The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley is set in the English countryside in 1950. Eleven-year old Flavia de Luce finds a dead body in the garden of her family's home. Clever Flavia, budding chemist with a particular interest in poison, conducts her own investigation. The resolution of the matter becoming all the more urgent after the police arrest her father for the crime.
This book is a fresh combination of the elements I enjoyed in Agatha Christie's work and the Nancy Drew stories. A smart and funny story for adults, with an entertaining young sleuth as the protagonist. A fun book.
Winner of the 2007 Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger.
Showing posts with label recommended mystery books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recommended mystery books. Show all posts
Monday, July 6, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
"At Risk" by Stella Rimington
Looking for an airplane read? Try At Risk by Stella Rimington. The author, Dame Stella Rimington, was the Director-General of the British Security Service MI5 from 1992 to 1996. Appropriately, her 2004 book is a spy novel.
In At Risk, protagonist Liz Carlyle is an agent-runner in MI-5's Joint Counter-Terrorist Group. An Islamic terrorist group has deployed an "invisible", defined as "an ethnic native of the target country". This "invisible" is suspected to be assisting another militant operative that British security agencies believe was smuggled into the country. Liz leads the frantic effort to find these two security threats and figure out who is their target. At Risk is at its best when Rimington writes about her character's work within the security service, interactions between MI-5 and other agencies, and the pressure-filled investigation of the security threats. Less interesting are the little dramas in Liz Carlyle's personal life. However, as a spy novel, At Risk is a nice read.
If you read At Risk and enjoy it, know that there are three more books by Rimington featuring Liz Carlyle: Secret Asset, Illegal Action, and Dead Line. Dead Line is available on amazon.uk, but as of today it is not on Amazon in the U.S.
In At Risk, protagonist Liz Carlyle is an agent-runner in MI-5's Joint Counter-Terrorist Group. An Islamic terrorist group has deployed an "invisible", defined as "an ethnic native of the target country". This "invisible" is suspected to be assisting another militant operative that British security agencies believe was smuggled into the country. Liz leads the frantic effort to find these two security threats and figure out who is their target. At Risk is at its best when Rimington writes about her character's work within the security service, interactions between MI-5 and other agencies, and the pressure-filled investigation of the security threats. Less interesting are the little dramas in Liz Carlyle's personal life. However, as a spy novel, At Risk is a nice read.
If you read At Risk and enjoy it, know that there are three more books by Rimington featuring Liz Carlyle: Secret Asset, Illegal Action, and Dead Line. Dead Line is available on amazon.uk, but as of today it is not on Amazon in the U.S.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Recommended Reading: "People Who Walk in Darkness" by Stuart M. Kaminsky
People Who Walk in Darkness by Stuart Kaminsky is a perfect little mystery. This should be no surprise. Kaminsky is a prolific and successful author.
According to his web site, Kaminsky has had published a staggering number of novels, biographies, textbooks, and short stories, and he has an extensive list of screenwriting credits. He has won an Edgar and the Prix De Roman D'Adventure of France, and he has been nominated for a Shamus Award and a McCavity Readers Choice Award.
Within this body of work are several lines of mysteries: the Lew Fonesca mysteries (six books after the 2009 publication of Bright Futures), the Abe Liberman mysteries (11 books), the Toby Peters mysteries (24 books), and the Porfiry Rostnikov novels (15 books). People Who Walk in Darkness is an Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov mystery.
People Who Walk in Darkness reflects the author's experience and competence. Readers are quickly and capably drawn into a very satisfying puzzle. In Moscow, Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov and his team of investigators have been given nine days to solve three mysteries: the torture-murder of two South Africans, the murder of a prostitute in an expensive private car on a train, and the death of a Canadian geologist in Siberia. Only one thing unifies the three assignments: diamonds. Failing to resolve these mysteries will result in Inspector Rostnikov and his team being thrown to the political wolves.
Kaminsky expertly spins out and then resolves the mysteries. Mixed into the intrigue are interesting back stories about the Inspector, his team, and life and politics in the former Soviet Union. For mystery fans looking for a good yarn to enjoy on a cold winter night, People Who Walk in Darkness is recommended reading.
According to his web site, Kaminsky has had published a staggering number of novels, biographies, textbooks, and short stories, and he has an extensive list of screenwriting credits. He has won an Edgar and the Prix De Roman D'Adventure of France, and he has been nominated for a Shamus Award and a McCavity Readers Choice Award.
Within this body of work are several lines of mysteries: the Lew Fonesca mysteries (six books after the 2009 publication of Bright Futures), the Abe Liberman mysteries (11 books), the Toby Peters mysteries (24 books), and the Porfiry Rostnikov novels (15 books). People Who Walk in Darkness is an Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov mystery.
People Who Walk in Darkness reflects the author's experience and competence. Readers are quickly and capably drawn into a very satisfying puzzle. In Moscow, Inspector Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov and his team of investigators have been given nine days to solve three mysteries: the torture-murder of two South Africans, the murder of a prostitute in an expensive private car on a train, and the death of a Canadian geologist in Siberia. Only one thing unifies the three assignments: diamonds. Failing to resolve these mysteries will result in Inspector Rostnikov and his team being thrown to the political wolves.
Kaminsky expertly spins out and then resolves the mysteries. Mixed into the intrigue are interesting back stories about the Inspector, his team, and life and politics in the former Soviet Union. For mystery fans looking for a good yarn to enjoy on a cold winter night, People Who Walk in Darkness is recommended reading.
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