Although not as spectacular as his debut, the hero’s first outing as a full-fledged constable offers more than its share of...
Teddy Creque (Sun, Sand, Murder, 2015) continues his Caribbean crime-fighting career by investigating the death of a doctor on Virgin Gorda.
It’s his fishing prowess, not his police valor, that persuades Royal Virgin Islands Police Force deputy commissioner Howard Lane to detail Teddy to Virgin Gorda to dispatch Dr. Michele Konnerth’s killer, a 100-plus-pound bull shark. But now that Teddy’s been promoted to constable and awarded the Queen’s Police Medal to boot, Lane is more inclined to listen to his subordinate’s concerns. So when Teddy offers the opinion that the shark had a human accomplice, the deputy commissioner gives Teddy a week away from his post on tiny Anegada to investigate what may or may not be a crime. It takes Virgin Gorda’s “belongers” a little time to warm to Teddy, but soon he and his Anegadian pal Anthony Wedderburn are supping on Mrs. Scatliffe’s excellent fish stew alongside Constable Tybee George and Station Sgt. Isaac Chalwell at the Virgin Gorda nick. Young Jemmy Jim Trengrouse is a different story. Unlike his garrulous parrot, Sir Winston Churchill, who greets Teddy with a raucous “It de fuzz,” and “Hide de kali,” the atypical 8-year-old offers only a few words a day, taking a walk each morning and spending the rest of the day sequestered in his room creating elaborate Lego replicas of famous landmarks. Getting Jemmy to warm to him is a matter of some urgency to Teddy, who’s convinced the boy has seen something on one of his morning rambles that will help solve the Konnerth murder. The slow progress of Teddy’s relationship with Jemmy and his quicker-paced courtship of Jemmy’s mother, Jeanne, are among the pleasures of Keyse-Walker’s second Caribbean excursion.
Although not as spectacular as his debut, the hero’s first outing as a full-fledged constable offers more than its share of adventure.Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-14847-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
All these problems are handsomely solved at the unsurprising cost of making the human characters less interesting than the...
Just when you thought you’d seen a detective in every guise imaginable, here comes one in sheep’s clothing.
For years, George Glenn hasn’t been close to anyone but his sheep. Everyday he lets them out, pastures them, reads to them and brings them safely back home to his barn in the guilelessly named Irish village of Glennkill. Now George lies dead, pinned to the ground by a spade. Although his flock haven’t had much experience with this sort of thing, they’re determined to bring his killer to justice. There are of course several obstacles, and debut novelist Swann deals with them in appealingly matter-of-fact terms. Sheep can’t talk to people; they can only listen in on conversations between George’s widow Kate and Bible-basher Beth Jameson. Not even the smartest of them, Othello, Miss Maple (!) and Mopple the Whale, can understand much of what the neighborhood priest is talking about, except that his name is evidently God. They’re afraid to confront suspects like butcher Abraham Rackham and Gabriel O’Rourke, the Gaelic-speaking charmer who’s raising a flock for slaughter. And even after a series of providential discoveries and brainwaves reveals the answer to the riddle, they don’t know how to tell the Glennkill citizenry.
All these problems are handsomely solved at the unsurprising cost of making the human characters less interesting than the sheep. But the sustained tone of straight-faced wonderment is magical.Pub Date: June 5, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-385-52111-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Flying Dolphin/Doubleday
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Like a popcorn action flick: fun but lacking in substance.
Two wolf shifters must catch a criminal in the midst of hazardous winter weather: Action, adventure, and romance kick off a new series by Spear (Falling for the Cougar, 2019, etc.).
Private Investigator Nicole Grayson has an edge that some of her colleagues don’t. She’s a gray wolf shifter, and her heightened sense of smell makes for excellent tracking abilities. When her latest assignment, investigating a fraudulent life insurance claim, leads her to an isolated ski lodge inhabited by a group of shifter brothers, Nicole realizes that this particular mission is different. Blake Wolff has finally found peace and quiet, as he and his brothers have turned their land into a sanctuary for wolf shifters like themselves. When Nicole turns up at the lodge, sniffing around and looking for answers, Blake volunteers to help. The sooner she wraps up her investigation, the sooner Blake can return to maintaining the calm community the Wolff siblings have built. The suspense never fully delivers despite the setup of dangerous situations and the characters’ ability to shift into wolves. Of course, the bad guys get caught and the good guys prevail, but the stakes never seem terribly high. With corny, on-the-nose details such as having Wolff and Grayson as surnames for gray wolf shifters, it's hard to tell if Spear is in on the joke or if some things sounded better in theory than reality. The brightest spot here, as in most of Spears’ books, is her dedication to writing strong heroines with interesting professions, and Nicole fits perfectly into that box. She’s capable, competent, and a force to be reckoned with in a difficult situation. Blake is happy to let her take the lead without any egos getting in the way, which is something all readers will appreciate.
Like a popcorn action flick: fun but lacking in substance.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-9775-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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