Original Skin, by David Mark

9780399158650
blue rider press/Penguin, 2013
427 pp

(my copy from the publisher -- thank you!)

Last November when I read David Mark's crime fiction book called  The Dark Winter , I was surprised at how very good it was for a first novel. Now, with  Original Skin, Mark has kicked things up a few notches to create an even better second series installment, set in the Hull, West Yorkshire area of England.

 His protagonist, DS Aector McAvoy, is a  member of the specialized squad known as the Serious and Organized Crime Unit under the direction of McAvoy's boss Trish Pharaoh.  The unit is currently under fire from the Humberside Police Authority because of the rise of violent crime statistics, not helped much by the crimes of a gang viciously attacking and torturing smaller growers as a means of taking over their farms and intimidating them. After doing his best to convince the Police Authority committee members that the unit is working hard to solve the case, McAvoy decompresses by  taking a walk along the towpath by the Humber, where a) he sees two people talking that may be committee members, and b) in the water among the litter of supermarket carts, bottles, mattress springs etc., he finds a cell phone and picks it up. Curious, he picks it up, thinking he might be able to fix it.  What he finds on the phone starts another investigation rolling, one that leads to a very clever and rather nasty killer whose first crime, as it turns out,  was written off as a suicide. If what I've written so far doesn't spark your interest (although for serious crime readers it should whet some measure of curiosity), and you're more of a Fifty Shades of Gray type person, you can add  into the mix a young woman with a unique tattoo who belongs to the world of swinging sex parties, sexual submission  and sex for thrills with people she's only met online. 

Keeping the action up over 427 pages in any novel of crime fiction is a tough job, but the author does not disappoint.   With his excellent characterizations, a well-plotted and rather twisty core murder mystery and his look at how the local area is primed for "high crime --  for example, the decline of local industry, lack of investment, lack of "impetus on education," and the geographical "sense of isolation,"  -- all working together harmoniously, the 400+ pages fly by in no time.  My own small niggle here is the amount of time spent with Aector's home life, but that's a personal issue, because I'm more about the crime, less about crying babies keeping both parents awake over several nights. It's all about character development, but I'm an impatient reader.

 While McAvoy is a gentle giant of a policeman and a family man, the author takes him down some very dark paths in this book, so I'd recommend it to fans of more darkly-oriented police procedurals.  While cozy readers may find this book a bit overwhelming, readers who enjoy more serious crime will definitely be glued.  Do not, however, start the series with this novel, but instead with Dark Winter, as things in Original Skin build from the first book.  Overall -- much better than the first book and an intriguing read any serious crime reader will want to read. 

crime fiction from the UK

Harlequin's Costume, by Leonid Yuzefovich

9781782670292
Glagoslav Publications, 2013
263 pp

(ARC from the publisher, thank you!)

 "During the performance he ruled the stage, entertained the public and ordered poor Pierrot about until, brought to the point of despair, Pierrot found an imperceptible thread in his tormenter's costume and pulled it. At that, Harlequin's costume, virtuosically sewn from rags with one single thread, fell to pieces."

Harlequin's Costume is a blend of two of my favorite genres, crime fiction and historical fiction. The time is 1871, the place St. Petersburg, Russia; Czar Alexander II is sitting on the imperial throne.  It is a politically-charged time, and after the death of Austrian military attaché Prince von Ahrensburg, Chief Inspector Ivan Dmitrievich Putilin has a tough job trying to a) determine whether or not his murder is the work of some political faction and b) keep his head above water since the Czar's own secret police are also involved with their own agenda and c) maneuver around circles during a delicate time.  The story is told looking back, as Putilin is working on his memoirs, "the most interesting material...accumulated over the course of my career,... something like a chronicle of crime in our Northern capital over the last thirty years."  Harlequin's Costume is the first of a three-volume trilogy based on the real Ivan Putilin who served as St. Petersburg's chief of police from 1866 to 1892; in Russia his exploits are the subject of a television mini-series.

