’s fifth case. I have not read the prior ones and this one stood solidly alone. Lansing did an excellent job of briefly providing any needed back story without providing a full page synopsis of the prior cases. It is obvious that Jack’s team were in the previous books as they were fully developed characters, comfortable in their own skin.
Where the story fell short of ideal. There wasn’t a place it fell short of ideal, per se. There were a few grammar typos, such as “ in the wrong place, but those were minor and did not detract from the story.
While I thought the final confrontation with the Big Bad was excellent in terms of action and excitement, I did roll my eyes at the set up. It was the only time that I thought Jack acted out of character. He is brave and aggressive, yes, but he is smart, manipulating situations to put the odds in his favor. This time, he chose to run into hell carrying a water bottle. At least he put a vest on. This is obv my pet peeve. I bet most of you hard boiled PI lovers will love it just the way it is.
Estelle Cummings patrols Jawnville’s Locust Valley Park with the Silver Apostles (a senior version of the Guardian Angels) keeping the park safe from the elusive Nature Jacker. But on this particular night, Estelle stumbles across the alleged flasher, khaki’s around his ankles and body still warm. With the police eager to shelve the murder investigation because who cares who killed the public masturbator, it’s up to Estelle to solve the mystery. Toss in a dash of fentanyl, an anti-woke march, a handful of clues best observed under a blacklight and our amateur sleuth is in over her head.
A Short Mystery from the Rockfish universe
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TG Wolff 