by Cam Lang ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 2, 2020
An entertaining, many-layered mystery with an engaging hero.
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A millionaire nonagenarian turns up dead just after his Canadian estate hits the market.
In this debut mystery, wealthy, aging historian Edward Mitchell lists his Niagara-on-the-Lake estate in Ontario with a local realtor. That night, Mitchell pours a glass of wine, but something goes wrong “between his palate and the pinot.” The “unwavering aroma of death” hits the back of his throat. Just before dying, Mitchell thinks, “those who live long enough get their just reward.” Chief Homicide Detective Bryan Dee begins the murder investigation just as his best friend, Kris Gage, flies into town to help his aged parents move from their large country home. Gage is an urban planner, and he suggests to Dee that Mitchell’s death is connected to land acquisition: “I think he was killed for his property.” The Belucci Group, a major property development firm, is not above suspicion, as the top executives have “their fingers in a lot of well-paying pies.” Of concern is the whereabouts of widower Mitchell’s latest will, presumably written after his only offspring, John, died in an accident five years ago. Mitchell now has no heirs—or does he? Although aged, he had remained an imposing presence who “got looks from women half his age” and whose medicine cabinet was chock full of Viagra. Gage believes Mitchell “was trying, right to the bitter end, to get someone pregnant” so he would have an heir. Looking around Mitchell’s mansion for clues, Dee is shocked to find the entry “Time to take care of K. Gage” in the deceased’s diary. No match for author Louise Penny’s famed Quebecer, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, Dee is nonetheless appealing as a middle-aged, golf-loving cop who rose through the ranks due to circumstances rather than talent. Gage, whose first-person account smoothly alternates with third-person narration, is, like Lang, an environmentally conscious urban planner. Considerable Canadian history is woven through the enjoyable book, as are rich descriptions of the country. The pacing is superb and surprises are frequent, but some readers may object to the abundance of four-letter words (Chapter 18 is called “No Fucking Trees!”).
An entertaining, many-layered mystery with an engaging hero.Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-228-83225-6
Page Count: 468
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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New York Times Bestseller
by Tana French ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
An absorbing crime yarn.
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New York Times Bestseller
A divorced American detective tries to blend into rural Ireland in this sequel to The Searcher (2020).
In fictional Ardnakelty, on Ireland’s west coast, lives retired American cop Cal Hooper, who busies himself repairing furniture with 15-year-old Theresa “Trey” Reddy and fervently wishes to be boring. Then into town pops Trey’s long-gone, good-for-nothing dad, Johnny, all smiles and charm. Much to her distaste, he says he wants to reclaim his fatherly role. In fact, he’s on the run from a criminal for a debt he can’t repay, and he has a cockamamie scheme to persuade local townsfolk that there might be gold in the nearby mountain with a vein that might run through some of their properties. (What, no leprechauns?) “It’s not sheep shite you’ll be smelling in a few months’ time, man,” he tells a farmer. “It’s champagne and caviar.” Some people have fun fantasizing about sudden riches, but they know better. Johnny’s pursuer, Cillian Rushborough, comes to town, and Johnny tries to convince him he could get rich by purchasing people’s land. Alas, someone bashes Rushborough’s brains in, and now there’s a murder mystery. The plot is a bit of a stretch, but the characters and their relationships work well. Trey detests Johnny for not being in her life, and now that he’s back, she neither wants nor needs him. She gets on much better with Cal. Still, she’s a testy teenager when she thinks someone is not treating her like an adult. Cal is aware of this, and he’s careful how he talks to her. Johnny, not so much: “I swear to fuck, women are only put on this earth to wreck our fuckin’ heads,” he whines about Trey’s mother, briefly forgetting he’s talking to Trey. The book abounds in local color and lively dialogue.
An absorbing crime yarn.Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593493434
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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SEEN & HEARD
by C.J. Box ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 27, 2024
A tale that’s hard to believe but easy to swallow in a single gulp.
A bear is hunting prey in Wyoming’s Bighorns. And not just any bear.
It’s bad enough that Clay Hutmacher, who manages the Double Diamond Ranch, has lost his son, Clay Jr., to a vicious attack by a grizzly bear. What’s much worse is that Clay Jr.—who’d been about to pop the question to game warden Joe Pickett’s daughter, Sheridan—is only the first of the victims over an exceptionally broad geographical area. Marshal Marvin Bertignolli is clawed and bitten to death over in Hanna. Sgt. Ryan Winner is found bleeding out north of Rawlins. Former Twelve Sleep County prosecutor Dulcie Schalk, one of two survivors of an ambush, doesn’t survive her final encounter. The four experts chosen to kill the grizzly rope Joe into their expedition, but since their quarry keeps turning up far from the last sighting, the most meaningful confrontation the Predator Attack Team has is with a pair of Mama Bears, animal rights activists who demand due process for Tisiphone, as they’ve dubbed the presumed killer. Box, who’s far too canny to leave Tisiphone alone on center stage, follows Joe’s old antagonist Dallas Cates as the ex–rodeo star is released from prison and embarks on his revenge tour, which takes him to Lee Ogburn-Russell, an inventor whose life Dallas saved, and Axel Soledad, a correspondent who shares so many enemies with Dallas that he suggests they go after them together. Franchise fans will appreciate new details about Joe’s complicated family, the obligatory high-country landscapes, and yet another corrupt law enforcer.
A tale that’s hard to believe but easy to swallow in a single gulp.Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9780593331347
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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