The novel is rich in period detail, and there is a definite sense of time and place that runs throughout. Considering that Yuzefovich is an historian who taught his beloved subject for some 29 years, this is not surprising.  It's easy to envision not only St. Petersburg at this time, but also the multi-faceted political and diplomatic intrigue going on all around poor Putilin as he tries to suss out the truth behind the death of von Ahrensburg.  The story is filled with potential suspects who have more than a few motives to want the attaché dead.  As it turns out, sometimes even the slightest detail becomes important to the crime's solution.  As you navigate through the streets of St. Petersburg, there are also some funny moments that lighten the intensity of Putilin's investigation.   At one point  Putilin's editor notes:

"Ivan Dmietrievich worked like an artist who scatters smears, blots, spots and lines on the canvas before a bewildered audience, in apparently random fashion, and then, with a flick of the wrist, suddenly pulls them together into a single whole and blinds his viewers with the instantaneous revelation of his intent, concealed hitherto in chaos."

and that is precisely the way Yuzefovich writes as well.  Ivan Dmietrievich bides his time until he finds that "imperceptible thread" to unravel the investigation; Yuzefovich also waits for the perfect moment to reveal all. My only issue with this novel is that a number of times, with the switch from 1871 to later when Ivan Dmietrievich is discussing his stories with his editor, I did a quick "huh?" at the sudden changes. One moment you're reading about a shipment from Genoa with its cargo of oranges and lemons, and the next the editor is saying "somehow the freight seems out of season." These little sections would be fine (imho) in little chapters by themselves, but within the narrative it was a bit jarring to switch from one time to another so quickly.

This is definitely not a book for crime readers who want a quick solution. The story moves a bit slowly, taking you through multiple suspects and their motives, and the author takes his time to set up the political and diplomatic scene while carefully sketching out his characters.  This book would probably be suited more for readers of good historical fiction (not the soap-operaish sort) or historical crime readers who want to immerse themselves in a specific time and place while their armchair detective selves try to figure out the whodunit along with the detective. I defy you to figure this one out - I certainly didn't.   I hope the publishers don't wait too long before publishing the next installment -- this one was definitely right up my alley.

crime fiction from Russia

Deadly Harvest, by Michael Stanley

9780062221520
Bourbon Street Books/Harper, 2013
496 pp

(ARC: thanks to the publisher and to TLC book tours!)

Deadly Harvest is book number four in a series of crime fiction/mystery novels to feature Detective David "Kubu" Bengu, who works for the Botswana police force. Normally I begin with the first installment of a series,  but I didn't realize that this book was so far ahead. As it turns out, its placement in the series wasn't an issue at all -- in fact, it can easily be read as a standalone, without any prior knowledge of the characters or the setting necessary.  So if you're considering it, and you haven't read the others, no problem.  The author, Michael Stanley, is actually a composite of two people: Stanley Trollip and Michael Sears, both born in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Two little girls go missing in two different locations,  and when their loved ones turn to their local police forces, little to nothing happens.  Soon the cases go cold, at least officially, but one father named Witness can't stop thinking about his daughter. His grief leads him to the local bar where he spends a great deal of time drinking; and then to a local witch doctor who tells him that his daughter may have been taken for muti.  Normally extracted from plants or sometimes animals, the belief is that if a person ingests this traditional substance, he or she will take on some of the powers of the plant/animal being used (like a lion heart for bravery, etc.). However, there is also a market (illegal and definitely unsanctioned) for  muti derived from humans. Witness comes to believe that his daughter is a victim of this illegal muti trade, and he is told he should look for a man seeking power.  This advice makes Witness remember seeing candidate Marumo about the time of his daughter's disappearance,  a member of the opposition Freedom Party in an upcoming election.  Witness goes to Marumo's home in the dark of night, kills him and flees.  Don't worry -- not a spoiler -- this bit of information is right on the cover blurb. Kubu is assigned to the case, an investigation where he will have to tread extremely lightly due to political considerations. As it happens, a new detective, Samantha Khama is working on her first case which deals with  of one of the missing girls.  Their individual investigations merge together when a gourd filled with muti is found in Marumo's desk and ultimately reveal a unknown, deadly and "invisible" adversary who needs to be stopped.  Help, however, is not fast in coming -- their unidentified suspect is very powerful and no one will speak against him.

The mysteries within this police procedural  are engaging, but even more so are the social and political issues that are brought out here.  As I've noted previously in other posts,  crime fiction is becoming a medium for the airing of important issues, especially in countries with which most people are unfamiliar.   The discussion of prejudice against albinos, for example, and their value in Tanzania as a source of muti that breeds fear among that group of people goes way beyond the police procedural aspect, as does the line between traditional beliefs and modern viewpoints, a boundary which is often straddled by those on both sides.  It's also interesting that some things seem to be universal -- the politics involved in police work, the lack of enough police to adequately investigate crimes in smaller areas, the concern about AIDS and the plight of children born of mothers who've died from the disease, corruption etc. Of course, this isn't why most people tend to read crime fiction, but these authors have done a great job in introducing the issues important in this area.  

