Review of THE CORAL BRIDE by Roxanne Bouchard

 3.5 Stars

This book follows We Were the Salt of the Sea which introduced DS Joaquin Moralès. The setting is once again the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec. Though I was not awed by the first book, I thought I’d give the author another chance and, fortunately, I enjoyed the second book more. It’s a police procedural that also examines family love and loyalty/betrayal.

Angel Roberts, the captain of a lobster trawler, disappears after a party to celebrate her tenth wedding anniversary, a celebration she attended wearing her wedding dress. Her boat is found but there is no one on board. Suicide is suspected, but Moralès is not convinced and sets out to conduct a thorough investigation. Assisting Moralès is Érik Lefebvre, a quirky police officer who collects random objects like a magpie and hates fieldwork, and Simone Lord, a fisheries officer who is self-assertive and prickly and has difficulty working as part of a team.

Moralès’ focus on the case is broken by the unexpected arrival of his son Sébastien who seems to have packed his worldly possessions and left his long-time girlfriend. Because Sébastien’s point of view is given periodically, the reader learns that he has come to confront his father whom he blames for teaching his son to be submissive to women.

The pace is rather slow. Moralès is at a disadvantage because he is a newcomer who has come to realize that in the tightly-knit communities of the Gaspé, “you had to know everything about everybody to stand a chance of solving a case.” There are complicated relationships, multi-generational family feuds, and layers of secrets Moralès must untangle to get at the truth. It seems that at each interview, he is told only part of the story. People tend only to answer what is asked so if he doesn’t ask the right question, he will not learn the full story. At times information is withheld out of a sense of loyalty and other times, out of fear.

There are a fair number of suspects so the reader is kept guessing. Several people have motives. What is repeatedly mentioned is the resentment Angel faced because she was a woman in a man’s world: most men resented her choice of occupation, and some had even tried to sabotage her chances of succeeding. I was pleased that, when the mystery was solved, the clues were there in plain sight.

Just as people’s unwillingness to talk frustrates Moralès’ investigation, difficulty in communicating impedes his relationship with Sébastien. They both have much to say to each other, but neither knows how to even begin. As expected, their lack of forthright communication has led to misunderstandings; likewise, Moralès’ reluctance to explain himself does not help create a positive working relationship with the fisheries officer whose expertise he needs.

The author’s descriptions of the coastline and the sea are wonderful: “The gulls diving into the frigid depths, splashing up spouts like shards of ice that pierce the lazy rays of the sun. The swell snorting its way through the morning frost on the sand. The wakes of boats sailing home becoming fewer and further between. The tiny nameless beaches deserted by even the most lingering of holidaymakers. The gloom descending gradually as the day gives minutes away to the night. The silence blanketing the shore.” There is no doubt that Roxanne Bouchard knows the region intimately and loves the sea.

There are some touches of humour that lighten the melancholy mood. Érik’s eccentric behaviour certainly made me smile, as did the behaviour of the cantankerous receptionist at the police station, especially in her treatment of “Detective Moral-less.”

There are some elements that I did not like. Moralès doesn’t call for backup on at least two occasions; this seems like such an amateur mistake. Similarly, Sébastien’s behaviour does not always seem believable; though his emotional state is understandable, he often acts more like a teenager than a man of thirty years of age. Why, for example, would he fail to pass on a message to his father about a man’s disappearance? There is also needless repetition. Does the “beguiling vertebra” at the nape of a woman’s neck need to be mentioned every time she appears? Is a reference to a family’s history of mental illness really necessary to explain one person’s actions? The insertion of a character’s thoughts in the middle of the thoughts of another is disconcerting. For instance, in the middle of Sébastien’s thoughts about Kimo, we are told, “Corine was worried her friend would put a damper on their evening.”

 This second novel is stronger than its predecessor so I’m going to read the next one in the series, Whisper of the Seals, hoping it will be even better. In the meantime, though the book is not flawless, I will recommend this one to people who enjoy a police procedural with thematic depth.

