One of Sherlock Holmes most
famous quotes is about the evil lurking in the English countryside ("They
always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my
experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a
more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful
countryside"). Many of the books I am featuring today fit right in with
that belief. Small towns have their own secrets, hidden knowledge, vile
coverups, anger, and finally revenge. Interestingly enough, it seems that it
doesn’t matter where you go in the world, small towns are all the same as you
can see from these books from Australia, Sweden, the UK, and Russia.
Reading right now:
As the
western United States “drys” up, it might be a good time to read “The Dry” by
Jane Harper. Harper was born in England, but now lives in Australia and her
side details about the ravages of the drought hitting Australia may strike a
little close to home while adding a disquieting urgency to the novel which
centers around the murder of a young family by the father who proceeds to kill
himself. His childhood friend is now a policeman and is struck by several
oddities which seem to point to murder by someone other than his old friend. This
novel first came out in 2017 and was followed up by another mystery with the
same hero (Policeman Aaron Falk). If you missed this series, it is time to go
back and catch up.
Swedish mystery author, Kjell
Eriksson’s ninth book in his Ann Lindell series (“The Deathwatch Beetle”) was
just released. This time around Lindell finds herself investigating the cold
case of a young woman (Cecilia Karlsson) who disappeared from the island where
Lindell is living. Lindell receives a tip that Cecilia has been spotted alive.
When she attempts to uncover the truth about the case, she finds an old love
interest of Cecilia’s who carries a large secret while someone else is hiding
on the island waiting for revenge.
C. J. Farrington’s first book in the
Olga Pushkin mystery series called “Death on the Trans-Siberian Express” came
out earlier this year and the second is set to come out sometime in 2022.
Pushkin is a Railway Engineer in the quiet, small town of Roslazny in Russia,
but is striving to be a bestselling author. It doesn’t take long for Pushkin to
become involved in drama and secrets which include Poison-pen letters, a small-town
crime wave, rumors of a murderous witch, and finally an American tourist who
falls from the Trans-Siberian train right on top of Pushkin.
UK author Ross Greenwood just
released the fourth book in his Detective Inspector Barton series called “The
Cold Killer.” After a prisoner dies in jail, Barton investigates but finds
nothing suspicious until the dead man’s house is burgled and there is a
suspicious fire. Everyone he tries to interview about the death disappears and
it doesn’t take long until he starts receiving threats.
