Mystery Crime Books

This is old-fashioned. It has dated. The plot, though, is clever and funny. The name of the mansion, the site of the house party and the mystery, is Black Dudley. Dr. George Abbershaw's opinion is respected at Scotland Yard. He is in Suffolk on holiday and has fallen in love with Margaret Oliphant. Wyatt Petrie is the nephew of the host. He has studied classics at Oxford.

Colonel Coombe, the host, has a heart attack or is murdered while the guests are playing a game with a ritual sword. Albert Campion of Scotland Yard is among the party of guests and yet neither the nephew nor the uncle seem to know him. One person, Benjamin Dawlish, is very angry and in the beginning it isn't clear who he is. Someone siphons off the petrol from the vehicles. The body of Coombe is removed under mysterious circumstances. Mr. Campion has been tasked to pick up a small package. He informs some of the guests that a fence is among them.

Formerly Black Dudley was a monastery. There are in it secret rooms and passages. Eventually the positive and negative forces are sorted out, the negative being a criminal gang consisting of the uncle and the servants, among others. A problem has arisen since it seems that Coombe double-crossed the gang.

The incarcerated innocent victims of the skullduggery are saved from false imprisonment at Black Dudley by the local hunt. Albert Campion is recognized as an old school friend by one of the members of the hunt, and the guests are freed just before the ruffians are proposing to torch the place. It turns out that the murder of Colonel Coombe is the product of a too perfect crime.

At a houseparty, that activity so familiar to mystery readers, a group of bright young things has come together. Some are known to one another and others are not. One odd young man doesn't seem to be known to anyone, even his host. And thus enters Albert Campion, though that is only one of his aliases, of the owl like spectacles, saying and doing the most extraordinary things, into the ranks of Hercule Poirot, Lord Peter Wimsey and other detectives from the Golden Age of Mysteries.

THE CRIME AT BLACK DUDLEY proceeds on fairly conventional grounds, the house party in the rather isolated location, an old family legend, an international gang of thieves led by a Master Criminal, a murder and of course 'all is not how it seems'. The plot has many interesting twists and turns, punctuated by some comic scenes that border on farce. Those who already know Campion from later books in the series or the tv series will probably be a bit disappointed with this one since Campion is only a secondary character and is not quite 'himself' yet. Fans will not want to miss this first appearance, however brief; nor it is not a bad place to begin reading the series.

Overall this series will appeal to those who are fans of the mysteries written during the Golden Age of the twenties and thirties. Fans of Lord Peter Wimsey, the Saint or Tommy and Tuppence will be delighted with the light hearted adventures of the mysterious Mr. Campion (not his real name)

THE CRIME AT BLACK DUDLEY (aka The Black Dudley Murder) ((Amateur Sleuth, Albert Campion, England, 1920s) - Good
Allingham, Margery - 1st in series (EBMRG Selection)
Penguin Books, 1929, US Paperback

First Sentence: The view from the narrow window was dreary and inexpressibly lonely.

What is supposed to be an entertaining weekend at a large country home in Suffolk, becomes the site of murder, kidnapping and suspense. Dr. George Abbershaw is forced to sign a death certificate, and foolish Albert Campion is not what he seems.

I had forgotten how silly and over-plotted this first book is of the Campion series and that Campion appears as a secondary character. And, stereotypical as they seem today, Allingham was wonderful at creating a cast of characters, each with their own voice.

The fun of the book is the setting, both in place and time. Trust me, the series does improve with subsequent books.

I bought this first Albert Campion mystery after being wowed by Mystery Mile.

Sadly, Albert isn't the main character in this story, though it's his first appearance, so I'm glad I read it.

The Crime at Black Dudley is an English country house mystery. There's an odd assortment of guests at Black Dudley, and during the evening, they decide to reenact an old ritual game involving an odd family heirloom--a sinister dagger. The lights get extinguished, the servants are all banished, and the idea is to wander around the mansion in the dark while the dagger passes from hand to hand.

Well, it's pretty evident what's going to happen in a case like this: somebody will be stabbed to death. It turns out to be the host's uncle, a wheelchair-bound invalid who wore a mask to cover severe scarring.

Except that the guests are initially told that he's just been taken ill, until one, a young new doctor, is asked to falsify a death certificate citing natural causes. He refuses, but the hero of the story, Dr. George Abbershaw goes along with it until the authorities can be notified.