The main character, Detective David "Kubu" Bengu (known as Detective Kubu throughout) is described as having a great bulk. Even so, he speaks softly, has a rational mind, and never fails to direct respect where it is due even under trying situations. He is a family-oriented man as well as a good investigator. His new colleague, Samantha Khama, hasn't yet learned the fine art of tempering her very hot temper, becoming passionate about issues that are important to her not only as a cop, but as a woman and as a human being.  Both characters are drawn very well.

On the other hand,  there is a really large amount of space spent on Kubu's personal life -- with his father's declining mind, the decision whether or not to adopt a little girl whose mother died of AIDS, Sunday family traditions, games played with his little girls, etc., and while I'm sure this all adds to character development, it's often distracting in terms of the mystery and the action at the heart of the novel. I also have to say that despite all of the careful plotting and the focus on the investigation, I guessed who the "invisible" adversary was not too far into the story.   This is a personal thing, but when I read crime, I want that "aha" moment at the end when all is revealed.  Finally, I'm not feeling an overall entrenched sense of place in this novel which to me is important and especially so in a place I've never been.  On the flip side, however, this is a series I would like to read from its beginning, so I will definitely be revisiting Detective Kubu in the future. 

Overall, it's a fun read that is remarkable in terms of the authors' attention to pressing social and political issues and how the characters react in such situations.  As I noted, not everyone looks to a crime novel for what it can say about another country or another culture, so if you're in it just for the mystery aspect of it all, you probably won't be disappointed.  Deadly Harvest is a book I can recommend to other readers of crime fiction/mystery, despite my personal little niggles.

The Sound of One Hand Killing, by Teresa Solana

9781908524065
Bitter Lemon Press, 2013
265 pp
originally published as L'hora zen, 2011
translated by Peter Bush

softcover; UK (available in the US May 2013)

A strange small statue, a dead neighbor, and a murder at an "exclusive, luxury alternative centre" where the wealthy go for Bach-flower and other homeopathic therapies are only part of the lineup in this third (and unfortunately for me, the last right now) installment of Solana's entertaining series set in Barcelona.  The brothers Borja and Eduard are back and once again find themselves in some pretty wild predicaments; the usual Solanaesque satirical punches are intact, this time aimed at alternative therapies, what people will do to stay forever youthful looking (especially plastic surgeries), and  there are also little hints of barb pointing at the world of writers and readers.  With more focus on the brothers and a better flow than in book two, A Shortcut to Paradise, here the author adds to the mix of brotherly craziness, murder and the vegetable sausage fare of the alternative therapy center by placing her characters into the realm of spy fiction and rare art as well.

As the novel opens, someone has broken into the brothers' office, and the place has been overturned. Going all postmodern on her readers,  Teresa Solana  injects herself as a character seeking the help of Borja and Eduard, and has an appointment that day.  Not wanting to give away the show that their office is a setup, Borja remembers that his upstairs neighbor had given him a set of keys to his apartment, so they decide to meet the author there.  While routing around the place before her arrival, the brothers stumble on to a dead body -- that of the neighbor -- who's obviously been there some time.  With Solana on her way, though, they take a bit of their non-existent secretary's perfume and spray it in the neighbor's flat for her visit, hoping to disguise the smell of decomposition.  The author's request is simple: she's writing a novel about "alternative therapies," and wants to set some of her chapters in the area north of the Diagonal, so she comes to the brothers to enlist their aid in gathering research for her.  They are only too happy to help -- the credit crunch and economic downturn leaves Eduard's wife Montse unable to procure a loan for her business, and money is tight all over; Borja has even agreed to be a middleman and hold on to a small statue until he is called to deliver it, an easy task for the reward he'll get of several thousand Euros.  After Solana's visit, they quickly clean up any traces of themselves and leave the door open for the smell to waft down and the body to be discovered.  They then make their way to the Zen Moments center, where they wangle their way into a weekend stay; after suffering through a few not-funny practical jokes, the brothers are on hand when the owner of the place is discovered dead.  Their friend, Inspector Badia, wants them to help catch the killer, which may be difficult, because Borja has become the focus of a group of thugs who want something he has; since Borja's involved, Eduard is along for the action. 