Review of THE SHADOW MURDERS by Jussi Adler-Olsen (New Release)

 3.5 Stars

This is the ninth book in the Department Q series.  Readers who are familiar with the series will enjoy being reunited with the members of Copenhagen’s cold case division. 

Carl Mørck, the man in charge of Department Q, is asked by his superior to investigate a case from 1988.  Slowly, Carl and his team of Assad, Rose, and Gordon discover a series of deaths, each with a signature pile of salt at the murder scenes.  Then it becomes evident that another murder is scheduled so the team needs to determine the victim and stop the serial killer.  A race against the clock begins.

The characters we’ve come to know behave consistently with their portrayal in previous books in the series.  There is a sense of familiarity so reading the book feels like revisiting with old friends.  The book makes references to events in the previous book, Victim 2117.  I enjoyed learning about what happened following the end of that book.  Especially, it’s a joy to read about Carl and Mona’s relationship.

Multiple points of view are used; once the identity of the perpetrator is discovered, the perspective of that villain is included, so the reader knows the plans and motivations. 

The question is whether Carl and the others will be able to prevent the murder.  The emergence of an old case has other police investigators looking at Carl’s past while he tries to focus on the present case.  Covid lockdowns also complicate matters; the team is hampered in their work by restrictions because of the pandemic. 

As with the other books, there are touches of humour.  The banter among the team cannot but bring a smile.  Assad, for example, continues to tell camel stories and to misuse idiomatic expressions.

Suspense is gradually ramped up, especially after a team member is placed in serious danger.  Towards the end I was unable to stop reading. 

The ending of this book connects directly to the first book in the series, The Keeper of Lost Causes, and leads directly to the tenth and last book.  I imagine this last book will finally bring closure to the case which left one colleague, Anker Høyer, dead and another colleague, Hardy Henningsen, a quadriplegic.  I will certainly looking forward to that last book. 

If you have not already discovered this Danish mystery series, do check it out.  Be certain to begin at the beginning.  As Queen Elizabeth II says in Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader, “Can there be any greater pleasure . . . than to come across an author one enjoys and then to find they have written not just one book or two . . . “?

Note:  I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of THE STORM SISTER by Lucinda Riley

3 Stars 

My book club read the first book in the The Seven Sisters series and I decided I’d listen to further books in the series on my morning walks.

Six girls adopted by Pa Salt gather at Atlantis, their childhood home in Switzerland, to mourn the passing of their adoptive father.  Each is given a letter and a clue to her true heritage.   Each daughter’s journey is the subject of a novel.  The Storm Sister is the story of Ally, the second daughter to be adopted.  She competes in yacht races but a tragedy upends her life so she decides to travel to Norway where the clues to her origins lead.  She discovers she is linked to Anna Landvik who sang in the first performance of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt set to music by Edvard Grieg.  Exactly how she is related is gradually revealed. 

This second book follows a similar pattern to the first.  We are given the story of people from the past who have a link with a well-known historical figure.  There is romance both in the past and present.    The plot is fairly predictable.  Because of considerable foreshadowing, there are few surprises if a reader has been paying the least bit of attention. 

As with the previous book, I enjoyed the stories set in the past more than Ally’s narrative.  Certainly Ally’s relationship with Theo is problematic.  Despite attempts to portray him otherwise, his sexism is obvious.  His actions towards Ally and his crew are not those of a real leader or hero. 

This is a light, easy read which does not require a great deal of effort on the part of the reader.  The author tells rather than shows.  The style lacks nuance; readers are told everything they need to understand characters and plot. 

Great literature this is not.  I will, however, continue on to the next book in the series because I look for pure entertainment in my audiobooks.  Since I’m easily distracted on my walks, I want something I can easily leave and return to and not worry about missing something important.  Everyone needs a guilty pleasure and this series of books will be mine.

