The joy of new books by favourite writers
These books I have savoured as absolute treats (and why I love them)
The Dark Wives – Ann Cleeves
The body of a young care worker is discovered and a child in his care has gone missing – is it because she’s running from the consequences of her actions? Or is she’s in danger?
I love Ann Cleeves’ books so a new one is a treat! They tread perfectly that fine line between being too violent or too cosy. And this series in particular is all about Vera Stanhope, who has become a giant of crime fiction policing.
If you haven’t read any yet - why not? More are in one of my Bookshop.org lists of Unmissable Crime Fiction.
A pain to work with but fights for the underdog
Vera maybe a pain to work with. But she has a great ability to see and understand the sort of lives that can be driven to desperation, so we love her. Vera is open minded, non-judgmental, and has a deep well of empathy to call on. This means she has a real ability to fight for the underdog.
Crime fiction and psychological thrillers can often be set among the well-heeled and the privileged – all that money, glamour, power and position means high stakes, a lot to lose. I love the Vera books, because as well as being set in the stunning open spaces of Northumberland, they are set among ordinary people.
Characters who can have more important things than money and status to lose.
Dark Wives has a political theme of running children’s homes for profit, rather than serving the children well, with no aim of making sure damaged children do not turn into damaged adults.
It is an ideal starting point for what I see as a typical Vera Stanhope story, investigating crimes among people doing their best even though life has not treated them well.
The stories are often as much about families falling out as the damaging effects on a community of shameful, long-buried secrets.
Real but not bleak
The stories feel real, can be hard-hitting, but without being bleak and I think this is testimony to Ann Cleeve’s writing, characterisation and Vera herself. Larger than life and sometimes far nicer to the suspects than to her team, she is always a step ahead of them, urging them to keep up her relentless pace in her unstoppable quest for justice.
Close to Death – Anthony Horowitz
The small group of neighbours in a gated community of a very wealthy part of Richmond count each other as friends, until one of them gets killed and it can only be one of them who murdered him.
This is a clever modern-day twist to the traditional closed circle of suspects murder mystery, which are often set in country estates closed off by the weather, or other destinations where no one can leave.
Whodunnit heaven
The victim was the brash newcomer disrupting everyone else’s settled lives, so all the possible suspects basically all have the same motive that they wanted him out. They also rely on each other for alibis. But someone has to be lying. It is such a clever concept and the set up for what appears an unsolvable puzzle. All you can wish for if you are lover of mysteries!
This story is full of ingenious twists and well-thought through reveals (as well as humour and suspense). But then Anthony Horowitz always excels at meticulous and cerebral plotting.
He has written so much - books and television. But this series is such a clever idea as he has chosen to put himself in the story as Watson.
This gives such a quirkiness to these stories. Horowitz (as the character in the book) attempts not to play the slow-witted sidekick. He’s not above using his fame and the offer of the odd signed copy of his books to keep up! There are plenty of in jokes about writing and dealing with publishers.
Such fun!
Hawthorne is Holmes to Horowitz’s Watson – a disgraced former cop who is brilliant at clearing up odd crimes and acts as a consultant when the police are baffled (as they often are in crime fiction!).
This series is rapidly accumulating fans and I think its because of such a clever twist in the narration coupled with a traditional, impressively well-crafted story.
I love that these stories use physical clues, something you don’t see so much and I miss it! – in this case a chess set, a tree and a lack of rust all play pivotal parts. But like all the best of traditional murder-mysteries these clues are easily dismissed or mis-interpreted by everyone except the super-clever Sherlock figure.
Murder mystery as it should be done!
As someone who attempts to write mystery stories I always think I have a good appreciation of this art done well (and probably an intolerance where it’s done badly!).
These kinds of complex and layered mysteries are astonishingly hard to write well, but Anthony Horowitz manages to make it look effortless and writes them very, very well indeed.
Iceland Noir
I’m finishing today on a show offy note as I am going to meet both these authors this week as I am fulfilling a long-held ambition to visit Iceland. And I have timed it to coincide with Iceland Noir! When two of my favourite authors will be in one place.
I am so excited!
Thanks for reading
Nicki