Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas
By Stephanie Barron
Soho. $25
Christmas is behind us but this is still a captivating read. This is the twelfth novel in the Jane Austen series and in this adventure the author puts her sleuthing skills to the test while snowbound for the holidays.
It is 1814 and Jane is spending Christmas with family and friends. When one of the houseguests of her hosts ends up dead, Jane suspects the man did not necessarily die from natural causes.
Told from Jane’s point of view through diary entries, this locked-room style mystery not only poses the opportunity for Jane to use her considerable mental and deductive powers, but it also acts as a platform for the author, Stephanie Barron, to share a traditional 19th century country Christmas and the “twelve days” celebration that culminates with a masquerade ball.
As with the past novels, the cast of characters encompasses Jane’s family and friends (some of them are quite remarkable) and touches on Jane’s budding literary career and the historical events of the age.
Jane Austen fans have embraced this series as have many mystery buffs. If you enjoy atmospheric, period English suspense stories, this should be a novel you’ll enjoy from start to finish. If you have been following this series, by all means don’t miss this one!
The Job
By Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Bantam. $28
Team up a personable con man (Nicholas Fox) with a dedicated FBI agent (Kate O’Hare) and the result will be a very entertaining international thriller that moves from Nashville and Lisbon to Istanbul and London.
Fox and O’Hare are in hot pursuit of the head of a global drug smuggling operation who has a penchant for Knipschildt chocolate. He also has a lethal security staff that will make him all but untouchable.
Determined to force their nemesis to give up his evil ways, O’Hare and Fox will have to enlist their own supporting staff of notable weirdoes. Among them will be a machete-wielding Somali pirate, an award winning special effects artist and Kate’s own father, a retired Special Forces operative.
With danger lurking behind every corner and a ton of complications, you’ll enjoy this quick read that is so much fun you want to slow down to prolong the pleasure.
Murder at the Book Group
By Maggie King
Gallery Books. $15
This is one of those innocuous suspense yarns that isn’t too violent and relies on the interactions of a cast of characters (mostly female) who seem to have a number of personal issues that touch upon the unmasking of the villain in one way or another.
As the title suggests, a book club meeting goes awry when one of the ladies apparently commits suicide during the evening. The novel’s protagonist, Hazel Rose, doesn’t accept the fact that drinking cyanide-spiked tea was a willful act, although a note left behind suggests it was.
The victim was also married to Hazel’s former husband so there’s that link to the dead woman too, plus our middle aged amateur sleuth is also keeping company with a former cop. Enlisting the other members of the book group, Hazel launches her own informal investigation that moves ahead erratically with plenty of pauses for developing the secondary characters’ connections to the dead woman.
Maggie King plays coy with the suggestion that some of these ladies are still pretty sexually active, although there’s no graphic proof of this, and there are some truly humorous moments along the way too.
You’ll need patience to stay with this mildly entertaining novel that has a few too many “coincidences” for my taste. It also features perhaps the longest denouement I have encountered in a mystery. I like the idea of leaving no loose ends, but King takes this approach a bit too far.
If you are a cozy fan, this novel will probably work for you, but if you want fast paced action and less character development, you’ll probably want to avoid this book group!
Sweet Damage
By Rebecca James
Bantam. $25
It appeared to be the perfect arrangement. Tim Ellison will receive a room that is close to his work and his favorite surfing location. In return, he has to keep an eye on the reclusive owner of the house, Anna London.
Although she’s just into her twenties, this mysterious, withdrawn young woman has some major issues that keep her in a self-imposed exile in her grand home.
As Anna begins to reveal bits and pieces of her past, her boarder becomes quite smitten by the delicate beauty but then strange things begin happening in the house. Obviously there’s something not quite right here (actually terribly wrong might be more accurate) and Tim must decide if he wants to remain here to uncover what’s happening her. Is Anna in danger or is she the cause of the mayhem?
Rebecca James’ debut, “Beautiful Malice”, was much praised and attracted readers in her native Australia and abroad. This second psycho-mystery that delves into love, friendship and betrayal in a modern Gothic setting is as entertaining and engrossing as its predecessor. The young writer has another bestseller on her hands!
Asylum City
By Liad Shoham
Harper. $25.99
It is her first murder investigation and Tel Aviv officer Anat Nachmias doesn’t want to make any mistakes as she seeks the killer. The dead woman, Michal Poleg, was a volunteer aid worker who assisted the city’s burgeoning immigrant population.
Not everyone welcomed the influx of new arrivals, so perhaps that’s where Anat should begin her investigation, but before she really gets started, a young African comes forward and confesses that he is responsible for the woman’s death.
Anat’s not buying it and resolves to keep poking around trying to find why the young man claims to be a killer. As she keeps digging, the young police officer is about to get a lesson in how the city’s underworld operates. What she ultimately uncovers will have far-reaching consequences and this may be Anat’s first and last investigation!
Liad Shoham is one of Israel’s leading crime writers and this may well be his best effort to date.