Unfortunately for everyone, the murder only complicated things. Albert Campion was at the house party to retrieve a set of secret plans from the uncle, but Dr. Abbershaw found them and burned them, prompting one of the guests, who turns out to be a criminal mastermind, to hold the entire party hostage until the plans are returned to him.

There are wonderful twists and turns and even a sweet romance. Secret passages, spies, uneasy alliances, entertaining and eccentric characters, a decrepit-looking old car hiding a Rolls Royce engine under the hood... er, bonnet... Just a nice, complex yet light mystery with a surprise ending.

I wasn't nearly as impressed with Campion in this book, but then again, he wasn't the star. I'm sure he'll acquit himself admirably in the next one. It's on my to-be-bought list.

As a fan of Agatha Christie and the golden age of british mystery i have recently began expanding my list of authors and stumbled upon this book. I read the plot and it sounded right up my alley, but i figured it couldnt possibly be as good as it sounded, but for once it was actually as good as i hoped. The book is perfectly set up, and i never got to a part where i wanted to quit reading. The author manages to avoid the boaring inquest and still solves the crime. I havnt been so happy with a book in years, and this is only the first of the series. If you love an old fashioned mystery, and love a little cheese, and humor mixed in with a murder like i do ... this book is for you.

Saylor has definately become a master of his art. Each of the characters are so vivid, it is obvious that Saylor treats each with respect and critical thought has been put into view point analysis. The images Saylor uses to bring Rome alive are personal and palpable. Its as if Saylor travelled in time and really hung out with these people.

The story line really didnt draw me in to the novel that much. But if anyone can make a story about a bunch of bickering old ladies facsinating, you better believe that it is Saylor who will do it.

Although the story line didnt excite me, the realness of the characters that did. I mean, I almost feel like I was down their by the river with Gordianus and Clodia.

Well, Gordianus continues to be entirely implausible as far as actual Late Republican Rome was concerned. But then this novel manages to obtain an eerie athmosphere, as Gordianus enters old age in earnest in a setting of civil war, chaos and impending doom, the telling of the story revolves around a savvy counterpoint structure, and the mystery is actually satisfactory and not a pretext for displaying historical erudition. I look foward to reading the next novel - something "Last seem in Massilia" didn't quite manage to do.

Mist of Prophecies is a tale of trouble. In this story Gordianus encounters many problems. Caesar and Pompey are fighting a war for control of the republic. Rome is in desperate economic times as inflation rages. Most people have difficulties paying rent and buying food. Merchants seldom stock their shelves. Gordianus, himself, borrows money to pay expenses and falls deeply in debt to a selfish banker named Volumnius. Bethesdia, his wife, suffers from a strange ailment which saps her energy and affects her mood. Diana, his daughter, pushes him to get work and suggests that she and her husband Davus take over the family business. Gordianus begins to feel old and useless.

Then, in addition to his wife and daughter, eight more women challenge Gordianus' sanity: Cassandra, a seeress with a reputation of being mad; Culpernia, Caesars wife; Clodia, a manipulative temptress he has encountered before; Faustia, daughter of former dictator Sulla and wife of the banished politician Milo; Fulvia, Clodius' widow who married Caesar's lieutenant Curio; Terentia, the pious and proper wife of Cicero; Antonia, Mark Antony's wife and cousin; Cytheris, an actress and former slave who is Mark Antony's lover. Gordianus is convinced that one of the women is responsible for the death of Cassandra.

Action begins after Cassandra's death. Gordianus, who had some secret relationship with Cassandra, arranges for and finances her funeral. The story unfolds through flashbacks and encounters and interviews with the ten women. Gordianus decides that Cassandra was poisoned. At first Gordianus avoids inquiring into the situation. After being nagged by Diana, he begins his investigation, wanting only peace of mind.

Mist of Prophecies presents fascinating characters through Gordianus' interviews. The characters are encountered in their own element and most reveal themselves through their words and behavior. Gordianus, being a man, doesn't always completely understand what he sees.

This is a fun book written by an excellent historian. I may read it again.

