Angels of Clay by Madeleine Eskedahl

 

Angels of Clay, the third book in Madeleine Eskedahl’s Matakana series, begins with what appears to be an attempt to scam a young Lotto winner. As usual, the beautiful country north of Auckland is a major player in the story, with Bill and Annika Granger taking the leads.

Sergeant Bill Granger and hunky Dwayne Johnson look-alike Constable Niko Sopoaga are called to the scene of what appears to be a murder, where the victim’s body has been shaped like a snow angel albeit in a clay pit.  Apart from this shocking discovery there is a lot going on in Matakana in the lead up to Christmas, not the least of which is the worrying email Bill has received from police head office in Wellington that they are considering closing the Matakana police station; and, as well, Bill’s family tree appears to have sprouted an added wing.

Bill hands the murder case over to Orewa CIB, and he and Niko carry on with finding the gang of kids who are terrorising local shop keepers and who are now wanted for assault. Then comes a phone call which sees them tearing out of the station again.

There are a couple of troubled marriages in Matakana this Christmas, and memories are being revived of the American marines who were stationed in Matakana during the Second World War. In short, lots of interesting threads to the story, and tons of atmospheric background.

Angels of Clay is sure to be another winner for Madeleine Eskedahl. Madeleine in some ways reminds me of Minette Walters while at the same time having a style which is all her own.

Published by Matheson Bay Press

Once We Were Lovers by RJ Gould

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Once We Were Lovers is the latest book in Richard Gould’s Dream Cafe series. Georgie and Peter were lovers back in the 1970s in their university days. A catastrophic mistake was made which tore them apart, until now, in the present day, when Georgie has a reason for trying to reconcile with Peter.

There are many obstacles along Georgie’s way and it does seem as if she and Peter are never going to reconnect in any meaningful way. They have both been through some difficult, to say the least, times over the past fifty years and Peter doesn’t want to try again. The two of them could have done with some mystical sliding doors way back then.

While I sympathised with Georgie I found it hard to like her; I’m allowed to say that because I was around in her day and I’m probably judging her from my twenty-something perspective. Both she and Peter had been self-absorbed (as was I!) and Peter was a male chauvinist pig before anyone realised that that’s what they were. None of this makes them any less interesting though and RJ Gould examines their lives and their motives very well.

The Dream Cafe is a pivotal feature again with David, the owner, and his daughter, Rachel, both playing important roles. This is probably the grittiest story yet in the Dream Cafe series.

Published by Vinci Press

Missing by E A Jackson

 

Missing by E A Jackson is a stunning crime thriller with twists and turns right up to its last pages. 

London, 1990. Detective Inspector Martha Allen receives a phone call that a baby has been abducted from a hotel in Pimlico where her parents had taken her while they took a short holiday. Martha is feeling the need to establish her credentials in a male-dominated police force and is determined to solve this case. When the baby is handed in to a police station, after days of intensive investigations by Martha and her team, and it doesn’t seem possible that they can trace the person who handed her in, Martha is ordered to close the case; however, she knows there is something not quite right about the whole thing and never gives up wondering about what might be the truth behind the baby’s disappearance and miraculous return. Then, thirty years later, something happens that makes Martha decide to try again, albeit on her own time, to get to the bottom of the Baby Bella story.

 E A Jackson is a brilliant writer as she painstakingly presents everyone Martha encounters and all the situations she gets into. I loved the way the book was different in so many ways from traditional crime thrillers; I loved all the character studies, and Martha’s way of coping with how her personal life had turned out differently to what she had expected. Highly recommended!

Published by Faber & Faber Limited

Double Edged, by Marina Auer

 

Like the author who created her, Dr Erin Taylor is a surgeon living near Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Erin seems in control of her life, juggling a busy operating schedule, looking after two teenagers, staying fit, and working on keeping her marriage to fellow doctor Oliver on an even keel. But a reunion of friends from her university days brings a troubled past to the fore when one of their gang doesn't show up.

In their varsity days Erin and her friends were known as 'The Furies', and fought to stem a tide of sexual assaults against female students whose drinks had been spiked.

When Erin goes missing a heart-stopping rollercoaster ride of perils and pitfalls begins. This book kept me up TOO LATE for a couple of nights.

Marina Auer delivers twist after twist in this fast-paced, nail-biting story which is well and truly deserving of the title, 'thriller'.

