Book Reviews by vicki rock

It is April of 1894. Private Enquiry agent Cyrus Barker and his partner Thomas Llewelyn have just arrived at their office when four men come to the door.

One of the men identifies himself as General James Woodson. They were members of the Confederacy during the American Civil War. They have lived in exile since the end of the war 30 years ago.

Woodson is head of the Knights of the Golden Circle of the Freemasons. They want to meet with the prime minister, but have already been turned away from Downing Street. They want Barker, who is head of the Knights Templar, to intercede. Archibald Philip, 5th Earl of Rosebery, is the new prime minister. Robert Todd Lincoln is the American ambassador to England.

Woodson has a letter supposedly written by Jefferson Davis that appoints Woodson as the new president of the Confederacy. These men want to revive the Confederacy with a warship promised to the Rebels from the British Government in 1865. They intend to take the ship to Brazil and copy the design to create a fleet of warships.

To get the warship now, they're threatening to reveal the long-secret treaty with the Confederacy. The other men with Woodson are Brigadier David St. Ives, Colonel Zebedee Beaufort and Captain Manuel Cortez. Two of the men may be rather infamous people.

There is subterfuge and deceit throughout the book. Neither Llewelyn nor the reader
is sure what's going on until the end. Will Thomas takes us on a whirlwind tour of Victorian London. This is the 15th in the highly entertaining historical mystery series.

Joe Leaphorn, who is retired from the Navajo Tribal Police, is now a private detective. He lives with Louisa Bourbonette, a college professor and researcher.

Cecil Bowlegs calls him for help because his wife is missing. While they are on the phone, Leaphorn hears an explosion and the call is dropped. When Detective Sergeant Mona Short arrives at Leaphorn’s house, she tells Joe that Bethany Benally Bowlegs is considered to be a missing person.

Short was sent to talk to Leaphorn because her captain believes there is a connection between Bowlegs, the missing woman, the explosion and another case. The explosion was at the school where Bowlegs is the custodian.

Earlier Leaphorn had accepted a different case: finding the birth parents of Stella Brown, who was raised by a white family but who believes she is Diné based on one clue, an old photograph with a classic Navajo child’s blanket.

Her adoptive parents divorced a few years after she was graduated from high school and they have since died. Then Joe and Royce Will, who works at the Navajo Nation Social Services Office, examine Stella’s birth certificate. They suspect it is a fake.

Investigation of the explosion falls in part to Officer Bernadette Manuelito, who discovers an unexpected link to Cecil’s missing wife. Bernie’s husband is police Lt. Jim Chee. When Joe asks Bernie for help with the adoption case, she tells him that Jim knows more about that type of thing.

Anne Hillerman continues the mystery series her father Tony Hillerman created in 1970. Anne's novels follow the further adventures of the characters Tony made famous, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, and adds Bernadette Manuelito. This is her ninth novel in the series.

As usual, there are many interesting things about Navajo life and culture woven into the book. Hillerman gives realistic complexity to the characters’ lives. This has multiple subplots and diversions, perhaps a few too many, but it is an enjoyable installment to the long-running series.

It is 1968. Jerome Washington, a Black man, is charged with brutally killing Leslie and Anne Randolph, an elderly and wealthy white couple in Freeman County, Virginia. Jack Lee, a white lawyer, agrees to represent Washington. A neighbor, Miss Jessup, asks for his help because Jerome is her grandson-in-law. Jerome worked for the Randolphs.

Jack becomes concerned that his legal skills aren’t up to the death penalty case. While he does criminal law, he’s never defended someone arrested for homicide. Virginia Attorney General Edmund Battle is leading the prosecution. Howard Pickett, a wealthy coal baron and supporter of George Wallace, is involved.

Several men assault Jack and tell him to withdraw from the case. People make it clear to Jack that while the laws have moved forward, the people have not. Battle’s first motion is to remove Jack from representing Washington because Jack has never represented someone accused of murder.

