Reliable procedural entertainment from a pro’s pro, with an ending that guarantees more drama ahead.
Many murders to solve, too, in this latest thicket of felonies for DCI Alan Banks and the staff of the Eastvale Police (Careless Love, 2019, etc.).
Why would whoever stabbed Syrian immigrant Samir Boulad to death take the risk of dumping his body in Edith Grunwell’s trash bin, where the retired nurse found him when she took out her trash? Although Malden Terrace is no more immune from nativist racism than other neighborhoods, the traces of cocaine in the dead boy’s pocket hint at equally sinister connections—from low-end Howard Stokes, a diabetic heroin user found dead in his home, to high-end developer Connor Clive Blaydon, an associate of Albanian Mafia stalwart Leka Gashi who’s more recently partnered with equally dodgy Timmy and Tommy Kerrigan to build Elmet Centre, which, Blaydon piously assures Banks, will do the area no end of good. As Banks and his team make their inquiries, police consultant Nelia Melnic, who’d rather be called Zelda, has problems of her own. A superrecognizer rescued from sex slavery to become a valuable asset to the constabulary and a self-appointed seeker for Phil Keane, an associate of the brothers who first kidnapped Zelda 20 years ago and who almost killed Banks when he set his house on fire, she’s upset to learn that her boss, Trevor Hawkins, has died in an equally suspicious house fire and upset in a completely different way when she suddenly bumps into Goran Tadić, one of her kidnappers. There’ll be precious little downtime for Banks and company, as they’re forced to deal with more mystery, more murder, and some uncomfortable moral conundrums posed for both the characters and readers before Robinson pulls down the curtain, not with a bang but with a final piercing twist.
Reliable procedural entertainment from a pro’s pro, with an ending that guarantees more drama ahead.Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-284749-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
IN THE NEWS
The parts with Nero Wolfe, the only character Goldsborough brings to life, are almost worth waiting for.
In Archie Goodwin's 15th adventure since the death of his creator, Rex Stout, his gossipy Aunt Edna Wainwright lures him from 34th Street to his carefully unnamed hometown in Ohio to investigate the death of a well-hated bank president.
Tom Blankenship, the local police chief, thinks there’s no case since Logan Mulgrew shot himself. But Archie’s mother, Marjorie Goodwin, and Aunt Edna know lots of people with reason to have killed him. Mulgrew drove rival banker Charles Purcell out of business, forcing Purcell to get work as an auto mechanic, and foreclosed on dairy farmer Harold Mapes’ spread. Lester Newman is convinced that Mulgrew murdered his ailing wife, Lester’s sister, so that he could romance her nurse, Carrie Yeager. And Donna Newman, Lester’s granddaughter, might have had an eye on her great-uncle’s substantial estate. Nor is Archie limited to mulling over his relatives’ gossip, for Trumpet reporter Verna Kay Padgett, whose apartment window was shot out the night her column raised questions about the alleged suicide, is perfectly willing to publish a floridly actionable summary of the leading suspects that delights her editor, shocks Archie, and infuriates everyone else. The one person missing is Archie’s boss, Nero Wolfe (Death of an Art Collector, 2019, etc.), and fans will breathe a sigh of relief when he appears at Marjorie’s door, debriefs Archie, notices a telltale clue, prepares dinner for everyone, sleeps on his discovery, and arranges a meeting of all parties in Marjorie’s living room in which he names the killer.
The parts with Nero Wolfe, the only character Goldsborough brings to life, are almost worth waiting for.Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5040-5988-6
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Mysterious Press
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
You can’t help but chuckle over all the disasters, but in the end the heroine catches her prey.
An Arizona accountant with a penchant for solving murders lands a fishy case.
Sophie "Phee" Kimball might lead a dull life if it weren’t for her mother, Harriet Plunkett, and Harriet’s neurotic Chiweenie, Streetman. As it is, Harriet lives near her daughter in Sun City West and has a wide circle of zany friends who’ve helped Phee solve several mysteries (Molded 4 Murder, 2019, etc.) while she’s been working for Williams Investigations along with her boyfriend, Marshall, a former police officer. While Phee’s visiting Harriet one day, Streetman dashes over to the neighbors’ barbecue grill and unearths a dead body under a tarp. As usual, the overwhelmed local police ask Williams Investigations to help—er, consult. Harriet’s main concern is getting costumes made for the reluctant Streetman, whom she’s entered in a series of contests starting with Halloween and progressing through Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hannukah, and St. Patrick’s Day. One of her friends is an accomplished seamstress who goes all out making gorgeous costumes that will beat an obnoxious lady who looks down on mutts. The dead man is identified as Cameron Tully, a seafood distributor, who was poisoned by the locally ubiquitous sago pine. At the first dog contest, Elaine Meschow has to be rushed to the hospital after she gets a dose of the same thing. The owner of a gourmet dog food company, Elaine is lucky enough to recover. After Streetman takes second place, Harriet’s team redoubles its efforts for the next contest while Phee and Marshall, who are moving into a new place together, continue to hunt for clues. A restaurant holdup and a scheme to use empty houses for hookups for high school kids add to the confusion.
You can’t help but chuckle over all the disasters, but in the end the heroine catches her prey.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2455-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
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