An incisive novel by the queen of character-driven procedurals.
An unflinching look at the dangerous effects of the malicious gossip spread by social media.
DCI Anderson and DI Costello of Police Scotland have caught the case of medical student Aasha Ariti, who was found floating in the Firth of Clyde. She was last seen leaving a pub with another student who’d once complained online about "Asians buying themselves places at Scottish universities." So Aasha’s companion is accused of prejudice and possibly murder. Costello, who’s been shopping for her elderly neighbor in the time of Covid, finds the woman unconscious and calls an ambulance; she's later accused by a daughter the neighbor never mentioned of stealing a large sum of money from her mother's flat. Anderson must deal with the trauma of having his beloved dog put down. The pair are astounded when they’re suddenly taken off Aasha’s case to investigate the murder and mutilation of an old man found sitting in a chair in his own attic, facing the frozen movie image of a naked toddler. The deceased, who was using a false name, is identified as one of the Peacocks, three friends who danced in the clubs of the late 1950s along with Birdie Summer, who dated one but married another of them. Anderson and Costello, who smell something political and dangerous in this ice-cold case, must deal with rumors of pedophilia that only complicate their task.
An incisive novel by the queen of character-driven procedurals.Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7278-9075-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Severn House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Appealing characters combine seamlessly with a twisty mystery in this pleasing tale of love and hate.
The Christmas season brings joy and murder into the lives of a close-knit family.
Hana Keller works at her family’s Hungarian Tea House and helps her boyfriend, police detective Erik Wolf, solve the occasional murder. One snowy night she spots an agitated young man wearing a Riverwood University hoodie coming out of an alley, a sighting that will immerse her in a tricky case of murder. A birthday gift of dual lizard teacups she receives from her uncle is another connection to the death of college professor Sandor Balog, for Hana knew him as a fellow collector, albeit one with deeper pockets and more expensive tastes. The young man she saw was dumping the gun he’d found on the floor of Balog’s office, afraid it would implicate his mother, a fellow foreign language teacher at Riverwood. Hana’s grandmother is psychic, and Hana’s inherited some of her abilities, though she’s not confident in them. Balog enjoyed a complicated love life and had made a number of enemies in the language department, so there’s no dearth of suspects. While Erik works all the usual police angles, Hana uses her roots in the Hungarian community to talk to people about Balog. Even Christmas shopping and holiday parties at the tea house provide some clues. But it’s Hana’s special abilities that lead her to a startling conclusion.
Appealing characters combine seamlessly with a twisty mystery in this pleasing tale of love and hate.Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984804-86-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A complex and surprising mystery enhanced by historically accurate information about the science and society of the period.
The Regency period produced many inventions. The plans for one of them provide a motive for murder.
Charlotte, Countess of Wrexford, rejoices in the wedding of her best friend, Christopher “Kit” Sheffield, to mathematician Lady Cordelia Mansfield. All goes as planned until an intruder to Wrexford Manor must be driven off by Charlotte’s husband, the Earl of Wrexford, and “the Weasels,” two street lads educated and adopted by her family. After the ceremony, a magistrate and a surgeon arrive to announce the murder of an unidentified man with a wedding invitation in his pocket, whom they assume to be Cordelia’s cousin Oliver Carrick. Hearing their description, Cordelia realizes that the dead man is actually Oliver’s fellow scientist and her old friend Jasper Milton, immediately making Oliver a suspect. The four friends and the Weasels, who’ve been instrumental in solving previous mysteries, quickly delve into this one. Jasper had been working on ideas to improve bridges in a time when transportation is mostly for the rich. A brilliant engineer, he was also philosophically opposed to the rich getting richer on the backs of the poor. Apparently several French factions are desperate to get the plans, including one that hopes to sell them to Russia for enough money to return Napoleon to power. Since His Majesty’s government and plenty of businesspeople are also anxious to get the plans, it’s no easy task to figure out which of them murdered Jasper. A conference brings many of the players together, giving the sleuths a chance to search for answers. They go down several dangerous and blind alleys in their painful hunt for the truth.
A complex and surprising mystery enhanced by historically accurate information about the science and society of the period.Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9781496739964
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