While Caesar and Pompey are in Greece preparing for the ultimate showdown of their civil war, Rome is in dire straits under its Caesar-appointed custodians. Food is in short supply and the economy has all but collapsed with soaring inflation and a population deeply in debt (including Gordianus). Utter chaos could ensue at any moment as several opportunists exploit Rome's weakness to gain power for themselves. As if things weren't bad enough, Gordianus' wife Bethesda has fallen under a mysterious ailment that threatens to be fatal. Gordianus and his family are in the Forum seeking food (and hopefully a cure for Bethesda) when the beautiful but obviously deranged woman called "Cassandra" (for her alleged gift of prophecy), runs to Gordianus and collapses in his arms telling him before she dies that she has been poisoned by another woman. It turns out that Cassandra and Gordianus were not strangers. They were, in fact, secret lovers. (Yes, at his age!) Since Cassandra was a beggar with no relatives, Gordianus gives her a funeral. To his surprise, seven of the richest, most powerful women in Rome (including the wives and mistresses of Caesar, Cicero and Mark Antony) come to watch her body burn. Gordianus is sure that one of them is the murderer. Keeping his grief secret, Gordianus tries to identify the killer, as he is drawn deeper and deeper into Cassandra's complex world. Who exactly WAS Cassandra? Where did she come from? Why was she there? Was she a genuine seeress? A clever actress? A spy? Or all of the above? If she was a spy, who was she working for and why?

A MIST OF PROPHECIES is a more conventionally "Agatha Christie" structured mystery than the previous volumes: a murder is committed, the suspects identified and then interviewed to discover the killer's identity. I was sure I had correctly guessed the murderess and her motivation at the end of Chapter 13, but I was wrong! Once again, what really makes the novel worthwhile are the colorful details of daily life in the Roman Empire. This book doesn't have the depth that some of the previous volumes have (e.g., THE VENUS THROW), but it's one of the faster-paced entries in this series and a lot of fun. At this point, there is only one more volume in this series after this book. I really don't want it to end! But A MIST OF PROPHECIES hints at the intriguing prospect of Gordianus' daughter Diana and her husband Davus entering the family business as a team. So maybe it won't be over!

This is Steven Saylor's 9th Sub Rosa mystery featuring Gordianus the Finder and his family. While reading the mysteries in order does enable the reader to better understand the backstory, the novels can be read and enjoyed out of order.

In this novel, Gordianus is investigating the death of Cassandra, a beautiful and enigmatic seer. It seems likely that one of Rome's most powerful women is involved, but which one, and why? And what is Gordianus's own involvement with Cassandra?

Set in the Roman Republic of 48BCE amidst the turmoil of the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, the politics of Rome enhance the novel without overwhelming the story.

A highly enjoyable novel. Recommended to lovers of mysteries in historical settings.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This book at first was interesting, but I didn't like it at all toward the end. I suggest Nancy Drew and the Clue of the Whistling bagpipes. It is one of my favorite books!

This book is very suspenseful. It makes you want to keep reading, also there is a good plot, and it is well written. If you like this book read other "Nancy Drew" books, written by Carolyn Keene. I really liked this book, actually, I loved reading it.

I'm a collector of Nancy Drew mysteries and this is one of my favorites. The idea of the grieving royal family burying their dead child's favorite toys in a lake is a sad and intriguing plot and the circumstances under which Nancy solves the case make for a great read. I love the original ND series, but even I think that some of them are better than others, and this is one of the better ones.

Nancy, Bess and George are invited by Aunt Eloise to stay at a cabin on Mirror Bay near Cooperstown, N.Y. where there have been recent sightings of a woman gliding on the water of the bay. Nancy sets out to investigate the mysterious woman, but soon is faced with numerous other mysteries, including a vacation scam perpetrated by a woman who bears a resemblance to Nancy; the search for an old carriage, sealed in a box and sunk in the bay many years ago; and a strange green-glowing wizard that lives on a nearby mountain. This wasn't a bad book and it is easily one of the better books from #35 up (most of which are garbage). Nancy has many mysteries to solve and they are fairly interesting. The book has a not bad amount of action and it isn't as poorly written as some of the other books put out at that time. One thing that I didn't care for with this book, was that Nancy resembled the woman involved in the vacation scam. This is a tired plot device that has been featured more than once in this series. Generally, I did enjoy this book; it wasn't one of the most exciting books I've ever read, but I would recommend reading it.

This book is wonderful. It has two mysteries in one. It's one of the best I've read. It has a great plot, and it neatly draws it together at the end. It kept me in suspense and it was difficult to put away. And if you enjoy this one, I suggest you read Clue in the Diary ,too.