Review of LUCY BY THE SEA by Elizabeth Strout (New Release)

 4.5 Stars

I should preface that I love Elizabeth Strout and would probably enjoy reading her grocery list! This is the third book in the Amgash series following My Name is Lucy Barton and Oh William! (Or it’s the fourth book if Strout’s story collection Anything is Possible is included.)

This book once again reunites Lucy and her philandering ex-husband and long-time friend William. He convinces Lucy to leave Manhattan and move to a small town in coastal Maine as New York City goes into lockdown because of COVID-19. The novel focuses on Lucy’s thoughts and feelings as she adjusts to life during a pandemic. Though isolated from the rest of her family, she maintains contact with them and tries to help them through their own struggles and crises.

Because of its conversational tone and rambling narrative, reading the book is like meeting with a friend and listening as she chats away, jumping from topic to topic: “Before I tell you about . . . let me say that . . .” Since I have encountered Lucy in previous books, I felt like I were revisiting with an old friend.

Lucy captures perfectly life during the pandemic. Initially there is a sense of disbelief. Then as the nature of the pandemic is understood, various emotions emerge: loneliness, sadness, uncertainty, anxiety, and grief: “The sadness that rose and fell in me was like the tides.” Readers will certainly be able to relate to Lucy’s feelings. I loved her description of feeling “as though each day was like a huge stretch of ice I had to walk over . . . and I had to make it through each day without knowing when it would stop, and it seemed it would not stop, and so I felt a great uneasiness.” I even found myself chuckling at the small annoyances that plague us when we’re in forced isolation with another person: Lucy hates William’s slurping when he eats, and he hates to see her floss her teeth. She describes episodes of brain fog, “Covid mind” William calls it. For many people, the various traumas of the pandemic served to amplify traumas of the past, and Lucy relives childhood traumas and the death of her second husband. She also finds herself in situations that teach her about herself; for instance, her failure to act in one situation has her admitting, “And I learned something that day. About myself and people, and their self-interest.”

Despite her own weariness and sadness, Lucy does realize that things could be worse: “I thought of all the people – old people and young people – who had lived out the pandemic in rooms . . . Alone.” She does manage to find comfort in new friendships and in the beauty that surrounds her: “What a thing the physical world is!” Perhaps Lucy’s friend expresses best a way to live: “’It’s our duty to bear the burden . . . with as much grace as we can.’”

What I really appreciated is Lucy’s trying to understand people who are not like her and hold opposite views. She mentions that a problem is that “Everyone thinks like themselves” so she makes a point of considering  things from others’ points of view. She and William discuss Trump supporters. William says, “’They’re angry. Their lives have been hard.’” And Lucy makes friends with one of them and concludes, “And what if I had continued to feel that my entire life, what if all the jobs I had taken in my life were not enough to really make a living, what if I felt looked down upon all the time by the wealthier people in this country . . . I saw what these people were feeling; they were like my sister Vicky, and I understood them. They had been made to feel poorly about themselves, they were looked at with disdain,  and they could no longer stand it.” She even writes a story that “is sympathetic toward a white cop who liked the old president and who does an act of violence and gets away with it” and she admits about her protagonist, “I loved him.” It seems that Lucy tries to love everyone though she struggles with loving herself.

Lucy knows that people are different: “We are born with a certain nature, I think. And then the world takes its swings at us” and “some people are luckier than others.” But everyone suffers and experiences sadness, pain, and fear: “money makes no difference in these kinds of things.” She realizes she may have more in common with people than she wants to admit: for instance, she draws away from people like Charlene and her sister Vicky who have “a faint odor of loneliness . . . because I had always been afraid of giving off that odor myself.” She repeats that “Everyone needs to feel important.” She also realizes that though “We are alone in these things that we suffer,” everyone is “only doing what we can to get through.” In essence, “We are all in lockdown, all the time. We just don’t know it, that’s all. But we do the best we can. Most of us are just trying to get through.”

