A Mysterious Death Bedevils the Detectives of the 87th Precinct

The fiftieth novel in the 87th Precinct series may not be the best of the bunch, but it's still a pretty good read. When a woman named Cynthia Keating calls the 87th Precinct to report that she has found her father, Andrew Hale, lying dead in bed, apparently of a heart attack, Detectives Steve Carella and Meyer Meyer respond.

The woman insists that she walked in the door and found her father lying just as the detectives see him, but the detectives wonder why the dead man is lying under the covers, fully clothed except for his shoes. They wonder why Cynthia called the cops instead of simply phoning for a doctor or an ambulance. Mostly they wonder why the corpse's feet and lower legs show signs of postmortem lividity, an indication that the man was almost certainly hanged.

Things are obviously not as they appear and the more the detectives dig into the case, the stranger things appear. The investigation will take Carella and Meyer into the world of the theater and into a couple of seedy strip clubs as well. Along the way, a long-time character in the series will be lost, creating yet another investigation that must be pursued. It's another very good read that nonetheless leaves any long-time reader of the series more than a little depressed, knowing that there are only four books remaining in it.

A Great Debut Novel from Lou Berney

When Charles "Shake" Bouchon walks out of prison a free man, he's determined to walk the straight and narrow. He dreams of opening a small restaurant, but no sooner does he hit L.A. than his old boss and former lover, Alexandra Llandryan, asks him for a small favor. Alexandra is the head of the Armenian mob in L.A., and she'd like Shake to drive a car to Vegas and leave it with an obnoxious and obese strip club owner named Dick Moby. Not surprisingly, Moby is known as "The Whale."

Alexandra offers Shake three thousand dollars and a guy fresh out of prison could certainly use the cash. He accepts the offer and en route to Vegas late that night, out in the middle of the desert, the car begins to make a strange noise. Shake stops, opens the trunk and discovers to his amazement, an attractive young blonde, lying there bound and gagged. She's managed to free one leg and has been kicking against the side of the trunk, hence the noise.

Shake is naturally stunned. This is the package he's supposed to be delivering to the Whale? He removes the woman's gag and she explains that she's a housewife with two small children and that she lives in Vegas. Even though they are Mormons, her husband is a degenerate gambler who disappeared while they were vacationing in California. The next day, two thugs kicked in the door to her hotel room and kidnapped her.

Shake assumes the obvious: the woman's husband is deep in debt to the Whale who intends to hold her hostage, or worse, until the husband pays up. Shake knows he will be in deep trouble if he fails to deliver the package, but ex-con or not, he's a relatively decent guy who can't bring himself to seal this poor woman's fate by completing the job he was hired to do.

What follows is a great story, filled with suspense and humor, and populated by a cast of terrific characters. The action moves from California to Vegas to Panama; it involves large sums of money, some very rare religious relics, strippers, gangsters and conventioneers. What more could a reader possibly want?

Lou Berney is, most recently, the author of the much-honored The Long and Faraway Gone, another great read. This was his debut novel and it's a clear winner. It should appeal in particular to fans of the late Elmore Leonard at his prime; it's really that good.

Harry Hole Returns on a Very Personal Mission

At the conclusion of the last book in this series, The Leopard, Harry Hole, no longer on the Oslo police force, retreated to Hong Kong where he built a new life. But three years later, his past calls him home. Oleg, the son of his former lover, Rakel, has been arrested for allegedly killing a drug dealer who was also his friend and the foster brother of the young woman that Oleg loved. The evidence seems incontrovertible, but Harry comes back to Norway in an effort to prove that Oleg is not guilty and to find the real killer.

In his absence, the boy who once called Harry "Dad," has fallen into a life of addiction and crime as a powerful new drug called Violin has swept through the city. Harry is someone who understands the power of addiction and, now clean and sober, he sets himself to the task of saving this boy that he loves.