This is an older true crime story from the mistress of the genre, Ann Rule. I read it at the time it came out, and found it fascinating and tragic. Recently, my mother was cleaning out her collection of books and setting overflow aside for donation, and I rescued this from the donation pile because I wanted to read it again.

One night in 1985, police were called to the California home of a self-made millionaire named David Brown, who shared the house with his wife Linda, their baby Krystal, Linda's younger sister Patti, and David's daughter from a previous marriage, Cinnamon. In the master bedroom, police found Linda Brown shot to death, and 14-year old Cinnamon curled up shivering and vomiting up mountains of pills in a doghouse out back. The story that emerged was that an allegedly contentious relationship between Cinnamon, David's daughter, and Linda, David's wife, had finally escalated into a tragic confrontation. Cinnamon immediately confessed to shooting Linda Brown, and after a quick trial was sent to a juvenile prison facility.

Another murder in another dysfunctional family - nothing unusual, right? For some reason, however, the whole incident bothered the chief investigator, Jay Newell, and he couldn't get it out of his mind. Something wasn't right about it. Cinnamon was a sweet, confused girl who had no record of any serious rebellion, and the investigator couldn't shake the feeling that she was holding something back. David Brown also left a bad taste in Newell's mouth, and the presence of Linda's younger sister in the home seemed strange. What was really going on in this odd household? Long after the case was dead and buried, Newell kept watching and listening and asking questions.

Almost four years later, Cinnamon broke her long silence and the true story of what happened in the Brown house that night was finally revealed, piece by appalling piece. It's a shocking insight into just how much power a parent has over a child, and how smoothly a cunning adult can manipulate so many others to do his or her bidding. It's Ann Rule at her best, pulling every detail together to present a full picture of a terrible crime and more importantly, all its underlying elements - not an easy task given the complexity of familial emotion and the ultimately deadly addition of a sociopathic mind.

I have the old hardcover, but it's still in print as a mass market paperback, available on Amazon or any other bookseller site. I recommend it if you're interested in true crime and all the psychological factors that play into a crime like this.

This is a tremendous book by Ann Rule-- a complete true story. I am from Garden Grove, and my father's parents were the first owners of that home on Ocean Breeze where Linda Brown was shot. My family had owned it from the mid-50s and had moved out in the early 70s-- but many of the same neighbors remained through 1985. Some of which are mentioned in the book.

This is a must-read. There was a "made for television" move about these events, called "Love, Lies & Murder," but it is NOT based upon Ann's book.

If there's ever "just one" of Ann's book I would recommend, it would be this one, "If You Really Loved Me."

I can't believe that David Brown really did this to his daughter, his own flesh and blood!! He manipulated his 14 year old daughter into killing his wife so he could collect the insurance money!! There are no words to describe how demented this "man" really is. Then he tried to have his daughter killed from prison! Unbelievable! This "man" deserves to rot in hell for all eternity~

I read this book about 7 or 8 years ago and i recently made an account on Amazon and i can tell you this book was one of the best books i have ever read about. I remember this entire book like i read it yesterday! What Cinnamon Brown went through as a pre-teen...the manipulation, the pressure she had on her and then to have to go to jail for this man, David Brown was just absoultly sick. I couldn't believe with the pressure she was put under by Brown that she would have to do any time at all and was repulsed when i read on and found out what they gave her. She is free now but still. It must have been hell on a kid that was practicaly forced to do something like that to someone she had to secretely love, and we know as a child she secretely loved her step mother.

Shocking, sad and unfortunatly...so true...

Every now and then I pick up one of Ann Rule's true crime accounts. I like figuring out puzzles, and mystery novels are especially tempting as they let me try to figure things out on my own end of things. But true crime books have an additional factor to them -- I enjoy seeing the monsters that inhabit the world around us get justice, and sometimes it helps to know that I am not alone in my own little pocket of misery.

If You Really Loved Me dips into the psychology of a family, and the man who was the head of it. To all appearances, David Brown was an ordinary looking fellow, overweight, acne-scarred, but very successful. He had developed a means of rescuing lost data from computer disks right at the start of the big computer boom of the eighties, and had made quite a bundle of money. His home was in an prosperous part of Orange County, California, and his marriage to Linda Bailey was a happy one on the surface. They had a newborn daughter named Krystal, and he had invited not just his daughter from a previous marriage, Cinnamon, but also Linda's sister, Patti, to live with him. The home was tidy and well-furnished, and the two teenage girls were average, high-spirited girls, especially Cinnamon.