I loved the many characteristics of Strout’s style: a truly introspective protagonist, the references to characters from other books, and the short sentences which reveal a complex understanding of relationships and the human condition. Readers should be warned, however, that this may be a painful read since it serves as a reminder of pandemic experiences. Some people may prefer more distance from a not-yet-over pandemic. I myself would take any opportunity to live in Lucy’s head for a while.

Note:  I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of THE SEA BETWEEN TWO SHORES by Tanis Rideout (New Release)

 4 Stars

I loved Tanis Rideout’s previous novel, Above All Things, which I read in 2012.  It made a real impression on me because I still remember it a decade later.  I was anxious to read her sophomore novel, and I was not disappointed.

In the 1830s, William and Josephine Stewart left Nova Scotia and travelled to the island of Iparei in what is now known as Vanuatu in the South Pacific.  Their intention was to convert the Indigenous Peoples to Christianity, but their arrival brought disease, caused friction, and led to violence.  In 2013, Michelle Stewart, a descendant of these missionaries, lives in Toronto.  Her family has been devastated by the death, the previous year, of the middle child Dylan.  Michelle is invited to attend a reconciliation ceremony on the island for their ancestors.  She accepts the invitation and brings her husband Scott, her mother Joyce, and her children, Zach and Astrid, with her.  On the island, Michelle and her family are hosted by Rebecca and David Tabé and their children, Jacob and Anaei.  The Tabé family is also in mourning because of the death of the youngest child Ouben after a cyclone six months earlier.  In their time together, both families learn that they are connected by losses in the present and by the actions of ancestors in the past.  David says, “’There are things that must be put to rest if we want to move forward,’” and his comment applies to both the present and the past, and to individuals and the community. 

The perspectives of various characters are given:  Michelle, Scott, Zach, Rebecca, David, and Jacob.  This approach to point of view allows the reader to learn everyone’s thoughts and feelings which are often not expressed to others.  William and Josephine are not given a voice, except through some fragmentary pages from Josephine’s diary.  Instead, through interspersed sections, we are given the perspective of Faina, a girl living at the time of William and Josephine’s arrival.  She sheds light on the reactions of the islanders to the missionaries. 

Grief is a major theme.  Though the circumstances are different, the death of a child is a loss experienced by both families.  Though the sorrow of both mothers is described in heartbreaking terms, Michelle has much more difficulty moving on, though Ouben’s death was much more recent.  Rebecca has rituals, such as wearing a fasting cord, and she goes to a cave sacred to women, a place that connects her to her ancestors:  “There is comfort in this connection, less an erasure of her own suffering, her own fear and hope, than an embrace.” 

Michelle, on the other hand, carries her grief in a “fragile, angry way.”  She lashes out and so finds herself isolated from those closest to her.  Rebecca notices that the members of Michelle’s family “are careful and distant with one another – a flicker of resentment, of frustration, sparks among them.”  Michelle is so focused on her own grief, that she seems not to realize that others too have experienced loss.  Jacob tells Zach, “’It wasn’t just your ancestors that were killed here.  So many of our people got sick and died after the missionaries came, the traders.  We need to remember them too.  There are many sides to the story.’” 

In many ways, Michelle illustrates the attitudes of the whites who came to the island.  When Rebecca takes her to the special cave, Michelle “simply sees a cave, something empty and dark, that is only meaningful because of how her own people might have marked it.  Initially, she doesn’t seem to understand that it is not just the islanders who have to “’honour  [their] obligations. ‘’’  Just as Josephine seemed to say sorry often, Michelle does too.  Rebecca comments, “The woman is always apologizing . . . The words come easy to her, but they’re hollow.” 