Without the power of the police force behind him, Harry faces a seriously uphill struggle and the effort takes him deep into the shadowy world of drugs, criminal gangs and the police and politicians who either attempt to resolve the problem or to capitalize upon it. It's a gripping story that leads to a shattering climax, and Nesbo teases out the story in a way that's almost as addictive as the drug at the center of it.

It's a powerful novel and a great read but one cannot emphasize enough the importance of reading this series in order. The reader new to the series certainly does not want to start here. Admittedly, the first two books in the series,The Bat and Cockroaches are a bit weaker than the ones that follow, but at a minimum, one should start with the third book, The Redbreast before moving on. The principal attraction of these books is the character of Harry Hole and the world that surrounds him and no reader would want to deprive him or herself of the pleasure of watching these relationships unfold in order.

Another Puzzling Mystery to Challenge Chief Inspector Morse

The sixth book in the Inspector Morse series is, indeed, a riddle. The author, Colin Dexter, also had a passion for crossword puzzles, and he's created here an intricate puzzle that ultimately borders on the convoluted. The case involves an Oxford don named Browne-Smith, a bachelor, who goes mysteriously missing after being lured to London by the promise of exotic sex. Shortly thereafter, a body is pulled from a river. The corpse is wearing a suit that belonged to Browne-Smith, but it's missing its head, arms and legs. Is it really Browne-Smith? 

The case falls to Inspector Morse of Oxford Homicide, assisted, as always, by his trusty sergeant, Lewis. Morse is a confirmed bachelor who loves the challenge of his job, along with his beer and attractive women. As the investigation proceeds, Morse discovers that bitter rivalries played out in the hallowed halls of Oxford academia, leading in turn, to some very complicated maneuverings. Soon, other bodies are falling and sorting it all out is going to be a very challenging task, even for someone as brilliant as Inspector Morse.

This book was first published in 1983, and is an excellent example of the "puzzle" mysteries that were so popular in British crime fiction at that time. As a practical matter, there's no way that the reader can figure out who done it; you can only hang on and go along for the ride. It's always fun to watch Morse in action, but as is the case in a few of these books, the plot gets a little too complex for its own good and there are maybe one or two totally unanticipated and unnecessary twists at the end. But fans of the series are sure to enjoy it.

A Classic Novel from the Golden Age of Crime Fiction

This classic crime novel was first published in 1942, and in 1944, Otto Preminger made from it the equally classic film starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews and featuring a haunting title song composed by David Raskin. Only after the film's release did Johnny Mercer write the lyrics to the song, which quickly became a jazz standard.

It's a very atmospheric novel, set in New York City, that practically reads in black and white. At the center is Laura Hunt, a "modern" young woman, at least by the standards of 1942. She's thirty years old and unmarried with a career of her own. She has a fiance, but she's constantly pushing back the wedding date because she values her independence. Another, older, man is also in love with her, but to Laura, he's just a valued friend.

Much of this we learn in retrospect, because as the book opens, Laura's housekeeper comes to work one Saturday morning, opens the door, and finds Laura lying on the floor, dead from a shotgun blast. It's not a pretty sight. Assigned to investigate the murder is Mark McPherson of the NYPD. McPherson is entranced by the portrait of Laura that hangs in the living room of her home, and the more he learns about the victim, the more his feelings for her grow. Before long, he's investigating the murder by day and hanging around her home at night, inhaling the lingering scent of Laura's perfume.

As the above would suggest, this is clearly a book with deep psychological issues at its center. There are some amazing twists and turns as the book progresses, and there are very few other crime novels to which one might compare it. This is a riveting story that will appeal to all readers who love the classics in the field

A great debut novel from Owen Laukkanen

This is an excellent debut thriller with a great cast of characters, a totally plausible and entertaining plot, and a pace that will keep readers turning the pages at a blistering pace.