When Desiree DuBose, a Black lawyer from Chicago, comes to Freeman County and offers her help, Jack accepts. She has handled more than two dozen capital cases. She doesn’t think Jack is up to the challenge.

Baldacci weaves together a legal thriller and historical drama. It is somewhat heavy on the historical explanation and preachy about race relations. There is an twist with an unusual provision in the Randolphs’ will. The ending is shocking.

Adam and Teri Strauss live in Riverside Close, a gated community of only six homes. Adam is a chess grandmaster. As he is playing 24 online games early one morning, he hears a loud blast of music outside that causes his attention to falter. He knows it’s the new neighbor, Giles Kenworthy.

Dr. Tom Beresford also hears Kenworthy arrive. He knows that will be a problem because Kenworthy always parks too close to his car. The driveway is used by all the residents of Riverside Close.

Giles and Lynda Kenworthy have two children: Hugo and Tristram. The Kenworthy family also have four giant vehicles and plans for a swimming pool and jacuzzi in the backyard. Kenworthy is a hedge fund manager.

Andrew Pennington, another neighbor, is a retired lawyer. He is a widower. May Winslow, Phyllis Moore and Roderick and Felicity Browne are the other neighbors. The homeowners share a gardener, Sarah Baines.

Strauss asks the neighbors to meet one evening to discuss the problems with the Kenworthys. While the Kenworthys are invited, they don’t attend. Six weeks go by before anything happens. Then Giles Kenworthy is found dead on his own doorstep, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his neck.

For his last four novels, the real-life author’s doppelgänger Anthony Horowitz followed former police detective Daniel Hawthorne around, narrating events as they happen. But Horowitz is so wrapped up in his own problems that he forgets that a book deadline is looming. He asks Hawthorne to tell him about an old case so that he can write a new novel.

Hawthorne picks this one that happened five years ago. The original investigating officer, Detective Superintendent Tariq Khan, called Hawthorne in to the case. As Horowitz talks to Hawthorne and goes over the case files, he comes up with questions although the murder was already solved.

This is the fifth in the series of uniquely plotted mysteries with well-balanced deduction and humor. The novels are flawless updates of classic golden age whodunits with the Watson-like Horowitz and the Holmes-like Hawthorne. This is very enjoyable.

In 1993, a newborn is left on the steps of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers. Pippa Allsbrook, president of the fellowship, finds the baby boy.

Fast-forward to 2016 and Pippa’s funeral at the age of 89. Clayton Stumper, now 25, was raised by the puzzlemakers. In the last few years, Clayton has wanted to find the truth of his birth. When Clayton wishes to find out about his birth family he finds that Pippa has left him a series of clues to follow, in the form of puzzles, crosswords, a maze and a jigsaw puzzle.

Clayton is the primary character giving us the present day-POV, while his adoptive mother, Pippa, is the past-POV as she establishes the fellowship.

It is a quirky mystery that tries to show the value of community. Based on synopsis, I expected it to be more of Clayton solving the puzzle of his past, but it is more about Pippa. It is slow-moving and I never really connected with the characters. The mystery of Clayton's parentage was too easy to figure out.

It is 1857. Carrie Ballentyne accepts a nursing/midwife position with Dr. Samuel Markham in the New Mexico Territory. She knows the journey from New York to Santa Fe will not be easy, but she relishes the adventure.

Her brother Nathan accompanies her on the trip from Manhattan to Santa Fe. They must take trains, stagecoaches, steamboats, and finally a covered wagon. However, nothing could have prepared Carrie for the wilderness she encounters.

They meet Eli Ibarra and his brothers, Jules and Mo, who are taking a flock of sheep to New Mexico. They are of Basque descent. Carrie also becomes friends with Evangeline Zavala and her young son, Roberto. When she arrives in Santa Fe, Carrie will be living with Dr. Markham; his wife, Indira; and their young daughter, Lulu. Mrs. Markham is pregnant. Then there is an emergency and the siblings separate. When Carrie arrives at the Markham’s home, she realizes that something is very wrong.