One of the messages of the book is that reconciliation is not just apologizing and asking for forgiveness.  Zach thinks of his mother’s “vague sorrys, and how useless a word it is on its own.”  The point is that “’forgiveness is only part of the work.  We must repair the road that was broken.  Then we can begin to move forward, together.’”   Michelle does admit to realizing something:  “’I always thought what happened here was ancient history, but I know now that’s not true.  Their ghosts are all around us.’” And she does offer something, “’I know it doesn’t change anything . . . but it’s something – a beginning.’”  All of this reminded me so much of the situation of Canada’s First Nations peoples and the need for proper reconciliation.

I appreciated the references to climate change and its impact on the islanders.  David explains that “’the storms that come now are so much worse, so much stronger than they used to be.’”  Rebecca tells Michelle, “’We are not the ones causing these changes.  And yet these storms grow worse every year, causing more and more damage, because you refuse to see what you are doing to the rest of the world.  Our islands are going to be swallowed by the sea.’”  And Jacob talks to Zach about the garbage that washes up on their beach:  “’All this crap gets washed up from other places.’” 

There is so much in this book to inspire thought.  It certainly left me thinking more about both the actions of Canadians in the past and our behaviour in the present.  This novel with its thematic depth is one I will be highly recommending to others.

Note:  I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.

Anyone who has not read Above All Things is in for a treat.  Here’s my review:  https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2015/08/from-schatjes-reviews-archive-review-of.html

Review of LESSONS by Ian McEwan (New Release)

4 Stars

This book could be described as an introspective journey through one man’s life over 60 years.

The novel begins in 1986 when Roland Baines is 37 years old.  His wife Alissa has just left him and their seven-month-old son Lawrence to pursue a writing career.  This abandonment, which forces him into single parenthood, starts him thinking about his thereto restless, “shapeless existence” and what has caused him to live so aimlessly.  Since abruptly ending his formal education at 16, he has been adrift; after a decade spent travelling around the world while engaged in less than meaningful relationships, he married but lacks steady employment.  The novel shows Roland trying to understand himself and come to terms with his past while struggling through life, sometimes successfully and sometimes less so, and trying to learn its lessons. 

The book examines how formative experiences and global events shape people’s lives:  Roland “reflected on the events and accidents personal and global, minuscule and momentous that had formed and determined his existence.”  Roland’s experiences as a child and teenager seem to have left him living much of his life with the hope that “What he once had, he had to have again.”  For instance, a “rapturous week” of unfettered freedom and play as a child has left him with “a notion of impossible freedom and adventure [which] still spoiled him for the present” and a feeling that “His real life, the boundless life, was elsewhere.”  As a result, he rejected opportunities and avoided commitments and salaried employment “to remain at large” and be available for the next adventure.  His boarding school experience has also impacted his life.  At the age of 11, he was dropped off at a boarding school in England while his parents removed themselves physically and emotionally by returning to Libya.  He attracts the attentions of Miriam Cornell, a piano teacher, whose relationship with him “rewired [his] brain.”  He concludes that he has drifted “through an unchosen life, in a succession of reactions to events.  He had never made an important decision.”

Of course, others too are impacted by formative experiences.  Alissa believes her life was scarred by a childhood spent around her mother’s sense of failure and bitterness so she takes decisive steps not to lead her mother’s “second-rate life.”  Though not aware of his mother’s past until much later, Roland learns that her life had been framed by a “distant sorrow that hung about her and what she grieved for.” 

Global events can also be traumatic, and Roland’s personal life is set against the Cuban Missile Crisis, the fall of the Berlin Wall, Chernobyl, the 9/11 attacks, Brexit, and the COVID  pandemic.  These events over which he has no control all impact his life and influence his behaviour.  The possibility of annihilation during the Cuban missile crisis, for instance, motivates Roland to lose his virginity while the possibility of radiation from Chernobyl has him taking extra precautions to protect himself and Lawrence.  And the reader is told about Alissa’s mother and Roland’s parents whose lives show that “Nothing forces public events on private lives like a war.” 