When the economy is in the dumpster, what is a young person supposed to do? Four friends, Marie McAllister, Arthur Pender, Ben Stirzaker and Matt Sawyer are recent college graduates with good degrees but no job prospects worthy of the time and effort they put into getting those degrees. Ruminating over drinks one night, one of them teasingly suggests that they might make some money as bank robbers. Then another suggests, somewhat more seriously, that a career as kidnappers might be safer and more lucrative.

Suddenly, the idea is no longer a joke and the four hatch a plan that seems sensible, safe and rewarding. They will carefully research their victims, choosing only marks that can readily afford the ransom they demand. And they will not get greedy, picking very wealthy and/or famous targets and demanding large payoffs. Rather, they pick people who have done fairly well in high finance and ask only $60,000 each for their safe return.

Criss-crossing the country over the space of a couple of years, the plan works beautifully. The victims' families all pay up; they don't call in the police, and the gang is salting away a lot of money to fund their early retirements. But then, finally, they pick the wrong victim, a man who's tied into organized crime. Things go south in a big way, and soon some very bad people are trying to even the score and then some.

If that weren't bad enough, another victim's family has finally ignored the gang's warning and gone to the police. Now an agent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is also on their trail. And no, it's not Lucas Davenport or Virgil Flowers, but rather an up and coming investigator named Kirk Stevens. The FBI also joins the case in the person of Carla Windermere. Stevens is temporarily detailed to the Fibbies and he and Windermere are soon in hot pursuit as well.

What follows is a great chase that runs from Florida to Seattle, to Detroit and elsewhere. There's plenty of action and suspense and Laukannen so skilfully creates the characters of the four young kidnappers that you can't help rooting for them, even though Stevens and Windermere are also great characters and you know that you should be rooting for them. It's a terrific story, and it's really hard to believe that this could be Laukkanen's first time out of the chute.

This is the first in a series of novels featuring Stevens and Windermere, and the latest is The Watcher in the Wall, which is just out this week. The Professionals was released in 2012, and so obviously I'm way, way late to the party here--the penalty one pays for having a TBR stack that is totally out of control. But with this book, Laukkanen has jumped to the top of the pile and I'll be getting back to the adventures of Stevens and Windermere ASAP.

The Lives of a Former Boxer and a "Massage" therapist Intersect in L.A.

This is a dark, gritty novel set in contemporary Los Angeles and featuring two principal characters, Nick Pafko and Jenny Yee. Nick is a former boxer who had a promising career until he accidentally killed an opponent in the ring. After that he was never able to deliver another punishing blow and his career rapidly went south. Now he cobbles together a living, taking whatever menial jobs he can find and living on the margins of society.

Jenny is a young "massage" therapist who gives hand jobs to the clients who patronize the apartments where she and a number of other young women work for an actor who's fallen on hard times named Scott Crandall. Crandall was never very good as an actor and now, well past his sell-by date, he can't even land a part in a crappy cable TV series. While he's trying to recover his glory days, Crandall is surviving by renting several apartments and living off the profits of the women he puts to work there.

Jenny is smart and ambitious; she's going to school and assumes that her job as a "masseuse" is simply a stepping stone that enables her to make a lot of money to give herself a good start in life. Then one day she reports to work to discover that a couple of thugs have raped, beaten and robbed two of the other women working in the apartment. She flees the apartment and gives up the job. Later, though, needing money, she returns to work but only upon the condition that Crandall hire someone to provide security at the apartment where she works.

Crandall hires Nick to provide the security and so Nick's life now intersects with Jenny's. The rest of the story unfolds as dark forces threaten both of them. Nick, Jenny and Scott are well-drawn characters and so are the minor members of the cast. Schulian, who is a sportswriter by trade, provides an especially interesting look into the mind of Nick Pafclo and portrays the seamy side of the massage business and a fairly unflattering portrait of the women who work in it, Jenny excepted. But the story moves very slowly and doesn't contain as much tension as one would normally expect from a book like this. A good read, but not a great one.