There are some nice insider observations of life in modern South Africa and the characters are all well-rounded and believable, such as Todd, the likabley unlikeable anaesthetist who seems to like his Land Rover more than people. Auer also draws heavily on her own medical knowledge, interspersing interesting biological facts that help to differentiate Double Edged from the rest of the crime fiction pack. 

I can't wait to read Auer's other two books.

Five from five!

Published Kwela, South Africa

Reviewed by Tony Park

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth

 

Elsie Fitzpatrick is 81 years old; she lives on Kenny Lane; “…a peculiar little cobbled street on the periphery of central Melbourne”. She wasn’t always Elsie Fitzpatrick: in 1959 at the age of 15 she was Mabel Waller, the youngest Australian ever to be convicted of murder. She became known world wide as “Mad Mabel”. Elsie tends her beautiful rose garden and keeps her distance from her neighbours, although “enfant terrible” Persephone, aged 7, who lives next door with her mother, Roxanne, is determined to be Elsie’s friend. Elsie already has a friend, Daphne, who is the only one she wants or needs.

Elsie’s peaceful existence is shattered when something happens which draws attention to her true identity and the stories, real and imagined, about her past begin to surface. Reporters begin hounding her wanting what they hope will be all the gory details, until she reaches the point where she feels she has no choice but to trust two podcasters with the story of her life.

This is a brilliant book, written as only Sally Hepworth can write. Elsie speaks with raw honesty which makes this page turner impossible to put down. I’ve never read a Sally Hepworth book I didn’t like and this is one of her very best.

Published by Pan Macmillan

Lost and Found by Liz Byrski

 

In Lost and Found Liz Byrski has returned to the theme of searching for a lost love. How many people sometimes wonder what it would  be like to have a ‘sliding doors’ moment in their own lives? I don’t think I’m alone in imagining occasionally what would have happened if I had followed a different path at a key point in my (very) long ago past.

After living in Western Australia for thirty years, having moved there from England, Rose takes a trip back to Rye in Sussex to see if she can catch up with her first love, Tom. Rose has never understood why Tom turned away from her and she has decided that now is the time to find out.

Rose reacquaints herself with the town and with old friends. Although  this isn’t how she pictured her return to Rye, she is starting to find answers to the questions she has held on to for such a long time; and in the process she embarks on a new, entirely unexpected friendship. Rose loves Australia and has had a fulfilling life there but she is also feeling the pull of her homeland.

As usual, Liz Byrski has created vivid, atmospheric settings for her story. Her warm, sensitive writing reminds me of Maeve Binchy a little, although Liz’s style is all her own.

Published by Pan Macmillan 

The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves

 

Detective Jimmy Perez has left Shetland and is living in Orkney, in Kirkwall on the mainland, with his partner, Willow, and their son, James. As The Killing Stones opens, Jimmy has gone across the water to Westray to search for his mate, Archie, whose wife had reported him missing. Now Jimmy has rung Willow to tell her he has found Archie, dead, next to the apparent murder weapon, an ancient engraved stone which had been taken from the local museum.

Although Ann Cleeves describes Jimmy Perez as having the dark hair and complexion of his Spanish ancestors, I still prefer to think of the gorgeous Douglas Henshall while following Jimmy’s investigation. He was perfect at portraying Jimmy as taciturn, strong and determined, while holding reserves of warmth and sympathy. This case is difficult for Jimmy as he had grown up with Archie, and he and Willow are close to Archie’s widow, now wife, and sons. Willow, also a detective, becomes involved in the investigation despite being on maternity leave while awaiting the birth of her second baby which is expected to happen in six weeks.

The islanders can trace their history back to the time of the Norse invasions, and the stone which killed Archie has words engraved by Vikings over the original markings. There are many possible suspects for Jimmy to interview, including a minor celebrity who has made a television series about his studies of the ancient stone monuments on the island. As well as being a cracking good mystery story, this book has me wishing I could visit the Orkney Islands myself!

Ann Cleeves is, as usual, brilliant at setting scenes and invoking atmosphere. Jimmy and Willow are true to life, as are lots of  other well drawn characters, including a man by the name of Miles Chambers, and there is a terrific build up of momentum towards a most satisfying conclusion.

 Vintage Ann Cleeves!