When the tentacles of the past reach intrusively into the present, the results can be deadly. And in “Chelsea Mansions” (375 pages, Minotaur Books, $24.99), the 11th installment in Barry Maitland’s series featuring Detective Chief Inspector David Brock and Detective Inspector Kathy Kolla, they’re transfixing and entertaining.
The story begins with the murder of Nancy Haynes, an elderly Bostonian who is visiting London for the Chelsea Flower Show and staying at the nearby Chelsea Mansions hotel, a shabby but comfortable establishment run by a former British military man. Nancy is grabbed on the street and thrown under a bus, and soon after, Mikhail Moszynski, a rich Russian who lives near the hotel, is stabbed to death. But what can possibly connect, if a link exists, between the two?
Not long into the investigation, Brock becomes deathly ill, and Kolla takes the lead as the outline of the truth begins to emerge. She befriends a young Canadian scholar, John Greenslade, travels to Boston and is making progress when the British spooks yank her and the rest of Brock’s team off the case.
Maitland interweaves a smart plot, which includes a few shockers and more than a few Cold War roots, with major character developments for Brock and Kolla, and “Chelsea Mansions” is among the best entries in a top-notch series.
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Bored with the turkey and the plum pudding? How about a loathsome scam and a murder or two for Christmas?
That’s what Elizabeth J. Duncan serves up in “A Killer’s Christmas in Wales” (288 pages, Minotaur Books, $24.99), the third entry in her series featuring beauty-salon proprietor Penny Brannigan of Llanelen, Wales. Penny and her business partner, Victoria Hopkirk, are preparing to open their new spa when one of their customers, elderly widow Evelyn Lloyd, seeks Penny’s amateur-sleuthing assistance.
Evelyn has been duped by suave fiftysomething Harry Saunders, who has seduced her into setting up a joint “investment” account and contributing 20,000 pounds to it. Evelyn’s housemate, Florence Semble, has tried to warn her that Harry is untrustworthy, but Evelyn is having none of it. But when Harry disappears — with the money — and his body is found with Evelyn’s letter opener in his back, Evelyn is an obvious suspect.
Enter Penny and pals, who crack the case. And although the solution is a bit more obvious than in Duncan’s previous two novels, “A Killer’s Christmas in Wales” is still an entertaining read and a charming example of the British-village mystery, complete with well-drawn, appealing characters. Duncan cannily plants the seeds of a possible sequel, and readers will eagerly anticipate Penny’s next case.
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Although the Reformation blossomed in the Renaissance, its seeds were sown in the Middle Ages, when some Britons began to view clerical corruption with distaste. And so begins “Troubled Bones” (288 pages, Minotaur Books, $25.99), Jeri Westerson’s fourth mystery featuring disgraced-knight-turned-private-investigator Crispin Knight and his teenage apprentice, Jack Hunter.
It’s 1385, and Crispin, known in London as the Tracker, has been summoned by William de Courtenay, the archbishop of Canterbury, to investigate two issues: threats against the bones of martyred Archbishop Thomas à Beckett and the possible existence of a heretic within the cathedral walls. But Crispin and Jack have barely begun their work when the cathedral becomes the scene of murder, and the main suspect is Crispin’s old friend Geoffrey Chaucer, who has joined a group of pilgrims who have traveled to Canterbury to view the Beckett relics.
With intelligence and daring, the Tracker and his assistant discover the deviltry at work in the holy place, as Westerson skillfully combines fictional characters with historical ones and adroitly works Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” into her story — all the while adding much personal detail to her portraits of Crispin and Jack.
Westerson combines the best of two worlds in this dark but touching series, and “Troubled Bones,” like its predecessors, provides an evening of superior entertainment as well as a pain-free lesson in medieval history.
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Agatha Raisin is so mad she could spit. And Gary Beech, the officious cop who gave Agatha two frivolous traffic tickets, isn’t mad — but his dismembered body, with a pig’s head attached, is roasting on a spit.
That’s how “As the Pig Turns” (292 pages, Minotaur Books, $24.99), M.C. Beaton’s 22nd entry in her series featuring Agatha, opens — and the ride is an enjoyable one.
While glancing at the guest of honor at the pig roast, Agatha, who runs a detective agency in England’s Cotswolds, notices that the torso contains a tattoo, and it’s not long before the subject of the tattoo, Beech’s former wife, Amy, hires Agatha to solve the murder. But the case grows complicated and dangerous for Agatha, her employees and her friends until a bolt of intuition leads to the climax.
Agatha, as always, is simultaneously annoying and endearing, and Beaton, as always, excels at depicting village life with wicked and witty detail. Mixing murder with mirth is a tricky business, but “As the Pig Turns” is a feast for those who love hilarity as well as homicide.