But on a March night in 1985, Linda died from two gunblasts in her chest. David Brown had gone out for a drive, and had come home to Patti crying and holding the baby, and Cinnamon was nowhere to be found. EMTs and the police came, and Linda's life could not be saved. And a search revealed Cinnamon huddled in a doghouse in the backyard, covered in vomit, and clutching a note scrawled on a piece of cardboard.

Dear God, please forgive me, I didn't mean to hurt her.

To everyone involved, the solution appeared very clear -- Cinnamon was tried for the murder and sentenced to twenty-five years to life, and only fourteen years old, was sent to prison. Life returned to normal for the Browns, and Patti stayed with David Brown, raising Krystal, and eventually giving birth to a child of her own, Heather.

But to the police and prosecutors involved in the case, there was something a little too smooth about the murder. And there was something about Brown that bothered everyone -- but the only way to reopen the case would be if Cinnamon spoke, and for nearly four long years she remained silent. Then one of the original investigators, Jay Newell, recieved a phone call, and the truth began to be slowly uncovered...

It's a chilling tale of mental and emotional abuse, murder for hire, manipulation and the man who was at the center of it all. Using interviews, photographs, and transcripts of the case, Rule gives a glimpse into a family that was deceptive, and with David Brown as the man who ran it all. He was charming, and would marry no less than six times, usually to very young women, and each marriage would fail in some respect. What was most disturbing was just how close David Brown came to getting away with everything -- investigators discovered that he would run insurance scams, make grandiose claims, and always seemed to find someone else to blame for everything that was questionable in his life.

For me, the hardest thing to read what Brown did to his own daughter, and the abuse he put Patti through. Out of all of his women, it was these two teenagers that went through the most trauma. Brown viewed women as things, put on the earth to gratify him sexually, and it didn't matter if they were preteens or not -- it was these sections of the book that made me physically ill, and helped me to recognize that predators lack the moral integrity that stop most of us from acts of terrible horror.

While Rule does get a bit repetitive in her account, the story is compelling enough to continue reading through to the end. She delves into the psychology of a sociopath, the hell that survivors of abuse go through, and the lives of the lawmen who worked to bring justice, finally to Linda Bailey and Cinnamon Brown.

This is not a book for children of any age to read, and that would go to most adults that I know. The violence in this is particularly disturbing, made all the more so in that it actually happened. For me, the hardest part was to read about the words and actions that Brown used to control the women in his life -- my own mother and grandfather would use very close to the same phrases to twist my own thinking into believing that what they were doing was my fault, not theirs, and there were times when I had to set the book down and walk away for a while to get my own equilibrium back. Despite this, it helped me to understand more of what I had gone through personally, and so, that made the book worth reading.

Rule is able to stay detached from her subject in this, and lets the reader decide guilt or innocence on their own. One thing that I appreciated was that she included several afterwords to update the readers on what happened to the Bailey-Brown families and the others in the story after the trials were over. There is also an insert of black and white photos of the people and places in the story as well.

If you have a strong enough stomach to deal with the crimes that Rule brings to life here, go on ahead and read. But I would not let this book be read by a child, or anyone who is emotionally sensitive to this sort of thing. Handle with care, and it still gets five stars from me for the writing and the skill that Rule uses to bring this story of evil to life.

Recommended.

Really bad writing. I could read through the "surprise" way before the ending. Threw the book away after that.

This is the second Lehane I have read, following Mystic River (before the movie came out), and I wasn't at all disappointed. The theme of this book is very different from Mystic River in that it is less realistic, but I found myself buzzing right through it. I was always looking to figure out the next turn. I am a person who bores with books very easily (I can't even count the number of books I have read half of), but this book really kept my attention and interest. The end, when everything is pulled together, is pretty brilliant as well. Looking forward to Scorcese's movie.

I solved the anagram on page 205 and from that I predicted the entire last half of the story. LeHane should have hidden such a revelatory clue a little better. It is like a major spoiler right in the middle of the story, making the last half a bit of a chore instead of the breathless progression it was intended to be. The finale still stung my heart, but if I had learned the twists when they were properly revealed, I would have called this story a masterpiece.

This book is well written, yes. At several points it had me frightened, and caught between dying to turn the next page and too scared to. It got my blood pumping, got me angry, I think, as it was intended to. I cared about Teddy, and I really liked Chuck. Cawley and Naehring were delightfully mysterious and sinister. A number of the surprises were fairly organic and quite shocking.

