Ann Cleeves

A Lesson in Dying

Detective:   Inspector Ramsey
Location::    North East England (Heppleburn)
Time:         1990s
Genre:       Police Procedural

This is the first in the Ann Cleeves Inspector Ramsay novels and possibly recently re-published following the success of her later Vera Stanhope and Shetland novels.

The plot is based on the murder of an unpopular headteacher at a small village school and between the staffroom and the parents' association there are a number of likely suspects. When the head's wife is arrested the school caretaker and his daughter (a member of the parents' association) begin their own investigation and after some hesitation Ramsay accepts their support.

Blackmail is uncovered and other deaths follow before the conclusion which has a nice twist.

Ann Cleeves' websie

Jo Nesbo

The Bat

Detective: Harry Hole
Location:  Sydney, Australia
Time:        About 2000
Genre:      Scandi Noir

Yes, a Scandi Noir set in Australia. This is a prequel to the Jo Nesbo/Harry Hole series which begins with Redbreast. and tells the story of his experience in Australia dealing with a serial killer which is referred back to in many of the later novels. 

Hole is in Australia to assist with the investigation into the murder of a young Norwegian woman. His sidekick initially is  an older Sydney detective with Apborigina roots. The novel deals with the place of the Aborigine in Australian society and the detective, who is more deeply involved in the affair than might be obvious gives Hole guidance by usimng Aboriginal myths as guidance. 

Well crafted like the other Harry hole novels.

A+

Jo Nesbo's website

Previously Read
Redbreast
Nemesis
The Devil's Star
The Redeemer
The Snowman
The Leopard

Leigh Russell

Road Closed

Detective Geraldine Steele
Location  England
Time        Present
Genre      Police Procedural

Possibly a viable plot line. A burgling duo leave a victim dead at the bottom of the stairs, They go on to bungle another job and as they escape turn the gas on in the kitchen leading to an explosion and a fatal fire. The circumstances are such that the police may suspect the victims widow. 

Undfortunately the telling isn't convincing. The police procedures come across as loose and the escalation of murders by the main villain isn't credible. 

B-

Previously Read
Dead End

Leigh Russell's website

Peter James

Dead Man's Time

Detective: Roy Grace
Location:  Brighton
Time:        Current
Genre:      Police Procedural

This is the ninth of the Roy Grace series. It concerns the brutal murder of an elderly lady and the theft from her own of both valuable antiques and a valuable watch, the only memento she and her brother have of  their father, a gangster murdered in New York ninety years previously. As Grace and his team seek the killers, the brother, himself a wealthy man begins his own brutal search for the killers and the watch.

At the same time a released convict plans a horrific revenge on Grace for putting him inside for 12 years by plotting an attack on Grace's partner and their new son.

In other aspects of the underlying story arc, we learn more about Grace's first wife who disappeared a number of years ago and who is now living under a new identity in germany, but who may be planning to return to Brighton.

The story builds to a climsx in New York with the elderly man eventually seeking revenge on the descendant of his father's murdered.

A+

Peter James' web site

Previously read
Dead Simple
Looking Good Dead
Not Dead Enough
Dead Man's Footsteps
Dead Tomorrow
Not Dead Like You
Dead Man's Grip
Not Dead Yet

Thomas Enger

Pierced

Journalist: Henning Juul
Location:  Oslo
Time:        Current
Genre:       Scandi Noir

This is the second book by Enger featuring Henning Juul. There is a key underlying arc. Juul  was badly burned and his son died in a fire at his home. He has nightmares about it and the perpetrator is unknown.

In this novel Juul is persuaded to investigate the case of Pulli, a man imprisoned for murder who is proclaiming his innocence. His leverage to get Juul to help is that he promises to reveal what he knows about the fire at juul's home.

This takes him into a murky world of enforcers (bouncers/debt collectors) and the rivalries and jealousies between them.  At the same time a hitman forces a TV cameraman into murdering Pulli. How that resolves itself is a sub plot. the death of Pulli drives Juul to solve the murder for which Pulli was imprisoned in the hope that he can work out what Pulli knew.

This is going to continue in other books.

A-

Thomas Enger Web Page (In Danish)

Previously Read:
Burned

Martin Walker

The Devil's Cave

Detective: Bruno Courreges
Location: "St Denis" in the Perigord, France
Time:       1990?
Genre

This is the fifth in Walker's Bruno Courreges series set in the fictional town of St Denis in the Perigord region of France. While Bruno may be styled the Chief of police, he is the police for the small town. The series in general reflects Walker's fondness for the area and for the relative simplicity of life in rural France.

The crime to be investigated is the death, possibly murder, of an unidentified woman, found floating in a punt towards the town naked and possibly the victim of a black mass. Simultaneously the town council is being persuaded to invest in a holiday village scheme despite the fact that a similar investment by the same developers went pear shaped in a previous town. As Couureges investigates both siutations he finds himself under pressure from government level to drop the matter.

The threads come together effectively, but this is as much a book to enjoy the location, the cast of characters and their continuing development as it is a hard nosed police procedural.

A-

Martin Walker's  Bruno, Chief of Police blog

Previously read
Bruno, Chief of Police
The Dark Vinyard
Black  Diamond
The Crowded Grave

Anne Holt

Death of the Demon

Detective: Hanne Wilhelmsen
Setting:      Oslo
Time:        Mid 1990's
Genre       Scandi Noir

This is the third of the Hanne Wilhelmsen series, set just after Wilhelmsen has been appointed aDetective Inspector.

The crime involves the murder, one evening, at her workplace of the manager of a children's home. the possible suspects include a lover who has been defrauding her bank account, a colleague who has been fiddling the books, a husband who could benefit from a change in her will and a 12 year old boy with an  ADHD problem (defined as MBD in the book) who has gone missing from the home.

The investigation is paralleled by a developing account, set in italics, of the mother's experience with her son and the attempts to get the social services agencies to support her rather than place him in the home.

It seems a dead end case but the pieces come together  with a twist to reveal the murderer and with a final twist in the mother's story about a key piece of evidence.

The back story concerns the challenges facing Wilhelmsen in managing a case after her promotion and her continuing nervousness about colleagues knowing about her long standing lesbian  partnership.

A+

Wikipedia background to Ann Holt

Previously read
Blind Goddess (1)
Blessed are thos who thirst (2)
1222 (8)