Reading right now:

            “Blood on the Water” by Anne Perry. This is Perry’s 20^th William Monk novel. In this historical mystery it is 1856, the Suez Canal is almost complete and Monk is still in charge of the River Police in London. It opens when Monk witnesses a pleasure boat blowing up with 200 people killed on board. For political reasons, the River Police are not allowed to investigate the bombing. The regular police quickly arrest an Egyptian man who is sentenced to hang for the crime. Monk discovers that the evidence is flawed and is given back the mess of trying to find out who was really behind the crime. Along the way, Monk’s wife Hester plays her usual important role in solving the crime, as does their “unofficially” adopted son Scuff. Best of all, Oliver Rathbone is back. I love Perry’s characters, her presentation of Victorian England, and her story ideas are always interesting. What I don’t like is her emphasis on the thoughts and feelings of the characters instead of on how they go about catching the bad guys. There are way too many questions asked during the novel which to me feels like a waste of words—pay attention to how the crimes are being solved instead of just having the characters ask themselves endless questions. That method becomes irritating to me when I think the emphasis should be on how they get the answers to these questions.

On hold right now:

            “Wouldn’t It Be Deadly” by D. E. Ireland. This is the first book in a new series by Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta who are calling themselves D. E. Ireland. The series is based on “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw with Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins getting caught up in murder and mayhem. “Wouldn’t It Be Deadly” starts off after Eliza’s success gets her a job as an assistant to Higgins’ rival Emil Nepommuck. Nepommuck takes credit for Eliza’s transformation which enrages Higgins. When Nepommuck is found murdered, Higgins becomes the prime suspect. Eliza and Higgins must team up to find out which of Nepommuck’s enemies is his real killer.

Other Mysterious Things:

            September is a great month for mystery fans. There are several books coming out by authors that we have all been waiting to write another book. Probably the most eagerly anticipated book for me is Dennis Lehane’s “The Drop.” Lehane returns to the mean streets of “Mystic River” with this new novel which will soon be a new movie.  

            Lee Child presents the 19^th Jack Reacher novel, “Personal.” Kathy Reichs gives us the 17^th Temperance Brennan book called “Bones Never Lie.” Harlan Coben’s third Mickey Bolitar book called “Found” comes out (this is a Young Adult series, but lots of adults are reading it). Jesse Kellerman and Jonathan Kellerman team up for “The Golem of Hollywood.” Reed Farrel Coleman takes over Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone series with “Blind Spot.” Tana French’s fifth Dublin Murder Squad series continues with “The Secret Place.” M. C. Beaton’s 25^th book in the Agatha Raisin series called “The Blood of an Englishman” is out. What a great month! Can’t wait to read them all.

Reading right now:

            “Murder 101” by Faye Kellerman. Peter Decker and his wife have moved from Los Angeles to upstate New York in order to be close to their children. Decker finds himself bored by the small town police department until a major crime finally takes place. Tiffany panels have been stolen from a local cemetery which leads to murder and international intrigue. I find myself missing the LA setting and really don’t understand why Decker with his extensive experience would take a job that insults his ability. Plus his irritating new Harvard educated partner is getting on my nerves just a bit. This is book 22 of this series and the change of location is a major change for the series. Despite some reservations, still enjoying Kellerman’s latest. 

On hold right now:

            “Consumed” by David Cronenberg. Filmmaker Cronenberg’s new book is generating a lot of excitement. It has been called darkly humorous, bizarrely depraved, and grotesque. That sounds like most of his films! From what I’ve read the book revolves around two online journalists. One of the journalistic couple (Naomi) becomes obsessed with the murder of a French philosopher whose husband is accused of killing her. The couple were sexual libertines and police suspect that the husband killed his wife and consumed parts of her body. The husband has disappeared, but Naomi decides to track him down. Meanwhile Naomi’s partner is taking a separate, but equally disturbing journey. The two stories finally come together in a plot that involves murder, geopolitics, 3-D printing, North Korea, Cannes Film Festival, cancer, STDs, and sex. 

Other Mysterious Things:

            The new TNT series called “Legends” is based on the book “Legends: a Novel of Dissimulation” by Robert Littell. The story revolves around undercover FBI agent Martin Odum who has played so many different roles for his job that he no longer always knows who he is. The amazing English actor Sean Bean plays Odum. TNT has some fantastic mystery/thriller series. “Rizzoli & Isles” just started the fifth season. The show is based on the novels of Tess Gerritsen. The first season of “Murder in the First” recently ended. The show followed a single case through the whole season. Another great show on FX is “Justified” which is based on three Elmore Leonard’s novels “Pronto,” “Riding the Rap,” and his short story “Fire in the Hole."