I know what you're thinking. How did this idiot manage to click one star, when he's obviously writing a five star review. You would be right to think this. However, you are wrong. This is a one star review, and here's why:

DO NOT READ THE BACK OF THE BOOK!!!!!!! To any person with half a brain (I know, not THAT many people have that much of a brain) the book description will give it ALL AWAY.

DO NOT READ THE BLURBS IN THE BOOK!!!!!!! To any person with half a brain that can add, after reading the back of the book, two and two, will immediately get four.

If you read these, you will know EXACTLY what's going to happen within the first couple of pages. And it will make you mad, just waiting for it, hoping that, praying that, this isn't the case. Its a trick. Please, God, let it be a trick. Its not. That's what's going to happen.

Now, for those that have NOT read the back of the book or any of the blurbs. You will have a little more fun. You will enjoy the first fourth of the book. Then you'll know too. You'll know exactly what's going to happen. Maybe you'll be like me. You'll think its a trick. A red herring. Again, I say, ITS NOT!!!!!!!!

Scorsese's movie I know will be good. Perhaps he and the screenwriter will think up a way to make the ending more organic. But, I don't think that's possible. Regardless, I can't wait to see how atmospheric and shocking the movie will be. I mean, look at what Eastwood did with Mystic River. The book was good, yes, but my God, man, not in a thousand universes could coincidences stack up like that. When everything fits like a jigsaw puzzle, you lose large amounts of realism, and tend to make people weary, and you take a lot of the punch out of it. But Eastwood's film had a transcendence to it (I'm picturing the scene at the end where Sean Penn has his arms spread like a shrugging Christ as he drinks his way from all this. . . coincidence). And Scorsese is at least twice the filmmaker Eastwood is. So, here's hoping. . . . . .

This is my first Dennis Lehane novel, and I read this because I know this is the next Scorsese/DiCaprio movie. And having read this novel, I think this will be the first and LAST Dennis Lehane I'll read.

The story starts off VERY slowly--two US marshals investigate the disappearance of a crazy woman who'd killed her three kids. This woman is in the loony bin on Shutter Island, where the story takes place exclusively.

So the beginning unfolds, and I can say this much: Dennis Lehane is not a great writer. His dialog is often witless and overly long, and his prose quite pedestrian. When he tries to be poetic, he is often pretentious and nonsensical, like writing "he had a silkworm of a smile." And structurally the story would've been better if he'd sped up the pace a bit.

Then the middle act is absolutely terrific when we find this giant conspiracy, and Teddy and his partner Chuck (the protagonist and his sidekick) have to escape the entire island because of this giant conspiracy. Yes, Lehane's prose is still pedestrian, but you can write inelegant prose and the novel can still pack a wallop. So I was very excited reading this middle part.

*** SPOILERS AHEAD ***

Finally, though there's the climax, and when Teddy gets to the lighthouse and confronts the mad doctor, and the mad doctor starts babbling away, I was like, You got to be kidding me?!! This is A TOTAL RIP-OFF of the 1920s movie The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari! I was like, No, it can't be. At some point, we would see the mad doctor truly IS the mad doctor, and he's just trying to trick Teddy into thinking he's insane. But noooooo, Teddy really is insane, and everything in the story is just his delusion. Even cheesy action movies like Arnold Schwarzenegger's Total Recall don't stoop to: "Ohhh, everything's just a dream." I mean, this is grade-school storytelling!

Cop-out ending + ripping off a famous movie = a crappy novel. I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because Lehane had me fooled it was a decent novel in the middle.

I gave this author a second try (I previously read 'The Song Is You') because she gets such rave reviews for writing noir, and also because strong female protagonists in noir are extremely rare. Unfortunately, I wasn't any more fond of this book that I was of the other one. I never do get that delicious chill of wicked characters swimming through a ruthless underworld. That IS what is happening in this book, but I just never got that tiny frisson (sometimes of fear, sometimes of revulsion) that I get when I read really good noir (Cain, Chandler, et al); the book feels like the author was taking boxes from aisle one and cans from aisle two in the Shop Noir Supermarket. She created a sketch of a story, populated it with the necessary number of flawed characters, had them be bad in chapters X and Y, and killed them in chapters T and Z. The prose isn't bad, but it feels rigged for how noir is supposed to sound as opposed to how the characters really think and feel and talk. I can see why Abbott's books are liked by others, but for me this one seems too obviously contrived, too much pain-by-numbers (yes, I meant to leave out the T) to get me emotionally involved. It's like I'm trying to read Chandler through a fogged window. And the little trick of the lead character seeming to have no name, it's been done.

