"New" Release: Murder for Christmas

Originally published in 1949, Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan was found in the archives at Vintage Books a few years back and not much was known about the author. Eventually, they discovered that it was the pen name for one William Underhill, a lecturer in economics and history. Sourcebooks is now publishing this book just in time for intrepid readers to unwrap a little murder with their holiday festivities.

The simple set-up is a traditional holiday party at the country house of wealthy bachelor Benedict Grame. He likes to play Santa and his guests range from best friend, Jeremy Rainer, and Jeremy's ward, Denys Arden, to various hangers-on and, not last or least, new acquaintance Mordecai Tremaine, amateur detective. Grame's secretary, Nicholas Blaise, sends Tremaine a note with his invitation saying that he thinks something is wrong with Grame and Tremaine can't resist a visit to Sherbroome House for Christmas. When a murder indeed occurs on Christmas Eve, Mordecai is the only one who can piece together the clues.

I know that this sounds like a pretty standard country house murder mystery but there is one big difference that I LOVED -- everyone is suspicious of Tremaine and close-lipped! They know he's an amateur detective, known publicly for solving a murder in Sussex the summer before. And many of them have something to hide and therefore do not want Tremaine snooping around and sussing things out. This is so different from many other amateur detectives who manage to collect tons of information from every spectator and suspect. It was refreshing to have Tremaine get the cold shoulder, to be lied to, and to be deliberately avoided. The mystery was also satisfying and I hope that more of Francis Duncan's books get reprinted in the US! (It looks like Vintage has started reprinting them in the UK.)

Sprinkling extra tinsel,
K

Bryant and May, Completed (For Now)

It is with a heavy heart that I must reveal that ... I've caught up in my favorite current series. Bryant and May have been my companions during the dog days of summers past, the late night hours of readathons, and the stressful days of current events. But, with Bryant and May: Strange Tide, I've used up all of my comfort reads for the moment. I was saving the last couple of books for stressful times and, well, yeah ...

I won't lie. This one, the 13th in the series, was a tough read. One of the main characters isn't well, as you can guess would eventually happen with two elderly detectives past the expected ends of their careers. But these aren't just any men and the reader can't help but pull for them to stay on the job for as long as they possibly can because they are likely the only ones who can figure out why bodies keep showing up near the Thames. Full of lots of Thames lore and current London politics, I once again learned while I was entertained. Sigh. I love that the most.

Now for the good news -- Bryant and May: Wild Chamber comes out in the US on December 5 so luckily I don't have to wait too long until I have another comfort read waiting on my TBR shelf for the next rainy day (figuratively, of course, because ... Seattle).

Following the Thames,
K

#RIPXI: 1, Ghostly Echoes

I have a goal to review each RIP book I read this season the day I finish it (or the next day if it's late) so that I don't end up with a backlog. And yes, I already finished my first book -- Ghostly Echoes by William Ritter, third book in the Jackaby series. I actually reread the second book right before so I was totally in the mood to spend more time with R.F. Jackaby, supernatural detective, and his apprentice, Miss Abigail Rook. I really love this pairing. Jackaby is definitely a Sherlock-like character but he knows his limitations. While he is a Seer and can see things like auras and spiritual residues, he knows that this causes him to overlook the more mundane but just as important details. Abigail is perfect at spotting these things and quickly seeing their value. This book ends right in the middle of the overarching storyline so if you want to wait until the fourth (and final, I believe) book is published, feel free. But if you just can't wait to read about creatures, ghosts, mad scientists, and peril in nineteenth-century New England, by all means, pick up this series ASAP!

I read the first book, Jackaby, for RIP in 2014 --

I loved, loved, loved this book. It has some of everything and it is all brought together in an interesting and fun way. Jackaby is smart and amusing and Abigail is brave and also intelligent. But what I loved most is that they still needed each other. Their world views are very different but they are definitely complementary.

-- and reread Jackaby and read Beastly Bones for RIP last year.

With a smart and secretly caring detective and a strong and capable female assistant, these stories are a pleasure to read. The crimes are bloody and the climaxes are explosive but everything is tempered with a bit of humor and romance, which makes these my ideal RIP books.

This series is definitely one of my favorite new traditions and I know I'll be rereading them over the years.

Straining to see,
K

Making Series Progress

Because I've been in the mood for genre reads lately, I've used it as an opportunity to catch-up with some of the series I've got going.

The Laws of Murder by Charles Finch is the eighth Charles Lenox mystery. There's just one more book to go before I'm caught up on this series and I own that one so I anticipate getting to it this summer. I started reading the series in 2008 when I borrowed A Beautiful Blue Death from the library. Here are my brief spreadsheet thoughts on each book of the series --

A Beautiful Blue Death: a good start but a bit tame - would like to see another in the series

The September Society: enjoy Lenox very much - the anti-Poirot

The Fleet Street Murders: a bit oversentimental at times but strong

A Stranger in Mayfair: a high point in the series

A Burial at Sea: a slightly bumpy start with a great finish

A Death in the Small Hours: touching and unexpected

An Old Betrayal: fantastic and went in the direction I had hoped

As you can see, I have enjoyed the series more and more through time. Charles Lenox is a great protagonist that has a few qualities that make him rather unique in the literary detective world. I don't know how many more books Finch intends to write but I do hope he continues the series through at least a few more stories!

The Memory of Blood starts with the mention in the Acknowledgements that Christopher Fowler didn't think the series would make it this far, to book nine of the Peculiar Crimes Unit mysteries. And, as I look to buy book 10 (of 13), I'm finding that it doesn't even seem to have been released in paperback even though the hardcover came out in 2013. I'll need to go search for a cheap used copy because I definitely intend to reread this series at some point. Bryant and May are unique in both their age (they should have retired many years earlier) and also their unusual skill set (in this latest one, Bryant recalls his ventriloquism skills after being hypnotized by a white witch). The story in this one was a bit creepier than I like -- I have a fear of "talking" dolls and puppets and this tale incorporates the history of Punch and Judy shows. ::shiver:: But, once again, Bryant and May and the hard working people who toil with them in the PCU managed to engage me despite this fear.

And finally, I got to the end of the Graceling/Fire trilogy with Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. This series was just WOW. I really didn't think it would be for me as bloggers like Ana were talking about it a few years ago but a lovely publicist had a set of the three books to give away and I decided to give them a shot and got to enter this beautiful and horrible world. I didn't write about Graceling because I ended up listening to it and I always forget to mention my audiobooks. But I thought that it was a great story with a strong female lead. Then I read Fire in February of this year and it had a different strong female lead and I couldn't get enough. So I was quite surprised in Bitterblue that, though the main character, Queen Bitterblue, has actual power, she's actually quite weak and this is the story of her progress in finding the strength that she envies in others. I loved that she was on a different journey than Katsa or Fire experienced. It was harder to side with Bitterblue when she was being irrational or petulant but then a learning experience would happen and she would win me over again. The world building in this series was fantastic as were the variety of relationships portrayed. I'm very happy that I eventually read this trilogy.

What series are you enjoying at the moment?

Reveling in murder and mayhem,

K