There's so much in this book -- antiquities trafficking, spies, the mafia, murder, and of course, the sardonic look at alternative therapies -- and as usual there are some very funny moments with the brothers, both while pursuing their line of work and at home.   The satire is great, as always, but at some point there has to be a limit -- as much as I love her tongue-in-cheek critiques, the murder investigation had little complexity, and offered way too easy of a solution, making the resolution to the murder rather unexciting, and frankly, rather flat. And really -- a character named Lord Ashtray is just silly and didn't appeal. As I'm writing this I'm sitting here wondering if maybe she's not writing her books for the crime element as much as the social -- if this is the case, then I suppose a rethink on approaching her novels is in order.  Anyway, the action in The Sound of One Hand Killing leaves no doubt but that the brothers will return in another installment, and that they will be dogged by business left unfinished in this one.

So, my final words on this book -- I liked it with only a few reservations,  and do recommend it for readers continuing with the series (if you haven't read the first two, definitely do not start with this one); it has some very entertaining moments and I absolutely love the brothers and can't wait to see what trouble they get into next.  While I'm a little less than overwhelmed with the murder solution, the entire series is worth reading because of the main characters -- their craziness will keep me coming back for more.

 ***

oh yes! Because I'm a moronica sometimes, I accidentally bought two copies of this book, so if you would like my extra copy and you live in the United States, I'm happy to just give it to you and I'll pay postage.  Don't be embarrassed to ask -- you'll be doing me a huge favor helping me to keep my library manageable! Not a contest -- first person who comments gets it.

A Shortcut to Paradise, by Teresa Solana

9781904738558
Bitter Lemon Press, 2011
originally published as Drecera al paradis, 2007
translated by Peter Bush
284 pp

softcover

In book number two of Solana's series to feature the twin brothers Borja and Eduard, for the most part I stayed highly entertained by this author's imagination and her writing. I say "for the most part" because while the brothers are fun, and while I looked forward to seeing how they'd  pull the murderer out of their respective hats,  the story is also  punctuated by a couple of rather ridiculous set pieces (one involving a near orgy due to overpowering canapes) and the narrative sort of meanders a bit before the brothers do their usual stuff in trying to bring the killer to justice. I did enjoy Solana's usual  pokes at Barcelona society, and here she adds another object of satire, centering around the literary world. While I had a good time reading it, I have to say that I liked the first book a little bit better -- it had much more of a crime-fiction feel to it than this one, the ending of which just left me just sort of flat.   

Ernest Fabia, translator and family man, has a serious problem.  His bank has just called and gives him two weeks to come up with the four months of payment he owes on his mortgage. He was one of the multitudes caught up in the dreaded real estate bubble, and after a car accident, a new baby and unforeseen expenses with his older child, Ernest is in a world of financial hurt.  The dreaded Final Notice that he's read x number of times  is all he can think about, and he decides to take matters into his own hands -- he decides he'll rob someone rich to make up for the money shortfall.  His randomly-picked victim turns out to be Amadeu Cabestany, an author who has left a party at the Ritz hotel after not winning a literary prize he'd been hoping for.  Ernest robs him, leaving him 10 euros for cabfare, and when Amadeu returns to the hotel, he is placed under arrest for the murder of Marina Dolç, his rival for and winner of the award.  It's obvious that Amadeu is not guilty but he had been overheard in a heated rant against Marina and to the police, that's motive enough. But convinced he is innocent,  Amadeu's agent hires Borja and Eduard to clear his name and get him out of jail.  In the meantime, Ernest, who is basically a good man, is afraid to read the papers, so has no idea that Amadeu's been arrested, and to take his mind off his troubles, heads off to a retreat where he can concentrate on his translation work.  He and the taxi driver who returned Amadeu to the hotel are the only alibi witnesses; the taxi driver's not talking because he's just out of prison himself and driving the cab with no license and Ernest is away trying not to think about what he's done.  The brothers take the case, along with a retired cop for help, but with very little to go by in the way of alibi, it's going to be tough for Amadeu to be exonerated.

This story kind of moves all over the place, with much less emphasis on the crime and its solution than in the previous series installment.  It's not as tight as it could have been, and the author spends way too much time  setting up one of the big gags in this book which I thought was kind of ridiculous anyway, the runaway rumor that Amadeu is not only a murderer, but a cannibal as well.  Borja and Eduard are gone from the story for a long time which was a bit frustrating while I waited for them to return to get down to business solving the crime.  And then there's the ending and the solution to the crime ... I can guess at what happened, but really, after leading me all the way to the end,  making me wait for the story to resume while  the silly, even farcical set pieces played out, I think I deserved more of a why.  I have to say that my feelings are mixed about this book -- it's a "meh" for me.