The one thing I do like about Abbott's books is the terrific retro cover art. I'm almost willing to keep buying the books just for the great artwork.

I have never read much noir, but "Queenpin" was recommended to me by Christa Faust, who wrote the wonderful and gritty "Money Shot," which I also loved.

"Queenpin" blew me away. From the opening line, Abbott takes you into the depths of her main character's mind, heart and soul and holds you hostage for the entire book.

I echo the comment made by another reviewer here: I want to read a prequel featuring Gloria Denton!

I'm hooked!

I've read all three of Ms Abbott's novels now. She is a quick read and will not strain your brain. However, her recollection of the time about which she writes is a delight. She also writes in a manner tough enough to invoke early Spillane and his peers (if he has any). The switch to dangerous females in lead roles is also quite fun. I read a lot of modern mystery writers, i.e. Fairstein, Scottoline, Barr, Henry, Stabenow, Graves, etc and Megan Abbott's perspective is refreshing. Her writing is crisp and moves along very nicely and easily holds the reader's attention. Give her a try; you won't regret it. Just remember, if you are looking for complex plot structure and deep detailed character development, go elsewhere. This is about scheming and action. Delightful to read.

OK, I really enjoyed Abbot's first mystery romp, rating it five stars (Die a Little: A Novel), but that might have been beginners luck. This sophomore slump is barely worth the trees sacrificed to print it.

Abbott lays on the Mike Hammer slang so thickly that it almost rings like parody, except for the earnest naivety in the story line that assures me that the author is playing the story straight, not for laughs. Nothing new here, except for the small twist of a female first-person narrator doing small bag jobs for her mid-level female (queenpin, get it?) boss. The dialogue and action read almost as if written by numbers from a "how to write a mystery" correspondence course.

I'm disappointed; the first mystery was so well-crafted and smart that Abbott stood fair to be a new star in the hard-boiled business. This derivitive effort did not impress. I see on Amazon there is a new addition to Abbot's oeuvre (The Song Is You: A Novel); I'll give her one more chance.

Ms. Abbott's novels have progressively become faster paced and more darkly plotted. Although short of the break necked pace of a later James Ellroy work, Queenpin moves with flash and verve through a world of shadowy characters. Another reviewer has commented accurately that there is solid thinking behind her plots in every book and there is no exception to that observation here.

What is unique is the concept of a 'Queen-pin' as opposed to a 'Kingpin.' Although the Queenpin initially is drawn as a caricature, we learn more about her history as the plot advances. Although she never becomes a full person, she is real enough for the purposes of the book.

Especially interesting is Abbott's portrayal of the power of sex in this book. Seen here, sexual need is indistinguishable from the lure of hard drugs to an addict. More uniquely, the women crave it more than the men. This makes for striking juxtapositions compared to a conventional noir novel.

Abbott's ability to describe violence has also progressed. Despite the title of her first book, it was not that violent. The violence in 'The Song is You' was more often implied than described in detail. Queenpin throws any squeamishness over its shoulders, yielding nothing to her male noir peers.

You can read her works in any order, as the stories are not at all interconnected. However, I'd suggest reading in chronological order. It reminds me of a fast forward video clip of a beautiful floor blossoming. We can only hope she is working on her fourth novel now.

More good fun from Chester Himes. On the plus side, he finally includes some entertaining sex. On the other hand, one of the main bad guys here (the "Colonel") is particularly flat and unbelievable. Also, as usual, the end is much less satisfying than the ride to get there.

The dialogue, the action, the characters, it's Harlem world and it's all here! What else do you want?

Chester B. Himes wrote a series of "Hard Boiled" detective novels set in Harlem during the the 1950's and 60's. His two main protagonists were "Coffin Ed" Johnson and "Grave Digger" Jones, a couple of black police detectives operating in the seedy underworld of Harlem and New York City. Himes himself had served time for armed robbery in Ohio. While in prison he first read the works of Dashiell Hammet("The Maltese Falcon","The Thin Man",etc.)and decided that he could write similar fiction set in Harlem's vibrant African-American culture. He moved to France after his prison release and then began to write (in French!) his own brand of mysteries set in the New York City section that had become world famous for it's culture, nightlife and intellectual renaissance. The first of these mysteries was "A Rage in Harlem"(first published in French as "For Love of Imabelle" in 1959). Coffin Ed and Grave Digger were only minor characters in this first novel, but by the time of the 5th novel "Cotton Comes to Harlem" they were the stars of the series.