As Carrie begins to find her way in her new community, she helps women give birth and takes care of new mothers. She also has a new love of her own.

The storyline has been well-researched and there is depth in the character development. The romance moves a little too quickly and the plot meanders some, but the story behind the Markhams unfolds at a good pace.

Sara Donati is the pen name of Rosina Lippi, a former tenured university professor. She is the author of the best-selling Wilderness series. This is a sequel to that series, featuring grandchildren of the original characters. If you haven’t read the Wilderness series, one of my favorites, it starts with “Into the Wilderness.”

Pacific Hills, California: Gated communities, ocean views, well-tended lawns, serene pools, and now the new home of Ashok and Priya Shah and their children Deepa, Maya and Ajay. The parents motto has always been work hard and don’t make waves.

Ajay Shah, 12, is in a jail cell. His parents, who are unaware of his arrest, are at a party at their friends, the Sharmas. They thought he was at the robotics lab at school. Deepa, who was supposed to pick up Maya and Ajay, is at a pro-immigration rally. The fallout from the arrest will shake each family member’s perception of themselves.

The story that follows is fairly predictable, as each family member comes to change their thinking over the course of the book. I didn’t connect with the characters and I think it gave too much detail of the lives of minor characters. The plot was inconsistent. This just wasn’t for me.

In August of 1951 in Elmira, New York, Myra Larkin, 13, the oldest in a Catholic family of six children, is reading in a local diner. Ava, her mother, allows this as long as she’s home by 7:15 p.m. to help with the younger kids. The other children in her family are Fiona, Alec, Joan, Lexie and Archie. Joan is mentally challenged. Their father’s name is Donald.

She meets a young man in the diner. Then as she is walking home, it starts raining heavily. A car pulls over. It is the young man who offers her a ride home. He claims that he plays in the minor leagues for the New York Yankees. He says his name is Mickey Mantle.

During the night, Myra is awakened by sirens. Police are at a neighbor’s house. Myra goes outside. She overhears a neighbor say that Bob and Bonnie Mulert and their daughter, Marie, 11, were murdered. The police never arrest the killer.

Fast forward to August of 1964. Alec picks apples on a farm in Niagara Falls. He is fired for poor performance. Alec is an alcoholic and becomes more of a loner. He and his friend, Duke Foster, burglarize a store, but Duke kills the owner. Duke tells Alec to head to the Midwest.

Then a year later, Myra is a prison nurse in Chicago. She meets Denny Happ who lives in her apartment building. They marry and have a son, Ronan. When Ronan is six, Denny deserts them. Fiona lives in New York. Lexi is in college. Archie died of rheumatic fever in infancy. Joan is still at home. As time goes on, Alec, once an altar boy, drifts into oblivion. As he becomes an increasingly alienated loner, his mother begins to receive strange postcards from him.

While it starts slowly, the story builds. It shows how siblings can become so different and how one person’s mental illness can impact the whole family.

Crissy Dowling has created a world that suits her perfectly. She passes her days by the pool in a private cabana, she splurges on ice cream but never gains an ounce, and each evening she transforms into a princess, performing her musical cabaret inspired by the life of the late Princess Diana.

Crissy is an American speaking with a British accent, with hair feathered into a style 30 years old. She also abuses Adderall and Valium. And she is bulimic.

But fans see her for the gifted chameleon she is, showering her with gifts, letters and standing ovations night after night. She performs in the Buckingham Palace Casino owned by Richie and Artie Morley. Richie is the property’s chief financial officer and Artie is the general manager.

It is the late summer of 2022. Richie Morley is murdered in his car. At first it is suspected to be suicide. Crissy’s younger sister, Betsy, is a social worker in Vermont who helps troubled teens. Then Betsy tells Crissy that she is moving to Las Vegas because she got a job working for a financial technology company. Betsy has an adopted daughter, Marisa, 13. Soon there are more suspicious deaths and Crissy and Betsy become suspects.

