Murder mysteries always work, the more involved the better! I just finished listening to Simon Vance's dulcet British accent as he narrated Elizabeth George's latest Inspector Lynley novel, "The Punishment She Deserves." The quirky Barbara Havers simply shines in this book, as she's exiled to the north country, a college town called Ludlow, to rubber stamp an investigation into a suicide. Accompanied by her boss's boss, DCS Isabelle Ardery, who would love nothing more than to fire Havers for her off beat methods, Barbara intuits that the suicide was not what it appears even as Ardery admonishes her to keep her mouth shut and just follow orders.
This long-running series with Lynley and Havers just keeps getting better as Ms. George tackles many thorny issues, in this case, pedophilia, rape, alcoholism, police corruption, and the list goes on. Episodes can also be seen on PBS if you're so inclined.
Do you all remember Rachel Joyce's "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry?" If so then you'll know that you can expect to be joyfully uplifted by anything Ms. Joyce writes and "The Music Shop" does not disappoint. This novel should appeal especially to those with an eclectic knowledge of and appreciation of music in all its forms, from Puccini to Springsteen. Much like a good librarian connects just the right book with the right person at the optimum time, Frank works the same magic in his recording booths.
A luddite of sorts, Frank insists that vinyl is the only proper way to get music from machine to ear to heart. No CD's for him! Of course, this attitude limits business traffic and worries friends in the down-at-heels London neighborhood that a developer has his destructive eye on.
Frank is a conundrum, a mystery man whose solitary life unfolds slowly throughout the novel, so it's no surprise that he'd be attracted to Ilse Brauchmann, another mysterious character with no discernible history, who faints outside the music shop one day. She quickly disappears but returns weeks later to say thank you for the kindness of the staff and offer her help in the music shop. She and Frank dance around their attraction to each other, miscommunication ensues, until finally Ilse offers to pay for Frank's time so that he can share his love and joy in the healing power of music with her.
And then there's the latest novel from prolific writer Anthony Horowitz of Foyle's War and Midsomer Murders fame. "The Word Is Murder," written in a rather disconcerting format, places Anthony at the center of the action as a novelist writing a book about a murder. I'll admit that it took me a few chapter readings to adjust. In the novel Horowitz is between writing gigs and has agreed to pen a biography of a disgraced copper named Daniel Hawthorne who is working on a case independent of the local police department whose skills Hawthorne derides.
Horowitz and Hawthorne are oil and water so much of the reading fun involves watching the slippery ways that Hawthorne eludes his biographer, refusing to share even minor details about his life's work. The case involves Diana Cowper, a wealthy socialite and mother to a famously disagreeable rock star. Only hours after she visits a non-descript mortuary to arrange for her future funeral Cowper is found dead at home with a curtain cord bound around her neck. Why would anyone want to hurt this paragon of the community?There are so many red herrings and diversions that I defy you to read this book and guess the ending before it unfolds. Normally I can ferret out the culprit around two thirds of the way through a novel, but not this time. The characters are a nasty bunch but their motivations seems just beyond reach. Let me know if you're surprised at the denouement.
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