In "Cotton..." a ex con named Deke O'Hara scams $87,000 from a group of families who want to go to Africa to start a new life free from segregation and prejudice. Before O'Hara can abscond with the money a group of white gunmen steal it in the middle of the "Back to Africa" rally O'Hara is hosting and then escape. All this takes place in the first few pages, and the action only steps up the pace from that point on. Cotton Ed and Grave Digger are assigned to the case, and their brand of brutal, violent police work may not be always legal, but they have their own code of honor, which demands that they do all in their power to see to it that the families get their money back, as in most of the cases it amounts to their life savings. Through a maze of deceit and treachery filled with white supremacists, voluptuous women, scam artists, underworld informants, and real to life street people the two cops thread their way with both violence and guile. I won't spoil the ending, but suffice it to say that Himes delivers.

The book was made into a movie in 1970 which played up the humorous aspects of the book. While there is much mordant and cynical humor in Himes' writing, the book is much more than that, and deserves a place in the "Hard Boiled Detective" Hall of Fame. If you like this one I would recommend Himes' other works, especially "The Real Cool Killers".

A definite 5 stars.

This novel has some of the same characters as Himes' Rage in Harlem. This is not a sequel and it is not imperitve that you read "Rage" first, but I think that you will like this book more if you have read about Coffin Ed and Gravedigger Jones in the early novel.

... The book doesn't concern Bible Flowers. It's about the efforts of two black detectives, "Grave Digger" Jones and "Coffin Ed" Johnson, to recover $87,000 in money stolen from a con-man/storefront preacher in 1960s Harlem. Along the way, Grave Digger and Coffin Ed encounter a few murders, a southern colonel, and a 50-pound bale of cotton.

Raymond Chandler wrote that detectives must walk the mean streets, but they must not themselves be mean. Well, Grave Digger and Coffin Ed walk the mean streets just fine, but the "not being mean" part gives them trouble; they doubt the feasibility of solving a case without, say, slapping around a few witnesses or firing a few shots into a crowd. Despite the detectives' unhesitating brutality, this novel compares well to the best of Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker. This is due not only to the spot-on dialogue and the stark, vivid character depictions, but also the detectives' uncompromising determination to bring justice to Harlem. The plot is better, i.e., less predictable, than any of Parker's, and Himes's depiction of 1960s Harlem is so bizarre, yet compelling, that it invites comparison to Carl Hiassen's Florida rather than Chandler's LA. Add to this Himes's unique, excruciatingly honest depiction of race relations in the 1960s, and you have one of the best detective novels I have read in years.

...

It's hard to imagine a town with more murders that Cape Refuge! It seems amazing that yet again someone is dead and guess what, one of our main characters (Cade) is being blamed! I think i would have enjoyed the charaters a bit more by this time in the series if they were not involved in the same plot again! There are other crimes that can be solved without always finding dead bodies everywhere. On it's own it can be an easy book to read, but in the series line, I found myself saying, "Another murder?"

Great book and easy read...I couldn't put it down! I love her entire collection.

I read this entire series and I absolutely loved it. Moved at a perfect pace and I enjoyed the characters. I am a big fan of Terri's novels.

Bethany K. Scanlon
Author of Where's my mate? and Born of the Spirit

This is the fourth book in the Cape Refuge mystery series and completes the story in a satisfactory and fulfilling way. Terri Blackstock is true to her readers, she doesn't "fool" any of us while at the same being able to slip in that quirk or surprise fact toward the ending that keeps the reader turning pages. The Cape Refuge characters are warm, smart and human!!! I have read all four of the Cape Refuge series and recommend them highly; they have a Christian slant that is light and does not preach or come on heavy-handed but is very today.

This book was one of the best books that I have read in awhile. The whole series by Terri Blackstock is excellent. This is the kind of book you can't wait to find out the end but, you hate to finish reading it.
My 14 year old daughter also read it too and loved it. If you are a fan of mysteries and also of romance you should pick this one and the whole series up.