Like all of Chris Bohjalian’s novels, this is multi-layered, with suspense, humor and strong characters. The plot is wild. The backstory of the two sisters adds to the overall story. Chris Bohjalian’s fans, and people who haven’t read his books, don’t want to miss this one.

Tana French, Viking, 480 pages, March 5, 2024.

In “The Searcher,” Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to Ardnakelty, a small village in the West of Ireland. He built a relationship with a local woman, Lena Dunne, and he’s gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenage girl into a good kid going places.

“The Hunter” is the sequel. Cal and Trey repair furniture for people and buy wrecked furniture to restore and sell at a Saturday market in Kilcarrow. The rural community is going through a heat wave and subsequent drought that is causing concern for farmers.

Then Trey’s father, Johnny Reddy, who has been gone for four years, reappears, bringing along an English millionaire, Cillian Rushborough, and a scheme to find gold buried at the base of the mountains. But is Johnny running a con?

Johnny and Rushborough cause trouble that almost no one could have foreseen. Cal and Lena are both ready to do whatever it takes to protect Trey, but Trey doesn’t want protecting. What she wants is revenge for her brother’s death.

Will the community band together against an outsider or turn on one of their own? What does one individual owe to the community that turned on that person?

The characters are really true and the setting is beautifully written. While the plot moves slower than French’s Dublin Murder Squad series, this plot is complex and well-drawn. There are twists and turns as the story develops with a surprise towards the end.

Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, are traveling to visit his son, Damian Adler, and Damian’s fiancée in the French countryside.

Damian is a Surrealist artist. He has a four-year-old daughter, Estelle, with his late wife. His fiancée is Dr. Aileen Henning.

Russell is on crutches after a recent injury. As she makes her way to the door, she hears the unmistakable sound of a breach-action shotgun being snapped into place. After they identify themselves, Gervais LaRue, the man with the shotgun, apologizes.

LaRue tells them that people in the small village noticed strangers who asked about the Adlers. One man also asked about the Vernets. Holmes’ granduncle was the French artist, Horace Vernet. But virtually no one outside of the Holmes family knows that Vernet and Adler are related. Then a short time later, someone broke into Adler’s house during the night. The burglar dropped a machete when he fled.

The family fled to Nimes where Damian has a friend who owns a hotel. Holmes rushes after Damian while Russell stays behind to search the empty house. In Damian’s studio, she discovers four crates packed with memorabilia related to Holmes’ granduncle. It’s an odd mix of treasures and clutter, including a tarnished silver lamp with a rotating shade: an antique yet sophisticated form of zoetrope.

In the same crate is an old journal written in a nearly impenetrable code. Intrigued, Russell sets about deciphering the journal, slowly realizing that each entry is built around an image—the first of which is a child, bundled into a carriage by an abductor, watching her mother recede from view. Who was this child and why was the journal packed in that crate?

The characters are well-developed and the plotting is excellent. The attention to details makes the different locations come to life. The ending had me yelling “no way” out loud and I had to go back to reread it. While “The Lantern’s Dance” is the 18th in the series, it can be read as a stand-alone as the author goes into enough detail of the earlier books for those who are new to the series to follow along. This is one of the best of the year.

LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis hasn’t called in his friend, psychologist Alex Delaware, to help investigate a homicide since Alex was injured four months ago. But Sturgis needs his help with this one.

A pool boy entered a secluded Bel Air property and discovered two bodies: Gio Aggiunta, 29, the playboy heir to an Italian shoe empire, and an even wealthier, married neighbor, Meagin March, 41. Her husband, Douglass, is the CEO of a real estate company.

As Milo and Alex investigate both victims, they discover two troubled pasts. And as they dig deeper, Meagin March’s identity begins to blur. Who was this conflicted woman? Did her past catch up to her? Or did Gio’s family connections create a threat spanning two continents? Which one was the primary target and why?

Jonathan Kellerman throws in a plot twist near the end that will have readers on the edge of their seats, but that makes sense of all the earlier misdirection. The reason behind the murders is tragic.

This is the 39th in the long-running series. Fans will enjoy the mystery and every reader will be moved by the ending.