Middle Sister's Mid-Month Review

Deadly Camargue by Cay Rademacher  A German-born author who lives in France, Rademacher's many books are just now starting to be translated into English. In this novel, the main character is Roger Blanc, a policeman who has left his urban job for one in a small town in Provence. Great, I thought--Provence! I've read Peter Mayle and enjoyed his books, I know what Provence is like and a mystery there sounds great. But Rademacher's Provence is just as hot and dusty as where I live, and reminds me of southern Spain, complete with bullfighting. I enjoyed the novel. The setting was well described and atmospheric, from the dry, flat plain to the storm that rages through the denouement. But as much as I liked the setting, I didn't really like the characters, including Roger (although I did like Fabienne, the lesbian computer genius). I'm not a big fan of melancholy and self-pity, and Roger's mourning the end of his marriage and his disaffected relationship with his children, his puppy-like devotion to and affair with Aveline, simultaneous with his half-regretful musings at losing Genevieve, were boring. The mid-life crises are just not interesting to me. Rather than conflicted, he came across as self-absorbed and at the same time, passive and inactive--unable to divorce his wife, unable to leave Aveline who will not leave her husband, unable to pursue a relationship with his neighbor--this kind of paralysis came across poorly and is not what I look for in main character. I like a character I can identify with in a least some small way, and I couldn't discover anything that I identified with in Roger. I found his situation more annoying that sympathetic. The conclusion was not satisfying in the traditional way many readers prefer, and it was my favorite part of the book. Some like to see our murderers get their comeuppance, but I thought the ending was realistic and believable. Rademacher's writing style appears, via translation, smooth, and the pace was adequate. Despite this, I doubt I'll read another because I don't really like Roger. But I'm glad that European authors are being translated for American readers, and many will delight in finding a new author with dozens of novels for them to read. (Net Galley)

Blue Murder by Colin Watson Originally published in England in 1979, Blue Murder is another in a series of mysteries set in the fictional town of Flaxborough. Inspector Purbright is quickly becoming one of my favorite series characters. He has a dry sense of humor, and while he takes his job very seriously, he recognizes that sometimes the life swirling around him deserves nothing more than an eye roll. The townspeople are quirky, as all fictional English small town residents are, and despite the high murder rate, yea, I'd enjoy living there. In this particular entry, Flaxborough is invaded by a news crew trying to ferret out which locals performed in a pornographic film found overseas, and the threat of the scandal results in murder. I loved the book--the mystery within the mystery; the two murders solved, albeit decades apart in time; the eccentric characters like Barrington Hoole; everything. I am so glad that these are being reissued. Recommended for those who love mysteries reminiscent of the Golden Age and set in England and all cosy lovers everywhere. (Net Galley)

Murder by the Book by Lauren Elliott Okay, a mystery set in a mystery bookstore--should be my perfect read, right? Wrong. There were too many unrealistic aspects large and small. Do you know how many books can be ruined by clients sitting and reading in comfy chairs and spilling the free coffee; and why would they buy the book when they can read it in the comfy chair for free? And the unrealistic time line--3 months to inherit a massive fortune, a huge house, and open a bookstore? C'mon. Every small unrealistic statement derails the flow of a story--even hardwired smoke detectors have back-up batteries, so the fire in Addie's kitchen is unrealistic, but when you need a plot device, who cares about accuracy? Now these may seem like small things that an be overlooked, but when every relationship in the book accelerates at lightning speed, the constant lack of realism becomes very noticeable and annoying: instant best friends with the store owner next door; instant intimacy with said store owner's police chief brother, all the while Addie simultaneously denies being attracted to him and flirts outrageously with him. These relationships read as if written by a high schooler with no experience of a real romance. Although the bare bones of the story were good, the execution was middling. (Net Galley)

Middle Sister's Mid-Month Review

Lots of travel time this month, so lots of time to catch up on reading.

Edgar Allen Poe and the Jewel of Peru by Karen Lee Street Last month I complained about historical books that fail, that transplant 20th and 21st century characters and ideas and social mores into the past, covered with a veneer of pseudo-historicity. I'd read several that fell victim to this idea of what a historical novel should be and I disliked them intensely. This novel is the exact opposite, and succeeds brilliantly where they failed. Edgar Allen Poe and the Jewel of Peru is a perfect example of what a historical novel should be. Ms. Street has undertaken a lot of research on Edgar Allen Poe and the geographical setting to create a brilliant representation of 19th century Philadelphia. She has also created an interesting, unique, and well-written mystery replete with sharply delineated characters and images. Edgar, Sissy, and Muddy, their relationships, and mid-century Philly are carefully constructed. I read the entire book at one go on an airplane, but I would have stayed up late several nights to read this. I truly hope there are more Edgar Allen Poe mysteries to come, and this is one series I would love. Highly recommended/A+

Hopjoy Was Here by Colin Watson Digital reissue of a classic police procedural originally published in 1962. While there are a couple of scenes that induced groans (Ross' seduction, for example, read like a James Bond farce), the book is a clever, well written, and well-paced mystery with enough surprising twists and turns to keep any reader entertained. Character development was not an important part of mysteries in the first half of the twentieth century, so modern readers used to internal dialogues and angst may be disappointed, but the characters are sufficiently fleshed out to allow the reader to sympathize with them. Although characterized as a police procedural, this is not a McBain-type police novel, but rather an English country murder in which the detectives are not the standard amateurs but police and government agents. Clever and enjoyable and a very fast read. Recommended/A