The novel also examines whether it is possible to fulfill fully our needs and desires without hurting others.  Roland attends a lecture on the topic of the ruthlessness of artists, the presenter asking whether we should “forgive or ignore their single-mindedness or cruelty in the service of their art” or “Whether cruel behaviour enabled great or execrable poetry made no difference.  A cruel act remained just that.”  Alissa abandons her husband and son to become a writer.  Though her novels are lauded, her choices affect others:  “If [Alissa’s mother] had harmed her daughter, what of the harm that daughter had done her son?”  Should she be forgiven?  And if she were a man, would she be condemned so harshly?  Certainly Alissa’s fate at the end versus Roland’s is thought-provoking. 

Roland is not always a likeable character.  At times, he seems full of self-pity as he considers the roads not taken.  He does redeem himself, however, because he does experience personal growth.  Though “he thought that he hadn’t learned a thing in life and he never would,” he does become more generous in his views and sees that “They were all doing their best to get by with what they had.”  Though he understands that “our beginnings shape us and must be faced,” he also knows that he should be grateful because “The accidental fortune was beyond calculation to have been born” when and where he was.  Perhaps the most important lesson is that we “must go on trying to understand . . . and it would never end.”

This is a dense book and there is much in it, much more than I can discuss here.  The one part I did not enjoy is the discussions of British politics, though, admittedly, my ignorance of that topic affected my enjoyment of those sections.  The discussion of the White Rose movement in Germany became tedious, though I do admit to doing some further research because I wasn’t aware of that resistance group.

This is not my favourite McEwan novel, but I certainly recommend it to fans of his work.  I will certainly continue to read his books and, should time allow, probably re-read this one.

Note:  I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.

(I recently read Julian Barnes’ latest novel, Elizabeth Finch, and could not but notice Ian McEwan giving his protagonist similar views to EF:  “’Christianity had been the cold dead hand on the European imagination. . . . It buried the open-minded philosophies of classical antiquity for an age, it sent thousands of brilliant minds down irrelevant rabbit holes of pettifogging theology.  It had spread its so-called Word by horrific violence and it maintained itself by torture, persecution and death.’”  Is there something in the air or water in England?)

Review of THE BLEEDING by Johana Gustawsson

 4 Stars

This is the first book I’ve read by this author; I will certainly be checking out her other offerings.

The novel opens in 2002 with Lieutenant Maxine Grant being sent to investigate a murder in her hometown of Lac-Clarence, Quebec.  Her elementary school teacher, Pauline Caron, has stabbed her husband Philippe thirty-one times.  Except for a motive, it seems like a simple case, but a series of macabre discoveries turn it into a very complex one.

Interspersed with this police procedural are the stories of two other women.  Lucienne, living in Paris in 1899, loses two daughters in a fire but is adamant they are alive and turns to the spiritualist community to find them.  Lina, a teenager in 1949, is struggling with how to cope with being bullied at school when an elderly woman befriends her and changes her life.

From the beginning, it is clear that these three narratives, though separated by time, are connected.  The crime investigation centres on Lac-Clarence; Lucienne refers to her hometown in Lac-Clarence; and Lina also lives in the small community.  Part of the enjoyment of reading the book is trying to see how the lives of these three women are interconnected. 

I was hesitant to read this book because of its elements of spiritualism and occultism.  Neither of these interests me, and I dislike supernatural forces being made responsible for crimes.  My fears were for naught.  Though various forms of occult practices do appear, humans bear responsibility for what happens.  What I did come to appreciate is how the women are drawn, however mistakenly, to a belief system which claims not to dismiss or diminish females but is based on “’acknowledging one’s desires and recognizing that they are legitimate and natural.’”  However one may feel about Pauline Caron’s diatribe as justification for her actions, there is truth in her comment that sexual pleasures are condemned by priests who themselves are “’frustrated and tormented by what the Church [denies them].  I shall refrain from commenting on the paedophilic horrors of the Catholic Church.’”

