Tag Archives: mystery

Tana French, “The Secret Place”

Posted on September 8, 2014 by carolwallace

One of the little thrills of contemporary life: when you pre-order a book and it shows up magically on your Kindle. Even if I know it’s going to happen, I find it exciting. And of course when the book is … Continue reading →

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Smarter Than They Need to Be

Posted on July 12, 2010 by carolwallace

Tomorrow, July 13, Tana French’s Faithful Place will hit my Kindle. In honor of that event, I thought I’d list a few of one of my favorite categories of authors: mystery writers who are smarter than they need to be. … Continue reading →

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Frank Tallis, “A Death in Vienna”

Posted on November 21, 2009 by carolwallace

A murder mystery set in Vienna in 1902 sounded like a terrific idea. Teaming up to solve the mystery: Oskar Reinhardt, a detective, and his friend Dr. Max Liebermann, a doctor who experiments with the new treatment known as psychoanalysis. … Continue reading →

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Deborah Crombie, “Necessary as Blood”

Posted on November 20, 2009 by carolwallace

What a terrible title! I still can’t figure out how it pertains to the book, and it’s the kind of non-sequitur that I know won’t ever stick in my brain. Nor does it tell you anything about the novel. Maybe … Continue reading →

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Andrew Taylor, “The Judgement of Strangers”

Posted on August 12, 2009 by carolwallace

Well, that was disturbing. I can see what Taylor’s up to now and it’s pretty clever. The Judgement of Strangers interlocks with The Four Last Things in interesting ways and the third novel (which I will read, albeit with trepidation) … Continue reading →

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Andrew Taylor, “The Four Last Things”

Posted on August 10, 2009 by carolwallace

Am I spoiled? Here’s a perfectly good literate murder mystery set in London, with an Anglican vicar as a protagonist, and I’m faintly disappointed. Well, if I am spoiled, it’s Andrew Taylor’s fault, because his Bleeding Heart Square was so … Continue reading →

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Andrew Taylor, “Bleeding Heart Square”

Posted on July 26, 2009 by carolwallace

It’s a really good day when you find a new writer who publishes clever, literate murder mysteries. It’s an especially good day when this writer has been at it for a while and there’s a backlog of titles for you … Continue reading →

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Donna Leon, “About Face”

Posted on July 17, 2009 by carolwallace

I’m beginning to feel a little bit sorry for Donna Leon. For years it seemed as if she had a great gig, living in Italy, writing popular murder mysteries set in Venice — what a fantasy! The problem is that … Continue reading →

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Sue Grafton, “T is for Trespass”

Posted on May 2, 2009 by carolwallace

Sue Grafton is such a professional. Could she possibly have known, when she wrote A is for Alibi 20-some years ago, that she was going to work her way through the whole alphabet? Did she know that her formula would … Continue reading →

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Barry Maitland, “No Trace”

Posted on April 30, 2009 by carolwallace

Maitland is new to me. This is another book I bought because of its cover — note to publishers of murder mysteries, bring on the moody black and white images, relevance to plot be damned. Apparently Maitland is launched on … Continue reading →

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