I wouldn't let my less than excited reaction put anyone off if considering the book or the series -- it's still fun, the brothers are perfectly paired, the satire is very well executed, and it has received some sterling ratings.   I'm just soooo picky! I'll be moving on to the next book, The Sound of One Hand Killing (which is supposed to hit the US May 13th but nah nah, I have a UK copy already), which should say something positive about this author and especially her quirky protagonists. I'd recommend it to those who've started the series and wonder about continuing  -- yes, by all means do!

crime fiction from Spain

The Missing File, by D.A. Mishani

9780062195371
Harper, 2013
304 pp


I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of this recently-published book.  It came to me as part of the  TLC Book Tour now in progress, and I've posted my thoughts about the book here.   Feel free to go on over and take a look!
 

A Not So Perfect Crime, by Teresa Solana

9781904738343
Bitter Lemon Press, 2008
286 pp
originally published as Un crim imperfecte, 2006
translated by Peter Bush

softcover



A Not So Perfect Crime is the first of three in a series of novels featuring twin brothers Eduard Martínez Estivill and Jose Martínez Estivill, the latter known as Borja Masdéu-Canals Sáez de Astorga to everyone but his brother, who knows him as Pep. Eduard hasn't even told his wife about the true identity of his brother, and the two of them constitute Frau Consultants, a private "detective" agency with false office doors and a secretary who's always away when their clients come to see them at the office.  They cater to the social elite of Barcelona, people with problems and a lot of money that insures that their problems are handled discreetly.  This series opener finds the two working for an MP who wants to know if the man who painted his wife's portrait is also having an affair with her.  While the book brought occasional smiles to my face because of the many crazy situations in which the two find themselves, the entire crime and its solution could have been achieved in half the space, as  there is much more emphasis on developing the characters, setting the social-class scene and keeping the gags going throughout the novel.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing -- the characters are fun and well established by the end of the story; I can sense this series is going to be interesting as time goes by.


MP Lluis Font calls in the brothers to find out whether or not his wife his having an affair with the man who painted her portrait.  While investigating the artist, they discover that there are a few things that Font hasn't told them -- namely, that he's having an affair of his own, one that literally crashes down onto them.  But when la Seňora Font turns up dead, Eduard begins to realize that perhaps this case is more than he and Borja are prepared to handle. 

A Not So Perfect Crime is a good mix of a mystery to be solved, well-developed main characters and a look at Barcelona society.   As the story begins to wind down, there is a decent solution to the crime, one that fits with clues gathered throughout the book. There are plenty of suspects to keep things lively and interesting and when the action is focused on the brothers' investigation, the story moves at a good pace.   The brothers are funny -- they're so different from each other that it keeps things interesting.  Borja is being kept in luxury by his mistress while Eduard often wonders how he and his wife are going to pay the bills. Montse, Eduard's wife, is also a well-drawn character, putting up with Eduard when his problems usually stem from the antics of his brother.   The scrapes that the two get themselves into (generally of Borja's making) are entertaining as is watching them escape their collective predicament.  The focus on Barcelona's higher-class levels of society are also interesting...it is a world where money can buy pretty much anything, where gossip or idle talk can kill careers or make things uncomfortable, where moral scruples are difficult to find, and where only the best will do.  This is, of course, contrasted to the world of the regular people -- where bills pile up and people have to make a living.  The author does a very good job of putting the two side by side so that the reader gets a feel for how the rich and powerful spend their days and how they're often able to manipulate others behind the scenes.

My issue with this book is that there is a lot of stuff in here that could easily have been left out, making for a tighter, less wordy and even at times rambling story.  I didn't care about Borja's adventures with Eduard's sister-in-law, for example; nor did it matter to me about Eduard's previous love affair in Paris. There's more of this kind of thing here, but lots of little things that are meant to go into character development sometimes divert attention away from the crime and its solution, making skimming seem like a good idea in some parts.  I will hopefully expect that when I get to Ms. Solana's next book, Shortcut to Paradise, that less backstory will be necessary and that more focus is placed on the brothers' escapades while solving whatever crime in which they become embroiled.



Overall, A Not So Perfect Crime turned out to be an entertaining novel, and a fine first foray into what I hope will turn out to be a very good crime-fiction series.  Definitely recommended!

crime fiction from Spain