My favourite character is Gina, the psychologist, who assists Maxine.  I enjoyed trying to guess what she was thinking while studying the crime scene or interviewing Pauline.  Her astute observations certainly help move the investigation.  And the scene where she shows Maxine that she shouldn’t be ashamed of a less-than-perfect body had me in stitches!

I guessed many of the connections among the three plots, but I was blown away by the revelations at the end.  I found myself re-reading portions to make certain I had not read incorrectly.  What is wonderful is that this is a fair-play mystery.  The clues are there, but I missed them.  There were times I suspected that something was wrong, but I didn’t stop to analyze what was bothering me.  Like Lina, I didn’t think carefully enough and made assumptions.  (Only one element bothered me:  the use of a shoulder strap from a handbag didn’t seem credible.)

And there may be another connection that is not clarified.  Lina says she is not interested in who got a classmate pregnant.  I have my suspicions as to the identity of the man, but I don’t know if I’m correct, and that’s driving me crazy!

This is a page-turner.  Suspense is maintained throughout.  Point of view is used effectively; since each woman narrates in the first person, she reveals only as much as she wishes.  Sometimes narrators are unreliable, but sometimes they reveal more about themselves than they intend, so astute readers will be rewarded.  The short chapters certainly add to the fast pace.   

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dark, twisty tales. 

Review of THE RISING TIDE by Ann Cleeves (New Release)

 4 Stars

This is the tenth book in the Vera Stanhope series. 

A group of school friends has been gathering every five years for the last fifty on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, a tidal island on the northeast coast of England.  On the Saturday of the reunion weekend, one of the members, a celebrity journalist, is found dead.  Vera arrives and quickly determines that though the death looks like a suicide, the man was murdered.  Joined by her team of Joe Ashworth and Holly Clarke, she leads the investigation which uncovers several secrets.   

There is a large number of suspects so the reader is kept guessing.  It is amazing how the author writes so well that the reader is not confused about the various characters.  Likewise, there are several possible motives. Was the victim killed because of the sexual misconduct allegations made against him?  Or was his promise of a tell-all book the reason for his death?  The night before his death, the victim reveals, “’It’s fiction naturally but very definitely based on fact.  You’ll find our pasts very much brought back to life.  All our secrets, actually, finally seeing the light of day.’”   Could his death be connected to the death of another member of the circle of friends 45 years earlier?  This is a fair-play mystery in that the clues are all there, though, admittedly, there are red herrings.

Though I love the television adaptation starring Brenda Blethyn, the book, by including Vera’s inner thoughts, provides more information about her personality and motivations.  Twice she is described as a “control freak.”  There are revealing statements that show a contrast between her no-nonsense exterior and her sensitive interior:  “She’d been teased at school about her weight and her clothes and her weird father . . . and the jibes still lingered in her brain” and “She hadn’t really made many friends at school” and “The beginning of an investigation when she could believe that she was the best detective in the world.  She’d soon lose that confidence” and “She knew what it was like to be an unwanted child, the unloved survivor” and “she wouldn’t want [Joe and Holly] forming some sort of allegiance against her” and “That was what Vera missed, now she had to spend so long at her desk.  The prying and nebbing into other folk’s business” and “She’d never bothered about her immediate surroundings, though she’d always needed outside space.  A long horizon.  A place to breathe” and “Vera had stood up to plenty of teachers in her time.”

Since the perspectives of others (Joe, Sally, a couple of the reunion attendees) are given, the reader sees how others perceive Vera.  For instance, Joe thinks, “Vera tended to complicate matters, and often the most obvious explanation was the right one.”  Holly thinks, “Vera liked the detail of an investigation.  It was the boss’s strength, but also her weakness.  She could dig away at the tiny details, losing sight of the overall picture.  The past was her territory.  She always said it explained the tensions and stresses of the present.”  Others often mention Vera’s unstylish appearance and her size and love of food; I couldn’t help but remember that in the novel preceding this one, The Darkest Evening, we are told that “food had always been her comfort, her means of escape.  Her own private addiction.”

