The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun

The Lady in the Car with the Glasses and a Gun by Sébastien Japrisot

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The book took awhile to read because until the end, neither the characters nor you, the reader are sure what's happening. Thus, it takes some extra effort. It's a great story though and is tied up well in the end. Not a book for everyone and not as straightforward as an American noir novel, but a wonderful addition to the genre. Highly recommended to all noir fiction fans!



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Blind Man With a Pistol

Blind Man with a Pistol by Chester Himes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Lots of action. Definitely in a hard-boiled style. Racial tension, several murders, various other crimes make for a tense read. The story moves back and forth in time a bit, but in general progresses chronologically. I especially like it because the disjointedness between the chapters imitates the chaos of events and the confusion of the police (both the African American detectives - the main characters - and the personality-less white cops & detectives & officials they work with). Very sophisticated as far as hard-boiled crime novels go. :) Recommended for anyone who likes hard-boiled crime novels or is interested in the mid-20th century race riots.



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Red Chrysanthemum

In this installment of Laura Joh Rowland's series starring Sano Ichiro (he has various titles depending on how far along in the series you are), we find disturbing parallels to the news in the contemporary United States - the horrors of child molestation and child murder. Rowland explores the political intrigue and dangers surrounding exposing & proving these charges in the setting of feudal Japan. More a thriller than a mystery, Sano and his wife, Lady Reiko, find themselves trapped by the roles they are expected to play in their society. While trying to stop the heinous practices of another member of the aristocracy, Lady Reiko finds herself (and therefore her husband and son) in greater danger than ever before.

Rowland masterfully portrays the feudal Japanese setting, explaining potentially unfamiliar concepts without breaking the action. The tension of the social structure as it existed in Japan at that time adds to the suspense of this thriller/mystery. I've read all the books in this series and look forward to her next! The characters are as well-rounded and complex as the setting. Readers interested in this setting will not be disappointed! The dialogue is rich and not stilted.

Interested readers should start with Rowland's first novel, Shinju and will be grateful there are many more in the series to read after that! Her latest book in the series is The Snow Empress, which I can't wait to get my hands on!

The Dante Club

I believe this was Matthew Pearl's first novel. I really enjoyed it - liking the suspense/thriller aspect of the book. His descriptions are excellent. If you can make it past the first murder and all that entails (it's gruesome - you'll look at houseflies askance for awhile), you'll find a well-written historical thriller filled with literary figures. The characters don't just simper away in their studies, but are written as *people* each with his (predominantly male cast of characters) own foibles and point of view. The other murders that take place in the course of the story I didn't find quite so horrible (as in inducing horror/repugnance as opposed to "terror" - it's not a scary book), so if you make it past the first one and enjoy Pearl's writing style, you won't be disappointed.

I'd never recommend this book to readers of cozy mysteries! It's definitely more in the thriller genre. I suspect that if the jacket copy intrigues to someone and they're aware it has some gruesome scenes & they pick it up anyway, that they'll enjoy the book. I'd also recommend the book to people who like thrillers set in the present. They might find they enjoy the historical setting. :) Not for kids!

Mousetrap

The classic play by Agatha Christie lives up to its name! Great, quick, & easy to read - though I'd like to see it performed sometime too. :)

Recommended especially for people who think they dislike reading plays, but who feel guilty they don't read more of them. Also recommended for British mystery fans.

The Cat Who Could Read Backwards

Well, it's a little hard for me to admit that I've actually read one of these, but I *did* read it to increase the number of bestsellers I've read so I can do the Readers' Advisory part of my job better. This is the first book in The Cat Who series by Lilian Jackson Braun and it's all right as far as cozy mysteries go. Kinda bland for my taste, but it IS the first one and usually a few books into a series they improve quite a bit before sliding downhill after too many have been published. I like the hard-boiled mysteries and the more intellectual ones, and this is neither - a great book for the bus, bathroom, or before bed (no nightmares!)

Overall, if you like cozy mysteries (mysteries without overt sex, profanity, violence) and have somehow missed Braun, queen of this domain, then these are for you. If you like more of the rough & tumble, I'd skip them and go for something tougher (personally really liked Matthew Pearl's Dante Club).

The Oxford Murders

For a change from the drama, children's books, and other classics, I read this mystery by Guillermo Martinez (who I believe is from Spain). This mystery combines math/logic puzzles with murder mystery! However, not all mystery readers would enjoy this book - those looking for a little intellectual stimulation will find it here. Those looking for cats with antics or hairdressers with a knack for private investigation would probably not like The Oxford Murders much. I am not very "mathy" and I liked it because it didn't feel like a fluff book.

Recommended for "thinkers" and people who enjoy math, chess, or other logic puzzles.

The Nine Tailors

This intriguing mystery by Dorothy L. Sayers is an excellent read! I don't believe this book is the first of her tales starring Lord Peter Wimsey, but it's a great introduction that leaves the reader wondering where he came from and where he's going. I think this makes a terrific foray into Sayers' work! I will admit that The Nine Tailors is the first of her books that I've read personally, but I am looking forward to reading more!

The book takes place in rural England (I can't be more specific, I don't think without making a fool of myself) and has terrific characters and glimpses into the small community life. Must read for all mystery lovers. Highly recommended for other fiction readers. I think there is enough description of change-ringing to be of interest to readers of light non-fiction as well, but probably not enough for those non-ficiton readers who prefer the hard-hitters (Durant's Story of Civilization, etc...).

The Dain Curse

This book is not Dashiell Hammett's best novel, but is greatly enjoyable nevertheless. My personal favorite is The Thin Man with its hard-boiled drama combined with a healthy dose of humor. The Dain Curse is very sparse with the humor and heavy with the hard-boiled terseness of the genre (which I happen to like!). Body count is high and there's lots of gunshots and grumbling mystery.

Highly recommended for fans of hard-boiled detective novels. Would recommend others to read The Thin Man or The Maltese Falcoln for examples of Hammett's writing with broader appeal. Mystery readers who don't like stories where the detective has knowledge not related through the text of the story probably won't like this one.

Voodoo Season

Voodoo Season is a mystery set in contemporary (pre-Katrina) New Orleans, Louisiana. The author, Jewell Parker Rhodes, uses her knowledge of the voodoo religion and surrounding history and culture as the backdrop for this unusual mystery. This was a very quick read for me and I really enjoyed the colorful setting and characters. I particularly enjoyed how Rhodes described Marie's visions throughout the text. I found Marie to be a very likeable, believable character and I hope Rhodes will continue her adventures in self-discovery through the course of future novels!

I liked this well enough that I plan to go back and read earlier books of short stories and novels set in the past, which also have to do with voodoo and Louisiana mystical culture.

Recommended!

The Assassin's Touch

Ah! Another book in Laura Joh Rowland's mystery series starring Sano Ichiro, a detective in feudal Japan. I love this series and was really excited when I found out this book was coming out. :) Rowland uses the conventions of feudal Japanese society to increase the suspense in her novels. She explains potentially unfamiliar conventions of that culture without setting the story aside for the "okay now I'm going to explain things" paragraph or two. Explanations are expertly woven into the story and greatly add to the richness of the setting and gives depth to the characters.

This is not a cozy mystery series, but there is little or no profanity and very little explicit violence or sexual content - though there is violent and sexual content.

Definitely recommend to mystery lovers and to those interested in the time period.