Arts & Events

This month I have six mystery/thriller novels to recommend and one to avoid. There wasn’t a sure-fire winner in April, as there was in March with Tana French’s The Hunter. This month’s novels shared a common flaw: their endings were convoluted. 

(A) How to Solve Your Own Murder -- Kristen Perrin (5 stars) 

A mystery set in (mythical) Castle Knoll, England. 

An entertaining mystery based upon this premise: in 1965 Frances Adams visits a fortune teller and receives a prophesy that she will be murdered. Frances spends the rest of her life trying to figure out who will kill her. Many years later, Frances brings her closest relatives together for the reading of her will. Before this can happen, she is murdered. 

Frances’ great niece, Annie, has been summoned to Castle Knoll for the will reading. After Frances is killed, Annie determines to find the murderer. Because Frances has been working on this for almost 60 years, everyone in Castle Knoll is a suspect. 

A lot of fun. 

(B) The Truth About the Devlins -- Lisa Scottoline (5 stars) 

A mystery set in Philadelphia. 

The youngest of three children, T.J. Devlin is the black sheep of the (rich) Devlin family. A recovering alcoholic, T.J. spent a year in prison for a drunken action. Now he’s a “go fer” in the family law firm because he’s otherwise unemployable. One night his brother John, a star lawyer, asks him for help because John believes he has killed someone. Then the body goes missing. 

A slightly implausible murder mystery kept alive by Lisa Scottoine’s adept characterization of T.J. and the Devlin family dynamics. 

(C) The Last Word - Elly Griffiths (5 stars) 

A mystery set in Shoreham, England 

Although billed as the fourth in the Harbinder Kaur series, this novel has little to do with DI Khan. The principals are the formidable Natalie Kolisnyk, an intrepid Ukrainian refugee, her partner Benedict Cole, and their elderly friend Edwin Fitzgerald. Natalie and Edwin have a private investigation firm and are hired to investigate the suspicious deaths of two writers. They focus on a writers’ retreat. Then there is a murder. 

The principals are entertaining, although not as indomitable as Elly Griffiths’ retired sleuth Ruth Galloway. This novel might be characterized as a cozy if there weren’t so many deaths. 

(D) A Death in Diamonds -- S.J. Bennett (4 stars) 

A historical mystery set in 1957 London. The fourth book in the series: “Her Majesty the Queen Investigates.” 

The previous three books followed the crime-solving escapades of Queen Elizabeth II in her eighties – the third book was set in 2016. The fourth book turns back the clock to 1957, when the Queen was thirty years old and still settling into her role. It’s an interesting period where England’s status in the world order is changing as is the role of the monarchy. Elizabeth’s power is constrained by male advisers she inherited from her father five years previous. She pushes back and enlists the support of her unconventional personal secretary Joan McGraw. 

AT the center of “A Death in Diamonds” is a gruesome double murder in Chelsea. The plot also concerns the question of who is trying to sabotage the Queen’s public appearances and the vexing issue of the whereabouts of Prince Philip on the night of the murders. 

“A Death in Diamonds” works as a historical mystery because of the rich period detail and superb characterizations. It’s not as successful as straight mystery because it is slow, and the plot is overly complicated. 

(E) Toxic Prey -- John Sandford (4 stars) 

A thriller set in northern New Mexico, primarily Taos. 

This is the 34th novel in the Prey series and the first to be billed as “A Lucas and Letty Davenport Novel.” It’s primarily a Letty Davenport novel; perhaps John Sandford is telling us that Lucas is ready to retire, and daughter Letty is taking over the franchise. 

Infectious disease guru Lionel Scott disappears from classified Los Alamos labs and the US national security apparatus suspects he is up to no good. Letty Davenport is assigned to track him down and determines that Scott is planning a horrendous terrorist attack. She enlists her father, Lucas, and his US Marshall buddies and they track Scott and company throughout northern New Mexico. 

Entertaining but grim. 

(F) Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone -- Benjamin Stevenson (4 stars) 

A mystery set at an Australian ski resort. 

A clever murder mystery that mostly works. The troubled Cunningham family goes on a family “retreat” to celebrate the release from prison of one of the brothers, Michael. From the perspective of another brother, Ernest, we learn why Michael went to prison and the backstory for every family member. And then there’s a murder. 

I liked this novel, but I felt that the author, Benjamin Stevenson, tried too hard to be witty. And the ending was very convoluted. 

A Novel to Avoid: 

Close to Death -- Anthony Horowitz (3.5 stars) 

A mystery set in London. 

This is the 5th Hawthorne and Horowitz novel written by the accomplished British writer Anthony Horowitz. It’s ambitious but confusing. In the small, gated community of Riverside Close, obnoxious tenant Giles Kentworthy is murdered. The other five tenants are the prime suspects. 

The novel is unsuccessful for two reasons. First, the plot – stolen from Agatha Christie – is byzantine. Second, the point of view switches between Hawthorne and Horowitz in a manner that is confusing. 

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