Fans of Ann Cleeves and Vera Stanhope will not be disappointed.  This is a solid procedural with interesting characters and a strong plotline.  And the ending will leave you stunned!

Note:  I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.

Review of DARK MUSIC by David Lagercrantz (New Release)

 3.5 Stars

This is a Sherlock Holmes/Dr. Watson-style story set in Sweden in 2003 – 2004.

Jamal Kabir, an Afghani refugee living in Stockholm, is murdered.  The team investigating the case includes Micaela Vargas, the daughter of Chilean political refugees.  The team encounters Professor Hans Rekke, an authority on interrogation techniques.  Micaela is immediately fascinated by this man. Though she is removed from the team, she continues to be interested in the case, and when she comes into contact with Rekke again, the two work together to solve the case.  They focus on learning as much as they can about the victim, believing knowledge of his past will lead to the killer’s identity.

In the Author’s Note at the end, Lagercrantz states, “No one can possibly doubt the debt of gratitude I owe to Conan Doyle and his creation Sherlock Holmes, and I have ensured that I nod to them as often as possible.”  There are certainly many parallels.  Rekke is Holmes, of course, and Micaela is Dr. Watson.  Rekke’s older brother Magnus, a government official, is like Mycroft, Holmes’ older brother, who is also a power broker.  Both Magnus and Mycroft are described as larger and stouter and intelligent.  Sherlock’s housekeeper, Mrs. Hudson, becomes Rekke’s housekeeper, Mrs. Hansson.

The similarities between Sherlock and Rekke are obvious.  Both possess amazing observational skills which, along with their deductive reasoning, leave people astounded.  The two are similar in physical appearance, and both are prone to depression.  Both use drugs to help them cope.  Sherlock plays the violin, and Rekke was a promising concert pianist who had trained at Juilliard. 

Micaela is the Dr. Watson character.  She is determined to prove herself to her fellow officers who seem to dismiss her, though it becomes obvious that she is intelligent and capable.   Rekke comes to admire her, commenting on how people tend to underestimate her astuteness.  She is loyal to Rekke, defending him to others, especially the police.  Interestingly, like Watson, she virtually becomes a roommate, living in Rekke’s apartment at a 2B address. 

The book begins very slowly.  The first one-quarter has little plot.  The focus is on character development and providing background information about the personal lives of both Rekke and Micaela.  Actually, there is very little action altogether.  The two spend most of their time in the apartment discussing the case, researching online, and making phone calls to people who might be able to help them. 

It is Micaela’s perspective that receives most of the attention, though there are short passages giving the viewpoint of other characters.  Sometimes these sections from others have questionable value.  For instance, is it relevant that Jonas Beijer, a police officer, “thought about [Micaela] during his wakeful nights”?  Likewise, Chief Inspector Fransson thinks of another woman “when he felt at his most vulnerable.”  Later in the novel, there are flashbacks which fully explain those events that Rekke and Micaela uncover. 

The author has a penchant for cliff hangers.  One chapter ends with “He got the feeling that the situation was about to explode” while another concludes with a character stating, “’I remember something.’” 

Conan Doyle tended to use Latin phrases so Lagercrantz does as well.  Unfortunately, it becomes annoying when those phrases are not translated.  For example, “’De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine,’ [Rekke] mumbled, not entirely joking.”  The reader is left to figure out the meaning because there is no explanation of the phrase.  Including Latin is not the problem, but leaving the reader to decipher the meaning does not impress me. 

The last few pages clearly indicate that this is the first book of a series as a new case is introduced.  This explains the focus on establishing characters and the dynamics of their relationship.  There is also a lot of information given about private lives.  Supposedly Micaela’s brothers will become important players in future stories? 

Though the book may not appeal to readers who want an action-packed plot, it will appeal to those who enjoy a more cerebral mystery.  I will probably read the second book in the series to see the direction in which Lagercrantz takes the duo. 

Note:  I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.